Greetings to all of you, our family, near and far.
Thank you for your prayers and practical help, encouragement and patience. We arrived in Ireland six weeks ago and spent the first month sorting ourselves out a bit; school for Jacob and Jessie at Strandtown Primary School, getting out of our suitcases and finding jackets and woolly blankets for the winter to come. We seem to have adopted Scamper the squirrel, his friend Bobby (missing a tail) plus a very vocal and friendly cat! (we have named him ‘Pavarotti)!
We thank You, Father God for a house to live in (rental from friends) bikes for all of us, new friends and groceries in the fridge.
Now the dust has settled a little, Stephen is back into writing. He is working on some projects, books which will eventually be published. He has a few openings to travel and minister within the Fatherheart Ministries family. However, due to having young children it is not possible to spend a lot of time doing international travelling, so we are looking to engage more within Belfast and Northern Ireland, as the Spirit leads us.
We wish to express ourselves authentically from our hearts. We want to have a sacramental aspect to our lives. We are doing this individually, as a couple, as a family, and extending towards others and beyond.
We have been ‘priesting’ — which involves going out into different areas of the city, walking the streets, churches, community hubs, areas with history of conflict and sharing sacraments with the area – communion, biodegradable text from the Bible, anointing church walls with oil, praying and singing as we go. The occasional stop for hot tea and a biscuit to warm us up goes down well.
We are here to minister to this city. One practical way to minister to people is to actively take and give sacraments. We have more plans to continue this, including giving alms. We have peace, joy and faith in doing this to proclaim the Father’s heart to this city and area.
We also feel a call to love the entire Body of Christ, connecting beyond and above denominational boundaries. Stephen has a lot of connections here. This networking will run alongside us having a rhythm of communion, worship, bible teaching in our own home, when we get one.
Here are our very specific and practical needs which we need immediate answers for:
We are applying for a United Kingdom Visa for Becky (Stephen and the children are already British citizens). Pray for a smooth pathway for Becky to get her Visa. Also for finance to pay for Visa Application, NHS Health Surcharge (mandatory for visa) . Total for this amounts to approx 3000 GBP.
2. Buying a house. We would like to buy our own house here in Belfast. We have enough money for a deposit, and we have faith to pay the payments (rental is more expensive than ownership). However, the banks are sceptical of the values of the Kingdom of God, and are generally reluctant to lend. We try to live in the radical dimension of the Kingdom but we need prayer to also interact with the world system (banks etc.).
We desire a house with enough space for a comfortable home as well as facilitating fellowship gatherings, Holy Communion, teaching within our house.
3. A car plus money for car insurance. We need a family car pretty soon. We are believing for an amount of 10-15,000 GBP to cover this need.
We are very grateful for the indispensable support of you all.
With love
Stephen and Becky
GIVING INFORMATION - (there are a number of different options below:)
1. Personal Bank Account in United Kingdom
Account: Halifax Bank
Account Name: Stephen Hill
Sort code 11-09-89
Account number 12542864
IBAN: GB66HLFX11098912542864
2. United States donors can give in the following ways:
Give online at: www.isweetwater.org (click on giving and note 'Fatherheart'.) Mention that donation is for ‘Stephen Hill’
Or send a check to: SWEETWATER CHURCH, 1730 WILLIAMS TRACE BLVD. SUITE I SUGAR LAND, TEXAS 77477 Check made out to: 'Fatherheart' Check memo: 'Stephen Hill'
Or give via a text message by sending the word 'UPDATE' to 281-602-3473 and you will receive set up instructions. Please also follow up with an email to fatherheartusa@gmail.com mentioning that the text gift is for Stephen Hill.
3. PAYPAL
Stephen Hill
Ancient Future
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4. TRANSFERWISE
My email address. shill700@gmail.com
If any of the above methods of payment do not work for you please email Stephen at shill700@gmail.com
Alwas loved