Corrymeela

On January 17th, after spending 12 days in Belfast, our group left the city and headed for the countryside.  Our destination was Corrymeela, an institute that focuses on peace and reconciliation.  Although it seemed as though we were never going to get there, eventually our bus pulled into a parking lot outside a dimly lit building and three enthusiastic Corrymeela staff members greeted us.  When we arrived at the institute, they already had a fire going with tea, coffee, and biscuits just waiting to be consumed-that initial hospitality was an indicator of how the rest of the week would go.  Our time at Corrymeela was by far the most restful part of our trip.  Most of our time was spent listening to a man named Colin share his wisdom on peace and reconciliation.  He told us stories on how he had seen the beginnings of reconciliation in Northern Ireland, even if it was just between school-aged boys playing group games on the grounds of Corrymeela.  Although our time at Corrymeela was focused on lectures from Colin, the four days were not all work; one night the staff took us into Ballycastle for a night off the grounds and when we returned the entire group sat down and talked late into the night.  Another day we put on waterproofs and jellies and headed down to the beach, and although all of us ended up getting severely wet, it was astounding to see God’s power and beauty in the crashing waves and serene shoreline.  Overall, our time at Corrymeela was not only the most relaxing and comfortable of our trip, but also the most thought provoking and eye opening.  There is no way that I could forget those four days.