More Hanging out with Friends

Nolan, Ian, Nicola, and I-Sunday afternoon drive on the coast

Brid and I at Hillside Community Church

Paul and John at the Saturday night party

Hayley and Becky

Paul's mom and Nicola

Naomi and Shannon

The Bonar family: Fiona, Hazel, and Sam (Sam is one of the elders and leaders at Hillside Community Church)

The Fam: Nicola, Ian, Me, and Brid

The Hunter Family: Stephen, Anne, Jordan, and Amy

From Saturday until Monday, we just spent more time with friends. Saturday night, Ian and Nicola had a party for us, so everyone could come by to say hi...especially friends we had not seen yet. It was nice to visit with friends, and Nicola and Ian made the party so special. After the party, Brid and I helped clean up and we stayed up late talking and sharing....and laughing a lot! Brid stayed the night with all of us.

Sunday morning, we headed to church. Nolan and I were asked to read scripture, and then Nolan was asked to play his guitar and say a little word to the congregation. Nolan spoke of how God brings believers together to serve Him...and that is what God has done with Nolan and me and the Hillside Community Church friends. Such an encouraging word!

After church, we had dinner and Nicola and Ian drove us to the coast for one more last look before leaving. We stopped and had scones and tea by a fireplace in a quaint cafe. Another nice afternoon.

Sunday evening was devoted to spending time with the 4 interns from the US serving in the Dunlug community, where they also live. {Dunclug is considered a project housing area that is predominately Catholic and is infested with drug use and alcoholism. This is the same neighborhood we have been going to for the past 5 years on our Northern Ireland mission trips}. We had such a nice time hanging out with the interns and learning about their ministry.

While at their apartment, a few of the neighborhood kids came by, and one particular girl who came by, I worked with 2 summers ago. Many of us have a burdened heart for her because her brother was killed 2 summers ago due to "the Troubles" between the Catholics and Protestants. So much has been done to create peace, but situations still take place because of the problems between the two groups of people.

We can only pray that God intervenes in the kids hearts, and they realize that God is perfect peace. It is incredible when we see one child, teenager, or parent come to know the Lord as their Savior, then their Love for God overflows to others. Pray for Ballymena and its people. Pray for the workers who are committed in helping their community.

We are thankful for our Ballymena friends and are blessed God brought them into our lives. Thank you friends for a wonderful and meaningful trip! A special thank you to Nicola and Ian for opening their home to us and for all the wonderful meals and conversation. May God bless you and your ministry with the youth at Hillside Community.

Friday Night Dinner with the McMillans

Andru McMillan...the older McMillan son. We gave him a surprise visit at work.

Kathryn McMillan and I

Neil and Kathryn McMillan and their niece. Kathryn McKinney in the background

The McMillans are another family we have gotten to know while working and doing missions in Ballymena. They are so passionate and committed to helping the surrounding communities in Ballymena that are in need. The McMillans have given so much of their time and resources to us and others who come and help. May God Bless the McMillans in their devotion and committment to help those around them in need; physically, emotionally, and spiritually. They truly have a burdened heart for those who do not know our Lord Jesus Christ.

The McKinneys and Newcastle

Norma and I enjoying a walk on the rocks

Nolan and Norma singing along with a karaoke machine at the McKinneys home

John, Kathryn, Me, Norma, and Nolan

Adorable Kathryn

Norma and I in the car on the way to Newcastle

All of Friday was devoted to spending time with the McKinneys. We have always wanted to spend more time with this family, but our time together was always short spent because of our missional duties in Ballymena. This time was different; we had an entire day to just hang out....and that is exactly what we did. They picked us up and we headed to Newcastle, a place I have always wanted to visit but never had the time. As you can see in the pictures Newcastle is a seaside town with beautiful scenery.

Norma and Nolan have always had a strong bond because of their love of working with young children. They always had a blast singing children's songs together on the pitch where we held Vacation Bible School for the Dunclug Estates.

The whole day was wonderful as we spent time with our friends in Christ. It is neat to see how God just places in people in your life with such a strong bond and connection. May God truly bless the McKinneys and their devotion and service to our Lord Jesus Christ.

Hayley's Home

From Thursday night on during our visit in Northern Ireland was spent haning out with friends.

Thursday night we picked up Brid Graham. Brid is 18 now, and we have known her since she was 14. We have basically watched her grow up into this wonderful woman of God. She is an amazing person and friend.

So we pick Brid up and ask what she wanted to do, and where people go after 8:00 in Ballymena, being that everything shuts down after 6:00. She says Hayley's house is the place to go, so we took her word for it and decided to surprise Hayley with a visit. The evening was full of great fellowship...and much laughter because Hayley is quite hilarious. She even has her own blog with thoughts about life and a twist of humor to go along with it (coffeehelps.wordpress.com). We laughed and laughed that evening. So much fun hanging out with friends.

Persuasive Speeches

Random picture of students outside my office window

Johann before giving his powerful speech on Darfur and how we should take action

Andersen while giving her speech

I forgot to mention that before spring break took place, I had students give persuasive speeches. Topics covered all kinds of issues...national, political, pop culture, religious, etc..... I was so proud of them and their speeches. And the students I thought would not do so well, suprised me by doing exceptionally well. Here are some pics of students from various classes. I am just so proud of all of the students! The first picture was taken randomly. I was in my office after school finishing up some grading, and I heard these students outside my window talking....so I thought I would take a picture.

Ulster American Folk Park

March 18, 2008

Tuesday March 18 we headed for Ballymena Northern Ireland to visit friends. This was my 5th time to go and Nolan's 6th time. Usually we are going to do mission work, but this time it was just to hang out and enjoy Ballymena and the surrounding area. But of course we were hoping to run into some of the kids from the Dunclug Estates, where we have done mission work for 5 years

Because we did so much over spring break, I decided to split up the blog into parts. The first being the Ulster American Folk Park.

The first day we walked around Ballymena. The second day we decided to go on an adventure to Omagh. Omagh was where the last bombing in the Troubles took place. U2 often makes references about it in their concerts. But instead of visiting a memorial, we went to the Ulster American Folk Park...recommended by the tourism agency. The park was set up as real-life town in the 1800s in Ireland. You could walk through homes and farms with live animals. In each place there was a person dressed in 1800s attire to give you some brief history. Then the park took you to the "New World", where it showed the history of how the Irish people journeyed to America. This was interesting to Nolan and me, being that both of our ancestery comes from Ireland. In fact, I even saw my maiden name on a sign. Overall this tourist adventure was worthwile and we thoroughly enjoyed it! I think we just felt some kind of connection because we thought about our ancestors taking this journey at some point in their lives.

Pajama Party Serenaders

It is Friday night 9:15 and we hear the doorbell ring. We never have visitors; a lot of people don't even know where our new apartment is located. I answered the phone to downstairs, and I am greeted on the phone by 6 middle school girls who wanted to talk to Mr. Lucas. I put him on the phone and they break into the song COFFEE, which they are learning in choir. It is so adorable. Of course I had to grab the camera and get some pics and video of them. We watched them from our window for awhile and then headed downstairs to see them. They were in the pajamas and were carrying pillows, and the funny thing I was also in pajamas...my strawberry shortcake ones. The girls loved seeing a 33 year old in Strawberry Shortcake pajamas.

Moments like that really make being here special. As I listened, I thought how much it is a blessing to be part of the ministry here at BFA. Moments like this make the homesickness, cultural/language frustration, and classroom stress worth it all...to know we have a part in educating these students, when their families are serving and ministering to hurting people all around the world.

Pray for safety as students head home for spring break. We have students flying all around the world by themselves. Also, pray for the 77 students and 16 staff/teachers leaving this weekend on mission trips. Pray for their safety and the serving/ministry they will be doing this week.

Mission trips include:
Poland
Rawanda and Burkino Faso, Africa
Duisburg, Germany
Glasglow, Scotland

Pray for us as we leave Tuesday for Northern Ireland. We will be meeting with an IMB missionary in Dublin and seeing about mission opportunities there and in Northern Ireland. We also will be visiting with all of our friends in Ballymena, Northern Ireland, which we are very excited about!
Stay tuned for video footage of the girls singing...not uploading at the moment.....need tech help!

Dancing Queen

Okay maybe I am not a dancing queen, but I love to dance. God may not have blessed me with music abilities, but He has blessed me with rhythm, or what I have been told anyway. Before moving to Germany, I had been taking Oriental Folkloric dance (better known as bellydancing, a word coined by the Europeans and Americans). It was one of my outlets outside of teaching, and I made some wonderful friends through it. I was hoping to find some classes while in Germany, knowing that one of the best dancers lives in Germany, Leyla Jouvana. So I did some research and found a Leyla Jouvana workshop in Basel, only 20 minutes from where I live. One Saturday afternoon in February, about 20 others and I spent 3 hours shimmying til we couldn't shimmy anymore with Leyla. It was fabulous, and I got to know some Germans and Swiss girls. The fun part was I happen to be the only English speaking person, so Leyla had to translate for me....and sometimes would forget. But some of the girls knew English and would whisper the dance step to me. It was such a fun afternoon. Here is a pic of me and Leyla, and her her husband who does all the drumming. This pic is taken after the 3 hours of dancing and you could tell, sweaty and tired.

Update on My Students

Now, this blog entry is an update about the prayer requests regarding that class of students who are not easy to work with. Things seem to be slowly getting better. They are a little more calm these days, but still have their moments. One particular student still gives me a little attitude, but it seems to not be so bad...or I just have learned to deal with it in a better way.

Thank you to all you have prayed for me. I feel your prayers every day while I am here on the mission field. Continue to pray for us as we make a decision regarding next year. We still do not have an idea of what to do. However, we are seeking help from wise and knowledgeable missionaries in making our decision.

May the Lord bless you as you continue to support us in prayer and encouragement

And Even More Pics....

Missy and Austen swing dancing...to the right are 2 of my students: Noah and Emily

Josh Crooks....this is a typical glance from Josh. He is also a student of mine and drummer for the BFA worship band

Daniel Choi, another student of mine who plays base guitar for the BFA worship band. He was also a student of Nolan's

12th grade students who are known to be quite athletic at the school, as you can see in the picture. They are peforming a scene from the movie 300

Better Candlelight Pics..Please See!

"La Bamba" sung and performed by Nolan, Meagan, Gena (Spanish teacher), and Hannah
Beautiful Korean students at BFA
The dining hall
Christian and "Rosa", actually Stephanie Miller, another student of mine who is a great actress. We will probably see her in movies, TV, or Broadway someday.
Part of the Swing dancers and performers

I have a brand new camera that is great, but there is nothing like those fancy professional cameras like Michele Pheonix uses....so Michele let me have some pics from her fancy camera. Also, she had a student take pics up close, where I was sitting at the last table in the back for the dinner. Please enjoy the pictures. I copied ones that were mostly of my students and friends.