We definitely enjoyed the Christmas holidays in our new home, and used the time to make a lot of progress in unpacking and getting the house set up. There are still a number of jobs left to be done, of course, but we love the way it’s coming together. We’ve also been able to enjoy some good family time and start showing hospitality to others – in the last 2 weeks we’ve had 20 people at the house. We’re excited to start 2018 in Carrigtwohill!
Author: Seth and Jessica (Page 3 of 96)
We made it to Carrigtwohill in time for Christmas! Jessica’s mom came from America for a week to help with the move, and lots of able bodied men from the Midleton and Youghal churches did the heavy lifting. We’ve got our Christmas tree up, our furniture in the right places, some of the walls painted and (thanks to Jessica) lots of boxes unpacked. Still a ways to go before we are fully settled in, but it’s feeling more like home every day, and we like that.
The countdown is getting very low for our move to Carrigtwohill, so we’ve got most of our things in boxes, ready to go. Usually by this time we’d be all decorated for Christmas, but this year we only have a couple of visual clues in the house that could give away what month it is. That’s okay, though. We’re very thankful that our Christmas tree will be up soon in our new house! Having a new place to live is something we’ll definitely celebrate this year, but in reality it doesn’t compared at all to the incredible news that the Son of God chose to move into our world, die the death we deserved, and rise again to win us a forever home in Heaven. That’s a move worth celebrating!
Jessica and Seth were both asked recently to share music: Jessica played piano for a Christian ladies conference in Cork, and Seth sang songs from musicals for a fundraising evening in aid of the Youghal Musical Society. We love music, and it’s fun to have chances to share it with others!
This week some friends offered to collect our children from school one day, keep them at their house all afternoon, feed them dinner, and drive them all the way to Youghal in the evening – all so that we could have the whole day to pack boxes for moving (we packed a lot of boxes!). We’ve also had several friends from church help us with jobs that needed to be done on the house we’re selling, and offers coming from all directions to help when we actually do move. We are very thankful for such amazing support from the family of God!
Rebekah wants to read you a story…
Today we head to Munster Christian Camp, where we’ll be leading a great team to put on a camp for 58 12-15 year olds. Thankfully, the weather forecast looks good. We’re forecasting a great camp as well!
After agreeing to the sale of our house in Youghal recently, we started looking hard for a place to land – and it was harder than we thought. Most of the houses listed online were actually already sold, and we were running out of options. But at the last minute, God provided an unexpected solution and the result is that we have put a deposit down on a new home for our family!
Hurricane Ophelia, the strongest hurricane on record this far east in the Atlantic, is currently battering the shores of Ireland with very high winds. All the schools in Ireland closed and everyone has been advised to stay indoors, so we’re having a hurricane holiday as a family. So far we still have power, and our house is not in any danger of flooding, so we’re enjoying the time together!
On Saturday, a team from Virginia arrived to help us for a week! We are very thankful to have them, and happy to put them to work!
Last night Munster Bible College held an open lecture that was an encouraging look at how God’s kingdom grows. Seth was in charge of broadcasting it, so you can watch it here:
