Burning holes into the night.

It is hard to believe I am nearing the half-way point of this trip. Already much has been done for my culture study, but there is a great deal yet to accomplish. I have had a couple opportunities to preach and lead bible studies and there are many more to come. The schedule is looking to only get busier as the weeks move along.

If one thing is true about the culture, it is very dark. One member of the church here mentioned it seems as though this country is overshadowed by a dark cloud that it has become Satan’s stronghold. Harsh words for a country with a strong “Christian” heritage. The Catholic Church is a very important part of the culture here, but rather than teach the Gospel, it seems the Church is leading people away from it. Ireland is also known for being a land very familiar with struggle, poverty, and suffering but in the last 20 years that has changed drastically and an economic boom known as the Celtic Tiger arrived. The result of this was the country became more westernized and with that – secularized. The Tiger has left, and it remains to be seen how the country will respond to its leaving, but the dark cloud remains.


However, throughout the country, small candles a glimmer of light of the Gospel are beginning to penetrate this dark cloud. The small group of just 10 believers here in Killarney is one such example. The people here love God, and they love to pray and share their faith, so it seems it is just a matter of time before God answers and causes the church to see growth. Needless to say though, they do covet all our prayers. So please pray with us that His Church would grow in Ireland.


Prayer Needs:

Pray for Joe (name changed for privacy), he visited the church recently after having not been there for 10 years, and we know he does not know Christ. He may even become a primary contact for my culture studies as he mentioned that he and I should go hiking.

Culture adjustment – Ireland may speak English, but do not let that fool you. I have sat through many conversations scratching my head trying to understand not just the accent, but also the meaning of the words used.

hehe

Mull Weather

By a summer visitor

 

It rained and rained and rained and rained

    The average was well maintained

And when our fields were simply bogs

    It started raining cats and dogs

After a drought of half an hour

    There came a most refreshing shower

And the queerest thing of all

    A gentle rain began to fall

 

The next day was fairly dry

    Save for a deluge from the sky

It wetted people to the skin

    But after that the rain set in

We wondered what's the next we'd get

    As sure as fate we got more wet

But soon we'll have a change again

    And we shall have

                                                         a drop of rain

author unknown

New Pictures

I've uploaded new pictures to my Flicker account. To view them go here.

With the many images that flood in from the Republic of Ireland, one might think this country is deeply committed to the Christian faith. Some say a picture is worth a thousand words, but in this case a thousand words are inadequate. Ireland has a strong history of devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, even when it was illegal, but today even that devotion is only superficial. As one man at Grace Fellowship Church here in Killarney commented, it is like a dark cloud, thicker and blacker than any rain cloud that has ever covered this island. This island has become the playground of Satan.

I am reminded every night of this playground as I look out the window of my flat (apartment). Youth and adults alike flood the streets; scantily dressed and barely able to walk as they soak up the drunken culture of the land. These people can be very religious, but only for tradition’s sake. They do not know God, they know tradition.

But hope does come through churches such as Grace Fellowship. This tiny group of believers gets together every Sunday and Wednesday singing their hearts praise to God. They continually pray and thank God for the salvation which they have received, then pray it for their brothers, sisters, parents, even spouses. A wife whose husband detests the day she was baptized. A daughter whose mother has cancer and does not know Christ. A man, raised in a staunchly Catholic home, disappointing his extended family by taking his own family out of the Catholic Church to be “evangelical.”

Such is the ministry in the Republic of Ireland. Many towns here do not even have an evangelical church. Killarney is blessed with a small one, and it is this ministry that I have come to know and love, and am thus thankful for your prayers and support in sending me here. This is become just as much your ministry as it is mine. Pray for this church.

Prayer Needs:

Pray for Brian, he visited the church recently after having not been there for 10 years, and we believe he does not know Christ. He may even become a primary contact for my culture studies as he mentioned that he and I should go hiking.

Culture adjustment – Ireland may speak English, but do not let that fool you. I have sat through many conversations scratching my head trying to understand not just the accent, but also what their words meant.