New Beginnings... 1 Year On

Hello everyone!

This is the official 1 year mark of living in Ireland! That's hard to fathom. Looking back on all the events of this past year seems a bit overwhelming, however what ultimately looms in my being is a deep sense of thankfulness to God and for each and every one of you who has helped the mission get this far through your continued prayer and support. Together, we have accomplished a lot and are poised to do much more! How awesome is that?!

These past months have been BUSY BUSY BUSY!! LifeHouse church has been in full swing preparation mode for our SuperKids camp. Through SuperKids, we will have the privileged opportunity to minister to at least 300 families from our local community, making it the largest outreach to date for our new church, You can find out more about SuperKids via our Facebook page and website (you can find links on 'Our Mission' page).

This years camp is particularly exciting as some of our SuperKids team include young teens from Waterford, who have attended the camps the past 2 years and some teenaged boys who I have been meeting up weekly with to play sports throughout the year. Personally, I am so encouraged that that they want to come back and help however they can! And even more exciting than that, some of these teens have started getting more involved with the LifeHouse family, coming to our prayer meetings and church services and more importantly, asking more and more questions about how they can have a personal relationship with Jesus. Praise God! Watching them become transformed really puts things in perspective and spurs me on to continue to stay true to the call God has for the church here.

God is clearly moving , An openness with the young people of Waterford is becoming more and more evident, as their views of religion as a boring ritual, shifts to realising that Jesus is personal and wants fellowship with them more than anything!! It seems connections are being strengthened and more contacts are being made on a weekly basis. In fact, one of the girls who will be working with us for the first time messaged Cherith, when she heard that we are having three weeks of prayer and fasting in preparation for and during SuperKids Camp. She began to ask Cherith what prayer and fasting is and if she could be a part of it, and now she is now planning on coming with us to church this Sunday. Every person who gets connected is a huge advancement and win for all of us in the body of Christ. We can't wait to get the official youth group launched in September after the wedding.

Speaking of weddings, I had no idea about the amount of preparation and organisation that went into planning a wedding. In fact, if I'm being brutally honest, at one point just after we were engaged I ignorantly stated to Cherith, "Don't worry! We could totally get this whole wedding sorted out in a day or so!" I have apologised profusely since then. September 6th is galloping towards us, but I am happy to say that due to Cherith’s administrative superpowers, everything is looking great on that front. At times it's been a little stretching last couple months. An American living in the Republic of Ireland, getting married to a citizen of the United Kingdom, in the United Kingdom, presents its own set of complications. BUT God is good and the government has granted that we can get married with no complications in the U.K. in September.

It's been very easy to get stressed out in these past weeks between; organising the wedding, Cherith graduating from college and moving down to Waterford, getting our driver’s licenses and insurance sorted, (which in Ireland is an act of Congress), searching for a suitable place to live as newly weds, planning for the camp, and working with our youth. However, God has continually reminded us of His faithfulness. A huge testimony to that is that someone gave us money to buy a car! I have to laugh a little bit, a year ago, being a truck-driving/construction working Texas boy, I would have scoffed at the idea of driving around in a 2002 Toyota Yaris. However, walking being the mode of transport for a year can do a lot to change your perspective. It's like a close family member so truthfully stated months ago ‘When pride and missions meet, it's a tough meeting.’ In all seriousness, I couldn't be more thankful for the car and everything God has provided this last year. He seriously will never let any of us down. It comes back to a simple trust in Him. It's easier said than done, but it should be a goal for

all of us to let His peace reign in our hearts, to step out into what He wants us to do, and enjoy the adventure!!

Thanks to each and everyone of you for your prayers, friendship, support and donations are greatly appreciated. We are all in this together. The mission is picking up momentum on a daily basis and is steaming ahead!! If you'd like to contact us, please do not hesitate, we'd love to hear from you!

- Jonathan