New Life City Church: Cross Vigil Day 28

DAY 28: Saturday 8 October

Volunteers clearing the site - keep what they find!

From 8 am we had volunteers working to clear the site behind me and at the side of our building. This is the site that we now own! They are helping to get it ready for the Human Peace Wall and for the Peace Pole. Even after they finished some of them stayed around until the end of the Cross Vigil.

Ted & Olive Long stopped for a while. They go to another church, but have been friends of New Life for several years. Ted has been helpful in recent weeks.

A lady was walking through the gates from the Falls to the Shankill. She stopped to find out more about what we are doing. During our chat she shared with us that she had been a Nun at one time. She talked about the cross community work she had been involved with for several years. Then she shared with us that her brother had been shot dead during the 1970's by members of the UDA (a terrorist group within the Protestant community). He had been a member of the Ulster Defence Regiment (UDR) and was based at the same camp I was in at that time. The pain was still obvious as she began to weep while she spoke of him. After some words of encouragement she continued her walk towards the Shankill Road.

Pastor Jim Armour came along for a while. He brought a double Mars Bar with him. I left on the stool and predicted to Jim that one of our lads, Glyn, would "steal" one when he saw it. Well, sure enough, within about 10 minutes Glyn spotted it and with the help of his partner in crime, John Cartmill, both bars were almost devoured, leaving me a small bite size piece.

Anyway, I appreciated their company throughout the day.