Hockey, Parks and Noodles

Today was a combination of all of the above. 

This morning we had the task before us to bring the kids to the park in Sandy Row.  Comfort- the kids all are very familiar and safe in Sandy Row and know all too well where the part is.  Challenge- the kids all are very familiar and safe in Sandy Row and know all too well where the part is.  Nightmares perhaps haunted us about our walk to the park seeing in our minds eye that as soon as the door of Friendship House would be open children would run rampant and find their way perhaps to the park, perhaps home, or perhaps around the streets of Sandy Row.  There was of course great comfort and discouragement that any of the above options had been accounted for in a waiver.  To our greastest surprise all was a success, we walked/ran/met at the park spent over an hour there and made it back to Friendship House in one piece... although quite mangled perhaps from the "spin you as fast as humanly possible on the 'merry-go-round' and then run as fast as you can to the far wall and back" game we intitiated with the kids.  An overall hit, but resulting in some very sore heads and stomachs for the leaders and some kids.  While fully engaged in this activity one child alerted me "Beth, what is that girl's name again?" "Oh, Jenessa?" I replied.  She responded "Yeah, she just fell, and everyone is laughing at her".  Jenessa had slipped on the wet playground surface and was layed out on her back... of course kids find this hilarious.  Jenessa, immediately hoping no one saw was able to laugh at herself.  Doug on the other hand was still tightly gripping the wall as his head spun ferociously after his turn at "spin and run".  How glad we were after our stomachs were already turning on us to return to our home base for a "Mr. Noodles" equivalent- "Super Noodles" Lunch with the kids.  If our inards hadn't had enough abuse already they sure did now, but the noodles were as much a childhood favourite in my own Canadian past as in Sandy Row today.

The kids have become a complete joy to us this week.  Not that anything has changed really about their behaviour, but the bond between the kids and the team has grown in such a way that you just can't stop simling and laughing with them reagardless of what is going on.  Life will honestly never be the same, and the rawness and edge to these kids is teaching us about what it means to be real, and showing us the power of God's love in breaking down barriers.

The other divine pleasure we had this evening was attending a "Belfast Giants" hockey match with the Youth Alpha kids.  Upon reading our previous blogs about Youth Alpha one might wonder why embark on such a trecherous path with these youngsters... are you mad?!  I am pleased to say, yes we are, but also that we had a great time.  Although probably none of them know the rules to hockey, ever had a real interest in the sport, nor spent a whole lot of time engrossed in what we Canadians could deam a "glorified pick up league"- the kids engaged, chanted, chose favuorite players to hollar at (#71), and really made a social event of it all.  Most importantly we made it home in one piece, feeling great about today.