Celebration Weekend

This weekend was filled with celebrations, from a birthday to St. Patty's Day to Mother's Day, this side of the Atlantic was buzzing!

In Tollymore Forest during internship summer 2009 

These lovely ladies in this picture with me have been some of the greatest blessings to me while I do ministry.  Ewelina (bottom) is from Poland, was born on St. Patrick's Day, and hopefully will be living with me in the near future, God willing everything works out with our living situations.  Mackenzie (top left) currently works in Kesh, but comes to visit every now and again to her "home away from home away from home" and is originally from the Chicagoland area, like myself.  We met at Murlough House during the summer of 2009 and have stayed close ever since.  

During one of Macintosh's recent visits to Newcastle

Mackenzie (AKA Macintosh) came down and celebrated Ewelina's (AKA E-Dubs) birthday and St. Patrick's Day with us.  She and I were able to go to Downpatrick for the parade, watched Irish dancing, listened to traditional Irish music, as well as visiting St. Patrick's resting place.  It was lovely to enjoy the cultural atmosphere with a few other foreigners!  Hehe  It was also Mother's Day on the Emerald Isle on Sunday.  After church, we spent the afternoon with the 2 cutest babies in Newcastle and their beautiful mothers.  It was the perfect way to celebrate the day, although it was a bit difficult for me, knowing I wasn't able to say Happy Mother's Day to my own mother.

With great celebration also came difficulties within the ministry on the weekend.  Sunday night we had to intervene in a fight that happened outside the Kairos.  As much as there are great progressions occurring with the young people, satan is not excited and is using events like that to discourage our team of willing servants that volunteer.  God is moving here in Newcastle, there's no doubt about that, but where God is moving through willing servants, satan tries to destroy the victory we already have as members of the Kingdom.  These lyrics express our cry perfectly:

Bring Your Kingdom Here

by Rend Collective Experiement

Come set Your rule and reign

In our hearts again

Increase in us we pray

Unveil why we're made

Come set our hearts ablaze with hope

Like wildfire in our very souls

Holy Spirit come invade us now

We are Your Church

We need Your power

In us

We seek Your kingdom first

We hunger and we thirst

Refuse to waste our lives

For You're our joy and prize

To see the captive hearts released

The hurt, the sick, the poor at peace

We lay down our lives for heaven's cause

We are Your church

We pray revive

This earth

Build Your kingdom here

Let the darkness fear

Show Your mighty hand

Heal our streets and land

Set Your church on fire

Win this nation back

Change the atmosphere

Build Your kingdom here

We pray

Unleash Your kingdoms power

Reaching the near and far

No force of hell can stop

Your beauty changing hearts

You made us for much more than this

Awake the kingdom seed in us

Fill us with the strength and love of Christ

We are Your church

We are the hope

On earth

Something exciting I will be blessed to experience is a true Irish wedding!  Two lovely friends will be tying the knot in a couple weeks and it has everyone chatting about what to wear, what the bride will be wearing, and the dancing we're all excited for.  

Prayer Points:

1. Wisdom during tough situations

2. Housing situation upon return

3. Holy Spirit intervening in the lives of the young people as well as in our interactions with them