a day out

I have yet to hear from the Attical team today; they may have a bit of a late night of it and will have to be included in tomorrow's update. As for the Kitty's Road community and team, we loaded up onto two coach buses and headed for the long-awaited Tayto World just north of Dublin. The day provided good opportunities especially for the many team members who are new this year to get to know some Kitty's Road folk better, walking around the park; flying down a six-story zip line together; seeing wallabies, bald eagles, black swans, and other curious creatures; and spending about four hours total together on a bus. Tomorrow we resume our programming at the Kitty's Road community center, about which I for one am excited. Pray that this time spent together today will begin to bear fruit in our continued ability to really love those around us, particularly by pointing clearly and winsomely to Jesus. Please lift up American team member Ryan as well, as he is scheduled to teach the lesson tomorrow. We ask that he would be able to connect well with his listeners and that in all our programming and conversations, God would be seen as glorious and Christ would be seen and submitted to as never before.

This morning on part of the bus ride I was blessed by the narrative of grace laid out in Galatians. Here's a taste:
"Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ, who gave himself for our sins to deliver us from the present evil age, according to the will of our God and Father, to whom be the glory forever and ever. Amen." chapter 1:3-5

in which we venture into the communities

Today felt like about four days in one. Both the Kitty's Road and Attical teams spent their first day in these communities. Just a few brief updates as it's late and we've got an early morning tomorrow:
-Attical in particular faced a challenge in that the community had, due to a miscommunication, arranged for their own evening program for the week--a talk on a secular approach to Protestant-Catholic peacemaking. The Northern Irish leaders of our Attical team were able to negotiate such that our gospel-centered message was proclaimed instead, as had been our plan. The team is encouraged by this, awkward and hostile as the mishap was, because it is a demonstration that God is fighting for us and for our ability to proclaim the gospel in this brief window of opportunity we have. Praise God with us for that answer to the prayers of the several Attical team members who were interceding as the discussion was taking place. Some folks did turn out and overall, the day was a good one.
-Kitty's Road was full to the brim with women and some men and their children of all ages, from a year-old infant to late teenagers. The community gathers multiple times a day as this is their Kitty's Road Festival Week, and it's a great grace that our team of Jesus-lovers are so welcomed to be a big part of it, organizing Bible-focused activities for the kids and leading a gospel-proclaiming evening session that almost everyone attended and paid careful attention to. It's only day one of official ministry, and even those of us for whom this is our first time on the trip are feeling connected and able to have good conversation with those we've met.

      Praise God for the love he's given us for those we're ministering to! As our Northern Irish leader Dave told us, "You won't find them hard to love." It's true.

      Both teams are tagging along to off-site activities that our respective communities have planned tomorrow: Attical to a murder mystery in a castle, and Kitty's Road to Tayto World (I think officially known as Tayto Park) outside of Dublin. We've heard conflicting stories about Tayto World, but I finally Googled it tonight and found that it is, in fact, an amusement park built off of the Tayto crisps company--a theme park whose theme is potato chips. We'll have a two-hour bus ride to the park, which is on the north side of Dublin, which should provide some excellent time to continue the relationships we've begun, as we hope to do the whole day.
       The thing with these activities is that it means we're losing a day of our programming. Pray that we'll be able to love truly and witness faithfully to Jesus as we just spend time with these folks.

An encouragement from Jeremiah 46: " 'But fear not, O Jacob my servant, nor be dismayed, O Israel, for behold, I will save you from far away, and your offspring from the land of their captivity. Jacob shall return and have quiet and ease, and none shall make him afraid. Fear not, O Jacob my servant, declares the LORD, for I am with you."

Rejoicing that he is with us!

Day Two

Today was another day of international team-building. After an evening of getting to know our lovely host families on Saturday, this morning we woke up (some of us with a bit of difficulty) and headed to Kilkeel Presbyterian to prepare for church. After we had spent some time practicing a song we were to sing, the congregation began to arrive and we worshiped our King Jesus with brothers and sisters not just from Northern Ireland but also with a few visitors from Uganda--the former Anglican archbishop and his wife, no less! Archbishop Henry shared an encouragement with the body, reminding us that the world is bold in marketing its message; we, who have the news of Christ's total kingship, ought to be bolder. Reverend Stephen of Kilkeel Presbyterian preached on different aspects of the Kingdom of God--the kingdom which has come in Jesus Christ, is coming in God's work now, and will come in fullness--this morning and this evening at the evening service, encouraging us to remember the solidity of our hope and the already/not-yet aspects of the Kingdom. At the latter service, Matt, part of our American team, shared his testimony with the congregation, which was a powerful pointer to the utter potency of our Lord's grace.
         In between these two soul-feeding meetings (morning and evening church), there was some excellent stomach-feeding as we all enjoyed the bounty of our host homes' Sunday dinners, and then an excursion to Silent Valley--a beautiful area of woods, grassy open space, mountains, and a sparkling blue reservoir. It was a gorgeous, sunny day, and lots of people were about, particularly on account of a sort of fair that was going on, with live music (which sounded funny to the Americans... because it was so familiar. Stevie Wonder, among others, was played.) We enjoyed some football (the real kind), and Ultimate Frisbee. After the evening church service we gathered in the Church of Ireland hall for a few words from Reverend Stephen to get us readier for the ministry we'll begin, Lord willing, tomorrow.
          Bit by bit, our ears are beginning to adapt to the local jargon, our stomachs to the narrow and quickly-traversed roads, and our circadian rhythms to the shift in global position. Baby steps.

          Thank you for your prayers. We appreciate them as we hope for good rest tonight before we jump into our project tomorrow. As has been a theme thus far on the trip, with 2 Corinthians 4 being our theme passage, I for one am feeling my weakness in pretty much every area, and would ask that you pray with me for Jesus Christ to be made much of in our jars-of-clay frailty.

        I'll close with a passage that Matt referenced in his testimony that particularly resonated with me:

"The haughty looks of man shall be brought low, and the lofty pride of men shall be humbled, and the LORD alone will be exalted in that day... Stop regarding man, in whose nostrils is breath, for of what account is he?"        Isaiah 2:11, 22

When we recognize that we all will kneel before the King, we're freed to love as he did by laying down his life. Pray that we'll find our sufficiency in the dying, rising Lamb, and then truly love.

Grace and peace.

on the right side of the pond, at last

Take it as you will. By "right" I could just mean right (as opposed to left) on your typical world map...

The team has arrived, safe, sound, and sleepy. We landed in Dublin at 8:45 a.m. local time after a peculiarly short July 12 (strange thing, transatlantic travel...) and are mostly all retiring to bed around now, rejoicing in the bounty of God's goodness. A few manifestations of that goodness:

- meeting Northern Irish brothers and sisters. Our God is much bigger than Minneapolis, MN, and this is a heart-blessing and concrete reminder.

- rolling hills, fleecy sheep, little shops, accents

- Jesus Christ the same yesterday, today, forever, and everywhere--our Savior and our great delight

Rejoice with us, praise the Giver, and continue to pray for

- focus

- physical strength

- real love amongst the team members, especially now that it's an international team

- God to be treasured through Jesus Christ by us and all those in Kilkeel

"For you, O LORD, have made me glad by your work; at the work of your hands I sing for joy." Psalm 92:4

His Mercies Are New... Every Morning

Last night Bethany Bennett, one of our team members, couldn't find her passport. After staying up all night with her family looking for the passport, the morning came, and mercies were there. New for her... and for us. 

Bethany went to CVS to get a photo, and went downtown with only 5 hours until the flight departed. The Passport Agency was surprisingly empty with only one other person there... but filled up right after she arrived. 

After filling out the necessary forms, she was told her application would be expedited. And it was. She got her new passport in 50 minutes! 

Strength was made known through her weakness as God sustained her with his strength. And she was able to join us before we even went through security:

Thankful to our God who continues to sustain us. We are currently in Chicago with a three hour layover; pray for 

- Rest on the plane. We need to wait to sleep until we're on the plane if we're going to arrive rested for a full day tomorrow. 

- Team unity as new challenges await us tomorrow and for the next two weeks. Jesus prayed that we might be one as he and the Father are one. We believe this unity is ours in Jesus... pray we'd have tangible, sweet expressions of this on the plane an in Northern Ireland. 

Treasure... in Jars of Clay

We must be convinced that pain and feelings of weakness do not equal failure. They are not to be avoided at all costs. Can we learn to give thanks for weakness and pain because we believe that is the vehicle God most often chooses for the gospel to travel forward?

Pastor Jason Meyer

But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us.

2 Corinthians 4:7

The gospel of Jesus Christ compels his people to move outward towards others - even when it hurts. For the Northern Irish, there is much remembered pain caused by many years of conflict. But where pain is, where weakness is found, there the strength of God is found in fullest measure.

Simply consider the cross. At the point of apparent weakness, the Son of God, mangled and bleeding in the most horrific way imaginable, God's power was fully on display. The Son was sustained through the Cross, faithful unto death. And unto resurrection. And unto eternal reign.

So too ministers of the gospel today as sustained as their weakness (and oh, we are weak!) is made known through trying circumstances, through subtle and overt persecution, and through the sin-sick bodies and souls that we carry through this fallen world. But there is a Lord and Savior who bids us go... go and preach the gospel. Go and share our very lives.

So, we go! Tomorrow! Pray for us that the weakness that is evident... through nervous energy, sickness, and whatever the Lord has for us in Northern Ireland... will display in full measure the "the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." (2 Cor. 4:6) That is the treasure! Jesus himself, on display in weak vessels. And that is our prayer. 

Would you pray with us?

For your encouragement, two sermons are embedded below. The first is Jason Meyer, Pastor at Bethlehem Baptist Church. The text is 2 Corinthians 2:12-14... on weakness and evangelism. 

The second sermon is by recent Bethlehem Seminary grad Jeff Lacine, on 2 Corinthians 4:7:


Jeff Lacine from Bethlehem College and Seminary on Vimeo.

Packing and Praying

Tomorrow the team meets to weigh and tag our luggage and to continue to pray over the trip before we depart on Friday. Prayer requests for this last stage of preparation:

• safe & smooth travels
  "He led them in safety, so that they were not afraid..." Psalm 78:53
  
• that we would not fret but would entrust ourselves, and the myriad details involved in pulling off this departure, to God
  "...do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God" Philippians 4:6
  
• wisdom and forbearance in whatever circumstances arise in transit
  "Let each of you look not only to his own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:4
  
• that the busyness and excitement of these days of preparation wouldn't distract us from abiding in Jesus
  "Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me." John 15:4
  
• health (a number of us are recovering from pretty bad coughs)
  "But we have this treasure in jars of clay, to show that the surpassing power belongs to God and not to us." 2 Corinthians 4:7