Baby Shower

Last Saturday I (Katy) walked in to a surprise baby shower thrown by Blake and two of our friends, Daniel & Deborah Malone. I totally did not expect anyone to throw a party. I felt so blessed that people cared enough to come and celebrate with us. It was a small shindig, mostly with other moms & dads that we know. 

Our friends here have become so much like family to us. They've shown us extraordinary love and acceptance. Thinking back through moments before we moved, moving to Ireland, learning how to do life in Dublin, having our first child, ministry ups and downs, going through a miscarriage, and now anticipating a new little life given to us... Each milestone we've had here in Ireland has attached with it kind, generous, and loving Irish friends who have welcomed us and supported us every step of the way.

We can't appreciate a single moment here without also appreciating our friends here who help make those moments so special. So to Daniel & Deborah, thank you for helping to make this moment so special. You are both so amazing on many levels, but most of all you are great friends who show the love of God so practically and honestly. You'll forever be attached to this moment.

We have roughly two weeks (a little less) before we meet our new little guy. We're getting more and more excited every day!

Building People

One of the things I do the most here is to equip, empower, and encourage people into their calling. Whether it's with the St. Mark's Worship Team, working with university students around the region, or in AGI's School of Advanced Leadership Training God has positioned us to build people up.

Something that I see more clearly with every step is that the key to building the Kingdom of God is to build people. My temptation (particularly as an American) is to put my energy into building systems. However, I'm constantly reminded that Jesus' primary concern was people.

Here's a few things I see in how Jesus walked with the disciples...

• The VAST majority of Jesus' time was spend living life directly alongside his disciples. People over tasks.
• He did not equip His followers simply to be good inviters to events. He equipped them to go to where the people were. He prepared them to do the ministry of prayer, witness, and discipleship in normal, mainstream life.
• To our eyes, He took a HUGE gamble leaving the disciples with the mission to build the Kingdom of God. Most leaders (including myself) would never have released the ministry to disciples at that moment.

The key, according to Jesus' efforts and priorities, are people. People taking up the responsibility to "go unto all the world and make disciples." People stepping into the call of the priesthood of all believers. Systems and organizations aren't bad. Sometimes, they're necessary. However, first and foremost, our priority must always be building individuals, who will then build individuals, who will then build individuals, who will then build individuals...

Jesus model of evangelism was multiplication through discipleship, being in mainstream society, and meeting people's needs. When I build teams in whatever context, this is my aim.

The Final Countdown

We are officially 36 weeks along in pregnancy. Only a month to go until our world is completely rocked...again! Thanks to everyone who knew about my hip pain and prayed. I was having difficulty walking (even across the room) in spite of all I was trying to do. God started working a miracle before I was able to see the physical therapist. Within a few days, I was back to normal and able to do all of my regular activities. Praise God! In most pregnancies, pain like this does not just disappear. 

It is definitely different this time around. We are way more tired and a bit overwhelmed at what we know is coming. However, because we know what it is like to love our first born, we are so excited for the additional love on the way. My due date is June 19th. The bag is packed and the tentative plan is in place for the logistics of the big day! My mom, Roxanne, arrived yesterday and will be here until early July. She will pass the grandmother baton to Blake's mom, Suzanne, who will arrive at the end of June and stay until mid July. We are so thankful that our family is able to be close to us during this exciting and exhausting time. 

Please be in prayer for myself and baby - for a healthy rest of the pregnancy and smooth delivery. Please also pray for Blake and Eden to get good rest, bonding time, and are ready for our new little guy. Lastly, if anyone is in the mood to somehow air mail me some Chick fil a or a snowball (for everyone not in the South - snow cone), that would be the most awesome thing ever.