A Slight delay....

Well...I've been back in the States for two weeks now. It has been really good to spend time with my family and go on a holiday with them, and it was also good to have the opportunity to go up to Minnesota to visit all my friends there. While I was up there I even had the chance to teach the high school Sunday school....that was a wee bit weird, it almost felt as if I had never left (except that I had a different accent this time!) It is amazing how fast a trip can go by, but I was glad that I had a chance to see people....and I apologize for those that I didn't have a chance to see too :-).

I was supposed to head back to Northern Ireland this past Wednesday, but as you can tell, I am not back there yet. Since the next part of my stay over there will be longer than 6 months, I had to apply for a VISA. I was hoping to have this ready to go by the time my flight was to leave on Wednesday, but that didn't happen. So instead, I am hanging out in Chicago with my family until my VISA comes back (which should be any day) At the moment, I have reschuduled my flight for Monday night, hoping that I will have my VISA by then. Pray that it comes, that way I don't have to change it again.

Even though I miss being in Northern Ireland tremendously and CANNOT WAIT to go back....I know that God has a purpose and a plan behind everything. So I am reminded of the verse a couple months ago that I clinged to then, and continue to cling to now....Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's and EVERYTHING in it....!" ...... including VISA's and when they come ;-).

I continue to thank all of you for your continued prayers and support....as each day goes by, I am more and more grateful for the ways that God is using you to further the ministry that He has put me in. Well, continue to keep your eyes on Christ! I will let you know as soon as I know :-)

Yearning for Christ,

Jason

Holiday in the States

Well tomorrow (Thursday) I am heading back to the States for a two-week holiday. It will be good fun seeing family and friends and sharing all that God has been doing thus far while I have been in Northern Ireland. Hopefully no one will get sick of my newly found accent ;-). Pray that God would grant me traveling mercies as I fly home and then as I travel about seeing people. Also, I will be applying for my VISA to come back for the second part of my trip. Please pray that that process will go smoothly and that there would be no complications.

Maybe I will see you....if not, continue to keep your eyes on Christ!

Yearning for Him,

Jason

Congrats!!....and great Cafe one80!!!

Well, first and foremost, I want to congratulate Samuel and Sarah on their engagement....it was absolutely brilliant. I am so excited for the you two and pray that God would continue to work through both of your lives to further his kingdom. If you haven't heard "the 5 surprise engagement" you should talk to Sarah and I'm sure she would love to tell you how Samuel "whoo-ed" her!!!

Moving on to other things, Cafe one80 was brilliant!! We finished up our last weekend and we had a tremendous turnout! Each night we had a different band that came and played music. It created a great atmosphere to sit back, relax and just have some good craic (fun). Not only that, but we had some great dramas as well as speakers who shared from their own experience how much Christ has impacted their lives. Besides all that, I've heard many stories of young people who made a commitment to follow Christ....so praise God for that!!! So I just want to thank everyone everywhere who was praying for Cafe one80....God definitely showed up and showed off, and it was really encouraging.

There was also a challenge that was put out the last night of One80. Samuel challenged Andrew (my roommate) that he could have the mini that we did up for Cafe One80 (which currently has no engine) up and running by February 15 otherwise Samuel will do Andrew's laundry for a month, was his car for a month, and make him an evening meal once a week for a month. So this has become the talk of the town, and it will be interesting to see what happens. Clearly I have an inside scoop on the situation, but I will not indulge so as to leave the suspense there!! :-)

Thanks again for your prayers and support. God continues to show His faithfulness and sovereignty, and it really has been encouraging! I urge you to continue to keep your eyes on Christ!

Yearning for Him,

Jason

Brilliant!

Well the first weekend of Cafe one80 has come and gone. Let me just say that it was absolutely Brilliant!! We had a great turnout....nearly every night over the weekend the hall was full. There has been a encouraging buzz amongst the young people - they have really been enjoying it. We've even had some people come that we've never seen before, which has been really encouraging.

We are preparing for this coming weekend, which we have three more nights. We are excited because the word is spreading about it and we are hoping to get even a greater turn out. Pray that God would work through Cafe one80 to encourage those that are questioning what Christianity is all about. Pray that opportunities would come about to share about Jesus with some of the young people. Also, Saturday afternoon we have a program for some of the younger kids. This program is called FBIJ (Federal Bureau Investigating Jesus) and I am speaking at it. So pray that God would use me as His tool to speak truth to these young men and young women :-).

I am continully thankful for all of you that follow my blog and are praying for me. It means quite a lot, so I thank you!! Continue to keep your eyes on Christ!!

Yearning for Him,

Jason

Cafe one80

Today we started our youth outreach called Cafe one80. It is going on this weekend and next weekend and it is open to high school age and upwards. For the first night, i twas a great turn out! The nights consist of dramas, testimonies, bands, and guest speakers.....and a cool mini ;-).

It is a great opportunity for young adults to invite their friends into an environment that is laid back so that they can enjoy a bit of craic. Tonight went really well and we continue to be excited for the several nights to come. Pray that God would use these opportunity to bring young men and young men in so that through the dramas, the speakers, and just the conversations, they may hear the Gospel.

The mini was a wee project that we took on because we figured people would love it. Unfortunately, it is just the shell of the mini - it has no engine!! But it is absolutely brilliant! We re-did the interior and put in carpet and did up the back seat. We then put a video camera in it so that people can get into it and have "mini" moments. I'm then taking the little clips that people share on the camera, and turning it into a video that we will then show at one of the other Cafe one80 nights. It definitely is a lot of fun, and the young people love it! (oh and a special thanks to Beau from back home for designing the logo...it turned out great!!)

In terms of prayer requests, pray for Cafe one80. Also on both Saturday afternoons, we are doing a smaller version of it for younger kids (about junior high age), so pray that that goes well too!...especially for next Saturday in regards to that because I will be the speaker for that. Pray that God will use Cafe one80 as a opportunity to reach the young men and women of this community!

I thank you for your continued prayers and support. It is evident that God is working in mighty ways and all of you have played a huge part in that, so I praise God! I encourage you to continue to keep your eyes on Christ! Talk to you soon :-)

Yearning for Him,

Jason