ManMade Windows

Last Tuesday evening around 5:30 I packed up my things to leave work as I usually did.  I went downstairs to say "hi" to the group of young men who had gathered for their Man Made project.  A guy from Love for Life had just arrived to speak to them about the topic of sexuality.  Not a subject I would want to stick around for.

I started to head out the door and noticed a couple guys trying to push these two young boys out the door.  The boys were familiar to me. They were always running around the grounds of YI terrorising passerbyers and trying to sneak into the building.  Last time they were in the building, they broke some equipment of ours.  Needless to say they were not welcomed into the building.

I decided to ignore them knowing they would eventually leave until I saw the youngest one (7 years old maybe) start spitting on our door windows.  He kept doing it over and over again and the guys were raging.  It was time to intervene and I went over to ask where they boys lived, so i could bring them home.  Squatting down to their level, I was slightly concerned that they would spit in my face.  I wasn't making much progress with my chat with them.

That's when Conor one of the young ManMade volunteers (16 years old I think) came out with a rag saying "wash my windows now."  He didn't rise his voice, he didn't threaten them, he just said firmly and with authority that the boys needed to wash the windows.  The young one (who spat) ran away while the older one took the rag and began wiping the saliva off the windows.  He than handed the rag to Conor and ran off too.

I was blown away by Conor's maturity and the way he handled the situation.  I don't know very much about ManMade (it's for guys obviously), but I do know they look at characteristics that make real men rather than what media or society tells them.  Conor could have lost his cool with the boys yelling at them or whacking them upside the head.  Rather he showed them what responsibility looked like.  Not only did Conor model this to the boys but also to his mates that were watching.

Our world is in desperate need of guys to be men.  I'm so grateful for the ManMade programme who help and support the growth of Godly men.  I pray that they can continue to step into manhood which is much much more than being macho but rather being responsible witness of God's call on their life. May these guys become ManMade Windows who transparently show the love of Christ in all that they do.  

Time for a Car

I really want a car.  I think about it all the time as I walk from place to place watching nice shiny cars drive by.  I get so excited for the time when I will have a car of my own. 

And that’s my goal that next fall I’ll have a car of my own.  It was one of things I missed most moving here, but the process was quite complicated to get a car or even to drive one.  You have to be insured on the car in which you are driving rather than the way insurance works in the States.  I also don’t know how to drive stick shift very well, which is a bit complicated.  I hated the idea that after 10 years of driving, I would have to start over again.  It just didn’t seem fair (especially since I let a Glasgowian borrow my car regularly during my gap year.)  Couldn’t someone repay the favour?!

As much as I missed having a car, I also wasn’t very motivated to get a car.  I began to really like walking to places and taking the bus.  My legs have never been so muscular in all my days.  I loved running into people on the bus or walking through the neighbourhood.  It became my way of connecting with people and feeling apart of the community here.

But the time has come that I am ready to move onto the next step of my Belfast life.  It’s time to get a car.  I’m ready to step back, get my licenses again, take driving lessons, and look for a car to buy.  It’s a long process, but I’m excited and ready to do it… almost!

At my last supervision, I was given pure lector about how I often say I want to get a car, yet am I really doing anything about it to move it forward… aka- working on my personal support raising.  I need to increase the amount of money I make each month (which I need to anyways to live sustainable life here) as well as fundraise for a car. 

Naturally I want to shrink back and say “it’s fine to just take the bus.”  And it is just fine but I also know that I am entering into a new season of my Belfast life - one that includes more sustainability and long term vision.  So I swallow my pride again, and go back to working on my fundraising. 

By next fall, I have a goal of having a car.  It’s about time I start working on it! I’ve sent away for my provisional licenses (learners permit) and I am spending time on my fundraising.  They are small steps, but I can’t wait to have a car of my own!