The Lynch Family
This summer, our family of five will be going to Southeast Asia for a three-week mission trip. We will be coordinating and joining with an agency that already has a long term team in-place. We have wanted to do a short-term trip as a family, out of our comfort zones, and have been waiting for the right time. We want to see what the global Church looks like in a very different culture and context from our own, see what contextual mission looks like, and to do this all as a family.
We will be joining the long-term team in Southeast Asia, to learn from them and be available to help practically while working on different projects:
Clean Water Project
Many of the rural villages in the area we will visit do not have access to clean drinking water. We will be visiting some of these villages and helping to construct water filtration systems. Not only does this provide safe and clean water but the process provides opportunities to connect with local people. It’s through those connections that the long-term staff begin building relationships that may grow into discipleship opportunities.
Rural Farm Project
The long-term team owns and manages a farm that grows crops and raises cattle. The farm provides a place for the surrounding farmers to learn sustainable and efficient farming methods, to enhance the fertility of the soil in a very difficult environment. The project harvests food and brings awareness of taking care of the environment, as well as provides an opportunity for discipleship and community support. We will be volunteering on the farm alongside the workers.
Sports Outreach Project
We will also provide an after-school sports club in order to support and meet local primary and secondary-aged kids. By building friendships through sports, we can help connect families to the local team, who will continue to provide community and support once we leave.
How you can support & pray for us
Pray for our language-learning opportunities. We will attempt to learn some language before we go (thanks Duolingo!) and will hopefully have time in-country with a tutor. We want to connect to the locals with the best of our abilities.
For all the practical pre-trip planning—vaccines, visa applications etc., would go smoothly.
That as a family we would prepare as much as possible before—spiritually, emotionally, and physically (it will be very hot, and we will be outside doing practical things a lot of the time).
That we would be able to bring everything they ask us to bring – to support the school and the projects.
That we would have the finances to gift to the projects as they need.
That God would use us to bless the team out there, and that we would quickly adjust to the environment, time change and be kept physically fit for the duration of the trip.
Your prayer and financial support are invaluable to us as a family. If you feel like you want to support our project, you can click the button below. The money will go towards supporting the projects we’ve mentioned above, as well as to buy visa’s, vaccines, and equipment to take out with there us.
About Mel & James Lynch
Mel and James met in Zambia in 2003, they were doing different short-term trips, but their teams met one night for a BBQ, and the rest, they say, is history! The opportunity to be on a short-term mission trip in 2003 in our 20s fanned into flame a passion for mission full time, resulting in them giving up our careers and going to Bible College before joining a mission agency, where they are still serving as a family, (although they have had different roles/jobs through this time).