Wednesday, June 19, 2013

Marble Arch Caves

We started off this Wednesday with a visit to Aughnacloy College (the equivalent of an American High School). We talked in a few of the classes and let them ask questions. The first class I was in with Elise and Brianna was great. They all asked lots of questions and we had some good conversations. The second class was a bit more reserved...
 
We did do a few dances in the college, and afterwards a girl came up to us and told us that she was a dancer too, and a Christian, so she really enjoyed the performance. It basically made our day.
 
In the afternoon we went to the Marble Arch Caves, a system of underground caves in Northern Ireland. Beforehand, I was kind of just like, "Meh, caves, whatever," but...
 
It was amazing. And so so beautiful. It kind of made me want to be a geologist, which is saying something.
 
I didn't even bother trying to take pictures underground. My camera/phone isn't exactly state of the art and doesn't do dark photos. Plus, it was wet and usually bumpy and curvy and I wasn't about to chance falling into the river just for a photo. But the others were more fortunate (and talented) and got some pictures.
 
There was one part where the path was kind of dug into the river (they called it Moses' Path) so you could see the water really well. But it was so still that at first it was hard to tell if it really was water at all. And then once I'd determined that it was water, I thought it was perfectly clear and there were more rocks and stalagmites beneath the surface... but it was all just a beautiful reflection.
 
There were many many little features our guide pointed out to us where rocks had formed interesting figures that strangely resembled angels, frogs, and Gandalf's beard. He also explained to us the history of the caves and how it had formed. Despite his repeated statements about millions of thousands of years, it was all very interesting.
 
We had some card trouble in the gift shop, naturally. It's kind of an annual thing I do: have trouble with my debit card in Ireland. I'd already gotten that over and done with last week in Monaghan, but now Libby and Brianna both were having trouble. Katie tried hers too just to see, and it also failed. It wasn't until after most of us had given up and wandered outside that they rebooted their system and the cards started working again. Yay! Happy ending!
 
We headed back for tea at The Manse (which was delicious) and then had Day 2 of Holiday Club! There were fewer kids this time, but that's because there's a lot going on around Ballygawley and some people just couldn't make it in. We were also a few hands shorter, but we managed pretty okay.
 
We played a few rounds of Telephone Pictionary before heading home for an "early" night. And tomorrow morning we have a slightly later morning than usual, so maybe we'll all get some much-needed rest tonight.
 
--Dexter
 
What you can pray for: Health. Some of us are starting to really feel our allergies and we're not getting quite enough rest either. Pray that we will be get plenty of rest. You can also pray for the kids in Holiday Bible Club. Sometimes it's hard to really develop a relationship with them because we're on the go. Pray also for everyone involved in the club, give us strength and love and wisdom for the kids.

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