Lock-in love

Good morning! Yes, at 3:30 I am saying good morning! Last night was the Lock-in with The Point, so after coming home and sleeping for 5 hours, I finally feel like it should be morning! We had a great night, out at Balleylinny Presbyterian Church, about 20 miles outside of Belfast. It was great fellowship time, with a few fun activities and a little discussion about church. The insight I gained about my youths opinions of church and its importance were very interesting. The fact that they go to church to see friends and because they are made to go reminded me of my past at UPC. When I asked if they often thought about God or faith or anything religious while at church they said only during the hymns and when I ask them questions in bible class (Sunday school). As I thought about it, I was very much like them when I was their age. It wasn't until much later that I really began to claim my faith. The honesty and openness to talk about it was wonderful. One of my youth told me that in the past he would have always said what the volunteer wanted to hear (I am the 7th PC(USA) volunteer at Fortwilliam) but the he could be honest with me, which was pretty sweet.

We made stained glass windows using shredded crayons and wax paper. They didn't turn out quite how I remembered them from my kindergarten days, but it was still fun.

We also had a biscuit castle building contest, where each team was given a pack of custard cremes (my favorite biscuits) and 4 toothpicks to build a creation. The results were judged and the winning team was awarded a gallon of milk to drink with their biscuits. The flag was the winning factor...


The highlight of the night for me was our flossing party. The previous week at the point we had talked about flossing and how none of my youth do, so I made sure to bring mine with me last night. We all headed to the toilet to brush our teeth and floss our teeth. As I handed each person a string of floss, they looked at me unsure of what to do with it. All but one of them had never flossed before, NEVER. I was so shocked! I taught them how to wind it around their fingers and how to use their thumbs and pointer fingers to get it between their teethies. It was hysterical and definitely a bonding experience! And maybe, just maybe, they will continue to floss. check out the picture, it was great!


Overall, a great night- minus the zero sleep even though we technically went to bed at 3:15.
On a different note, I am officially going to Egypt on 27 March! I am so so excited! The getting there will be fun, I'll take a bus at 1am to Dublin to get my 6.30 flight to Paris then on to Cairo. Will be an adventure. My friend in Spain, Bryce, will fly in about 20min before me. sweet!

I hope you are well. I know the weather is a little wintery in NC and around there... be glad you're not just getting coldness... and those of you in Africa, Peru, and other tropical places... enjoy the sweating!