Growing Pains

Hey all, Hope this finds you well, I am writing to you from a beautifully snowy Cork City. We are doing good as a family, i have enjoyed spending some great time with my girls this weekend as i could not DJ in Dublin due to the bad weather, every snow cloud has a silver lining and all that.

We are growing slowly but surely and really relearning the basics of what it means to be a follower of Christ, we are convinced that God is not to pushed by what we do for Him but much rahter that we are spending time with Him and getting to know and trust Him more and more.

This is no joke as we have tried this i have realised what a control freak I am and that I like being in control of my life and doing my things my way, but God has been lovingly wrestling this from me.

Someone recently described a good relationship with Jesus as a child and father in the garden cutting the lawn, the child is "helping" by pushing His plastic lawnmower around "cutting all the grass", while Dad(jesus) is on a ride on lawnmower beside us allowing us to spend time with Him and feeling like we are very important. I love this analogy this sums up my relationship with god to a tee.

The moral here is that Jesus dosen't need us to accomplish His purposes but wants us desperately to be involved in His Kingdom work and loves when we humbly come to spend time and help.

We have also been really challenged by a story about wild geese flying over head and seeing tame geese in a pen on a farm. One of the wild geese takes it upon Himself to go and tell the tame geese that they don't have to live this way that they can soar and be free just like the wild geese. This however takes longer that expected and the tame geese although they occasionally flap their wings to see what it could be like have actually become very comfortable on the ground in their cosy environment, slowly but surely the wild goose gets comfortable too and soon he is just another tame goose looking longing into the sky but never really flying free again.

Forgive me for this little story but this really sums up our current experience in Cork, we have become very aware of how it is all to easy to become comfortable in your environment and Church etc and forget how to soar, how to be truly free, well we have decided that we are not going to be geese like this (John 10:10) watch this space....

Work is going well with good conversations about deep things starting to happen, relationship are building, enjoyed a night out recently and had great conversations about Jesus with 3 people, also got voted employee of the year which was a surprise not to sure what God is up to with that perhaps again watch this space...(linda is calling me a geek)

Linda had a great time in India, was able to see the amazing project going on out there, schooling 250 kids and met many wonderful people on the trip/team this has led to some cool possibilities for the future and perhaps something with Kenya in the pipeline, please pray for this...

Our discipleship group and the homeless ministry are a real joy at present, we are very excited as we see God moving on a weekly basis in these areas.

If you could pray for a man or woman of peace like in Luke Ch10 in my work and in the homeless ministry, so we can so the seed and let God water it and bring fruit this would be immence.

As always if you would like to chat, need an ear or a shoulder or would just like to know more, call us at any time(not literally)

Love to all from the snowy Cork, have a blessed and peaceful Christmas, Psalm 62V1.

Yield!!

Hi There,

It has been a while since i have written my thoughts on here.

God has been working hard in our lives personally over the past few months and now we are beginning to see the results of that hard work in how we try to serve Him and who we are as people.

God has been teaching us patience and self control, Linda with liana and me in my work they call it a (controlled) environment, they time you when you go to the bathroom, not my cup of tea, who knew i was a free thinking hippie.

Jesus has repetadely told me to yield to Him and His ways, i am horrible at this and have done a terrible job of allowing Him to lead me, but you know He has embarrised me with his love so often when i really didnt deserve it that over time it wears one down and you begin to really like Him, mabye even love Him.

One of the young people i meet with regurlarly challenged me recently when he said he was struggling with the verses "If you love me then obey me", this messed me up and the more i tried to do it the less I succeded, but rather than punish me or distance Himself from me, God just kept coming out to meet me like the father in the Prodigal son and before i could mention some stupid apology, He just throws a beautiful robe around me and tells the servant to prepare the fattened calf, hushing my pathetic attempts to justify myself. I am blown away by His grace and mercy. This is so countercultural and is changing me in ways i could never imagine.

On the Street (the mustard seed ministry) that i am involved in on a monday night we have been practicing not bringing our strenghts to the table. Dave and I decided not to bring our wisdom, abilities, resources, etc and just to rely completely on Jesus as we go about trying to minister to the homeless community her in this city.

My experiences with God lately have just made me realise all the more that I am His favourite son!!!

An example of this happened the other night as we followed 2 drug dealers who were clearly dealing in broad daylight on one of the main streets in the city. Dave and I followed them, to make them uncomfortable at what they were doing, but as we went along we saw someone in need and stopped to help. As we were talking one of the dealers came right up behing me and touched the back of my neck with his hat, to let me know they were watching too, i was ticked off and we started to pursue them.

Not knowing what to do we practiced what we had promised and called out to Jesus for help, specifically for police who are very rare in cork on a monday night. God heard us and just as the dealers were slipping away at that literal moment as we called out, around the corner sped, you guessed it THE ARMED RESPONSE UNIT!!! i was so excited, they arrested the dealers upon our tip off and we went on with these silly grins on our faces, God is living and active and ready to respond to His childrens whims. Praise God.

Linda and I are excited to start a group for people who have a heart for outreach and mission in the city, we would really appreciate prayer for this, we have already had a huge response and people are hungry for more. The group will be unique as it will have a 2 way dinamic with people encouraging one another to get out there in the community and reach the lost tribes of the city, very exciting stuff, this begins in sept God willing.

Speaking of answered prayer Linda and i were blown away by the response to raise the funds to send 150 kids to school in India, Linda has been blessed as she is getting to meet these kids first hand in Nov and witness the plan to start this school, she will be going as part of a Zest4kids team, a mix of Christ followers and not yet followers, heading away to see what the money will be going towards, very exciting stuff, we would appreciate prayer for that week for safety and wisdom (for me and Liana, while mum is away, hehe)

linda is loving being a mum and doing an outstanding job, it solids right now so that is proving to be a bit of fun, Liana ate a few spoons of carrot puree today, then realised what it was, not impressed!!! I am so in love with my little girl she rocks, love hanging out with her when she holds my face and smiles at me, love it.

Anyway will update soon again, hope this finds you well, and encourages you somehow to keep doing good and not to give up, because at just the right time God will reap a harvest where you are.

Alex.

Diaries of a new mum :)

Well I have been a mum for 14wks and 4days so far, that would be 102days or 2,448hrs!!! Crazy when you think of it that way but then again that is nothing when compared to a lifetime. So our daughter is now 3 and half months old and where the time has gone I don't know. It has been the craziest, hardest but most rewarding part of my life so far. I had no idea how my life was going to be challenged and stretched so much with such a little person :) She has brought me more joy and tears than I have ever experienced in such a short time. Would I change her for anything absolutely not hehe.

Just wanted to share some thoughts and memories with you over the last while.

Cute memories from start till now -

*Definitely when she was born and her little face was all scrunched up.
*When she was asleep in my bed in hospital and her face was facing up at mine with a big smile.
*When her dad cried as he looked at her.
*When we brought her home from hospital and she was so tiny.
*When she made everyone around her stare at her for ages just cause she was so cute and small.
*When she would just sleep and looked so at peace.
*When she used to fall asleep in my arms when she was so upset at the beginning
*The day she first smiled and looked straight into my eyes.
*The day she looked at her dad in awe and made him cry.
*The day she started cooing and each day she tries to have a chat with me.
*The first night she slept in her cot, she looked so small in it.
*How she always looks straight at the camera when you want to take a pic.
*The other day when she laughed for the first time, it was adorable.
*When I go into feed her in the morning and I am greeted with a huge smile and kicking.
*When I read a book to her and she just stares at it especially one with lots of colours.







Funny memories -

*When she burped a huge burp - adult size and looked in shock as if to see who and what did that??
*When Alex was changing her nappy and she decided to poo all over him.
*When I picked her up one day and she decided to poo all over me :)
*When my mum was holding her and she decided to have an explosion in her nappy and it ran out the sides hehe that was funny
Hmm I'm realising these are all bowel related.
*When Alex was preaching in Lee Valley for the first time since she was born and she grunted and filled her nappy 4times and lets say it was far from quiet!!!
*When my dad (her grandad) was holding her and talked to her in baby language and she was laughing and talking back.
*While Alex was out working and I was at Amy's hen night Liana had an explosion and I forgot to leave spare clothes with my parents so we got sent a photo of her in Irish rugby outfit that came of a lions bear. Yes she was able to fit into teddy bears clothes.





Tough memories

*When in labour hehe
*When her heart dropped majorly and she was in distress during labour
*The first time she really, really cried
*When she wouldn't stop crying the 2nd night we brought her home.
*When she banged her head (twice)
*When I can't help her when she is distressed
*Oh my goodness the worst thing ever when she got her first injections!!! That was horrible. I will not be going again.
*When Alex had and has to work 11-8pm shifts they are long days.
*Weaning her off her dummy after we gave it to her!!

Overall though this has been some adventure and we wouldn't change it for anything. What an incredible blessing she has been so far. Such a gorgeous child. Even when we took the dummy off her and went cold turkey she was unreal and adapted so well. She's been sleeping through the night and even when she has her off days she still manages to smile and make me melt. Such a small person but so stinken cute. And as we're on the subject of stinky man can that child pass gas (this is to be polite not to offend people). She is unreal, so cute but it is embarrassing instead of burping this child mainly farts. Those of you that have heard her know what I'm on about and those of you that haven't don't worry you will ;)

It has been so cool to see Alex with her, he is something else. He always was amazing before she came along but to see him as a dad is incredible. You can see she already has him wrapped around her finger :) They have great fun together I couldn't ask for a better family. We truly are blessed. I am just so glad that as time goes by we get to see more and more of her personality, it is unreal to see her discover the world and for us to see it through her eyes, makes you appreciate everything a little more. Like the fact that she has discovered she has feet and hands and that the hands can now grab everything and make it to her mouth, she is hilarious.

You know I have days when I think that I can't possible get through them and then days when I just can't get enough of her and think we got this under control. Both of us (Alex as well as myself) have really felt that God is teaching us about patience, we keep getting that message and I can tell you I am certainly getting a lesson on it and so is Alex in his job. I also feel that I am learning so much about unconditional love and who was to know that this little person would be the one used to teach me :) I am so grateful that God continues to shape us and teach us so much. We both know this is for whatever lies ahead, the question is what exactly is around the corner. For right now I'm just going to try and take each day as it comes. To be continued.........

From a daughter, a wife and now a mum and from one who is learning everyday.

Linda xo

Life at the moment

Wow I hadn't realised it was so long since we last blogged. Life has been fairly full at the moment with our little girl. But we feel slowly and surely that we are getting our head above water :) Liana gets more adorable every day and we were both saying last night how amazing it is to love something so quickly. She really is a blessing and brings a mile to our faces every day. She is growing up so quickly already we can't believe it. she is starting to fit into clothes now and was 3mths yesterday.

Alex continues to do really well at work and is top sales man this week. I'm so proud of him, even though this isn't his dream job it is so cool to see how seriously he is taking this whole providing thing. He really is something else as I know he finds it hard to go out and leave us everyday. But he is doing really well. Tonight he is out starting this discipleship group and they will spend the next few months looking at Luke and the parables with them. He is also looking at starting something new, we'll be sure to update as soon as things start moving. It's been great seeing him getting all excited about visions and the future an adventure certainly lies ahead.

As I type this I am looking at the video monitor we have and I can see that Liana is fast asleep. So nice to see her peacefully sleeping without a care in the world :) She is now in her own room in the nursery in her cot. It was so weird when we moved her in there almost two weeks ago now, but the amazing thing is that we are all sleeping even better than before. Liana continues to sleep through the night which means we are guaranteed on average 8hrs sleep a night. She is such a legend. She has also given up the dummy after going cold turkey but has now found her thumb :) What can you do??

I'll leave it there for now so I can make a cup of tea, very rare I have peace and quiet and some time to myself in the house :) Going to take advantage of it. Alex should be home soon so will be nice to catch up. Hope you're all well.

Linda xo

Hey all, we're loving parenthood, our little one is so sweet, she is growing up so fast. Please pray for Linda as I am at work all day often till eight in the evening. I am enjoying my job, but feel it is restricting us from what we want to do here in Cork. God has been so cool to us and has always provided a way even when there didn't seem to be one.

Spiritually we feel ready to work on a few projects that have been simmering for about two years and we are keen to get these things off the ground so I need somthing to break in terms of business/finance, so would appreciate any prayers for this. It is exciting the things that the Lord has been putting on our hearts and we can't wait to see what happens but definately need some realities to change for us to have sufficent time to put into it.

So anyway we are surviving, still a little sleep deprived but definitely coping much better this week. Hope this update finds you well, stay in touch, don't forget to leave us a comment.

Alex

Coming soon....

Hey everyone, this is just to let you know we're still alive and well but just extremely busy with Liana and all this adjusting to parenthood :) Just to say that we will get an update on here asap just trying to get a few minutes to write one up but we will get there soon.

New Life

Psalm 139:13+14 says, For you created my inmost being,you knit me together in my mother's womb. I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made.

Linda and I are rejoicing in the beautiful little life God has allowed us to have on loan for the next few years. On tuesday the 16 of march at 15.38 little Liana arrived into the world. Her mum had gone through 38 hours of Labour a feat I am still trying to get my head around. Without sounding cliche, big respect to all mothers, you gals are truly awesome, I didn't think I could love and respect Linda more than I do but I am amazed by her yet again.

God has really had His hand on us recently with the New Job which is going great and now with our precious little girl we are so content right now.

A huge thank you to everyone who showed us such support and encouragment over the last few weeks we really needed and felt you all in our corner so a huge THANK YOU!!!

We will keep you up to date with all the goings on over the next little while, but know that we are excited and a bit tired so heres to a bright future for our little girl.

All Change

So as we head into spring, we are yet again amazed by Jehovah our provider, who knew that things were getting tight for Linda and I. My hours in the Haven were getting fewer and fewer and so were Linda's.

So with wisdom from above I felt it right to put my cv into a recruitment agency after a tip off on wed and I had a job by the monday. So now i am selling health insurance for Aviva. The nine to five was a little hard for the first two weeks but now I am really enjoying it.

Linda and the baby are doing great and it is cool to see Linda making home and preparing for the arrival. We have done as much as we can think of and now can only wait and pray for a safe arrival.

God has yet again been very faithful to Linda and I and He knew our needs and has really helped us right when we needed it.

Just keep us in prayer as Linda has diet controlled Diabities due to the pregnancy and won't be allowed to go over her due date, just asking for a safe delivery now and we are both very excited about having our first little one.

So for now we are trying to get as much sleep as possible, well me anyway(Linda is awake on the hour every hour), nappies at the ready, here we come. Alex

Way overdue ....

Got to love the time of year of Christmas where everything gets put on the back burner and relaxation and easting takes place :) So we realize that this is way overdue. An update!! so what's been happening over the last month, a lot actually. Hmm where to begin. Well Christmas went really well despite that major ice that we got in Cork turning our estate into an ice skating rink for ages. But we had fun all the same, was so good just to hang out at my (Linda's) parents house for a good few days, sitting by the fire and eating and just relaxing, perfect. Then on New Years Eve thanks to my parents we got to go away for 2nts and stay in a hotel. It was so nice to be away from everything and just hang out the two of us and bump, realizing this will be the last new year's eve on our own. Strange to think about the many changes ahead. Another blessing on New Years Eve was being able to get a scan from our friend Peta, what a legend that girl is. She has been so super supportive since I got pregnant and has listened to my many questions and rambling and then to top it off gave us our best scan to date. We got to see our little one's face in great detail and saw him/her drink fluid, pull faces, move legs and arms. It really was incredible and what a way to go into the new year armed with more pics of our baby :)

So 2010 so far has been eventful enough. We both started back into the new year with reduced hours in work and many questions about our future financially and direction wise. But as always God calmed us down and kept reminding us to be patient and and to trust him. Funny how many times that has been easier said than done but so glad that he is so patient with us always getting a wobbly at the next hurdle. So long story short as both our jobs are down in hours we were wondering what to do. So we talked to people about if they knew of any jobs going anywhere, only to discover that it's next to impossible to find anything given the current climate. Fair enough we knew that but still wanted to ask especially as we knew God had some plan. So this week Alex was told there may be jobs in Cork but there was a recruitment agency that he would have to drop his CV into as they were organizing if people got the interviews or not. So within 5mins of his CV going in he gets a phone call, this is Tuesday. WEdnesday morning he has a 50min phone interview and Thursday afternoon he has an 1hr 1/2 interview and then Friday he has a job!!! Isn't that mad, I knew he would do well but we were also praying that if he wasn't to get the job then he wouldn't :) So he starts Monday morning for 3wks training. this is just the short version of the story as there were many events that had to work out in between him applying and getting the job. Even with giving notice to the Haven, Padraig was ok with it and even said that things were so quiet anyway that there were going to have to review having paid staff. So thank God for his hand over us as with little bambino on the way we were under pressure to cover our bills as is. But now the pressure is off. While it is def not Alex's dream job for the rest of his life we're just going to take it a day at a time and keep our eyes and ears open to the next step. We are excited about a possible opening in the near future ministry wise but we're going to be patient just wait to see what happens.

In regards to bambino he/she gets bigger everyday and the moves, kicks and punches gets stronger everyday. So mad to feel so much movement everyday. We're constantly reminded of how blessed when we feel those movements. I had a glucose tolerance test a week ago, it was necessary as my dad has diabetes and my grandfather had it too. They wanted to keep an eye on it as because of the family history it meant were chances of getting gestational diabetes was high. So this was the 2nd test I had and it came back positive. I have to say I got a bit of a fright but thank goodness at the moment they have caught it early and the baby is fine and hasn't been affected. So I've been on a strict diet over the last week of certain foods and portions I can eat to see if it can be controlled by a diet alone or if I will need insulin. I have to go back on Monday to see what they see and I have been recording my blood levels 7 times a day so that's been fun, sticking a little needle in that many times a day every day :) But I just want to be sure that the baby is ok and that all goes well. It's certainly not ideal but thank God it was caught early and that things may be ok. It certainly hasn't been the easiest pregnancy so far but it will all be worth it in the end. Not long to go now. Just 8wks left and they have told me that I will not be allowed to go over the due date as a result of having this. So please if you can pray that I go naturally and that the diet works, I really don't want to have to be induced :( but they will have to if I don't go before or on the day. So no pressure at all hehe. Ok well before I totally bore you to death I better end this as I think I have put more than enough on here for you to read.

Hope this finds you well.

Will write soon.

Linda Xo

A growing bambino

So thought it was time an update was written about our little one growing. It has been so mad to think that 6mths have gone by already. It seems such a blur due to being so sick and always something happening but the last week has been so much more enjoyable.

It is amazing and weird to feel the movements getting stronger and more frequent. I'm not sure if you ever get used to feeling that kind of movement, it really is a miracle when you try to get your mind around what is happening. This little person is growing away inside of me and we're just counting down the time till we meet him/her face to face. It can be overwhelming but also very exciting. We bought a cot a few weeks ago and it was so cool to come back one day to see it assembled in the room that is being transformed into a nursery. I have Alex to thank for that, he did a great job. We both get a giggle and a smile to our face when we pass by and see this small cot in the room and realize this will be for our child. A different chapter indeed :)

Alex has been amazing, he has been working so hard and is off to Dublin again this weekend to Dj for money to cover the bills. As I type now he is in Waterford dj-ing at a Christmas party. I'm so proud of him and look forward to him being back and enjoying some time off at Christmas. He really is something else though.

Thank goodness as well work wise it has picked up again a bit so that has been nice to be back to more hours this week. So hopefully that will keep going. Well it's almost half twelve at night and my eyes are beginning to close, I should really get to bed. But just wanted to drop a quick line. Xo

Slow but Steady

God has been doing some small but significant things over the past two months. In Ministry terms we are seeing some real growth in Lee Valley church where I(alex) speak and we attend. I have been preaching through Jesus teaching on the Kingdom of God. This has produced some great responses. The first of note is that the Church has responded to a challenge of how we could reach out to our community in Ballincollig and we have begun to prayer walk the area. Everyone was encouraged as God put the same things on all our hearts as we prayed. When we discussed it later it was unreal to see that He definately has a plan for the people of that area. People are sharing the Gospel and have a heart to disciple more and more.

We are really enjoying some close friends of ours continuing to grow in their new found walk with Jesus. We are discipling them once a week and it has been a real blessing to see them and even their language change. Phrases like, "we were lucky, now translate, we are blessed". this is so refreshing and exciting for Linda and I.

After much prayer and many attempts, God has finally moved the heart of a new volunteer for our monday night outreach to the guys on the streets of Cork. That ministry is called the Mustard seed and both Dave(His outreach) and I are very excited to disciple and enjoy the company of this new volunteer. His name is Ant and we would love you to pray for Him.

We have something possibly in the pipeline for the New Year which would be a real blessing to us and give us further support in what God would have us do here in Cork, but we are in the praying phase of this to see if this is something of Jesus and if it would be a fit for us also. We would love your prayers on this as well.

Finally just to say that Linda is an incredible mum already, she is waking up every half an hour at night, still feeling sick most days and is 6 months pregnant already(where does time go), but she never complains and has a great attitude, I am so proud of her, I could not do it I assure you. So both Mum and baby are really fit and well and we are so excited to begin this new chapter in the coming months.

All the best for now, will update soon, thanks for your prayers, support, love and thoughts, we are learning to trust Jesus with more and more of our stuff and thats never easy but never boring. Lots of love Alex and Linda

Massai ~ an answer to prayer

Well once again God has blown us away with his answer to prayer. We were talking to Elizabeth (in Kenya) and she was telling us the update on the Massai and the drought in Kenya. It is devastating at the moment and there are cows lying dead along the side of the road as the Massai are trying to get them to some grass. So much so they are illegally going into the National Park in Nairobi to feed on what little grass they can find. They are willing to risk their lives with the wild animals in there if it means that they will get food for the cows and goats.

So Elizabeth was also telling us about how many of the women were not able to make it to the Bible studies due to being so weak and thin from starving. It is very harsh for them at the moment and for so many others in the country. So I really felt God was putting it on my heart to raise some money so we can feed the Massai. So I sent out some info and a plea to people and within 36hrs all the money had been raised. It was unbelievable, I couldn't believe how responsive people were, it was so encouraging. So enough money was raised to feed 56 families for a month. To make matters even better there was a small team staying with Elizabeth and Robbie and they also saw the need and went shopping for supplies for two weeks for the families. Yesterday Elizabeth went shopping for the women and will go again today to buy more so all the families will be feed. It was so encouraging to hear how excited they were that on the 29Oct they would be receiving enough food for their family for a month. That is unheard of for them, to be guaranteed food for a total of a month and half by the two donations. Praise God for his plans eh, he doesn't just answer prayer he does it in style. I've attached some photos which Elizabeth sent through today. So cool to see so many faces we recognize, it brings a tear to the eye. We so wish we were out there. There will be more to follow.

Linda xo

Top news!!

Hey everyone,

You've probably heard already but if you haven't we thought we had better post it online. So we're pregnant!!! I'm 14wks at this stage and have to say that we're excited but also a little nervous. I've had constant nausea and sickness for almost 2mths now and I have to say that his definitely isn't one of the highlights. Could do with major prayer at this stage as I'm extremely housebound and feel like a hermit. This is hard as I love to get out and meet with people but I haven't seen that many for almost 2mths now, so that's already an adjustment. It is teaching me a lot about how our lives will change though :) Ok over to Alex for the rest of the update.

Things are really starting to gel as regards outreach and ministry opportunities. The youth group at Lee Valley is going from strength to strength and we have just mixed the group with one from douglas which has been a good move for all.

We are continuing to prayer walk the community around the Haven as we seek God's plan for how we might bless the people of Cork City. There are many needs here and many options, such as a food bank, or a serve the city option, but these are just ideas and we must wait on the Lord for His leading.

Sadly one of the young people we know from our homeless street ministry took an overdose by accident this week and He died, we were very upset at this as he was a great guy and had real potential, we will miss Him deeply.

Lots happening, great to see our dear friends growing in their faith as they continue discovering who Jesus is and what His Kingdom is all about.

My back seems to be getting a bit better, but it is hard to see Linda so sick and not being able to do anything about it. Other than that things are going great, we are both excited to see what will happen next and very excited about the arrival of our little bundle.

Excited

Why? Cause God is faithful even though we are not. Recently we felt God telling us not to go looking for ministry, that He would bring people into our path instead. The result is the Lord is giving us very exciting ideas about new ministry opportunities for us here in Cork. Linda and I have for a long time been disatisified with the status quo. The culmination of this is a holy discontent with doing the same old thing, so here's to new things.

Also it has been a joy to see the Lord drawing great friends of ours to himself recently. Their hunger for something more has been an insparation to us and yet more confirmation of what God has been saying about Church. It is great to see new believers encountering God and seeing Him moving in their lives is refreshing for an old timer like me.

The youth group at Lee Valley is going from strength to strength with a paring with another group coming in the Autumn, things are looking promising here.

Finally we are blessed to see one of our own, stan following in our footsteps by getting a youthwork job in Raheny. May he go onto greater things than us. Please continue to pray for us for strength as this is a time of sowing and reaping, exciting but tiring. Praise to the one who justifies us. here is to being in His hands.

Back from Kenya

So we have had an amazing time with the Living God in Kenya in seeing His creation. We saw Hippos, were chased by Rhinos and saw many Lions and even saw some at night hunt and eat cows and a dog.

We encountered Him in stillness and waiting and through His people, the Massai ladies who always educate us in the ways of Jesus. It was humbling to see grown women cry after they got a bar of soap and a small tub of vaseline, because God had heard their prayer for the little things.

We managed to get the well finished and signed off to the Massai widows, now they will be able to sell the water from it and grow crops such as potato and spinach so they can live on it and sell it.

I (Alex) got to teach through the book of Malachi, to a group of Pastors from different churches, which was a challenge and a huge blessing. I really grew through this trip, in patience, trust and faith in God and look forward to when we go back again. Alex

Yes so as Alex mentioned above we had an amazing time as always in Kenya :) We prayed about whether or not to take out a team and kept getting the answer that we were to just go without a team this time round. So we set off with Andrew (my brother) and his fiance Amy. The idea was to check up on how everything was going ie.the well, the women, the church and see what we could do in the future as future projects and see if we could set up stuff for teams to go out annually. We also wanted to network a bit more and meet more contacts and this would be more realistic to achieve without a team to have to watch over and organize. I have to say we really missed not having a team with us on this adventure but could totally see where God had his hand on everything and why we were to go on our own this time.

It was so nice to see the women again and see that they were all doing well. When we walked into Wilson airport and saw Charity it brought a smile to all our faces. And to hear all these Massai women calling our names, what a privilege to be able to walk into this place and feel like we were at home with them. We got to hang out with Charity, Nancy, Ann, Alice, Gladis and many more women. But how lovely to hang out with the ol faithfuls who have not forgotten us but have become our friends. We got to sit with many of them and hear their stories as we tried to take notes and account of their stories so we can share them with people in the future. As well as visiting with the Massai we got to hang out with people at church and also with Vera (we brought her the 1st yr we went to Kenya) and it was incredible to hear how she was doing as she is working at the Imani orhpanage for a few months. It really was a blessing to learn and listen to all these people who are doing incredible work out there in Kenya. We also got to meet quite a few people who are starting new churches and new ministries with Calvary Chapel churches in Kenya, so who knows where that will lead in the future.

We are already very excited and are dreaming about future plans and projects to bring teams on an annual basis so that they can part of it. So bring on the next trip :)

Right now we've been home for a week now and have been enjoying getting back into a routine with work and seeing friends and family. It's amazing how a trip to Kenya just makes you so grateful for the abundance of riches you have with our home, friends, family and lives here. We are so grateful for everyday that we have and the amount of stuff we have in that day in comparison to the Massai in Kenya. May God continue to meet their every needs. Linda Xo

Heartbreak

Well it's a very sad time for our family church at Lee Valley. Last night we received a call from one of the elders to let us know that little Adam who is 18mth died last night. Tanya & Kevin his parents are obviously heart broken as are their families. We only say Adam yesterday morning running round church as he normally does and seemed in great form. So to say the least this has come as a HUGE shock to their families and to their bigger family the church. Those of you that are in small churches understand the concept that being part of a smaller intimate church means you hurt with everyone that little bit more. Please pray for everyone involved who's hurting and grieving at the moment. The removal is on Thursday and the funeral is Friday. Praying for strength and peace for them at this horrible time. We're just speechless, please pray for us also that we can minister to those that are hurting and just be there for anyone who needs this. May God go before us all. Xo

Miracles

Hi all, as we begin our preperations for another trip to Kenya, just wanted to update you as to what has been happening in our lives. God is really challenging us to take every moment with Him that we think of it and to enjoy our Abba(Father) son/daughter relationship with Him. It has been refreshing to think of five minutes in God's presence as something He is delighted with rather than a dissapointment on our behalfs that it is not more time. Hope that makes sense.

The result is a real Joy and a want to spend more time in the Father's presence. Strongly recommend a book called "The Furious Longing Of God", by Brennan Manning.

It has been a long time since I have witnessed a miracle in a Church service, this is worrying as I say it, but Linda and I went away for a little break to Bantry to celebrate her Birthday and we went to a church service there last sunday.
At the end of worship a guy stood up to share something. He stood back from the mic and started breathing heavily a number of times.

I noticed a blet he had tied around chest high and I have to be honest I thought Weirdo. But then to my shame He began to speak and He said He had spoken witha severe stammer for 48 years, and the belt was to remind Him to breathe. As a result of this He spoke for around 3 minutes without stuttering once. I can tell you this, it's also a long time since I saw a whole room of grown men weeping as to what clearly was an incredible work of Jesus.

Things are going good for us, still discipling and preaching here, looking forward to Her birthday party on Sat as many are coming from all over, so for now, be blessed and we will update soon

Cork

Hi all, a quick update, just to say that things are looking up a bit, here in Cork. We obviously had a great time away, but since we came we have been re-evaluating things as to what we are doing here. I have been encouraged on Monday nights as we seek tyo help the homeless on the streets her, one or two small breakthroughs have helped and we are really getting a feel and a heart for the people of Cork.

This morning we attended the second youth workers meeting, it was encouraging to see quite a few volunteers from around the county sharing what God is doing in their areas, to see that God is definately at work in different areas and with different people groups. We will miss the next one which is disapointing but being in Kenya should help to dull the pain.

I am speaking in Lee Valley tomorrow and then will focus on preparing talks for the bible school in Kenya.

Still thinking and praying through ideas as to how to reach the goth and emo teens who are coming regurlarly to the Haven in the City. there can be 30 of them at times and we are excited to see what God will do in their lives. It's also a daunting challenge but God is good and alot smarter than us so we will try to follow His lead.

Hope this finds you well, we had a lovely time with Alastair and Joseph from dublin last weekend, encluding wakeboarding which was alot of fun.

Let us know how you are doing. All the best.

Machu picchu and puno

Sorry it's been awhile we've been busy being sick, touring and travelling. Just wanted to let u know that our health has been improved so that has an answer to prayer. It took awhile to get rid of that nasty bug but when travelled to machu picchu we could feel ourselves improving. It was so nice feeling better and being able to take in the amazing sites of all that is and surrounds machu picchu. We climbed up this crazy mountain which had us way above sea level. We had an icredible view of mp down below.

We then headed back to cusco for two nights and got to walk around and enjoy the city, unlike when we first arrived. So this morning we got up at 5.30am to get to airport for our next flt. So we flew to juliaca and then got a taxi from there to puno ,took 45mins so wasn't too far. The scenery is something else it is so different from the green of cusco and mp. It is kind of more brown colours, blue skies, really low clouds and a mixture of vast flat lands and mountains and then we saw lake titicaca, the highest navigatable lake in the world. At the moment we're 3,827 metres up. Tomorrow we're heading out to see uros islands and taquile island so looking forward to that.

We'll try to blog again soon. Xo

Hot

Well were about to leave Lima and head for Cusco tonight, on our way to see Machu Picchu, it has been so hot here especially at night, Linda got sun stroke yesterday and we think a flu as well so prayer for wellness would be greatly appreciated.

Yesterday we went down town to the coast in Lima and saw a pre Incan temple, where they used to do human sacrifice etc. It was amazing to see the structures which still survive till today, even after all the earthquakes over the years.

It was cool to feel a tremor run through our building but gladly no damage done. The coast was lovely with a cool breeze and good waves which was nice to see the surfing there. Will update again soon, keep u posted, thanks for checking up on us, God bless you.