We are so excited to announce that we have been approved for our Exploratory Trip to Ireland! We will be heading out June 23rd and returning July 10th. Yes, that is less than two months away! We have decided to make it sooner rather than later because others from the US (who are also working with Encompass) are exploring Dublin during this time. It seems that God is building a team to reach the people of Dublin, Ireland and we are excited that we get to be a part.
You are probably wondering why Ireland. They have running water, plenty of food, and a competent government. They aren't a war-torn country experiencing a civil war. Why go to a country that has no pressing issues? Megan Fowler writes the following quote in an article about the book When Helping Hurts:
“Westerners often view poverty as lacking material needs and ignore the underlying issues [ ]. Instead, poverty is a sin-induced strain in a person’s four key relationships—with God, creation, others, and self.”1
There is a growing number of churches and believers that are starting to understand that poverty is not merely physical. In the people of Ireland's case, they have a severe sin-induced strain on their relationship with God. The sobering part of this severe strain is that it has been primarily caused by the Church over hundreds of years. The people are running from God, in part, due to leaders doing injustices in Christ’s name. One of the ways to help heal these wounds is one on one relationships with people who love and serve Christ with their lives and that is why we are going. To build relationships with others and show them the love of Christ personally.
Moving the trip up has led to an increase in the cost since we will be there during tourist season. We are saving back as much as we can until we go to help offset the loss of income during our stay. The preliminary total cost of the trip is $7,650. This includes everything from flights, lodging, food, ministry expenses and more. We still need to raise $2,539. We are confident that God will help us meet our goal. If you would like to contribute, please follow the link at the bottom of this post.
Most of all, we need you to pray. We are intentionally asking God to open or close the door to long-term missions in Ireland. Will you help us pray that we are able to discern God’s leading? Also, we need your prayer to help us be grounded in Christ as we prepare and ultimately go to Ireland.
1 Fowler, Megan. “‘When Helping Hurts’: How One Book Changed Care for the Poor.” The Gospel Coalition, 28 June 2018, www.thegospelcoalition.org/article/helping-hurts-turns-10-one-book-changed-care-poor/.
If God leads you to give financially you can do so at the following link: EncompassWorldPartners.org/PatrickandGrace
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