It's a long way...Factoid 1

C is settling into his job and at present has quite a different role to the last. He is, of course still feeling his way around in these early days. At this time, he has responsibility for discipleship and the home group ministry, and as there are approx 140 folk who are regular in the Sunday morning meeting, 90 in the evening and 110 folk in home groups, it means it a great privilege to be working and meeting alongside faithful Christians in what is becoming an increasingly secular society. He is also part of a great team ministry of four other All Saints staff and enjoys the interaction in 'the office' (...or is it a coffee shop?!)

A has responsibility for, well, not much at the moment aside from meeting ladies for coffee (not so difficult! ) although is looking forward to reading the bible "1-1" with folk as well as taking up membership at the Belfast Print Workshop–something she has sorely missed since leaving Sydney. It's got a great international reputation and currently hosting an exhibition of Australian artists, so is inspiring her to take up the ink and etching scribes again.

It may be a long way from Tipperary (well, 213.86 miles from Belfast) but Sydney is much further away—a staggering 17,500 miles as the crow flies! That's a greater distance than New York City, and unless we move to Reykjavik (unlikely), I don't think we can possibly move any further away than we already have.

The entire area of the province of Northern Ireland is not much greater than driving from Sydney to Wollongong.




However, we have both been surprised at some of the unexpected similarities between N.Ireland and Oz:



If we could ever see the sun, the proximity to white, sandy beaches and blue water is a clear similarity and attraction. The photo above is of North Belfast on a mythical dry, windless, sunny day.

You can count off at least 10 minutes for each shop transaction as the shop assistant chats to you—or any encounter in the street. There are many more dogs and dog walkers than we ever met in England, and the cafe culture is strong! It is a little bizarre being a foreign country that, at times, is so similar to our native homeland. However, just when we think we are getting comfortable, we only have to try and turn on our bath taps (that rotate in the wrong direction), or push our internal doors (which are hung back to front) or switch on our lights (upside down) to realise that this is Ireland, after all!