california, here we come!

i'm sad to admit it, but i've finally become a hopeless fan of teen tv drama. one of my lovely roommates happens to own fox's hit show 'the o.c.' on dvd. the other roommate (who is equally fantastic) started watching the third season in our living room, and i happened to occupy the other half of the room...now i can't stop watching. we've made it all the way through the first season, and are now working on the second. throughout high school and the beginning of college, i was thoroughly convinced that it was a mindless show completely focused on clothes, sex, and money.

(for all you nay-sayers, it definitely is still about clothes, sex, and money).

even after just watching the pilot, however, i noticed something remarkable about the sassy little teen soap opera. the idealistic public defender, sandy cohen, living in newport beach, california, with his epic-rich wife (and epic-proportioned eyebrows), takes in a troubled teenager from chino (from the epic-wrong side of the tracks), ryan atwood. it doesn't make sense...sandy cohen is just a 'good person.'

i had a conversation today about the roots of good and evil. we talked for a while about theological theories, etc., but we got to a core issue. 'good' action happens when someone doesn't hesitate to serve others, at their own inconvenience. 'evil' action happens when someone pays no mind to the needs of others (i.e., julie cooper-nichol). of course, this leaves a big neutral space, one that could be the genesis of both 'good' and 'evil' action. discuss.

to end my philosophical musings for this week, i leave you with a snippet of woodie guthrie's "christ for president:"

every year we waste enough//to feed the ones who starve
we build our civilization up//and we shoot it down with wars

on a completely different note, mrs. t's pierogies are incredible. add a little salsa and sour cream, and they get even better.

new troubles?

apparently, there has been a series of attacks on romanian residents of east belfast. and they continue. and, teenagers are getting involved.

at the same time, the loyalist paramilitary groups are decommissioning their weapons, hopefully beating their swords into plowshares.

[God] will judge between the nations and will settle disputes for many peoples.
they will beat their swords into plowshares and their spears into pruning hooks.
nation will not take up sword against nation, nor will they train for war anymore.
~isaiah 2:4, tniv

why do i go? this is why i go. keep turning swords into plowshares, and make sure the next generation knows how to do it.

reasons why

a lot of you have responded very positively upon hearing that i'm traveling to northern ireland for a year of volunteer service. however, i wouldn't blame you if you wondered exactly what help belfast needs. i certainly did.

this is certainly a part of it.

just as the u.s. is suffering through a market crash, so is northern ireland. what i see in that article from the belfast telegraph is that it's just getting worse...the job cuts are now coming in the public sector, too...and while many complain about the quality of service provided by northern irish public servants, they'll still be out of jobs, unable to provide for themselves, their families, and their futures.

that's where things like the east belfast mission step in. working to provide for the homes for the homeless, affordable clothing and furniture for the poor, work for the unemployed, and a community for folks to belong to.

so why am i going to belfast? as far as i know, i'm working with the youth program of the church, and the hosford house homeless shelter affiliated with the mission. to quote the mission's website:

"The local young people face enormous pressure from paramilitary groups and it is widely recognised by political and community organisations in the area that under-age drinking and drug misuse is also a significant problem, contributing in large part to crime and vandalism. Our vision is to offer these ‘at risk’ young people, especially teenagers who are struggling to find their way in life, the chance to be accepted for who they are and spend time in a safe place, while learning new skills that will bring about self-confidence and hope for the future."

any help i can provide with these programs will allow the leaders of the church to focus on bigger-picture goals...which is good for everyone.

love and peace or else,
andy

ps...for all of you that were fans of my long hair...it's gone :(.
pps...for all of you that are fans of hats...now i have a cool one...pictures forthcoming :).

the internet is taking over

quick update about fun things in life:

1) saw the indigo girls live! good show...check out the song "pendulum swinger."
2) i have become positively addicted to checking my gmail to see if i have any updates from northern ireland about next year. yikes.
3) facebook + google now have linked openid logins. discuss.
4) facebook.com/bair.andy. now it's even easier to stalk me.

love and peace,
andy

welcome to the adventure!

i'll try and update at least once a week...on tuesday nights for now, we'll see if that changes once i get to belfast and set up a solid life/work schedule. come after me via angry emails if i don't. also, if you're in the facebook group, you should receive a message any time a new blog post happens, and especially when i send out my official quarterly-ish newsletter.

to catch you up if you have no idea what i'm actually doing, i'm working with the presbyterian church (u.s.a.) through a 1-year service program called 'young adult volunteers.' you will always be able to link to their website (and other important things) under the 'relevant things' section to the left. (there's also a link for donating to me! hurray!)

in march 2009, all of the prospective young adult volunteers (yav's) came together at louisville seminary in louisville, kentucky. after much airport hassle, i arrived as well, and found myself in the middle of an incredibly spiritual weekend of discernment, fellowship, and learning. both parties (myself and the site coordinators) were equally involved and important in this placement process...i made clear where i felt called to serve, and the coordinators made clear who they wanted to serve with them. i left with a plan, and the promise of living in belfast from september 2009 to august 2010. (incidentally, it also took me about 19 hours to get back to williamsburg from louisville...what should have been a three hour plane ride or 9 hour drive...epic airport fail).

more specifically, i'll be living in belfast along with nine other yav's and working with the east belfast mission of the methodist church in ireland, and their shelter, the hosford house.

i ask for your support, whatever kind you can give (prayer, hugs, letters and emails, care packages, donations funding my travel and living expenses, etc...), during this adventure. it will be a challenging, yet enlightening experience, and i am far too excited to set out on it, but i clearly cannot forget you, the friends and family who brought me here.