Summer Summary

It's nearing the end of summer here. Schools with start back up, holidays will come to an end, and church/ministry life will start to pick up. We want to give you a quick summary of events/updates from this summer. 

• The biggest event by far was the birth of our second son, Eli. He's a beautiful, healthy baby boy. He's not the best sleeper, but he's been very chill. And lately his personality is really coming out!
• Some of our family got to visit before and after Eli was born so that was really wonderful!
• We are still waiting on our visa to be approved. It's long overdue, but we are not worried. God is in control, and we have peace about the whole situation.
• Due to our visa situation we missed our annual student training conference in Germany. It was tough not seeing our colleagues, friends, and students. But we know God is working all things to glorify him so we are at peace.
• Many things were supposed to happen this summer that ended up not happening. We were left with a fairly empty summer ( great for just having a newborn), but it has really been tough on me (Blake). I didn't realise how addicted I was to business. God has been teaching us many things. I'm looking forward to moving into this coming busy season fueled by a renewed relationship with God.

We want to thank you all for your constant prayers and faithful support. You are always vital members of this team, but especially in weird/dry summers like this one. Your prayers have sustained us. 

Introducing...The Northcutts!

We were so proud to be a part of the wedding of Jonny Northcutt and Sarah Kelly! They have been great friends to us for these first years of us getting to know Ireland. We have watched them go from students to graduates with blossoming careers. We are so pumped for their future together! 

When we met Sarah, she was one of the few students who bravely told us things like, "Don't say that...it's offensive here." Thankfully, we had her and others to help us navigate cultural norms. Jonny is a dedicated businessman/barista and has gifted us with so many bags of freshly-roasted coffee beans that we could never begin to repay him. Also, the guy makes the best flat white in the city. Jonny and Sarah have devoted countless hours to babysitting Eden from the time he was a tiny baby till he was a rambunctious toddler. Through many, many cups of tea, we got to know the joyful, beautiful, courageous people they are. 

They've been through highs and lows together. Financial struggle, health issues, and life changes. Through it all, we've seen them stick together and continually turn to Jesus. We were humbled when they asked us to do part of their premarital counseling. On their wedding day, we were honoured to pray for them after they said their vows to each other. If you get the chance, get to know this amazing couple. They are headed for even greater things.  

August Thoughts

Thank you for all your prayers for SFC Europe's CONNECT Conference. We've heard nothing but great reports. We're so thankful for the SFC leadership team who planned and pulled off the event.

Our students who attended CONNECT without us had a great time. It seemed to really impact them and inspire them for the coming year. We were sad not to be there with them and with our colleagues/friends from around Europe. But God definitely has a plan and knows where we need to be.

Missing CONNECT and several other similar situations have made August much less busy. We are taking the time to focus on the details of life, getting smaller things done that may have been put off in view of seemingly bigger tasks.

During this time I've been reading the Bible more. I've also started the book, Emotionally Healthy Spirituality by Peter Scazzero. It's a wonderful book about allowing God to examine our perspective, priorities, and emotional health. He talks a lot about rest and space. He discusses the Mary and Martha story in Luke 10. He says this of Mary...

"Mary is not trying to master God. Her life has one center of gravity - Jesus." p. 48

I pray that while we are in this short season of space and irregularity, that we take the opportunity to realign every aspect of our life with Jesus as our center of gravity.

Thank you for all your prayers and support. We are so grateful for you all. It takes us all to see God's vision fulfilled. Together we will keep moving forward with Jesus as the center.