Howdy folks, First, I want to thank y'all for bearing with us this last month. We had no intention of going MIA, but that just how it happens sometimes. So here we are, lets get down to business!

Building with the Beltway team

In January, Beltway sent a team of eight men to travel to Enniscorthy and upgrade our church building. They had one week, three major projects on the agenda, and they got to WORK. This week was really fun for me because I just got to jump in with them and help out any way I could as one of the guys. These are incredible men and I was so blessed just to get to work beside them. Honestly, I was blown away. They built a whole new soundbooth, a new stage backdrop, and reconstructed our attic space. Here are a few pictures.

Lifegroups

One of the reasons that February has been such an amazing month is because Alive Church has officially started their first in-home lifegroups EVER. I cannot emphasize how big of a step this is for the church; never before have they done any kind of small-group community-building event that met in someone's home on a regular basis. So to start off, our church has organized into two primary lifegroups, one based in the town and one based in the countryside, both of which will eventually grow in to many others. Molly and I have the joy of leading the town lifegroup, and it has been so encouraging. We are going on our fourth week of meeting together, and it has already grown from 2 people the first two weeks to now around 10 adults and teenagers!

Please pray with us for mature and consistent lifegroup members who want to grow and will sacrifice their comfortable schedule to see God's kingdom come to earth in Enniscorthy.

Look, Mom, I'm on stage!

Three weeks ago I had the honor of preaching, for the first time in my life, on a Sunday morning. Truth be told, I have been "preaching" and teaching our youth group for a year now, as well as leading midweek services and bible studies, but preaching the Word for the church is a wholly different mountain to traverse. I got to work closely with and learn from Enda Long, the head pastor, who decided for my first time it would be best not to write the sermon, but to focus on getting the message deep inside of me and delivering it in a clear and encouraging way (and I completely agree with him). All in all, I really enjoyed the experience and I could not imagine a better place to begin growing in this particular ministry than here at Alive Church. Before and after the service the church I have come to see as my dear family embraced me and offered words of encouragement, joy, and constructive criticism (which I definitely need). The plan is for me to preach at least a couple more times at Alive Church before our time is up here, so please pray for my growth in this area of ministry. So here's the sermon, feel free to check it out.

[embed]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vOWYbMozhbo[/embed]

We're into the fourth quarter now

I thought about providing a link to "The Final Countdown" by Europe, but if you're like me, you're already humming the tune in your head from reading the song title. Here we are, guys! We have about six months left of our mission here in Ireland, which if I'm honest, brings a lot of conflicting emotions and thoughts to greet us each and every morning. Our goals in the months we have left are to be even more invested in Alive Church and the people we have come to love here, continue setting up the church to be in a healthier place than when we first arrived, and continue to raise up leaders within the church. Simultaneously, we are also to begin praying about where God is leading us after Ireland, where we will live, what we want to do, etc. And balancing between the future and the present is hard.

In closing, please be praying for us in this final season of being missionaries to Alive Church. God has done so much in the past year and a half here in Enniscorthy, and we are so excited to join in on what He's going to do in the next several months. Pray that we will be able to BOTH pray into our future after Ireland AND be fully focused on pouring ourselves out in Alive Church. Pray with us against worry, anxiety, and fear about the impending future. Just as we are fasting a few things for lent, I fully intend for one of them to be 'worrying about the future', who's with me? Pray for leaders to be raised up, and for a new season of growth and committed members at Alive Church. Lets see lives changed and comfort zones shattered!