Keith and Kelly Hamilton Prayer Letter: Our Plans–In the Lord’s Hands

The Lord has continued to use us and guide our steps in the ministry, and I am thankful for the opportunities He has placed before us. I pray that this glimpse into the Lord’s work will be an encouragement and blessing to all who pray for and financially support our efforts in the Limerick area. In addition to helping two other ministries in the west of Ireland, below is some of what the Lord has been doing in our lives.

September

We discovered months ago that my mom has a severe heart condition, which the doctors are unable to do anything for. After Kelly returned from the U.S., I began trying to find someone to fill in for me so I could have the opportunity to see my parents after two years, especially considering my mom’s heart condition. Now that Keith II has received his Irish citizenship, he has decided to attend Crown College, beginning in January, since they offer a welding degree. The college was having an Open House at the beginning of October, so I saw that as an opportunity to kill two birds with one stone. With much prayer and effort, I was finally able to secure two preachers to fill in for me while I was away, and then we began to make solid plans to be gone for three weeks, leaving on October 1. Each year on the first weekend of November, there is an Irish Ladies’ Fall Getaway held here in Ireland, and this year Kelly was asked to help decorate for the meeting. While she was in the U.S., she took advantage of all of the craft shops she could, looking for decorations for the meeting. She was able to bring back a couple of suitcases full of supplies and has been sorting through it all and planning.

October

October began with a flight to the USA with Keith II. I was concerned about the hurricane that had just passed through Tennessee and North Carolina, but I found it had not affected the Knoxville area, so the Open House was still on. We were planning to go to Florida to see my parents after our time in Tennessee, but after a few days there, we found that another hurricane was brewing. We ended up changing our plans and heading to Kelly’s mom’s house in Newport News, Virginia. We also discovered that our good friend, Pastor John Charles, the pastor of Central Baptist Church in Yorktown, Virginia, had passed away from cancer. We were so thankful that the Lord changed our plans, allowing us to able to be in town for his memorial service. I also had the opportunity to preach the next Sunday night, where I tried to encourage the church people to follow their pastor’s example and finish their course triumphantly by faithfully walking in the Spirit. The next morning at 3:00, Keith II and I headed down to Florida to see my parents for two days. Then we flew out of the USA on October 18. Upon our return to Ireland, we had just enough time to get settled before Kelly had to leave on Wednesday, October 30, to begin decorating the facility for the annual Ladies’ Fall Getaway, which started on the afternoon of October 31. Afterward, Kelly received an encouraging note from a young lady who attended: “The lodge felt so welcoming and a haven to come into. I loved all of the spa stations that you organised. We had so much fun with our church ladies using each station and laughing while we did the spa treatments. Our ladies absolutely loved it all!” The Sunday before the ladies’ meeting, we had an Irish lady visit for the first time with her two daughters. Her oldest daughter had visited a couple times before, but this was a first for her and her younger daughter. Kelly was able to witness to her, and she left with our visitor packet, which includes the book, Done. Please pray for her salvation.

Soul Winning

Pastor Andrew Canavan in Galway designed a lovely Gospel pamphlet that offers free Bibles, and he agreed to make our church a personalised version of it, so we have had a new Gospel tract to hand out to people in the Limerick area. For the last couple of months, we have been using those for our Saturday soul-winning efforts. Also, I mentioned in the last letter, we have a six-year-old lad with whom I had used Bro. Dennis Corle’s soul-winning book. When Keith and I returned at the end of October, Kelly was going through a Gospel book with him, and when she read Romans 10:13, “For whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be saved,” he immediately said, “Oh, I remember, I did that on February 4.” She said, “Why didn’t you tell anybody?” He replied, “Because it was private.” Kelly also found a picture he had drawn for her at that time, and when she looked at it again, it seemed to be him telling her that he understood he was a sinner and asked Jesus to save him from Hell. It was a reminder to me that our work is not in vain. We may never know, until we get to Heaven, who trusts the Lord as their Saviour because of our efforts.

Please pray for these needs:

1. Co-laborers in Limerick
2. Protection over the ministry
3. More visitors on the countryside
4. Guidance and wisdom as we move forward

Last, I thank everyone who sent encouraging emails, letters, and cards for Kelly’s birthday in June, as well as gifts and offerings, and for your faithful prayers and support.

For the souls in Ireland,

Keith Hamilton