Wow. It is hard to believe that all the Young Adult Volunteers leave for orientation in Stony Point, NY, in just 52 days. Along with 7 other volunteers, I'll be serving through the PC (U.S.A.) in Belfast from 29 August 2011 until the summer of 2012. Each of us has received a church placement and a community center placement from our site coordinator Doug Baker. I am so excited to get to know and serve with the other volunteers and Doug.
Specifically, I will be serving with the Glengormley Presbyterian Church (www.glengormleypresbyterianchurch.org) working with youth from the congregation and the community in a mixed area of North Belfast and assisting with a parents and pre-school group, art club, and other programs. In terms of my community center placement, I will be working with The Vine Community and Advice Centre, which is located in a low-income area in North Belfast. The Vine provides a comprehensive range of community services to all age groups including after school tutoring, youth clubs, women’s groups, a senior citizen’s lunch club, an advice center for those needing help filling in forms, and JAFFA (Jesus A Friend For All) a Christian education outreach for children (www.vinecentre.org). So, I'm eager to learn from and serve with the people of North Belfast.
On a more personal note, in preparation for the year in Belfast, I have become a recovering vegetarian. I started slowly with turkey and bacon (Surprise, right? Apparently, bacon is a gateway meat...meaning that vegetarians are lured back to the meat-eating world by its salty goodness), and I've worked up to chicken and other kinds of pork. I have yet to tackle lamb and beef, but I'm sure that will happen soon (maybe even over the upcoming holiday weekend?!?!). We shall see! More soon.
Peace be with you!
