Heading back to Ireland for the next two days. Lori’s birthday celebrations. Our close friendship group from school in the same country at the same time again. A meal out. A chance to catch a few friends. Drink some good coffee. Celebrate some great friendships.
To enjoy the beauty of Ireland.
I’ve got to get a taxi at 5:30am to catch my 7am flight, so I’m off to bed. Back on Sunday!
Man I’m so late in writting up these trips!
My time in New York was amazing. I spent a week with my family just hanging out after we took the train from Washington to NYC. We did a lot of the touristy things, including several bus tours around Manhattan and Brooklyn. I celebrated my 20th birthday by geeking out. New York really is an incredible city… the architecture, the culture, the pace, the coffee…
Saw some beautiful architecture: the Flatiron Building was one of my favourites, and one I had been looking forward to most. Brooklyn Bridge is also incredible, went for a walk across it one day. Had a wander round the Rockafeller Centre (mostly known for the Christmas tree in Home Alone), and Macys. Apparently there is debate over whether Macys (New York) or Harrods (London) is the biggest department store in the world… I’m neutral since I’ve not been to Harrods yet!
We took the ferry to Staten Island one day, mainly because it was a free way of seeing the Statue of Liberty. It was great… you really do get some stunning views of Manhattan from the water. The Saturday I was there with my parents we had a wander round the farmers market at Union Square, which is apparently one of the best in New York. It was very cool… lots of lovely fresh, organic food and random artists with pictures, canvases and photographs. I met a photographer from Dublin that day!
My family flew home after a week in NY, and I stayed on. I had another 4 days before heading back to Washington for a week (the family had already been there while I was still in Latvia). On the Sunday I visited a few local churches. I went to Brooklyn Tabernacle in the morning, and was overwhelmed by it. I’ve never really thought much about how a coloured person feels walking into a predominantly white church service, but walking into a predominantly coloured church service made me realise how they must feel! I think it was a really good way to expand my horizons a bit more. Loved worshiping somewhere thats outside my normal experiences!
Sunday evening I went to Origins NYC, which I loved. This church was me… it is such a creative place, and I really like how it combines use of modern and ancient methods of worship: liturgy and worship bands, powerpoint and pews. Got a chance to chat to their pastor, Jon, afterwards, and was really encouraged by him. It’s now on my podcast list.
I spent most of the 4 days I had alone in NY just resting… I drank coffee, took pictures, walked in parks, read books… it was amazing. It was exactly what I needed. New York is a great place to photograph, really proud of some of the images I came away with. (Find them on Flickr here.) One day when I was just chilling out at Pier 17, I unintentionally ended up at a Korn gig…! They were doing a big promo thing to launch their new album just outside the shopping centre I was in, so here I am lying on the chair, taking it easy… only to be disturbed by throning masses of people and Korn blasting through the PA! I had to laugh!
On my last full day in NY, I took the metro out to Coney Island… because I’m a big kid! It was funny seeing the far side of the Atlantic for the first time! I walked knee deep in the ocean, I ate grilled corn, I drank fresh lemonade, I rode the 80-year-old rollercoaster (amazing!)…
On a final note, I found an amazing little place on 54th and Broadway called the Bagel&Bean… a 2-egg and bacon bagel with coffee for less that $4… I enjoyed it greatly!
I think it’s safe to break this news now…
It looks like I’ll be spending next summer in East Africa.
I’m going to be working as a volunteer photographer for a Northern Irish charity called Fields of Life in Uganda for 6 weeks or so. I’ll be based in Uganda, most likely Kampala, and travelling with FOL staff to visit various projects around Uganda, documenting what they do, and connecting with short-term teams they will have out at the time. I will also get the chance to travel into Rwanda, Burundi, and Kenya with the staff if any are going while I’m out there.
I’m so excited about this… to watch how God has brought this together… from chatting with a friend who’s been in Uganda with FOL, to a phone call, to a lunch-time meeting… to now I’m going! FOL are involved in a lot of great things: child sponsorship, education, health care, microfinancing, providing clean water…
I’m now trying to find ways to finance this. I need a job. And I need to start fundraising. I’m thinking of selling some prints of my pictures to fundraise (much like Connor did). I also really need to get a few things for the camera (wide angle lens, really good tripod) before I head off, which will incur more expense! If you know any ways for me to earn/get some money for this trip, please let me know!
I’d like to do a bit of travelling at the end of my time in Uganda as well. I’m definately going to spend a few days in Rwanda at least. I’d like to visit Tanzania, Kenya, and Ethiopia while I’m out too. We’ll see…
Excitement!
I am realising over and over again how restless I am. I can’t keep my feet on the ground, can’t sit still. I want to be on the move. I want to be away out and free of the issues of daily living in the west. Or maybe even just free of the hassels of living in the UK. I feel alive when I travel. When I’m out on a wing and a prayer and all I’ve got is God in me. When I’m loving others.
Travel is deeply spiritual to me. I experience so much of God when I travel… new sights and sounds and people and places. People mostly. I met some incredible people this summer.
Anatoli has the biggest grin I’ve ever seen.
Tima likes to drive fast on dirt track roads, and yet he’s willing to come pick up a bunch of foreigners and drive for 4 hours in the middle of the night to get us to where we need to be.
Liga, Dima, Vicka… so many kids who stole my heart.
Levi, a man who has the love of Jesus overflowing his heart, who slips in and out of prayer without skipping a heartbeat. I want to have that too.
Jill, someone I should have met a long time ago, who has many of the same questions, issues and struggles as I do.
John and Ali, people with a passion for justice and the Kingdom come.
So many Spark-ers with a love for our own community.
And so many more… I can’t possibly name them all. I am so thankful for the opportunity to travel and to meet people that I have had this summer.
But this restlessness? Is it good? Is it ok? The reality is right now I live in Glasgow, I live in the western world. How do I become someone who lives out their convictions and pursues their passions in a place that stifles dreams, disregards Jesus, and is all about bigger, more, ‘better’?
I’m thinking a lot about what it means to make space in my life at the minute. I think that’ll be another post… but any thoughts?
So… I was in Latvia at the start of July for 17 days. Our team this year was a joint Exodus – Glasgow Westend Vineyard team. We had 4 team members, but once in Lativa we linked up and worked with other teams.
The first week we helped to run a kids camp in Zosna. Half the kids were from the local city, Rēzekne, and half were from the orphanage in Ruzina. We were working alongside a local pastor, another Exodus team, and a Navs team. Our days were spent running around with kids, pushing kids on swings, playing frisbee, volleyball (some of the boys on the Exodus teams got a bit too into this…!), doing Bible studies, having campfire banter (Pregnant Phil… ’nuff said!), going to banya (incredible!), and dancing to Pharoah, Pharoah and Making Melodies. We were in a beautiful location too, right between two lakes.
In the second week we moved to Ruzina, were we helped to run a prayer conference and did some work in orphanage (same one the kids from camp were at). We stayed with a local missionary, Levi, who is a complete legend. There where 8 nationalities (I think) at the prayer conference… its true what people say, there is a real power in unity. We had a morning and evening meeting every day, both of which regularly lasted at least two and a half hours. We went into the orphanage a few days, playing with the kids, painting their faces, ballon modelling, singing silly songs etc.
The orphanage we were in is the best one in Latvia, so they have a good life materially (bunk beds, TVs, sofas, play sets, swings, etc), but they seem to be starved for love. The first day we went in, this little kid ran up to me and hugged my leg so tight, he just would not let go! They just want to be held, to be played with, to be loved. There is a hunger for love. Some of them have the saddest of stories… I only heard 2 of the kids stories, but they alone are enough to break your heart.
As I sat on ‘holiday’ in the US shortly after this trip, I was broken. I wept for these kids. My heart cried… “Jesus if you don’t intervene, what hope do they have? You are their only hope. You are my only hope.”
Our last few days were spent in the capital city, Riga. Here we spent time together as a team, processing, debriefing. We also did some ministry. We gave away some bottles of water. We went to a church meeting with some folks we met on the streets. We witnessed incredible healings. We saw more of God.
Personally, I received confirmation in my mind for Africa. The simple, laidback lifestyle. The poverty. I can do it.
Latvia was a very humbling experience. To be there from a perspective of coleading a team provides a new dynamic… I am partially responsible for these people, for their wellbeing, their safety. To be trusted to that extent by the team members, by those in authority over us, by parents, is humbling. I only pray I gave God glory through it.
Part of my heart is now in Latvia. There are kids I lost my heart to there. Someday (soon) I hope to return.
[Pictures coming soon… some are on flickr already]
I turned 20 just under a month ago…
It was pretty amazing to spend my birthday in New York. I geeked out all day long, was actually a pretty perfect birthday in many ways. It was our first day in New York, we just got in the night before, so I had a big ol’ breakfast of pancakes and bacon and maple syrup at the hotel. Next stop was the International Center of Photography. The current exhibitions were “Let Your Motto Be Resistance: African American Portraits”, “Chim: Photographs by David Seymour”, “Amelia Earhart: Image & Icon”, and “Biographical Landscape: The Photography of Stephen Shore, 1969-79”. All very good exhibitions.
My favourite was “Let Your Motto Be Resistance”, it had some stunning portraits. The cover image on the book (above) is one of my favourites.
I went to the largest camera store in NY, B&H Photo. Spent some time rummaging around in there, it was great.
Second to last stop… Apple Store 5th Avenue (Apple Mecca!). It is beautiful! The building is a glass cube above the ground, while the store is completely underground. It’s stunning. I got to play with the iPhone for the first time. I’ve gone through many phases with the iPhone… when it was first announced I was very excited, to “I don’t really need it, it wont be that great anyway”, to now that I’ve played with it, “I really really want one!” But it is ridiculously expensive, so its unlikely.
To finish the day off, I had a picnic in Central Park with my family. We got some grilled corn-on-the-cob, a calzone, and some fresh lemonade to celebrate with. It was a really lovely day all in all.
And so… I am 20. I’m no longer a teenager. I am an adult. (Supposedly!)
Here goes…
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