February 9, 2005
by Whitney Wilkinson
PC(USA) Young Adult Volunteer

BELFAST, Northern Ireland – Twelve teenagers sit on a bus, laughing and telling stories.

They are touring each other's neighborhoods and pointing out their favorite places growing up. They pile off the bus and begin walking through another neighborhood.

"And here's the wee playground where we used to play and where I still meet my friends," says Sean, as they stop to play. Some other friends stop by and meet the kids they don't know. One of the boys even gets the phone number of a girl from this neighborhood that he fancies. The teenagers laugh and chat and meet new people, a normal way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

The tour continues as they walk to a "bookie's" (betting) shop a few blocks away. They walk up to the memorial on the side of the shop. The wrought-iron Celtic cross guards a gathering of silk and plastic flowers, and the plaque above lists the names of those who died there. The light-hearted mood suddenly turns somber.

Ciaran, from this Catholic Lower Ormeau community, explains to the others that this is where five people were killed for being Catholic by Loyalist paramilitaries. One of them was his friend's uncle. Ciaran tells the story of a mother whose daughter was killed here. He says that she died of a broken heart after an Orange parade where Loyalists jeered as they passed the bookie's, held up the number five, and defaced the memorial.

Nikki from the Protestant community of Ballysillan looks at him with a face full of pity and concern as she listens.

This is no normal Saturday afternoon. This is Belfast, and these kids are a cross-community group I work with. Half are Catholic, half are Protestant. Most of these kids have never even set foot in the other's communities before today.

Both groups of kids come from working class areas that are prone to paramilitary activity. Some have even been involved with paramilitaries and fought their way out. At this moment the Troubles are given a name and a face. They all agree that paramilitaries, be they UDA (Protestant/Loyalist) or Provisional IRA (Catholic/Republican), are disgraceful.

In the face of war, tsunamis, and hunger it can be hard to see God at work. Thankfully God's work is not limited by our ability to recognize it.

Last Saturday, I watched God break down the hatred, violence, and sectarianism of generations of conflict in one day. If God can do so much in one day, what can be done in a lifetime? I am humbled and amazed that God would allow me to take part in His work in Belfast.

Now that I have been here five months, I am beginning to feel like my time here is both forever long and just a blink. My days are not always as profound as last Saturday. They are mostly pretty ordinary, with meetings, planning and youth clubs.

I was telling my friend Ruth how it can seem like the kids from my community project are just one bad decision away from the path so many of their friends and family have gone down. I told her that many of them have to work so hard to do what's right, and that it is so much easier for them to slip into drugs, drinking, and trouble. I said I felt helpless to change their circumstances.

She just turned to me and said, "but you do have club today." What simple wisdom she offered me then.

It is only through relationship and interaction with these kids that any change will happen. Often, these relationships are strained and challenging and the change that occurs is hard to see. I once heard it said that change is often so subtle you don't see it until you look back and see yourself and your life differently.

I pray for such subtle change for myself and for Belfast. With God at work in my life and in this city I know it will happen.

Information about and letters from Presbyterian mission personnel around the world is available by visiting the Web site http://www.pcusa.org/missionconnections/.

Presbyterian News Service