Kilmore Round Two

We did a lot of prep-work in the hall this morning before heading to a small primary school for their assembly. We danced and Katie shared her testimony, and then we invited all of them to come to Holiday Bible Club. A lot of them we recognized, and it made me strangely cheerful when one of the boys shouted excitedly across a parking lot, "Dexter!! DEXTER!! HELLO!!!" After we'd shared, they practiced one of their own songs, which was adorable.

 

We went to Newcastle for the afternoon, a tourist town by a beach. It was nice, but I was feeling very sick and so I didn't enjoy it at all, and probably exuded a gloomy atmosphere to the rest of the team. But we got ice cream and a few people bought a few souvenirs. We then headed back for dinner and then the club.

 

We were better prepared this time. We're still not perfect, but we're getting a little better. Our roll/registration sheet is getting revamped, we reorganized our groups, added another workspace, and got a few extra helpers.

 

Tonight we had 35 kids, so less than last night... but we anticipated this, partly because several boys said they had football practice tonight. Hopefully they'll be back tomorrow. But we also got new children tonight, so hopefully they'll be back tomorrow too.

 

We had time with the teens afterward. We played a few fun, silly games like Down By The Banks and Questions and attempted Bunny Bunny, but that failed. Then Katie and Libby introduced the Walrus game. I didn't actually participate, but I happily videoed a showdown between Katie and Libby. This game was a big hit. Louise was crying the whole time because she was laughing so hard.

 

We're starting to get names down. Except for Matthew... Matthew isn't his real name. Katie mistakenly thought it was, so now everyone just calls him Matthew (his real name is Nate).

 

But we had a lot of good craic with the teens tonight, and everyone's a little less awkward. Katie shared her testimony, and the Walrus game really tears down awkward walls strangers build up.

 

Tomorrow half of the team goes back to Belfast for the Titanic Museum, but Elise, Katie, and I will stay home and get some rest. The three of us have been before anyway, and we need a quiet afternoon. Then it'll be Holiday Club and Youth Time again that night!

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Health for everyone. Elise is on the mend, but it's still rough sometimes. Libby's recovering from her cold. I've got a constant headache. Also pray for the kids and teens, that they would come back. Pray that God fills us with his love and strength until we overflow. Pray that he will give us strength to go on when we're worn out and unable to do so alone. Please pray for the church of Kilmore as a whole, and continue praying for the people in Ballygawley and the dance ministry.

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.

Holiday Club: Day 1!

We started the day bright and early by visiting Richmond Primary School, where we

danced and then taught them some dancing as well while the boys (and quite a few girls) went outside to play games. Brianna and Katie led the teaching of ballet, and the end result was pretty amazing.

 

We had lunch and team devotions, then the afternoon was spent decorating the hall and taking a walk around Ballygawley (sunshine!). We did our very best to make the hall look like a circus, and I must say I think we did pretty awesome. Unfortunately, by the end of the night some of the decorations had deteriorated, but it was nice while it lasted.

 

We split up into two groups for dinner before heading back to the hall for day one of the Holiday Club. It was a little crazy as kids first began to come in, but we all slowly got our bearings and began to interact a little more. Due to technical difficulties, we couldn't sing until the very end, but we heard the story of Jesus' first miracle: turning water into wine. Mrs. Susan and Katie performed day one of the drama Monty The Python's Flying Circus (get it?), in which Monty the Python tells Mrs. Susan all about how his circus is centered around Jesus Christ.

 

We split up into four groups based on school level. I'm with P2/3, the second youngest group. First we had craft, then games (that was pretty crazy), then memory verse, then worksheets, and back to the main room. Jenna and Rebecca demonstrated how they could turn water into wine, but the kids quickly pointed out that that was not a miracle.

 

All in all, the first day was a success. There were rough patches here and there, but we had around 50 kids, I believe is what someone told me.

 

After the club, the youth walked down the soccer field to play some football. And when I say football, I mean soccer. Our football is American football; football is just soccer. It's a big sport in Ireland and Northern Ireland, so we were hardly playing seriously (Americans versus Irish? No.). Though I didn't play at all... I'm a bit too broken in the knees for running around a field (I'm such an old woman at heart). Instead, I fooled around on the playground with one of the Irish girls and we had lots of fun with that.

 

After one asthma attack scare (she's fine, don't worry), we headed home. Katie and I chatted with our host mother Jane for a while over tea about everything from books to funny kids to spiders before heading up to bed. That's one of my favorite parts about this trip: getting to know your host family. They're always very interesting and you can usually find one or two things you have in common. Something about a nice hot cup of Irish tea makes conversation so much better.

 

Tomorrow we visit a high school (or college, as they call it here) before being all touristy and visiting some Marble Caves. Then it'll be day two of Holiday Bible Club!

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Pray that the kids will come back to club again tomorrow and bring a friend or two, and also that we'll have enough hands to handle that. Pray that all the wrinkles will be smoothed out and we can not only give the kids a good time, but really teach them as well. Pray for rest and health for the team.

Pre-Holiday Club

This morning we visited a Catholic Primary school. Apparently the only reason we were welcome there is because we're ballerinas, so it proves to be a good talent of ours.

 

We performed three of our dances: Gratitude, Good For Me, and Loves Come For Free. All of them have Christian themes, and we introduced each dance beforehand and talked about the meanings. Aside from some brief technical difficulties, all three dances went very well. There were some audible gasps during Good For Me and Love Comes For Free. The principal of the school mentioned how much he liked our music. We then proceeded to teach some ballet to the students... boys and girls alike.

 

The boys were actually more excited than the girls, who took a more serious and shy approach to it. But everyone joined in and before long we had them stretching and doing plies and tendues and chenes. We talked about the steps they liked the most in our dances as well (the jumps). It was all so much fun.

 

Afterwards we had a cup of tea with some of the staff and a nice chat. It was a very good morning and it was very encouraging to see how much they all enjoyed it, including the principal. It's not every day we get the chance to share with Catholic students.

 

For the afternoon we went to Londonderry, the European City of Culture. It used to be a walled city, but it has grown quite large over the centuries so now it expands beyond the wall. Still, like all Irish cities, it has a ton of history. We walked almost all the way around the wall, stopped for some coffee, and then crossed the Peace Bridge.

 

Peace Bridge, as Trevor explained it, is kind of like a sign of peace between the Protestants and the Catholics. They've had a lot of history in Ireland and still today they don't get along too well in some places. But Peace Bridge is very cool and very beautiful, and quite a nice walk.

 

After all that we headed back to the Ballygawley church for some fish and chips and then started getting the hall ready for Holiday Bible Club. Kids started registering and we started painting (oh my gosh just wait until you see the absolutely fabulous clown painted by Elise, Brianna, and myself).

 

I don't have an exact number for the kids who signed up, but I know it's not a whole lot but not a terribly small group either. But we will take whoever we get, knowing that they're the ones that need to be with us.

 

Tomorrow we go to Richmond Primary School, then help out with some toddlers, then finish setting up the church, then dinner, then day one of Bible Club!

 

--Dexter

 

What you can pray for: Lots of team members are still struggling with sleep, so pray that we can get enough rest to keep us going. Always, for health as well. Pray for Richmond tomorrow as we dance and talk and teach, and for day one of Holiday Bible Club! That includes drama, music, games, crafts, worksheets, and general fellowship with the kids we'll be working with.