Belfast: Broadway Hall Holiday Club

It seems as though I've held you in suspense long enough...so, what exactly was I doing in Belfast? Anne Marie and I were there to help some of the local believers with a 2 week outreach they had planned for the area.

"For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ, for it is the power of God to salvation to everyone who believes."

Romans 1:16

In case you're not familiar with Northern Ireland...

...here's a map so you can orient yourself to Belfast geographically!

One of the first days we were in Belfast, about 6 of us went "letter boxing"! We passed out about 2,500 fliers announcing the Broadway Gospel Hall Holiday Club that would be going on the next week. We had one little mishap when Anne Marie's lotion exploded in her bag, not only landing some of our fliers in the rubbish but also causing her phone to be rendered useless for several days.

The Holiday Club was being put on by the Broadway Gospel Hall and we met with the kids from ten to noon, Monday through Friday, August 4th-8th. But our day didn't begin at 10 am with the kids. It began at Josh's with a time of prayer, committing the kids to the Lord and asking the Lord to use us to reach them with the truth of the gospel.

After prayer, we would walk to Broadway Hall and get the activities started! Each day we had 40-50 kids, aged 4-12 years old. Set up is quite similar to VBS, where we started with arts/crafts and games. The older kids LOVED playing "football"! I joined in with them a few times and am proud to say that I scored my first goal on kids that could run circles around me!!

As crafts and games were winding down, we would serve snacks. The first day got a bit interesting when one little girl threw up right after the snack. As we were getting her cleaned up a second girl began to throw up...and then number 3...and then number 4....thankfully, it ended with number 4 but I was a little nervous to see so many vomiting in succession! Praise the Lord that none of the team got sick and all the kids came back and enjoyed the rest of the week!!

After snack time, we rounded up the kids to sing and do the verse prior to Yule giving the message. On Monday, we didn't have any music for the singing so I had to step up and play the piano...accompanying for songs I had never heard of! For those of you that know me well, playing the piano is not my favorite thing to do in front of people. Generally when I play my hands go one step beyond shaking...I actually tremble! So, for me, to play songs I wasn't familiar with, in front of people I just met was a huge test for me. I went to Belfast with a plan in my head of what was going to be expected of me. When that plan changed, I had to choose to be willing to allow the Lord to use me in whatever capacity He chose..even if it was to play the piano. And, I will have you know, that our God is faithful and not only did He get me through the piano playing event but I actually was able to enjoy it....a little! And, then we were off to teaching the kids their verses for the week...Heather M. taught them a song to get the Word of God in their hearts!

Our time with the kids was wonderful. We were able to enjoy getting to know them as we worked on crafts or played with them. Anne Marie had plenty of "helpers" to enjoy while she was registering the kids every morning! It was such a blessing to be a part of the Holiday Club and get to know the kids of "The Village".

When Bible Club concluded, we would go back to Josh's to fix lunch, share what had happened with the kids that morning and then spend time in prayer. The afternoons were also busy with various activities. One afternoon, we spent time at the park, playing frisbee and football with the kids, using the opportunity to invite them to Holiday Club as well as to the events planned for the following week.

All in all, it was such a sweet time of fellowship, working together for the sake of the gospel and committing the work that we were doing to the Lord and trusting Him. No matter how much my heart was drawn to those kids, the Lord loves them more than I ever could and He desires that each one of them be saved, that none should be lost.

"The Village"

I was not able to take any pictures of the children (because of rules designed for their safety) so I can't share with you the faces of the children of Belfast that are impressed on my heart. But I miss them and think of them often, praying that they might see the love of Christ shown by those who labor on in The Village for the sake of the gospel!

So, there you have it! A very brief summary of what we did with the Bible Club that first week! I will be back...hopefully sooner than later...to continue to share with you the many more stories that are circling in my head!

"The Team"

Back Row: Kelly, Jason, Sami, Josh, Sean
Front Row: Heather, Sarah, Anne Marie

Coming Soon...

...to a blog near you...more posts about my trip to Ireland! I really haven't forgotten! I promise! Life has been in overdrive since I've gotten home. I got home on Tuesday August 19th and started back to school on Thursday August 21st and then was back to work within a few days of that! I'm presenting a little something about my trip at the discipleship conference (prayers wanted!) so hopefully after preparing that I'll have my thoughts a little more organized and ready to post!

Giant's Causeway

Not to mention I have a ton of various post ideas running through my head and am quite discouraged that I don't seem to have the time to actually put something together that sounds intelligent! Frustrating!! So, here are thoughts I'd like to post about if I ever find the time:

• N. Ireland Adventures Continued: What were we really doing in Belfast?
• N. Ireland Adventures Cont: Eagles Camp!
• N. Ireland/London Adventures: Sightseeing!
• Relying on the grace of God for our salvation and for how we live our lives afterwards!
• Reaching MY neighborhood with the love and good news of Christ: Thinking outside the box to get the gospel out!
  
• MAPIT--A concept to organize change that I'm learning in class. Sounds weird to blog about but I always like organization and this seems to provide step by step processes on how to organize change, specifically in our communities....perhaps I can use this to be creative about dispersing the Good News!!

And, those are just the ones I can remember right now...and for those of you that know me..my memory is not the greatest! Hopefully I'll get to these posts someday.....but, for now, don't hold your breath!

Northern Ireland: The Adventures Begin!

My trip began by flying out of Kansas City into Newark on Wednesday, July 30th and then flew from Newark that night, arriving at London, Heathrow the next morning. I tried to sleep on the flight over since I was told that was the best way to combat jet lag! Despite my great attempts, I didn't sleep all that well...shocking since those seats are so comfortable! :-) Anne Marie and I met up in London and thought we would have ample time to kill in London before catching our flight into Belfast. But, that was not the case. By the time we walked across the airport to the correct terminal and got checked in, it was nearly time to board. We were met at the airport by a familiar face when we got to Belfast...Andrew K. from Wichita! He and Claire took us to our little flat that we would call home for the next 3 weeks. The girls who live there were out of town so we were able to use their place as home base during the duration of our stay!

We had an amazing meal at Claire's that first evening and enjoyed some great conversation, catching up on all of Anne Marie's adventures at Chitokoloki, Zambia! Then we were off to get some rest!

Our first full day was full of great intentions! Andrew said he was going to pick us up, take us to a park, and just go check out Belfast! Well, he picked us up, we went to Subway and then did this...


...while we waited for Andrew to finish his paper for school! We ended up going back to our place, walking to Tesco's (the local grocery store), making dinner and then doing this....


...and this...


...before finally resigning ourselves to going to bed! :-)

So, that's how my trip began! My next post...coming soon to a blog near you...will tell you more about what Anne Marie and I were doing in Belfast!

A "little" project!

On Saturday my parents and I worked on a little house project. I wanted good access to the water spigot and hated walking through the bushes because of my allergies. So, several weeks ago, we pulled out one of the bushes.

The area that needed TLC

And this weekend my parents and I went to work to spruce up the spot to make it a bit more aesthetic on the eyes.

De-weeded but still a long ways to go

Throwing a little dirt around!

WIP: Work in Progress

The finished product!!

Now all I need to add are some flower pots and a hose-winder-upper! I am so thankful for my parents, who are so willing to help me and teach me how to complete these sort of home improvement projects!

Enjoying my...

...new camera!

Small gift from Debby for my 30th!

"Since you have purified your souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit in sincere love of the brethren, love one another fervently with a pure heart, having been born again, not of corruptible seed but incorruptible, through the word of God which lives and abides forever, because 'All flesh is as grass, And all the glory of man as the flower of the grass. The grass withers, And its flower falls away, But the word of the LORD endures forever.'"

I Peter 1:22-25

Guess what?!

I'm going to Ireland!


A few months ago, I was sitting with Anne Marie at lunch asking her about her travels to Africa last year and she asked if I wanted to go to Ireland with her. I paused and then said, "Yes!" Several weeks later, I asked her about it and she said, "You really want to go?" Sadly, in this day, many of us say we will do something and really mean that we WANT to do it but can't necessarily commit. But, when I agreed to go, I really meant it. You see, I had been praying that the Lord would give me an opportunity to travel, but to travel with a purpose. And, this opportunity was what I had been waiting for. I leave at the end of the month. I'll be meeting Anne Marie in London (on her way back from Zambia) and we'll be flying into Belfast together to spend a few weeks. While there, we will be helping some local assemblies in outreach. We'll be involved in VBS, door to door, and whatever else they have planned for us. We will do some sight seeing, including Giants Causeway (pictured below) and we'll be spending a few days in London on our way home.



http://www.discoverireland.com/us/about-ireland/

Thoughts by Kate Aspen

1. At the chapel picnic a couple of weeks ago, I was helping Kate untangle the strings to the kite she wanted to fly. As I was working on it and she was dancing around, I was talking to her, telling her that it's really hard to fly a kite and even when we get it untangled and even with Aunt Kelly helping, its really hard to fly a kite. Kate then responds by saying,

That's ok, it's good for me to try anyways.

2. The other day, Tanya was on her way with the kids to meet my mom and I at the pool. As they were pulling into the parking lot Kate says,

Kelly loves me sooo much. She loves my WHOLE heart!

That little girl is so right! I love her sooo much...and Zachy too!!