The post Kathi Perry is Back in Ireland! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Hi all! Just a quick update to say THANK YOU! Thank you for praying and giving so generously. Last week, as we approached Christmas – the commitments to give, and the generous gifts given, added up to fully funded!

This means that with a combination of future giving, and generous one-time gifts toward support, we trust that my monthly needs will be met going forward, and I am able to return to Ireland NEXT WEEK.

Thank you! Thank you for welcoming me into your churches and lives these past months, while I have been in the U.S. Thank you for hearing my appeals and responding. Thank you for loving the Irish people and allowing me to go back and show them that love in real life.

I am scheduled to fly January 9, arriving in Ireland on January 10 – all going according to plan. So please continue to pray – for family and good-byes, for me as I pack and sort and try to remember ALL THE THINGS. Pray for flights to go as scheduled and all the details to come together.

Goodbyes are still tough, even after twenty years. AND I am looking forward to the “hellos” that wait on the other side of the ocean.

Go raibh míle maith agaibh literally means “May you have a thousand good things.” In English we would say, “thanks a million”.

Kathi Perry

The post Kathi Perri is Fully Funded! first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

I’m writing to you from a guest house in Wichita, Kansas. I arrived in the U.S. on September 8th. I was able to spend a few days seeing my family (after two years!) and arrived in Kansas on the 19th.

These past months have been something of a whirlwind as I have prepared to leave Ireland for an extended time – it is all the things you can imagine that entails, and a few more. I am thankful that the details worked out for someone to stay in my house and pay some of the expenses. I am thankful for a loving send off from the people there.

And I am thankful for a loving welcome here, too.

The post Kathi Perry 2021 Deputation Announcement first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Kathi Perry | Serving in Ireland

In October I began communicating with the women here using a blog.  Here is an excerpt from a recent post… you can see more here:  https://kathiinireland.com.

One of the darkly comical notes for 2020 is that in January I had been considering a “word of the year.” I chose “gather.”

A couple nights ago An Taoiseach announced that these current level 5 restrictions will be extended at least until the end of February (and now longer!) … This means we cannot gather in the usual ways.

It means homeschooling, and a 5 km limit when we venture out. It means no visits or visitors, and essential journeys only.

For some it means they will NEVER be alone. For me it means, a giant leap forward into my future as the cat lady who wears the same clothes every day and shuffles around the garden in my “good outdoor slippers”…

The post March 2021 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

Así es como Kathi respondió a las preguntas que envié a nuestros misioneros:

¿Cómo está afectando COVID-19 a quienes viven en el área donde tu vives y ministras?

• Ahora estamos en una orden de “quedarse en casa” hasta el 19 de abril (aunque es probable que se extienda). Las escuelas cerraron hace dos semanas, y más recientemente se ordenó el cierre de todas las empresas no esenciales (muchas ya lo habían hecho). Muchas personas han sido despedidas del trabajo, con más de 140,000 solicitando asistencia financiera en los últimos diez días. Si las personas pueden trabajar en casa, se les pide que lo hagan. Esto se hace más difícil por el cierre de escuelas y centros de cuidado infantil. El gobierno está trabajando duro para proporcionar asistencia financiera a personas y empresas durante este tiempo. Hubo diez muertes hoy relacionadas con el virus. Ese es nuestro mayor recuento hasta ahora.

¿Cómo está afectando esta situación al ministerio que tu llevas acabo?

• Todos los grupos que dirijo no han podido reunirse durante las últimas dos semanas, y es probable que esto continúe hasta el verano. Tampoco podemos reunirnos informalmente. El gobierno ha prohibido cualquier reunión de más de cuatro personas (a menos que esas personas vivan en el mismo hogar). La mayoría de las comunicaciones se realizan ahora en grupos de WhatsApp. Hemos comenzado a reunirnos para el Estudio Bíblico en línea, y estoy agradecida por esa opción (¡Realmente agradecida!).

¿Cuáles son algunas oportunidades que estás viendo para compartir las buenas nuevas de Jesucristo con aquellos que aún no lo conocen?

• Los irlandeses son muy buenos vecinos en tiempos de problemas. He visto esto una y otra vez. Se frecuentan entre sí y se ofrecen ayuda. Me alegra ser parte de una comunidad que hace esto, y espero poder ser igualmente útil y de aliento para ellos. Continuaremos con el Estudio Bíblico en línea. Estoy realmente agradecida de que las mujeres quieran hacer esto.

¿Y cuáles son dos o tres solicitudes de oración que podemos usar mientras oramos por ti y por los que ministras?

• Ore por aquellos que están enfermos y por los muchos que trabajan para cuidarlos. Ore por protección para aquellos que son vulnerables. Conozco a varias familias jóvenes cuyos hijos tienen afecciones médicas complicadas y necesitan que otros tomen en serio las precauciones recomendadas. Ore por corazones abiertos, fe renovada y un espíritu de paz mientras vivimos en una época de incertidumbre.
• Y, por aquellos de nosotros que estamos muy lejos de nuestras familias, oren también por nuestra protección y salud. Sé que así sentiré aún más paz. Gracias.

The post Actualizaciones de EFM COVID-19 | Orar por Irlanda first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

“Thank you all for this afternoon, the girls loved it. They were asking if they could come back next week!”

“Thanks so much. I really enjoyed that meeting with you all… for me it was a lovely time to worship with my kids… to be together at their level. Looking forward to the next one!”

“It was fab! We don’t get to too many services in the year, but was wanting to talk about and sing about God with my kids but not in the way I was brought up…”

These are a few of the comments that were posted in our “group” following our first “Interactive Family Worship Service”.  We have called it an “experiment”, and it is one that these families are committed to. We spent another hour on Thursday talking about what worked and what didn’t work, what they loved about sitting on the floor with their children listening to a story, hearing their questions and taking time to respond, creating a craft (or putting together a pie) as a family, and dancing and moving with the music. And most importantly we talked about “next time.” Next time is already on the calendar, and these women have already begun to invite others to join us.

As always, I am so thankful for the life that God has given me in Ireland. I feel privileged to be allowed to enter into the lives of the people around me – through baby and toddler groups, Bible Study, Godly Play, and this “experiment” of worship that invites the whole family to participate fully. And I am thankful for you who faithfully pray for me, and these people that I love.

Alabado sea el Señor

• For this new way to worship together, and the commitment to continue our “experiment”.
• For the privilege of learning and growing deeper in faith alongside these families.

Por favor oren…

• For our interactive service, that it will become a regular part of our practice together.
• For a deeper understanding of grace and love for each of us.
• For my family as we navigate this time of grief following the death of my sister.

Read more…

The post November 2019 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.

On the first Sunday of the month, we gather for “Little Friends and Family”. When I see this photo, from a gathering in February, I think “A photo of me, loving my life”. What do I feast on? Well, on this day, using Godly Play, I told the story of Jesus being tempted in the desert. I said to the children, “I wonder what Jesus and God talked about in the desert.” And one little boy answered, “I think they talked about ALL the people.”  Yes. I think you are right.

In our Bible Study one week we talked about the women that traveled with Jesus.  We talked about what it means to be a disciple – to be called to intimate fellowship; to be an imitator of the one who called and teaches you; to be an adherent, a student; to take on the values and reproduce the teaching of the one at whose feet you sit… To know Christ, follow him, make disciples. I said to them, how does this teaching change for you if I list the disciples this way? Peter, John, Mary Magdalene, James, Phillip, Joanna, Nathaniel, Matthew, Susanna…

And one woman replied, “It just makes you think that you could be included…”  Yes. You are included, dear one. What a pleasure!

Following our Advent stories, using Godly Play, a 4-year-old boy found a candle and carried it to his mum. She asked, “What is that?” He replied, “This is the light of the prophets….”  Chills.

Studying Galatians with this wonderful group of women, we talked about the Holy Spirit acting within us, and the result being the fruit of the spirit. And then Paul says, “If a brother or sister falls into sin, you who are spiritual should restore that person gently.” What does this mean? What does it mean to “fall into sin”? How do we restore them “gently”? And then I asked, “Are there people in your life that you trust to do this? Has this happened to you?”

And one woman says, “You have done this for me, Kathi.” (I’m thinking as fast as I can… when did I do this? When did I ever approach her about “falling into sin?”) She said, “I had given up on God. I didn’t go to Mass any more. I didn’t see a point. I had given up on Christian people. You showed me that there is still something important in this and something beautiful and meaningful.” And another woman said, “Yeah. Me too.” And a third woman said, “Yeah. Me too.” Complicated and difficult – yes. A feast and a pleasure – absolutely.

It’s midnight and that might be making me a little more poetical than I would be earlier in the evening… yet, I am so thankful once again, that God has brought me here. It’s complicated? Yes. It’s not easy? Yes. What a pleasure!

Read more…

The post October 2018 Prayer Letter first appeared on FRIENDSMISSION.COM.