What God Gave Me For My 23rd Birthday

Hello Friends & Family whom I love and miss, A week ago I turned 23 years old. On these momentous occasions, I tend to enjoy taking time to stop and look around at all that is going on around me. It's something I've liked to do for as long as I can remember, and something I want to continue to do as I grow older. However, this year was significantly different when I took a moment to stop and look around.

I realized for the first time in my life that I was in a place that I never had planned to be, at the age of 23. EVER, LIKE NEVER. To some, this may not seem that huge. For the kid that has kept a planner since the 1st grade (and loved it I might add), who has had a general plan for her life since she was 11 years old that up until now had generally worked out the way she thought, who likes organization and has spent the past few weeks methodically organizing every part of their new apartment including the "junk drawer"; this was a monumental discovery.

When I came upon this realization I found myself shaken to the core. I am literally sitting on an island with my husband with the hopes to create an impact through the local church that will impact a nation. The past month I've found oftentimes that in this place of not being where I planned, God is totally peeling back everything I hold to as safe and within my comfort zone. What I have found behind all of those peelings is a whole lot of fear, insecurity, uncertainty, and fussiness (as my husband likes to call that particularly fleshy part of me). And to see myself in this light has not been fun at all!

BUT at the same time that God was revealing all of this nastiness in me, he also showed me something else he had been up to through the story of a girl and her beloved lion Aslan. My husband's favorite book series growing up was the Chronicles of Narnia and when he discovered a few years ago that I had only read one book of the series, he had made it his mission to enlighten me. So these past few weeks I decided to get started on the series again, and a few nights ago I found myself in the fourth book of the series, Prince Caspian. Lucy, the youngest of the 4 children in the book, finds herself being called to the Lion whom she hasn't seen since the last time they were in Narnia.

As she walks up to him her first comment is,

"Aslan, you're bigger."

He responds to her saying,

"I am not. But every year you grow, you will find me bigger."

And I could just hear the Spirit speak to me in that moment and say, "This year I know you are feeling weaker, smaller, and more inadequate than you ever have felt before, but that's not the point. The point is I'm bigger than what you once thought. This year let me just reveal to you how big I am, Molly."

Since that revelation, I've seen it play out in so many moments this past week. When I've felt scared, nervous, and fleshy he's shown himself to be BIGGER...

Last week James and I decided to start a lifegroup with the youth and so we planned it, set everything up, and were just waiting for people to arrive. In the meantime I'm sitting there convincing myself that nobody is going to show up to this, I mean they have enough things going on in their life? Why would they come to lifegroup? They have never even heard the word "lifegroup" prior to a few days ago. Then we have 5 kids from our youth group show up that first night hungry and totally ready to receive!!! What?!

Then there was my birthday, which was amazing, but I was missing my family and friends oh so much. I come back from a day of adventuring to our church family who had surprised me with a cake, presents, and their presence. What?!?!

Friday rolled around and James decided to speak on the Father heart of God to our youth group. All day I was nervously wringing my hands, praying, imagining scenarios where a kid who had a bad relationship with their dad burst out crying in the middle of it and gets up and runs off. I know, for the love. INSTEAD, we have a complete breakthrough night where when we open it up for questions at the end, a first time guest decides to ask us basically about the gospel (like all of the best/hardest questions of the Christian faith) and James and I get to present the gospel to him in front of our entire youth group (who are mostly unchurched teens) and they are totally glued in the entire time! WHAT?!?!?!

Then we sit down yesterday and have to have our budget meeting for the month. We're flipping through the numbers and it's like everywhere we turn we have saved money on a big expense, or didn't have to pay that, or were given something for free.

AND I'M SITTING THERE THINKING GOD I GET IT, YOU ARE BIG!!!!!!!! He is so much bigger than my little human mind could ever comprehend and in his grandness, goodness, and mercy he decided to care about little old me who so often doubts him and attempts to constrict him to a smaller version of who he is.

This year, my 23rd year, is going to be good. I know it beyond a shadow of a doubt, because in being called here to Ireland to minister the gospel of Jesus Christ, God has brought me to the realization that He is bigger than what I have ever known or seen before. That is going to make all of the difference this year, I just know it.

Lastly, thank you guys for all of the love and prayers you are sending our way. From the Facebook messages we have received to the sweet comments on this blog, you have blessed us immensely.

We love ya'll!

P.S. Here are pictures from Waterford, Ireland, our tour of the Waterford Crystal Factory, and our first rugby match (Enniscorthy vs. Kildare, Enniscorthy won)...

Jumping In (Oh it's grand)

Hey lads, The past several weeks have been a whirlwind and I wanted to give y'all a glimpse into what that has looked like. To add to the craziness, we have not had internet at our apartment, so we have practically been living in coffee shops during the day and at the church in the evenings. Fear not, the internet shall arrive this Friday and we will be able to communicate more readily/easily. So first off lets talk about ministry at Alive church.

Worship

The primary reason for me (James) to journey to Ireland has been to establish a self sustaining worship ministry at the church. Yesterday was, in fact, my first time to lead worship for Alive church and it was a BLAST. To aid the church's gradual transition into completely live worship, the plan is for me to lead half of the songs and the other half will be the videos that they are used to, at least for the next month or so. The worship band was myself and the woman who has been leading with the videos for the past several years. It was awesome. Granted, I had not set up the monitors yet, so we could not hear ourselves at all, but the church eagerly filled the building with their voices as if they had been on the edge of their seats for years. The verse in John 4:23 came to mind

"But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father is seeking such people to worship him."

No matter where I am, I will always be amazed and excited when the redeemed people of God join together in worship. And it is only going to get better here at Alive church.

Youth

We have also been so blessed to work with the youth group at Alive church. There are about 25 youth from ages 12-18, and they meet on Friday nights. This last week Molly and I were in charge of games (FUMCC youth, of course I taught them keys) and they loved them. Hopefully these weekly youth games and all of the hills will whip us into shape, because we were exhausted after last week's meeting.

Additionally we are starting the very first lifegroup in Enniscorthy, maybe even in all of Ireland, through the youth group. No better place to start than the teenagers, the future world changers in the church, right? We will be meeting for our first time Tuesday, September 30 at 7pm. This will be a sort of trial run for the church and we believe God has incredible things in store for this next generation through lifegroups. Be praying for us on Tuesday!

Children's ministry

Lets be real, Molly is a boss when it comes to working with/teaching/mentoring/playing with kids. It is no different here in Alive church. Yesterday was Molly's first time to teach a bible story in the creche (fun word to say = 3-5 year olds). She was able to use a Children's interactive bible app on her tablet and the children responded so well! It is so wonderful to watch her do what she has been called to do. I could say more, but I'm sure she will say it better in blogs to come.

Exploration and Adventure

For the past few weeks we have been focused on exploring the little town of Enniscorthy, which I love. We recently got to tour the 1798 rebellion museum and the Enniscorthy Castle with Drew Brown, one of the founders of Prepare International. History is such a huge part of the Irish culture and it was so helpful to get to experience it. Enniscorthy is the a healthy mixture of small town, downtown, and Irish green landscape, all into one. Take a look.

However, for our first little jaunt outside of Enniscorthy, we traveled to Wexford town. There we saw the Irish sea again, listened to the street musicians, and walked down streets lined with shops. Here's a cool shot of the shops down by the docks.

Thanks for checking out our blog! We have also updated our prayer requests, so take a look at those.

Cheers!

Here We Go!

Hello Everyone, We wanted to give you a peek into our journey across the ocean, from our last moments in Texas to our first few days in Ireland.

Our journey began in a packing frenzy. In less than 6 hours we managed to cram 2 years worth of stuff into 6 suitcases all weighing less than 50 pounds. It was quite the accomplishment!!! I was practically cheering as they were being weighed at the ticket counter.

The 9 hour flight from DFW to London was super sweet. We were generously given a pass to the Admiral's Club so we got to wait there before boarding. It was so cool. They had snacks, drinks, pretty bathrooms, free wi-fi, comfy chairs, showers (though obviously we didn't take a shower seeing it was prior to our 9 hour flight), but still they had showers people. All of you who travel frequently are probably laughing out loud right now, but we're new to this!

Then came the London-Heathrow Airport...

Now to be fair we had been warned that it wasn't all rainbows and unicorns but it still didn't make it real for me until we were there. It involved what felt like a Jack Bauer style interrogation by the guy at customs before he finally let us through to our connecting flight. Also James' backpack was confiscated and searched because my brilliantly creative husband (and I mean that in all sincerity) had handmade a cover for his tablet by carving out the inside of a book and hiding it in there but when it went through the x-ray machine it looked fishy. So we learned the handmade book cover was great for hiding a tablet in normal life, not so great when going through airport security!

Then we arrived here...Enniscorthy, Co. Wexford, Ireland. Our pastors took us up to the hill that overlooks our town on our first full day there and this was our view.

What has ensued in the days following has been a good amount of jet lag, a roller coaster of emotions, and the whiplash of culture shock. However in the midst of it all there have been the sweetest of moments where God has just whispered,"This is it guys, this is where I have you."

One of those moments was on our first Saturday morning here. We had planned to take our first real venture by ourselves (without our pastors and their family) to find a coffee shop for brunch. Well due to the jet lag we ended up getting out of our for bed for brunch closer to lunch time, but we decided to press on in our quest to find food outside of our kitchen or the local supermarket. We went street after street looking for a coffee shop and there were none that we could find. We walked until we were standing on the corner of a street, in the middle of the city, with cars speedily driving by, complaining to each other about how hungry we were, when we were discovered by one of the youth we had met the previous night. She ran over to us and said "Hi" and quickly recognizing how desperate we were for food pointed us to the coffee shop that was sitting a few steps around the corner from us. That moment kind of resembled the story in the Bible where the Angel comes and makes a meal for Elijah. At least that's how it felt for us as we were guided to the coffee shop in the midst of hunger pains, grouchiness, and at a complete loss for where we were located.

Another one happened on Sunday morning, the day we got to meet our church family. The day before we had left for Ireland God had given me a verse to hold onto, it was Ephesians 2:19 and it says,

"So then you are no longer strangers and aliens, but you are fellow citizens with the saints and members of the household of God."

As we met all of the different members of the church on Sunday that verse kept ringing in the back of my head. The truth is, no matter the cultural differences, language barriers, or religious backgrounds we are not strangers in the Kingdom of God.

The most recent confirmation that he gave was when we got to explore the path along the river that runs through our town and we stumbled across this view.

It was like uncovering a little corner of heaven in our Irish town. I have gotten to see heaven touch earth in multiple places around the world, but to see it in Ireland made this place feel even more right.

As far as ministry goes, right now we are getting the opportunity to explore our town, be a part of the ministries at Alive Church, and receive vision for the road ahead. We are thankful for all the prayers that have gotten us here please continue praying for us we gain vision for what God wants to do here. We are excited to continue to discover the places that God is at work here in this town; it is evident in both His creation and His church here in Enniscorthy.

P.S. Here are a few more pictures of our town...

24 Hours Till Departure

It is crazy how fast the past several weeks have sped by with our friends and families in the DFW area. We have been humbled and encouraged by the goodness of God with every person we were able to meet with. God is doing such an incredible work through y'all and in us as we prepare to leave the USA. Also, as of today we are officially 84% funded, which includes the online giving through Modern day! The final obstacle in our way is packing everything we need into three suitcases, two duffle bags, two backpacks, and one guitar case. Thank God for Ziploc vacuum seal storage bags...

But we are finally here! We are now in the 24 hours before we will leave everything and everyone that we know, and seek out the next adventure that God has put before us in Ireland. Though it has not fully "hit" Molly or me that we are finally about to leave, we are so excited to finally be flying across the pond.....and also a little afraid.

Something you may not know about me: I actually grew up flying in planes. My dad used to have his pilot's license and I can remember flying to various places in a small, four-person plane, almost always with a bag of pretzels in my hand. I have always loved flying and Molly will attest that I even get a little giddy when we are in airports. Like skipping around with a silly grin giddy. Its cute for a child, but slightly less so with a 23 year old man. In spite of all this, Molly and I have been having weird dreams about crashing in the middle of the Atlantic ocean, or being stranded on an island like in LOST.

All that to say, please be praying for safe travels on Wednesday and Thursday. If all goes as planned, we will leave DFW at 6:30pm, arrive in London at 9am (London time), leave London at 12:30pm, arrive in Dublin at 2:30pm, and then take a bus to Enniscorthy arriving around 5:30pm. This should be fun!

Ireland here we come! Stay tuned for more updates from Enniscorthy!

Question of the Week: How Do You Feel About Leaving for Ireland?

In the past two weeks, especially as the days til' our departure to Ireland dwindles from weeks to days, we have been asked this question many times! It is a perfectly decent question. The problem is that the answer changes from moment to moment and day to day for me. I've continued to think about this question in the in-between moments of saying goodbye to people, packing, spending sweet time with our families, and calculating the amount of items we can cram into 4 suitcases; and I think I've reached some semblance of an answer, for the moment. 1.  I feel like our ending in Abilene was the greatest EVER.

We left Abilene on Wednesday night, being sent out from the place we had spent most of our Wednesday nights for the past 4 years. The college ministry at our home church in Abilene provided a journey of a lifetime in a mere 4 years for me. Through Beltway College Park I experienced what discipleship looked like, the greatest of friendships, an example of godly relationships, and the church becoming my home. 4 years after I attended my first College Park as a freshman at ACU, I stood on the stage with my husband and we were being prayed over to be sent to Ireland as missionaries. We were being sent out by the people who had laid down their lives for us, enabling us to boldly go where God has called us. Some of you were in that auditorium last Wednesday and some of you were not, but for all of the people that have generously poured into our lives through College Park I just need to say "thank you." Thank you for all that you sacrificed so that we could grow and mature. Thank you for all the times you gave us abundant grace and mercy when we messed up. Thank you for calling us to higher things; the things of the Kingdom rather than the lusts of this world. It is your legacy we are carrying onto Ireland. It is your legacy of faith that is changing nations.

2. I feel like Psalm 46 is my foundation when everything else is shifting. 

The past 4 weeks our pastor has been preaching a sermon series on Psalm 46: choosing to take time to stop, be still, and know Him. The challenge was to have 21 days of stillness, to take time each day whether it be 10 minutes or 30, to put down technology and just listen to what God says. One suggestion was to take that time and meditate on Psalm 46, so I decided to try it out for 21 days and the craziest thing began happening.

Here I am putting all of my belongings in storage; pictures, my grandma's dishes, mementos from our wedding. As much of a minimalist as I am it was hard to put those things in boxes and know I'm not going to see it for 2 years. As I was wrestling with packing a verse came to mind,

"God is our refuge and strength." (Psalm 46:1)

And then I find myself saying bye to the friends I love the most and at the same time worrying about making friends in Ireland and these words ring in my head...

"He is a very present help in time of trouble. Therefore we will not fear." (Psalm 46:1-2)

When I look at the news each day and feel overwhelmed at all the evil that is apparent around the world, a world I'm about to take an even bigger leap into, God says,

"The nations rage, the kingdoms totter, [I] utter [my] voice, the earth melts." (Psalm 46:6)

Sometimes, when I get caught up in this really prideful lie that I am getting to go to Ireland and I am getting to do missions and I am getting to travel across the world, the Holy Spirit reminds me...

"Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" (Psalm 46:10) (a.k.a. this is not about you babe!)

And in the midst of all of my feelings about Ireland, Psalm 46 continues to be scripture that I can stand on. No matter what is going on in my heart, no matter what things are running through my head screaming for my attention, and no matter how many times I say goodbye; Psalm 46 has provided exactly what I needed.

3. I feel like ya'll have made leaving something I will never forget. 

We are as of 2 days ago, 80% funded! And with every new person that gives, every prayer prayed over us, and every word spoken into us we feel that much more loved and encouraged. We feel like we can take on the world knowing that you have our backs.

THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU

You have made this season of preparation one that will forever be written on our hearts as a time where we saw God move through His people in extravagant ways. Each of you have loved us in a way that mirrors the love of Christ and we cannot wait to pour that out on the people of Ireland.

10 more days til' we leave for Ireland...

10 more days of soaking up the goodness of this place we call home...

It feels pretty wonderful!

Love you to Ireland and back,

Molly