The Why

I (Katy) was able to spend some time in Glendalough last week looking at some of the old ruins there. In the centre of the valley, there is a church that was once the largest gathering point for Christian believers of its time. The area was a place of pilgrimage and theological study. It was built in the 900's and took roughly 100 years to be completed. 

Even though the bones of the structure are still standing today, it is but a shadow of its former glory. As I was walking through the front doors of the church, I wondered how the people who journeyed there felt about the place at the time. That place was a pretty big deal to them and to the rest of the God-fearing nation. 

The truth is, it was just a building; a building that is now frequented by Japanese tourists with cameras. See, it was indeed just a building, but what lives on about the parish is the impact the Word of God had on the generations that followed. Buildings, systems, liturgy, and all that we use to convey the message of Jesus are merely tools. They are temporal and will fade away. They are the "What," not the "Why." Sometimes we as Christians have a tendency to worship the What. 

We should be the most focused on the big picture - why do we do the things we do? Do they bring the most glory to God and illuminate His love? Our vision of the present should reflect the truth that, unlike what we can build with our human hands, the Word of God will never fade away. 

Three Prayer Requests

There are three things going on right now, about which we could really use your prayers.

• Sickness
  • We are currently all enjoying our third cold/sickness in two months. We're optimistic though that this will be the end of illness for a while. Don't worry, it's nothing serious, just very annoying. 
  • Please pray for health and rest for all three of us, especially Katy who is 20 weeks pregnant.
• Visa
  • We are currently collecting documents to send in a letter of application for our visa. Approval on this application will allow us to go officially apply in May. You could say this is our application to apply for a religious visa. These can be somewhat tricky since our approval is purely at the discretion of the person who happens to receive it. Some get turned down, even with proper documentation.
  • Please pray that we receive approval to apply for a new visa
• Ministry
  • e are at a very crucial point in our ministry here. As we begin to lay the groundwork for large upcoming projects, we will desperately need your prayers. In the next few months we will have important conversations with university faculty/chaplains, students, university ministry colleagues, etc. Favour and direction through these conversations will set our course for the next few years.
  • Please pray for wisdom, discernment, favor, direction, and courage in the conversations we will have coming up.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. Together we are working to show the love of Jesus to university students of Ireland.

By the way, here's a great pic of Katy's baby bump!

Our Leader and Friend

We wanted to take this week's post to honor a very special couple. Sean and Susan Mullarkey have been so kind to Katy and me even before we moved to Ireland. I remember our first Skype conversation with Sean and me thinking how cool his accent sounded. After nearly four years here, American accents sound weird to us, and Sean and Susan are STILL continually lifting us up and pushing us forward.

Now, it wouldn't require a special occasion to honor them as they deserve it daily. However, this was an incredible weekend as Sean was elected the National Leader of AGI. He and Susan will remain the lead pastors of St. Mark's Church. We are so excited to see where God will take AGI under Sean's leadership. It has been a dynamic movement under previous leaders, and God is now going to use the Mullarkey's to take us into this new season.

We are absolutely humbled to be working within AGI and with it's incredible churches. We are so blessed to have such a vibrant, life-giving movement that welcomes us in and launches us out. AGI is in very good hands with Sean during this next three year term. We can't wait to see what this journey holds!

Sean and Susan have been amazing pastors, constantly displaying character, integrity, and grace. They have also been close friends to myself and Katy. They have helped us avoid cultural faux pas. They have rejoiced with us in our successes. They have comforted us in our most difficult times. I can't even imagine what our first years in Ireland would have been like if it weren't for the Mullarkey family.

Congratulations and thank you Sean, Susan, John, Daniel, Rebekah, and Rachel. We love you guys.