New Year, New Blog Post

We are 15 days into 2015, and I really hope those 15 days have been splendid for you. The weeks around Christmas and New Year’s were a substantial departure from my regular schedule. Four Christmas dinners, my first ever Boxing Day, a new city, abundant chocolates, and some heating difficulties in our house (now resolved). It was busy and exciting, so I thought I would highlight just a couple experiences from my holidays in Northern Ireland.

17 December- Before I enjoyed a Christmas dinner with the Peace Players staff, we facilitated an event called “Diversity through Sport Day,” presented by the Antrim Borough Council. Several schools from Antrim, a town about 20 miles from Belfast, sent students to participate in the program. We split the kids into integrated (Catholic and Protestant) teams; and I chaperoned one of these teams through a rotation of five activities. The first session was a community relations activity led by the Peace Players staff, which demonstrated how valuable it is to get to know people who are different from you, rather than relying on stereotypes. The other four activities were coaching sessions in various sports. The first sport the kids learned was Gaelic Football. Gaelic is a popular sport in the Irish Catholic community, and although I know very little about it, I think it is pretty fun to watch. The second sport was hockey (field hockey for American readers), which is primarily a Protestant sport. The last time I watched field hockey was at my prep school in Virginia. Soccer was next, and every kid there had more skills than me. And lastly, we had a basketball session. Passing, dribbling, shooting. When the kids had left we grabbed a basketball and played a casual and refreshing pick-up game.

24 December- The youth of Whitehouse Presbyterian presented a Christmas drama that was 50% swashbuckling and 50% heartwarming-true-meaning-of-Christmas story. Husband and wife welcome a rugged, khaki-clad band of treasure hunters into their Bed & Breakfast as Christmas approaches. The treasure hunters have decoded ancient manuscripts, following the clues to a treasure buried somewhere in Belfast. The husband B&B owner becomes so immersed in the adventure story that he neglects a young mother and her kids in desperate need of a place to stay. Has he forgotten what Christmas is really about? Thankfully the wife B&B owner has compassion, and finds beds for the despairing family. When the treasure hunters depart breathlessly, hot on the trail of the treasure, they leave behind one manuscript. The misguided husband reads the manuscript and his eyes are opened to an astonishing truth. The REAL treasure promised by the ancient texts (Matthew and Isaiah mostly) is in fact a baby, Jesus! He has a Grinch-like change of heart, and then everyone sings Silent Night.

An excerpt:

Mrs. Boyle: what’s all this? (picks up a scroll)

Davison: Please do not TOUCH that. It is an ancient manuscript, these are copies but the originals are more than 2500 years old. (Grabs it out of her hand). Thank you.

Mrs. Boyle: Well what does it all say?

Professor: Well, hidden in the texts is a code that points the way to an enormous treasure.

Rhodes: This treasure is everything. I’ve invested all I have in the search, and once I find it I’ll never have to worry about anything, ever again.

Professor: This, uh, particular manuscript reads,

“A voices cries out: ‘In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. Then the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Jonny: What does it mean?
Davison: It’s a map, over mountains and valleys, a guide to the “glory of the Lord,” the immense treasure that is a reward for the one wise enough to follow the clues. The professor here has worked through hundreds of texts, and now we know everything, except where to begin digging.

Mrs. Boyle: (picking up another scroll) Ooh this one looks reeeaaallly old!

Writing credit shared between me and Jonny Newell, with plenty of input from our brilliant youth.

 30 December- I departed for Glasgow! All five Belfast YAVs set off for a Scottish adventure. We toured the Hunterian museum and art collection, admired Glasgow Cathedral, and walked around in the rain. A friend of mine welcomed us into her home with her family, and served us haggis, vegetarian haggis, Irn Bru, Doritos, and other authentic items. And we got to see Scotland on New Year’s Eve, which is so important to them that they have a special name for it. Hogmanay. I don’t know what it means, but I know that Robert Burns wrote “Auld Lang Syne;” and Scots love Robbie Burns.

I took in this view from the Glasgow Necropolis, which I explored
alone because the other YAVs are boring.

 

I'm hoping to be back with another post soon. Less summary, more introspection. Bye!