Americans Around the corner

Well the past week or so has been full of preparations for the American team that is coming next week from Bethlehem Baptist Church. Everyone is eagerly anticipating there arrival. We will be doing many things with them, including going back down to hang out with our wonderful friends on Kittys Road for their fun week.

Apart from sorting those details out, there has been much tennis playing :-). The recent Wimbledon has perked the interest of many of the young people to want to play tennis. So with the beautiful weather, I've had loads of opportunities to get a few matches in with many of the lads that I've been connecting with....its been great craic.

Also, there has been another very exciting addition to the team....a SCOOTER!! Yep, that's right! I got a scooter (moped) last week. I will have pictures shortly of it. I will mainly be using it to get around the town to visit family's houses and such...anything much further and I would probably choose to take other means of transportation. The down side is that I have to get it registered first, so it will be another couple of weeks before I will be able to hit the roads with it. However, it has been good craic driving it around the church car park :-).

I hope everyone had a great fourth of July. Obviously things here were much quieter. May we continue to keep our eyes on Christ...thanks for your prayers and support!

Yearning for Christ
Jason

Sermon on the Mount....ok, not really :-)

Things have been going quite well over the past several days. It has been great getting back into the swing of things and investing into the youth of Kilkeel again. It has been a wee bit crazy since the school year is coming to a close this week, but it also has provided great opportunities to hang out at the school more with the youth since they aren't doing much.

Sunday was our last YF for the year. So we walked up Knockree (part of the Mourne Mountains) and I had the opportunity to give an end of the year encouragement. It was quite brilliant!! It was absolutely gorgeous and being able to teach on the side of a hill was an incredible experence.

This week I am just down at the school hanging out as things are wrapping up. Along with that, I am helping with events and activities that we will be having this summer. And also, helping develop E.T.C which stands for Every Though Captive. It is a 12 week seminar that Samuel and I are working on developing that is geared towards young men and women to equip them with the wisdom and skills to approach relationships and sex in a healthy, God-glorifying way. And to do that, our overall encouragement is to "Take every thought Captive to Him." So please be in prayer as we are working on this. Our hope is to have it ready to launch a test run of it in the autumn.

Thanks for your continued prayers and support. Feel free to say hi...I would love to hear from you :-).

Yearning for Christ,
Jason

Settling Back In :-)

Well after a long wait and much anticipation, I am finally getting settled back in my flat in Kilkeel. The past day and a half has been in once sense, very surreal. It's been great seeing people again. Often times it feels like I was just here yesterday. But then when I look around and realize that the school year is pretty much over and that summer is right around the corner, then I see that much has gone by.

God is good and it is very exciting to be back in the swing of things as we plan for the future. The biggest thing that we have coming up is about 4 weeks from now when a team of 15 people will be coming out to join us for a couple of weeks. They will be helping us out in many areas, but most significantly out on Kittys Road. We (and they) are very much looking forward for their arrival and to continue the relationships that were begun last summer. So as you think of it, please be in prayer for them as they get ready for the trip and travel here.

Otherwise, for the next week or so I will just be hanging about the school going on various trips with students. Tomorrow I get to go with the Year 11's up to Lisborn for the day, so that will be great craic (I'm pickin up the lingo again quite quickly ;-) ).

One other thing that I would ask your prayers for is for the families of the poeple who were involved in a local plane crash last week. The funerals will be tomorrow and it will be a very sad day through Kilkeel and Annalong. This tragedy has been devastating to the local community, so please be in prayer for the families and friends as they mourn. The tremendous blessing in the situation is that all three who died were believers!

Yearning for Christ,
Jason

Answer to Prayer!!!

Well after a long wait and much prayer, God showed up and showed off His Greatness by allowing me to finally get my Visa!!! I am sooooo excited. I just want to thank everyone for your prayers and support over the past couple of months....it has been very encouraging!!

I will be leaving Tuesday evening to fly back to Dublin. I will arrive at 8:30am and within a couple of hours be back in the lovely town of Kilkeel! I am very excited to get back over there and jump back into things. I ask that you continue to pray for my ministry over there with the youth in the community. There are many exciting things that we are looking forward to, so make sure you check back regularly for updates on what's happening.

As of now, I am packing things up and spending the last few days in the states with family. Again I want to thank you for your prayers and support....God is Great!!! Psalm 24:1 "The earth is the Lord's and everything in it!"

Yearning for Christ,

Jason

Nearly there....please PRAY :-)

Well I can finally send in my Visa application again. So I ask that you would pray that God would grant me favor in the eyes of the British Consulate. The goal is to have my Visa by the end of the week so that I will be able to head back to Northern Ireland on Tuesday, June 16th. I am really excited that things are moving again. So please be in prayer with me as I wait to hear back about my Visa.

Thank you so much for your prayers and support. May we continue to keep our eyes on Christ. I will keep you posted on my Visa!!

Yearning for Christ,
Jason

Continue to Pray :-)

"The earth is the Lord's and everything in it" Ps 24:1

I am absolutely amazed at God's grace!! These past four month, though frustrating at times, have been very fruitful especially as I look at my own relationship with the Lord and my now greater understanding of His incredible Grace that sustains me each and every day.

I want to give you a quick update on what is happening with my life. Unfortunately I still don't have a concrete date to give you in terms of when I will be heading back to Northern Ireland. However, our goal is still to be heading back in that direction by mid-June, which is very EXCITING!!

Right now, Mourne Presbyterian Church has applied to become a certified sponsor. We are waiting for that to go through. Once they have been approved, then they will submit an application for me to become one of their sponsoree's. The home office will look over the application and Lord willing, approve me to come over. When they do, they will issue a reference number, which Mourne will forward onto me. It is then that I will be able to reapply for my VISA, and hopefully shortly after be issued it :-).

So I continue to ask for your prayers through this process. I am really excited about finally making some progress, and I continue to hope and pray that God would open the door for me to return. Pray for favor in the eyes of the British Government and for expedience so that I will be able to return soon.

May we continue to keep our eyes on Christ, especially as we enjoy the beautiful creation around us as we see plants and flowers blooming in full beauty.

Jason

A light at the end of the Tunnel!!

Well there is definite progress in getting back to Northern Ireland, and as each day goes by, I get more and more excited!! I just found out that the Elders at Mourne Presbyterian Church were able to meet and they officially gave me the thumbs up and have invited me to come back and partner with them for next year!! God is good and I continue to be in awe of how awesome He is!

Now the next step is for them to become an official sponsor. Once they have done this, then I will be able to reapply for my VISA and LORD WILLING, will be able to return sometime around the beginning of June. The hope and prayer is that I will be able to get a VISA that will enable me to stay 12 months, which is the max amount of time you are allowed with the VISA. Therefore, the plan is to be there from June 2009 to May 2010.

So I urge you to continue to pray over this process...and especially for me getting the VISA. It seems like this is the final stretch. I must say though, that I am very thankful that I have had this time at home to take a step back to be able to think and evaluate different things. It has been tremendously refreshing and insightful....especially as I look as I look to how I can best use the gifts that God has given me for His glory.

Also, within the next couple of weeks, I will be sending out an update via snail mail, so that you will know my latest updates and prayer points as I look to return to Northern Ireland soon. I again want to thank you for your continued prayers and support....it has been tremendously encouraging.

Until next time....may we continue to keep our eyes on Christ!!

Yearning for Christ and Longing to return to Northern Ireland,
Jason