A Permanent Status and a New Vision
“And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them.” (Acts 18:11) The new year began with knowing that our applications for dual citizenship had been granted. We were so delighted. The next hurdle was to come up with $2,356, but thanks to Christmas gifts, as well as two special offerings from supporting churches, we were able to fulfill the asking payment. It was an amazing answer to prayer, as well as a rare privilege we have been given. I sincerely thank all who helped with this need. We can now better plan a long-term vision for Limerick and our ministry of teaching and preaching the Word of God.
January was very cold, bringing snow and hail nearly every day in Limerick. As pretty as it was, I must say the kids were a bit more delighted than I. While in Dublin for some Bible classes, I remembered one of the men had John & Romans for sale. I purchased 600, added my Bible Proofs flier, and put them into homes in different locations around the city. The end of the month was our oldest boy’s 11th birthday, and we celebrated in Dublin during our citizenship swearing-in ceremony. We spent a couple of days in Dublin with the kids and visited the Irish National History Museum. No children were allowed in the naturalization ceremony; so we found a babysitter, and Kelly and I made a date of it.
February was a bit warmer, with the days beginning to last longer. The men working at Bible Baptist Church in Ballincollig, Co. Cork, drove an hour and 45 minutes to have lunch with me, see Limerick, and brainstorm different ideas to bring the Gospel to people. It was a great meeting. One of the ideas was to write a tract with my testimony and to tell them it was a testimony of what the Lord had done in my life. So when I was finished writing, printing, and folding, my eldest boy and I went to the city centre and handed them out. To my surprise, when I told people it was my personal testimony, nearly every person took one. In 30-40 minutes, 100 of them were gone. Soon came Valentine’s Day, and Kelly and I had a nice dinner for two. Then my birthday arrived, and my wonderful wife made a Chicago stuffed pizza for me and chocolate-covered fruit. A few days after my birthday, we were notified that our landlord is selling our house, and we are going to have to move before June 1. So we have a few months, but please pray that we will be able to find an adequate house to move into.
During these two months, I’ve been running a classified ad, which brought a new visitor, a Brazilian lady named Melanie. She came on Sunday and Wednesday and said she enjoyed our meeting, but she hasn’t come back. Please pray that she does. Also in the advertisement, I offered a Bible study and a Bible. A man in a nursing home 45 minutes away rang me for one, so I sent one by post. Please pray that he gets saved.
During one Saturday morning soul winning, I found it very difficult to get people to understand their sinful condition before God. One lady in particular, when I told her Jesus said that if a man looks on a woman with lust, he has committed adultery in his heart, she got a shocked look and responded, “Well, I guess the heart is where sin starts.” I told her, “It says it is adultery, and it was Jesus Who said it.” She then backed from the door and said she had to go. People have never heard these truths before, and it is difficult for them to grasp, One man, who has been coming for a couple years, recently told me in a bit of a debate that being born again was infant baptism. I was shocked—after all this time and all the times I have gone over that with him. I refuted his argument, but these ideas are so ingrained in the culture. To them we seem like a cult, even when we show them the Scriptures. Please pray that the Gospel will get through.
Please continue praying for these needs:
1. Our support level has maintained at 90% of what we need; please pray it might increase.
2. We are looking for a building to meet in.
3. Furlough plane tickets
Also, I want to thank all of the individuals and churches who faithfully pray for us, those who faithfully support us, those who send letters, and those who were able to send a special offering toward our naturalization.
In the campaign for Irish souls,
Keith W. Hamilton
