Christmas Season

           
    

             CITY
       We were welcomed home with the very wet, rainy and windy wintry weather - days had past until we were greeted by the sun, and it hasn't made an often appearance since.  The city is yet again decorated for the Christmas season with their yearly winter festival, Winterval.  With colourful lights lining the streets, vendors down a few more, horse drawn carriages, a carousel set up outside, an ice skating rink down by the river, and a giant Christmas tree in town.  After a long haul beating jet lag, looks like were back on track now, thankfully. 

One of the vendors, our friend Rom keeping warm in a small cabin - best crêpes in town!

      I feel as if “blessed” is an over used word and loses its meaning at times, though in Psalm 45:2 it says He forever blesses us… so I guess we can say we've been blessed continually.  Looking back on this last visit to California, joyfully fills my heart not only because I was able to do all sorts of different things, i.e. celebrate one of my best friends with a bachelorette weekend AND be in her wedding, enjoyed being with family and friends, various parties, camping trips, and riding my horse;  we also got to share with people the remarkable work of God that is happening over here.

One of the handmade necklaces by my creative mother-in-law 

            FUNDRAISER/CHURCHES
    By the time Sebastian had flown over, I had been in America already three weeks; keeping very busy.  Two days after he arrived, my family put their heads together and pulled off a big fundraiser for us.  There was bread baked, soup cooked, hats and signs painted, necklaces made, and quite a few vendors who donated their companies goods for a silent action.  We only had one job - put together a slide show and update everyone on everything - and If you know me at all, I’m not the one who would speak in front of people, so you're right to assume Sebastian did the “group updating”, despite his jet lag, he did pretty well!  The turn out was much more than any of us had ever thought it was going to be.  From all the hard work and help that was put into it, to the willingness of hearts to listen, to even the involvement of a load of questions during the slide show.. major, major blessing.  All the yearly bills, (and some that were unexpected) were payed off because of the generosity that was shown.  We are extremely thankful!!   (There are still more hats if you missed out on coming!)
   

Few of the hats that were painted by my amazing sister

     We also went to a couple of different churches, and shared at Sundays services, (of course, when I say ‘we’ I mean ‘he’) and got to speak with people afterwards about any questions they had.  We again, were very encouraged with the words and prayers that were said over us. 
  
          

A Day in the Dirt gate crew

          A DAY IN THE DIRT
    The last week of our trip was spent in San Bernardino working a huge yearly motocross race called Red Bull's A Day in the Dirt.  Sebastian has worked it quite a few times in the past, and we both worked it two years ago.  He did various jobs such as, telling people what to do and what not to do, anywhere from the RV parking spaces to chasing down guys setting off fireworks illegally in the night.  While I was only there the weekend, being a part of the gate crew, who exchanged wrist bands for money as people drove in.  This was a big part of why we stayed the long time we did - extra cash that payed for the whole trip back, praise God!  We plan on coming back for another week at A Day in the Dirt next year.

         CHRISTMAS CHOIR
    About a week before I left, sign ups for the Christmas choir were going around, a yearly event that was done in the city as part of the Winterval, (as I mentioned earlier).  Naturally I didn't sign up because of my absence, and all the rehearsals I would miss, but behind my back, my husband took the liberty to sign me up anyway.  Therefore, two practices in, and next thing I know, I’m singin’ in the choir in the Theatre Royal with twenty-five others from our church!  Despite not knowing a couple of the songs, and having lost my music sheet out of my pocket on the walk over - because of our great conductor, we didn't sound half bad!  In the end, I was glad to be a part of something like that, it was actually kinda fun!  

Calvary Christmas Choir

          

        MISC
    We officially have our Christmas tree decorated with one strand of lights and all five of our ornaments!  Got creative and took a few things off the shelf that would fit and sit on some branches as well to make it a bit more full.  Cozying up on the couch with a cup of hot chocolate by our little tree, with the wonderful smell of pine floating through the air and a fire crackling at our feet is a favorite pastime on dark winter rainy nights.    
   
       
        PRAYER
    They say this winter will be a very wet one - while gone we kept hearing how awful the weather was and friends houses were flooded and the tides were quite large.  Hopefully the worst is over!  Be praying for this country as we are heading into this Christmas season, there are more people who commit suicide around this time of year than any other, due to depression and no hope.  It’s a sad reality the hopelessness people have, many of them we talk to or pass by on the rode could very well be on their way to make the most terrible mistake of their lives.  Pray for them as well as us to be able to live out Ephesians 5:16 “Making the most of every opportunity, because the days are evil”.  To know how we ourselves easily fall into depression even when we do have salvation and hope in Christ, how much more the one who doesn’t have hope.  Especially during these cold dark months, relying on God is truly the only thing that leads us to joy. So please pray for us to always be pointing towards Him - the Author and Perfecter of our salvation - Hebrews 12:1-3.


We wish you all a very Merry Christmas!!

 The Müllers

Portico coffee, of course

 

October News

     God is doing some wonderful things over here and the past few months have been a beautiful time of growth for the church and for the individual believers. It is a huge blessing to see peoples lives changed through the power of the gospel, it makes everything we do worth it.

    CARRICK-ON-SUIR
    The weekly prayer meeting in and for Carrick is going very well, a small group of five of us goes a long way.  We are simply doing just that, getting together for fellowship and an hour of prayer. God has made it abundantly clear to us that what ever will happen in Carrick will be His doing. The scripture that keeps coming to mind as we pray is Psalms 127:1

“Unless the LORD builds the house, the builders labor in vain. Unless the LORD watches over the city, the guards stand watch in vain.”

    All we are praying for in the city, is that His will be done in it and that He alone would give us direction as we seek Him. Every time we meet it becomes clear that He is moving and we are exceedingly grateful that God is using us to just pray for the city of Carrick.

Community Cabin

    COMMUNITY CABIN
    There has been a “Cabin” in the making for a few months now, sometime in August Sebastian had an idea to build a small community shed for anyone in the church to come and simply have community at, barbecues and whatnot.  It is still in the process of being built, whenever there's time in between everything else he's doing, it will soon be finished!

     PORTICO
    The coffee shop is going well - we are a strong presence in the community and want to continue loving people there as much as we possibly can.

    FAMILY  
      This past week my family made a very impromptu decision to come out and visit us - one night face timing telling them they need to come out here, the next day receiving a picture of their itinerary.  I was shocked and quite happy to say the least.  So the day came when my sister, brother-in-law, and cousin arrived at the Dublin airport and the fun times had commenced.  Also, on the same day, just a few hours later, two of our family friends ended their Europe trip in Ireland and we had the pleasure to have a couple days spent with them as well.  Though having all five of them in our little apartment downstairs was a maze for a couple nights, it was all worth it to have them at our home!  Showing and sharing our lives here was an absolute pleasure. From where we go to get groceries, local restaurants, local castles, thrift stores, our daily routes, bringing them to our prayer meeting in Carrick as well, church and of course our very own Portico coffee. It was refreshing to have those closest to us experience our lives over here.  Our last three days together we went on a road trip headed north, up the west side of Ireland. We got to see spectacular sights and fun towns along the way.  Needless to say, we were eternally grateful, blessed and overwhelmed with our family's generosity and love.  I may have “thanked” their ears off a little bit…


  AMERICA
    The funny thing was, the timing of their trip - when the time came to drop them at the airport, after the goodbyes, the follow-up line was, “see you in a week!”  Yes, we’re coming to California.  One of my best friends is getting married and I’m honored to be a bridesmaid in her wedding, (as she was one of mine) and I can’t be more stoked for them!!  I will be getting there just in time for the bachelorette party, the following weekend is the wedding - it will be a couple of weeks of celebrations!!  Sebastian will be flying out three weeks after me….
    I ask for prayer while we’re gone for the possibility of visiting churches, financial supporters, a fundraiser we will be having (date soon to be announced!), and to be encouraged with sweet encounters.
    In order to pay for our flights we will be working a week for a big motocross event called Day in the Dirt. The former pastor from Calvary Waterford, Clay, helps to run the race and Sebastian has been doing it with him since they were in High school. It works out well because this will pay for our trip back to the states.

    THANKS AND FINANCIAL
    We are so very thankful for what we received last month financially, we were able to pay for a few things that were a bit weighty.  We can’t really find the words to describe the blessing you guys are to us, who support us financially and/or prayerfully.  Every time I write an update, it really does take me a long while to even start typing, to find the words to explain my heart behind every one. 
    With one month gone, another month must come.  Which means, as we all know, more bills!  Especially October - the month where we renew our visas to be able to stay in the country.  Three hundred per person to renew it, please keep that in your prayers!!  God will most certainly have His way and hoping we will go through that process with flying colors at our appointment next week.

Be blessed!

    The Müllers

Kilkenny Castle, Kilkenny, Ireland

The works in Waterford

Hello again!

    As I sit here trying to think of a good way to start this particular update, several things come to mind..as there has been several things happening within these past two months…
        KIDS
    A group from Calvary Chapel Santee flew over for about ten days, to help out with the one week long Church kids camp, the camp was held in our little village of Passage East.  Though we were not able to attend, we heard it was a great turn out, and all the kids had a blast!  The group also was a huge help and painted the kids rooms in the Church, they did a fantastic job; as there were a couple contractors with them, it turned out beautifully. 
    While on the kids room subject, what used to separate the little kids from the babies was a movable couch. This couch had an open area underneath where kids would sneak to the other side on a regular basis. There is now a nice wooden gate between the two rooms; with no chance of escape!  It was made by one of our friends dad who is visiting from America, who happens to be a carpenter. What a difference it makes not to have to run after escaping babies.
   
  PORTICO
    As far as Portico goes, Sebastian, with the help of a couple friends, did an amazing transformation to the back.  With a ton more space, more shelves, higher ceiling, new lights, etc.  God also has provided for us to get an amazing new Espresso machine, which works a hundred times better than the first one we had. All of the baristas are pretty stoked on it. Of course, the shop is still doing its job of bringing people to drink our coffee, relationships are still being built, and God is being glorified through it all.
 

       BEDSONS
Late last month our good friends Nathaniel and Abby Bedson moved over here along with their ten month old daughter Penny. Nate has come to work along side Jon, who is in charge of the Calvary School of Ministry. His main focus and work here is with just that - the school.  Learning everything he can from Jon, co-teaching mens discipleship, working with the students, tending to their needs, etc.  Abby is a fantastic photographer and will be helping out with the school graphic designs for the site, as well as being busy as a mom could be with a ten month old!  We are so very stoked that they are here, and that they found a great house just minutes away from us!
        SCHOOL
    The Calvary School of Ministry fall semester starts in a few short weeks, it will be the biggest group yet!  Be praying for the students, staff and teachers, that the Lord will speak amazing things…
        NAOMI
    On another exciting note, one of our students from last years fall semester, Naomi, felt the call to come back to do a five month internship here. She arrived just about a week ago, and we are happy to have her back to serve alongside us!  It’s a real cool thing to see familiar faces from past semesters show up here again, ready do work where the Lord did so much in their lives the year before.
        CAR

    We are now on our third car - we were spending too much on petrol in our Subaru, so we decided to sell it and get one with better gas mileage. The Lord blessed us with a Toyota, Rav 4 diesel.  Diesel is fifteen cents cheaper a liter than regular unleaded here, so it pays to drive a diesel. Its a great car with lots of space for people and lots and lots of tools ;). 
        FRIENDS   
    Last week we were blessed to have friends come out to visit.  Can’t really explain the joy that they brought us, we are so blessed. It was like a breath of fresh air having the good friends that we used to spend nearly every day with before moving here come and encourage us. Having people in your life that will encourage you, and love on you no matter what, is imperative.
   
        PRAYER
    There has been a lot of exciting stuff happening over the past few months and because good things have been happening that also means that Satan is trying to stop it. For us every day has been a bit of a battle. When Satan is constantly trying to destroy what you are doing it gets a bit exhausting. Please pray for us that we would have a respite from this type of attack and that we would be quicker to see it for what it is in the future. This has been felt widely across the church so please pray for us as a whole.

        FINANCES
    We have more bills coming up than we do cash coming in.  We know God has provided again and again, so we have no reason to fear or worry. Yet, it still sneaks in when big bills come up and we have just enough to get us by today.  You can bet our trust gets tested immensely during times like these!  Extra bills in the next 2 months includes…
    Visas to be able to stay in the country - €600
    Car Insurance - $600
    Car Registration/tax-€700
    Health Insurance- $900
    Total of about $3000.
Please Pray that God would provide abundantly over the next 2 months.

    All and all, God is still being glorified here every day and His message is being preached and peoples lives are being changed. We don't pretend to have everything together, in fact, we are figuring out more and more that the only way we can do anything, is by His leading and by His power. We are so thankful for all your prayers and support, I can’t believe that it has already been a year in Ireland. God has done so much good here in a year and it’s great to have been a part of it. We look forward to this next year and pray that He would build our trust in Him more and more. Thanks so much for reading.

The Müllers in Ireland
   


       

              
   

Summer in Ireland

    Life since we came back from the states consisted of jumping right into a busy summer.  Three weeks after we landed, we were blessed to accompany some of our youth group to a youth conference in York, England.  A great time was had with the kids - couple of which ended up giving there lives to the Lord.  The last day of this fun weekend happened to fall on our first anniversary, we were able to sneak off that morning and have breakfast at a small french cafe near York Minster. Traveling internationally with fourteen kids was a bit stressful but at the same time quite enjoyable. Hopefully next year we will be able to take a bit of a different wedding anniversary.
    Our day to day living is similar to anybody else's; we wake up, go to work, come home, then wake up and do it all over again.  There are times when there's not much to report every month.  Although all of us staff are pretty stoked because the move of the church offices is now officially finished!  A reception area, and four offices are now occupying two of the three apartments upstairs above the church building.  Perfect amount of space and rooms! 
    Portico is the same as always, in the next couple weeks there will be some "handy man" duties in the back of the shop, re-outfitting it to make things a bit more organized, like putting up shelves and putting in a new counter top, etc.  Also, our dear friend Rachael who has been the assistant manager here, along with being a worship leader in our church is now being called back to the states to serve there. She leaves this week and will be surely missed.  That being said, I will be taking on a small part of her job for the shop, not fully a "asst. manager" but helping out with stock and anything else that needs to be done.   
    One more exciting thing that will be happening is we'll be starting a community group in Carrick-on-Suir in late August. This is a great opportunity to bring fellowship and teaching to a town that has nothing like it.  Carrick is a half hour outside of Waterford, a beautiful city that is very spiritually broken. Please pray for us in the endeavor I know we will need it.
     We love you all and pray that God will continue to teach and bless you. Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support. It means so much to be supported by the body of Christ, its such a cool outworking of His church so please keep up the good work. Lots of Love.

Please pray..
    - Strength and healing for Sebastian's wrists; not sure if it's carpal tunnel, arthritis or what but they seem to be getting worse the more he works with them..considering he's our only "handy man" maintenance guy, plus being a Muller, it's almost impossible for him to go on "hand rest"
    - All construction will go quickly and smoothly
    -The new community group in Carrick
    - That we would continue to have the strength to seek Jesus in everything
    - For more people to come to the Lord, as always.

The Town of Carrick

Back Across the Pond

        After a memorable eight weeks break in the states, we made it back over the Atlantic to Waterford, and our little home by the sea.  The time spent away with friends and family was a much needed restful time. We were able to get around quite a lot, even visit friends on a road trip out to Colorado, and then headed up to Pleasanton to visit the Worrells.  To say the least, we did a good amount of driving - but we also enjoyed the outdoors with hiking, riding, beach days, and exploring places we’ve never been, all with great company.  We had perfect weather, the sun was out almost every day and we both got mighty tan! (Though I’m sure we’ll be losing that pretty quickly!) Also, we had the chance to speak at a few churches - to see how they are doing in return was just as wonderful.
There is really no way to say how the Lord used people to bless us this trip.  In the beginning before we left, with the slight worry of being away too long - while we were gone, God consistently reminded us both of how special and how perfect His timing actually was.  Over and over again, through various and unexpected people - He surprised us, with a specific word, taking us out for dinner, spending the day with us, letting us borrow their car, giving financially, etc.  You know who you are and we are so thankful!!  Nearing the end of our journey, we both were missing home and our hearts were afresh with a new Spirit and ready to come back and continue with what the Lord has in store.  
Coming back to lots of open arms, smiles, hugs, the blessing of a clean house, a few food items, flowers and a welcome home note on our table, we were thankful and reminded of how wonderful our friends are here.  It’s beginning to look a lot like summer, the trees are filling up with their leaves again, the days are longer - what a difference it makes when the light comes through in the morning, it makes it a hundred times easier to wake up, get up and start our day.  Even when evening comes - it’s still light outside when it’s past dinner time!  (Though it may be light outside, doesn’t always mean the sun is out, overcast light can be just as bright.)   Excited to get back into the swing of things!  Get caught up with all that has been going on in the church and in Portico.  Once we are in the loop again, we’ll get you all in the loop as well! Thank you so much for your continued prayer and support!! Love you all!

Big Happenings!

    A lot has been happening here in Waterford, thus there hasn’t been a blog written in a month, our apologies.  For the past couple weeks, we as a church, have been in the process of moving out of the hotel (where we rented space every Sunday to meet for church) into our own church building! Finally Calvary Waterford has a place to call home - a local pub, formally known as “The Toddle Inn" located in one of the rough areas of Waterford has now turned into a place of worship…talk about redemption!  Despite its funky shape - that is the least of our worries - this building that is located on a main road, where people walk/drive by often, truly is a gift to be grateful for.  With Sebastian heading up the whole project - these past couple weeks consisted of deep cleaning, scrubbing, (it was pub, you could only imagine what went on!) fire drill training, hoovering, moving tables and chairs in, sanding, mopping, more cleaning and scrubbing etc. you get the idea.  Quite a task, but with many hands makes lighter work, very thankful for everyone who volunteered their time to make this place look great!  There’s still a lot to be done such as stage building, sound system installation, painting, partition walls to be built, etc.  That being said, we have had two Sunday services so far in our new “home”!  With 100 people, including kids, it is really a remarkable feeling to come in that first time and it actually feel like church.  A place that is open to anyone and everyone.  God is so good and kind to bring us such joyous friends who have become like family since we moved here.

    Excited to say that our lead Pastor, Clay, who started this church 7 years ago with his wife Jannelle, are now being called back to California to take over another church.  Though this is bittersweet, we know and trust the Lord has amazing plans for them and their two sweet girls - they surely will be missed. God has blessed them immensely with what He has done over here, growing the church from just 8 people to what now is over a 100 people.  Clay and Jannelle's goal was to plant a church, raise up an Irish Pastor to eventually take it over - and that is exactly what is happening. Tyrone, our other lead Pastor will now be taking over Calvary Waterford. Along-side Tyrone is Pastor Danny who is also a local Pastor who just recently got ordained in September.  What an incredible journey we have been on these past years growing and learning together, it is a great joy and a huge blessing!  Also, because of the recognition and calling that they have seen in Sebastian, the leadership has decided to ordain him to come along side both lead Pastor Tyrone and Danny. They will be ordaining Sebastian in early March after a couple month waiting period.  To learn more about the Worrells update, visit their facebook page. Pastor Clay's Update Page
    Portico, the coffee shop that Clay started is still rolling right along, it will now be under the Pastoral staff rather than Clay, however will be business as usual.  I’m there regularly, along with the other staff members meeting new people everyday and serving regulars. However Sebastian is pretty tied up with the new building projects.  We will also be moving the church offices above the church building in the next few weeks so it's easy to say he'll be keeping plenty busy. Also please keep Portico in prayer as we have run into a few snags with our outside seating area and might have to enact some major changes quite quickly.
    Rumor has it…..we miss you. So, America…more specifically California, headed your way March 19th.  We’re stoked and can’t wait to come visit.  Thank you to everyone who has continued to support us prayerfully and/or financially.  We really can’t express it more, it truly has been felt.  We were blessed by the recent sale of one of my families horses and that has helped enabled us to come visit next month.  We would love to share at any churches who support us and meet up with anybody who would like to know more about what were doing over here! 

Blessings,
Chelsea and Sebastian
  
 Please keep praying for everything that was mentioned, we could all majorly use it!

The transition of the church/Pastors
The Worrells, as they transition back over to America
Finances
Building projects
That we would have a restful time in California
That God will be glorified through it all!