Join us in praying for EUROPE
D & B, our partners in Ireland:
- COVID daily case numbers here are currently hovering around the 420, which is considerably lower than the peak of 8000, back in January. However, they are not dropping much below this figure, despite Ireland being in “level 5” lockdown since Christmas. On April 30th, the Irish government announced a phased relaxation of its strict COVID-19 lockdown over the coming six weeks. We are very thankful that the kids have been back at school since March.
- For a staggering 46 of the Sundays since the 22nd of March 2020 up until this coming week, Church has been restricted to online only. We desperately miss church in-person and the richness of relationship. Of course, we are thankful for Zoom and online streaming, but it does not work well as a long-term solution. So please pray for case numbers to come down. In April, the government made it a penal offence to gather. Many churches have voiced their alarm that gathering has become an offence. Recent news reports suggest church services will be allowed to commence with a limit of 50 people from mid-May. So hopefully this will not be a huge issue for too much longer.
- We are still seeing God’s kind hand at work. There has been great engagement in our Hebrews series of sermons and Bible studies. Others from outside of the church have tuned into online sevices and some plan to come along once we are back in-person. Support has been made possible to those who need it, and a Kids’ Club has been started. It is hoped that the Kids’ Club will be the seedling for something bigger once restrictions ease.
- Please do pray that we would find strength to persevere, as well as real comfort from knowing the Lord is the one who is at work and we need not carry the overwhelming burdens that belong to him.