ch..ch..ch..ch..changes!

The incredible lessons of a GAP year never cease to be taught. It's strange living in a situation like this, and sometimes I wonder what the point actually is. Especially because it is taking a year out of my normal life. It can be quite easy to get caught up in the daily "drudge"; the bus rides to work, the research, the prep work for events, the communication, even the weather. It can be slightly disheartening at times. I am entering the the third stage of my Gap year and I think it's a good time to assess.

I often find it difficult to view my service as valuable because, realistically, if I didn't do it someone else would. Most of the things I do aren't really difficult, they're just time consuming. And I feel like I do them just to free up others to do the more complicated things.

But is that really the case? In a practical sense, yes. In a creative sense, maybe not. I am struck, recently by the different qualities each person brings to a team. Everyone has gifts and talents that are often highlighted in the service they do. This can add a life to situations and have a very edifying effect on others. It's helped me to see the value not so much in the tasks themselves, but in the spirit of the one who completes them.

This has proved to be a difficult year in many respects and I think I have been in a continual process of change since I arrived..(which, I've discovered, can be quite painful.)
I find it encouraging to remember that to experience is to change. And if I made it through an entire GAP year without growing or changing at all, it would certainly be a year wasted! So, I try to take it in stride, embrace the changes and learn to enjoy the process as much as possible.

I really appreciate all the prayers and support, and please keep them coming! I will update again soon and I apologize for the scarcity of my posts of late. Cheers.

Highlights of the year so far in photos

Working Away

At Powerscourt

Howth

NYPD Kickoff for Junior, Middle and Senior Groups

At the top of Sugarloaf mountain

Face painting at the "fun day"

Bray Head

Putting up posters on Grafton Street in November

Christmas Dinner

Post Christmas bowling

Spirit Radio

Onesies...for Christmas

The Lord's Day Celebration

Retreat at Dromantine

Satisfying my need for adventure

New Year's Resolutions

Many people have been asking me about my "New Year's Resolutions", lately. I find it somewhat difficult to explain why I don't make New Year's Resolutions because I feel quite strongly about the subject but I never want to offend anyone. So this is my explanation (if you are a person who makes resolutions, please don't be offended, these are just my thoughts on the matter):

I used to make New Year's Resolutions up until I was about 17, when I finally realized my "resolutions" always failed. Literally...always. It took me a while to figure out why, but after much deliberation I realized that New Year's resolutions aren't meant to be kept. You are meant to make them, fail and forget about them...until next January. It's a tool to make people feel good about the fact that they "intend to be a better person this year."

That may sound a bit cynical to some of you but this idea made me consider what it really means to set goals. I believe that if you have a goal that's important enough for you to change yourself fundamentally, or change your life in some way to reach it, then it's probably important enough to start making that change immediately. Why wait until the first of January?

I discovered my reason for waiting until January was I didn't think my resolutions were actually that important. If I make a To Do list I put the most important task first and the things that can wait closer to the bottom.  By waiting to start my goals I was unconsciously giving myself permission to treat them as unimportant. I also found that most of December was spent in dread of my resolutions and therefore, over indulging in bad habits as a last "hurrah" (which, naturally only strengthens those bad habits).
When I set goals I start immediately. I never say "starting tomorrow" or "after I finish this." Putting it off for any length of time places it in the unimportant category: Life's too short to be wasting time on frivolous changes and tweaks that can wait until tomorrow! I either begin now or it's not a goal worth making.
I view New Year's Resolutions as a permission slip to fail and I don't want to fail. So I quit making them.
Happy New Year Everyone!

Nollaig Shona

As the Christmas season approaches I find myself getting anxious because I know I won't be able to see the most important people in my life this year. I am excited to experience the Irish traditions and to continue to build relationships here, but it is certainly tinged with sadness for the absence of the comforting familiarity of my loved ones back home.  I remember all the Christmas traditions and how they have evolved through the years to accommodate different phases of life.

This year will just be a new stage of the evolution into new traditions. Earlier in the month I attended a Christmas themed cookery demonstration, I attended the Spirit Radio Christmas dinner and today I got to watch two of the Mahony kids perform in their school Christmas plays. They attend an Irish school, which means they only speak Irish at school. The plays were performed in Irish and were very well done..as far as I could tell. ;)

Last week I recorded my first ad for the Radio station. I was on the air! It was really fun and a bit strange to hear myself.  Hopefully I will get the chance to do more recording for the station in the future.  Otherwise, my time has been filled with lots of administrative work for the Kairos weekend (coming up in February). I am looking forward to having a bit of time off for Christmas and New Year's. I hope you all have a blessed Christmas and know that I am missing you all back home.

Nollaig Shona!

(photo: Rachel and myself going to the Spirit Christmas dinner)

Taking chances...

Something I'm learning consistently throughout my GAP year is: you have to take chances! I mean, people tell you that all the time. The way to grow and get the most out of life is to take chances..do something that's a little bit scary. I suppose I started taking chances the minute I got on the plane to come to Ireland, but I am just now  beginning to understand what it really means. Sometimes, the signs aren't there and you have to take a leap of faith and trust that no matter what happens it will be alright in the end. It's not always easy to see the optimistic angle and that makes the chances you take all the more courageous.

Someone once told me that life is like an adventure book. You turn to a page and it gives you a choice

"if you think you should go through the door go to page 73; 

if you think you should turn back go to page 45"

but the great thing about it is, no matter which way you choose, you always get to the end of the book. It really put things in perspective for me. I am very indecisive, but this made the little choices much less frightening for me. When I don't have control over a situation it's easier now for me to say "I am taking a chance on this course of action, and whatever happens, I will still end up at the end of the adventure book."

One of the great difficulties and opportunities of a GAP year is how to make friends. You come to a new country and you know no one. It's terrifying. What if you start to share things about yourself and everyone rejects you? Fear of rejection can paralyse people for years, but I don't want to be stuck in the same place for a whole year, I don't want to be lonely and I don't want to miss out on the opportunity to learn from other people! I find it helpful to remember that almost everyone feels that same fear of rejection and if I am not the one to break through it, who will?

Needless to say, I have been forcing myself to take more chances, lately. The result has been more rewarding than I ever thought possible. I learn new skills daily. Yesterday, I discovered I can cut my own hair (that's going to help my budget hugely in the future). I've learned so much about the culture and the individuals in the community here just by spending time with people. I learned that it's okay to let go of situations I can't control. I'm about to venture out to the city centre on my own and I can guarantee I will learn something valuable today!

I still get scared when the pivotal moment approaches, but I have the expereince now to say: when I took that chance it turned out alright. So it becomes easier to make that decision the next time.

Thanks for taking the time to read a bit about me and my growing process!! There will be another update soon. Cheers!

Where the Streets have no name...literally

They say you never really get to know your way around a place until you've gotten lost and had to find your way back on your own. Well, hopefully I can say I know Dublin now! Today, by far one of the busiest days I've had here, was made even busier by a last minute assignment to go around the city centre and put up posters at all the colleges. There is only one problem, or maybe a few...Dublin doesn't have street signs and if it does they are very stealthily concealed from anyone with less than super 20/20 vision.

So, Rachel and I went on our merry way into the City Centre, and walked around...and around...and around looking for the above mentioned colleges...We were supposed to be able to get to four different colleges within the span of an hour...but hey! I feel like one is pretty good for a couple of American girls with nothing but a google map that mysteriously eliminated Grafton street from existence.

It was a rollercoaster of emotions; this adventure through the streets of Dublin.  Funny at first, exciting, then hungry, then tired (and grumpy), then cold, then even more hungry. We walked up and down Grafton Street (once we'd found our way there) putting up posters in shop windows and at Trinity College (which we may or may not have been allowed to do) until we couldn't feel our feet for being so hungry. I came home to a lovely meal, which I ate in less than 5 minutes! And I was off again to another meeting.

I definitely have a new appreciation for the U2 song Where the Streets have no name and I think I am slightly more aware of my surroundings now, though I can't say I'd want to relive the experience anytime soon. :)
Here are a few snapshots of my day, enjoy!

 Grafton Street

In November

5..4..3..2..1..

And we're back, ladies and gentleman. I've been back in Ireland for about 2 weeks and last week was spent in Belfast, Northern Ireland where I helped with the Future Youth conference and the 20th Anniversary for Youth Initiatives! It was a great celebration of the amazing work God has done in the youth in Northern Ireland over the past couple of decades.

It was truly incredible to be able sit among the past and present workers of YI and hear the speeches of tremendous people like Jamie Treadwell and Doug Smith, to hear the history of the program, and to see the crosslinks performance of the current youth. Knowing that 20 years ago this organisation was just an idea and now is a full fledged charity doing so much good for the country is so encouraging.

It was especially cool for me to be there because some of my siblings have gone to work with YI in the past. My brother, John was the first and then my sister Anna. They both played a part (and made an impression, apparently) in the growth of Youth Initiatives. And here I am, so blessed to be at the 20th Anniversary of such a great program.

It was amazing to me how many of the staff I met in Belfast recognized me because I look like my siblings! I think a huge reason that YI has worked so well and made such a difference is the commitment of the people who work there. Their steadfast dedication to serving the youth of Northern Ireland throughout the years is astounding! The fact that these people remembered my family from many many years ago says so much about their personal characters and their unity as a group to forge ahead through all sorts of ups and downs all for the sake of giving hope to youth for the future. It is truly inspsiring to encounter.

So a special thank you to all the staff at Youth Initiatives for showing me how to put others first, what it really means to commit to something and what it looks like to answer the call. I am so blessed for having witnessed such great love and devotion.