Ireland Recap

Beyond the Horizon

3 Minute Recap Our summers have a very significant purpose: to expose teenagers to the needs of our world and then train them with the tools to meet those needs. This past summer God used our American teenagers to challenge the Irish youth in unbelievable ways.

We met Rebecca one of our first nights in Londonderry, Northern Ireland. She is your typical Irish teenager has a rough home life and therefore her friends have become her family and she finds love and acceptance in their relationships. She didn’t like the routine, tradition and conservative nature of church and rarely went. After a few days of hanging out with her we found that she was into a lifestyle of partying, drinking and was convinced she could only find happiness in her somewhat satisfying relationships.

Anna was a 16-year-old girl on our Ireland team and in the first two days of training camp it was obvious this summer was going to be much more than she expected. Patience and respecting authority had never been something she was into before but knew God had called her to serve in Ireland this summer. Right away Job and I started sitting down with Anna confronting behavior issues and challenging her on some selfish tendencies. These “teachable moments” continued as we traveled to Ireland.

As our team hung out with Irish youth each night at the park it became obvious that ministry was much more messy than they thought. On our second day in Ireland Anna collided with Rebecca. Both were outgoing and vocal, loved energy drinks, chocolate and boys, and both were working through their own issues. Anna had come into this summer with her own agenda but through daily discipleship she was growing and discovering a newfound respect for authority, patience and a heart for service.

God was also working in Rebecca’s heart and despite being loud and often rude, was starting to listen to Anna and learn what made us so different. Walls were being broken down in our students and God was using them to impact lives in Ireland. On July 10, 2010 Anna shared with Rebecca the true way to have everlasting peace wasn’t though endless pints and relationships with boys but through God’s grace. Rebecca had a heart change and became a Christian that night.

We plugged Rebecca into the church we were working with and, while at home in the US, Anna is continuing to love and disciple Rebecca through facebook. As we worked with 45 students this summer we saw countless lives changed and hearts softened. As fast as we could teach out students they were sharing what they learned with the Irish teenagers. Life on life discipleship was messy, real and unbelievable. We were privileged to see God change our students’ hearts and use them in unexpected ways. Thank you for being a part of the change in so many lives this summer. Ireland will never be the same.

Stolen Passports

During Debriefing in London 12 hours before we were to fly home the church we were staying in was burglarized and they stole a few student packs and Job and my passport. Thankfully no one was hurt and after some severe praying and playing nice with immigration at the airport they let us lead the entire team home. We’ve never been so glad to make it to O’Hare.

What’s Next?

-Planning next summer

-Creating a Staff Discipler College Recruiting Strategy for Reign Ministries

-Planning Spring Speaking Blitzes

-Support Raising

Thank you for your prayers and support, we couldn’t do this without you.

Job & Bethany