Faithfulness and Fruitfulness

The team has been up for two days now in Atticall. On Monday, Zak and Peter hosted a brilliantly done gameshow marathon at the Gaelic Association Club. Several people came out, and the craic (as they say here) was great. The main purpose was to reintroduce the team to the community, but Zak made it clear why we were back: because we love Jesus, and we want others to love him. 

Yesterday (Tuesday) the Lord brought about 6-7 teens to the various teen programs and 4 adults yesterday to the coffee break. Last night we went out and watched a Gaelic football match and interacted with the dozen or so spectators, just to get the word out about the Americans being back in town and the programs. As with last year, the work in Atticall begins small, but word-of-mouth spreads quickly.

Peter pointed us to the gospel in the life of David amid his sin and repentance with Bathsheba. A couple of good conversations ensued as the teens wondered aloud alternatively why 1) God would let off a murderer or 2) thinking that God is so merciful that he'd let David off no matter what David did. Pray for wisdom as we follow up on these conversations today.

Tonight there is a camogie tournament game that we'll be attending after Joel opens the Word and we spend some more time with the teens. Tomorrow the program will begin properly. Due to a schedule conflict this year, we'll be back in the community from Saturday through Tuesday with Treasure Hunters for the kids in primary school. This has freed up the various Treasure Hunter workers to spend time with the teens and adults in the morning.

One might be discouraged when looking at the number of people who have come out, but as with last year we trust that our God will provide fruit in his timing; our work is faithfulness as he gives grace to us. Pray that we'd ask for more grace to be faithful today, and in so declaring our inability and thus humbling ourselves that we'd speak boldly of the glories of God in the gospel.

Last night a rainbow extended above the misty clouds that were covering Knockchree (the local "hill" that towers over Atticall). Just as it signified God's blessing and promise to not judge the earth with water, so we desire that God hold back his wrath from those of our friends who don't yet acknowledge him as Savior and Lord. Might it be, Lord.



Daniel

Paul planted, Apollos watered

The Kitty's Road team went out three times today, with the first session being Treasure Hunters (a Bible lesson-puppet-craft extravaganza) for the kids, sports for the teens, and a coffee morning for the adults; the second session being more play outside in the rare blessing of Irish sun; and the evening session being a time of silly skits, singing of gospel truth, and a talk from the Mourne Presbyterian youth pastor Andrew interspersed with group discussion. Andrew presented the gospel through the lens of the story of Noah and the Flood: 1) sin grieves God; 2) God gives grace; 3) Noah points to Jesus.

This is a bit of a bare-bones summary (sleep is an important means of grace!) but here are some praises and prayer requests:

-We are encouraged by the enthusiastic turnout, the truly amazing weather, and the ease with which the team and the Kitty's Road-ers mingled and conversed today. Really, the Spirit of God is at work here--I think many of us are distinctly sensing His presence with us during these days, both as we're praying and speaking with each other during break times, and as we're actually out on the Road. I can testify myself that God is guiding the members of this team. Our hearts really are his, and particularly in the locals who are reaching out year-round, I see so much of what can only be the love of our crucified and risen Jesus. It is a remarkable thing for all of us to be able to be a part of this piece of kingdom-building with this team of "new creations" in Christ. (2 Corinthians 5:17, which is on our awesome team T-shirts: "Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.")

-Prayers for continued good weather would be appreciated, and some other recurring requests are that more men would turn out for these gatherings and take more part (praise God that about five did show up at one point or another today!); that the teens would stay with the evening gatherings all the way through to the message and discussion; and that we as a team would not get legalistic or uptight about either numbers or people staying exactly where we want them, but that we'd trust the Spirit to move, which is just what we are longing for and what, we hope, we are beginning to see Him do.

We're so grateful for you. Know that God is hearing your prayers and showering grace on and around us (even as he keeps the rain at bay).

just a note

First day of ministry tomorrow at Kitty's Road and Atticall. Had a great day today of filling up with grace with God's people, with church in the morning and in the evening, and in between, Thanksgiving-worthy Sunday dinners (at our host home, we walked out to a field in front of the house, pulled up some potato plants, kicked them out of the ground, and ate them an hour later) and a lovely day at the beautiful Silent Valley, where we hung out at the coffee shop, played football up and down a steep, flat hill, went for walks, and played frisbee. We are revved and ready to go at it tomorrow. Praise God who is our help!

second comings

Three parts to today's post, for those of you who are taking notes:

1. Update -- Here's what we've done.

2. Reflection -- Here's where I am seeing God.

3. Prayer Info -- I won't prescribe your prayers, but here's stuff to know as you go before God on our behalf.

1. Update

As is apparent from the conspicuously green photo above, the team have arrived on the Emerald Isle. Day one was spent meeting our N. Irish team members and host families and resting, and then meeting together in the evening for more team bonding and times of worship and prayer.

Today we got to sleep in and then spent the day with the team, first at Greencastle, where that photo was taken (Greencastle is, in fact, a castle, not pictured) and where we ate a picnic lunch due to a funeral occurring at the church hall where we're headquartered. Next stop was Cranfield Beach, where most of us at least dipped a toe in the misty grey (cold) sea, and some of us considerably more than a toe. After this fun time to enjoy the beauty of this unique place and the company of our brothers and sisters in Christ and in ministry, we drove through the two communities where we'll be, praying out loud together as we drove. This was a sweet time of dedication as we look forward to starting our outreaches on Monday. After an evening meal together, we were briefed on Northern Ireland's stringent child protection laws and guidelines, and then a word from the pastor of Kilkeel Presbyterian on the cultural context we're stepping into, and that despite the complexity of the culture and heritage of this island, the bottom line is that we're reaching out to people with the message of Jesus Christ, by means of love.

All these activities were carried out in the midst of a bewildering patchwork quilt of small farms and hedged fields spread over gentle slopes and mountains, speckled with sheep and cows, and patterned with narrow, windy roads, stone houses and their gardens, and a colorful, packed-together little town.

2. Reflection

Last night I sat pondering how it feels to me personally to be back here for the second time. So carefully for this past year have I curated my memories of this place and its people that now that they surround me again, it feels very natural, almost a given. I had kept rubbing away at that spot in my memory, wearing that groove smooth, and now that the reality is here again it fits right into its place.

I bring this up not as a psychological fun fact, but because it occurred to me that the Bible tells us to remember some very important things, and now I'm seeing what that looks like in one instance. "Remember Jesus Christ, risen from the dead," Paul urges Timothy. Later, "Remember my chains." Many times in the New Testament, we're exhorted to remember specific things Jesus said, and to remember the teaching of the apostles. (Might not hurt, actually, to search the Book for the word "remember" and see how we're doing...) What I thought of in particular was of another second coming: the Lord's. Fact is, we know we're living in the age between the comings of Christ, but it's hard to keep that in mind. I want the image of the second coming of Christ, which he describes so vividly in places like Mark 13 and Luke 21, to be vitally present to my mind--kept alive by remembering, like a flame, or like my memories of Kilkeel from last year. Then, when this comes to pass:

"...there will be signs in sun and moon and stars, and on the earth distress of nations in perplexity because of the roaring of the sea and the waves, people fainting with fear and with foreboding of what is coming on the world. For the powers of the heavens will be shaken"--

we won't be fainting with fear and foreboding, not because it won't be terrifying, but because we know what comes next:

"And then they will see the Son of Man coming in a cloud with power and great glory. Now When these things begin to take place, straighten up and raise your heads, because your redemption is drawing near." (Luke 21:25-28)

3. Prayer Info:

We are of course physical creatures used to a very particular spot on the globe, and a request I've heard from people is, naturally, for good rest. Thus far things seem to be going very well on that front; we've had a great weekend with plenty of time for sleeping.

Please continue to keep the people at Attical and Kitty's Road in your prayers. We are longing for God's Spirit to work, that many may come to a saving knowledge of Christ. We also need the Spirit to move in us, that we may have peace-giving faith in, and receive the fulfillment of, Jesus's promise that his witnesses will be given the words they need at the time they need them. The team's preparation and fellowship have really been wonderful as we seek God together on behalf of ourselves, each other, and the communities we're headed to. God, glorify your name!

We'll be fellowshipping with one of the local churches tomorrow.

I'll be praying for you that you'd be remembering all that we ought to be remembering as children of the new kingdom, such as the greatness and sufficiency of our Father's goodness.

-Maddy

that the works of God might be displayed

I (Maddy) am camped at the MSP airport, where I was dropped off early, expecting to be joined by the team in a few hours but in the meantime savoring this time to take deep breaths of God's goodness. Here's one:

As he passed by, he saw a man blind from birth. And his disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" Jesus answered, "It was not that this man sinned, or his parents, but that the works of God might be displayed in him." John 9:1-3

I flipped open my Bible a few nights ago and my eyes lit on that sentence of Jesus'. I was reminded of the fears that many of us shared at our last team meeting: We're afraid that we've done things wrong, or that we will do things wrong, and we're anxious to figure out what those mistakes are and how to fix them, living meanwhile in uneasy anticipation of the dreadful effects of our failures. "I'm constantly looking for the leak in my boat," Alli said. "But the problem with that is, once you start looking for leaks, you won't find one; you'll find a hundred."

"Who sinned?" asked the disciples.
Wrong question.

That's what we reminded each other at that meeting--a simple message, one of those easily articulable truths that have the power to transform us if we only believe. God is the worker. He's about displaying his perfection and sufficiency, not exposing our gaps. There's a strong connection between humility and joy. This adventure is not about our own strengths, and it's not about our weaknesses, either. Pride credits its own strengths with things that go right, and its own failures with things that go wrong. The reality is, we're very small beings called to obedience in a story much greater than we can perceive fully, told by one much greater than we can grasp. Singing out our own few God-given lines with abandoned gusto is a much more exciting (and God-glorifying) place to be than floundering in a backstage control room whose buttons we can't reach, or apologizing for our every stammer on stage. We're free, children of God, consecrated bearers of the light of the world. When things go wrong and when things go right, we can know that our God is displaying his works.

That fills me with joy right down to my wriggling toes.

"As long as I am in the world, I am the light of the world." John 9:5

Mercies New Every Morning... Year After Year

As the sun rises over Kilkeel this morning, I'm (Daniel) reminded of God's goodness to us year-after-year. I've arrived a few days early to meet with the area pastors and community outreach leaders in the local Protestant churches. The Lord has been good to give Bethlehem these partners in ministry.

Dave McIlveen (the Northern Irish team leader) and I drove around Kilkeel yesterday, praying for the different communities. It was a sweet time of concerted prayer as we asked God to powerfully shake these communities with his Spirit. Would you pray with us?

Pray for the team as they prepare to leave later today. Pray for their rest, for their quick adaptation to the new time zone and culture, for their trust in Jesus.

Pray for the Northern Irish team that we're partnering with.

Pray for the meetings that are upcoming for me today.

Pray for the two communities (Atticall and Kittys Road). Pray that faithfulness would blossom into fruit.

Pray that we would live in light of Jesus' authority that declared in Matthew 28:18-20 (here's an excellent article that was just posted on DG's website about what this verse means for missions today).

Grateful,
Daniel

Spiritual Perception

I (Daniel) leave for Northern Ireland tomorrow for a couple days of prep and meetings before the rest of the team leaves Thursday. I appreciate your prayers!

The Northern Ireland team is meditating on 2 Corinthians 5:16-17 this week; we're hoping to memorize these verses together, as well as another passage in Philippians next week. The passage seems to fit our mission in Northern Ireland: we are ministers of reconciliation. Just as we've been reconciled to God, so we seek to persuade others to be reconciled.

In this mission, we need to have right perception of the world around us, the people we're caring for, the circumstances we encounter. Concerning spiritual perception from 2 Corinthians 5:16, Jason Meyer said this in a sermon:

Paul says that there are two kinds of perception: physical (flesh) and spiritual. Everyone can do the first kind. It is natural ability that comes from physical birth: You are born into the first creation. The second kind of perception comes from spiritual birth: You are born into the new creation. Christ and the ambassador of Christ can only be seen rightly with spiritual perception, not physical or fleshly perception. Can you see what he is doing? He is worried that they are regarding or seeing according to the flesh—according to the outward appearance (as he said last week). He says, “Though we once regarded Christ according to the flesh, we regard him thus no longer.” When did Paul regard Christ according to the flesh? When he was an unbeliever. When did he “regard him thus no longer”? New birth. He saw Christ with new spiritual eyes. Paul is asking the Corinthians if they are unbelievers. Do they only see according to the flesh? Can they not see the things of the Spirit?

Pray for the Northern Ireland team, that as we go we would be sensitive to the realities around us... spiritual realities. We are a new creation in Christ, with new eyes to see spiritual realities, not just according to the outward appearance of people and circumstances. Pray that we would keep this reality near the forefront of our minds over the next few weeks.