Ukrainian Families

I’m sure you’ve all been hearing about the war in Ukraine. Ireland has been taking in thousands and thousands of refugees, and many are living very near us. Two families in particular were connected to us through their cousin, who is a Ukrainian believer living in Poland. I can’t go into many details for obvious reasons, but I wanted to share a few exciting things with you.

As Katy met the families to find out their practical needs, Zoe Community has partnered with our home church here, Open Arms, to help how we can. So far we’ve been able to donate €1200 worth of clothes, backpacks, toys, loaded gift cards for groceries and shopping needs, and so much more. They were so appreciative and invited us to come over for tea with them again soon!

We’ve met teenagers who’s parents stayed behind to fight, families split in half living nations apart, and many who realise they may never be able to return home. It has been heartbreaking but such a privilege to serve those around us who need the love of Jesus practically, spiritually, and emotionally.

Thank you for all of your giving. You are with us as we take provisions to these many families in crisis. Thank you for your prayers towards us and our Ukrainian friends living here in Ireland.

Together we’re making a difference in people’s lives.

Baptizing Eden

We’ve been in Ireland almost 10 years to the day. Yesterday was one of the greatest days in this country so far. Probably one of the greatest of my life. I got to baptize Eden.

As our church began to announce baptisms Eden told Katy he was interested. Eden being eight years old I wanted to make sure he understand what it meant to get baptized. After much deep theological discussion Eden decided, “I believe in God, and God is good.” He wanted to make his decision to follow Christ public.

It was great celebrating with our Irish family. And thankfully we were able to get most of our family back in the US to join us on Zoom as it happened. I almost broke down when I saw their faces watching along. It’s hard to be away from family everyday but especially milestone moments like this.

I was so honoured to be by his side with Sean Booth, the lead pastor of Open Arms Church here in Dublin. I’m still buzzing as type this out. On top of all that, Open Arms Dublin celebrated it’s four-year birthday. It was a long but wonderful Sunday.

I want to thank you all for your prayers and support, particularly for my family. We couldn’t have survived so far from home this long without you all. God is using you everyday in our lives, in our ministry, and in the lives of our children.

Update from Katy

Hi to all!
And you guessed it: we are still waiting on a final reply from the Charities Regulator. The latest news is that, once again, all of our edits and clarifications have been sent in and we are waiting for the final word from them. At this point, I wouldn't be surprised if they came back with a request for us to sacrifice a goat or provide a blood sample.

We trust that God has the perfect timing for us and are learning patience every day. In the spirit of gratitude, let's remember together the good things that have resulted from this long wait:

- We have added more people to the team who have specific, necessary skills for our organisation

- God has provided financially for every step of the way (including some services that we have miraculously gotten for free, in spite of our pending charity status)

- We've developed a sharper edge in our governance, policies, and procedures
- We have learned of many more supports and services for women and are more prepared than ever to assist in locating those supports

Just like a pregnancy needs 40 weeks to properly prepare, we have needed time so far. In case anyone is wondering, this month marked 37 months since our initial application. We are trusting in God for his exact timing! Thank you all for being supportive of us as we've learned and grown these past three years.

Katy