It’s Noelle here. Sorry we have been bad at keeping up with the communication. We do not have internet access where we are staying and our days have been jam packed with ministry. Right now the team is sitting down at a Starbucks in Antrim, Northern Ireland…enjoying a restful evening after an awesome week of service.

Thank God for Mary Anne, Patty, Tom and Jamie! They have been wonderful. Mary Anne and Patty have been making all the delicious dinners every night (except for tonight’s Shepherd pie - made by Tom and Jamie). We seriously have the best leaders serving with us - such “servants of all”.

Dominique and Seth have made good friends with Jonny and Sharon Caldwell’s (pastors of ROCK COMMUNITY and Directors of GO KIDS) children: Hannah (12 years old), Ruthie (11 years old) and Kirk (9 years old). Mary Anne and Patty have been enjoying tea and talks with Sharon.

The students have been EXCEPTIONAL. Jonny has remarked several times to Troy and Ben (Estes) how impressed he has been with our teams gifts and talents but more importantly: their willingness to serve. We just have finished two days of KIDS CLUB (similar to VBS) and our kids were incredible. Each student had an opportunity to get in front of 80 kids and lead a skit, song, memory verse or game. Troy and I were blown away by their confidence and their willingness to be “fools for Christ”. I wish the parents could have seen their kids. I don’t think they could watch their kids put on these kids clubs with dry eyes. Our students were so loving to the Belfast children. It was really beautiful to watch. It reminds me of what Jesus said in Matthew 10, “Even if you give a cup of cold water to one of these little ones, you will not lose reward…”

Every student is in good health and in great spirits. They are feeling tired but there is always a smile on their face. We are so incredibly proud of them!

We will try to update again. Keep praying for physical strength and spiritual renewal for the team. We feel your prayers! Tomorrow is a day off. On Sunday our kids will be leading worship at the ROCK church ! Isn’t that so coo?! On Monday we will be sightseeing and then Tuesday and Wednesday we will be helping the ROCK ministry get their new office and shop ready for the upcoming school year.

Side Note: Ben and Ruth Estes are doing fabulous…happing newly married! Lamb of God folk should be proud of Ben. He has grown to be such a man of God and humble servant.

Some concerning news: Along with Jonny Gann’s addiction to Jaffa Cakes…Christina Gann now has an addiction to these cookies called “Fingers”. They may need some rehab when they return…

We love you!

Rooted in love,

Noelle

Greetings from (mostly) sunny Belfast. We don’t have internet access here so it’s been tough to keep in touch, so we’ll try to jam as much into this update as possible.

God has really blessed us with amazing weather here. Apparently it’s rare to get a block of sunny, warm days in this area — even in the summertime. It’s been mostly clear with temperatures around 70 degrees. Perfect weather for ministering to kids outdoors.

The team arrived here early Saturday morning and spent the first two days hanging at The Haven, a christian center situated on a beautiful farm in the countryside about 15 minutes outside of the center of Belfast. In order to get adjusted to the culture, we played lots of football (soccer), ate a ridiculous amount of British sweets (Jonny Gann has an unhealthy addiction to Jaffa Cakes) and crisps (potato chips). They actually have smoked bacon-flavored crisps here. God truly loves these people.

OK, back to the missions. Our goal here in Belfast is to help Johnny Caldwell (the pastor of the Rock Community Church) and his crew re-launch Go Kids, their local kids program. Go Kids has unbelievable access to the schools here. Nearly everyone we’ve talked to on the streets has heard of them and loves the work they do. The program has been on hiatus for a few years and Johnny feels that God’s vision is to get it back up and running at full strength.

That’s where we come in. We’ve spent the past couple days canvassing the local neighborhoods, talking to kids and passing out flyers promoting a two day “kick off” event on Thursday and Friday for Go Kids. We’ve been setting up inflatable toys (they called them bouncy castles here), painting faces, singing songs, doing skits and playing football with the kids. (Our group just barely beat a group of local kids, 1-0, in a football match yesterday. But they were like seven years old.) It’s been amazing to see how God has worked through these small events so far. There seems to be a strong emphasis on community here, so when they see something going on in the park, they all come out to see what’s going on. We look forward to seeing how he works on Thursday and Friday at the actual kids club event.

We’re about to head out once again to spend time with the local kids, so here’s how you can pray for us over the next few days:

- Pray for the Go Kids club event that’ll take place this Thursday and Friday at a local primary school. Pray that God will bring lots of kids through the doors and that they would hear the gospel preached through the music, skits and games. Pray that we would be in tune with God’s vision for this event, not just ours.

- Pray for us as we hang out in the local neighborhoods this afternoon (Wednesday). Pray for energy for our kids (it involves a lot of walking) and that the local kids here would be ready to receive our message. Also pray that we would understand what they’re saying and we would understand them. We do speak the same language but it’s sometimes impossible to understand their Northern Irish accents when they speak fast. Pray that that wouldn’t be a hinderence.

- Pray for Johnny Caldwell and the rest of the Rock Community Church. These folks have such a passion for telling the people of Belfast about Jesus. Pray that this Go Kids program would be influential far beyond when we leave next week.

- Pray for unity between the Protestants and Catholics in Belfast. There is political peace here, but as you walk around the neighborhoods there is still a clear division between the two groups. Pray that they would know God’s peace and that they would find unity in the one true God that they both serve.

- Pray that Jonny Gann would take it easy on the Jaffa Cakes.

I love how The Message phrases Matthew 5:13-16:

“Let me tell you why you are here. You’re here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You’ve lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage. Here’s another way to put it: You’re here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We’re going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don’t think I’m going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I’m putting you on a light stand. Now that I’ve put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand—shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you’ll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.”

May we bring out the God-flavors and God-colors in Belfast! We truly covet your prayers!