Our Irish Boy

So we heard...ELI GOT HIS PASSPORT!!!

What does this mean?

This means that our applications for annual visas will be much easier. We still have to go through the yearly process, but success is very certain since Eli has an Irish passport. 

It's been over a year and a half in limbo. We still have a way to go in obtaining our visas, but the pressure is dissipating with every minute as the shock wears off. Thank you so much for all your prayers through this long season. Your support has carried us through!

Kid Update

A few updates about the kiddos...

Eden is now playing football (soccer), which is really funny to watch. He's loving his second year of school (Montessori). He's having a bit of trouble with accidents at night, but overall Eden has mastered his bladder. His favorite playtime activity is to play with his train tracks, ride his bike, race his toy cars, and talk nonstop every waking moment of the day.

The other day Eden said, "I love mommy because she has milk and cookies in her tummy."

Eli is now a very stable walker. He loves to sit and read books, will eat pretty much anything we put in front of him, and can empty out a package of wipes faster than you can say, "Eli!!". He is most definitely our calm/chill child, at least for now. He and Eden enjoy wrestling and rolling around on the ground, however after about five seconds it turns from laughing to screaming.

The other day Eli said, "Glboof shhlupppfffs." He's also saying "da da" fairly well now.

You will never know how much we appreciate your influence spiritually on our family. Not only are you holding up our ministry in prayer, you are holding up our family. Thank you for all your prayers and support.

Do Not Steal

This Thursday night I’ll be driving over to Limerick to speak at the SFC meeting there. Brent and Lori Enget are back in the states getting some much-needed family time. At the helm of SFC Limerick in their absence is Matt Shepherd. He’s doing a spectacular job handling all of the responsibilities that come with being a key leader in a college ministry.

He has wisely delegated some of the speaking tasks to other ministry leaders around Limerick. He’s included me and Blake in two of the weekly meetings, so my turn is this week. The theme of the messages for the semester has been the ten commandments. My topic is “Do Not Steal.” It is a tricky one to teach on, because there is more to it than a simple “don’t do it, k?” 

At the heart of all our instinctual human behaviors (including stealing) is sometimes a fundamental lack of trust in God. Just like the Israelites, all humans need the loving hand of God to show us a better way. But unlike the Israelites, today we have the new covenant with God through Jesus. We can live in a better way because Jesus is our strength and help in overcoming what our nature cannot fight. He helps us to trust God and live in loving community with others. 

Please be in prayer that I communicate well to these students through the power of the Holy Spirit and that He will also inspire them to have great questions and thoughts for our discussion. You guys are awesome and we can sense that you’ve got our backs in prayer. Thanks for being there for us AND here with us as we go forward.