So here's the story.

Weeeeeell, well, well. Where to start? Thank you for praying - I got a job! I walked into a cafe in the city center on Thursday and came back for a short interview a few hours later, and got a job! It's actually really similar to what I was doing at the Red Twig in Edmonds... making coffee, serving food, cleaning, etc...The staff seem really nice and friendly. Downside is that there are major smokers who come in for lunch and coffee, so hopefully that won't gross me out too much. I'll be getting 30-50 hours per week, God-willing, and they're not open on Sundays so I can go to church all day if I want! Also, I'll get paid in cash every Saturday, which I think will be really nice.

On the home front (pun intended), I'm still looking. I'm currently at a hostel. It has a really homey feel, but the situation's not ideal, as I'm sharing a room with 23 other people and the bathrooms are co-ed again. To me, it's really awkward. God's helping me be patient, though. I was pretty stressed out yesterday but realized that as I keep looking and praying, the right thing will come about at the right time. There are a few people who may call me back. I really want an all-female house or flat, but it's super hard to find, so if you could pray that would be amazing. It's weird to be in limbo, but I'm okay.

I went to a museum today that had a huge exhibit about the Troubles, Northern Ireland's political/terrorist conflict. It's really unfortunate that I have no capacity for retaining facts and figures, but the whole situation is really fascinating for me and I'm thinking of possibly getting involved with some reconciliation group or something.

I'm not sure what else to report except that I'm really happy, in spite of recent challenges, to be in Belfast. It's a really wonderful city with happy, friendly people and I feel as much at home here as I can without actually... having a home. Yeah.

Well, I miss you all and hope everything's good. Please email me if you want! laceykirk@hotmail.com