Or the idea of a hamster wheel comes to mind. And with that the image of the human size hamster wheel at the City Museum in St. Louis, MO. I had the privilege of experiencing this wheel just weeks before I came to Ireland. It's a wooden circular structure that you stand up in. You have to kind of jump start it (literally jump to getting it rolling, then you just walk in a forward motion (or backwards if you're talented like that), going as fast as you want. It's the most bizarre feeling! You feel as though you are climbing up and up, and must surely be upside down by now. But when you finally come to a stop, you discover that you haven't actually gone anywhere!
Somedays that's what life here feels like.
Walking into the middle of a ministry is much like walking into the middle of a deep conversation. No matter how much I feel like I'm understanding here, there's alway something new that I have no idea about...
The Belfast City Mission, that I'm involved with on Thursday's, is much like a hamster wheel. Just as soon as I think I'm "getting it", something new happens. I actually love this aspect of Thursdays! A typical day involves me teaching English for about an hour and a half. Who the student is and if it's just one or two changes week to week. After that from 4-6, I'm in a different part of Belfast helping babysit school age kids so their moms can learn English.
After this exciting moment, I continued my afternoon with babysitting.
Babysitting entails usually 2 adults (once there was 3!) and about 8 children from about the age of 13 all the way down. 5 are siblings, 2 are cousins to the 5 and the 8th is probably somehow related as well. The last month with these kids has been crazy town! One week I get to play football for 2 hours with the boys or another week is spent just doing math homework with a 9-year-old for well over an hour. The next week was just playing/consoling a baby while 8 children ran around completely and totally out of control! And mean while, somewhere in the building there's an English class going on. After all this, you're left asking "what's the point of it?" The point of all this crazy town is teaching the mom English so that we can share the Gospel with them! And if that means we have 2 hours of.... But their moms learn about Jesus, then it's worth it! I've heard so many stories about the Muslims just asking why we (the Christians) are being so nice to them.... They're noticing, they're thinking about it.
I had this story all written out yesterday, and had written some prayer requests, but like the classic blonde that I am, I didn't save my changes before closing, and it was gone. So before I could rewrite this, I actually had to go back to Belfast to do more of the same babysitting. Which was a first time for me to do it on a Friday. Honest moment. I was not excited about it. At all. Just tired from all of Thursday's happenings and not ready to face crazy Somalian children again. But the guy that teaches the English class, Luke, was't sure anyone was coming to babysit.... So, I told him I'd come, so he'd have a "for sure" sitter.
My prayer requests that I had typed out before I left, that no one saw, that were never "officially" prayed, were that I would learn how to balance ministry in Belfast with my ministry in Ballymena and Ballykeel, and find time for myself, without feeling guilty. And also that I would learn the Somalian children's names, because only being able to retain 1 name out of 9 is just not a good thing. And that I would figure out how to bring some structure and control.
Yesterday (Friday) felt like such a break through! Personally, just seeing God answer some un"prayed" prayers. I felt, for the first time ever, that I actually had the kids' respect! (I'd never realized how important that was until I had it!) So yesterday was controlled craziness. I had literally 5 girls hanging on me for almost 2 hours, there was so much love happening it was incredible! And I was remembering their names! I'm not really sure how to explain it, but the crazy town had turned a corner of crazy out of disrespect to crazy out of respect. Does any of that make sense? Or am I just rambling?
In conclusion, yesterday was golden and God does answer the desires of our hearts (in case you, like me, forget that)!
Walking into the middle of a ministry is much like walking into the middle of a deep conversation. No matter how much I feel like I'm understanding here, there's alway something new that I have no idea about...
The Belfast City Mission, that I'm involved with on Thursday's, is much like a hamster wheel. Just as soon as I think I'm "getting it", something new happens. I actually love this aspect of Thursdays! A typical day involves me teaching English for about an hour and a half. Who the student is and if it's just one or two changes week to week. After that from 4-6, I'm in a different part of Belfast helping babysit school age kids so their moms can learn English.
In between these 2 ministries I have about 3 hours. The people that run this ministry know that I'm up there for the day, so they'll ask if I have plans for the afternoon. Since I don't, they will take me along with them to just have tea with one of their Saudi friends or I'll go along with someone to pick up a converted/undercover Muslim from the grocery store and go back to her house to have tea. Or, as was the case this week, there wasn't even an English class! Just a party with about 60 Somalians and food! So much amazing food. (Felt a bit like Thanksgiving!) So basically this week was helping with food prep from 10 in the morning, serving the food, and then cleaning up. About three o'clock I finally was able to leave. But not without first being volunteered to take 3 Somalians home. Thankfully they spoke enough English that they were able to direct me where to go!
After I got them all dropped off and was feeling pretty good about myself, I suddenly remembered that I'm driving on the other side of the road in a "big" city. A city where they drive really close together and park even closer together. I found myself on a two-way street, but due to the parking on both sides of the road, it's really a one-way street. All of a sudden, there's a rather loud clatter from my left side. It took a moment for me to register that that clatter was me hitting something (confession time!). Looking out the left side of my car, I realized my left mirror was gone! (Dying of embarrassment right about now!) All I wanted to do was cry or laugh, or... hamster wheel moment. I realized how exhausted I am - not only have I spent the morning trying to learn and understand Somalian culture, but I'm learning it through the Irish's eyes as I'm still trying to learn the Irish culture.
After I got them all dropped off and was feeling pretty good about myself, I suddenly remembered that I'm driving on the other side of the road in a "big" city. A city where they drive really close together and park even closer together. I found myself on a two-way street, but due to the parking on both sides of the road, it's really a one-way street. All of a sudden, there's a rather loud clatter from my left side. It took a moment for me to register that that clatter was me hitting something (confession time!). Looking out the left side of my car, I realized my left mirror was gone! (Dying of embarrassment right about now!) All I wanted to do was cry or laugh, or... hamster wheel moment. I realized how exhausted I am - not only have I spent the morning trying to learn and understand Somalian culture, but I'm learning it through the Irish's eyes as I'm still trying to learn the Irish culture.
After this exciting moment, I continued my afternoon with babysitting.
Babysitting entails usually 2 adults (once there was 3!) and about 8 children from about the age of 13 all the way down. 5 are siblings, 2 are cousins to the 5 and the 8th is probably somehow related as well. The last month with these kids has been crazy town! One week I get to play football for 2 hours with the boys or another week is spent just doing math homework with a 9-year-old for well over an hour. The next week was just playing/consoling a baby while 8 children ran around completely and totally out of control! And mean while, somewhere in the building there's an English class going on. After all this, you're left asking "what's the point of it?" The point of all this crazy town is teaching the mom English so that we can share the Gospel with them! And if that means we have 2 hours of.... But their moms learn about Jesus, then it's worth it! I've heard so many stories about the Muslims just asking why we (the Christians) are being so nice to them.... They're noticing, they're thinking about it.
I had this story all written out yesterday, and had written some prayer requests, but like the classic blonde that I am, I didn't save my changes before closing, and it was gone. So before I could rewrite this, I actually had to go back to Belfast to do more of the same babysitting. Which was a first time for me to do it on a Friday. Honest moment. I was not excited about it. At all. Just tired from all of Thursday's happenings and not ready to face crazy Somalian children again. But the guy that teaches the English class, Luke, was't sure anyone was coming to babysit.... So, I told him I'd come, so he'd have a "for sure" sitter.
My prayer requests that I had typed out before I left, that no one saw, that were never "officially" prayed, were that I would learn how to balance ministry in Belfast with my ministry in Ballymena and Ballykeel, and find time for myself, without feeling guilty. And also that I would learn the Somalian children's names, because only being able to retain 1 name out of 9 is just not a good thing. And that I would figure out how to bring some structure and control.
Yesterday (Friday) felt like such a break through! Personally, just seeing God answer some un"prayed" prayers. I felt, for the first time ever, that I actually had the kids' respect! (I'd never realized how important that was until I had it!) So yesterday was controlled craziness. I had literally 5 girls hanging on me for almost 2 hours, there was so much love happening it was incredible! And I was remembering their names! I'm not really sure how to explain it, but the crazy town had turned a corner of crazy out of disrespect to crazy out of respect. Does any of that make sense? Or am I just rambling?
In conclusion, yesterday was golden and God does answer the desires of our hearts (in case you, like me, forget that)!
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