I am sitting down to write this letter in mid-September. Life in Ireland has returned to a “more normal” status, aside from all the wearing of masks, banning from eating inside restaurants, and requiring digital COVID passports. We continue to plod along and look forward to better days, here or in eternity. Still there are many blessings to be thankful for, like the health of our children, our church people returning after the lockdowns, new contacts, Kelly’s returned health, the opportunity to homeschool, all of our faithful supporters (financially and through prayer), and many other blessings as well. I pray this letter will be an encouragement to all of you.
July
On the first Sunday of the month, I was able to present Ger with his baptismal certificate. All of our regular people have been faithfully attending, with a couple slipping back into their inconsistent ways. It has been great to have everyone back and to be able to preach to more than just the camera and my family. We continued to get the Gospel out into the community, and Caleb has also been spreading the Gospel to rural homes in Clare on his own. The month began with a gathering of missionaries from across the island to celebrate the 4th of July. It was a much-needed time for our children, who have been mostly isolated for the last year and a half. We stayed in Dublin for the night, and on the next day, Kelly’s dad flew in for a wonderful two-week visit. So, the kids got to spend time with their grandfather, and in the midst of what is happening with church, we also got to bring him around the country to see a few things as well. The end of the month finished with a trip to Dublin to get a new passport for our youngest child. We then took the long way home and saw a few sites with the kids. I mentioned in the last letter that the Lord suddenly restored Kelly’s health back to normal. Since her condition ceased, she has been zipping around doing everything, and she is very thankful to be back to normal again. Thanks so much for your prayers in this matter.
August
This was a busy month. We needed to have business meetings every week to care for some needed things, like repairs on the building we are meeting in. Some parts of the floor are caving in, and the electricity is inadequate, so the people voted to care for these issues and to remain in the building for the time being. Rental prices are increasing right now, and with the constant threat of a looming lockdown, the church felt it unwise to enter into a rental contract in the city at this time. Due to the inability to tithe and the lack of tithing for others, we are also unable to afford to rent a building in the city at this time anyway. Being out in the country and with this decrease of tithing, it has enabled our people to see the importance of this need and how their personal giving, or lack thereof, makes a significant difference in the Lord’s ministry. Caleb was interested in joining the church, but with his German accent and difficulty in English, I had a hard time really understanding his testimony. Finally, he told us all of it, and I researched and called the church where he was baptised and found he was eligible for membership. I was able to go through our new members’ class with Ger and Caleb, which is an overview of how a Baptist church runs and the church constitution, and we officially accepted both men into membership. Also, since his baptism, Ger’s unsaved wife and family have attended services several times. This is an enormous breakthrough for his wife. Please pray for her salvation, as she is not easily approachable on the topic. This month I also put together a new password-protected website just for church members, where they can access church-related information concerning business meetings, missionaries, doctrinally sound study books, PDF downloads, etc. Our middle son turned 13 at the beginning of the month; we took him to Tayto Park to celebrate and had a brilliant time. Kelly also took the boys on a four-night excursion across the country to visit different friends, while I kept busy managing things at home. At the end of the month, she started homeschooling again.
Soul Winning
Aside from our regular Saturday soul winning, I went out several days with Caleb to get the Gospel out to countryside homes, getting out hundreds of tracts and sowing the Gospel around Co. Clare. We had some good visits and talks with several people. Please pray that these seeds fall on good ground. “But he that received seed into the good ground is he that heareth the word, and understandeth it; which also beareth fruit, and bringeth forth, some an hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.” (Matthew 13:23)
Please pray for these needs:
1. Co-laborers in Limerick
2. Protection over the ministry
3. Visitors from the countryside
Last, I thank everyone who sent birthday cards, emails, and financial gifts and for their faithful prayers and support. May the Lord bless your giving as we reach out to those in this spiritually needy area of the world.
In the campaign for Irish souls,
Keith Hamilton
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- I was able to present Ger with his baptismal certificate.
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- Kelly took the boys on a four-night excursion across the country to visit friends before they began homeschooling again.
