Happy New Year!

How cool is this door mat? Cherith's mom got us this for Christmas and it's now sitting proudly at our front door!

It has been an interesting Christmas holiday to say the least. I remember as a kid, I absolutely loved Christmas. For me, it truly was the most wonderful time of the year. However, I must be perfectly honest, in the more recent years I have unfortunately taken on perhaps more of a ‘Grinch’ persona when it comes to Christmas. (We are all family so you have to love me even though I’m ‘that’ guy). This year, I aspired to be different and really get into the Christmas spirit (in spite of the blatant commercialism, the traffic jams, the 5 Christmas carols that constantly play on the radio, the traffic jams, the stress that fills the shopping centre air, and the traffic jams…Bah humbug!!) Yes, I know I’m being over dramatic. Like I said, it was an interesting Christmas holiday. It was filled with laughs and happiness and Cherith and I made the journey North to spend the holidays with our Belfast family. We loved seeing some of our family and friends as we were force-fed LOTS of different Christmas goodies and beautiful gifts were exchanged..

So what made this holiday season different?? Unfortunately, we lost some dear friends over this Christmas. Both in Ireland and in the U.S. So yes, it was a wonderful season, all the while, there were definite moments of overwhelming sadness. The reason I’m sharing all of this is because I know many of you experienced the same feelings and emotions. Many of you were probably left with questions and wondering why certain things happened the way they did.

When Jesus said that He came to heal the broken-hearted, He really meant it. In the midst of all the pain and prayers for the families of those who had lost loved ones, I’ve never experienced the tangible goodness of God so much. He is a good Father, He is a friend to the friendless. He is a defender of the helpless. He is goodness personified.

I want to encourage anyone struggling to never lose sight of this.

If you give Father God an opening in your life for comfort and peace, He will never fail to show up. His mercy is not fathomable. His love is unending. Thanks be to Him that Jesus is always always always faithful!!

All is going well on the Irish front. A New Year always brings new clarity, insight, and motivation. God has really been stirring the vision for LifeHouse Teens in our hearts more than ever before. It's very exciting! We feel we are on the brink of some big breakthroughs.

Please continue to stand with us in faith and to pray with us.

Looking back on the past year it has been amazing to see what God has done. Only He could have brought so much growth to the church and ministry here. There have been ups and downs for sure. However, with all of that, there was been steady progress in every area of the ministry here. It just makes one wonder what amazing things are in store for 2017.

From the bottom of our hearts, we want to say ‘Thank you!!!’ Everyone's support has been overwhelming. Please know that you are so vital to the cause. The ministry here could not be happening without your willingness and generosity. We are beyond blessed to have all of you in our lives.

*NEW!*

Check out our new gallery addition to our website and the updated prayer and support points for these next few months. Jonathan's been in the process of updating his residence visa here in Ireland and we're hoping he can get a more permanent visa because we are now married. It's proving to be a bit complicated right now, but patience, endurance and God's favour will see us through it! We've also had what seems like a mountain of car and house payments to cover this month, but we're trusting God for His faithful provision for everything we need.

For those of you who are on Facebook we have a new private group called 'Loper Missions: Waterford'. If you have not been added to this group and would like to, please contact us and we'll add you! It's a private group to maintain some privacy and protection as we share what's happening here in Waterford. Some of our updates will be more personal as we share prayer requests, photographs, videos and 'vlogs' (we're so down with the kids) - we're very excited to keep everyone more up to date and to also keep in contact with everyone better.

If you don't have Facebook, but would like to receive these posts and updates (as well as the monthly newsletter) please contact us too!

Remember, we'd love to hear from you!! We want to know how you're doing, how we can support and pray for you, so please get in contact, and we'll do the same! Much love to each and every one of you, Jonathan and Cherith Loper

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Contact info:

Address: Email: Website: Jonathan and Cherith Loper | jonathanandcherith@outlook.com | jonathanandcherith.wix.com/jcloper 12 Pebble Lawn, Tramore