Hmmm….so first of all,….what is your comfort zone? It is the atmosphere, group of people, or situation in which you feel at ease or comfortable.  Your comfort zone is not a bad thing.  We all have one.  But sometimes our comfort zone is not very large and/or we are not very good at pushing ourselves outside of it.  Do you think Jesus had a comfort zone?  Well, whether or not He did, we do know that according to Scriptures He was a friend to sinners and often ate with them.  I think you could safely say that Jesus was comfortable around sinners.  That being said, I have to ask,…..why aren’t most Christians?  It is my belief that many Christians feel the need to “protect” themselves from the world.  Yes, the Bible does say that we are to be “in the world, but not of it”, but the interpretations of that have gone a bit awry.  Jesus said that we are to be the salt & light of the world.  Neither of those things can be accomplished when we hold ourselves apart from the world.

Since coming to Ireland, most of the people we are around on a daily basis are unbelievers.  I admit, it took me quite some time to feel truly comfortable with this.    My comfort zone had to be stretched.  And that is just what God has done.  It was only just recently that I came to realize how much God had changed me and in the process has used me - used us (our family) - to be salt, to be light in Ireland.  To show the love of Jesus in our everyday lives to the people we see/meet/contact everyday and to be the tool through which the Holy Spirit draws them unto Christ.  (Thank you, Pastor Ed!)  I have to say, we love living life this way.  Why don’t you give it a try?

Last week was our last SFC Meeting for the school year and our last official meeting before we leave for furlough.  We had 17 students in attendance!  And realized that a few of our regular SFCers were still missing due to exams/study.  In our chatting afterwards, it was such a joy to listen to the students talk about coming into relationship with Christ, the ways they have grown in the Lord, and how they have been challenged in their faith over the last year.  We were also surprised by a student who approached us about possibly doing a year internship with us when we get back from the States.  We were absolutely thrilled about this!  The vision is being caught!  She has not made any final decisions on this yet, but we are attempting to work out details and how it might work/look.  Please pray with us about this.  It would be a fantastic opportunity both in her life and in ours.  This was a long term goal with our SFC group, but it looks as though God’s timing is ahead of ours. 

It was one of those unspoken, personal desires and requests made to God alone (and each other) that God recently answered for us, much to our delight! Since moving to Limerick, both Brent and I have really come to love the sport Rugby.  And particularly, Munster Rugby, which would be the team for the province of Ireland that we live in.  Brent was given two tickets to see a Munster Rugby match live, here in Limerick at the Thomond Park a few weeks ago and we had the time of our lives.  The weather was perfect that night - bright and sunny, which isn’t exactly the norm here in Ireland.  We were in the stands (which means you stand) on the east end of the park.  That means we were directly in front of the goal posts for half of the match, watching the “Men in Red” run across the trys!!  And they did!!  They beat Connacht with 4 trys and a few penalty kicks.  It was awesome!  The atmosphere itself was something to behold, but to witness a fantastic win was the icing on the cake.  We absolutely loved it!! The picture was taken from another perspective/view - we were standing behind the opposite goal post.

Wow! So much has happened since our last post and to say we’ve been busy would be a serious understatement. To begin with, there was St. Patrick’s Day.  Our church entered the Limerick City parade for the first time and also became the first non-Catholic church to have marched in the parade.  It was a perfect day in terms of weather and our entire family had parts to play.  Our girls marched along with Lori and several of the other children in our church and twirling ribbons.  Brent was a part of the team who were handing/tossing out sweets to the children on the street.  We also had a large flatbed truck with our worship team playing and representatives carrying flags from every nation that is represented in our church - 27 nations!  It was a sight to see!  And we were so proud to be a part of it.  In the end, our church was voted “Champions of the Parade!”

Just a few short days later, we had our 2nd SFC Entryway Event - Art/Talent Exhibit Nite.  With the help of our church, we rented a room downstairs from where our local congregation meets on Sundays.  (Our church too rents it’s space in a very large building in the City Centre.)  With the very limited amount of time (as per rental) we quickly set up a cafe-type setting to the best of our ability and made arrangements for students to display their art/photography/poetry around the room. We also had a microphone set up for those who wanted to share a song or recite a poem.  All our SFC people brought baked good to share and we had coffee & teas, as well.  It was a huge success!

The very next day, was our SFC Girls Nite. We went out for a chinese dinner and then overnight at a dorm-like room owned by another local church.  The company was great, the chat was colorful & fun, and the sleep was greatly lacking.  We spent some time talking about what it means to be a Proverbs 31 woman and her characteristics.

And shortly following our Girls Nite was our SFC dinner night @ our house.  We had 17 students.  Brent’s discipleship teaching has been excellent and has really sparked some great conversation with the various students.  We also had a specific time of prayer for each of the students.  Some are making important and hard decisions regarding their futures and some are dealing with some very serious issues either in themselves or with friends & family.  Please, pray for Tracy, Hannah, Owen, Betsy, Louise, Candace, Josh, Tim, Mark, Ellie, Erin, Aisling, Deborah, Stella, Inga, Fiona, Mark F, Bethany, Ben, Phil.

We are so proud of our three beautiful girls.  This last week they all competed (in their grade level) in an Irish language recitation competition, called a feile.  It’s absolutely amazing to us, their mommy and daddy, to hear them speaking Irish and reciting Irish poems with such precision and fluency.  Irish is a very difficult language, but they are excelling.  And although they didn’t receive any medals this year, they were still highly praised by all the other parents who were also amazed at how good these American girls’ Irish was.  We couldn’t be more proud!  We are so thankful for our girls and love them so very much.

We can’t believe how many new students we’ve seen come to SFC in the last month!  And all through the students we have already been pouring into.  It’s absolutely fantastic!  We just keep loving on them and pointing to Jesus in our words and actions.  In our discussion and study on discipleship, we’ve also seen a sort of awakening within the students to how to make Christ a part of their daily lives and for some, a revelation that they NEED Christ in their daily lives!  Still others are struggling to understand what the excitement is all about.  We believe they will all come into a living and growing relationship with Jesus.  The journey is different for each person and we’re okay with that.  Please, pray for these students.  This time of life can be incredibly challenging and their choices will have lasting effects.  They need to know that they are not alone.  That’s why we’re here…..pointing to Jesus.

This is the title of our SFC Meetings every 3rd Thursday of each month now.  What’s the purpose??  This is the night we are/will be making SFC more accessable and comfortable to nonChristian students.  Of course, all students are welcome and encouraged to come to any of our meetings or events.  But we recognized that it is very difficult to both disciple/mentor/train those who believe or show desire to believe and ……introduce ourselves, SFC, and the person and love of Jesus to those who have no connection to us or God all in the same evening or meeting.  So, we have begun organizing these nights to build a bridge towards SFC from the secular campuses. They are intended to be a relaxed and fun atmosphere where unsaved, unbelieving students can see who we are, begin to build relationships with us, and have opportunity to interact, ask questions, be surrounded by a Christian atmosphere with minimal uncomfortableness and intimidation.

At our first Entryway we had two new (unbeliever) faces and one student who is a Christian but new to SFC.  We were thrilled!!  It was a great night!  Our theme for the evening was a “Trivia Night” with fun, food, and prizes.  Did YOU know that the ancient Egyptians used alligator dung as a form of contreception??  (don’t ask me how that worked, we didn’t research it) And of course, there’s always the time for chat afterwards which proves to be some of our best moments with the students.

My apologies, everyone! Apparently when I updated the blog last week, I forgot to “publish” the updates and therefore, they did not appear on the site.  Oops!  So,…it just gives you more to read and catch up with this week. 

We are amazed, excited, and so thankful for the great things God has done in the three years we have been here in Ireland.  It’s hard to believe now that when we stepped off the plane in December of 2005, we knew no one but the one other  missionary couple here in Limerick.  And NO students.  But now, by the work and hand of God, we have a solid group of 20+ students that we have the privilege to mentor, teach and minister to continuously.  Some have a  maturing and growing faith, some a new faith, and others are still searching but slowly draw closer to that personal relationship with Christ.  It’s quite a journey; an   adventure like no other.  And without a doubt it keeps us “on our toes” and on our knees.  Do we still believe that this is the plan of God for our lives?  Is this still our heart’s passion and calling?  ABSOLUTELY 100% YES!!!   There’s   nothing else we’d rather do and truly no place else we’d rather be.  We count it an honor and joy to be where we are and do what we do as Missionaries and a part of the Body of Christ.

As we have begun looking ahead and trying to plan towards our time back in the States, it has been made evident to us that our SFC group is in no way ready to stand on their own.  Many have only just started coming this year and are still so very new in their own faith.  In the Fall, we began to mentor a few of the students in leadership.  There has been positive and encouraging response, but again it’s all so new to them and they are not ready to take on full leadership.  With this in mind, we realize that to leave these students for a full year would be distressing and potentially devastating both to the group and some of the individual faith walks.  It is our desire to see each and every student, along with the larger SFC community we have been building here in Limerick, to continue to grow and thrive.  As a result, with the approval of our Area Director, we are planning and working towards a shortened time back in the States.  God willing and providing, we are aiming to have our needed funds raised by the end of December 09 &  return to Limerick for the second semester.  We have put a great deal of prayer and consideration into this decision.  A shortened itineration would also ensure that our girls could return to the school they attend here, without losing their places and having to change schools.  The system works so very differently here.  You actually apply to a school (like college in the US) and once you leave, your position is given to someone else.  Places in each school are limited and proximity to the school is not a factor.  The principal has given us permission and her word to keep the girls class positions for them through December of this year.  That is a huge blessing!  We need your prayers!  Thank you!!

We can’t emphasize enough how much we love what we do!  This semester we have really sensed a new acceptance among students.  No doubt, we’ve been around them, their universities, and some of their flats/houses enough that they’re probably getting a bit sick of us.  However, they also seem to trust us more and are a lot less guarded in both how they talk to us and around us.  That’s a BIG milestone!  We’ve started a discipleship course in our weekly meetings based on the book The Master Plan of Evangelism.  We are also seeing more new faces in our meetings all the time.  Please pray with us to have God’s direction and wisdom with these new students who have no relationship with God but recognize their need for “something”/Someone.  We’ve also been blessed this semester with a few truly born-again students who have searched us out.  What a joy and refreshment to have them around and a part of our SFC!

On a down note, (and to our surprise) we have recently lost one of our SFC student leaders to another teaching/theological position in the area that will not fellowship outside of itself BUT…. another student has stepped into that vacant position with a vision and passion that it appears God has been stirring up in her for several months, unbeknown to us.  “Thank you, Jesus!!”  Please pray for our student leaders, Hannah & Tracy, as they learn to lead and as we model and teach them to lead.  They have teachable hearts and we are so thankful for them.