Update on Us

Wow...how the time flies by!!

We have been very busy in the process of getting settled in and have already been involved in quite a bit of outreach, training, etc.

Here is a brief timeline of what we have been up to since the last post in early August.

• Aug 1st-15th: Involved with Big Red Bus and evangelism events with team visiting from Holland on a short-term trip
  
• Aug 16th: We moved in to the house we are renting, in a place called Portrunny, near Lough Ree
  
• Aug 24th: Dax's first official day at the office at Lacken House
  
• Aug 24th: Met with one of the top basketball coaches in Ireland to see about getting involved with his program - very excited about the opportunities here!
  
• Aug 30th: Finn's 3rd birthday!
• Sept 1st: Liam's first day of school
• Sept 3rd: Ran a basketball practice for a girl's high school team in Athlone
• Sept 4th: Played late-night basketball with a group of guys from Athlone
• Sept 9th: Liam's 5th birthday!
• Sept 10th: Taught a class on the book of Acts to our "Immersion" class
• Sept 11th: Shared a devotion for the team at OM Ireland and taught another class to Our "Immersion" team on the book of Revelation
• Sept 12th: Sarah had a Dr. appt to check on the baby, everything went well and the doctor thought it could be any day now!
  

I am so excited to see what God is doing here in Ireland and how he is going to use our family and what we are going to learn from Him. It seems as though some doors are already opening for sports ministry here. God has placed one of the top basketball coaches in the country in my path and there is a great opportunity there to take part in the program he has established - which could go a long way to creating some inroads within the community. I am looking at a possible event near the end of November involving rugby if God works everything out. And further down the road, I am making contacts to partner with other groups in an effort to do some short-term work at the World Cup in South Africa next summer.

Sarah and the boys are doing well. Sarah, of course, is quite uncomfortable at the moment and really ready to have the baby. She looks absolutely beautiful! Liam is really enjoying school and seems to be blossoming there. Finn is adjusting to not having big brother around all day and is really surprising us with his verbal skills.

We have not managed to get Internet service at our home yet. For some reason, which no one at the phone company can explain to me, our phone line is "not eligible" for high-speed internet service. We are looking at other options and praying that God will provide in this - as we really would like to be in more constant communication with our family and support team.

One major item we have left to do is to buy a car for me. We had a car given to us after we arrived here which will work for the family car - praise God! I'm hoping to get this resolved in the next couple of days.

We are reminded every day that God has blessed us and provides for all of our needs. We can't say thank you enough to those of you who are praying for us and supporting us from back home.

Until next time...

1st Week in Ireland

We have been here in Co. Roscommon for just over a week now and thought we would provide a little update on what has been happening. It has mainly been a process of adjusting to the time zone difference (8 hours ahead of US Pacific Time) and getting a bearing on our surroundings. We have also spent a considerable amount of time trying to find a suitable house for us to rent. There has not been a lot of luck in that area so far, but we do have 3 appointments this evening, so we are praying that one of them will work. At the moment we are staying in a 2 room chalet at the HQ, which we are grateful for but also anxious to find our own place. We also need a permanent address in order to find a doctor for Sarah and the baby and find a school for Liam.

Beyond that, I have been attending morning devotions with the team and just getting to know everyone a bit. I feel that once we get our house situation settled, I'll be able to get in to a routine and hammer out some details of what my ministry here will look like.

I attended a community meeting last week regarding a site called Clanmacnoise being submitted as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. The history of Clanmacnoise is pretty amazing and we were there to support the notion that the Christian heritage needed to be preserved and that it should be a place of living faith and pilgrimage. Their were other representatives from the community there as well, mostly farmers who fear that their land will be subject to severe restrictions. It was a very heated open forum meeting that climaxed in a "walk-out" after many speeches, cheering, and jeering.

Sarah and the boys are adjusting to everything pretty well. A lot of sleep and rest seems to be what they are needing and getting for the most part. Of course, they will be able to get in to a routine as well once we get the housing situation resolved. Sarah is enjoying the company of the 3 other pregnant women on the team and this fall promises to be very eventful as we welcome 5 new babies between mid-August and mid-October!

That's all for now...thank you for your prayers, support, and interest! We'll update again soon (hopefullly from our house!)

Goodbye Las Vegas, Hello Roscommon!

What an exciting few days it has been for us! With the help of friends, we successfully packed up the house and got the U-Haul loaded. Sarah and the boys went to the airport at 4pm to catch their 5:40 scheduled flight....which ended up not leaving until 10:30! I don't know how she survived that one. I stayed the night at our friends house (thank you Wittwers!) and drove 14 hours yesterday in the truck and stayed in Baker City, OR with Sarah's brother, then continued on to Enterprise this morning and got the truck unloaded & returned.

Our car sold for more than we thought it would, which will help us in getting a car once we get to Ireland - that was a real blessing!

AND...we received the go-ahead from our sending agency to purchase our airfare to Ireland since our support is at 93% and the exchange rate has improved! We bought our tickets today and will be departing from Portland on July 26 to Dublin. Praise God!

We still have 7% more that needs to be raised to get us to 100% of our financial requirement - this is about $300 per month.

This is a quick post, but we are all feeling a little wiped out and there is still much to do to prepare for our journey.

We do want to thank everyone who has been supporting us financially and praying for us - without you, this could not happen. Our God is good and it is our prayer that you will be blessed as you are a blessing to us.

Will update again soon!

Update - July 1

We are now at 89% of our financial goal - with about $300 left to get to 95% and be able to book our airfare. That could be just 6 more people contributing $50/month. That seems like so little, but at the same time it seems like a lot! In any case, we know our God is faithful and will provide abundantly for our every need.

We are still proceeding, in faith, that we will be departing at the end of July. The sale of our house is still going through and we have reserved a U-Haul to load up on July 6th to take to Enterprise, OR where we will store some of our stuff. Sarah & the boys will fly up that night and I will head out in the truck the next day.

Our commissioning service at our church was held this past Sunday and we were blessed with a special message from Pastor John and a charge from Dave McBride, who was there representing OM.

We are currently in San Diego spending time with Sarah's sister and her family and will return to Vegas tomorrow to continue packing up the house.

Please continue to pray that the remainder of our support comes in soon so that we can purchase our airfare quickly, for safety in our travels and moving, and for the boys as we go through all of these adjustments.

Closer...closer

Praise God for another supporter who joined the team today and with his monthly commitment, raised us up to 87% of our goal!

Just $371 in monthly commitments are needed for us to reach 95% and book our airfare to Ireland!

God is great and the jump of 2 percentage points today was a real encouragement for us. I am reminded daily of how he is in control.

What will tomorrow bring?

June 23rd Update

Just a quick update on a few things that have been happening in our lives since the last post:

• God has continued to bless our support raising and we are now at 85% of our required goal! Just a little under $500 in monthly commitments for us to be released to Ireland. The Lord keeps placing people in our path who have an interest in our ministry and want to partner with us in their finances and prayers.

• With a lot of help from our church we had a successful garage sale, clearing out a lot of our stuff and making some money in the process to help with moving expenses. Special thanks to John & Angela Caprine, Stacy Bins, Stephanie Osowski, Kerri Wittwer, Jason Green, Shannon Howard and everyone who donated items to the sale!

• I attended my grandfather's memorial service this past weekend. It was a great time of remembrance as we shared memories and stories of him with friends and family. I was blessed and honored to share the eulogy/message at the service for him.

• This Sunday, the 28th, we will have our commissioning service at Summit Ridge Church in Las Vegas. Dave McBride from Operation Mobilization in Tyrone, GA will attend and help give the message along with Pastor John. This is a service that is totally being done in faith that God will provide the remainder of our support in time for us to leave by the end of July. If you are in Vegas, we would love to see you there!

The next couple of weeks we will be working on packing up the house and getting everything ready to load on a U-Haul to Enterprise, OR. We will store some of our stuff there at Sarah's mom's house. Before we leave, we will take a short trip to San Diego to say goodbye to most of Sarah's extended family. We'll spend a week or so in Enterprise and then a week or so in Marcola, OR before (God willing) flying out of Portland to Dublin during the last week of July.

Please prayerfully consider what part God would have you play in all of this as we look to wrap up the final bit of support raising. Stay tuned!

Support Raising Update

Yesterday God added 3 new supporters to our team which resulted in a 3% increase toward meeting our financial requirement. We are now officially at 80% of our goal!

Again, we must be at 95% of our goal in order to be released to Ireland. That is just $700 in monthly commitments to go! Another way of looking at it is 4 more people committing to $100/month and 6 more committing to $50/month.

Please pray that God will continue in His provision for the financial needs of our family. All in God's timing of course, but we would love to have the remainder come in quickly so that we can book our airline tickets soon and save some money that way.

If you haven't already done so, please prayerfully consider partnering with us financially. No monthly amount is too small at this point...it will all go towards knocking the remaining $700/month down. Even "special" lump-sum gifts will be applied to our monthly needs and spread out over the 2 year period we will be in Ireland. For example, if someone gave $2400 then that would spread out to $100/month.

If you are already part of our prayer & financial support team, THANK YOU! Please continue to pray for us and if you know of others who may have a heart for our ministry, let us know. Would you also pray about possibly increasing your commitment by a small amount? Another $5 or $10 per month multiplied by 50 people would have a tremendous impact on our remaining amount.

Looking forward to seeing what God will do in the days & weeks to come!

Psst...here's a short cut to getting on the mission field!

Made you look! There are no short cuts!

It has been an interesting few days for us. Our support level is still at 77%. We have often remarked to each other that it would be easier if the remainder would just come in today, or if the exchange rate would improve, or if this or that... Basically, how nice would it be if there was some type of short cut we could take to get to Ireland like, tomorrow!

I'm reminded of a story about two lumberjacks, one who was young & strong and one who was old & wise. The young man was bragging about how many trees he could chop down in a day. The older man couldn't keep from laughing at the young man's boasting. With his pride offended, the youth replied, "What are you laughing at, old man? I could cut down more trees in a day than you could dream of!" This only made the old man laugh harder and they decided to make a wager on who could cut down the most trees in a day. The next morning on the word "Go!", the young man flew in to the forest and you could hear the crack of the axe echoing off the mountain as he attacked each tree. But the old man sauntered off to the tool shed, grabbed a file, and started sharpening his axe. At the end of the day, the old man had won.

There are several lessons here that apply to ministry/missions/evangelism. It is not something to be rushed in to, preparation is key, and it is good practice to keep your "axe" sharp. I believe anyone who is called to ministry or missions is also called to be successful in that endeavor, with God's grace. My definition of success here is to win people to Christ and bless the next generation - or in other words, reproduce reproducers who can share the gospel.

Here are some ways that I am looking to keep my axe sharp while I wait upon the Lord so that I am prepared for the opportunities that will come in His timing:

1) Practice faithfulness - I want to hold firm to the call that I believe God has given me. I want to offer everything that I am and have to Him, and allow Him to use me for a successful ministry. I realize that any success realized is not of my own skill or knowledge, but is a result of my faithfulness to His calling.

2) Be in prayer - Acts 1:14 "Those with one mind were constantly devoting themselves to prayer" Philippians 4:6 "do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God"
I highlighted the words in red because what stood out to me here is to constantly be in prayer about everything! Bringing our requests before God is both our privilege and our duty. Jesus modeled intentional, fervent, and undistracted times of prayer - if Jesus needed to pray, how much more so do we!

3) Be in God's Word - The bible is a map to understanding God and His purpose for our lives. It shows us how to live with and love each other. I do not want to wander in the wilderness as we set out to the mission field - I want to vividly know and live by the best map there is!

4) Find encouragement - Some of this can be accomplished through the points already listed, but what I really mean here is being encouraged by other believers. I'm not talking about just going to church, saying hello, and being polite. I desire people that can share in the ups & downs of life and be there to encourage me, and I them - it is a two way street.

We very much want to be on the mission field, but I do not want any short cut and I do not want to be beating on trees with axe handles. I want to keep my axe sharp and "...be a vessel for honorable use, set apart as holy, useful to the master of the house, ready for every good work" (2 Timothy 2:12).

As strong as our desire is to get to Ireland, Sarah & I have been reminded that it is not about us. It is about the people there that will be reached with the good news as God uses us for His purpose. Ireland is a country in great need and our prayer is to be used to help meet some of that need. Our passion about our calling is stronger than ever and we remain faithful to He who called us. What a joy and an honor it is to watch God work!

Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord

So, today is June 3rd. We are two days past our self-imposed deadline of reaching 90% of our required financial support level by June 1st. I wanted to take a moment to provide an update of where we stand, what our remaining need is (along with our strategy to get there), and share our updated time line.

We are currently at 77% of our required support level. At first I felt disappointed that we did not achieve what we set out to do by June 1st. But I am reminded that this is not about our goals and our timetables, but about God's perfect plan for us. While I have no doubt that we are called to serve in Ireland and that God's hand has been upon this endeavor, I am ashamed to admit that I have doubted in His provision when things haven't gone the way I wanted them to go. God is faithful - I just need to remember that! In many ways, our support has been like manna from heaven. It seems as though we get just enough every day to keep the percentage ticking upward. I am thankful for all that God has given to us so far.

Our remaining need is that we are required to get to 95% of our support before we can be released to Ireland. That is another 18% of our goal to raise - which comes out to $872 in monthly commitments to obtain. That would be only 9 people contributing $100/month! There are a handful of people for us to contact and/or hear back from, but the fact is that our network of potential supporters is dwindling.

Our strategy to get to 95% of our goal is this:

1) Pray
2) Pray
3) Pray
4) Be prepared for opportunities that God provides to share about our ministry and to ask for prayer and financial support
5) Reach out to those who are already part of our support team with 2 things in mind:
A) Do they have friends, family members, co-workers who have a heart for missions and may be interested in our ministry in Ireland?
B) Would they be in prayer about increasing their financial support by as little as $10/month or 33 cents per day? With nearly 50 monthly supporters on the team, this alone would produce more than a 10% boost to our required budget!

Our updated time line is that we will be cleared to depart when 95% of our monthly support is committed. Our prayer is that God will provide in time for us to fly to Ireland while Sarah is still able to (due to her pregnancy). The last day that she can fly is July 29th. If we are not able to go by then, then we will need to have the baby here and then wait a couple of months to travel, which would put us in December/January.

Well, that's the latest. We remain encouraged and optimistic and we know that we will be strengthened as we wait upon our Lord!

By the Numbers

We recently returned from a trip to Oregon where we spent 4 weeks connecting with family and friends to share about our upcoming ministry in Ireland and our prayer/financial needs. Here is a look at our trip "by the numbers":

3473.6 miles driven round-trip

950 dollars raised in new monthly support commitments

72 percent of our required financial need has been met

20 percent increase in support that God has provided so far as a result of the trip

18 percent of our monthly support is still needed by June 1st to depart July 1st

15 new supporters added to our team lifting us up in prayer and contributing their finances

6 days left to raise the remaining 18% of our required monthly support

4 different churches attended in the same number of weeks

3 is the total number of boys we will have after finding out the gender of the baby due 9/25

2 birthdays celebrated on the road (mine & Sarah's)

1 offer made on our house since we returned!!

Thank you to all of our new supporters and if you have been thinking about joining our team to help us serve God in Ireland, please let us know. For as little as $2-$3 per day, you can have a huge impact on the families and young people we will interact with during our missions work.

Truth, Knowledge, and Wisdom

What is truth?

This is a fundamental question that has been asked countless times over the ages to which humans have come up with countless explanations.

In our current age, and really beginning with the Enlightenment, truth and fact are determined based on empirical evidence. Empirical evidence is part of the scientific method and is basically a fancy way of saying that something is true only if it can be experienced and tested through the senses - and that an observer must rely on the observation alone without any due regard for system or theory.

There are dozens of sources dedicated to utilizing empirical evidence to determine if God and the bible are true. Here is a quote I found on one of them:

“With every other object and phenomenon in our experience, we use the scientific method to determine whether it exists or not. For example, X rays are invisible, but we know that they exist. We can devise scientific experiments to prove that they exist. Then, once proven to exist, X-rays can be used predictably in all sorts of beneficial ways.
If you would like to hypothesize that God exists, then you should say to yourself, "Let's devise a repeatable scientific experiment to provide evidence that God exists." Every experiment we devise demonstrates, yet again, that God is imaginary”

Our God does not fit into this box. The very idea that somehow He is subject to our rules is just not plausible. He is invisible, immortal, and created everything for His purpose.

Colossians 1:15-16 – He is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of all creation. For by him all things were created, in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or rulers or authorities – all things were created through him and for him.
1 Timothy 1:17 – To the King of ages, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen.

However, most of us have been indoctrinated with the scientific method of determining truth. But if we are followers of Jesus, how does this notion fit within our belief system? How do we reconcile what the bible says with the standard that the world uses to judge its truthfulness?

I think that to better appreciate truth, a distinction must be made between knowledge and wisdom. To paraphrase the notes in my study bible, "Knowledge tends to focus on correct understanding of the world and oneself as creatures of the magnificent and loving God, while wisdom is the acquired skill of applying that knowledge rightly, or skill in the art of godly living."

With that in mind, look at the following verses from Proverbs:
Proverbs 1:7 – The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge; fools despise wisdom and instruction.
Proverbs 2:6 – For the LORD gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding.
The assertion here is that submission to God is foundational to the attainment of real understanding, an idea that is not present in a worldly pursuit of knowledge and wisdom.

The underlying issue here is that by taking God (or more accurately, the fear of God) out of the picture - we distort the truth. In Matthew 28:18, just before giving the Great Commission, Jesus says to his disciples, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me." Not some of the authority, not authority over certain things, but all authority. What does this mean? For me, it means that absolutely everything, on every level, is subject to the lordship of Christ. We reject that notion when we assert that our ways of determining truth and discovering knowledge need not involve God.

The bible is clear on the dangers of the arrogance and folly of thinking that truth is independent of Christ:
Proverbs 3:5 – Trust in the LORD with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the LORD, and turn away from evil.
Colossians 2:8-9 – See to it that no one takes you captive by philosophy and empty deceit, according to human tradition, according to the elemental spirits of the world, and not according to Christ.

Truth, knowledge, and wisdom are part of God's desire for us - as long we have the definition and context of those embedded clearly on our hearts. The truth around which all other truths come from is referred to in these passages:
1 Timothy 2:3-6 – This is good, and it is pleasing in the sight of God our Savior, who desires all people to be saved and to come to the knowledge of the truth. For there is one God, and there is one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all, which is the testimony given at the proper time.
Ephesians 3:17-19 – so that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith – that you being rooted and grounded in love, may have strength to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ that surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with all the fullness of God.

So what did our Mediator, our Redeemer, our Savior have to say about truth?
John 8:31-32 – So Jesus said to the Jews who had believed in him, “If you abide in my word, you are truly my disciples, and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”
John 14:6 – Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.”

Here we are not only dealing with biblical perspective on truth, but also some other ideas. Modern day society is big on things like relativism & tolerance - and they sound like good qualities to have. But there is no relativism here - there is no tolerance. There is no sense around there being one god, but many different paths. Jesus Christ says that he is the only way to God. This statement in its very nature is exclusive, and if you believe Jesus' claim, is absolute truth.

The question, "what is truth?" is asked in the bible in the context of Jesus being interrogated by Pontius Pilate before his crucifixion.
John 18:37-38 – Then Pilate said to him, “So you are a king?” Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. For this purpose I was born and for this purpose I have come into the world – to bear witness to the truth. Everyone who is of the truth listens to my voice.” Pilate said to him, “What is truth?”
How ironic that Pilate, whose job it is to determine the truth in the matter, sarcastically dismisses the relevance of truth in the very presence of the embodiment of truth in Christ Jesus.
I think that Romans 1:16-22 sums it up nicely:

For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.” For the wrath of God is revealed from heaven against all ungodliness and unrighteousness of men, who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth. For what can be known about God is plain to them, because God has shown it to them. For his invisible attributes, namely, his eternal power and divine nature, have been clearly perceived, ever since the creation of the world, in the things that have been made. So they are without excuse. For although they knew God, they did not honor him as God or give thanks to him, but they became futile in their thinking, and their foolish hearts were darkened. Claiming to be wise, they became fools.

Just because we cannot see something or feel something or measure something does not mean that it does not exist. One of Satan's greatest deceptions is convincing people that he does not exist, which leads them to believe that neither does God.

Breathe In, Breathe Out

Webster's Dictionary defines the word "breathe" as follows: to draw air into and expel it from the lungs or to inhale and exhale freely.

Have you ever heard someone respond to a stressful situation by saying something like, "I just need to breathe" or "I can't even breathe!"? Breathing, of course, comes naturally to everyone who is alive - it's not something that you typically have to think about - it just happens.

How often do you think about your every breath being a gift from God? Genesis 2:7 - then the LORD God formed the man of dust from the ground and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and the man became a living creature.

Man was not a living creature until God breathed out the breath of life in to him. If something does not breathe, it is not alive. The Christian faith is intended to be a living faith - after all, we worship a living Savior! Since Christianity is alive, it breathes, and therefore it needs to inhale and exhale freely.

I like to think of the Christian's "inhale" as time spent with other believers and in God's word. Spending time among believers includes going to church, Sunday school, small groups, bible studies, Christian retreats or camps, etc. Time spent in the Bible is certainly vital to the life of a Christian and 2 Timothy 3:16 reminds us that "All Scripture is breathed out by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, and for training in righteousness, that the man of God may be competent, equipped for every good work." I like the idea of God breathing out Scripture and us breathing it in. For the Christian, the "inhale" is meant to build us up, strengthen us, and encourage us in Christ.

But breathing is a two step process of equally important parts. You have to inhale and exhale to stay alive.

The "exhale" of our faith in Christ should be in our neighborhoods, in our schools, in our workplaces, in our streets! The "exhale" needs to come in places where life happens and people need to be reached with the Good News. Often it is more comfortable for Christians to spend time only with other Christians. Oh, you can easily do that and think you are fine - just like you can breathe with one lung at a diminished capacity.

However, for our faith to be alive, we need to breathe out what we believe, not just breathe in.

Mark 16:15 - "And he (Jesus) said to them (the disciples), 'Go into all the world and proclaim the gospel to the whole creation."

Europe as a Mission Field

I was reading through some of the older posts on here and was reminded of what a need for Christ that there is in Ireland and throughout all of Europe. The need is great enough that Operation Mobilization has identified Europe as one of the 9 focal points for world missions. It is a mission field that is not thought about often, but this was a good reminder to me of why God has called our family to serve there.

The following is from the OM International website (http://www.om.org/):

Europe - Restoring Hope

Once, European Christians told the world about Jesus. Today's "Christian" Europe is spiritually bankrupt. The ruins of ancient churches symbolize a continent that has turned away from Christ.

Prosperous Europeans may seem content. But rising suicide rates, the desperate search for alternative spiritualities and the growth of other religions demonstrate the emptiness behind the façade.
Throughout Europe, nations are battling against the effects of crime, drugs and alcohol abuse while in places such as Bosnia, Kosovo and Ukraine whole communities have been shattered by war and poverty.

Yet, in the midst of brokenness, God is restoring hope to Europe. Across the continent OM teams are living out the reality of the Gospel as they provide practical help, build friendships and share truth.

Together with the European church, OM is transforming lives and communities in more than 30 nations by caring for the unwanted, loving Muslims, empowering the next generations, reawakening the religious and challenging the secular.

Once the sender of missionaries to the world, Europe is now the one continent where the church is shrinking. In most of the countries, including Ireland, less than 1% of the population is evangelical. But, there are open doors to share the Gospel with Europeans and a growing immigrant population throughout the continent.

In Ireland, while Catholicism is still a major influence over the country and culture, few have a living relationship with God. Traditional 'religion' has failed to tackle serious social problems such as alcoholism, teenage pregnancy and a high suicide rate among young men. Evangelical numbers have grown over the past 10 years and stand at 0.75% of the population, though according to Operation World, this is still the lowest percentage of any country in the English-speaking world.

Some Prayer Points to consider:

Please pray that God will restore hope to Europe.

Pray for workers reaching out to the marginalised people in Europe (homeless, refugees, immigrants, drug addicts, alcoholics and prostitutes) that they will be filled with compassion and will demonstrate the love of Jesus to those they meet.

Pray for God to raise up a new generation of Europeans who are on fire for Jesus and willing to share their passion for Him with others.

Pray for unity among European churches and a common commitment to reach out with the good news of Jesus.

Pray for the thriving churches in Eastern European countries such as Ukraine, Moldova and Romania to catch a vision for world missions.

Isaiah 58:12
Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins and will raise up the age-old foundations; you will be called Repairer of Broken Walls, Restorer of Streets with Dwellings.

Support Raising Update "40/40" Club

I am excited today! In a way, I feel like today is the beginning of something big that God is going to do in our lives. It is the first day of my new "job", which consists of being 100% available to share our ministry vision for Ireland with interested friends, and watching God work.

Last night I was figuring out how many days we have left to get to 90% of our support raising goal (which is the mark we need to be at 30 days out from when we leave). We are currently at 50% of the financial requirement, so we need an additional 40%. Our goal is to get to Ireland no later than the last week of June - so 30 days backward from there is May 23, or 40 days from today.

So for everything to fall in to place as we believe God is leading, that means that 40% of our financial support must come in the next 40 days. I'm not a numerologist or anything, but I like the sound of 40% in 40 days!

There is no way we can do this on our own - in fact, it seems more than overwhelming to consider exactly how this is supposed to happen. Thankfully for us, it is God who will provide and we just need to be available to be used by Him for this purpose.

If you haven't joined our prayer and financial support team yet, would you pray about it? If you feel like this is something that God may be leading you towards being a part of, please let us know. If you think this is something that your church or family or friends would be excited about, please share it with them.

We are looking forward to watching the 40/40 club grow and keeping everyone updated on how God is working!

Trusting God

The last four or five days have been filled with some big decisions that we have had to make. After much prayer and discussion, we believe it is God's will for us to be in Ireland before July 1 of this year. Of course, that is very soon and we began to realize just how much needed to be done for that to happen.

We were facing 2 major obstacles:
1) What to do with our house? - as you know, the market in Vegas is unbelievably bad.
2) How to continue our support raising efforts with my more than full-time job occupying most of my time?

I was reminded of King Jehoshaphat's prayer in II Chronicles 20:6-12. He is standing in the the court at the temple in Jerusalem having just learned that a great multitude of foreign armies is massing against his people.

...O Lord, God of our fathers, are you not God in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. In your hand are power and might, so that none is able to withstand you. Did you not, our God, drive out the inhabitants of this land before your people Israel, and give it forever to the descendants of Abraham your friend? And they have lived in it and have built for you in it a sanctuary for your name, saying "If disaster comes upon us, the sword, judgment, or pestilence, or famine, we will stand before this house - and cry out to you in our affliction, and you will hear and save." And now behold, the men of Ammon and Moab, and Mount Seir, whom you would not let Israel invade when they came from the land of Egypt, and whom they avoided and did not destroy - behold, they reward us by coming to drive us out of your possession, which you have given us to inherit. O our God, will you not execute judgment on them? For we are powerless against this great horde that is coming against us. We do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you.

What a beautiful prayer!

Jehoshaphat reminded God of how he had brought His people this far and all that He had done for them. He trusted that God would keep His promise. Even though he did not know what to do, he was going to keep his eyes on God and trust Him to provide.

I found our current situation to be very similar. God has provided many affirmations over the last year that we are to serve His purpose in Ireland. I could not believe that He has brought us this far along only to not be able to go because of our housing situation. Or to let us fail in our support raising because my work schedule is not allowing me to spend time meeting with people.

So we went to God in prayer many times over the last few days, telling Him that "we do not know what to do, but our eyes are on you."

And we believe God will answer our prayer and deliver us, just like he did for King Jehoshaphat. We are trusting Him and have taken some steps that we feel are following His leading (even though it may seem crazy to us!)

Our house is currently listed for sale and we are trusting God to take care of the details. I also gave my 2 week notice at work so that we can have time to make our final push with our support raising. We are currently closing in on 50% of our goal and will spend the next few weeks here in Las Vegas meeting with friends who may be interested in helping us. Then we will be making a trip to San Diego and to Oregon to connect with more friends and churches to talk about our ministry.

So, that's the latest! Please be in prayer for us to continue to listen to God's call and direction.

Being Called

I heard a great quote today in church from a visiting missionary who used to serve in Mali (West Africa).

"God does not call those who are qualifed, He qualifies those who are called."

Amen!

I know that I have wrestled so many times with feelings of inadequacy when I think about being a full-time missionary. There are so many others who are more educated, more articulate, or more mature in their faith than I. How is a sinner like me qualified to share my faith with others?

That quote above forces me to remember that is not about me - it is about what the Holy Spirit does through me (or maybe even in spite of me). I can only try my best to diligently share Christ with others and live my life in a way that allows me to be ready to witness when opportunities arise. No matter what I say, it is God who takes that experience, shapes it, and helps the person remember it along the way.

Most people do not come to Christ in a single moment. There is not usually a dramatic conversion story where lightning strikes, the earth trembles, and the voice of God is heard (Paul on the road to Damascus exluded).

More often, someone comes to Christ as a culmination of events and people who have played a part in their life. You never know how God may use what you say or do to influence someone a year or 10 years from now. And that is worth remembering when you pass by someone who you know could use encouragement, or you choose to hold your tongue when you know that taking a stand is the right thing to do.

I am so thankful that I do not have to be "qualified" to be called! God is qualifying me along the way and I am happy to be along for the ride.

St. Patrick - Missionary to Ireland

With March 17th, just around the corner and our "open house" St. Patrick's day party this Saturday, I've been doing a little research on Patrick. Here are a couple of thoughts from what I have learned...

St. Patrick is undoubtedly the most famous missionary ever to be sent to Ireland. While there are many famous stories and legends surrounding the life of Patrick, there are two lessons we can draw from his circumstances that every believer can take inspiration from.

At the age of sixteen, Patrick was taken prisoner by a group of Irish raiders who were attacking his family’s estate. He was transported to Ireland where he spent six years as a prisoner. He later escaped back to Britain (after a 200 mile walk to the nearest seaport), only to return to Ireland as a missionary fifteen years later.

I doubt that Patrick knew what God had in store for him when he was kidnapped from his family and was held for six years in bondage. However, during his captivity, he became familiar with the Irish/Celtic language and pagan belief system. This knowledge helped him find broader acceptance and allowed him to be more effective when he returned to share the gospel. The important thing we can learn here is that God, in his divine providence, can prepare you to serve Him in ways that you can’t even imagine – often during times of great suffering and strife.

Patrick used his familiarity with the Irish language and culture and chose to incorporate traditional ritual into his lessons of Christianity instead of attempting to eradicate native Irish beliefs. For instance, he used bonfires to celebrate Easter since the Irish were used to honoring their gods with fire. Legend has it that he used the shamrock, a 3-leaf clover, to highlight the concept of the Trinity. He also superimposed a sun, a powerful Irish symbol, onto the Christian cross, so that the Irish would more fully understand the significance of the cross (we know this as a celtic cross today).

The important thing to learn here is to be able to understand the culture you are in and to be able to share Christ in a way that means something to people. For example, I have heard the phrase “the Bread of Life” that we are so familiar with be translated in to “the Rice of Life” in different cultures where that makes more sense. Certainly the integrity of the message should never be compromised, but every effort should be made to present the good news in a way that is true and relevant.

Missions is simply sharing the love of Christ with others – no matter where you live. The mission field begins right outside your own front door. I encourage you to look for ways to apply these lessons from the life of Patrick as you go forth in to the fields that are ripe for the harvest.

February Update

We have had a very eventful last couple of weeks, so I thought it would be good to catch everyone up.

We spent some time in Oregon during the last week of January with Sarah's family sharing laughter and tears as we honored the memory of her father, Joe. The memorial service at Enterprise Christian Church was wonderful and the support of the church family and community was overwhelming. One of my most cherished moments during our time there was spending an afternoon with the family and Pastor Bruce as he encouraged us to tell stories and talk about different memories we had of Joe. It was a blessed time of healing that we all shared. We will miss him dearly and remember him faithfully.

We are headed to San Diego on Friday to participate in another celebration of Joe's life with the large number of family and friends that live in that area.

We will come back on Sunday or Monday because I have to be at work on Tuesday. That's right...this week I got a job! It will be comforting to have some income flow and health insurance! God's timing is truly incredible, as I have been looking for work for 7 months now.

During that 7 months I wasn't able to find a job - but we were able to move ahead quickly with our venture in to the mission field. We would not be where we are at now without God's perfect plan. I traveled to Ireland in July for 2 weeks, then in September, our family went (along with Angela Caprine) to Atlanta for a week of missionary training. October saw the whole family head to Ireland for 2 weeks and in December we were able to visit Oregon and spend time with Sarah's dad over Christmas. In January, Sarah was able to go to Oregon again to spend the final week of Joe's life with him. There is no way we could have accomplished all of that if I had been working during that time.

Starting in November of '08, we began raising financial support for our journey to Ireland. As of today, we are at 35% of our goal. God is moving ahead and we are thrilled to be along for the ride.

If you would like to join our financial support team - maybe at $100, $50, $25, or even $10 per month - please let us know. We would love to get you more information on how you could share in our ministry.

God Bless!

The Old Rugged Cross

This morning at 7am, Sarah's dear father, Joe Collins, succumbed to the cancer in his body and passed from this life in to eternal life with our Heavenly Father. His wife, Diana was by his side along with other close family and friends. There is so much that could be said about this wonderful, God-honoring man who was cherished by so many. We will certainly miss Joe, but are also relieved that his suffering is over and rejoice that he is now in heaven. Although our grief is great, how much greater is the hope & promise that we have!

One of Joe's favorite hymns was The Old Rugged Cross. It is a song that most of us know or at least have heard before. For me, it's easy to sometimes sing these familiar songs on auto-pilot, without giving much thought to what I'm saying. I was looking at the lyrics this morning with a different perspective and wanted to post them here for all to see. It is bittersweet whenever someone you love dies and they are a believer in Christ. The words below help me remember what life is really about and the glory that is to come for those who follow Jesus!


On a hill far away stood an old rugged cross,
The emblem of suffering and shame;
And I love that old cross where the dearest and best
For a world of lost sinners was slain.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

O that old rugged cross, so despised by the world,
Has a wondrous attraction for me;
For the dear Lamb of God left His glory above
To bear it to dark Calvary.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

In that old rugged cross, stained with blood so divine,
A wondrous beauty I see,
For 'twas on that old cross Jesus suffered and died,
To pardon and sanctify me.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

To the old rugged cross I will ever be true;
Its shame and reproach gladly bear;
Then He'll call me some day to my home far away,
Where His glory forever I'll share.

So I'll cherish the old rugged cross,
Till my trophies at last I lay down;
I will cling to the old rugged cross,
And exchange it some day for a crown.

E-mail from Sarah

Many of you are aware of the health situation with Sarah's dad (Joe Collins). Not everyone received the email that she sent yesterday before flying out today to spend a week with her dad in the hospital. I wanted to post the email here in case you didn't get a chance to see it.

Hi friends,

I am writing this to ask for prayer for my father. He was diagnosed with stage 4 Melanoma over Thanksgiving after a scan revealed spots in his lung. After attempting to start an intense chemotherapy on Jan. 5th, he had a severe reaction and was eventually sent home with the news that further treatment will not be pursued.

After a day at home, he took a turn for the worse and is now in his local hospital where they are managing his pain via morphine drip and in general making him more comfortable. This morning the doctor told my family he has a month at the most and will likely not see February.

I am flying up to Oregon on Saturday morning for a week to be with my siblings and parents and hopefully spend some quality father-daughter time with my dad in the hospital. Please pray for my dad, my family, and me as we attempt to say good-bye for now, until we all dwell together with the Father in heaven.

Please pray for a gentle passing for Dad, and that he can look forward to that day very soon when he is healed and whole, pain-free, and in the presence of his Savior. My parents both love and trust Jesus; my dad has worked all his life to share that with others.

There are so many who love my dad, including those who are unbelievers. Please pray for these people as this may be a time when their hearts will be touched, and that God will be glorified specifically in that way through this situation. As much as we are grieving, we so want to be able to share with others about our eternal, unshakable hope that ensures my dad's salvation.

I wish I could describe accurately in words what a wonderful, beautiful man my dad is, but I'll just share a quick story - When he was admitted and settled into the hospital yesterday, the nurses asked if he would like to be moved to a room with a mountain view (the same view from his bedroom window at home). He looked straight at my mom's face and with a grin replied, "I have the only view I need right here." So pray for us as we spend this last, sweet bit of time together.

Pray for Dax as he will be tackling the boys alone this week, and possibly sacrificing his opportunity to say good-bye to his father-in-law in order to give me that time. Brave man, and husband of the year, for letting me go!

Love in Jesus,
Sarah Bryant

Update on us!

Time is quickly flying by! Here is a summary of what has been going on with us since our last post:

• We were officially accepted by our mission agency - Operation Mobilization - to serve in Ireland and have begun raising support from interested friends and churches. Currently we are at 20% of our required amount, so there is still much work to do. We are targeting a late spring/early summer departure. If you have an interest in supporting our work in Ireland, please let us know so that we can get information on how to do that.
• We spent Thanksgiving with family in San Diego and had a wonderful time there. However, during this time we found out that Sarah's dad (Joe), who has leukemia was feeling poorly and some spots were found on his lung. This turned out to be melanoma that had metastasized and will need some form of treatment.
• We spent the month of December traveling through Oregon to visit with family and friends, as well as raise support for Ireland. The Lord blessed our time and we spent 3 weeks with Sarah's parents and had a full house for Christmas (19 people!). We spent about 10 days with my family and then returned to Las Vegas on Jan. 6th.
• Sarah's dad began treatment in Portland, OR on Jan. 5th, but his body did not react well. He is currently still in the hospital there and the doctors need to stabilize his condition before they can discuss any further treatment options. We urgently covet your prayers for this situation.
• One of our supporters donated a laptop computer for us to be able to use here and while we are in Ireland. This was really an answer to prayer as our other computer was aging and impossibly slow. We had been talking about our options when out of the blue, a laptop was offered to us - our God provides!
• I am still "between jobs", although I have been actively looking for work. We still have enough in reserves to last us through March, but really need to find some source of income before then. Your prayers in this area are much appreciated as well!

That's quite a bit to digest, I realize. We are glad to be back in Las Vegas after over a month on the road and really enjoyed our 1st Sunday back at Summit Ridge Church today. Until next time...