Internship in Ireland

Blog trail

2008-09-01T02:56:00.001-07:00

Hello dear readers,

Please follow the blog trail back to megankhansen.blogspot.com for further insights from yours truly. Should be exciting, as I'll begin the journey of post-BA, post-gap year, real-world confusion, which, let's be honest, will likely end with me bubbling in "some post-grad education" on future surveys.

If you're reading on facebook--which very few of you probably are--you don't have to follow any trail cause it'll just keep importing to my notes.

xo
Megan

p.s. I'm gonna miss Ireland--but it is so so wonderful to back in sunshine!!

SHINE

2008-09-01T02:28:00.001-07:00

Hi folks, clearly I am not finding time to write about Shine.

Here's the quick version. Shine is the name for the annual local missions week in Coleraine.
I helped organize it this year--it was two weeks this time.

We do most of the stuff we do all year long weekly, except we did it everyday for two straight weeks. That means, kids club every morning, prayer on the streets every afternoon, evangelism every afternoon, community service (my thing!) working on people's yards etc--though this was difficult to plan since it rains the whole time...can't exactly mow a lawn or paint a fence in the pouring rain!

There was some other stuff we did, too, but that's the main thing! We had 37 visitors from Anaheim (a little taste of home in NI) for week 1, and 6 Slovakians for week 2.

It was cool to get to be a part of what they do and see why they do it. It's a really simple way to get disconnected people in the church connected, and get the church connected with the community. We were working with the city council and a few other local support organizations to serve people. I really loved getting to meet folks in my neighborhood and do nice things for them. I made a few friends I would've like to keep, but moving back home makes it difficult and trying to get an 80-year-old widower on facebook is beyond my capabilities!

And that's the big finish! Internship over.

Home

2008-08-23T09:16:00.001-07:00

I'm home!! And by home, I mean, driving all over the state. I'm currently in Santa Cruz, and enjoying the foggy morning after crashing for nearly 12 hours in my brother's room (thanks, daniel!). I'll drive down to San Luis Obispo soon to go to a friend's wedding and then I'll stick around to catch up the folks down there before finally getting back to my parents' house where I will reside in peace for an undetermined length of time.

I'll write more about Shine hopefully soon, so you can hear how my last couple weeks went. And again, I'll be soon changing my blog address back to a generic one. I don't think I'll create special blog addresses anymore for personal use--it's just silly, really.

Dream or Nightmare?

2008-08-13T07:16:00.000-07:00

As previously noted, I have a cold, and quite possibly a fever--or so I think?? Last night I had a most disturbing dream. Possible reasons it was disturbing: 1) it reflects poorly on my health, or 2) it reflect poorly on my social life. I'll let you decide.

The dream was as follows-- I walking down the hospital corridor at Princeton Plainsboro with Dr. Gregory House explaining my woes while walking, as he was too busy/bored to diagnose me in a clinic room. He suddenly stopped and turned to look me straight in the eyes and he said, "The problem isn't in your head--it's in your legs." Naturally I was confused as to how a head cold could actually be a leg problem. I sent out my "but, but, Dr. House!?" at which point he cut me off with a cutting speech about his authority which broke the dream and I found myself awake in my bed--legs completely fine, still sniffling.

That's that.
9 days til homecoming.

Typical

2008-08-12T03:48:00.000-07:00

Countdown??? 10 days. It's the 12th today, yes, I come home on the 22nd.

Helping with Shine this week and next. I'm organizing the community outreach, clean-up stuff. Also, I'm sick. Let's hope this doesn't persist or I'm not likely to have a very nice week.

Gutted

2008-07-28T09:19:00.000-07:00

Jon Foreman is playing in SLO on 11th Aug.

This is the first time since I've been in Northern Ireland that I have seriously considered coming home early.

I absolutely canNOT believe it. Please, someone go for me.

Education

2008-07-26T07:40:00.000-07:00

There isn't much about my time here in Ireland that I wouldn't share with you. And by share I mean I would happily have you come along and experience things with me, or I could tell you about them.

Presently, I have discovered a traybake (Americans might say cookie?) which tastes like cookie dough--but has not made me sick--I'm guessing there's no eggs in it.

I also discovered a band that sounds strangely exactly like Delirious. Not an Irish band... actually Bethany "became a fan" of them on facebook--apparently they are from San Diego. But they are brilliant. "Future of Forestry" and I fell in love immediately.

But beyond that, since my intern family left in June, I spend my time at Ground, like this...

With my tea in my face.

I've been considering my future a great deal, mostly while sitting with tea in my face, at Ground.

I've been considering how many coffee shops use the coffee-making process to inform their shop name: Higher Groundz, Ground, It's a Grind (by far, the worst name), The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf, the Nautical Bean to name a few. I prefer shops named for people, or at least having people names: Roughans, Linnaea's, Steynberg Gallery, and much much more. A second best option to a human name, is a street name, or a random name: Starbucks, Jamba Juice... oh wait. I guess I'm digressing (Di-gres: verb [intrans.] to leave the main subject temporarily in speech or writing) OH no. now I might be temped to go back through this document and change the size of words for effect.

Now I've done it.

Obviously I'm bored with this present Saturday. What you don't know is that I'm bored now after having watched Season 1 of House, mostly in the last two days. It's a great show. I believe I'm a better person for having seen it. But how much better could I be had I done something else??

seems to be the question facing me, and facing all of us who are so privileged that opportunity is like passing driftwood in a river on which we row steadily towards yet another bend. I mean, people who have the option to gainfully earn...specifically ones who want to do something besides earn, but who have a rich young ruler complex in spite of themselves.

In other news, I'm still in Ground, but my tea is all gone and the myspace music turned off, so there's no music coming through my headphones. I feel like I'm eavesdropping on the conversations around me, though I can tell they are dropping their voices, in spite of the fact that I shouldn't be able to hear them.

It's 4:48pm on a Saturday and they are about to come up here to start cleaning up so they can close at 5:30. It's okay though, I have books to read, vegetables to cook, scones to bake and more importantly, Alias Season 4.

(sorry the text become all tiny... not sure why it did that. c'est la blogger)

Stats

2008-07-02T12:21:00.000-07:00

May = beautiful
1/2 June = beautiful
July so far = raaaaaaayne.

June:
I spent a week in London,
a week babysitting,
a long weekend in France,
half a week saying goodbye to my near-and-dear interns friends,
the last few days moving out of Turnberry Terrace
and welcoming my parents who are visiting!

This week I am traveling the west coast of Ireland with my parents, which is good craic minus the obvious pitfalls of traveling with one's parents :)

playing @ fete de la musique in Falicon (just outside Nice)
(video at blog.andyrogersmusic.com)

parents near carrick-a-rede

<3 Ireland

p.s. 7 weeks to Aug 22: SFO Aug 23: SLO

Interpretation?

2008-06-11T04:31:00.000-07:00

This explains a lot about my family, I think. Here's a dream Daniel had the night before my birthday:

I woke from an interesting dream this morning. In it I had been at a meeting of an elite society of RC model airplane fliers (who, by the way, were the cast of American Idol). I happened to run into you at this event. A bunch of funny stuff happened but its all jumbled in my memory.

However, I do remember how it all ended. We decided to go down to the Beach to fly our planes. On the walk, you and I were skipping around, doing some free-style walking while talking in the Jelly Voice. The odd thing was that every time there was a lull in the conversation you would started saying "eep eep eep" in a very rhythmic sort of Jelly Voice. When I questioned you on it, you claimed that you had always done the "Jelly Chirp." And then I realized that my alarm clock makes the same rhythmic chirping when it goes off. This dreamland Megan was an imposter cast by my mind as a disguise for my real
world alarm clock.

Great Questions

2008-06-07T16:10:00.000-07:00

I was lucky enough to catch the Swell Season in London last week. It was a truly jaw-dropping concert complete with an amazing opener who first sang in gaelic and then two other "pre-colonial" world languages.

You build a crack in the Tate Modern and everyone says, "That looks like a real crack." On the other side of the world an earth quake is causing mass devastation. We wouldn't know how to create a realistic-looking crack, if the things in our lives didn't fall apart. Then the invented cracks hanging on the wall help us see the cracks in our lives, which inspire more artistic cracks, and so on, in infinite reflections of disrepair until it's a razor cut on a blank canvas, framed and famous.

I'm afraid everything's been said, reflected into oblivion. Every conversation's been had and is recorded somewhere. That there are no new songs. Yes, sing to the Lord a new song. Behold, all things are made new. But I'm tromping through quotes to write a line. I'm filtering out movies to see my life. I'm stuck on the delete key to remove pages and pages of cliche which just pour out of me. See, they pour out. If I really wanted to be original I'd have to make up my own language--at which point I'd probably have to grow dreads and become a nomad together with my german shepherd.

last night with dear Rachel, whose face is responding to the camera

My neighborhood...

2008-05-23T05:34:00.000-07:00

Surveying the Ground for Ants

2008-05-22T08:37:00.000-07:00

It's raining again... I hope it's a fluke.

Three weeks of sunshine was truly wonderful, enough to forget how cold it is here. I'm having climate-shock again.

See we had a bbq!

and I went to the Northwest 200!

and I took a lovely walk yesterday (no pictures currently as I left the cord thingy back at my house).

California, I hope you are enjoying your heat wave.

Bristol

2008-05-15T01:47:00.000-07:00

Last weekend I went with a group from my church in Northern Ireland to visit a new church in Bristol, England. This was my first time in England and I was happy to get a good idea of what totally normal, average English life is like for the average Bristolian.

Wick Court

Welcome to Wick Court, a 16th century manor, currently owned by a christian ex-rugby player and on loan to Church Next for two years--current value: £1.6 million. For this reason is is necessary to take good care of the property and to implement traditional security measures.

Watch out! He's got a feather in his helmet

There are certain things about these old houses which cannot be changed, as prescribed by the Quadracentennial Property Preservation and Protection Society. The walls can be painted only certain colours and the banister must be persevered with the grape carving which help date the house. Also preserved is the dog wheel, in which the energetic dog ran to turn the spit on which a pig roasted over a fire. The wheel sticks out of the wall just a bit above and to the right of the fireplace.

no animals were harmed in the lighting of that fireplace, or those candles

Reportedly, a BBC presenter came to look at Wick Court some time ago, but decided not to purchase the house because the dining room was too grey.

note: this is brightened badly with iphoto--was originally quite a vibrant grey

Walking the perimeter of the fields, I half expected to encounter Elizabeth Bennett tromping through a muddy field, though it is actually much more likely that I would have encountered the late King Charles hiding from Oliver Cromwell in the basement below the kitchen, as is rumoured to be truth. Fortunately I saw neither of them--the presence of either would be quite alarming.

King Charles' tree-house hideout swing

In the end, we did some work while we were there. Two of our church leaders taught on "outward-focused" church, and prayer. Then we went and prayer for people on the streets, and I went with a group to a local park to play games with kids because Jesus liked children! I got out the bubbles and simply let the little children come unto me. The church wants to get to know the community a bit more, so this was a first step to that end.

the distinguished Amy with bubbles

In the end, we did a lot of church, hung out with some lovely lovely people--I "smoked" some strawberry-vanilla hookah stuff with some Danish people who were also visiting, and was thoroughly unimpressed--and I blew bubbles with some kids.

Church Next appreciated us visiting as they had never seen the way God heals instantly sometimes when we pray. They were encouraged by the message Ricky and Mark brought and will continue to "press on toward the goal" that God has given them. Amen

...more on the leg growing thing.

2008-05-08T09:55:00.000-07:00

http://www.bbc.co.uk/nottingham/content/articles/2008/05/07/frances_finn_miracle_turning_point_feature.shtml

The lady whose feet you see shifting in the previous video works for BBC. To read her story, follow the link above.

Healing Video

2008-05-07T02:19:00.000-07:00

This is a video of Mark (Healing on the Streets coordinator) praying for a lady at a conference last week. She has since sent a letter to Mark explaining that she's not experiencing pain in her back anymore and she wants to know more about Jesus.

I've seen this happen quite a few times now--it's actually quite commonplace. I don't understand it, but I believe it's God.

Mayday

2008-05-07T01:20:00.000-07:00

Please bear with me on the video front--I hope to post more, and hopefully better, videos.

Puffins on Rathlin Island

Romania

2008-04-22T01:07:00.000-07:00

C.S. Lewis says we are all "far too easily pleased". I have been satisfied by a picnic outside at the Baileyana vineyards, but another person might need to reach the heights of half dome, and on the eighth floor of a building where the smell of boiled cabbage lurks slowly up and down the staircases, a lilting, scarfed woman is satisfied with a bottle of oil, some pasta and a short prayer from a stranger speaking a different language.

In this world of news, I've found nothing new, I've found nothing pure,
Maybe I'm just idealistic to assume the truth could be fact and form,
that love could be a verb,
maybe I'm just a little misinformed.

After Romania's Socialist leader, Nicolae Ceausescu, was executed in 1989, Romania set on the path to restoration. We saw droves of humanitarians go to show love to orphans who were born into desperation, and now years later, many those orphans are grown up and thriving in different ways. One man said that, as one who grew up in a boys' home, he became so familiar with sadness that he can recognize it the eyes of strangers, even when they smile.

Let your love be strong, and I don't care what goes down
Let your love be strong enough to weather through the thunder clouds
Fury and thunder clap like stealing the fire from your eyes
All of my world hanging on your love.

Ken and Florence Holmes have been working to sustain people in Oradea, Romania for over ten years. At 80 years of age, Ken, with his wife Florence, work to pastor a small church, manage a kindergarten, and run a monthly food distribution foundation called, "Project Simon", which delivers food to over 400 families each month. While the stress of their endeavors clearly creeps into the kitchen and living room of their lives, they manage to beat it out with constant, constant, prayer and a conqueror's attitude toward the poverty and paranoia left over from a deranged, socialist regime. They trust in God, the perfect father, to provide the money, the time, the energy and the ability to do what they do.

Let the wars begin, let my strength wear thin
Let my fingers crack, let my world fall apart
train the monkeys on my back to fight
Let it start tonight, when my world explodes
when my stars touch the ground, falling down like broken satellites.

And so I went to help move cases of rice from the truck to the storage room, from the cases to grocery bags, then to move the grocery bags from the storage room to the mini-bus, and then up the stairs to the door of some old woman who would kiss my cheeks. I went to clean the top of Florence's refrigerator, and to play speed scrabble outside in 70-degree weather ("the heat" say the Northern Irish people), and to hear stories about growing up in England after the war. I went to be challenged on baptism in the holy spirit and to have my faith reflected back at me by strangers. I went for a very short time, and I hope it was worth it.

Let your love be strong.
All that I am hanging on your love.
All of my world resting on your love.

(words: "Let Your Love Be Strong" by Switchfoot; the sequel also, "Your Love is Strong")

Catch phrases

2008-04-03T04:10:00.000-07:00

I'm at work, editing the text for the publicity for our school of mission (which is starting this summer), and just realized that Rick Warren has monopolized the use of the word "purpose."

Quote of the week: "Leg growing: so H.O.T.S. right now"

(ahem, "hots" is short for "healing on the streets")

we serve a completely good, but weird God.

Any Irish Out There?

2008-03-20T03:51:00.000-07:00

"When the potatoes ran out, millions of Irish men, women and children packed their bags got on a boat and showed up right here. And we're still doing it. We're not even starving anymore, loads of potatoes. In fact if there's any Irish out there, I've breaking news from Dublin, the potato famine is over you can come home now. But why are we still showing up? Because we love the idea of America." -Bono (Wikiquote)

Getting Remonked?

2008-03-19T08:35:00.000-07:00

I always think things like this are interesting and challenging. I want a shirt that says, "Jesus was homeless"... The New Monasticism

General

2008-03-10T16:46:00.000-07:00

After successfully making bananas and apples part of my daily diet, I've decided to eat more oranges (and plums, this week!), and since I live a stone's throw (for a very good thrower) from Tesco now, I really have no excuse not to. If I don't institute this fruit-eating, butter biscuits will take over my system entirely and I'll come home 50 pounds heavier, yet 50 pounds poorer.

Rachel and I went to Tesco this morning for breakfast stuff, and then walked back again a few hours later for "high tea" supplies, a.k.a. cake. We are making friends with the Welcome/Security man. He now knows our names. His name is Andrew.

Yes, today on this wonderful day off (I love Mondays), Rachel and Esther (my flatmates) and I invited a few of the boys over for afternoon tea. It was all very English, a fact which we discussed in great detail.

This weekend I read "The Bell", which is a book I don't highly recommend, but has merit for a artistically well-woven story, a strong look at religiosity and faith, and just plain good writing. Why don't I recommend it? It has love stories described in terms of magnetism and can't-help-it-ism, and I found it all a bit melodramatic.

I believe I mentioned that I moved. Did I? I moved. It's not that exciting of a story, but I'm happy where I am and now I'm near the Tesco, as previously stated, and I have access to a guitar, a keyboard, some internet (not wireless) and a garlic press! Also, I'm a twenty-minute walk from the office, which is quite nice. The building is somehow unfortunately in a constant battle with the stubborn Irish wind that makes it hard to open car doors sometimes. It's like living sideways in a wind tunnel, and at night it can get pretty noisy.

That must be it, or that needs to be it because I am falling asleep, friends.
by the way, we don't do daylight savings until March 25, so we're only 7 hours difference until then!! It's like being just a little closer to home...

take care

It's Like a Carnival Every Day

2008-03-04T13:21:00.001-08:00

Portstewart Tesco Grand Opening

The crowds at the ribbon-cutting

Deep-fried Mars bar. You can deep fry anything, turns out.

Skeptical, yes, at first. It was heavenly.

The contestants at the Ping-Pong Panic Tournament

at the Flowerfield Mansion (aka the boys' house)

True Colours

2008-02-27T11:27:00.000-08:00

I'm not sure exactly how to begin to post as my brain in spinning from the personality assessment "class" to which the staff and interns were subjected this morning. Personality tests are interesting at first, intriguing next, and suddenly and without notice, they become a bit horrible.

In an office, it is important to know your own working style so that you can better understand which jobs and roles fit you, right? Well, I'm not even really well-suited for the job I'm doing here at the church, which is mostly administrative. In fact, the personality best suited for most of what I do was the personality type with which I related the absolute least.

As a recent graduate leaning toward jobs that are high-stress, low-return, low-pay, and low-availability, I'm not always as optimistic as I'd like to be about the upcoming years, due to such low expectation for future financial security. That is alright with me on most days, to be honest.

In other news, the sun has been around more often, missions teams are coming together, the church found a venue, I ate a lot of cake today -- things are going well here.

PHOTOS!

2008-02-23T10:59:00.001-08:00

picasaweb.google.com/lemrak

How to Not Be Annoying

2008-02-21T01:54:00.000-08:00

Found this on my iGoogle today... thought it might be useful for some of you out there. Hope this helps!

How to Not Be Annoying

from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit

Most of the time, an annoying person doesn't realize how his or her behavior is perceived by others. If you suspect that you're annoying others - or you've been told you're annoying and think they might be right, here's how to avoid the little things that often get on people's nerves.

Steps

Think first. Think about what you are going to say before blurting it out.
Build self confidence. Being insecure can lead to annoying traits. Until you have built your self confidence up don't try too hard.
Break counterproductive habits. If you laugh loudly at everyone's jokes, even if they're not all that funny, read up on how to avoid laughing at inappropriate times. Try a different approach - be genuine and be yourself. If people find you annoying when you're being true to yourself, then you need to find new, more accepting people to be around.
Respect boundaries. Everybody has boundaries - you need to learn what they are and try to avoid crossing them. Boundaries vary widely from culture to culture and even from individual to individual.
- Do not go around poking people constantly. In fact, don't touch them at all if they don't like it. Of course if they grant permission, then by all means have fun, but otherwise cut it out before you start.
- Mind your own business. Avoid butting into a conversation by (for example) saying, "What are you talking about?" If you hear someone talking about something with another person, and you only catch the last sentence, leave it be.
Be humble. Just because you're confident doesn't mean you have to act like you're better than anyone else. Don't do or say things that might let you appear to be arrogant, like bragging about your wealth or success.
- Don't correct bad grammar/spelling or inaccuracies of others because most people don't like being corrected.
- Don't excessively tell people that their beliefs are wrong; gently and nicely mention that you disagree.
- Don't complain all the time. Remember the world does not revolve around you. If you complain too much, others will find you depressing and avoid you. Read up on how to be optimistic.
Learn to listen. Conversation is a two way street. If you're talking constantly, others will get frustrated and quit trying to communicate with you. As a general rule, always listen more than you speak.
Be conscious of your surroundings. Be aware if you are standing in doorways while having a conversation, driving 20MPH in a 40MPH zone, or if your children are being obnoxious in a public place. Consider how your actions are likely to affect the people around you, and you will gain their respect.
Be polite and hygienic. Don't peek down people's shirts for instance, don't fart, don’t talk about looking down people’s shirts or farting. Take care to brush and/or floss after meals so as not inflict your breath on others or allow strings of food to flap back and fourth when you speak, and don’t talk about specific instances of impolite or unhygienic actions that offended you in the past.
Learn to read facial reactions and body movements. Pay attention to the facial expressions and body language of those around you and work to immediately identify and stop whatever you're doing that is annoying others.
Think of others. For some it is easy, but others, it is not. Try to put yourself in others' shoes and treat others the way you would like to be treated.

Tips

It is easy to be annoying if you talk too much. Think about what you say before you say it. Remember the famous quotation, "It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool, than to speak and remove all doubt". Not talking at all is no fun for anyone, so you should try to strike a balance in conversation.
Don't know if you are annoying? Ask a person that you would find likely to give you an honest and constructive answer. Be prepared for criticism and be willing to accept it gracefully. The person may not be ready to give it all immediately, so give him/her time by explaining your situation, thoughts, and feelings to make it clear you can handle helpful criticism. Don't take this to an extreme, either, as it will probably be quite annoying, itself.

Related wikiHows

Article provided by wikiHow, a collaborative writing project to build the world's largest, highest quality how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Not Be Annoying. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.

From Dad

2008-02-20T10:00:00.000-08:00

Lemeriks are fun

poetry can be a blast

Haiku's are the best

I've given all I have to give, but have I given all?

There is so much I'd like to share, but no one took the call.

While some may listen with their ears, their hearts are far away.

There's a decision they must make while it is called today.

I grow weary on this path I rarely shed a tear,

that some will miss His saving grace on this a favored year.

I must renew a passioned fire of faith, hope and love.

and press on toward the sacred goal, on earth as is above.

(if you didn't catch that, I wasn't being spiritual with the blog title, this is actually from my earthly dad--he's clever)

this blog is to tide you over until the next one, which will come soon, and will tell you all about my wonderful visits from Holly and Amber, recent outreach stuff, and some upcoming things. take care!

Megan

Oh my stars.

2008-02-06T14:57:00.001-08:00

What would you have done?

January Photos

2008-01-30T02:07:00.000-08:00

Street Evangelism People-Magnets

Interns Cameron and Jared, hard at work.

Eric and the lollies in the Exodus car park (that's a parking lot, for all my US readers)

Missing the snow. (Eric, Me, Rach, JP)

California guys aren't so much for ice skating: UK residents look on and laugh.
(Jared; Rach, Jemma, Ally)

A close up: Rachel and me

Job Details -- not in a nutshell.

2008-01-23T05:47:00.000-08:00

My internship focuses primarily on the planning and mobilization of a number of events which are meant to bring people to the knowledge of Christ. These events are either weekly or monthly.

Illuminate: showing God’s love in a practical way

The Idea: Each month the Causeway Coast Vineyard endeavors to go out on a Saturday and do something nice (aka, free) for people in Coleraine, just to spread the word that God loves people and wants to bless them. This ministry is the main one that I am responsible. My job is to get it going, gain momentum and then pass it off to a regular church member when I leave.
The Reality: In December, we wrapped gifts for shoppers at a local department store. In January, we carried our buckets in the town centre offering to clean restrooms at local businesses.
The Effect: At first, the woman working the counter at Solstice thought we trying to make money, but after she realized we wanted to clean the toilet at the store for free, just to show God’s love, she kindly obliged us. When we came down the stairs from cleaning the toilet, she looked totally stunned. She said that it made her previously bad day so much better. She looked like a completely different person, and she didn’t seem to know what to do with us. We told her that God’s love compels us to demonstrate that love to others in weird ways.

Street Evangelism: Lollies and Lollygagging after school

The Idea: Friday afternoons in the Coleraine town centre, there are hundreds of students milling about in their uniforms. We go out every Friday to hand out lollipops (“lollies”) and make friends with the students, with the ultimate goal of developing trust and helping them come to a place where they are ready to make a decision to follow Jesus. Since it has been very cold, we have lately been giving out tea and coffee as well as the lollies. This whole thing is difficult for me, cause I don't like to push conversations, but it is great when you can just get talking with someone over a lolly.
The Cube: There is a thing called the “EvangeCube” which is quite embarrassing, but one of our street evangelists, Dave, finds very helpful. In the past two months, this fine person has, using the cube, lead to Christ about 15 kids—some of which have even continued on in our weeknight youth programs. Dave is aptly nicknamed, “The Cube.”
Seat Evangelism: We see many of the same guys every week coming up for tea and coffee and just to chat. In light of this, our youth pastor, Neil, has decided to what is called “revangelism” or “seat evangelism.” All this means is that Neil camps out at the same bench every Friday and talks to the same kids every week, with the goal of having what will almost be a small group formed and functioning in the town centre.

On a Mission 2008: aka 20 Short-term missions teams 2008

The Idea: The Causeway Coast Vineyard has spent the last 9 years focusing outward into the local community, but last year began to spread outward into surrounding countries. The goal of 10 teams sent out last year has doubled to a goal of 20 teams this year.
The Reality: There are three of us working to plan these 20 teams. Ricky, the missions pastor and my boss, Michaela, our administrative assistant/missions assistant/amazing thorough person, and me, the intern. We have invitations to most places but still have to work out objectives for each trip, as well as all the logistics of traveling and staying in a foreign country.
The Field: From April to November, we will be sending teams all over Europe from Norway and France to Lithuania, Romania, and Slovakia. Hopefully we will also send a team to South Africa to assist our first ever sent-from-the-church missionaries who are working with Out of Africa Missions.

Stories@CCV: Gathering and Sharing God stories

The Idea: To communicate stories of what God is doing to everyone in the church, that is, get people excited and remind them how good God is.
The Process: Spreading information can be difficult, especially when it requires someone to write something down and remember to tell someone at the office who then needs to tell whoever else in the office is in charge of getting out God Stories, that is, me. All that to say, I am working on developing a process by which members of the church can send stories through me and they will get retold to the rest of the church.

Prayer: “Ask and…” campaign for prayer.

Lift: Creative Prayer for the Church: Lift is our monthly evening prayer service, which I am responsible for organizing. We are experimenting with the format and order to try to create a safe and comfortable place to learn what’s going on in the church and pray for the church together.
On Our Knees: Pre-church prayer: Every Sunday morning, before the first service, I am responsible for gathering a team to prayer for the morning as a whole. We spend about 5-10 minutes in prayer. Another guy leads another one which meets just before the second service.
Awake: Should be called “Asleep”: The church office opens officially at 9am, but on Wednesdays we gather at 8am to pray for the church. This is my most challenging prayer group, though I hope to be leading it soon, and making it a “prayer and breakfast” group.

Sunday Mornings: We do those, too.

Location, Location: The church currently meets at the university, and stores all equipment in two large trailers, the church office, and the trunks of everyone’s cars. This means everything has to be set up and taken down every week. I do very little of this—in fact, only a tiny fraction. The worship interns work very hard on Sunday mornings. I lead a prayer group and oversee the following:

Connection Café: I temporarily have been, and will continue partially to be, responsible for the visitors’ connection café on Sunday mornings. It is a table and an area for visitors to come and connect with regular attenders (who also serve coffee and tea), leaders, etc and also pick up flyers and leaflets with information about the church and how to get involved.
Welcome Team: Same deal as the connection café, I have been in the position to coordinate the welcome team, but this role is being shifted to our new community pastor.

Location???: We are being gently “nudged” out of the university after four years of meeting there. There is no obvious next home for the church, and we have sort of run out of ideas, though are confident that something God will work something out. Please pray for a meeting place for the church, or for solidarity as the church meets in 20 groups of 20 for a little while.

I know that was a lot, but it is quite comprehensive. Hope that helps you understand what it is I'm actually doing! I promise pictures soon, soon, soon.

love,
Megan

Centre

2008-01-20T06:27:00.000-08:00

Much of what I do begins in the office, with me at a desk, making phone calls and sending e-mails. I am only just starting to put into practice what I have known to be true from a lifetime of connection and relationship with people in full-time ministry; the main thrust is that God absolutely has to be at the centre.

It is odd to find myself actually feeling things I have heard all about from various pastors and missionaries. Like I’ve had the answer for years but am only just learning what the questions are—like a really off game of jeopardy.

God has to be at the centre. He has to be a focal point, because it’s too easy to spend all of my time in anxiety, trudging through what has potential to be quite discouraging work. It’s those moments which stretch out between truth, like the flat line between the heart beat, when I need to be still and know that He is God…that He Is. And I find Him in the proud stretch of the sea on the Portstewart Strand, and the hiding places in the cliffs at Montana de Oro, and especially just at the perfect corner table at a lovely café with free wi-fi.

My God doesn’t need nature or cafés to communicate with me, He speaks to me through work and through strangers and in transit. But all those nice things help me to keep my focus on Him, they help me to remember kindness, self-sacrifice, and power. Most of all, they help me to begin my days, and my work, with Moses’ Yahweh, rather than with my e-mail. For all of creation sings His praises, and I am without excuse.

In the next week or so, I will post blogs frequently about the ministries I’m involved in. I won’t post it all at once because you likely won’t read it. In fact, if you read it at all, you’re probably in the top 1% of my readers. Cheers…and thanks for your support.

Selah

2008-01-12T10:14:00.000-08:00

"We are children of the light, children of the day. We are not of the night or of the darkness. So then let us not sleep, as others do but let us keep awake...since we belong to the day."
1 Thes 5:5-8

SNOW

2008-01-04T11:03:00.000-08:00

There is not supposed to be snow here, but snow, there is. I will post more pictures soon, but I just wanted to share, immediately, while there's still snow outside.

I will soon post pictures of me playing in snow on the beach--yes, on the beach. And I will have pictures of a snow covered golf course, where people were skiing down short slopes, and I accidentally stepped into a sand pit.

But for now, this is what I saw when I woke up this morning.

Resolution

2008-01-01T14:27:00.000-08:00

2008: Eat a banana every day until I stop hating them. A banana is a near perfect food. Comes in its own biodegradable package and is loaded with nutrients.

These are photos of the first time I've eaten a banana by choice. Ever. Wasn't as bad as I expected, meaning I didn't gag on the stupid thing.

Happy 2008: go crazy!

Cereal on Christmas

2007-12-25T04:35:00.001-08:00

This morning I ate oat-y cereal, with raisins, while watching Friends. I halfway wrapped a selection box for the guys--a selection box is just a bunch of chocolate bars in a box--then I plated a bunch of cookies and drove out to P'stewart to the beach, where I found half the population of Northern Ireland, then I went to the guys' house with their gift and now I'm writing to you. Hands down, strangest Christmas morning ever.

I'm starting to think Christmas is for children. What's worse is that I'm starting to think I'm not a child! *gasp* Frightening stuff, let me tell you. Next thing I know, people will expect me to stop going to school and get a job. madness.

I told my mother this morning that this Christmas hasn't been sad being away from home, it's just felt like a different holiday altogether. So, Merry Dec 25th, friends and family!

love,
Megan

p.s. we're having California-like weather! Maybe a little colder... but it's sunny and blue and beautiful.

Supernatural or Super Natural?

2007-12-10T04:35:00.000-08:00

I'm currently sitting at my desk in the mostly-empty church office on a Monday, taking care of a few things that will make the next few weeks a little bit less stressful. We're beginning work to make twenty short-term missions trips possible in 2008. We plan to launch the teams by the end of January... that doesn't mean they'll leave in January, it means they'll be announced and applied for etc. Will I be off this cold (and lovely) island quite a lot this year? Yes. Excited? Yes.

The Causeway Coast Vineyard takes a sabbath month in December, so many of our ministries are closed down. They even close the office for two weeks and cancel church for two Sundays (which is mainly because the university closes, but they say they'd keep doing it even if we had our own building). Anyway, things are slow. We still send out groups on Friday afternoons to talk to the kids, and still go out on Saturdays to pray for healing.

People here are healed constantly. Nobody quite knows what's going on; and though, theologically (theoretically) speaking, it tends to get muddled, it's really quite simple. They pray for healing in the name of Jesus and just left and right cancer, dyslexia, and of course, uneven legs, are healed (if you haven't heard, it's a mysterious trend that God follows to lengthen legs to match each other).

Yes, there are loads of people who sit awkwardly unhealed at the end of prayer--and continue to be unaffected after they leave, disappointed. One woman on the healing team is fighting the same cancer she saw healed, and all of the team leaders get flu symptoms this time of year, just like everyone. One guy at the church is in recovery from a major surgery that he hoped to avoid and was prayed for everyday for weeks, probably longer. The H.O.T.S. (Healing on the Streets) team is constantly praying with no visible result. But they just keep on going because, maybe it will happen again today.

What's great about these people is that they don't pretend to know anything about why or how we see healing sometimes and not others. They aren't scared to look stupid. They aren't brainwashed, and the strangers they pray for aren't crazy. It's actually real, and it's astounding how normal it is. When something is healed, you don't look on and think I've just seen a miracle! It's not as if something is erased from a person; it's like things are as they should be. People should be healthy, shouldn't they? It's the sickness that is unnatural, not the healing. And besides, that, Paul says, to live is Christ, to die is gain--meaning that our lives are connected with God, and that death is a step up, because we get to be with God, without sin (which is, separation). Of course death has become natural, but the bible makes it clear that death was never the point--that's another thing for another day.

I thought that witnessing healing would increase my faith, or make me a supercharged Christian. But it hasn't. And that's because it's just so normal, so average, so anticlimactic. Honestly, I get more excited about a person who overcomes self-hatred, selfishness or disappointment--which are spiritual cancers. But these physical healings are simply signs that God loves people and that we aren't as far from Heaven as it sometimes seems--in Christian circles, we call it "signs of the Kingdom." And though it sounds ludicrous, I believe fractals in nature and Gabriel Garcia Marquez's writing style are as much signs of the Kingdom as healing. They aren't an end in themselves, but they point us toward our purpose, which is to love God.

The Way I See It #129

2007-12-06T02:00:00.000-08:00

I've been here almost a month, and I've almost got a hold of what Coleraine is about. I wandered around town last night after all the shops closed and the kids went home and found myself in what felt like a ghost town. It isn't hard to imagine the streets clearing and people at home, with their families doing whatever it is they do--watching t.v., yelling at each other, eating dinner, etc.

It's easier for me to know where I am when the streets are empty; I don't get distracted my the strollers or the school uniforms or unfamiliar language. It was nice to be able to walk and connect all the streets I've been on, see how they weave in and around each other meeting up at strange three-way intersections, and winding down narrow roads which appear to be alleys. I've not been able to make any sense of the maps of Coleraine, so it's a long-awaited relief to feel confident going out on my own.

In many ways, Bangkok was much easier place to navigate. I always knew exactly what path to take to get where I wanted to go. That monstrous, all-consuming city just sort of swept me up and carried me along with the rest of what managed to sustain life. Coleraine is much more subtle, it takes you in circles, never reaching a conclusion, only a river, or a round-about. But it lets you grow into the landscape instead of enveloping you in grandeur.

My perception of God is small. It's part of the definition of God that I should not understand all of it. I know that when I make God big in my mind, I'm only simplifying and enlarging qualities, rather than giving God room to be something different from what I expect. The most impressive thing I've learned in the last two years is that I'm not as smart as I think I am (note: I consider myself to be a very intelligent person, don't worry about that), and that God works in little things.

It is apparent that God is big--that in 6 days the world was created, in a moment the sea was parted, with dirt and spit blindness was healed. But God works in the small ways, too. Makes himself small and smooth, rolling about in consciousness or subconsciousness reminding each person, you are mine, whether you like it or not.

I can't remember a time when the thought of God the Father, and the memory of you are mine did not incite a desire to be useful. When the Father's love is clear, when it's sitting there in front of you or rolling around in your mind, something bursts inside and says, "what can I give?" This might only last a second for you, if you don't believe, or have reasonable reasons not to believe, or are just not paying attention--but that is the only response to have, and it happens in me constantly.

So that's why I'm here, wandering foreign streets at night as an alien, That's why it doesn't matter if you agree with why I'm here or what I'm doing. That's it doesn't bother me that I sometimes doubt God, or dislike the Church, or think people are crazy (not a comment on my current situation). That's why it's not a problem that I struggle with many things in my job right now. It's why I'm secure in my strengths and weaknesses and happy to tell you about it.

oolong fancies

2007-11-29T02:07:00.000-08:00

My friend Eric posted a highly clever and intelligent bit about Kant, and if you've ever had to suffer through Kant's incoherent ramblings, you should read this.

http://ericgarner.blogspot.com/2007/11/and-i-kant-stand-him.html

A Lovely Day

2007-11-29T01:39:00.000-08:00

Liane is in Amsterdam this week, so I am left to my own devices at home. It's actually no different than usual, except that it somehow feels less silly making plain rice with 5p (10 cent) curry sauce for dinner, for one person, instead of two.

It's nice to have the time to myself; instead of cleaning up from dinner (not much to clean), I watched Friends, then Scrubs, and then sat down to write this very blog entry you are reading. At the staff meeting this morning, Alan (the main pastor) talked about the many different ways a person can be energized: people, solitude, silence, nature, art, books, music, concepts. I'm starting to see that even though I'm having fun and I'd gladly hang out with the other interns every day, if I don't sit around by myself for a while, I'm completely useless at the office. You may be thinking, "you're useful at the office?" and my answer is a resounding, "not especially useful, no." But don't worry, I'm working on becoming useful. At this point, everyday feels like Monday. Incidentally, I don't work on Mondays.

Here's what I do: I work in the office 9-5 tuesday through friday. Then I help at various and assorted ministry things on the weekends, and here and there. Some examples are: Lift, which is a monthly prayer meeting I'm supposed to be organizing (this Friday night); Illuminate, which is a monthly servant evangelism on Saturday afternoons (this Saturday, free gift wrapping at Dunnes dept store); Sunday services, of course, where I'm supposed to manage the welcome team and the "connection cafe" for new people, as well as pre-service prayer meetings; Healing of the Streets, which is every Saturday in Coleraine, at which I have no responsibility, but am supposed to be a part of the team, though I have yet to go (H.O.T.S. is self-explanatory, yes? www.out-there.com).

And I have so far spent most of my office time in a meeting with Ricky (missions pastor, for whom I intern), making one list into another list into a better list and then making that list into three separate lists and turning those lists into sticky notes to stick to the wall above my desk so that someday I can throw away one of those stickies and hopefully feel like I accomplished something. And even though I can only accomplish a concrete task with the help of 5 different people who have jobs of their own and I'm sure don't want to answer my questions, I am actively rejecting feeling like a total pain. The hope is that I'll be here long enough to become indispensable, at which point, I'll come home. But seriously, they actually want to create a job for me and then have me do it and then delegate responsibility to put myself out of a job by the time I leave. Yep.

So far, I haven't done much exploring the coast. I hear there's beautiful stuff out there in the cold coast coldness. I tend to be a bit apathetic about scenery when I know I could just go see on a nicer day (that's right--instantly taking it for granted). But I'm getting over the weather, slowly. Also, I don't have a car, which makes things tricky--but not that tricky. It's only about 4 miles to Portstewart, where there are beaches I haven't walked on yet. And with an eensy bit of determination, I could work out some very unfamiliar muscles and ride Liane's bike out on a Monday. Or I could pay $5 for a day bus pass. Or some lovely friend with a car might come get me. (Petrol (gas), we estimated, is about $8/gallon here. Of course, minimum wage is $12.) Or, I can just go on a walk at lunch, as my office is right on the promenade ("the prom"), and that is what I plan to do today. It's a lovely day today. There's a glare on my screen from the sun! Imagine that! The sun.

The other night I was over at the guys' (interns) house in Portstewart (to those who know, it's essentially Montalban), playing Dutch Blitz (a card game similar to Nertz) in the kitchen and somehow Erik (who, coincidentally, is Dutch) began playing christmas carols on his guitar while sitting on the kitchen counter. We who were playing at the table, or leaning at the sink, or planning out cups of tea, sang along in melodies and harmonies (trying not to double harmonies, looking sideways at each other until it clicked), all amazed at Erik's repertoire of English carols (numerous verses of Silent Night, in English, as well as obscure songs, like, "Lo' How a Rose 'Ere Blooming"). I wish I had pictures. Card games and a Christmas carol chorale--I know you want to laugh at me for loving every last bit of it, but I just can't help myself.

Have a lovely day.

American Tradition

2007-11-22T07:16:00.000-08:00

The Candy Cane is apparently an American tradition, considered old fashioned in foreign lands. They don't actually eat them here. Ricky didn't even know they were peppermint flavored. Hopefully I can find some at the store, but I'm not going to get my hopes up.

I'm in utter shock.

Happy Thanksgiving. We're doing T-day dinner tomorrow. The other Americans are cooking it, thank goodness.

What's For Tea?

2007-11-20T06:12:00.000-08:00

We had wet rain this morning, but the last two days were nice, so I didn't mind it. Nothin to do but stay inside for tea when there's wet rain out...

One thing that's been interesting about being here is the wee language barrier. Right, there's not supposed to be one, but there most definitely is. Besides the fact that anyone who lives ten feet outside the town is virtually incomprehensible (to me), there's the slang, and also just simply the regular words for things (ahem, colloquialisms).

Besides all the Irish and Scottish accents, there are interns here from New York, Canada, California, Belfast, and England--which makes for a constant conversation about accents permeating every other conversation (much like conversations you hear among college freshman about norcal/socal).

My favorite is that dinner is called, simply, tea. As in, we're going to order pizza for tea. Or, I had sandwiches and juice for tea. Tea is also called tea, so I get confused frequently. The question, "have you had tea yet?" is perplexing, as I generally have tea 4 or 5 times a day...yet only have tea just once a day, in the evenings.

Furthermore, I've heard several times that I had lemonade with my tea, or with my lunch (which is the word for lunch), when I most certainly had 7-Up. But I don't slag off, I always let them know that 7-Up will never be, nor has it ever been, lemonade. That is something I simply cannot accept.

I had the mickey taken out of me on a few occasions, but not as much as the New Yorker. The other night, Jemma, who is English, generally speaking, insisted on mimicking Matt (from NY) about the way he says "coffee"...which isn't as bad as a could be. He has only a slight accent. But Jemma decided I say it oddly, too.

Jemma is quite talkative, but mostly to herself. We share an office and it's funny mostly all day long as I never know when she's talking to me or not. She told me about a wee movie she saw recently about killer sheep who turned people into sheep by biting them-- it was supposed to be taking the mickey out of slasher vampire movies.

Despite mild teasing about my wee American accent, I received a compliment today from someone who said she liked my accent, that it is "class." Brilliant! I have a class accent, according to one person at least.

There's loads of other wee differences besides those you hear in pronunciation alone--like baysil and baasil, or like this situation, "hi I'm calling from the Vineyard church"
silence, "which church?"
sigh "the Vine-yahrd church"
"oh helloo!"

What's the crack on that vine-yahrd church anyway? What IS the crack? I think it must be like, "the haps"... (Except you sometimes hear, "that's good crack!"). One of the wee kids from the Ugandan choir I saw on Wednesday night, who, when told I was from America, lit up and said with an appropriate grin, "Wazzup!?"

It's been One week

2007-11-15T01:44:00.000-08:00

Just 38 minutes ago (at the time of writing this) I finished my second full day in the office. Neither of those two days were "normal" on account of injuries, unforeseeable and potentially problematic complications with the university (where the church holds sunday services), and travels etc. Normally, apparently, everyone gets in a 9am, works. Gets together for tea at 11 for about half an hour, works. Takes an hour break for lunch at 1, then works until 5, and promptly goes home.

Not so for the first two days. Both days, I didn't even get to the end of coffee/tea/toast time until nearly 11am, at which time I either heard or thought about what I would with the rest of the day or year. And both days I spent only a few hours doing actual work and it was only today that I was able to report actual activity and a (miniscule) product! So goes the beginning stages of any job, I suppose. And possible all future stages of church jobs (so I hear). What did I do? I called a bunch of people to invite them to a function. At any rate, I like it so far. I work with good people in a tilty, drafty sort of office (yet well-heated with portable radiators) which sits on top of a seafood restaurant in Portstewart.

Home

So that's the job. More on the living situation: my house and roommate are really great. The house is lovely little townhouse, of which there are pictures on the picture page. And I like my room, and the living room has good lighting and it always smells nice because Liane is so smart, she has sachets on all the radiators so everything smells cinnamon-y. She also uses incense, which is also nice and I always forget how much I like incense. The living room is pleasant to be in and read in and Liane and I do a lot of reading. It has the same ambiance as my lamp with the lampshade I painted, which you may have seen, with deep reds and tan and brown colours, which has yet to transfer well into photo form. We're the house with the red door.

On that note, I'm trying to spell words in a way that is appropriate to my location--you may have noticed. Anyway, Liane, besides her good taste and intelligent design (in room decor, that is), is an entirely pleasant person. She's really sweet, still, even after a whole week. By the way, it was Adam who said that Irish people are charming, and I've decided I agree. Except I asked one guy, I think it was Dave, "so you're Irish" because he said he was from Belfast. But he sort of looked at another of the locals and said, "Hmm, are we Irish? Are we British? I don't know." And so it goes. Whatever they're called up here in Northern Ireland, they are pleasant.

Anyway, Liane and I share a general propensity to buy the cheapest thing at the store, as grocery store sales can be quite outrageous and some people are really into it. Supposedly, someone at church got a bag of decent bagels (5, or 6, I don't know) for 15p, which is approximately 30 cents. It depends on the day, time of day, and place you go, I guess. Hopefully I can acquire a skill for it quickly. By the way, most small shops are closed on Sundays, and after 6pm. Even the local coffee shop closes; $7/cup Starbucks stays open.

Coleraine

Besides work, and home, there's the town. I visited the Coleraine Library only to discover the only real literature that's findable is by W.B. Yeats (you'd like he was the only famous Irish writer, it's the most common topic following my answer, "I studied English Literature") and a biography of/response to Iris Murdoch. I did find Anna Ahkmatova's poetry, which was a surprise to me, and a little bit funny since she is one the few poets whose poems I don't need to reread. All in all it was a crappy library, which is disappointing not only because it's the only public library, but also because it's a neat shape, and right now the town centre and I would have enjoyed going there often. I am going to try out the University library, or else I'll just be reading christian books and borrowed books for the next year. There is a book store, but I haven't checked the prices yet -- it's bound to be outrageous (ha! bound!).

I think I like Coleraine, the capital of the Causeway Coast. It's friendly , so far. I think Christmas will be fun. Seems like the town makes quite a fuss about it. There is a ceremony, complete with fireworks, on Friday night to celebrate the turning on of the lights in the Diamond (the town centre), and soon and until New Years, many of the shops will be extending their hours way past the normal times--all the way to 9pm.

Halloo!

2007-11-11T05:34:00.000-08:00

I spent most of today sleeping. I woke up every couple hours or so to the train which clunks along about 50 metres away. When I finally decided it would be ridiculous to stay in bed all day, I wandered downstairs only to realize that it was hailing outside and I better go back to bed.

My roommate's granddad came by with a man to fix the washer door, which had fallen off. He said that today is the first real show of winter they've had. He said October was beautiful, with people walkin'round in t-shirts! Today's a good day to stay inside, he said.

Liane was a bit embarrassed by the washer door, and the heating system which recently broke, and some other things too which I didn't notice, like dust on the top of the t.v.. The heating should be fixed this weekend, but I was quite warm last night with two comforters and a space heater to warm up my room initially.

So, story of my flight, in short. I had a ten hour flight from SF to London (Heathrow), during which I had the window seat, no one sat in the middle, and on the aisle seat was a nice old lady who splits her time between her hometown in East Sussex and the residence of her children in Menlo Park. Jo (Josephine) eventually moved to a seat further back in the plane to get away from the ever-crying two year old in the family seats next to us.

The crying didn't bother me all that much, to my surprise, so I stretched out on all three seats and continued my movie. I didn't sleep more than an hour the whole time, even though when we landed it was technically 3 a.m.. Jo gave me all her information and asked me to please come and visit her in England.

So then I spent about two hours in Heathrow waiting for my flight to Belfast... spent four dollars on really good orange juice (thanks for the £5, Daniel) and then slept for most of the 1.5 hour flight to Belfast. When I landed, I had no problems besides breaking the handle of my large suitcase while dragging the monstrous thing off the conveyor belt. I wandered around for a while figuring church people would be confused and probably late, which they were.

Story: The girl who was supposed to pick me up had car trouble, so sent another of the interns to get me, who are Sarah and Eben and their baby Luca (sp?), Eben is one of the worship interns. They're from Ohio. Anyway, Jemma told them I was coming at "quarter three" which Sarah took to mean 3:15, but actually meant 2:45. So far, I've noticed they say, "half nine" for 9:30, so I understand why Sarah mixed it up. And then they were late besides that. But my flight was delayed, so it all worked out pretty well. P.S. Almost 1-year-old Luca is a fantastic child; made the cutest noises all the way from Belfast to Coleraine.

Going on with the story, I got a tour of Portrush, Portstewart, and some of Coleraine due to further confusion about the location of Liane's house, which is off Portrush Road, in Coleraine--you see how that could be confusing? I won't even bother with the story. I didn't end up going to the church office last night, since we got into town after 5, so I just met a few people while I was all disgusting from the flight, and then finally met Liane at her house.

Liane and I made frozen pizzas, burned them slightly on accident, and ate them while watching season one of Friends, though they call it "series" one. We had tea also, and talked for a long time about travel and the difference between "yarn" and "wool" which started this way: "what did you call the wool?"
"What did I call what? The yarn? Yarn." I replied.
"Oh, you call wool... yarn?" she asked.
"Yes. But this is acrylic anyway" and so it went.

So that brings me up to date. I've left out adventures in unpacking wrinkled, kind of smelly clothes, adventures in not-quite figuring out the shower, and adventures in why was I wide awake at 1a.m. and not at noon?, but you'll be ok without those.

One of my neighbors may have wireless internet that I can "borrow"... it worked for about 3 minutes, but so far Liane neither has internet access, nor has she ever heard of a "wireless connection." There's one in the neighborhood but it worked once last thursday and then again right now. Not sure what's up with that! I hear the library has a good connection.

One last thing: you know when you're talking to someone and they say something and you respond in agreement or acknowledgment or something and halfway through a response you realize you don't know what they said? That's like every conversation so far for me.

Thanks for reading, I know this a long one. They will be long at first and then they'll get shorter as things get to be normal, so hang in there.

_______

That last bit was from a few days ago. So I'll give a short today update. It's LOVELY outside. I'm waiting for Liane to return with my coat, which I left at church, so I can go ride her bike around town... taking advantage of the rare blue skies and all. Some things:
1) the church is fantastic.
2) the people are "brilliant"
3) the food is "gorgeous" they say... though so far it's a bit greasy for my taste
4) I'm already picking up the accent, though
5) I can't understand half the locals, but fortunately
6) most of the church staff etc aren't locals
7) little irish children are hilarious, all the boys look like tiny men, all proud walkers and whatnot.
8) Starbucks is SO expensive! Has anyone tried the creme brulee latte? I'm waiting to be taken out again before trying it.
9) my camera screen broke, so my picture may not be the greatest. I haven't taken any yet, but hopefully I will today.
10) my roommate is great great great
11) I miss you and when I'm in the office daily I'll be a much better correspondent.

love,
megan

If My Suitcase Explodes, Take Cover

2007-11-06T11:32:00.000-08:00

I'm leaving this afternoon and I couldn't be more pleased to say so; after wasting hours on Virgin Atlantic's near-useless website (actual flight quality t.b.a.) and one useless phone call, I childishly recruited my mother to call them for me and figure it all out. It was a good thing, too, because mother managed to have a useful person answer the phone, and our questions.

In short, I'm relieved to be checked-in.

In other news, I've discovered that despite my self-proclaimed virtuosity in the art of creating neutron star-like suitcases, I have not managed to pack everything I want to take into two suitcases. I may end up wearing six sweaters and my Kirkland (ugg) boots on the plane to save space (ugh).

Boarding time is this afternoon at 5:30ish, at SFO.
____

And thanks to all of you who have been financially supportive of this thing. I haven't quite reached my goal in terms of finances, but I'm getting close! I'll keep you updated on that as I go. You are making it possible for me to do this, so thank you very, very much!

I was finally awake for an earthquake.

2007-10-30T23:05:00.001-07:00

This is a photo from cnn.com of the damage in San Jose, which was much closer than I was to the epicenter of this 5.6 quake:

As you can see, the damage is extensive.

My Support Letter

2007-10-23T02:04:00.000-07:00

Dear you,

I'm writing to tell you about my upcoming trip to Northern Ireland. I've decided to spend this year (before grad school) participating in a ministry training internship program. I'll need a certain amount of support from friends and family in order to make it work, so I've put together this description of the program as well as my reasons for going.

First, I'd like to apologize for not sending out a graduation announcement. I never really got around to it. But, if you like, here's my announcement: I graduated this year from Cal Poly (in San Luis Obispo) with a B.A. in English, and I earned a certificate to Teach English as a Second Language. I spent my last quarter and part of the summer teaching English in Bangkok, Thailand, which was an incomparable experience--both challenging and wonderful. I've kept myself moderately busy since I got home by washing breakfast dishes, unpacking boxes from school, and even working a little.

Now that I've brought you up to date, I can tell you about what exactly I'm planning to do in Ireland. I'm going to be at the Causeway Coast Vineyard, a church in Coleraine. I'll be going through a ten-month, full-time, formal work internship program in which I will be supervised and trained by the missions pastor to do a variety of things. Here is the description of the internship:

1. You would be responsible for helping the Missions Pastor oversee, develop and encourage the existing outreach ministries and strategy of the church within our local community as well as launching new strategies and ministries to reach our community.
2. You would be responsible for helping the Missions Pastor develop Mission Teams that reach beyond our local community to surrounding communities and Overseas to other nations.
3. You would also be responsible for helping the Missions Pastor enable the church to effectively engage locally and globally in Compassion Ministry.
4. You would also be responsible for helping the Missions Pastor oversee and facilitate the integration of New Believers and Newcomers into the church family.

I applied to this program because I wanted to do something meaningful and I wanted to learn something while I'm not in school. Really, I want to serve God in ways that are new to me, and I want to be purposeful about learning how to be a Christian. I've looked at bible schools and theology programs, but those programs don't get at the
heart of Jesus' ministry. I want to actually do something, and do it right. This church has established a program with the resources to teach and enable me, as an intern, to do something for God, while working alongside other interns and the pastoral staff.

This is not a vacation, though I am thrilled to get to go to Ireland. I think that going to another country will give me a new perspective on my life as a Christian, and my place in the global community. I am excited to live in a beautiful place (though rather rainy and cold, I hear), but I'm most excited about having time away from life, to focus on how I want to live. Namely, to give my full attention to learning how to tell people about Jesus and what he did. At this church, I'll get to do all of that at a place where there's already outreach programs in motion, which I can learn from and add to.

This internship is full-time and uncompensated, and I'll be responsible for all of my living expenses while I'm interning. The church estimates my total cost of living to be about $700/month (£350) for rent, food, the bus, etc. And over the course of the year, I may be a part of overseas missions trips, which would cost something in addition to my basic living costs. I'm going to be leaving during the first week of November, as I have signed up late for the internship and would like to get there as soon as possible.

If you would like, and are able, to help support me financially, or if you'd like to receive a newsletter from me through snail mail, please send back the response card (a.s.a.p.) to let me know. Also, it would be wonderful if you’d like to read my online journal that I will write, and leave comments so I don't get too homesick while I'm gone. And if you don't want to do any of those things, at least recycle this paper!

Thanks for reading!

Love,
Megan

www.causewaycoastvineyard.com

Please Send donations to:
Megan Hansen
c/o VCF Modesto
6917 Arrowwood Dr.
Riverbank, CA 95367

Prologue

2007-10-18T01:43:00.000-07:00

Welcome to my Ireland blog! I'll start posting when I get there. You can practice commenting here to see if it works.

Megan