The Elephant In the Room

I could use this post to tell you all about Northern Ireland. Or if I'm wanting to get a little more personal, maybe about my roommates, my new friends. I could go on and on about the many different ways I've learned how to prepare potatoes. Perhaps you'd would be interested in my goals and dreams for the future or you'd like a peek at my five year plan (spoiler on that one: it doesn't exist...). I could use this time that I have your attention to share about any number of real and valid things. Instead though, maybe I should address the elephant in the room?

I can confidently say that as I'm chatting with friends and family from home, the question I'm asked most often sounds something like "How's quarantine?" or "So what does life/ministry/etc. look like during lockdown?" It's a valid question. Two weeks after I up and moved my life across an ocean to dive head first into full time ministry, the world was sent into lockdown. No surprise, that changes things a bit. And while my temptation is not to add to the plethora of articles and posts about COVID-19 it would be foolish, I think, to pretend that everything is the same and that this whole global pandemic thing is no big deal. So let's crack on.

How do you self isolate while living on a base full of people?

I'm extremely grateful to have the privilege of living in a community in a time where outside physical interaction has to be limited. There are over twenty of us who live at An Cuan, and for the purposes of lockdown protocol we operate like one giant household. So no, I don't have to stay confined to my room, but I do have to be extra diligent to keep myself and the people around me healthy. Several times a day door handles, light switches, chairs, water taps, anything touched on a regular basis get sanitized and wiped down. Hand washing happens more times a day than I can count, and we do our best to be responsible about anytime someone needs to leave the base. We stay at home unless necessary and have a sanitation process anytime someone enters or exits the building. And those who live on base aren't the only ones apart of our community! Several individuals and families apart of our community are confined to their separate homes, and the sad reality is that we aren't able to be with them right now. Now is a time I'm especially grateful for technology and the ways it helps provide connection!

What does ministry look like now?

Here at the base all of our regular weekly ministry has been put on hold, and several big projects have had to be shifted and reimagined. As a base we've taken the past month to rest and reevaluate our different ministries, wanting to be 100% sure that God is directing us in everything that starts back once this season has passed. This doesn't mean we're just sitting around twiddling our thumbs, however! There's currently a Discipleship Training School running (that is made up of pretty amazing staff and trainees, might I add) and I am a part of a second level school called EQUIP. EQUIP focuses on what it means to live a life of full time missions, and specifically in our context of Northern Ireland. I attend lectures (now online, thanks Zoom) three days a week and spend my days working as a full time staff member at An Cuan. So life and ministry and the schools may look a bit different than I thought it would. Finding a new rhythm has been challenging and honestly, just plain hard at times, but God has been teaching and growing me in ways I haven't expected.

The Lord has been reframing what I think it means to live in community, teaching me that just because its a "good, Christian community" it doesn't mean everything is roses all the time. Like everyone else, we have conflict sometimes. I mean you can't exactly put 20 plus people in one building, limit their access to the outside world and expect them to behave like perfect saints, now can you? What has come out of these conflicts though has been a better understanding of one another and what it means love others before yourself. I've become extremely grateful to my community of friends turning family for their patience and understanding. For the wisdom they've shared and the love of Christ they've shown me!

On a lighter note, I celebrated my twenty-third birthday this last week and had a fun evening even in the midst of lockdown. Shout out to all my quarantine birthday buddies!

My prayers are with you all as you navigate this unfamiliar season and keep safe! Please, please send me messages with how I can be praying for each of you specifically!