All Home Safely

Posted in A Trip Update by Laura Jacobs on 7/13/2008

Hello family, friends, supporters, and readers!!!

Team Ireland is back in America once again! We arrived just a few hours ago and have made our way to the hotel for debrief. We are definitely tired (jet lag is no fun!!!) but are so excited about all God has done. Pray for us as we share all of our experiences with the other teams and experience the hard part of saying goodbye to each other. We truly have become a close knit family - the body of Christ together - over the past month. Expect to hear great stories as everyone returns home!

Info for Debrief in Atlanta

Posted in A Trip Update by Vicki Gross on 7/10/2008

The teams are arriving home shortly and God used the teams in great ways. It was great reading the updates and watching God at work in their lives and in the lives of those they ministered too.

If you are picking up your son/daughter by car, you can pick them up at the hotel between 8AM and 11AM or at the airport between 8AM and 12PM. Below is the address to the hotel that debrief is conducted.

Debrief is the night before and parents are welcome to attend, but do realize that this is the last time they will be with their team and good-byes are hard for them. We have seen parents come and yes, your child is excited to see you, but they want to be with their team that they bonded with and will not see again. So don�t go into it expecting too much.

Thanks for entrusting your child with our organization. We count it a privilege to have worked with you and your child.

God Bless!

HOLIDAY INN EXPRESS

4601 BEST ROAD

COLLEGE PARK, GA 30337

404-761-6500

Ministry in Carlow

Posted in A Trip Update by Laura Jacobs on 7/5/2008

The team has arrived in Carlow for our last week of ministry! The hospitality has been overwhelming here! Carlow Bible Church has welcomed us with open arms and we are exciting to begin ministering around the town. Here's what is coming up:

Ashley, Colby, Hope, Charlotte, Lydia, Megan, and Christine will be working alongside the children's ministry in the church. Monday they will start holding a morning kids' club in one housing area and another kids' club in a second housing area in the afternoons. For 5 days they will be gathering children into the open fields and pouring Jesus' love into these children.

Laura, Corey, Melissa, Anna, and Emily along with more friends from OM Ireland and the local church will be doing street evangelism in the mornings and afternoons. We will be setting up booths and doing surveys with anyone and everyone who has time to talk. The great thing is that the local newspaper is interested in what we are doing and will be advertising for us and then publishing the results of the survey!

Another exciting part of working here is that we are initiating these ministries during our week here and the church has a great plan to follow up after we leave. The Kids' Club will be launched this week and then will continue every Saturday going forward. We will compile the results of the survey from the streets in order for Carlow Bible Church to begin meeting practical needs around town. God is moving here and we are diving in!!!

Please join us in prayer throughout this week. As we dive into the midst of God's movement, we can expect Satan to be more than a wee bit upset. Here are some specific ways to pray:

Divine Appointments: Those whose hearts are prepared will be available for the Kids' Club and to meet us on the street.
Good Weather: Ireland has lived up to its reputation when it comes to rain. However, the next week will be all outdoor ministry. Pray that we will have the exact weather we need when we need it!!! No matter what comes, we will persevere!
Health and Safety: This can be Satan's favorite way to attack. Pray that God would always go before and behind us and protect us on every side.
Unity: Pray that we as a team along with the church would have the same heart and the same vision for all that God wants to do.

To guide you in your prayers, here are our plans for each day:

Sunday - fellowship with Carlow Bible Church
Monday - Day 1 of club and street work. Interviews with local paper.
Tuesday - Club and Street.
Wednesday - Club and Street. Local Paper will publish first story on what we are doing.
Thursday - Clean up Carlow Day. A highly advertised day to deal with the litter problem in Carlow. Pray that we can introduce Carlow to the One who trades the rubbish of our lives in for His beauty.
Friday - Club and Street. This evening we will have a community BBQ to begin the follow up process.
Saturday - the team travels to a nearby town (Kilkenny) to debrief the trip.
Sunday - fly back to Atlanta!!!

Thank you for standing with us as we finish strong in all God has for us to do!!!!

Let The Little Children Come to Me

Posted in A Trip Update by Christine O'Dell on 7/4/2008

God has been really working here in Ireland. The first week here we had Vacation Bible School at Skerries. On the first day we had only four children. By the end of the week we had eleven. We had six kids give their life to Christ. As much as we left an impact on their lives, God used those children to leave an impact on us as well. Just to see the excitement on their faces as we played games, sang songs, and told Bible stories made me realize how these children had been starving, starving for the joy that comes from the knowing Christ. It was so hard to say bye to them at the end of the week but I left with a peace knowing that we listened and obeyed God by reaching these kids with the love of Christ.

Our second week of VBS was at the church we were living at in Sutton. Even though we only had two kids the entire week they too were excited! They would go home and tell their parents all about their day and singing the songs they learned. What God really taught me on this trip is that it's not the number of kids that makes the difference, but Jesus and the message we are able to share about His love.

There is a radical change occouring in Ireland. God is using the youth of the counrty to awaken the people to a relationship with God. Please pray that the Lord's light will continue to shine to guide the lost people of Ireland to Him.

Pictures!

Posted in A Trip Update by Corey Jacobs on 7/3/2008

Here are a few pictures to wet your whistle.

The main house at Lacken House. This is the new OM base, visit www.ie.om.com

Ah, the Irish country

The Most Beautiful Land...

Posted in A Trip Update by Laura Jacobs on 7/2/2008

Hello friends, family, and blog readers!!!

Look! We have internet! For being in a first world country, it's been quite difficult to find a time and place to update you on all the great things God is doing.

Currently we are in County Roscommon where we have met up with many different teams from all over the world. For a few days we have gathered to worship and pray and learn from the leaders of Operation Mobilization Ireland. Then July 4th we will set out for County Carlow where we will serve with Carlow Bible Church doing two Kids Clubs in housing areas and doing street evangelism every day.

Over the next few days while we have internet, I am going to have the team write out a few stories for us to share about our past two weeks. God has definitely been at work and we want to share all that He has done with you! Expect more than a few new blogs coming your way!!!

Quick Update

Posted in A Trip Update by Vicki Gross on 7/2/2008

I just got off the phone with Laura Jacobs. She says the team is doing GREAT!!! They are getting along well and have become a real team.

They left Dublin yesterday and arrived in Rofs Common. They are staying at the Operation Mobilization Base. The base is very nice, everyone is in cabins that hold 4 and each cabin has a bathroom. They team is loving the accomdations.

On Friday they will be going into Carlos and conducting a Kids Club and doing Street Evangelism.

Continue to pray for the team as they feel God is really using them and He has them right where they need to be.

The Lord is Moving

Posted in A Trip Update by Ashley Hall on 6/24/2008

Greetings from Ireland!

Our time here these past 5 days have been going really good. We are currently working with two churches, putting on a VBS program and helping with the Sunday service. Wednesday we will be wrapping up our VBS with the church in Skerries and we will then start the VBS program with the church in Sutton (this is the church that we are staying at). The team has been doing great with the VBS and they are really enjoying it. We started our VBS on Friday and only had 4 children and yesterday it grew to 11! The team has taught them memory verses and silly songs that will stick in their head. The kids love the songs and it has been a joy to see them! The Lord is doing amazing work in the lives of the kids at VBS as well as the lives of our team.

One Sunday we took part in the church service at both churches. Some of the team went to the church in Skerries and helped out with scripture readings and also did a small Sunday school for the children. The others stayed back and lead the whole entire church service for Sutton. It was a great experiance in both churches. The people were so friendly and encouraging and it really comforted our team. God has given us great relationships here in Ireland and they are relationships that won't be forgotten.

On Tuesday July 1st we will be saying goodbye to our friends here in Sutton and Skerries and we will be moving on to Athlone and Carlow. We will be working with Operations Mobolization and partnering up with another church in Carlow. Please keep the team in your prayers as we move from one place to the next. In this process we have been able to build up great friendships and relationships with the people here in Sutton and Skerries and we will be saying goodbye to them and going to make more friendships and relationships in Athlone and Carlow.

Thank you so much for your prayers for the team. We are feeling them every day. Please be in prayer right now for health on the team because some are feeling tired and they are getting colds. Everyone is doing great, just the change in time and the change in weather as well is changing the way that some of us our feeling right now. Thanks again for your prayers!