“A shepherd in charge of 100 sheep notices that one of his sheep has gone astray. What do you think he should do? Should the shepherd leave the flock on the hills unguarded to search for the lost sheep? God’s shepherd goes to look for that one lost sheep, and when he finds her, he is happier about her return than he is about the 99 who stayed put. Your Father in heaven does not want a single one of the tripped, waylaid, stumbling little ones to be lost.

“The wisdom of the world says the shepherd should forget that one missing sheep and chalk it up as a loss. In God’s economy, each soul has its own value apart from all others. Jesus calls the people of His kingdom to help the weak and the friendless, the small and the frail, the mute and the poor, the ugly and the disfigured” (The Voice).

I absolutely love how The Voice tells us the parable of the lost sheep. The vivid picture of the waylaid and stumbling little one clearly describes the condition of God’s children today. The enemy trips people and causes them to stumble. They are weak, frail, poor and disfigured. However, Jesus has called each of us to be a part of the rewarding, life-saving ministry of finding lost sheep and bringing them to Him.

I love my children so much. I am so proud of the man my son has become. I love my girls, and I am constantly in awe of how fast they are growing and the little ladies they have become. To see the transformation from babies to age five and nine now is almost unreal. They were babies not too long ago, at least in my mind. Now they have their own personalities, their own purses, their own opinions about how they want to do their own hair. They are independent and don’t need me as much anymore. My oldest has surpassed me in piano and now learns instruments on her own. In my years of Bible work, I was able to see fragile baby Christians grow into mature Christians with firm hope in Christ. It is such a rewarding experience to see people be baptized—no longer lost in life but safe in God’s embrace, protected by the Shepherd.

According to Ireland’s 2016 census, there are more sheep than people on the island. There are just under 4.8 million people and about 5.2 million sheep. When I read the parable of the lost sheep, Ireland comes to my mind. I am moved at the thought of working there for eight to ten years to bring the good news of salvation to God’s lost sheep. We are excited, humbled, nervous and ready. At times we wonder how we will adapt to the weather, but we have an overwhelming sense of peace that this is where the Lord is leading our family. We are thankful for the ministry team that God is putting together for this project. Each of you who support this mission with your finances and prayers is a huge blessing. By faith, we are praying that the remaining monthly goal will come in by early May so we can be in AFM training this summer and then launch to Ireland early in the fall so we can spend time with the intern missionaries.

Thank you, and please pray for Ireland and for the Lord to bring more people to our team to help with our monthly pledges.

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