A Round the World Adventure

For every country we have written about, there are just as many we have missed. Since we have loved every stop on our travels, and we feel a bit sorry for the countries that we have missed (mostly due to lack of internet or overload of activities) we are going to backtrack and explore a few of the places we visited in the last month or so. 

Our last official post was Paris, city of lights, home of our hearts. From Paris, we flew to Ireland for the first ever All-Ireland Calvary Chapel Conference and also visited Dublin, Belfast, and Athboy.

While each city made an impression, we most appreciated our time in Belfast. This was a stop, like many, where we felt a bit stupid and/or clueless. Ireland is two countries? Ireland has loads of bombings? (One actually happened about 50 kilometers from our hotel while we were in Belfast). Belfast had a wall going through the city up until very recently?

For a city that has been marked by division, the people seem mostly at peace today. Our discoveries certainly gave us a deeper appreciation and a greater understanding of the culture here. The most fascinating thing about these divisions is that they are tied deeply to the religious culture of Ireland, and religion has less to do with personal choice or Jesus Christ, and more to do with whether you are Unionist or Nationalist, Northern Ireland or Republic of Ireland, Protestant or Catholic. In the countryside, even the sheep are marked as Protestant or Catholic!

In almost every country, we have seen that religion is a dividing point. Today that division is based less on actual belief and more on historical feuds or political viewpoints. One of the most dangerous opponents of Christianity is that for many, faith has little or nothing to do with a relationship with Jesus Christ. Ireland, and Belfast in particular, made us appreciate the fact that we know Jesus Christ personally, and that our knowing Him isn’t clouded by car bombs, the IRA, and battles.