Monday, July 28

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Monday brought the second night of the gospel meeting. Several more members from area churches were present. To this point, we haven't had a single visitor from the invitations we distributed, which is somewhat disappointing. Nonetheless, we have done what we could. Hopefully, though, we'll have one or two in the final two nights of the meeting.

Regardless of whether or not anyone comes as a result of the invitations, we are accompishing the other main task we set forth in this mission effort -- namely, the strenghtening of the local body. The combination of Bill's "how to" personal evangelism sessions, the gospel sermons during the meeting, Kelly's ladies Bible class (forthcoming), and the edification through fellowship is having what we hope will be a very positive impact on the member's of Christ's church in this part of the world. The fact of the matter is that most people in this country can only be reached and converted to the truth through sustained and consistent effort over time. We're content to be aiding in the sowing of seed with God giving the increase (1 Corinthians 3:6-7), perhaps at a much later date.

Earlier in the day, we made our trek to the great city of Belfast. We had long been looking forward to taking a guided tour through this historic city. We decided to take a tour on one of the double-decker open-top buses. The weather was a sunny 71-degrees (farenheit), a positively perfect day for the tour. Click on any of the photos in this post to see a slideshow with brief captions explaining what you see. The history of this city -- especially during the time of "The Troubles" -- is fascinating. We walked around in certain parts of the city after the 90-minute bus tour was over to get a closer look at some of the most famous sections of the city. We stood in the very spots where news cameras captured the aftermath of so many of the atrocities of the 1970's and 1980's.

Belfast is a bustling city now with what appears to be a bright future. A once non-existent tourism industry (for which there were obvious reasons) is now flourishing. With something like a 1,000% increase in hotel business over the past decade, all the grandest old vacant buildings are being converted into luxury hotels to accomodate all the travelers. I would recommend Belfast to anyone looking for a unique and historic spot.

Tonight is the third of the four-night gospel meeting. Look for another update tomorrow.

Thanks for reading!

-- Ryan & Kelly

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Photos

Harland & Wolff Shipyard
This was the shipyard where the Titanic was built.

Harland & Wolff Crane
One of two MASSIVE cranes in the shipyard. They've named them Goliath and Samson.

Old Government Building
The wall you see surrounding the building is 10-feet thick and made of concrete & reinforced steel. It was added years ago to prevent damage from the bombings.

The Old Courthouse
The spot where most IRA members were tried. Note the barbed wire.

Where It All Started
The top floors of this tower were occupied by British troops in 1960 when "The Troubles" had just started. The thought the struggle would only take about two weeks. They left 38 years later.

Wall Mural
These are painted all over in the "Loyalist" sections of town along the famous Shankill Road.

Wall Mural 2
Notice the British flag and the phrase, "Long To Reign Over Us."

Kelly At The Murals
Kelly taking time to read the messages of the artists who painted the murals.

Bush Mural
The most prominent mural wall in the Separatist section features a likeness of President George W. Bush (not a flattering one).

Separatist Garden Of Remembrance
Built to honor the fallen members of their party. Note the Republic of Ireland flag. There is an almost identical memorial garden in the Loyalist section with the flag of Great Britain flying high.

Wall Memorial
One of the activists who died after more than 60 days of hunger strike.

Sinn Fein Headquarters
The central office of the Sinn Fein political party, the most powerful and influential of all the organizations in favor of a united Ireland

Kelly In Belfast
A fountain that was moved to safety during "The Troubles" was returned to its original spot when peace was restored about 10 years ago.

Bittles Bar
This is where we ate lunch. It is a literary themed pub with good food and plenty of paintings of famous revolutionaries. The political leanings of the owner were obvious. Don't worry...we drank water and coke.

Ryan On The Lawn
On the lawn of City Hall.

Signs Of The Past
Razor wire atop "The Peace Line" that divded Belfast's most militant Protestant and Catholic sections

The Peace Line
Kelly is standing about 20 yards into the main Catholic neghborhood. Just ten years ago, this gate would have been closed for obvious reasons.

The Belfast Opera House
A beautiful palace that survived "The Troubles"

Meeting Place
The church rented part of this facility for the cour nights of the gospel meeting. It's very nice!

Sam The Songleader
This is Sam Sterling, an excellent songleader here at the Bangor congregation.

Comments

[Jenn]

Fried Stuff
Recently I watched a foodie show about Ireland that expressed that there is an obsession with fried food...not only fish and chips, but candy bars and such. Are you finding fried oddities?

[The Baron]

Re: Fried Stuff
Hey Jenn, well we haven't seen any more fried foods here than in America, but maybe that's an increase over how they used to be. They do have fried Mars bars (like our Milky Way) and of course excellent fish and chips! Love you! -- Kelly