Donkeys, Football, and Shoeboxes

Valerie is doing well these days. The team is staying very busy, as there are many ministry opportunities during the Christmas season. Today, they started a Christmas tour that will last for the next 3 weeks. They are presenting a puppet show to children in about 25 different schools. They have also been invited to present the show at the annual Tea Dance in Buncrana. This is a big step in their relationship with the people of Buncrana. They have been working hard to prepare the show, and they are excited about starting the tour today. This is a summary of the puppet show:

THE DONKEY'S BACK
It’s nearly Christmas and the children are busy practicing for the school Christmas play. Bray, the donkey, would love to have a part in the play. As he auditions for different roles, he discovers what Christmas is all about. “The Donkey’s Back” is a 30-minute colourful, multi-media presentation for 4 – 12 year old children exploring the true meaning of Christmas using puppets, drama, magic, music and more…

Please pray for positive responses from the children and teachers and that lives will be changed.
Pray for safe travelling, health and strength for the team. Also pray for the practical things, that the show will run smoothly.

Val is starting to help coach in the boys' youth football (soccer) program. Last week, one of the directors told her that they were considering starting a girls' program and asked if she would be interested in helping with it. Praise God!! That has been on Val's heart and mind since she began to consider joining the team in Buncrana.

The team had their first meeting of the Alpha Course. Here's what Val said about it: "We had the introduction meeting for Alpha tonight. Geraldine and her kids Fionan, 12 ,and Roisin, 10, were there. The possibility that the priest here, Father Walsh, might support or get behind the alpha course is huge. He has suggested waiting til Jan. to start the course. We are taking his advice and talking with him some more about it in hopes of a good reaction to it. Keep praying that God would guide us in the best decisions that we might reach people for His glory.

Tonight Fionan said something that really opened my eyes again to the reality here. We talked about an alpha course for youth, and he mentioned that he did not know of one Christian child at his school. He said many shut down or "run away" when Christianity is mentioned. Such a need! But not easy to minister to it."

Another one of the team's ministries is a short daily devotion on the radio station, Monday-Friday. You can listen to it online. They come on at about 2 pm Eastern time. Here's the link: http://www.icrfm.ie/about.htm

The team also collected 3,500 shoeboxes for the Donegal area for Operation Christmas Child!