October News

October 2007

Greetings

There is so much to appreciate about the fall. The best apples are in season, fall storms come on terrifying yet beautiful, brilliant colored leaves, and the sweet earthy smell of decay. All great except for that last one you might say? Well, it's arguable that the seeming death of all the beautiful things we see around us--leaves, summer flowers, crops, and whatnot--is not daunting as winter approaches, but rather, a wonderful thing. This time of year is invigorating. There's something about the thought of paring down on the things in life that are beautiful and good for a season, but need to go in order to make room for the new. These things are offered up as a fragrant sacrifice so that the heart can be fertilized, rested, and re-planted; ready for Spring, prepared for what lies ahead, knowing that change is immanent.

Our preparation for Ireland is somewhat the same. We've been taking stock of what to keep and what to send. There have been some sorrowful moments of parting as we watch someone buy a toy that the girls played with a lot, or we decide that we can do without some of the items we've had since we married. Fall usually means leading a new session of small group for our church, but we have had to lay this to the ground so we can invest our time in fundraising travel and communicating with the churches of Galway, Ireland. As we hear the questions, "Are you still here", and "When are you leaving," it strikes us that people in our lives are already prepared to function without us, and we have laid the groundwork for good good-byes. God has called us to set aside the lives we may think we are living to cultivate something new. It's painful to see a part of the life we've known go dormant, but by doing so, a new vision is fertilized and prepared.

The groundwork in Ireland is being laid as well. Beyond the awesome grant we received for office supplies and set-up (5,000 Euro), God is cultivating and raising up leaders in the Galway area. A steering committee made up of local church, professional, and Youth For Christ leaders is formed and praying for our arrival and ministry. These people will be instrumental in helping us understand the needs of the city and culture, and will keep us accountable to our vision of reaching the youth of Ireland for Christ. We have also received word that a young woman, Naomi, is taking a year out from her normal studies to get youth work training and work with a church in Galway for the year. Just months ago, Naomi was impassioned hearing our supervisor, Suzie, speaking about Youth For Christ and the vision of setting up an office in Galway to start training leaders to reach the growing 20,000+ youth of the city. During a similar presentation, a volunteer youth worker from Galway asked Suzie how to hold a interdenominational youth event--something that is not regularly attempted. Geared with only ideas and a passion to see the city's teens reached for Christ, she worked with 3 other churches and their youth groups to hold an event drawing in 50 youth, mostly 'un-churched', 8 of which made a commitment to follow Jesus. Hearing news like this excites us! Knowing God is preparing the land for planting and harvest only leaves us longing to be in Ireland sooner.

If you haven't already, would you consider partnering with us in our work in Galway, Ireland?
*Pray for the Republic of Ireland, the youth and the churches, that they would be open to God moving and uniting their people and denominations.
*Also, pray that Naomi, Suzie, and the dozens of volunteer youth workers in Ireland would be effective and have times of God's refreshing.
*Pray for God's provision for ministry in Galway, both in people and finances.
*Personally, we are still in need of financial support both monthly and one time gifts. Please pray about giving a tax-deductable gift today. If a little over 100 people give $40 or more per month, we will meet the remaining balance of our monthly goal of $6,628 and be in Ireland by our goal of January 2008.

Please help us ready the ground with your prayers and finances so it will be ready for us to sew the hope of Jesus in Irish teenagers.

In Him,

Kevin & Maureen Gamradt