Belfast, Northern Ireland

Today is my third day in Belfast. we drove up by coach on wednesday morning. on the way up we stopped by some monastic ruins in the irish countryside. the countryside was gorgeous, like a postcard with rolling green hills speckled with white sheep and farms. at the ruins we saw one of ireland's most famous celtic crosses, which was spectacular. it was about twelve feet tall and covered in beautiful engravings. then we all loaded back onto the bus and made our way to belfast. on wednesday evening, we drove around in our coach through some of the major neighborhoods here in belfast along with a guide who was a history professor at queens university. we drove around and saw many of the murals in both protestant and catholic neighborhoods. the tour was pretty intense, i could still feel the tension in the neighborhoods.

i will try my best to give a brief overview of the situation in belfast. essentially, the protestant and catholics have been fighting in ireland for a long time. more recently belfast has witnessed the troubles, which came to a head in the 1950s and 60s. here, being a protestant or catholic is much more than a religious affiliation, it is a political alignment. the catholics, or nationalists, desire, or desired, for ireland to break from england and join with the rest of ireland. the protestants, or unioinists, desire a union with enland. for centuries this has been a point of contention in ireland, and things exploded during the past century. the troubles are acknowledged as starting in the last 1960s and peace hasn't really existed here in belfast until the past decade or so. during the past century, protestant and catholic neighborhoods were ruled by paramilitary groups, which were essentially mobs. generally, the protestants, police, and national government all stood in opposition to the catholics. belfast has seen much violence and bloodshed. if you were a protestant, you did not make the mistake of wondering into a catholic neighborhood, and vice versa. there were numerous bombings. just down the street from the hotel we are staying in is the hotel europa, which is the most bombed hotel in europe, and possibly the world.

so wednesday all 50 odd of us american students drove around these neighborhoods, which were once the sites of untold violence. in both neighborhoods, there stand murals commemorating heros and signifcant events in the histories of these peoples. it was a shocking depature from the comfortable denver suburb where i grew up. i cannot imagine growing up in a place where i would not be allowed to be friends with someone because they were a catholic or protestant, where it would at times be too dangerous for me to play on the streen, and possibly where a hatred of a different group of people would have been instilled inside me. while northern ireland has made incredible strides towards peace, i could still feel an incredible amount of tension while we were on the tour. perhaps it was because our coach bus was parading around these neighborhoods, but i still felt like i could sense the despair in these people. my thoughts and prayers recently have been centered on belfast and for the situation between the peoples here. i would ask that you would keep them in your prayers as well. just the other day, before we arrived here, some people attempted to bomb a house where a young infant boy was asleep. while much has been achieved here, much still has to be done. on a lighter note, while we were driving, some kids in one of the neighborhood pelted our bus with water balloons, which was pretty funny.

yesterday, after onlyu 2 hours of class i spent that majority of my day exploring downtown belfast with bo and ryan newton. we did some window shopping, which was extremely difficult for me. i have been eyeing the european style since my arrival in dublin, and the exchange rate isnt very favorable for americans, so updating my style would be a costly affair. i know i will not escape europe without buying some new clothes, i am just hoping i can wait until i arrive in eastern europe where things may be cheaper.

while on our adventure we stopped by st. anne's cathedral, which is on the outskirts of a catholic neighborhood and on the edge of downtown. again i was take back by this massive structure. one thing that has really struck me is the grandness of the churches and cathedrals i have visited. st. anne's really conveyed god's greatness through its massiveness. this cathedral was gigantic, like nothing i have seen in the states. being in a church of that size gave me a sense of the grandness of god. the cathedral i was standing in was massive, and yet it still cannot even contain a fraction of god's greatness. the architects of these churches were masters at creating a grand structure that would fill humans with awe and reverence for the creator of the universe. i could not help but feel the greatness of god while standing in st anne's. i have really enjoyed this aspect of the european churches and it has contributed to my faith and understanding of the lord i serve.

yesterday evening we all went to the morningstar project where justin zoradi, who is the older brother to one of my best friends from westmont, served for a year. we heard of the work being done in the community there and it was refreshing and almost relieving to hear that despite all the trama and horror that has occurred here in belfast, there are still good works being done. after visitng there, i went out to the crown pub in downtown belfast. the crown, which is opposite the hotel europa, is one of belfasts most famous pubs. this night was maybe one of the most fun evenings of the trip so far. i spent the majority of the night laughing with new friends and telling them my most favorite story to tell, which is the story of how katie and i started dating. it felt good to share something so important to me with these new friends, and it was also good to relive the memories of the beginning of my relationship with katie. i am starting to really connect with new people on the trip, which is a nice change of pace. i feel so blessed to have a small group of very close friends on the trip and a larger group of people i am getting to know for the first time. it is a wonderful mix.

just a hilarious sidenote, the guy sitting next to me at the internet cafe is looking into escort services here in belfast.

so anyway, all is going well here in europe. i am exploring and adventuring to the fullest. i have only felt homesick a handful of times, but those times have been important in keeping me grounded and reminding me of who i am and how blessed i am to be here and how blessed i am to have people back in the states who love me and miss me. i thank youi for your prayers, please keep them coming. as i already stated, i would also ask you say a prayer for the city and people of belfast and the troubles this city has experienced. it is an exciting and hopeful time in the city, but despair is also rampant in the neighborhoods. also, i really enjoy the comments on the blog, so dont be afraid to leave a comment.
love and blessings,
mikey