{"id":27717,"date":"2025-01-28T11:57:52","date_gmt":"2025-01-28T17:57:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/?p=27717"},"modified":"2025-01-29T10:58:30","modified_gmt":"2025-01-29T16:58:30","slug":"february-2025-prayer-letter","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/prayer\/february-2025-prayer-letter\/","title":{"rendered":"February 2025 Prayer Letter"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\"\"Kathi Perry | Serving in Ireland<\/strong><\/p>\n

Ireland is a dark country in the winter. The days are short, and often grey. Sunrise is after 8 AM and sundown before 4 PM on the shortest days. It can feel heavy. And yet, remarkably, every year February comes. There will be a day when I will be aware that there is still daylight at 5 PM, and I will feel ridiculously happy.<\/p>\n

I am thankful for the rhythms that God has built into creation:<\/p>\n

The rhythm of day into night and night into morning\u2026<\/p>\n

The rhythm of seasons \u2013 spring and summer, autumn and winter\u2026<\/p>\n

The tidal rhythms of the sea, the sun, and the moon.<\/p>\n

\"\"Even the rhythms of our own bodies; the way my heart perceptibly rests after each beat, and the lungs between each breath.<\/p>\n

I find there are rhythms built into ministry as well. At the beginning of 2020, I was running several \u201cLittle Friends\u201d groups \u2013 Mums and Babies, Parents and Toddlers, a Bible Study for mums, Little Friends and Family (using Godly Play, crafts, snacks, and activity) had begun meeting monthly \u2013 and in one day it all went away. We were sitting in a home, having our Bible Study when phones started pinging. The country would be shutting down at 6 PM that evening. Schools would be closed. People were to work from home. We were not to travel more than two km from home. And that lasted longer than any of us expected.<\/p>\n

\"\"Eighteen months later, when I could travel again, I went on deputation. When I returned to Ireland there were still some COVID-19 restrictions in place. In September of 2022, I tried to start the baby group again. But the discovery just two months later that I needed open heart surgery created more interruptions, and the group faltered. I wondered if the time had come to let the groups go.<\/p>\n

In January 2024, I tried again. I started Little Friends Mum and Baby Group. And it took root and grew.\u00a0 Some of those babies started walking (as babies do), so in September 2024, I started the Little Friends Parent and Toddler group. In the meantime, I was asked to co-lead a Bible Study for young mums, partnering with the Nazarene Church. And what I hope for the coming year (2025) is to start using Godly Play with some of these mums\/families again.<\/p>\n

\"\"It feels like February. It\u2019s like the days are getting longer, and there is light in the morning and the evening. It feels like Spring is coming after a very long winter. It feels like we have been standing in the Valley of Dry Bones, and the Spirit of God says, \u201cI will put my breath in you, and you will live. I will plant you on your fertile land, and you will know that I am the Lord. I\u2019ve spoken, and I will do it.\u201d<\/em> (Ezekiel 37:14)<\/p>\n

\"\"One important bit of information is that my deputation has been postponed to 2026. There are some very good reasons for this. The momentum of the groups running and the need for continuity and stability are the positive and encouraging reasons for the change. The more practical reasons have to do with scheduling the Irish team deputations so we don\u2019t overlap in the U.S.<\/p>\n

I am so thankful for the community that is created through the groups, and the ways that extends beyond our weekly meetings. Pray that will continue. And pray for the women who meet to study the Bible together, that we would grow in faith and love for one another.<\/p>\n

Thank you, Kathi Perry<\/p>\n

Download the full prayer letter here…<\/a><\/strong><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Kathi Perry | Serving in Ireland Ireland is a dark country in the winter. The days are short, and often grey. Sunrise is after 8 AM and sundown before 4 PM on the shortest days. It can feel heavy. And yet, remarkably, every year February comes. There will be a day when I will be […]<\/p>","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"full","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[470,59,223,92,15],"class_list":{"0":"post-27717","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","6":"category-prayer","7":"tag-470","8":"tag-perry","9":"tag-pray","10":"tag-prayer","11":"tag-prayer-letter","12":"entry","13":"has-post-thumbnail"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=27717"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":27738,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/27717\/revisions\/27738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=27717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=27717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/friendsmission.com\/es\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=27717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}