Home away from "Home"

Hey Everyone,

It has been ages since we have last updated this site! Please accept our apologies! Things have been quite hectic so far this year and some big changes have taken place as well! Tasha and myself have been home since August (9 months already), and Jen came home in November!

We have all settled back into Canada and the normal routine quite well, and we all have new and exciting things happening. Tasha has been attending Siast and taking "Early Childhood development" and has been doing very well! She is starting her practicum work in May! Jen is currently working in Admin at a really cool company called "Dyna Industries" and she is planning to start taking classes at the University of Regina for Social Work in September. I (Kristie) am currently finishing my second semester qualifying for the Social Work program at the University of Regina and working in customer service at Sangster's Health food store.

So as you can see, we are all doing very well, but all very busy with all the new and exciting changes that have happened. It seems like a whole different world than Ireland. We are all praying about our futures and not sure where God will lead us, but Ireland is still a huge part of all of our hearts.

I (Kristie) am hoping to travel back to Ireland next summer God willing to visit and re-connect with all the people I so desperately miss! When I am done my degree I am also hoping to return to Dublin for as long as the Lord calls me to. I am really excited about the prospects of going back, as Ireland is my home away from home and I will always be drawn back there.

So for now, we keep praying for the country and the people and would ask you to do the same if you feel the Lord leading you. Thanks once again for all of your love and support during this transition time and for all your prayers! We are taking it one day at a time with the Lord and looking forward to the plans He has for us in the future.

Much Love,

Kristie

Feeling Guilty For Not Updating ...

Hi Everyone, this is a quick update to say sorry for not updating! (Really I am trying to relieve my conscience that keeps nagging at me to post something new, ANYTHING new). So here it is. I (Jen) just got back to Dublin after a 3 week stint in good ol' Regina. I went to my Dad's wedding, my sister's convocation and my friend Kristine's convocation all in one weekend. I spent the rest of the time on coffee/lunch/dinner dates with my long lost and much missed friends/family/Church family.

I returned on June 19th, bringing with me Shealagh Stephenson - little sister of one of my best friends. She is here to minister with us and spend some time getting to know the country and people. It's lovely to have her here with us - we are so blessed.

So as of right now, Tasha is gallivanting all over with her sister and grandparents and will soon be returning to us to show them around Dubs. I just got a job working for a Bank (again!) and am looking forward to starting on Monday. The kids are doing well - it's been raining like crazy since I got back from Canada, so I haven't seen their little faces at the door. It's supposed to clear up soon though and then it's back to swinging them around outside! We're knee deep in plans for the next kids party so we'll update you when details are more nailed down - but we're excited. It's going to be the best one yet.

We're praying you're all well and happy and as blessed as we are!

More than Well,
Jen, Kristie and Tasha
Jortosh Ministries Ireland

Pictures of the Kids, the Team and the City

We don't know how but Cameron got stuck in Joe's shirt ... I wasn't there and I'm kicking myself now ....
Awww, Jill and Dylan. He loves her so so much.
Jill and Dylan again - the littlest things will entertain these kids for ages!
This is our fair city! That's the River Liffey.
That's Henry Street - one of the busiest streets in Dublin - Kiki used to work down there. And that crowd? That's mild compared to what it's like at Christmas.

Dylan with blue chalk all over his face. He's just as adorable in person.
Cameron, Kiki and Ericka - those balloon hats were a huge hit and are ever so stylish.
The kids playing some form of blindfolded tag.
Oh my - this is one of the best pictures we have. For some reason (again, I wasn't there when it was initiated) all the kids decided to pile on Jill and when Cameron wanted to join the fun, the only place left was Jill's face. So, he KNEELED on her head.

The kids during the Easter Egg Hunt that Tasha planned. This was one of the calm moments - I swear as soon as we turned around they were shanking eachother to get to the cream eggs.
Ah, this is Joe playing football with the kids.
Ahahaha, my favourite game. We encourage Cameron to put this pylon on his head and run around like a zombie. It was terrifying and so amusing.
That's Cameron, me, Joe, Joshua, Dylan and Jill in front of the house.
Joe and Cameron - so cute.

And this is our team photo. Tasha cooked Easter dinner and it was epic! We were all so full and it was so so good.

That's all the pics for now as this internet shop is super hot and I am hungry. But there's about 1000 more if you want to see them. We will update again soon.

More than Well,
Jen, Kristie and Tasha
Jortosh Ministries Ireland

A Safe And Happy Arrival !!

Hey Again!

Just another quick post to say and Joe and Jill arrived happy and healthy yesterday (wow, that makes them sound like newborns doesn't it?!). We are so happy to have them and have had a blast already. We spent all last night ministering to the kids outside - and I swear, the boys in the neighbourhood could SMELL the testosterone when Joe arrived - they are so stoked to have a guy around to play football with!! Kristie and I are useless with the whole "sports" aspect, but at least Tasha tries!!

The best part of playing with the kids last night was getting to lead 3 of them to the Lord!! I walked a couple of the boys home and got to talking with them and my favourite girl outside. We discussed "Passion of The Christ" (as it was on t.v. here last night) and I got to explain why Jesus went thru all that and what that can mean to us. The kids were so excited and wanted to "talk to Jesus and tell Him [their] happy thoughts" that they wanted to receive Christ right that second!! So, on the grass, in the dark, on the anniversary weekend of our Saviour's death, 3 children came to know Jesus - unhindered, uninhibited and unaware of exactly what this moment meant to me. So praise God that He's up to something and thank you for your prayers and intercession. We feel it over here - we really do.

We'll send a more detailed update soon !!
Happy Easter - we pray you are blessed.
Much Love,
Jen, Kiki and Tasha
Jortosh Ministries Ireland

Counting Down to Jill and Joe !!!

4 DAYS LEFT ....

Just a quick reminder to keep our friends Joe and Jill in prayer over the next couple weeks as they prepare to travel to Ireland to minister with (and to) us!!

We are so excited to have them here - Joe is an amazing prayer warrior and such a strong man of God and Jill is so beautiful and has such a soft fabulous heart. We will be so blessed by their presence here and we pray that they will be blessed by the community and the children we work with.

Please pray for protection as they travel, unity as a team, awareness of the numerous spirits that attack as you enter the city and the strength to minister, pray and experience this country and the battle within it. Also, please pray that God would be preparing Kristie, Tasha and myself to share our lives and ministry with these 2 great people and that we would welcome them into a home built on prayer and love.

Thanks everyone!
(Can't wait to see you Joe and Jill!!)

More than Well,
Jen, Kristie and Tasha
Jortosh Ministries Ireland

The March Kids Party!

Hi Everyone,

We figured we would upload some of the pictures from the kids party we had on Saturday! It was a great success and we peaked at 15 kids - seeing as we invited all 20 in the neighbourhood, that's a great turnout! We discovered that sidewalk chalk it a definite crowd pleaser, as well as face paint! The balloon animals were brought out at the end and you can see why by checking out the pictures... We hope you enjoy them...

More than Well,
Jen, Kristie and Tasha

Tasha and Kiki manned the face painting station and got painted themselves!! I steered clear using "No artistic ability" as my well crafted excuse ... when really I had a sneaking suspicion (that was later proved right) that the face paint was not coming off without lemon juice and dish washing soap.

The girls were delighted with Kiki's little flowers and butterflies.

There's Kiki and I before the party started and Kiki and Tasha excited about the balloon animals they'd made. They made all the dogs, swords and flowers for the kids. I am useless with not JUST face paint - no no, my lack of talent extends also to balloon animals. I popped 6 balloons before giving up.

Hop skotch and chalk worms! I'm sure the East Wall Mums were delighted when their children returned home hyper from candy, stained with face paint and covered in sidewalk chalk. We're makin' memories here people.

Ah ha! I love this picture - somehow Kiki convinced these boys that they were tigers and when I told them to roar - this is what I got!

Then we brought out the balloon swords and the kids got rowdy. And this picture was a competition for the nicest smile. They all won cause they're so darn cute.

These kids were playing a very drawn out hop skotch game. And that's me and our little princess. She was so proud of her hand painted daisy and butterfly (kudos Kiki) that she ran around all afternoon with her sleeve pulled up showing off to anyone who would look. And yes, I'm wearing a balloon hat. No, I didn't make it.

The Old and New Bathroom

All of the work done on our bathroom is detailed in these pictures. I don't have a final picture yet (as it has been painted a painful peach colour since these were taken) but trust me, it's beautiful compared to what it was before.




This is the bathroom after the mould was chipped away



Beside the window was terrible too - top left corner was the fan, which left a huge hole in the wall during some of the worst weather Dublin has had in the past couple years.



Inside the shower was disgusting - all the area with the chipped away paint was covered in mould. That stretches all the way under the sink too.



A hole left in the wall from another outtake fan. Having a giant hole leading right into the shower just pumping in the cold air was delightful.



The first hole, now looking even more pathetic because of the shabbily cut tiles to the left and down the side of the wall.




Isn't it beautiful?! Still freezing cold but still - all tiled and white. Such a wonderful change from the brown and black speckled shower we're so used to.

January and February - Pictures and News

Hi Family, Friends and Everyone Else!

Welcome to the Jan/Feb update!! Sorry it's been so long since we updated you all. I've been waiting until we could send some pictures of the newly tiled bathroom and assorted other visual delights. The past month has been really hard for us. We seem to be hitting a large wall of discouragement and that's making it very hard to focus on the ministry right now. We could use your prayers now more than ever. Please pray for:

- Renewed focus, drive and vision
- Encouragement in ministry

- Unity with eachother as "a house divided against itself cannot stand" (Mark 3:25)
- Favour with the parents of the children we're working with. We are looking into having a block party in the next couple months and public events seem to spark a lot of controversy here.

- LOVE. May everything we do, say and think be seeded in love. We can't show God's love if we don't walk in it.

We're really trying to focus on what's going on around us right now but emotions are running rampant and we're 3 girls in a very small house - so please pray that our love for eachother would be dominant over our annoyances and nit-picking.

As you all know, it was Valentine's Day recently and we spent the evening handing out little treat bags to all the kids. Tasha and Kristie painstakingly wrapped chocolate and candy in little bags and attached cute bows to them. One thing struck me as we went around handing out the candy - the parents were delighted and not at all surprised! I was so encouraged by this. When we first started playing with the kids and handing out treats, the parents were shocked and admittedly, very nervous! And now, I am delighted to say that they've gotten used to it!! I think that says a lot about the progress that's been made here. Ireland is a place where everyone is suspicious of kindness and we've been trying so hard to show the people in our neighbourhood that our motive is pure and we just want to love them - so we feel like we've finally broken thru a bit.

The kids were so thankful and two of our favourite little girls came round the next day to thank us. We couldn't let them in the house, so they chose to hang thru the window!! And yes, for all those mothers out there clutching their chests and gasping in horror - they are definitely standing on the window sill wearing rollerblades.

Aside from the Valentine's stuff, we are just getting ready to have Joe and Jill come visit us from Canada! We are so excited to have them here and we have our fingers crossed that they will bring a puppet or 2 with them and we can incorporate a puppet show into our Spring party!! The idea is to have a barbeque and (hopefully!!) a bouncy castle and cake etc. outside for the kids. The parents are all very interested in the idea, we are just looking into permits and stuff right now. So just say a quick prayer for favour in that area.

The next few pictures are assorted from New Years, Andrea's birthday and some cool statues. I hope you enjoy them and forgive me for taking so long to get them out to you.

(L-R) Konrad and his sister Ania.

A cool Jesus statue that Tasha found in a little town outside Dublin

Me, joyously making smoothies to ring in the New Year

Andrea and I on her birthday

I hope you enjoyed these pictures and the next post should include pictures of the demolished and rebuilt bathroom walls!! Hooray!

God bless you all and thank you for your thoughts, prayers, emails and phone calls. We truly appreciate hearing from you.

More than Well,
Kristie, Tasha and Jen

Jortosh Ministries Ireland