In 1847, Native Americans of the Choctaw Nation gathered in Scullyville, Oklahoma. Inspired and moved by news of the famine in Ireland, they collected $170 and donated it to a U.S. famine relief organization. This gift was given less than twenty years after more than half the Choctaw Nation perished on the Trail of Tears. In the aftermath of their crisis…they gave.

As I read an article by Dr. Edward O'Donnell telling this story, I was struck by the coincidence that I am part Choctaw and am serving in Ireland. While the famine in Ireland is over, there is a spiritual famine. Tired of dead religion but hungry for the spiritual, the people of Ireland are turning to tarot card readers, fortune tellers, and humanism.

Today, our family, along with so many supporters in the U.S., is proud to give ourselves to the cause of Christ in the nation of Ireland. While we each have our own struggles, we find joy and peace knowing that we are living for something bigger than ourselves. The Kingdom of God will never suffer famine or be overrun by colonialism.

We serve an eternal, unshakable Kingdom with a good and loving King. In the name of Jesus, we serve those to whom we are called. For us, it is the university students of Ireland.