February 19, 2012

Try balancing THIS on your lap in the car!

Celtic Cross

Love these old cemeteries!

Countryside in Belfast

"Giants Ring"

The Murals - Shankill Road, Belfast

Belfast Centre for Young Single Adults

Some of my children away from children

Loved the opportunity to sit with an investigator for a 3 hour Sunday meeting block. This was her second time to church. We thought we would go to the ward where she will go if she chooses to be baptized and sit with her throughout the meetings. We were not wanting her to be alone and nervous. She got a very warm reception and lots of attention and so now we aren't concerned about her not feeling welcome and comfortable. She facebooked me a wee message later that night that said, "I'm so happy to have found my LDS home and family." That made me so happy that she's feeling that way. She's a real sweetheart and we hope she continues to feel good about the things she's learning, continues to feel the spirit and will take the step to be baptized.

We're in the planning phase of our November 2012 YSA Convention. We are limiting the attendance to 300 (only). :-/ It's a 4 day event and is a bit of a daunting undertaking! Working out the logistics for accommodations, transportation, food and activities for that many is pretty challenging. Belfast's YSA Conventions have a reputation for being pretty fabulous in comparison to others that are held in Europe, so the pressure is on to plan, once again, a very successful, well attended convention.

We've discovered that having these younger missionaries transferred for us little old senior couples is a bit painful and kind of like losing your own children. Our Elder Beal has left us to go finish out his mission in Glasgow, Scotland. We've lost the best district leader EVER! (Actually the only district leader we've had so far.) But doggone it, he's been a really good one! He promised us that he would be back in May with his parents when they tour the mission with him as he exits the mission field.

We got a little culture by going to a BBC Concert that was aired on the radio in the St. Patrick's Cathedral - Church of Ireland in Armagh, about an hour's drive from Belfast, with our wonderful Institute teachers, the Nobles. We enjoyed some amazing young talent of organ, piano, baritone singers and a piano trio (violin, cello and piano). We got a kick out of the piano playing Chinese boy that has been here in Northern Ireland since he was four years old. He had a brilliant Irish accent that somehow just didn't fit him, being Chinese and all.

We were asked to be guest speakers at a Single Adult Fireside. Except for one, all in attendance were at least 60 years of age or older. One sweet lady was 82. I can see why it's a little hard for Darren, our just "graduated" from YSA 31 year old, to make the switch from YSA to SA. The one that was there that was around 35 is deaf. She had her 19 year old niece there to sign for her. That was the first time we've ever had someone sign one of our talks. And of course it wasn't ASL (American Sign Language) it was BSL (British Sign Language) that was being signed. Jana, did you know there was BSL? Don't know what the differences between the two are.

We had a fabulous zone meeting where we decided to feed the 28 missionaries and our stake president barbecued beef sandwiches. We got a little confused between pounds and kilos which means we had plenty of meat to go around. It was a BIG hit. They all seemed to enjoy a little "Taste of Texas." It saves them money and gives them more time to recreate instead of taking the time to find a restaurant and eat out. They went off to play some football and us older types (Elder & Sister Chamberlain and us) went over to Shaw's Bridge and took a nice long walk.

We had a very scary moment (actually, it lasted quite a bit longer than a moment!) of terror when we almost had a head-on collision. We were driving on a very narrow one-way country road enjoying the beautiful rolling fields and fences. It opened back up with enough space for two cars widths. We weren't thinking and we just sort of ended up on the right side of the road. Still on this country road we came to a hedged blind corner and around the corner came barreling a pretty good sized taxi. I turned and bowed my head toward my companion expecting to hit at any second. I hate it when we have those "American driving moments." They come on at the least opportune times! Luckily, since we were determined to stay on the right side of the road that the other driver made the split second decision to veer to his right to avoid hitting us. If he hadn't done that we would most assuredly have collided. No doubt he was wondering "what the heck!?!? Why in the world is this guy coming at me out of nowhere on the wrong side of the road!?" We hyper-ventilated for a wee while and then we were okay.

We walked down Shankill Road and looked at a few of the Murals here in Belfast. They have become symbols in this country depicting the region's past and present political and religious divisions. Northern Ireland contains arguably the most famous political murals of anywhere. Almost 2,000 of them have been documented in Northern Ireland since the 1970s. The murals tend to represent one side's political point of view, or commemorate an event or person(s) involved in the history of Northern Ireland, particularly during The Troubles. Almost all Northern Ireland murals promote either republican or loyalist political beliefs, often glorifying paramilitary groups, while others commemorate people who have lost their lives in paramilitary or military attacks. Some of the images from Irish Murals representing peace and tolerance are becoming increasingly popular with school groups who have children either design or actually paint murals in areas around their schools.

We visited the Giant's Ring. It is a henge monument at Ballynahatty, near Shaw's Bridge, Belfast. The big earthwork circle, roughly 200m (more than 2 football fields) across, is an example of a 'henge' monument. It was built in about 2700 BC. Now that's OLD! In the middle is a tomb made up of five upright stones and a large capstone, the bare frame of what was originally a chambered grave, covered with a cairn (memorial or marker) of stones and earth.

I have a thing for cool old cemeteries. I wandered around one for quite some time taking photos the other day. I saw many a Celtic Cross and was intrigued with what the history and symbolism is behind them. What I found out is that no one really knows where or when exactly this unique cross had it's beginnings. An Irish Catholic priest will have no hesitation telling you that the circle of the Celtic Cross is a symbol of eternity that emphasizes the endlessness of God’s love as shown through Christ’s sacrifice on the cross. That is unless he says the circle is a halo. He may go on to explain that the crucifixion is important not just as an event at a certain point in time but, as the circle symbolizes, as the unending mystery of how through the crucifixion and resurrection Christ continues to offer the hope of salvation to the faithful throughout all time.

A full cauldron of soup (with no lid) is a challenging thing to transport by car over to the Centre. It's extra thrilling when the car has touchy brakes. Needless to say, we made it there without spilling one single drop, so we did.

Sending much love your way till next I gaze upon your countenance, :o)

xoxox

The Sister

Hiya - Hi/Hello

Cracker - good "He is a cracker lad, so he is."

"I'm away" - I'm leaving now. "You away?" - Are you leaving now?

*** Hey Blog Readers! This is Jana (Blickenstaff) Fuller, the beloved daughter of Elder and Sister Blickenstaff. If you hadn't noticed already, there is a new feature on this blog! If you would like to be notified each time a new post is written, submit your e-mail address in the box above and you will be, so you will! Happy reading!