We began the year with the theme of “Building on the Word,” based on Acts 20:32, “And now, brethren, I commend you to God, and to the word of his grace, which is able to build you up, and to give you an inheritance among all them which are sanctified.” We will be going through a series of sermons based on the theme of building and beginning with the foundation and foundational truths (like Christ, the Bible, and the book of Genesis) and then moving on to the church, which is the pillar and ground of truth . . . and many other different topics. So far, I have received a great response.
January
We entered January delighted with the prospect of a new meeting place. The church had voted unanimously to tighten the budget so that we could afford a new place. I placed a deposit on the new rental building, and we were supposed to be out of our current meeting place at the beginning of January. The rental agent told me the landlord would have it ready by the second week of January. The time came and went, and when I began putting pressure on them to get the meeting place ready, I was told at the end of the month that the landlord was backing out of the agreement. Thankfully, our current landlord said the sale of the building was going very slowly, so thankfully we are not under great pressure, but we still need to find a new place. Kelly’s dad’s Christmas visit ended on January 10, when he flew back to Arizona. Before he left, we spent a day touring the Clare coastline, visiting the Kilkee Cliffs and the Cliffs of Moher. At the end of the month, we had another Young Adults’ Fellowship, and Pastor Hill at Gospel Baptist Church in Lucan, Dublin, offered to host the meeting right after he returned from a short furlough. The meeting was successful, with 11 young adults and a great message from Pastor Hill. At the end of the month, we celebrated our oldest boy’s 15th birthday, and to celebrate, we had our friends the Days over for dinner and an escape-room game. We have had several visitors this month. One of them was Vincent, who made a profession of faith a year or so ago, but due to work, he has not been able to come to church. He was finally able to get Sundays off and has been coming faithfully ever since, really listening and eager to learn from the Word of God.
February
I began a new search for a building. A local landlord returned an email I sent about their building back in November. I scheduled a time to look at the building. It would be an adequate size and location, but they are asking for €19,000 (US$21,512.32) per year or €1,583.34 (US$1,792.70) per month. Unfortunately, our budget could only handle €1,000 (US$1,132.23) per month. I made an offer, which was really undercutting their expectations; but, to be expected, there was no response, so we continue our search. We have a building next to our house that would need to be fixed up. The problem with it is the location. Please pray that the Lord would guide this decision. In February, we had several visitors, and one was a Canadian college student who will only be with us for a few weeks. The Lord has been blessing our meetings and the two discipleships I have going. Kelly also started a Sunday afternoon teen meeting for our oldest and a young lady from the church. It has been going well so far, and they really seem to be enjoying it.
Soul Winning—We have continued spreading the Gospel and getting out tracts into the community. On one Sunday, and after many weeks, our friend Richard showed up, returning books that he had borrowed. He has been coming to church for over two years and has been told the Gospel numerous times. At the end of the service after the invitation, he asked me to show him from the Bible how to get saved. I went through several verses with him; he seemed to understand clearly and said he wanted to receive the Lord as his Saviour that day. I had him pray on his own, confessing his sinfulness to the Lord and asking Him to save him and take him to Heaven. Richard left that day delighted and with assurance. Unfortunately, he has not been back for some weeks now.
Please pray for these needs
1. The church to grow together
2. New building
3. Co-laborers in Limerick
4. Protection over the ministry
Last, I would like to sincerely thank all of you for your continued prayers, faithful support, and those who sent cards and gifts for the two birthdays these months.
In the campaign for Irish souls,
Keith Hamilton
