Fall 2018 Newsletter

FAMILY:  The most delightful surprise of the summer was to have Trinity arrive from Dallas in June with 8-mo. old Everest … grand #10 whom we’d not yet met!  What a joy to have them with us for several weeks, and they rejoined us again in Phoenix for a Killingsworth reunion in August.  We were also blessed with time in Maryland with Josh’s family, in Florida with Trey’s family, and in Canada with Laurie’s siblings and their spouses.  The hardest part about having an ocean between the U.S. and Ireland is missing all but four of our family members.

Quebec, Canada: Biennial Steen sibling reunion. (Tom, Robin, Laurie & Gary)
Quebec, Canada: Biennial Steen sibling
reunion. (Tom, Robin, Laurie & Gary)
MINISTRY:  Thank you for your prayers as we continue to serve in Ireland.  Our growing church plant needs multiple “entry points,” and those continue to open up.  Our first “Home Group” began a few weeks ago, and we hope to begin another one shortly.  We have two weekly men’s groups, and there are a number of men developing as leaders in their families.  A 7-session marriage course, Navigate Life Together, begins this month.  Please continue to pray for our Irish disciples who are scattered all over the country … their families, spiritual growth and walk with the Lord.  Nothing gives more joy than to see the fruit that remains.  As we begin another season of ministry this fall, we pray that many, many more will find new life in Christ!

Phoenix, Arizona: Killingsworth family reunion. (Tip, Jean, Carla, Jack & 92-year old mother, Helen)
Phoenix, Arizona: Killingsworth family reunion.
(Tip, Jean, Carla, Jack & 92-year old mother, Helen)
VISAS:  Our residence visa situation continues to gets more interesting by the day.  Brexit has caused more than 4,000,000 (as in FOUR MILLION!) Britons to seek Irish citizenship to keep their EU status after the UK is no longer in the European Union. We have no idea how this will affect us, but they’ve changed a lot of rules in the past few months and we’re trying to figure it all out.  We have our current residence visas until January 2, 2019.  Please pray for visa renewal #7 …. never a dull moment!

HEALTH:  We’re very thankful that our health is good as we’ve reached the “three score and ten” milestone. I have some heart and diabetes issues, but manage both with prayer, meds, and a moderately wise diet.

Phoenix, Arizona: Four generations … Helen, Tip, Trinity & Everest.
Phoenix, Arizona: Four generations … Helen,
Tip, Trinity & Everest.
TRANSPORTATION:  One of the joys of having a 12-year old car is that each year we have to get it through the rigorous Irish National Car Test. This year a front suspension part failed the test, so we’re working to get us back into compliance before our retest next week.

CONTACT:  If you’ve read all the way to this point, we want to remind you that you can phone our 434-509-0722 U.S. number anytime at no charge.  We’d love to talk to you!  Just remember that we’re several hours ahead of U.S. time zones, so daytime calls work best.

Ireland: Welcoming Trey, Dee, Josh & Jenni to Ireland after an overnight flight from Baltimore in September. Irish born Trey and Josh hadn’t been back since they were teenagers!
Ireland: Welcoming Trey, Dee, Josh & Jenni to
Ireland after an overnight flight from Baltimore
in September. Irish born Trey and Josh hadn’t
been back since they were teenagers!
FINANCES:  As lifelong missionaries, we’re accustomed to being very open about our financial situation.  In a nutshell, we live on a modest monthly budget.  All expenses beyond that require extra prayer and faith on our part, but God is so faithful … and so creative in the ways He meets our needs.  It never ceases to amaze us that just when we have a need, He will often provide from an unexpected source.  A good example of this is the way he raises up various friends who work for the airlines to provide buddy passes to make our travel to family possible.  We thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your invaluable gifts of love, prayer, and financial support for us and our ministry.  There’s a donation link on our website, www.masterlife.org, for those who may want to give online.  We also continue to have our snail mail address in Virginia for other giving … Masterlife, Int’l, P.O. Box 4784, Lynchburg, VA 24502.

With incredibly grateful hearts,
Tip and Laurie