Mid-Summer Update

Hi Everyone!  This isn’t a proper update, but we wanted to share a bit about what’s been going on with us here in Cork and also what’s up ahead!

We finished school with the boys at the end of May.  We’re always excited for the break, but honestly, this summer has been exceptional!  Before we moved to Ireland, we really had no idea what the weather was going to be like.  We’d done a small bit of research, learning that the climate in Cork is quite mild.  But I don’t think we realized how much rain we’d get!  SO MUCH RAIN!!  For pretty much all of the year, the forecast shows rain to be possible or guaranteed.  All things here are weather dependent, and there are times where the sun may not come out for a week or more (something has keep this Emerald Isle green!)  In the winter, the days are short and the humidity makes them cold.  Nothing like a fire and a hot cup of tea!
In the summer, the days get quite long (which we love!) – like sun up by 4:30am and not down until around 11pm!  Cork would usually get a few days of real sunshine, but no one expects it to be consistent.  But, this summer has been amazing!  We’ve had days and days of real sun – what the boys and I call BEACH WEATHER! – for weeks now!  All of our Sabbaths have been spent discovering new beaches, exploring coves and caves – picnics made on blankets with views of the Atlantic!  The beach guys – it’s definitely my happy place!

The warm, dry weather has also allowed us to host a few events at the new house.  Praying into 2018, Branden and I both felt like the Lord was saying “OUTREACH!”  But what did that mean practically?  The culture here is all about relationships, which means time and hospitality (we’re learning!).  As we were getting settled into the new house after our furlough in March, we were praying about the summer – such a good opportunity to be with people!  We went to work making a list of possible things we could do at the house.  After all, we’d prayed that the Lord would provide a place where we could extend the ministry of the church, and the Lord came through big time!

So far we’ve done an outdoor movie night, which was a blast!  Nothing quite like turning the side of the house into a giant movie screen!  People came early and brought food, ate and hung out.  The kids had an impromptu dance party, and once the sun finally set at around 10:45pm, we covered the lawn with blankets to watch Shaun the Sheep!

We also got to host a big barbecue for Father’s Day.  Lots of people were able to come, and there was so much food!  We invited some neighbors and non-church friends, and it was cool to see some of them come out and enjoy the day with us.

Okay…what’s up next…

Calvary Aurora (our church in Colorado) is sending a missions team here to Cork – they actually arrive in just over a week!  Our church here doesn’t really host many teams, and there hasn’t been one since we moved here, so we are learning so much right now.  While the team is here, we’ll be doing a Holiday Bible Club (what we would call a Vacation Bible School in the States).  Praying about it, we felt like we were actually supposed to write our own – something else we’ve not done before!  The last month+ has been full of research, prayer, writing, and preparation.  So far we have about 50 kids signed up – praise God!  Most of the practical prep will be done once the team is on the ground, but we are plugging away getting the writing and logistics sorted before they arrive.

The Holiday Bible Club is an apologetics science theme – looking at creation and seeing the character, design, and heart of the Creator!  We’re so incredibly excited!  Where truth is twisted and lies are taught so casually, we hope to challenge in grace and knowledge, and to shine a light towards the heart of God – that kids would see that they, and the world around them, are made and with great intention and purpose, out of great love to a great end – relationship with their Creator!

There are a few other plans for the summer, including a back garden (or yard) campout at the end of August – gonna be fun! Branden and I are also hoping to get away for a couple days for our anniversary, and we’re planning to take a little road trip with the boys before school starts up again in September.  Praying the weather stays with us!

We would love if you would pray with us about these needs:

• Branden and I, along with the boys, as we prepare for the team to come
• The team as they finish making preparations and travel to Ireland
• That their time here would be led by the Lord and very fruitful
• Holiday Bible Club – final prep, for the kids that will come, and that Jesus would be seen in real ways!  Also that relationships would be formed and families and kids would come to know Christ!
• For our church, Calvary Cork, which is ever changing and growing
• For our family, that we would be faithful to the Lord and all He is calling us to here.  That the Lord would use us and accomplish all that He purposes, for effective ministry. 

The Holiday Bible Club’s theme verse is Colossians 1:16-17, which says:

“For in Him all things were created, things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible …all things have been created through Him and for Him …and in Him all things hold together.”

So grateful we serve a God who literally holds all things together, right now, out of love for us!  And humbled that we get to be not only recipients, but conduits of that love, participating in the Gospel!

Thank you all so much for reading and praying, and for all the practical ways you support our family and the ministry here.  Knowing that you are bringing the needs of our family and the body here before the Lord is such a great encouragement!  I am aware and so thankful, that the work here is much more than us – that many join in, and so many are blessed!  May the Lord richly bless you all!

In Him, Ernie