Happy Saint Paddy’s Day to ya! I be hopin’ that she finds ya in good healt and that ta luck o’ ta Irish be on ya.
As you probably know, Saint Patrick was the first missionary to the Irish. I want to take this chance to tell you modern day mission to the Irish.
Ireland has the lowest percentage of evangelical Christians of all the English-speaking countries in the world! Only 30,000 (that’s less than 1%) are evangelical Christians. For every believer, there are 133 unbelievers! That's a ratio of 133:1
Ireland ranks in the top of the European lists in reference to teenage suicide, drinking alcohol and unwed mother rates. Cocaine and heroin use is rapidly on the rise amongst all socio-economic levels. Divorce (previously illegal until 1997) is a new difficulty for families, with a 70% increase over just four years.
Many evangelical churches today in Ireland consist of just 20 people, most of which meet in homes.
Please pray for Cross Ireland Ministries!
And just because I’m a fan of Ireland, here are a few links to Irish music:
An Irish Blessing for You :)
May the blessing of Light be on you -
light without and light within,
May the blessed sunlight shine on you
and warm your heart till it glows like
a great peat fire, so that the stranger
may come and warm himself at it, and
also a friend.
And may the light shine out of the two
eyes of you, like a candle set in two
windows of a house, bidding the wanderer
to come in out of the storm.
And may the blessing of the Rain be on you -
the soft sweet rain. May it fall upon your
spirit so that all the little flowers may
spring up, and shed their sweetness on the air.
And may the blessing of the Great Rains be on
you, may they beat upon your spirit and wash
it fair and clean, and leave there many a
shining pool where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.
the soft sweet rain. May it fall upon your
spirit so that all the little flowers may
spring up, and shed their sweetness on the air.
And may the blessing of the Great Rains be on
you, may they beat upon your spirit and wash
it fair and clean, and leave there many a
shining pool where the blue of heaven shines,
and sometimes a star.
And may the blessing of the Earth be on you -
the great round earth; may you ever have a
kindly greeting for them you pass as you're
going along the roads.
May the earth be soft under you when you
rest upon it, tired at the end of the day, and may
it rest easy over you when, at the last, you lay
out under it;
May it rest so lightly over you, that your soul
may be out from under it quickly, and up, and
off, and on its way to God.
the great round earth; may you ever have a
kindly greeting for them you pass as you're
going along the roads.
May the earth be soft under you when you
rest upon it, tired at the end of the day, and may
it rest easy over you when, at the last, you lay
out under it;
May it rest so lightly over you, that your soul
may be out from under it quickly, and up, and
off, and on its way to God.
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