It is been really cool to see our church become engaged in missions elsewhere in the world.  Recently, Living Hope Church had a great opportunity recently to hear from an Irish Christian charity called Water for Cameroon.  Mick Toolan, the director, presented at the church during a Sunday morning service a little over a month ago.  This group works with local communities in Cameroon to dig wells and help them distribute inexpensive bio-sand water filters.  They work along Wycliffe Bible Translators, and work to build sustainable water filtration systems that are not dependent on expensive equipment or extensive maintenance.  It was great to see our church catch a vision for what God is doing in other parts of the world.  Many people baked cookies for a fundraiser that our church held on the main street in Trim and went towards the charity.  More information on Water for Cameroon can be found at their website:  www.waterforcameroon.com

The Queen of England is visiting Ireland this week.   This is one of the most significant events in decades here, as far as I can tell.  This is the first visit of a British monarch to Ireland in about 100 years.  Think about that.  Ireland’s closest neighbor, the only one that it shares a physical border with, is the U.K., and for so long they have not had an official visit from the (now) symbolic leader of the U.K.  To put the national division in perspective, and Ireland’s long held animosity towards its bigger neighbor, consider that leaders for Germany and France had visited each other’s countries within 15 years of WWII.

Security for the visit has been very visible.  While driving on the M50 (the highway around the outskirts of Dublin) two days ago, I say a police officer staged about every 150 yards, and several on every bridge and overpass.  A couple of small bombs were found and disposed of around the area this week, and there has been some rioting in Dublin.  For the past month, in fact, Ireland has gone back in time 30 years, when troubles were more visible.  A few weeks back, there was even a bomb found in Trim near a monument for the Duke of Wellington – who 200 years ago was a was a general in the British army (he was actually born in Ireland and educated in Trim, hence the monument).  While this was probably more symbolic than a public threat, it shows how the nature of the historical trouble.

Please pray with us for Ireland.  Pray that forgiveness will overcome past historical fractions – forgiveness that can only come through Jesus Christ.

I was surprised at church last week when an Irish farmer who attends regularly came up to me and said “go Packers !”   Since we saw nothing in the news about the Superbowl here, I was half surprised anyone form Ireland would know.  Apparently, he knew about the Packers because they were the one American football team that has the same colors (green & gold) as the local Gaelic football team, the Meath Royals (a pic of each jersey below).  Gaelic football is the most popular sport in Ireland and is something of a cross between rugby, soccer, football, basketball, and more rugby — if that makes sense – probably not.  Anyhow, so not only are the Packers America’s team (sorry Dallas friends and Cowboys fans), they must obviously be the world’s team   We don’t have a tv here, but were able to watch some of the game by skyping with Holly’s parents and having them point their camera at their tv screen.  Not exactly high-def tv, but it worked.  Please don’t tell the NFL, I’m not sure that was an authorized re-broadcast of the game…

Meath green & gold (local Gaelic Football jersey)

Green Bay green & gold

We’re had a busy couple weeks in Ireland.  I’m helping redesign the church’s website with another guy from the church.  We hope to use this a one small tool to help the church communicate the Good News and do some things like make sermons available online.  While not entirely finished yet, here is the link:  www.livinghope.ie

I also had the opportunity to preach last Sunday, so here is a link for that as well.

[audio http://jonandholly.files.wordpress.com/2011/02/2011-02-06.mp3]

A couple cool items in the past week:

1) Tonight, our church will also begin working with another bible study in a nearby town of Kildalkey (10 miles away).  Several attendees have been apart of this informal study for some time, and asked the church will help lead the studies going forward.  Please pray that this expanded bible study will reach out to many more people in Kildalkey with the good news of Jesus Christ found in Scripture.

2) Last week the new Living Hope Church office was opened in Trim !   Since we meet on Sundays at a nearby hotel meeting room, it is nice to have a little place for a study/admin. office/storage during the week.  Just enough room for a couple desks, a coffee pot, and room to turn around – but it is affordable and close to where we meet on Sundays. (Pictured below).

Front of our building. We're on the 2nd floor in the back, right above the liquor store (Carry out), and bookie (Ladbrokes). Almost like being back in Wisconsin.

After a little blogging holiday in December, we’re back to it.  Part of that was just a needed break, and part was due to the graphics card in our laptop going out.  We were able to return home to Wisconsin for a couple weeks over Christmas, but are glad to be back in Ireland to start 2011.  Some of our highlights from our time in WI include 6 family Christmas parties, visits to 3 churches, seeing many friends and ministry supporters, and getting the laptop fixed at MacMan for no cost (thank you recall !)  Anyhow, we spent Christmas Eve with Holly’s parents at their church, and Greta got to be an angel in the Christmas play, so here’s our unofficial-official Christmas card.

There were several cameras, and apparently we were not looking directly at this one. But... the girls were facing the right direction, so we'll take it !

I shouldn’t have doubted.  When we arrived, the Irish told us they didn’t get snow very often, and that we’d be lucky to get a “dusting” or two a winter.  We even video-Skyped yesterday with family in Wisconsin and saw the snow outside their windows.  Then we saw a few flurries last night, but didn’t want to get too excited.  Like a regular doubting-Thomas, I said “I’ll believe it when I see it.”   So, when we woke up this morning, we were pleasantly surprised with the view outside !

Greta next to O'Frosty McSnowman...

Does anyone have snow tires for a VW Polo? Something the size of a go-cart tire should do...

View of our apartment...

A couple weeks ago I had the chance to lead our church’s Wed. night bible study.  We looked at Thomas, one of the twelve disciples – and I’m reminded of how much I’m like him.  We’ve started a series on people / characters found in the Bible and how they fit into God’s work of redemption. Church members will rotate leading each week, and we hope that one day they each will be leading many more bible studies throughout the area.

Caravaggio's "Doubting Thomas"

Happy Thanksgiving  !

We are so thankful for all of our family, friends, and supporters that God has blessed us with.  In a little over an hour, we will be hosting a Thanksgiving dinner for many of our new Irish friends and neighbors.  We bought a “farm fresh” turkey last night that is almost too big for the smaller european oven  Obviously, we had room for the really important stuff (pies) too.

Pumpkin or Apple ?

We hope you all have a wonderful day.   Gotta go – need to carve the turkey soon!

I could not find any Irish/Gaelic words beginning with ” v ” that fit, but I think y’all will get the idea

We officially had our visas approved today to stay in Ireland and had our passports  stamped. This is a huge answer to prayer for us!  They are good for 1 year, with any stay longer than that requiring re-application on an annual basis.   Thank you for your prayers in this regard specifically.

We will be returning to Wisconsin for a few weeks around Christmas to see family, friends, churches, and ministry supporters (and a Culver’s or two).  Then, we will be on a one-way flight back to Ireland the first week in January !

Activity has been busy at Drewstown House, the Christian retreat center which is 1 of 2 ministries we are serving with.  Last Saturday,  nearly 60 teens and leaders from a nearby community (& French sister-city) were on site.  This Saturday, we will also be out there all day as a group of college students comes in.  This is good news for DTH as more and more people (from community groups, to churches, to college groups, etc.) are finding out about it.  We hope to make contact and hopefully establish partnerships with more churches throughout Ireland so that this property will increasingly be used as a venue for ministry in the future.  We ask for your prayers in that.  Here are just a couple recent pics:

A group I helped work with on the high-ropes course earlier in October, standing in front of the climbing wall

Helping one of the "youngest" adventurers try on a helmet. Don't tell Grandma.

Also, we have a winner to the Google “scavenger hunt” of Trim I had posted earlier this week.  Contrats to Dr. Laura K., who emailed in with the correct answers (mostly), and could obviously be one of those doctor/detectives on CSI if she ever wanted to !  Correct answers below:

The Bailey restaurant in the same hotel that our church meets in.

Gerry's Barbershop on Emmitt St.

"Fishman" in the nondescript blue truck in front of Tobins store.

A couple weeks ago, Google finished its “Street View” mapping system of Ireland.  While this has been around in the U.S. for some time,  this is brand new here and is a hot topic of conversation among the Irish.  So, in light of that, I’ll use it to help take you on a quick tour of Trim, Ireland.  Your guide will be Google Map-man (below).

You will need to click on the blue link below that says “View Larger Map” to find Map-man.  Then, just drag him onto any of the streets.  I have started prayer-walking these streets in person several times throughout the week, and invite you to join in on-line (or in person for that matter).

[googlemaps http://maps.google.com/maps?f=q&source=s_q&hl=en&geocode=&q=trim,+ireland&sll=44.789237,-91.469271&sspn=0.009381,0.017574&ie=UTF8&hq=&hnear=Trim,+County+Meath,+Ireland&ll=53.553989,-6.797278&spn=0.015602,0.035148&z=14&output=embed&w=425&h=350]

Here’s a quick scavenger hunt for the extra ambitious:

1)  What’s the name of Jon’s barber shop on Emmit St. (next to Watson’s cafe)?

2)  What is the restaurant’s name (on the window) in the first floor of the Trim Castle Hotel (hotel where our church meets, Castle St.)?

3)  Bonus Points & Tie Breaker:  What is the color of the truck that sells fish on Market St. in front of the Tobins store ?  The truck is nondescript and unmarked, and oddly enough, I’m not disturbed by that because it’s so good.

Email in your answers. The first to correctly identify all three will win a yet-to-be-determined prize, of great or little value, whenever we’re back in the U.S. or not back in the U.S.  Cheers !

Seriously though, thank you for your prayers for us, our church, and our town.