We were moving everything around in the office today, rearranging the layout of the place, and someone had the ingenious idea of making a time lapse of it… Unfortunately we had already moved the desks before we started it, but here’s the rest of our morning…
Slowly getting used to the UK again! Spending the afternoon editing photos from my DRC trip & an engagement shoot for Lori & Connor.
Have I mentioned I love red cup season?
I made the decision. I’m sticking to it. I am going to do it.
For those of you who know what this means, hold me to it.
Two years ago today, I left Northern Ireland and moved to live in Glasgow, Scotland. I initially moved here to study for a computer science degree at the University of Glasgow, and now I am working with Christian Aid as a Youth Advocate Volunteer. In the space of two short years, so much has changed in my life. I’ve been in a reflective mood recently, so thought I’d take some time to share with you some of the things I have learnt over the past few years.
I found a hunger for justice.
God has broken my heart time and again for the poor and the marginalised in the world. It started in Glasgow, being challenged to love the people around me – the homeless guys, the Big Issue vendors, the drunks, the people I previously tried to avoid. Jesus in his most distressing disguises, as Momma T would say. I was challenged to really know them – not just throw a few quid at them. I’m still learning… I fail regularly. But, one of the dreams I have is to be missed by the homeless guys more than by my church. It moved wider through things like leading the social action group at uni, and wider still through Tearfund and other organisations. Now I have the privilege of working with Christian Aid to encourage & inspire young people to get involved in issues of justice & poverty.
I discovered that I’m a good photographer.
I still hesitate to call myself a photographer sometimes, it’s taken a long time to become more confident in saying that. Yet, I know I have some kind of talent in photography. One that will require lots more hard work to refine! I had a conversation with a very gifted musician friend of mine recently about how absolutely terrifying it is to put something you’ve created out there, for everyone else to give their two cents on. There are always those moments of criticism and negativity, no matter how good your work is. It was refreshing to hear those words from someone so successful. It’s exciting to see the doors that are opening up before me now, with a few potential trips in the next 2 years to shoot for charity and mission organisations.
I found community.
I joined an amazing church, and plugged into a housegroup. I met some fantastic people through university courses, CU and general bumping-into-people-randomly. I discovered that I have more influence when I blog than I thought I did. I learnt what it means to love, and to be loved. I learnt that I can only know myself as deeply as I allow myself to be known. I’m so excited by the people who surround me in this city especially, who challenge and inspire me to be more like Jesus every day. Thank you!
[More to follow…]
It is a month today since I left East Africa and returned to the UK, and I’ve spent a lot of time over the past month wrestling for words to wrap around the emotions and experiences of the trip.
Before I left, my greatest fear was that I wouldn’t be a good enough photographer. I learnt a lot about my style of photography, that I love natural, unposed stuff. I love to work unobtrusively where possible. I like to capture life as it happens, not just in set-up moments. That said, I grew in confidence in setting up shots, asking people to do something or stand somewhere for a shot.
I discovered that I have a passion for cities! I was returning by bus from a couple of days up in Kamuli district, and as we got closer and closer to Kampala I could feel the excitement growing in me. I love the hustle and bustle, the constant interaction between people. It’s been interesting to discover this, as someone who grew up in the middle of nowhere! I still love to be able to escape to the ocean and the hills, but I adore being in big cities and around people – I need the stimulation that comes from it! Which also helps explain why I find it hard to sit in an office all day long!
I was reminded of how much I’m called to be a connector. I’m gifted at networking – its the one gift I have that I feel I can honestly be open about! I was reminded of it as I had coffee with a friend in my favourite place in Kampala, Bancafe: I’m from Northern Ireland, live in Scotland, she’s from Norway, we met in Latvia, and had coffee in Uganda…! Over the course of the trip I got to meet a lot of amazing people from all over the world – NI, Scotland, England, Australia, Holland, Uganda, Rwanda, USA… It’s exciting to think of the potential there is there to connect people with their passions and to each other.
I learnt a lot about the difficulties of being white. It is almost impossible to get past the fact that you are white, and I confess that sometimes I struggled with cynicism about peoples motives in wanting to befriend us. It was hard at times to move beyond that and build meaningful relationships.
I spent a lot of time dealing with the rawness of my own heart, and dreaming about the future. I’m still dealing with so much in my own life, still wrestling with my own brokenness, yet secure in the knowledge that I am loved, and that I am getting there… step by step – even if those steps are sometimes miniscule.
The phrase below is one of the things that has been ruminating in my mind ever since I heard it, a few weeks into my trip. I feel it will continue to be there for some time to come!
“Love like your heart has never been broken.”
It’s been a busy few days in London, but enjoyable for the most part! I’ve been at the Christian Aid HQ for induction and training with the rest of the gap staff, and it’s been great to have time to spend getting to know each other a bit better. They’re great folks, and I’m looking forward to working with them and especially to our trip to DRC in October.
We’ve spent most of the day stuck in a basement room not very well lit, so have been escaping to the roof top garden for lunch, and to the local cafes and bars for evening entertainment! Spent some time in the Hub, and recently discovered that scooterworks (somewhere Jonny Baker raves about) is just down the street from the office!
That said, looking forward to my return to Glasgow this evening!
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