North Ireland Spring Break Trip

Over spring break, eight Messiah students, known as the "Mess Team," embarked on a mission trip to Northern Ireland. This trip, initially started by students, has been an annual undertaking of the Agape Center for nearly a decade. This year, students partnered with the Church of the Nazarene, located in Lurgan, approximately one hour outside of Belfast, Northern Ireland.

Most of the services performed by the group were done in public schools and at the church. According to second-time participant and student trip leader Meghan Holland, the youth were the primary emphasis.

"It's great for the kids in Northern Ireland to have older role models," said Holland. "We are able to be effective because the kids think that we are cool. We are older and from a different country, so they are interested in us. Many of the kids do not have good role models, so this means a lot to them."

Although the numbers in the Church of the Nazarene's youth group have diminished since last year's trip, Messiah College students say they had an excellent time working with the kids of the community.

"We were able to build relationships that are ongoing," said Jason Potoka, student co-leader of the trip. "We can still keep in touch through Facebook, and a few members of the youth group will be staying at my house for part of the summer."

After-school youth gatherings, including a lock-in event, were held for the Mess Team to have opportunities to play with, love, encourage, and guide the youth. Sometimes the goal was simply to have a good time, while at other times the Mess Team made it a point to communicate with the youth through serious discussions on such topics as sexual activity.

The team was able to demonstrate their faith and impact the community through public schools in Lurgan's community. In Northern Ireland, students and staff cannot simply talk about their faith in public schools. However, people are encouraged to dialogue about spirituality, especially through religious education classes.

The Mess Team spent an entire day in a local junior high school presenting their faith and answering questions from children enrolled in the religious education class.

"Being able to speak about our faith in the classroom is awesome, especially for an education major like myself," said Potoka.

Northern Ireland, notorious for its division of Protestant and Catholic cultures, is home to some violence resulting from a lack of cooperation between the followers of the two denominations. However, students in Northern Ireland note that the differences and bitterness between Protestants and Catholics are primarily due to cultural differences and arguments over land and soccer rather than religious dispute.

Sophomores Genna D'Aleandro, who was raised Roman Catholic, and Joanna Haqq, who is a Protestant pastor's child, recorded an interfaith dialogue. This video has the potential of being shown in the area's schools.

"Obviously, my hope is that our video can be effective for the kids," said Haqq. "We got a very good response from the kids when we were speaking in person on the topic."

"In addition to the video that we recorded, we are working toward setting up webcam-like conversations between Protestant schools, Catholic schools, and Messiah College," said trip participant Chad Frey, Director of the Agape Center.

While the Mess Team was staying in the Church of the Nazarene, a police officer was shot and killed just minutes away. "The shooting doesn't feel real," said Holland. "We didn't really feel the effects of it while we were there, but it still illustrates the fact that there are issues."

"There wasn't a lot of hype in Northern Ireland, but when I got home, many people were glad to find that I was okay," reported Haqq. "While the event was important to many in the United States, it did not seem to be significant to those around us while we were in Lurgan."

Many big media networks, such as CNN, covered the incident. "I am glad that they showed those protesting the violence," said Potoka. "However, the media still presented the event as if it was an everyday occurrence. In reality, the situation in Northern Ireland is really improving."

The Agape Center is currently looking at the possibility of conducting this trip again in the future. "Even if the youth group at the Church of the Nazarene comes to an end, we still hope to be able to return to the area for service opportunities," said Holland.

"It'd be great to see the trip expand, allowing future Mess Teams to service in Catholic schools in addition to the three Protestant schools that we engaged," Holland said.

According to Holland, future trip participants should be experienced with or have a desire to work with youth. Additionally, skills in areas such as music and crafts are helpful.

"There is so much to be done on the trip," Holland explained. "Future Mess Teams should be composed of people willing to work together, just as we did this year."

In the words of a member of the Church of the Nazarene's youth group, Gary Law, "This is definitely one of the best Mess Teams we have ever had.