The Happenings at LES - Week One and a Half

I moved into a flat above the school last Saturday! It's a double flat so I share a bathroom, kitchen, and living area with a girl from London. This is my room:



View from my room!

The view at night, but this picture doesn't do it justice!

The room looks different now with all my stuff unpacked but it's very nice and has a lot of wardrobe space on the left. Now that I've moved in AND done my first ever grocery shop, I feel more settled!
Saturday afternoon, we went to another Thanksgiving dinner which was super yummy and then played some Wii Sports and Just Dance to burn off some of those calories. :)
On Sunday, I went to church with the Dieters and my flatmate, Tolu. I managed to join a choir that will be performing carols at a Christmas concert next Sunday. Here are some pictures of the church and the views of the city from across the street:



I started working at the school on Monday.

I'm in the infant department and helping out with the music classes for the nursery (3 year olds) and Bible for the lower and upper kindergarten (4 and 5 year olds). It's fun but quite exhausting. Every day is different and some days are busier than others. The children are cute but, of course, there are always the few difficult ones. Most of them I only see once a week so it's hard to know all their names when there's 207 of them! But whenever I'm in the playground on duty, I see them again and can play with them which has helped get to know them better. Every morning there is a staff prayer held in the senior building chapel. That's a nice time to sing and hear a short message with all the teachers! Then, after school, I'm usually quite tired so I don't do much but I have managed to concoct several dinners! (I REALLY need to do laundry...)

In Lebanon, instead of Halloween, they have St. Barbara's Day which is worth researching, because she has a very interesting story. They now celebrate Halloween too but that's fairly recent. The kids wear masks and ask for candy. Each class made their own mask or headband and they're very creative!

These pictures are at chapel and after they went to Dr. Steve, the principal, to get candy. They also made Burbara for the staff which is mainly made of boiled barley, raisins, and walnuts. It's quite yummy!

On Wednesdays, the foreign staff get together for either a prayer meeting or dinner. This week was a prayer meeting and after a couple of us hung out in the senior building TV room and watched Pitch Perfect.

A couple of the American teachers invited me to go with them to Hamra, downtown Beirut, to a coffee shop and I helped them with grading. We took buses and I had my first man'ousheh which is dough with cheese and/or za'atar (which is like thyme mixed with a few other herbs) - I chose to have half and half! It was delicious! It was nice to get out and around and experience some of Lebanon.



That evening a group of us from the school went to a Christmas concert where a woman played the violin and piano and sang! She was very good and there were two other guys, one who played the piano and one who played the guitar. They were all great musicians and it was so nice to listen to them.

Tolu, Kay, and me outside the concert hall



Joy Kim

On Sunday after church, we had a choir practice and then went to the Dieter's for cookie decorating! Jonathan is very strict about his ancient family tradition so we had to follow his instructions and form an assembly line. We made wreaths, angels, snowmen, stars, Santas, and Christmas trees (hopefully that's in the right order!!). They turned out really well and were yummy too. I will give a prize to the first person who can spot the one cookie that's different from the rest.

 

working hard!

At the end, we were very kindly allowed one cookie to decorate however we wanted. :) I chose a Santa and "bejeweled" him.

Before

After

I had my first Arabic lesson on Monday which went quite well. In school, I was able to listen to people speak and pick out words that I recognized. Maybe I'll be fluent by the end... We'll see!

We had the day off school today because there was supposed to be a big storm. It rained this morning but that was all. It was nice and refreshing to have the day off though!

I would appreciate prayer for having strength throughout the whole day, for making greater connections with the children and staff, safety, and letting God work through me here. I have started to wake up earlier to do devotions but could definitely spend more time with Him. Thanks!











بيروت!

I arrived to Beirut airport at 2am yesterday! It is two hours ahead of the UK and seven ahead of the States. It was a good time to arrive because otherwise there would have been lots of traffic! On the flight over, there were very few people on the plane so a lot of people spread out and laid down over three chairs. I decided to watch The Great Gatsby with Arabic subtitles :)

 

I'm staying with Naomi and Jonathan and their three children for a couple days before I move into my flat in the Junior School. This is the pretty view from their porch!

We went to a supermarket, the phone shop, and Starbucks today - very exciting!

 



Had a Thanksgiving dinner tonight with other Americans. It was so yummy! Going to see the school tomorrow... Stay tuned for more information coming soon!

*insert witty Scottish phrase here*

Besides from church services and church programmes, there is a lot going on in Scotland and the Glasgow area! One Saturday I went up north into the Highlands to Inverness, for a Shinty/Hurling match. It was Ireland against Scotland and Ireland, obviously, won. :) It was very cold and rainy but it was good fun and we got on TV!

The Irish play hurling and the Scots play shinty, they are slightly different sports so it's interesting to watch! You should look it up if you've never heard of either sport.

The next day, Sunday afternoon, a group from Cartsbridge went to the largest windmill farm in Europe! It was such a nice day when we started on our walk but once we got in among the turbines, it started hailing – typical. J There was a lovely café there, though, where we went to dry off and warm up.

 

That night I went to Calderwood Baptist Church for their evening service with a friend who goes there. It was good to see what another church in the area was like and I had the privilege of helping them set up for “the best playgroup ever” that met the next morning. I have to say, the toys were pretty cool. J

The  next Saturday, I skyped one of the other FirstServers, Rachel, who was doing well in Aberdeen and is now back home for Christmas. That night, a girl from the church had a fundraising ceilidh for her trip to India and it was so much fun! It’s great exercise and it was such a laugh. I compiled some youtube videos of all the dances we did so if anyone wants to see what they’re like, let me know!

On a Tuesday night, after choir, I went into Glasgow Uni and went to a CU event called source. It was a music/art event and there were a whole bunch of sets from spoken word, to improv, to harp playing. It was really cool and a great way to see a bit of the uni and student life. The day before I left, I went back into the West End in the daytime to see the campus and buildings, it's really pretty and looks like Hogwarts.

Some strange specimen in the Botanic Gardens

I met up again with Tara and her mum was over so we went for lunch on Saturday which was lovely, great to catch up, and talk about the memories of Portrush/Portstewart. That night, a group of girls from the church and I went for dinner and a show. We had a yummy dinner at a restaurant and then went to see 42^nd Street. Besides the rubbish American accents, it was a good production and it felt so good to be back in the theatre! J









 

 On Monday, I went with a friend to a local disabled Scouts group. They were learning about film-making and spilt up into actors, cameramen, directors, and scriptwriters to prepare a film. I was helping a bling guy and it was lots of fun. All the guys were hilarious. After that, I, again, went to basketball. Not sure why I even try… J Thursday night, I went with two friends to see Catching Fire! One was a die-hard fan and was very emotional (for the duration. :p) It was a great movie, though, they did a good job. A group of us went to Loch Lomond for a wee outing which was a lovely way to finish my time here.

 

 

 

Me and my "family" :)

I thoroughly enjoyed my time at all the programmes I helped with. As well as going along to them, I also prepared games for a school SU group, read stories at a nursery and at the Stepping Stones toddler group, taught the choir a new song, did a talk at King’s Club, went to a water park with the Youth Club, and led a Sunday Club class.

It has all been such a great experience and I will never forget any of it or any of the people. I had some downtime during the week which I tried to use wisely and spend quiet time reading the Bible and praying in a coffee shop – away from the ever increasing distractions. YF and Freedom in Christ were great additions to my week, surrounded by people my age all learning more about God. The discipleship course that they gave us at Tilsley has been amazing and I have learned so much and have been reminded of Christian principles to apply to my daily life.

The last adventure I had before the trip to the airport was to basketball. I managed to bend my finger back and now it is swollen and bruised.

  First the wasp sting on my eye, now this – so far I’ve had two injuries, hopefully not too many more! I have learned so much about cars in the last five weeks from the Stewart boys, finally bought myself some wellie boots, and taught the Scots how to eat Cadbury fingers with their tea – it was a great placement and I will miss Glasgow. Definitely will be back for a wee visit in the future!  

I've Learned to Dance in the Rain

Week one of my placement here at Cartsbridge Evangelical Church is complete! Seems like I just got here yesterday and after getting over an ugly cold, I now feel happy and settled here. It has rained almost every day but everyone in the church is very welcoming and there are quite a few youth too. :) My host family is so nice and it is fun to spend my down time with them.

Gordon and Lynn, and their two boys: Joshua (3 years) and Ethan (20 months)

Here are some pictures of the church:

Main entrance

sanctuary/main hall

 Here's an idea of what I did this week and what I'll be doing during my time here:
Sunday - Communion Service and All Age Service in the morning, then Evening Service and YF later on.
Monday - Stepping Stones nursery group in the afternoon and discipleship course whenever I'm home. I also went to play basketball once so far, we'll see how long I last there. :)
Tuesday - Story time at a local nursery or Tuesday Lunch Club (a senior citizen group) and in the evening, a children's choir.
Wednesday - CU at a high school, King's Club in the evening (a club for primary aged children), and church prayer meeting.
Thursday - SU at a primary school, met with my mentor, Hilary Templeton for dinner, and Freedom in Christ (a 13-week course they are doing instead of bible studies).
Friday - SU group that meets after school at a church and Youth Club at Cartsbridge. Twice while I'm here, I'll go to assemblies at a primary school.
Saturday - Day off. Last Saturday, I went to watch the church football team play (in the rain!) in the semi-finals of their league, then my host family took me to a shopping centre and we ate Auntie Anne pretzels! They invited people from the church to dinner and then I went with Lynn's sister, Jen, to a girl's house to hang out and play games. This Saturday, I went into Glasgow city centre to see my old friend Tara Nicholl. It was great to see her and catch up, it had been a while since we'd seen each other! And there was also a praise night at a church so we went along to that and met up with some people I met at bible college.
 Most of the events that I attend/help at are run by various people from the church but I go to the schools with Iain, the youth worker. They have made this such an easy transition with their friendliness and willingness to come pick me up etc.
They can still hear my American accent, a man at Boots even asked me if I was from California... so I haven't picked up the Scottish accent yet - but who knows! I have been finding myself fitting the random "wee" into conversations. :)
Thanks for all your prayers and support! I'm so blessed to have you all following my exciting journey.

Part 3 out of 4 Commences

Time flies. So fast. My week in Dublin felt even shorter than my week traveling around the North. I think it's because I was in one place and you get into a routine that makes the time go by faster, somehow! Being in the good ole Dun Laoghaire and Dublin area was so great and I was sad to leave. I loved meeting up with old friends and exploring old places - none actually that old, just foggy in my mind after years of separation. :) Despite what my mother will try and tell you, the weather here isn't too bad and it only rained once while I was here with several days being warm enough to wear a t-shirt. Here are some pictures of my fab week!

99 (ice cream) at Teddy's!

Public fitness area - made a fool of myself using some of the machines...

Pier!

Bagel from itsa... Yummy!!

Visit to old school

My favourite Starbucks :)

View of the sea from Starbucks!

Weird faces at Cabinteely Park

View from the top of the spider web!

HUGE pieces of cake with Lydia, good thing we went for a walk first!

Shankill with Rebecca!



Selfie with the girls I stayed with :)

I thought I would have lots of down time, and I did have some but it was balanced with escapades and catching up with friends.
It was nice to be able to relax in my room and think about all that has happened so far. I typed up the testimony that I gave at bible college and that was really helpful because now I have a hard copy and not just bullet points. One thing that I've really paid attention to recently is the lyrics to church songs. I usually love songs because of the tune but when I think of what the songs are saying and the meaning behind the words, I get goose bumps. They're more powerful than I was giving them credit for. One example of this is from the song "Indescribable," “you know the depth of my heart and you love me the same.” Another thing is that practically every Sunday I would go to the same church, but the past five weeks I have gone to a different church each week. It has been so great and lovely to get a view of many different churches. Starting this Sunday, though, I will be at Cartsbridge Church for the next six weeks and that will be nice to really see that church and become a part of that community.
It's been great here in Glasgow so far, just arrived this morning. My host family is so wonderful and have made me very welcome. I'm excited for this stop on my adventure.
Silly me, thinking that quiet time and prayer would be easier when I'm away from home. There will ALWAYS be distractions but I definitely need God's help to overcome them and deepen my relationship with Him. Missing everyone and hope everyone is doing well!
XO