Tell Me Something Good

Hello Everyone, I hope you all had a marvelous Thanksgiving with friends and families and are enjoying the celebrations of this Christmas season! A few things have happened since we last shared with you all. So if today is one of those days where you just need to hear that something good is happening in this world, that God is moving, here you go.

A week ago we had the chance to join up with other youth groups in Ireland at Open Arms Church in the town of Newbridge. The event was called Mini Pulse and this was the second year they had put it on for youth groups across the country. James and I weren't really sure what to expect, but in hearing how excited our youth were to go again it seemed like it was going to be good. We had the opportunity to take 17 teenagers from our youth group to Mini Pulse.The event was set up with time for the kids to hang out, worship, play games, hear a message, and then receive prayer. During Mini Pulse we saw a lot of firsts happen for our youth...

We looked on as our youth kids met up with around 150 Irish youth and got excited about Jesus together!

We watched our youth group dive into worship together.

We saw our youth group listen intently to a man who spoke to them of being the "Joshua Generation" who are going to take Ireland for the Kingdom in a way that no previous generation has had the opportunity.

We stood in amazement as most of our youth kids went up to receive prayer at the altar. Some even choosing to go alone when their friends wouldn't come up with them.

Our hearts were overflowing with the very real and powerful presence of the Holy Spirit that met our youth group this past Friday night and changed their hearts for eternity.

For all of you that have been praying for us and our ministry here within the youth group specifically, THANK YOU! God is moving in powerful ways but keep on praying for them. As much as we are seeing breakthrough in them we are also seeing all of the lies, attacks, and circumstances the enemy is throwing their way to try to stop them from becoming the men and women they were created to be. So just keep on interceding for our youth and we will continue to share with you what your prayers are accomplishing over here for the Kingdom. It's good stuff!

We also had the opportunity to celebrate our first American Thanksgiving in Ireland, and it was such a wonderful celebration.

One of the families in our church who have become such sweet friends were willing to host it for us due to our guest list being a bit bigger than our apartment.

James cooked his first turkey and it was a succulent success! Everybody was raving about it. Shout out to my father-in-law for providing the equivalent of the Bible for how to cook a turkey well.

We ate, drank, chatted, and enjoyed each other's company for hours. These people have been such an incredible blessing in our lives in the 3 months we have been here in Ireland. It was such a special thing to get to come together with them and share this holiday with those who have made Ireland our new home.

To all our friends, family, prayer warriors, and supporters back in the States, thank you for how you have steadfastly stood by us this past year as we unveiled this call to go to Ireland, walked the road to get here, and now have been here answering the call for the past 3 months. We are grateful from the bottom of our hearts for each of you.

Fanning the Flame through the Fog

I absolutely love the fog.

There's something mysterious about how it settles over a town, up and down every street. It effectively veils everything but the objects in our most immediate proximity, yet we are able to breathe it in and out. You can feel the difference when you walk through it, but no amount of waving your hands will blow it away. It is there, but it won't hinder your travels through it, ......unless you are driving a car, then by all means please adapt how you drive in the fog...

The Fog of Life

Today is an incredibly foggy day in Enniscorthy, Ireland. And though I love the fog, I cannot help but compare it to how I can sometimes read the Bible, or listen to a sermon. I can hear all of these inspiring words, I can be touched by the Holy Spirit's voice, I can be astounded by the truth on a page, yet I have difficulty seeing how to live it out. I cannot see through the fog of life how to put my following of Christ into daily practice. It can be so easy to walk through life, knowing that Christ's mission is to change the world, yet be completely unaware of how to define clear and specific ways to live this out. Maybe I'm just weird in noticing this, but I'm willing to bet I'm not the only one who has experienced this.

A Gathering of Fire

Sometimes the best thing to do is get out of the fog and light a fire.

About a month ago we started two lifegroups at Alive Church, one for youth and one for the adults. Using Acts 2:42-47 as a biblical framework, we have dedicated about an hour each week to gather together on Wednesday nights, living out what we read in the Bible and what we hear in the sermons on Sunday. Last night we were even discussing how we are each learning how to daily fan into flame the gift of God (2 Timothy 1:6) instead of relying only on a pastor every week. That is how I picture our gatherings. We each are bringing the lives entrusted to us by God, like coals burning bright. But God created us so that and by burning in close proximity with each other, we actually begin to radiate more heat. This has given us the incredible opportunity to witness growth in our church through prayer, worship, encouragement, accountability, discussion, and practical steps to live out each week.

The Challenge

So here's my challenge to you. Find a community of believers who run after God with everything and attach yourself to that group. Find those who are farther in their faith than you and watch closely how they live, then set yourself as an example for those who are learning from you. Become loyal to a church that is on fire, and bring yourself as a living sacrifice (Romans 12:1) to burn brightly with them for God Himself.

The Missionary Marathoner

Dearest friends and family, Thank you for your prayers as we put on our first parties at Alive Church this past Halloween weekend. Both parties were a smashing success of fun filled, candy crazed, friendly competitiveness. I have photos below of some of our party fun, sadly I didn't get any during the youth party, but there are a few from the SuperKids Fun Night.

As we approach our 2 month anniversary here in Enniscorthy I was thinking back to the advice that we've been given during these first few months and how it has impacted our beginning here. As I thought back I found that the most quoted piece of advice to me these past 2 months has been this,

"What you are doing here is a marathon, not a sprint."

I'm sure this is something most missionaries know because they live it day in and day out. But it wasn't something I was prepared for nor do I have a natural bent towards it. You see, I tend to like the things in life you can sprint through. Sprints provide beginnings and endings you can see quickly. Sprints don't require as much preparation or recovery. Sprints allow you to see the results on the scoreboard faster. I like to see results, I like to check things off of my list, and I like to get feedback immediately, especially in my job.

But as we come up on our 2 month anniversary of being here in Ireland, working for Alive Church, and praying into this country I see myself in the beginning mile of a marathon. There are some days James and I come home and find ourselves so frustrated because we didn't see any visible fruit after a youth service or after meeting with people. There are days that it feels like we are literally getting NOTHING accomplished. I end the day and not ONE thing has been checked off my never ending to do list. There are days that I don't "feel" this whole missionary thing at all.

Ironically enough, during this time I've felt pulled to go back and read the gospel accounts during my time with Jesus and guess what I found, Jesus' 3 years in public ministry was a marathon too. It wasn't one fantastic highlight reel of every miracle he had ever done, there was some pretty sucky times thrown in there as well. I mean talk about not seeing much fruit, the 12 disciples during the 3 years they walked with Jesus weren't always the quickest or fastest bloomers in the Kingdom. Let's be real. And he had handpicked them for the task of beginning his Church. I mean James and I are hoping to further his church in one small part of the world, Jesus was STARTING THE CHURCH SO THAT THE WHOLE WORLD MAY KNOW GOD. Talk about starting a movement, he was starting THE movement. Jesus though being fully God was also at times fully frustrated when he didn't see the fruit of his ministry either. In Mark 11 he comes across a fig tree looking for something to eat because he was hungry, he doesn't find any fruit and ends up cursing the tree. I would say at the time he was pretty frustrated and "hangry." As I read through the gospel accounts, this time as a missionary, my spirit continues to be refreshed as I am reminded again and again that,

"We do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses." (Hebrews 4:15)

A.K.A. HE GETS ME!!! Not just when I finish my ministry to do list but on the days that I'm wanting to scream and throw a 3 year old temper tantrum because I didn't finish anything on it. So today wherever you are, I just want to remind you that HE GETS YOU. He is able to sympathize with what you are going through, and he wants to help you with it, cause he's the greatest of friends.

We love you all so very much!!! Your prayers and love refresh us here. If you ever want a front seat to some of our ministry here you are always welcome to wake up and watch our lives stream Sunday mornings; where you will see James leading worship and our Pastor Enda Long preaching the word. Here is the link: http://alivechurch.ie/watch-live

Last but not but at all least here's our sneak peek into how we celebrated here at Alive Church!!! Enjoy!

The Worship Project

Hey everyone! The official article I wrote for this week is being sent out on Modern Day's monthly newsletter. Not only do they enable us to provide an online donation option, but they also want to get the word out on what God is doing in Ireland! So click here to check it out.

Financial testimony: By the beginning of October we are 93% fully funded! God has continued to use you, your prayers, and your support to provide for us. Thank you so much! We evaluate our budget and donations every month so in a few weeks we will be able to give you another financial update.

Lastly, be praying this week for Molly and me as we put on three church parties this week. In Ireland the schools close for fall break the entire week of Halloween, so we will be spending lots of time with youth during the day, only to turn around and have lots of parties at night. Our lifegroup party will be on Tuesday, then on Friday we will have a church kid party followed by a youth late night extravaganza. We will probably be on a sugar-induced coma all Saturday, and then crawl out of bed for church on Sunday. Be praying that the parties go well, our sanity remains intact, and that through it all true biblical community begins to take place among the festivities.

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)...