CCSB MISSION IRELAND 2013: We are not Destroyed!

Dear Friends,

We have known for a while that this team was in the crosshairs of the enemy, but had hoped we were ready to start accomplishing what God had planned for us. But Sunday another blow was dealt when Terry found out that one of his extended family members had been killed while fighting a wildfire in Arizona. Our hearts were heavy as we prayed and sought God's guidance for Terry as he determines what course of action will best reflect God's heart for both his family and the ministry here.

How do we face this type of circumstance? Monday morning we sang "Stand strong, when life changes, stand strong through the ups and downs…God is in control". We read that afternoon that we are to put on the whole armor of God, "to be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on all of God's armor so that you would be able to stand firm against all the strategies of the devil. For we are not fighting against flesh and blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world and against evil spirits in the heavenly places……then after the battle you will still be standing firm. Stand your ground….."

We are standing our ground. God has a plan…for Terry, for Mia and the kids, for Dave and Jane, for the rest of the team, for Listowel Christian Fellowship. This church is positioned where they could be a significant influence for the kingdom, and perhaps this week is a pivotal point for that. Members of the team are poised to do battle with either personal issues or for the ministry, and maybe that is another pivot point in where God has His sights set. We don't know. We can't see the future. We may never find out the meaning behind this battle, but we DO know that it IS a battle for souls in some way.

We just got word that another member of the Granite Hotshots was the son of a missionary family - he had had the opportunity to share the Gospel with the entire team just a week ago for a couple of hours. While we don't know the outcome of that, we are confident along with his parents, that we will someday meet some of those heroes in the kingdom!

Meanwhile, we have work to do. The kid's camp has now finished two days, and we are seeing faces from last year and many new faces. The children are eager for the Word and enthusiastic in their worship. Many of them only hear the Truth here during the summer but they come back year after year and hear it again. We want to be ready to usher them into the family of God when they are ready. The men are meeting with the men from church tonight for a meal and fellowship time and the women have invited a few of the women at church for join us for dinner and sharing in hopefully the first of a few small groups. We have relationships to nurture through these times in this now short week.

This morning Dave Brown shared with us from 2 Cor 4:8 - "we are hard-pressed on every side, yet not crushed; we are perplexed but not in despair; persecuted but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed - always carrying about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body." That is where we are - Through the Lord's mercies we are not consumed because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning, Great is Your faithfulness."

Enjoy these photos of what God is accomplishing in our work here!

The Lord makes me to lay down in green fields