hobbies

Recently I have taken up the art of knitting. Now one might think this is hardly a man's sport and I would tend to agree with them. Nevertheless, I find knitting thoroughly therapudic especially while watching sport on tv. I decided to start knitting because I have no money this Christmas and needed to be inventive with my gifts. So I decided to knit my mum and scarf and you can see the fruits of my labour below.

This is a new hobby that I believe I will keep up. I have many other hobbies as well. I love tennis, playing guitar, outdoor pursuits to name a few and I believe these hobbies are part of what makes up our being, and therefore contributes to our witness to the world.

Through the exercise of these hobbies we can genuinely connect with the world. Quite often when we witness it's in a false manner, trying to meet people where they are at and we know nothing of the culture. I do not question the method of 'meeting people where they're at', in fact I agree with it, but I believe we can do this in a more intentional way.

Let me give an example. I go to a tennis club. I thorughly enjoy tennis and have my own personal interest and opinions on it. I can witness to my fellow club members on a genuine level because we have a mutual interest in the sport and can develop a good relationship based on our mutual interest.

It is through hobbies that we can get into the world. The more hobbies and interests we take up the more people we are likely to be able to reach and gain access into their world. Paul claims in 1 Cor 9:19-23 that has become 'all things to all men so that by all possible means he might save a few'. To the skater I have become like a skater, to the surfer I have become like a surfer, to the knitter I have become like a knitter, that for the sake of the gospel, some might be saved. I encourage you all to take up some hobbies!

red frustration

It was the 50th anniversary of the take over at the Liverpool helm by Bill Shankly. Roll in the glory days that seen the likes of Paisley and Dalglish continue his success, leading Liverpool to being the most successful team in England with 18 championships and 4 european cups to their name. My how times have changed. Nobody thought Liverpool's record could be equalled, certainly not so quickly by Manchester United. But ever since that fateful day at Anfield in May 1990 when Arsenal stormed back to win by two clear goals and steal the championship, Liverpool have never been the same.

Sure there has been the odd moment of glory. The 2001 season where Liverpool won everything but the championship; the incredible 2005 champions league triumph, but there has simply just been too many false dawns. Enter Rafael Benitez, the supposed messiah. Last season he led Liverpool to 2nd in the league, with their highest ever points total of 86pts, and they were very unlucky to prevent United equalling their record. Had only one to two incidents gone a different way, things could be a lot different (isn't that always the case). However, from steam rolling all opposition that stood in their way in the close of last season, Liverpool have gone right back into their mediorce shell.

7 games already this season (11 in all competitions) we have lost in comparison to last season's 1 at the same stage. One of the reasons for this could be put down to the loss of the quality Xabi Alonso. Xabi could have found Gerrard in the dark; he was the glue that held that what seemed a perfect 4-2-3-1 system together. This may have be part of the reason, but I believe it's only a sympton of a deeper problem - Benitez's iron fist belief in his methods.

Toward the end of last season, it looked like Rafa had finally caught a glimpse of how to win the Premier league, the spirit of Shankly - throw caution to the wind attack! He had to, if he had any hope of chasing down United. But this season he has gone back to the same old cautious approach. In the recent loss to Portsmouth, he fielded 7 defensive outfield players in a match Liverpool simply had to win. I mean come on! This is the team bottom of the table; if they can't be confident in their ability to attack that, when else will they be?!

Benitez spends too much time worrying about what the other team will do. This is not the spirit of Shankly. The reason why Shankly erected the 'This is Anfield' sign in the Liverpool tunnel, was to let his opponents know they were there to be beaten. It's time Benitez stopped worrying what the opposition will do and instead let them to worry about what Liverpool will do. Sure in the bigger games against the likes of Chelsea, ManU, Barcelona etc he can spend more time on the tactics (which we have seen him gloriously do in the champions league) but I wanna watch a Liverpool side who attacks!

He will need to bring the title to Liverpool quick, because the fans will get impatient and he won't be able to live off that champions league victory forever. I would say next season should be his last chance. I recall Alex Ferguson almost getting sacked in his 7th season and United - boy aren't they glad they held on to him. First off he needs to secure 4th place. 8pts behind Villa is a disgrace, but with some positive play like last season I think Liverpool have the squad to do it. I have listed below how I think Liverpool should play (at least at home).

Riena

Degen Carragher Agger Insua

Johnson Gerrard Aquiliani Riera

Ngog Torres

Subs: Cavalieri, Aurelio, Mascherano, Benayoun, Kuyt

I think they should return to a simple attacking 4-4-2 formation, and try 2 stikers up top. Also Glen Johnson played his best football for Portsmouth last season when on the wing, hence why I have put him there; it would also relieve him of his defensive duties. Gerrard would still play the middle of the park and can connect with Torres and Aquiliani should be given a chance to show what he can do (he can also shield the back 4). There is plenty of quality on the bench but the defense is what is lacking at the moment. Perhaps the experience of Kyrgiakos might come in handy to an ailing back four. Benayoun has been a revelation this year and we'd do well to keep the likes of him and Kuyt.

I would also like to see some investment. I believe Liverpool need an Adebayor/Drogba type striker, and could use an experienced versaille defender. I would also like to see either Downing or Ashley Young brought in from Villa. Given Liverpool are in some financial problems, the likes of Lucas, Babel, Skrtyl, Dossena, Voronin and El Zhar could fund these puchases.

A long rant I know -but come on the pool! It's amazing the passion one can muster for football. Pity we struggle to do the same for a God who loves us.

Christmas carols

I love Christmas carols. One of my favourite services in the whole year is carols by candlelight. I have missed this tradition in free evangelical circles. I don't mean to tarnish all with the same brush, but these churches tend to avoid anything traditional like the plague. I'm all for changing with the times, but not all traditions are poisonous!

Anyway this blog isn't about pentecostal bashing, but rather my favourite Christmas carol. There are so many to choose from; Silent Night, O Little Town of Bethlehem, Hark the Herald Angels Sing, O Come all Ye Faithful, but my all-time favourite has to be O Holy Night. I know it's about the lyrics, but some of these are accompanied by the most simple beautiful melodies as well. And speaking of songs being about the lyrics; there are also some really bad carols out there too. I mean what do 'The Holly and the Ivy' and 'In the Bleak Midwinter' have to do with the Nativity story!

We have had a big snow here, in the UK & Ireland this year and many are going to get that 'white Christmas' they so much hope for. But this begs the question for me that where do these stereotypes comes from. Surely a 'white' Christmas is a very Western northern hemisphere thing. Because the nativity story would have been set in the hot middle east, with Jesus fleeing from Herod across the desert to Egypt. Also, does anyone ever wonder what ever happened to the wise men after they depart from Jesus company?

The BBC have done a good article on this http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/8425357.stm. It must get tiresome listening to Christians bash on about the true reason for the season, but in a culture where these traditions are being etched ever so slowly out, we must continue to be the voice crying in the wilderness.

We'll sing His praise forever

We'll sing His praise forever

We'll sing His praise forever
Christ, the Lord.

Happy Christmas everyone.

my rebirthday

μή τις γεννηθῇ ἄνωθεν, οὐ δύναται ἰδεῖν τὴν βασιλείαν τοῦ Θεοῦ ~ John 3:3

I just realised that today was my 10th rebirth-day, that is, I became a Christian exactly 10 years ago. My old self had passed away and my new life in Christ had begun. When I was young I always had a 'fear' of God but I never really committed myself to idea of following Jesus until I met my friend Mark.

My mother wanted for me to go through confirmation classes in a church. At the time we went to Magheralin Church of Ireland but I also attended the Boys Brigade at High Street Methodist in Lurgan. Mum said I could choose between the two and High Street offered a 12 week course in comparison to Magheralin's 18 months. So being a teenager, weighing up the options, obviously I chose High Street!

Little did I know God had a use for this vanity. This is where I met my mate Mark. It was his zeal, his lifestyle, his passion for God like I'd not seen before that intrigued me. For the first time, I had met a Christian who actually seemed to be living out the promise given to us in John 10:10 and I wanted some of this. There was something so much more exciting and fulfilling in Mark's witness, than what the world had to offer.

So the 12 weeks passed, I still hadn't made a commitment and it was the eve of my confirmation. I felt a stirring in my spirit, a choking in my gut, in response to the fact that I was about to stand up in front of the church and declare my faith in a God I hadn't commited to. So simply, in the stillness of my bedroom, I asked Jesus into my heart. Now since then I probably have 'given my life to Jesus' about 20 times in various meetings. You know - those meetings where the speaker tries to convince impressionable teenagers that maybe we didn't do it right the first time. However, I look upon that day, December 19th 1999, as the day God saved my life.

So rather cliché, there has been both mountains and valleys since then, but I praise God for my salvation, and I have indeed experienced the promises of John 10:10 in my own life. I realise my testimoney is not exactly exotic in compared to drugs and alcohol testimoneys, but I believe every Christian has an exiting testimoney. I mean come on, try to wrap your imagination around this - we have met with the living God, the very being that holds the world in one hand, and can speak galaxies into existance...

holy cow!

so now I encourage you to share your story...

Another Psalm

This week in my tutor group, I encouraged everyone to try and write a psalm. I was able to scratch something down in the short space of time, and like my first attempt, this is very raw so please don't be too hard.

Rock of Ages, Giver of truth
I stand firm upon Your foundations
You give source to this light
Supplication for my needs
Strength in my heart
Hope for my spirit
You have made all things new

I praise You for Your faithfulness O' God
You have raised me up from the miry clay
Inspire my soul to do Your will O Lord
For none can match mighty works!
It is futile even to try
They are like the waves of the ocean
Untameable, unrelenting, irresistable

So my life I offer to thee
Creator and Sustainer of all things
To lift up Your name
To serve the purposes of Your kingdom
And at the foot of the cross is where I'll find You
My sanctuary where You restore my soul

Come in power my king
The rocks are crying out for Your glory!

Upside down tennis

I said it last year and I'll say it again... I can not believe it's that time again - time for my annual tennis review. It's been a strange year this year, by which i mean tennis has become somewhat unpredictable. In the last 5 years of dominance in what I'm gonna call the Federer years, there has been an air of predictability about the big tournaments, that is Nadal wins the French open and Federer wins the rest. However, perhaps we were given a hint right at the very beginning of this year that this was to be no ordinary year.

Following a great 2008 for Nadal, where he wrestled the Wimbledon title and no.1 ranking from Federer, these two giants locked horns once more in Nadal's first hard court grand slam final - the Australian Open. Federer, twice winner in oz, was hot favourite to win despite Nadal's form, but it was not to be the case, and he only had himself to blame. In a similar fashion to last year he did not take his chances. He should have won the first and third sets, but Nadal took them both and inevitably the title which led to Federer's heavily critized emotional outburst. I had nothing but sympathy for the man who thought that this would be the day he would win the record equalling 14th grand slam and enter his legendary status in tennis history. Instead Rafa had now beaten him in finals on all surfaces, and it looked like it was slipping from Federer's grasp.

Enter the clay court season. In the lead up to this event, two extrodinary events occured. First Federer smashed a racket in his loss to Djokovic in Miami. It looked like Federer's reign was finally falling apart at the seams. Amazingly though he fought back his way back into form, beating Nadal on clay for only the second time, in Hamburg. Cometh the hour, cometh the man, and this years french open will be remembered as one of the most famous in history. Roger Federer finally completed the golden slam and achieved his 14th grand slam, but even more memorable than that, was the biggest shock in tennis for years... Rafael Nadal losing on clay, more specifically in the french open. Four time winner, current champion, never lost a match at Roland Garros and it wasn't even to Federer , but to someone who was considered an also-ran until this year - Robin Soderling.

This victory helped Federer ragain his mojo that took a massive weight of his shoulders, allowing him to play freely, showing some of the best tennis of his career. Coupled with his new drop shot and new found ability to grind matches out, Federer was unstoppable for the next couple of months, also winning Wimbledon and Cincinatti. Nadal on the other hand was having the complete opposite to his year last year, losing his french open, wimbledon and world no.1 crowns back to Federer.

Then came the US Open. Federer strolled through to the final. Murray has a disappointing 4th round exit after much hype. Then came the next big shock of the year, Juan Martin Del Potro beating an in form Federer in the final of the US Open. Del Potro has been considered to have the potential to be the next big thing for the last few years and I would tend to agree, going by the evidence of this break through year for him. He has a forehand to die for and an appetite for the big matches. I believe he will cause more damage to the fading established order than Murray or Djokovic.

Toward the end of the season Murray and Nadal came back from injury both with varying fortunes. Nadal could barely win a match and Murray won in Valencia. In fact Nadal's form is worrying for next year as he doesn't look anything like the man that nobody could touch at the start of the season. Murray had a brilliant first half of the season, but has been disappointing since winning in Montreal. It should be noted he hasn't beaten anyone in the top 4 since Indian Wells and will need to do something special in the off season to keep up with the rest.

Finally, the end of season tournament - the Masters Cup summed - up the season with upset after upset. Despite beating Del Potro and winning 2 matches, Del Potro and Federer made it out of Murray's group. The second group was way more interesting. Djokovic who has been back in descent form and favourite to qualify. Instead it was Soderling and Davydenko. Then amazingly Davydenko beat Federer for the first time in 13 attempts to make the final, and buoyed by this victory, took the title by beating Del Potro. He would have been my last pick to win the tournament, maybe now hes showing he can fight with the big boys, but I doubt it. I still don't think he has the class to consistantly challenge for big prizes, but he deserves credit for his efforts here.

So the season has now ended, and who knows what 2010 will bring. I am already looking forward to Australia and for the first time in a long time, I have no idea what the outcome will be. Federer, Nadal, Murray, Djokovic, Del Potro all with equal and realistic chances to win, making tennis so much more interesting. Can the rest of the world put up a challenge to break this mould? On the evidence of this season I wouldn't want to hazard a guess!

short term mission

Every Friday I get a lecture from diferent mission agencies from the U.K. It's a privilege to hear and see the amazing work that men and women across the U.K. are doing in the name of Jesus. Perhaps one day I'll find myself working for one of these agencies, but (and there always is a but isn't there?) I am failing to see the sense in going out with these organisations to random countries on the short term.

You know what I'm talking about. These 2-4 weeks summer teams that people go on spending from one to three thousand pounds to get there and look after themselves. To be honest, that money would have been far better spent just being sent to the communities we visit, rather than dragging our unskilled butts over there on a glorfied holiday.

Don't get me wrong I am not judging the motives of the people who take part in these trips, for I myself have done them. In fact their heart is good, because they see a need and want to do something about it. However, that desire is not being used to its full potential in the current way it is being exercised. Perhaps it is good to go once, in order to have our hearts and minds opened to the poverty in the world, but to keep doing it simply isn't productive.

I mean what do we really have to offer a remote community in the middle of Africa anyway (sorry to stereotype)? Sure we can go build a school, but there are plenty of people in those countries who have building skills themselves, and we only take the trade away from the locals. It's white colonialism gone wrong all over again. We made the mess in the first place. Now we see the mess and think we've got all the answers to fix it.

Yes indeed however it is the responsibility of the better off to take care of the poor, but we need to be more creative, more sensitive in how we approach it, and we need to act fast. I don't have all the answers and I'm certainly willing to listen to other points of view but here are some of the things I think we can do:

We can pray. We can rally organisations, governments and powers at be into doing the action they should be. We can carefully give of our finances and resources from our vast reserves. There is a scope for churches partnering alongside other churches (the same body of Christ) in different countries for the long term. We could even go and teach for the long term. Although we would need to be careful how we do that, because I don't think that Africa really needs to be 'westernised' in the cultural sense of the word, as I believe it would lose it's own cultural and spiritual richness.

These are all very raw thoughts and feelings from a naive young man, but watch this space as I hope to develop them into something tangible real soon.

To my granny

My granny passed away on November 4th. She bravely battled cancer for a little over a year. When she was first diagnosed, things seemed ominous, but God blessed us with one more year with her. It's hard to believe how fast things happened when only 2 weeks ago she was gardening but in a sense it was a blessing, for she passed without any pain and even got to enjoy a last meal (little did she know it).

I praise God for this and the fact that she is with Him in heaven. For she loved the Lord and it's a great comfort to my family that she's now with her Maker. It's just so hard though seeing the anguish in my mother, uncle and especially my grandfather. There is just no way of understanding the kind of pain that comes with losing a life partner.

I've never really had anyone close to me die before. My grans passing has got me thinking a lot about death recently. It's not so much death that I fear, but rather eternity. The inifite idea of never endingingness scares the daylights out of me. I know as a Christian I have eternal hope but I simply do not have a strong enough grasp of the marvels of heaven and what it will be like to worship God forever. Am I the only one who thinks like this?

Dorothy McCarthy

Back to my granny. I said at her funeral that I think she would appreciate somebody saying something in their own words in memory of her, and my little brother, Adam, chose a wonderful verse - 1 Corinthians 13 (often read at weddings, paraphrased) to aid this.

Dorothy was patient and kind; she did not envy nor boast; she was never arrogant nor rude. She wouldn't insist on her own way; she was not irritable nor resentful; she never rejoiced at wrongdoing, but rejoiced with the truth. Dorothy bore all things, believed in all the things of God, hoped for all things, endured all things, her love will never die in us the people she loved...So now faith, hope, and love abide, these three; but the greatest of these is love.

If there was one thing to describe my gran it's that she was a loving person. We know from God's word that God is love, and also when we become Christians, God perfects us to become more like Christ - love. So I think the most special thing about Dorothy was that we caught just a glimpse of what the love, God the Father has for us.

My gran taught us all how to love better. We'll miss you Dorothy.

man card

Last weekend 5 men in college completed the 28oz meat challenge at Iford Bridge. This consisted of 2 chicken breasts (or cumberland sausages), 1 gammon steak and 1 80z rump steak with a side of chips and salad (the salad being a non compulsory item of the challenge as it is not manly).

The completion of this challenge was dubbed so worthy that we have decided to award them with the Red Man Card. There are 3 levels of man card and they are listed as follows:

Man Card Red: Completion of the 28oz Steak Challenge or equivalent
Man Card Silver: An overnight stay in the wild or equivalent. Creating fire is mandatory.
Man Card Gold: An outstanding honourary award, that can not be defined any single act of valor. The worthiness of an act for a Gold man card shall be voted upon by fellow man card holders.

Got your eggs in one basket?

The first thing I want to make clear is that this is not a blog comparatively arguing the theologies of some of the greatest Christian minds in history for that would take a dissertation, not a blog! But rather, this an exasperation as to why we put them on such a pedistool.

Calvin, Luther, Arminius, Wesley, there are so many to choose from but what really drives me mad is why people insist on defining themselves as one or the other. What is so special about these guys that we feel the need to come under their yolk like they're some kind of Jewish Rabbi.

In methodist circles, there is barely a week that goes by without some kind of trumpeting of the Wesleys. Now that I am in Bible college, people simply just have to make it painfully clear that they are either 5 point Calvanist or 5 point Arminian.

I think it is some very shaky ground to be stood upon if we are putting all our eggs into one theologians basket, because no man is infalliable. Otherwise we create a kind of papacy that the above mentioned reformists were all against! I am not saying either that we should go around creating our own theology willy nilly, but rather that we find the security of our beliefs in Christ Jesus

"But may it never be that I would boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world." ~ Galatians 6:14

Heaven Rejoices

This is a song I came across a long time ago, but I still love the lyrics today. We quite often sing songs about what we feel about God, but this is a song about how the writer thinks God feels about us, and I agree. I particularly like the line

I know my ways are hard to understand
But my plan is greater than you can imagine
Through all the darkness, I've never left your side

A new chapter

Isn't life amazing? It's amazing for a lot of reasons. It's mysterious, it's entropic, it's infinitely diverse, it's full of experience and feelings and depth. I love life, and I love the God who designed it. How amazing is our God who made all of this just for his names sake, and he lavishes this creativity upon us, his prize possesion of all His creation (Ps 8).

I have got to experience so much of that beauty over the last 24 years back home in Northern Ireland. Stuff like StreetReach, Queen's University, High Street Methodist, the Mourne mountains, stuff I will never forget. But it's a funny ol' world isn't it? And God in His grace has begun writing a new chapter for me to play a part in His story.

When I look at my life 5 years ago, and indeed even from just this time last year, it's almost unrecognisable. The people whom I am surrounded by, the things I dedicate my 'nine til five' to have completely changed, but I do not lament this fact. Of course I miss people, but I praise God that he is revealing his will to me in new ways every single day.

After a short flirtation with banking, I have finally decided to go England and train as a youth worker. It is a move surrounded entirely by faith as I have no clue how I am going to pay for it all! So if if any of you reading would like to commit that to prayer, it would be greatly appreciated! I should also give a mention to the East Africa stuff I was involved in over the summer (see previous posts). It seems we have poked the bear, and now God is opening up a whole stream of possibilty there, so watch this space!

This last year for me has definitely been the hardest and most painful of my life, but in my pain God has proven faithful and is rebuilding my heart into something He can use. And for those of you who are suffering, I want you to know that God has seen your pain, and His heart breaks with yours.

The same man that the winds and waves obeyed,
Is the same man who was the first one to know pain
Same man could keep control of everything
Same man knows more than me about suffering

28-30"Are you tired? Worn out? Burned out on religion? Come to me. Get away with me and you'll recover your life. I'll show you how to take a real rest. Walk with me and work with me—watch how I do it. Learn the unforced rhythms of grace. I won't lay anything heavy or ill-fitting on you. Keep company with me and you'll learn to live freely and lightly."

working 9 to 5

As I wrap up my time with Northern Bank Ltd, I would like to say some things about the rat race that is the nine to five work culture. First of all I should say I have rather surprisingly enjoyed working for the bank. Beforehand I struggled with the idea of being trapped in a weekly routine commitment. However, I have enjoyed learning how to live in the professional world, and I have seen vast potential for God to work in this arena.

A lot can be said about the office. It's a lot like how my friend Donna puts it - like a "goldfish bowl". The dynamic/politics of it all can be at times complicated and intense. On the other hand, I can find the great beauty God intended for His creation in the diversity of the people I work with.

The common denominator I find with nearly all people is the desire for the weekend to come. Phrases like "I can not believe it's Monday", or "roll on Friday". Even during the day people watch every painstaking movement of the second hand on the clock, and it's this kind of living that moves me to frustration and then sorrow.

WHAT A WASTE

How much of your life do you want to have spent wishing away? Everytime you wish for it to be 5 oclock and then it comes, or wish for the weekend and then it passes, that is time you are never getting back. Oh how I wish people would realise that you can feel as much fulfilment in your life at 9am on a Wednesday morning as you can at 9pm on a Saturday night.

We need to see our daily routines as more than just going through the motions. We need to stop waiting for the weekends. In the end, what really all that special happens at the weekend? We need to stop waiting for something to happen in our lives. We only get to live it once, and we have got to make every second count.

How do we do this? We can work to the best of our abilities. We can purposefully bless those around us. We can be thankful for what we have, when there are plenty in the world who have a lot less. We can be the joy that we want to have in our lives. But more than this, we can make everything we do about our worship to our Creator. Not everyone believes in God, but if they would give it just one chance, to see that God came to give us life and life in its fullest (John 10:10) and not the nine to five monotony that we have become so familiar with in our lives.

He's desperate to give it to us, don't settle for anything less.

Student Loans

I can't decide if the student loan company is good or evil

It's good because you can take a huge loan, and it doesn't effect your credit rating for other borrowing. If you can't pay it back you don't. If you haven't paid it off within 20 years, your debt is forgiven. You can't default on any payments because it comes out of your wages before you get them. At the end of the day it's just glorified income tax.

It's evil because their rules are ridiculous. For example it discriminates against the middle class. If your parents earn less than a certain amount you get grants and fees paid for you. If you're parents are wealthy they can pay you through college. But if you're middle class, and you live in a family or 1, 2 or maybe even 3 siblings; your parents are expected to pay you through university with a minimal loan. This on top of having other children, a mortgage, and rising living costs to deal with, not to mention in this current climate - job insecurity!

Also if you're a second degree student, you can not get funding unless in special circumstances. What about the countless number of people who choose a degree when they're 18 and decide when they're done, or even worse when they don't even complete it, that the course leads to a path they do not want to pursue for their career. That is way too much pressure on someone not old enough to make a decision that will decide the path for the REST of their life. I mean how many 18 year olds really know what they want to do with their lives? Only a select few.

It leaves people feeling trapped and miserable in what they do. How many people aren't even using their degrees? Their should be more support for people who wish to retrain because often with a little bit of life experience they've found out what really drives them. This has been my experience, and if I have children I will be encouraging them to wait a few years after A Levels to try a few things, enjoy a bit of life, figure out what they're passionate about and then go for it.

Especially because there's big bursaries for those who are over 25, as they are considered "independant of their parents". What a pile of poppycock! So I'm living away from home permanently but just because I'm only 24 I'm still dependant on my parents?!

Another thing about all of this that bothers me is that 15 years ago, people were practically being paid to go to university. There was no such thing as the Student Loans company, because there was no need for one. The government was giving out grants practically saying "There you go son, go and get pissed for three years". Since then there's been tuition fees, top up fees, and now they're considering even doubling that.

I get it. I understand that universities need money to progress, but it's getting blind ridiculous. The only advantage to increased tuition fees will be that it will discourage people from taking on unnecessary degrees. There are too many degrees out there at the moment. The value of the degree has been cheapened. "I have a degree.....Oh who hasn't", which is a great shame.

/end rant

lip service

Everyone has pet hates, and one of my biggest ones is lip service. You know when people say something with their mouths, but you know it's a pile of bull, and they'll never follow through.

But there's a worse kind of lip service, the type when you actually believe what someone tells you, and you get disappointed or even hurt that they don't live up to their word.

I mean for goodness sake, don't say you'll do something if you never had any intention of making any kind of effort to follow it through. It's infinitely better to just be honest, so people know what to expect from each other.

As with all people in the hypocrites anonymous club, I have been guilty of my own pet hate.

my mate dave

Has anyone noticed that Dave is actually the most common name ever? You can actually walk into a room of people and exclaim "Dave!" and it's almost a dead-cert someone will react.

This post is about my friend Dave, whom I met camped beside the spar on botanic avenue on a freezing cold November night. I had just bought a new hat, that I was particularly fond of, and as I got chatting to him, he asked me if he could have my hat, and my heart was immediately endeared him.

As we shared with each other about our lives, mostly his, I could see a life of sorrow. His weather beaten face suggested years of being exposed to the elements, sleeping rough, and alchohol abuse. As I got to know him better I discovered that he had an amazing faith in Jesus Christ, and even more so that he writes hauntingly beautiful poetry about it. His faith brings him great joy in the midst of adversity.

Which makes me feel great shame. I'm not gonna do the whole "his faith puts us to shame" thing, but rather the churches inability to live out it's mandate given to us from Christ. That is to feed the hungry, to clothe the naked, to visit the prisoner. Why is a man like this who has such faith, on the streets? Why isn't the church doing it's job and taking in people like this? And this guy is a Christian, God help the unbelievers!

This guy even went to a church, that turned him away for his appearance, because they thought he looked like a "bum". I mean what? Have they not even read the Gospel? Jesus came to heal the sick, not the healthy! Is it too far to expect a Christian to invite people like Dave into their homes for a hot meal, even for a nights rest and a shower? Where does our responsibility end? Is it not up to the church to rehabilitate these people?

Anyway time passes by and I haven't seen Dave in a good few months. Don't know where he's been. On Saturday passed there I randomly decide after leaving some people off to the boat, that I wanna buy a hat from the Rusty Zip on Botanic Avenue. And yes, you guessed it, as I walked down the street, there was Dave sitting on that familiar spot beside the spar. I was so excited so see him, and I believe now, that it was no random act that I found myself there.

It turns out that Dave has pluracy on his lungs. He's in his 50's now, and with sleeping rough, and no one to take care of him, it's likely he's going to die someone soon. So he's decided to go to Edinburgh to see out the rest of his days in a place that he loves. I really hope he finds peace there. As he continued to share with me about his struggles with alcohol, his face lit up with joy in the knowledge that his faith covers his sin by the blood of the Lamb, and that someday real soon he is going to be redeemed with his maker.

His faith in an inspiration to me. One of his favourite sayings is "I have nothing yet I have everything, in the Lord". That is the kind of deep revelation one can only get by being close to the Father. It will be a sad day when he leaves this earth, and I believe the earth will notice his goodness missing. Please pray for Dave, for peace, for health, for his continued faith, for someone on this earth to love him.

I have another friend called Dave. He's just swanned off to East Africa for the indefinite future. He and his wife are wonderful people and I will miss them immensely, so please keep them in your thoughts too. There really is something about the name Dave!

Romania 2009

So I have just spent 2 weeks with 15 members of the church youth group (that of course includes Maurice) in a little village called Parhida, just off the Hungarian border in Romania. I received from God far more than I thought I would on this trip, as I continue through this journey I am on. It should be no surprise of course, as I remember God speaking to me before I left to expect more of him.

During the first week, everyday began with a beautifully designed study of 2 Corinthians that Maurice did, that give us an image to carry with us each day such as being the fragrance of Christ. We then split into 2 groups doing kids clubs in Parhida and Nuyved where between the two, over 100 children came!

I was part of the Nuyved group, and we were caught off guard when we found over 15 teenagers in our club. So we had to adapt quickly and 'wing' a programme for them. As it turned out, when we were put in a position where we weren't prepared, we found ourselves relying more on God to deliver, and as I am well discovering, unlike us He never fails.

We instantly developed a real chemsitry with this group without really having to do anything complicated. We played games, shared the Word of God, sang, and simply just hung out. It was hard to leave but we found a great sense of God's purposes for this trip, as we found out that one of the translators is in the process of setting up a permanent youth group after their experiences over the week. Please continue to pray for this

Later in the afternoon, we visited many locals, just sharing with each other and bringing small gifts of food parcels. It gave a real sense of our theme for the church services, "the body of Christ". We would often sing, and during one of the visits after singing Seek ye first, the lady said that the world "Hallelujah" transcends all languages. For some reason we then sang Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah". Just the chorus of course, but it moved this lady to tears. It was a special moment, little did Cohen know when he wrote this song that it would be claimed for the kingdom of God in a small house in the middle of Romania.

We were then usually treated to some of Hungary's finest cuisine, as we were spoilt by Andrea, our host. This was followed by one of the highlights of the trip, the "man shower". This included the boys stripping down to their togs and getting washed under tap and hose.


Over the second weekend we spent a few days living wildly in the bush 3 hours from Parhida. There was much apprehension within the group, as they all wondered how they would cope without some of the things we formally considered "basic needs". However I was so impressed with the attitude of the whole group, as we all got stuck into everything we were asked to do. The team grew closer, as we exerted testorone together chopping wood, as we gazed upon the stars beside the campfire, as we all stepped out of our comfort zones and did crazy things like jumping into dirty water.

Finally, on a personal level I have learnt so much here. I have learned much from our hosts about the freedom that comes in Christ, something I may share later. I have learned how ridiculous some of my insecurities are. And as maurice challenged us with on our last night, I have learned that God is able. I pray that we will all be more like Joshua & Caleb (Joshua 4), and return from enemy territory to say, "yep, with God we can do this, anything is possible", even in the refugee camps in the Congo.

faith begats faith

As I return from my travels in Africa and move on to Romania with the youth group, I'm feeling rather emotionless. I do not feel sorrow, I do not feel joy, just overwhelmed with the amount of stuff I'm having to take in, in such a short space of time, with no time in between to digest it all.

One thing I have learnt though is that...

faith begats faith

I'll explain what I mean. Simply put that means, the more faith one exercises the more faith one receives. When I try to step out in faith, the more faith I have that God can do more immeasurably that I can imagine. The more I resist the urge to say silent and speak the word of God, the more daring I become for the kingdom. The more I hand over my burdens to God, the more and more I see Him move in my life.

Faith itself is described as a Spiritual gift in 1 Cor 12. I believe everyone has a measure of this gift in their lives, for example it takes some faith just to believe in Jesus Christ. But like any Spiritual gift, you have to practice at it in order for it to improve. It requires a step of faith just to act out a gift.

So my prayer for Romania for myself and indeed all the youth is that we will step out in faith, speaking out God's word, prophesying, praying without ceasing, loving unconditionally, claiming the Kingdom of God, in order to grow in even more faith. If it requires only the faith of a mustard seed to move a mountain, just imagine what God could do with a group of 15 young people (one not so young! =D ) who are growing their faith everyday by exercising faith. God bless you and see you in 2 weeks.

the Servant Heart

The first thing I wanna do on this my final blog of Rwanda, is honour our dear friend Vincent. Vincent is hired by the landlord of the house we stay in to look after the place while he's not around. A simple form of property management if you like, and Vincent seems very happy to have this job. But he goes above and beyond what he is expected to do. He has helped us cook nearly every night; if we leave our bedroom door open even for 5 seconds, he's straight in there and has our clothes washed before we know it.

I often feel bad about this fact, but also have learned so much from him about what it is to be a silent servant. He never makes a noise about his good deeds, in fact he goes as far as to hide them from the people he does them for. There is no limits for his servant attitude either as he often insists when we actually do our own cleaning, that he does it for us. It has been a pleasure knowing this guy and I pray that his faith in God grows abundantly.

This week, we spent a couple of days writing our report on what we have seen, including long term and short term actions for each of the cooperatives. Hopefully they are God led and will prove useful. Dave also got to give his Sexual Education class which went down with a bundle of laughs with the young people. You wouldn't believe some of the questions asked. I also got to share some of my IT knowledge and have begun to design a short teaching course for CJ.

Mark arrived yesterday, and by means of celebration for his arrival and mine & dave's departure we had everyone around for dinner. It was an amazing night of fun food & fellowship. There really is something about sitting down and having a meal together that crosses all kinds of cultural and linguistic divides.

Today I visited the last cooperative that I will get to see, but it was one of the most moving. This was a group mostly made up of genocide survivor widows. They have applied for a CJ grant but as yet CJ can not find a partner to support this so big prayer is needed to get this group off their feet and earning some capital. It's important for their general welfare, it's important for the children's education, it's important just to change the general mentality of trauma, something that still seriously and deeply affects these people.

We heard of terrifying testimoneys of how some escaped the genocide. One lady in particular beautifully shared with us often fighting back the tears for over 30 minutes. Her story began with the genocide soldiers coming into her house and beating her, but yet choosing not to kill her. She was then seperated from her family, husband and children, being dragged to different cities again being beaten and raped several times, but yet for some reason still alive. Finally when the genocide was over she found 2 of her children, and the entire rest of her family dead. It was only by the grace of God and the kindness of a few people that she is alive today to tell her story. I can not process this kind of pain. She still has amazing faith, and she longs for the day that God will restore her in paradise. I want her to know that Jesus wants to bring this restoration into her life today, and wants to use her testimoney to change lives everywhere.

As we left a lady prayed for us. Little did she know that when she prayed about our finances that it was quite prophetic as all of Dave, Luke and myself are trusting in God to provide for our near future! As I leave Rwanda I pray that someday, this place (and indeed Ireland) will bear a great witness for Christ all around the world, a beacon of hope and peace to areas of deep hatred and pain. I leave tomorrow on a gruesome 11 hour bus journey, followed by another all day plane journey so please bear me, and more importantly Rwanda (and the people we have met) in your prayers.

all RISE!

Luke, Dave & I are just back from a weekend healing conference in Cyangugu. There seems to be a bit of pattern developing anytime we seem to travel any sort of distance. This pattern usually consists of dramtic Rwandan hills (I am beginning to believe there is no flat land in rwanda) and death defying stunts from bus drivers. On the way through we passed through the Nyawunga Rainforest, and I simply could not grasp the sheer vastness of this area. We were treated to seeing some wild monkeys, complimented by the uplifting African music along the way.

Many over 500 people turned out in this remote piece of land on top of a hill in the middle of nowhere, on which a church was built upon and subsequently knocked down from an earthquake. The point of the conference was for healing people from the trauma's of the genocide and helping people to forgive one another from a Gospel perspective. There was singing, dancing, testimoneys, drama and preaching (one of which I had to do, and it was terrifying!). So many people came up to receive healing and also to receive Jesus for the very first time - It was amazing, and humbling, and a learning experience. Imana Ishymiwe (meaning praise God in Kinyarwanda).

I am beginnning to love african music, and particularly the worship music. People all of a sudden just burst into singing and dancing with out worrying what's going on next to them. I think Barney from "how I met your mother" would love the music here as it seems to be all rise! and very seldom seems to be slow. Over the weekend we had got to know the CJ groupe de jeunes (youth group) a bit better, and on the way home things all of a sudden became animated and hyper as we all burst into song in each others languages. It was one of those moments in life I think I will never forget. These people are so full of the love and joy of God all the time, I am going to find it hard coming home to the lethargy of our culture.

I am Umuzungu

I know I have already brought this up before, but everywhere we go we hear cries of umuzungooo! It means white man, and it's never meant offensively like it would be considered at home, and in fact when the children say it, it is adorable! It's a tad strange though the respect children seem to be brought up to show white people. I wish i could tell them there is a holy God out there who loves them, who fearfully and wonderfully made us all equal.

We have spent the week visiting different cooperatives partnered with CJ, all of which have their own specific attributes. First off however, we began the week going to a local church with Justin. It was called New Vision Pentecostal church, and had much more of an 'African' feel than the one we visited previously. There was singing and dancing, and just as I started to get into it, their pastor noticed and grabbed me to dance at the front, I was completely scundered! They usually have their services in Kinyarwanda, but just because we were there they had a translator. Much to Luke and Dave's malaise, I think I almost feel in love with her lol!

On Monday we visited a group who made a living breeding rabbits. They needed more hutches built to increase their stock. Cute as these rabbits first seemed, the only thing they were interested in was eating and breeding! A useful source of income where even their excrement is used for fertilizing crops.

Later that day we visited a place called kimichanga. People often say when they come back from Africa trips that the kids were amazing and i always figured it was lip service, but the kids here are genuinely so pleasant and playful. We actually got justin into trouble for them following us everywhere!

The next day we saw a group who showed great promise. They were entirely subsistant, where all their crops, livestock and farms worked in harmony. There was a real sense of community with these people. Their land covered a vast space that we had to walk, only for us to find after all that effort our camera battery had somehow died! Despite have much less technology people here don't get bored and they seem to be authentically content with their work. This is a place i could see myself living in. CJ provided advice and the capital to get the project up and running, and now they are in a place where they can return that capital for another project to use, praise God.Wednesday had us visit almost the polar opposite of the hope of the day before. Here we net a group made mostly of widow genocide survivors, some of whom were rape victims. They are still finding it difficult to cope with the atrocites of 15 years ago. Living conditions for these people are hard with the rainy season washing away peoples huts. Food is scarce at times making it difficult to take HIV medication as it makes them sick. Many of the children don't go to school, and there is a real need for counselling here. CJ stepped in and are trying to help build a bakery, that would provide the much needed capital that would give the momentum to this community to improve every aspect of their lives. They still are a few hundred dollars short, so we're trusting in God.

Finally today we visited another plantation called bom boga. This time fish is the main produce. The excrement from the rabbits they keep feeds the fish, while the water helps irrigate the crops. This is a group of HIV/Aids Sufferers who have worked really hard, and have showed great improvement and are a great encouragement to the other cooperatives. The land is located down a treacherously steep mountain, and if it wasn't hairy enough coming down it, it was amazing that we got up it. At one stage Luke, Dave & Justin had to get out of the car while we reversed up a cliff edge!On a more lighter note. I thought I had seen it all when it came to vanity in the west with fake tan etc, so i couldn't believe my eyes when i saw can of spray lightener! That's right people at home wanna be darker and people here wanna be lighter. The world can be pathetic sometimes!

DRC: Democratic Republic of Corruption

28 July 2009 (Original post 20/06/2009) please read updates in italic

I have just returned from my trip to the Congo DR, and I haven't been able to fully process my thoughts but here is some of the raw material I can come up with.

To call the bus journey to Gisenyi 'scenic' would only under sell the dramatic Rwandan landscape. Mountains and cliff edges abound, which made for nervous travelling as the bus drivers here seem to hold no sanctity for human life!! We had already passed a truck lying flattened upside down, no doubt killing instantly its driver, but this did not seem to act as a deterrant for our driver! On route we also noted a lot of uniformed workers, building along the mountain sides. It turns out this is part of the 15 year rehabilitation programme for genocide prisoners.

We arrived at the Congolese border to find it carefully guarded by the army. We went to pay for our visa's when we were hurried into this pokey back office, with God know's what behind the curtain that lay behind the shifty officer who interviewed us as to our purpose to travelling into the Congo. Praise God for Justin rallying our case for I fear if it were not for him we may have been pray to the hungry Congolese soldiers who had not been paid in over 4 months (which is not the first time that has happened either!)

Eventually we got in for the rip off price of $50 when it should have only been $35, but of course we had no legs to stand on because they had guns! We were even more outraged to find out they were going to force us to pay again the next day despite possessing an 8 day visa, which ultimately cut our time there short.

So we finally made it into Goma. A city torn apart from war and molten rock from the volcanic eruptions. As we rode through the town on boda boda's, we found most buildings lacked any structural integrity, there was poverty everywhere we looked and there was a general feeling of insecurity from the locals. In fact Dave was lucky to escape a mugging as the offender went for the wrong pocket, and then got surrounded.

With firearms everywhere and even attack helicopters flying overhead, we thought we had seen the worst of it, boy were we deceived. When we entered the refugee camp Magunga (our purpose for being in goma in the first place), we were immediately hit with the overwhelming and devastating need of the people who live there. We heard endless stories of widows who lost most of the families to the war, are now living barely with shelter and there is simply no food to feed their children let alone themselves.

They live with the clothing they have on their backs. They get fed on average one paltry meal every 3 days. They have no beds, no blankets, no education, no income, no self worth, no medication, minimal protection, no counselling, no sanitation, (in fact there is one toilet between 8000 refugees, and it's full, and its stinking). Their basic needs are just so many, it's incomprendable. And all these 'theys' that I speak about, these are real individual human beings, with real lives, thoughts, emotions, dreams. I am desperate that these people are remembered not as statistics, but as deeply loved children of God who need this world to...

WAKE UP!

There is simply no aid organisations there, including the UN. I can not fathom how anybody who finds themselves in that situation finds any hope let alone faith in God, but I was struck by the amazing faithfulness of these people who still believe that God will redeem their situation, end the war and return them to their homelands. Perhaps there has never been a truer meaning for that passage in Chronicles "If my people who are called by my name...". The children as well are amazing, they find such joy and playfullness despite such incomprehendable conditions.

I can not help but feel called into action, yet feel so helpless as to what to do. I am not so sure if returning to their homelands is the best situation for the people in these refugee camps. Perhaps maybe they could even start a new community there, subsistantly looking after each other. But right now I am too overwhelmed to have any idea what to do or even to pray for. This is something only God can take care of. I believe like in Moses time that He has heard the cry of his people, and He will come down to save them from such destitution.

We could have not been more relieved to return back to beautiful Gisenyi. The rwandan border control were most welcoming on our return, it really felt like we had came from purgatory into paradise. Lake Kivu is magnificent to bathe in and there are simply no superlatives to describe to beauty of the view.

To grasp this we climbed a hill behind where we were staying, and the scene could only be described as something out of the Lord of the Rings. The Congo mountains gave distinct resemblence to Mordor, with the Volcano off to the far right being Mount Doom. Then of course, fair gisenyi and lake kivu reminds one of Middle Earth. I'm not a LOTR guru, so if you don't believe me check out Luke's photo's when we get back! One of our other experiences here was our first taste of 'Banana beer', and if I have my way it will be my last, for it was rancid!

Again, I have not had enough time to gather my thoughts, not enough space on this blog to tell of every smell, sound and story. I will try my best to tell the story of these individual people, real human beings who God loves just as much as you and me, whose heart breaks for their situation. In the meantime Dave has written and excellent insight to what we say... see below.

http://ugandacrew2009.blogspot.com/2009/06/hope-inspite-of-what-we-can-see.html

Itchy Feet

Updated 22.06.09 .... I have now uploaded a couple of photos from our time working with one of the CJ Partners ACORDI, who try to help vulnerable people such as orphans from the war by getting them selling at markets, or milk from goats. Rather like housing they build up an equity in goats to buy a cow, or even a boda boda (An motorcycle used in public transport, an experience to say the least!) to make better money

We have made it to our second destination of our travels, that being the very beautiful Kigali. We will spend the majority of our trip here working for a magnificent organisation called Coeur Joyeux (I will be referring to it as CJ from now on!).

It was an 11 hour bus journey from Kampala on a okay bus operator named Jaguar. My legs were a little oo big for the seating, and my ass a little too wide! At first I wondered how I was gonna cope for 11 hours on this journey, but I managed to get pretty useless broken sleep most of the way. There was some outstanding landscapes ranging from the countless hills of Rwanda, to swamps, to savannah land. I notice that the roads and cities in east africa at least are filled with orangy dust which gives you a deceptive tan on your legs! I reminds me of a quote from the movie Blood Diamond that they say the dirt is this red colour for the amount of blood constantly spilt on the continent of Africa.

Border control was an interesting experience as well. We had our bags searched for what I presumed was drugs, but it turns out it was for plastic bags as they have been outlawed in Rwanda - my bad! It should also be noted that getting the Irish passport was not only travelling astutue but financially astute also as I gained a free visa in Uganda with it!

Kigali itself is a city of many hills, each consisting of its own district. We are situated near the national football stadium and United Nations building, so I'm sure they both will proivide interesting entertainment over the weeks to come. I've noted that there is a big mobile phone push here with billboards and sellars everywhere. You get people coming up to your parked car, looking for you to buy a topup, much like the Telegraph sellars in Belfast.

Despite President Kagame's horrific faults (and I hope I can get away with saying that!) one can not fault him on his massive effort on Urban Development. The roads here are as good as any, and the standard of living could not even have been dreamed of here 15 years after the genocide. It is amazing to me how this work has been so successful for if you could see the scafolding here, it doesn't bear thinking about.

Despite the huge infrastructure development, we have noticed from our early work with CJ that the countryside tends to be forgotten about. It's a contant life struggle to even as much as feed your family. A lady we met, Josephine, who is a widow, can only afford to educate one of her 5 children (there is no free education system here), and provides for her famly with the 6 goats she has. CJ has been a massive assistance to people like Josephine giving them life and spiritual support.

We constantly hear the word Umuzunga! being exclaimed when we roam the streets. This is Kinyarwandan for White person. I'd imagine if we had a word for black people in Ireland, there maybe some offense caused. There is also an assumption here that every umuzunga is rich! I don't think any harm is intended however, and I guess in comparison to here; despite the recession and my paltry wage in the Northern Bank; that we are indeed rich!

Justin our guide, mentioned that the biggest problem in Kigali at the moment is water and power, and indeed we have experienced this in our own accomodation as they are regularly cut off. Praise God however that He has always provided when it has been needed. We have also experienced some video nasties such as lizards, mozquito bites and cockroaches the size of hands (I exaggerate of course!).

In closing and I apologise for the length, CJ does an incredible vast work here in Rwanda and the DRC on such limited resources. God has His hand upon it and I hope on my return to rally some support and try to get them some new partners. If you're interested please do let me know. If you're still wondering why this blog was called ithcy feet, is because I feel like we have rested and prepared a lot now and I'm just desperate to get out there and do something!

the Pearl of Africa

It seems everywhere is the "Something" of Africa.

	So we have arrived in Kampala with all our limbs still attached...for now. After the boda boda ride I had today, I'm not too convinced they're all gonna be present for journey home. The 'Boda boda' is a popular form of public transport here in Kampala, where you simply call one of like a new york taxi cab. You simply ride on the back of a motorcycle whilst your driver skillfully (or suicidely, you can decide!) negotiates the oncomng traffic (that comes from all angles).
We've spent these last few days more or less climitising and regenerating from our energy sapping journey to get here. So far Dave has been propositioned by a "massouse", and Luke & myself have been thrown out of a government building, so not got ourselves into too much mischief just yet.
	So it has been well documented about my fear of flying, so just to give an update to all you lovely people who prayed for me about that particular area. God was ultimately gracious and I was able to just lay all my fears on Him and relax. At Heathrow airport while I was waiting for Dave and Luke to arrive I was lucky enough to see Susan Boyle pass me at the Arrivals gate in Terminal One... she is a crazy lady! One of the outstanding moments of the journey was flying over the sahara desert, seeing nothing but a dusty abyss on the horizon from 33000 feet. So after 2 bus journeys, 1 interview, 4 flights, 5000 miles and 54 hours we finally made it to Fields of Life in Kampala.

On our travels we managed to come across rather randomly a couple of Irish girls, who even more randomly bumped into Joy McMullan last week in Kigali. So tomrrow we actually head to Kigali on a 9 hour coach drive, where we will meet Justin and finally begin to set out our work. Glory has to go to God for the amazing provision he has given us in accommodation, transport and food. Speaking of which on a side note, the Fanta here is unbelievable!

Check out Luke's blog at This is not Ireland, This is Africa for some more.

loughshore trail

On Saturday I had the pleasure of cycling around lough neagh in aid of both the Romania and Rwanda trips. I must say I actually thoroughly enjoyed the day out even though I found sitting down somewhat difficult by the time we returned home!!

The general route was Dollingstown to Portadown (as there is no earlier opportunity to cross the bann) to Tamnamore to Ballyronan to Toome to Randalstown to Crumlin to Gawleys Gate back to Dollingstown. We had only begun 20 mins and we had to stop at the bike repair shop in lurgan to have Luke's breaks amended! En route to said bike shop we almost ran over MEP candidate Alban Maginnes, I mean what were the chances? It would have been funny had we ran him over because we probably would have made the news!

After 10 miles boredom began to set in so we decided to play a little game called Zilch. It's a game taken from TV show 'How I Met Your Mother', where for everytime you spot a designated item you get one point. We noted that there was an unusual amount of roadkill on the roads so we played Zilch Roadkill! Phil thought he had struck gold when he had found 4 different dead animals on the road ardboe, much to his malaise when he discovered that those 4 pieces constituted the same animal! Thankfully there are no photos of this incident!

Cycling wise, we were putting in a good time up until ballyronan/toome. There we tackled some sharp hills at ballyronan which the legend that is Phil 'the Tank' McCabe powered up like they were flats. All was well until we hit the main road from toome to randalstown. It's a gradual uphill for 5 consecutive miles. With traffic speeding past you at 60mph, it was soul destroying.

We prodded on, and after tea in Randalstown we decided to give a big push down the east side of the lough to get home. We were flying down at points even reaching an average speed of 15mph (bare in mind this is on mountain bikes and we had already cycled 60 miles!), but the loughshore trail was to have the last laugh because after Gawleys gate it was hill after hill after hill for the last ten miles, and I have to say I found it tough going.

We were not to be undone however and we made it home slightly under 12 hours from departure. Definitely one of the hardest physical things I've ever done, but would also do it again.

Only 20 mins in!	River Bann @ Portadown
On the road to Palestine	River Bann @ Toome

Click here if you would like to examine our route!

evan almighty

We were doing a stay awake at elevate youth club on Friday night, and I have to be honest, amidst the extreme hyperactivity and elevated adolescent hormone levels, I wasn't expecting to hear from God in the way that we did that night. I'm not even sure how many were actually paying attention to the movie, but we were watching Evan Almighty around about 2am, and God had this to say about our seemingly unanswered prayers.

If someone prays for patience, do you think God gives them patience? Or does he give them the opportunity to be patient? If they pray for courage, does God give them courage, or does he give them opportunities to be courageous? If someone prayed for their family to be closer, you think God zaps them with warm, fuzzy feelings? Or does he give them opportunities to love each other?

I love that thought, lets try to make the most of the opportunties that God gives us.

fundraising...

is a pain in the backside. I find it so hard and feel bad asking people for money. Perhaps that's part of our carnal desire to seem independant and not reliant on each other. It's also really hard being creative enough to think of original fundraising ideas. So if you have any, please leave a comment!

That is the glorious thing about fundraising, people coming together in community trying to achieve a mutual goal. And I would like to take this opportunity to thank those who have sown into my life whether prayerfully, financially or any other way. Here's a couple more fundraising events coming up that you are all cordially invited to, and I/we would appreciate your support.

Romania team - A group of 15 young people from church going out to serve for 2 weeks in Transylvania region of Romania (that's right, where Dracula is from!)

Sat 9th May: Romania team auction, High street methodist Lurgan, 7:30pm
Sat 30th May: Table-Quiz, High street methodist, 7:30pm

Rwanda Trip - Luke, Dave, Mark and myself heading out to northern uganda/rwanda/congo dr to help victims of human rights atrocities including child soldiers.

Wed 13th May - Fine Cine Evening, Oasis Cafe Elmwood Avenue, Belfast, 7ish PM, free popcorn!
Sat 16th May - Fine Cine Evening, High street methodist Lurgan, 7:30pm, free popcorn!
Sat 23rd May - 85 mile cycle around Lough Neagh

Thanks!

Cup of tea father?

This year for lent I gave up drinking tea. Other things I have given up in the past have been lying in, my computer, the standard chocolate, but this was by far and away my hardest ever lent.

I also decided to give up coffee and hot chocolate. I don't really drink either that often but I figured I would only turn to them in replacement for the tea.

Prior to lent I was pondering what could I give up, and even what was the point of doing a lent just for the sake of it. Then someone in work spotted that I consume a large volume of tea and suggested I give that up. I thought to myself what a proposterous idea, I wouldn't even want to give up tea, let alone be able to!

Then it occurred me. I finally had reason to lent this year. I actually had something I could fast that I didn't believe I could, in order to be more like Jesus ( - yeh I know, what a saint! I gave up tea.... Jesus gave up all consumables!!)

So in the first few days of my lent, I actually had a consistant 120 hour headache from caffeine withdrawal <-- not recommended! and as time passed by I thought it should get easier.... it didn't. The edge of wanting a cup of tea was just as strong from one break to the next, and with people all around the office drinking it, it became almost unbareable. Respect goes to Jesus for what He had to endure.

But I made it through, thanks be to Him, and I had my first cup of tea courtesy of an American, whom may I add for a yank (apologies if that is an offensive term, I'm pretty ignorant of these things!), makes a pretty darn good cup of tea. I don't think it was the caffeine in the end that I was addicted to, but rather the inexplicable comfort which makes everything seem better that comes from a good ol' cuppa.