EEC Blog

Greetings of love in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to all of my dear brothers and sisters at EEC!

I must begin by telling you the most wonderful news I have to share since leaving Ireland is that my grandson, Shawn Lee, was born on March 11th.He is the namesake of his grandpa Shawn, my husband who died of a heart attack in Dec. 2005, and his daddy,second son, Elijah Lee.The story of glory behind this announcement begins in the Spring of 2008, when the Lord had given me the dates for my next trip to Clare.

At that time He told me to plan on being there from September ‘08 through February ‘09, with a brief trip back from end Nov-ember through mid-December.It wasn’t until after I’d bought my tickets that my son and daughter-in-law told me they were going to have another baby and my first question was, “When is the baby due?” When Nicole (D-in-L) replied March, a great big smile stretched across my face and I replied, “Of course, perfect timing, the Lord knew!”

You see, they birth their babies at home and I am their midwife!S o, praise the Lord, I was back in time to get settled and rested before the baby arrived and wouldn’t you know it, he was born the day that I was going to start back to work!Another wonderful blessing is that my employer is very accommodating when it comes to my midwifery and he knew that I was on call for my grand-baby’s birth so if I didn’t show up for work he would know why.

Speaking of work, that is another praise report to share.About a week before returning to the States I received an email from my boss asking when I would be back and if I wanted to work! Hallelujah, yes Lord!!The economy here is also quite bleak but the Lord has blessed me with work to meet my needs and to save up for my next trip to Ireland.

The interesting angle here is the exhortation that the Lord has given me found in Lk 12:22-40, in which He is impressing upon my heart to be steadfast to live in “today”, have faith, and trust Him to provide my needs.

One of the funny circumstances He used to allow me to exercise that trust is that my vehicle broke down in November and would need repair in order for me even get to and from work.Well, the cost of the repairs was more than expected and it turned out I would have to work an entire month just to pay for the repairs so that I could get to work to make money to return to Ireland! The following Sunday during our praise time, whilst singing and worshiping I just had to smile because of the joy that arose in my heart, along with a laugh, as I considered how crazy that all seemed! Yet at the same time I realized that God knew all about it way before I did and it was just another opportunity for me to practice not relying on the flesh and surrendering to trusting Him to provide my “daily bread”!!I just had to rejoice and thank Him for being so tenderly faithful and so awesome!!

The other never-ending lesson I am enjoying during my time back here (and I say this with not even a hint of sarcasm!), is the lesson on waiting.Wait, wait, wait, …wait for the baby, wait for the car repairs, wait to buy return ticket to Ireland, wait for the green light …ha!Seriously though, as I wait to return to Ireland (in July, Lord willing) I am pressing into the Lord and becoming more aware of how every precious minute we have is an opportunity to exercise faith and trust.

While I miss everyone back in Ireland and long to be there in fellowship with the crew in Lahinch, as well as visiting EEC, I am content to be here for the purposes that the Lord has for me during this season.Golly, even if the only reason for being back here was to attend the baby’s birth that would have been “enough.” As it is there’s so much more the Lord is working out each day I am here, whether it be in family or financial matters, things as a result of my husband’s death or my own spiritual growth. With 33+ years into this amazing adventure of being a Jesus follower I can say unreservedly that for me to live IS CHRIST and I want to live each day with reckless abandon to trust Him!!
I earnestly pray for the work God has for each of you in West Clare.I am confident that the fields are white unto harvest and I continue to pray He will send forth (more) workers!I’m checking the EEC website regularly for prayer requests and praise reports and am always encouraged by the news.I especially pray for the Saturday night outreach work in Ennis and give thanks for the faithful saints who serve in that ministry; I was humbled to have been a part of the team on occasion during my time with you.Oh, and the report about the Amazing Journey presentation at the school was such a delight to my heart!!That would not be allowed during school hours where I am living! What a blessing - thank you Lord Jesus!May abundant fruit come forth from the seeds planted, amen!

In closing, I want to thank all of you who pray for me and to say how your example of “body life” at EEC is such an encouragement to all the people who hear what God is doing in West Clare!I look forward to the next time that I am able to worship together with you.