Nearing the End

This post has ended up being picture-less out of convenience. I'll be posting the pics that go along with it soon, but just wanted to get the info down.

We are down to our last few days here in N. Ireland. It's hard to believe we've been here for almost 2 weeks! This second week has been a little slower, and I think everyone is having to work harder to serve one another as we're all tired, especially the children! I've got a few days to catch up on, starting with Monday. The team trained in the morning as usual. John has said that they've got quite a connection now with the woman who runs all of the logistical stuff for Queens University's football program. It's actually quite a big deal to the JBU people here in Belfast. Up until this point Queens hasn't wanted to have much to do with JBU's presence here. They have basically ignored any opportunity for acknowledgment or engagement. So to have them be so willing to let us use their training facilities, plus to be able to build such a rapport with someone within the administration is a very encouraging step in the right direction to those who are here full time. Just the team's presence here has opened ministry doors in an exciting way!

Monday afternoon I stayed behind while the group headed out to go hike up the "hill" (mountain, really) behind Belfast City Castle. I was disappointed to not go, but there was no way this 31-month-pregnant mama was going to make it up and down that "hill" in any sort of timely manner and still be breathing! So while everyone else was in awe of the majestic, panoramic views of Belfast all the way to the sea I was back at the manor, snoozing away! Apparently I was in great need of a nap because I slept for well over 2 hours without even realizing it! After my nap I was able to just relax and catch up on some reading, some Olympics, and just recoup from the very busy days we've been having. John said the children did AMAZINGLY WELL on the hike, some parts of which were almost straight up! Isabella rode on his back about half the hike, but obviously loved the whole thing. She kept saying it was the best day yet. She told him, from on his back, "Dad, I'm going to remember this when you're dead!"

They didn't get home until terribly late and the kids literally fell in bed and were out. Poor things!
Tuesday morning was business as usual, with the team's devotion and training. After lunch John set them all free to do their own thing. A few of them took bikes into town, some others piled into one of the huge vans, and a small group stayed at the manor to sleep. Our little family certainly needed some time of our own - it's the first time we've been just the 4 of us since Tollymore Forest over a week ago. We went down the road to Lady Dixon's Rose Garden, the enchanted place John took the kids last week one evening for a quick run outside. I hadn't seen it and they desperately wanted to show it to me. It is beautiful!

We thought we had an idea of what the place was like, beautiful trees, huge rose bushes, then we would walk down a path and around a corner and see a whole new garden with a completely different personality. The kids' favorite is one they are calling their "Secret Garden". We stumbled upon it, enclosed by trees and shrubs, with a beautiful green pond in the middle. There were rocks and rock bridges throughout to hop across the pond on. There were miniature pagodas around, which led John Marshall to calling it their "Secret Ninja Garden". The kids immediately fell into some sort of make-believe, which just endorses the idea that nature is what they need to grow their little imaginations and feed their souls! They were so happy - they probably could have spent hours there! We were only able to spend about 30 minutes by the time we found that particular garden. It began to rain, so we ran to a nearby gazebo where the kids took turns entertaining us with Olympic-styled performances of tae kwon-do and a gymnastics floor routine. Once the rain let up a little we headed back to the van and for "home". The team had decided to spend the evening at the "3-pound cinema" and see the newest Batman movie, so the kids and I stayed back (of course!), caught up on Olympics, and had an early(er) bedtime.

Today was the final soccer game here. John gave the guys a slow morning and we all had brunch about midday. The guys held a chapel right before we left the house. Again, such a chance for leadership on the team and for some joyful "noise" to be made unto the Lord! We made a stop on the way to the game - we stopped at a huge museum for about an hour. The kids and I barely made it through the first floor and the gift shop when it was time to leave! They spent quite a while deciding on souvenirs from the gift shop - Isabella chose some unique rocks and a little stuffed dolphin, John Marshall chose a pocket telescope/microscope and a little stuffed fox. They LOVE what they chose and played all evening with their tiny animals.

We played the Crusaders' younger team, their 18-19 year-olds at 5pm. The team got to play at a beautiful stadium right in the middle of Belfast. In fact, Monday when they hiked up the "hill" they were able to see the Crusaders' stadium and saw the team training. JBU won this final game 2-0 (yay!) and then we shared pizza with the team after the game. It's been so nice to see improvement since the first game a week ago. The team was definitely more cohesive in today's game and it paid off.
PIC

We are all trying for an early night because tomorrow we have a full day completely dedicated to sight-seeing. We will be heading up to the North Coast in the morning to visit Giant's Causeway and later Dunluce Castle. We are so excited!