It’s been quite a while since our last update to you all, and I’m sorry about that. It has been a crazy season for us as a family, but it also means that we have been settling into life here in Northern Ireland, and for that, we are thankful.

Since we last sent out an update, more than two months ago, the kids started school and things started getting busier for Danica and myself as well.

The kids had a roughish start to school and struggled to settle in initially. There were some counts of teasing and bullying. But we caught it early, and it got sorted really quickly. We are thankful for a school where the teachers look out for the kids and really take their safety, not only their education, seriously.

School is different than what we’re used to. Both our kids are already started learning 3 different languages (Sign language, Irish and Spanish) along with Ulster Scotts dancing. It’s so cute to see the videos that the teachers post on our “wee” comms app. The kids are settling in and making friends, which is the most important thing for us now.

Danica started taking more responsibility at the Global Cafe. We have been graciously given time to settle and to ease into our roles here at EN Belfast. And the more we get settled into life here, the more we find our feet to really get stuck into what we are here for. So, once a week, Danica runs the food distribution to the families that we help with food and essentials. This takes organising, driving around, setting up, but most of all it takes a whole lot of love. And that is something that my wife has in spades. It has been my privilege to see her come alive when she can help people, in whatever way, big or small. Christ has really given her a heart to reach out and touch people with His love through serving.

As for me, I have the honour of ministering alongside and amazing group of talented friends and musicians. They have been so accepting of us and we feel like family. I’m looking forward to things opening up a bit more so that we can start with songwriting workshops and worship braais etc. Lovely, lovely people. God is busy digging a well here at EN Belfast, and there are faithful people co-labouring.

As a church, we are so delighted that we will be moving to a bigger venue starting this Sunday. The Methody Chapel is part of the Methodist College campus here in Belfast. This is where we used to have church before lockdown and churches weren’t meeting or allowed on school property. But, praise God, we got the green light and we are heading back this weekend. This venue will enable us to grow more, as it can accommodate almost 4x what the previous room could.

The Methody Chapel used to be used during the “Troubles” as a place where Protestants and Catholics could come together and pray for unity. It is also affectionately called the Unity Chapel. Our heart here at EN Belfast is for unity in our city. Religious walls to be decimated and Christ to be the Ons in which we are one. So we believe that this is a significant space for us as a church to be.

This is by no means all that we have been busy with, but to mention it all in one post would be a little overkill. 🙂

We just want to say thank you for every message of encouragement, every video call and every prayer. We are covered and carried by your support. We love and appreciate you all. I’m going to try and get better at making more regular updates on our Instagram page (follow along here https://www.instagram.com/ireneillfamily/ )and then a bigger overview update here on this blog.

Please let us know how we can pray for you.

Much love,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

If you are reading this and you would like to support us in our ministry, please follow the instructions below:

UK Taxpayers – http://www.give.net/20283992

South Africa –

Every Nation Somerset West | Nedbank Cheque | Acc nr: 1075953936 | Branch: 114145 Reference – ONeill Sup [Your Surname]

Elsewhere –

Every Nation Belfast | Acc: 95067970162868 | IBAN: GB29 DABA 9506 7970 |

Hi everyone.

We do hope that you are all well and that your hearts are still eagerly pressing into Jesus. I say that, because I understand that we can all get overwhelmed and put our devotional lives on the “back burner”. I just now got off of a Zoom “Engage Training” session and I was so encouraged to once again start everything I do by ABIDING in Christ. I have not been doing that very well the past few days, but I have been reminded and convicted to not let that slip. A lot of things can be let go, but not abiding in Christ. Everything that we do, flows out of that place. So I encourage you all to keep pressing in, keep praying and keep proclaiming.

We hit a new milestone today with Noah and Zoë starting school!

They had a great first day, and I must say, the teachers went out of their way to make all the returning students feel very welcome and loved. We are thankful to God for getting us into this beautiful school and we pray for many open doors into our neighbourhood through it. We would still like to ask you to pray for our kids, that they would make friends quickly and settle in smoothly.

As a family, we are doing well. We are enjoying the colder weather and getting to know our surroundings. Belfast is a beautiful city, and we are looking forward to spending more time outdoors than in.

We do have a financial prayer request. As most of you know, we couldn’t meet our partnership goal before we came because of covid, mostly, and we have come over to NI with what we had. The church here has been very gracious towards us in this regard and have not put any pressure on us to fill up the rest of the amount at the moment. This past month we received our first salary, through EN Belfast, and we saw that we will have to start filling up our deficit quicker than we anticipated. After tax, pension etc. we are below minimum wage and the church then has to give us the rest of the money, but that has to come out of the church budget that is allocated towards other things. So essentially, we need to raise our support so that we don’t have to take money from other areas of ministry. Please join us in prayer as we trust God to open doors for new partners or even second jobs. We are open to whatever God needs us to do.

Also, if you know of anyone that feels it is their heart to sow into missions, please give them our details, or give us their details so we can get in touch.

The Global Café, which is EN Belfast’s outreach ministry among the asylum seekers and refugees, is going very well. We are distributing food among an ever changing and increasing group of families in Belfast. God is blessing us to be a blessing. He is opening doors to partnerships with the City which enables us to do even more. Please pray for protection as Danica grows into leadership in that project.

We would like to thank you all for taking the time to read our updates, for praying with and for us and for partnering with us. We could not do any of this without you all cheering us on.

Please send us any prayer requests that you have. We would love to pray with and for you. Also, just send us an update on how you are doing.

Have a blessed day,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë.

We made it. It’s been a long time coming, filled with excitement about the future and disappointment about shifting dates, but all in all we are thankful for God’s perfect timing. Hindsight is always a reminder of how we think with our human minds and then see how God makes all things work according to His perfect plan.

Today, marks one month since we left the African shore.

Our journey was marked with AMAZING grace. From supernaturally skipping queues to getting the friendly border control person, God has gone before us in every aspect.

Our first two weeks were spent in England. We had the most amazing privilege to self isolate at a remote location in Devon called Lee Abbey. Danica’s parents isolated with us and we had a refreshing time in nature. So good to be with family. This also made the transition easier as it was a familiar setting.

We had the opportunity to spend some time with beautiful friends in Bournemouth. We stayed with Fred and Chantal for the last few days before we left for Northern Ireland.

We left England on the 19th of January on the Ferry from Liverpool. This was, for me, a Jonah experience… I felt like I was in the belly of a whale! I was praying that we wouldn’t sink, the whole night. I might be over exaggerating slightly, but it was interesting. The kids slept through it all. Grateful.

We arrived in Belfast harbour on the morning of the 20th.

From there we drove to the estate agents to sign our lease agreement and got the keys to our new home.

As you can see, we already had our first snow experience in town. Noah woke us up early all excited because he saw the snow through the window. Needless to say, we got dressed and went for a walk immediately.

We’ve been in Belfast now for a few weeks, and we are slowly but surely settling in. Johann and Andrea have been incredible in welcoming us and easing us into ministry here at Every Nation Belfast. We have been at two Sunday gatherings so far. One of them we just attended, and the second one Danica and myself lead the music and we had the privilege of seeing the first Farsi service launched.

God is doing great things in this city that we now call home. We are excited to share it with you all as you journey with us.

We have also had some time to explore some of our surroundings.

Thank you to all of you for your prayers and support. We feel loved and covered.

Please let us know how we can pray for you in this time. We are in this together.

Have a blessed day,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

A good friend of ours reminded us the other day that there might be some people who have started reading our updates after we started. And even though they might be enjoying reading them, they might not know exactly what we are on about or what we are going to be doing.

If that’s you, we are very grateful that you’re here and this blog will explain what we are doing now, and what we will be doing next.

( For a bit more detail, please read our first blog entry here –https://wordpress.com/post/onll.family.blog/6 )

My wife Danica and myself have felt the Lord place Europe on our hearts for about 4 years now. It started with our first trip to Austria, and it has continued to grow ever since.

In 2018 we went to Belfast, Northern Ireland, on a mission trip and God very clearly spoke to both Danica and myself that it was time for us to make the move and follow Him into the mission field.

We had a meeting with the Lead Pastor at Every Nation Belfast, and it turned out that they needed people to get on staff and help further build the ministry.

Everything fell in place and we were set to fly out to Belfast on the 1st of July 2020.

We all know what happened, and because of lockdown everything was halted for a season. While we were waiting, I continued to work at Every Nation Somerset West as the Sunday Service Director.

Here’s what we will be doing when we get to Every Nation Belfast in January 2021:

Danica will be involved with the “Global Cafe”. The Global Cafe is a ministry of Every Nation Belfast that reaches out, welcomes and cares for the refugee community arriving in Belfast. There are A LOT of testimonies coming out of this ministry and we can’t wait to share more about this in future. God has given EN Belfast so much favour in the city through this ministry.

Danica will be on the worship team and we also just want to jump in wherever we can to help support and build Johann and Andrea ( Lead Pastors ), the EN Belfast community and Belfast as a whole.

I will be the Worship Pastor at EN Belfast which means that I will be running and building the music ministry of the church. I’m truly excited about what God wants to do through music in Europe.

I will also be involved in coordination of Sunday Worship gatherings and making sure that everything comes together. We are joining an incredible team.

Apart from that, I have a heart to connect the European churches through worship and songwriting. So that will also be an ongoing goal for me.

This little blog is only a nutshell version of what we will be doing, and as with anything, it will evolve and be shaped as time goes on. Our hearts are to serve, support and build. And that is we are trusting God to give us strength for.

If you have any questions, or would like to get involved with our ministry, please get in touch with me and I will send you any info that you need!

God bless,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

We hope that you are all well and excited about the season that is lying ahead of us! As most of us are getting ready to wind down and spend a relaxed time with friends and family, let us remember to keep those in prayer that can’t do the same. Let’s continue to reach out to those that are in need and to include those that are alone and lonely.

An update from our side is that we have finally been able to rebook our flights to the UK. We will be leaving SA on the 4th of January 2021. It’s been a difficult journey of “chase the moving goalposts” but we also had to realise that this is not about our timing, but about God’s perfect timing. In saying this, we are taking it one day at a time and still trusting God for whatever He wants to do.

We want to thank all of you for your continued support through prayer, finances, phone calls and Whatsapps. It has meant the world to us. We are looking forward to the next leg of this journey with you all.

If I don’t make another post before Christmas, we pray that you have an amazing time remembering that the greatest gift we were ever given was that Jesus made a way for us to be reconciled to the Father, to be called His children and to dwell in His presence. May the Holy Spirit dwell in you and in your homes richly throughout this season!

Blessings and love,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

PS. If you would like to give towards our mission, here are some details for you:

FROM SOUTH AFRICA:

Every Nation Somerset West | Nedbank Cheque | Acc nr: 1075953936 | Branch: 114145 | Reference – ONeill Sup [Your Surname]

FROM OUTSIDE SOUTH AFRICA:

B D O’Neill | GBP Call Acc | Acc nr: 20103488 | Bank : FNB Channel Islands | Country: Guernsey | BIC/SWIFT: FIRNGGSPXXX | Sort Code: 406440 | IBAN: GB48FIRN40644020103488

ADDITIONAL FOR IN THE UK ONLY:

http://www.give.net/20283992

We do hope you are all doing really well!!

First off, we would like to say thank you to every one who has been praying for us. We have really been carried by your prayers in this time. Thank you to every financial partner that is sowing that seed into God’s kingdom, we appreciate every one of you!

As the title states, we are in the home stretch. We have 9 more weeks left in SA before we head out to the UK on, hopefully, the 15th of December. We are excited and sad at the same time, but what we hold on to is that God is going ahead of us, and that He has called us.

We are on miracle ground at the moment. We have 9 weeks left and we are still 60% short on our monthly income. This is not because of a lack of diligence on our side, but we have encountered a sort of lull in funds. Please could we ask you to pray with us as we believe that God has a breakthrough ahead. We know and believe that He who has spoken is faithful over His promises and therefore we can ask Him in faith to lead us into whatever He has for us. Please trust with us that whatever God wants to do in our hearts will happen. I believe the finances will come, but as we all know, God is after our hearts more than our works.

If you would still like to partner with us monthly, please send me a mail – brian@ensw.org

Also, if you know someone that would like to get involved, please also send me their details. I would love to connect with them.

As we look out into what lies ahead, we don’t see a lot. But what we do see is Jesus. Jesus with us, in us and through us.

The Lord is moving in Belfast. Opening doors for His kingdom to bring peace, wholeness, reconciliation, forgiveness and joy! We are so grateful to be a part of what He is doing there.

Bless you all,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

It’s been a while since our last update, but a few big things have happened in this time that I’d like to keep you all updated about. But before we get into that, I’d like to thank each one of you for supporting us and praying for us in this journey. Your prayers are really carrying us through and sustaining us.

Firstly, here’s a “what happened next” after we sold our house –

Due to Covid, the house registration hasn’t gone through yet. They are estimating it will only go through at the end of Oct or beginning Nov. The new owners, a lovely young couple, has moved into the house at the end of August. Which means that we had to move out. Moving in itself isn’t the most fun thing on my to do list, but it was our first BIG step in moving towards leaving SA. So it was exciting and daunting at the same time. We live in a beautiful place now with even more incredible people. God has blessed us with this family.

As of this moment, we are busy sending in all our documents to do the VISA application by the end of September. Please pray with us for a smooth process. I still need to do my English Exam and it just got cancelled yesterday and rescheduled for the beginning of Oct. It would be amazing if it doesn’t cancel again, but if it does keep cancelling I can apply for an exemption.

In the midst of all of the hustle and bustle, God has been and continues to be gracious and faithful to us in every circumstance.

As a family, we are doing well. We are feeling the “no man’s land” vibes as we are in between seasons. But we are wholly dependent on God to still pour 100% if ourselves out here at ENSW while our focus starts to shift more towards leaving and getting stuck in at EN Belfast. God has a plan for every day, not just for every season, so we need to remain faithful to what we need to do here, in the moment.

Danica is doing an incredible job at homeschooling our children and heading up most of our transition. Homeschooling can be very difficult at times, and we would really appreciate it if you could cover her in prayer. The up side is that we get to spend a lot of time together as a family and we get to create special memories in this time.

Noah and Zoë are doing well. With lockdown in SA they didn’t get to see/spend time with friends for about 3months, and that was taking its toll on them. But after we moved 3 weeks ago, and the lockdown restrictions were eased, they have been immersed in friends and have been enjoying running outside, laughing, shouting etc.

Even though there are still challenges ahead, we prefer to see them as adventures. Even though there is uncertainty ahead, we prefer to know that God is our certainty. And even though we will miss everyone more than words could express, we are thankful that we can be one in Christ for always.

Please remember that if you want to get involved with this journey financially, you can contact me at brian@ensw.org

May you all have a blessed day!

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

Like running to the end of a rainbow expecting it to be just beyond the next building, or over the next hill, only to find it having shifted again just beyond your reach, so our own plans and expectations can look totally different when we arrive at the place where we thought they’d be.

But with every realisation of shifting horizons comes new hope.

Looking back, we see that, we have come a long way and we can take a moment to thank God for His faithfulness. And looking forward, we thrust ourselves into the new adventures that await us knowing that God is with us and that the journey, although sometimes hard, will yield a harvest full of joy, righteousness and peace.

It is in this peace and knowledge of God’s unfailing provision and sovereignty that we would like to give you another update on our impending move to Belfast, Northern Ireland.

//Family Life Update//

In the beginning of the year when we were still sure of our own timeline, we gave notice at work to end at the end of June. But, we have had to move our flights to January of 2021 to make sure that there is a good probability for us to be able to leave the country. This has had to open discussions at work on how things will look going forward. So here it is;

My employment will be extended until December 31st, so not much changes for me in this regard. Danica, on the other hand, will end her contract at work at the end of June. This has come about through lots of prayer and conversations as well as practicalities.

I want to just say that we work for, and with, an incredible bunch of people that have made every effort to ensure that Danica, and subsequently all of us, are honoured and well cared for throughout this process.

This will change some of our dynamics as a family, but we have the peace of the Lord with us in all of it.

Along with this, our kids will continue their education at home with Danica, and will not be returning to school at this time. This is both a practical and financial decision for us. One that God has lead us in, with wise counsel from our community, friends and leaders.

A MASSIVE praise report is that we sold our house. Yes, in lockdown, we sold our house. This is a whole blog on it’s own, so I’ll keep it short. We’ve signed the contract and transfer will go through at the end of August.

This means that we will have to look for “limbo” accommodation for the family from 1 September to 1 January. We are trusting God that we can live in a fully furnished place for those four months so that we can sell all our current things and save some money for things that we still need. Please pray with us for this.

Another miracle that happened was that my VISA ALLOCATION number was granted by the UK government last week. So as soon as the visa offices open again, we can start that process.

God is so good to us and is showing His glory through all of this.

//Process Update//

We will be starting back up with our partnership raising. We feel that our focus needs to shift towards that again. Before lockdown, we were on 30% of our monthly goal. Please trust God with us that we will have favour with people, not only here, but in the UK as well. We still have a ways to go, but we’ve seen the hand of God move and we’ve seen how His Spirit stirs the gift of generosity in people. We are full of faith.

Along with partnership, we are still saving money for my and the children’s visas. We are at about 50% of that now.

//Conclusion//

I know I probably left some important details out, but what I really wanted to leave you with is this:

God is good and He is moving even when we don’t see it, feel it or understand it. He stands over His word to perform it.

“For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven
    and do not return there but water the earth,
making it bring forth and sprout,
    giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater,
¹¹ so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth;
    it shall not return to me empty,
but it shall accomplish that which I purpose,
    and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it.” – Isaiah 55:10-11

Please don’t hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or would just like to say hi!

We love and appreciate each and every one of you.

With love,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

Hi there friends! We hope that you are all keeping safe and are doing very well.

We wanted to send out a quick message with an update on our journey and to let you all know how we are doing.

First off, we are doing well. We are slowly getting into that “Lockdown Lifestyle”. Finding routine, keeping fit, eating healthy, keeping the kids entertained and exercising their minds etc.

The kids will be “going back” to school on Wednesday. Their teachers have been amazing in getting online learning to us. Needless to say, they are beyond excited and have already requested if they can wear their school clothes on “school days”.

Danica and myself are trying to balance where we are heading, with where we are now. But in counsel with others, and in prayer, we have peace about becoming still and leaning into what God wants to do in this time.

So, we will be putting a slight pause on our fundraising for now.

God has already provided so much for us (we are on 30% of our goal already), we know that He will provide the rest as well.

He will still engage with people that the Lord lays on our hearts, but we will not fill our days with fundraising. We believe that God wants to do something significant in our hearts over this time.

Our flights are still booked to leave on the 1st of July. Please pray with us for wisdom as we get closer to the date whether we should move it, and when we should move it to. This isn’t just a quick flight to go on holiday, so your prayers are appreciated.

Please know that in all of this, we are praying fo you all as well. We know that we aren’t in this alone, and that we truly are better together. So let us carry one another in this time to the best of our abilities.

Please do not hesitate to contact us if you have any questions, or just want to “check in”.

We love and appreciate you all!

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë

Ps. If this is the first post of ours that you are reading, head on over to the “Called To Go” post to find out what our journey is all about.

EUROPE, a sleeping giant being reawakened by the Spirit of God. A continent that sent missionaries to the rest of the world, now in desperate need of missionaries to take the good news of the gospel back. A call of God to the nations to enter the fields that are ripe for harvest. A call, we are answering.

It started in 2017, when Danica and I had the opportunity to minister at my brother in law’s church in Austria. When we set our feet on European soil, it immediately latched onto our hearts with a call to come back. But all in God’s time…

Fast forward to the second half of 2018 when we had the opportunity to join our current church, Every Nation Somerset West, on a mission trip to Belfast, Northern Ireland. Walking the streets of the city, my wife and I both felt the same stirring we felt in 2017, only stronger with a more definite urgency.

What we saw in 2 days in Belfast revealed a darkness under the surface of Irish charm that we haven’t seen up close before. Human trafficking, loneliness, isolation and religious intolerance are only a few things we experienced during our short time there. All of this is underlined by the massive divide that religion has forged between the people.

But, there is hope.

There is a generation of people rising up that are looking to God for the future of Ireland. They are seeking relationship over religion, community over disconnection, and faith over failure. There is a people crying out to God for revival in the land, and He will answer that prayer.

After we got back from Belfast, we knew that in some capacity, we would head back. Over the next few months we spent a lot of time in prayer. During which time we also had some people we trust prophecy over us about “being called to the nations”. And so we arrived at a fork in the road. To go, or not to go?

God gripped my heart and changed the course of our lives with one question:

“Do you need so many confirmations that it doesn’t require any faith to follow Me?”

And, BOOM, we were on a trajectory straight for Belfast.

Speaking to our leaders about our intention, they had a lot of peace about this decision. So we approached Johann, who is the Senior Pastor at Every Nation Belfast, to hear if they would take us. He was excited, we were excited, there was a lot of excitement. Yes, the unknown can be exciting, the possibilities endless, but we were mostly excited about how God had orchestrated all of this at the right time, and behind the scenes. He has a plan, and we get to be a part of it!

At Every Nation Belfast we will be doing the following:

1. I will be overseeing and building the worship ministry which Danica will also be a part of.
2. Danica will be very much involved in the “Global Cafe”. A ministry under the refugees that are in Belfast. This has always been such a huge part of my wife’s heart! We can’t wait to get stuck in.
3. We will be supporting Johann and Adrea Vizagie (Senior Pastors) in ministry. Enabling them to do more of what God has called them to do.
4. I will be flying the Every Nation Music banner high wherever we minister. Also intentionally working with the churches across Ireland and Europe to build relationships, write songs (hopefully some in Gaelic) and connect with our global EN Music family.
5. I will be overseeing Sunday Services. Building and leading teams that make Sunday church happen and grow.

These are only some of what we will be doing. Our heart is to get involved in whatever God has for us and whatever is needed to build EN Belfast and see God’s kingdom come through that church.

So, here we go on the road less travelled. Trusting in a faithful God to get us to where we are going, where He is sending us.

We can’t do this alone though. And why would we want to?

We would love to invite you into a Kingdom Partnership with us. Knowing that our fruit will be your fruit and our harvest, your harvest.

If you would like to get involved with us, please head on over to the”Blog Posts” menu at the top of the HOME SCREEN and read our “Kingdom Partnership” post to view the different options. And also, please subscribe at the bottom of the “HOME” page to get updates directly to your inbox.

We are beyond excited to see what God is going to do in and through us. We are equally excited that you might be joining us on the journey!!

Please feel free to contact us if you have any questions – brian@ensw.org

May God bless you all,

Brian, Danica, Noah and Zoë