The Apostle Paul asked the people of Colossae in Colossians 4:3, “Withal praying also for us, that God would open unto us a door of utterance, to speak the mystery of Christ, for which I am also in bonds.” I want to thank everyone who prays that the Lord would open doors for us to give the Gospel to the people in Ireland. We are thankful that He has been opening those doors, bringing visitors, and using us to reach out to this needy area. Evangelist Bob Jones was an encouragement when he came, saw the spiritual condition of the area, and said, “This is a wicked city. These people need you. Keep getting the Gospel out, and be faithful.” Like the Philippian church in Revelation 3:7, God has opened a door here for us, and we are going to preach the Gospel while we have it. Please continue to pray, and allow me to tell you how the Lord has been working.
July
This month began with a herd of 16 wild pigs wandering onto our property and a wonderful Independence Day fellowship with the other Ireland missionaries. A week later, we hosted Evangelist Bob Jones, who taught this year on the Trail of Blood. I advertised for it as a “Christian History Conference.” Many of our people came out for this conference, and the father of Ger, one of our lads, also came out for the meeting. It was his first time visiting the church. Bro. Jones was a great encouragement, and one of our new people said that it really helped his understanding of all the Christian religions. I was proud of our people, who really went out of their way to feed Bro. Jones each night during his stay. Bro. Jones was able to witness to one barber in particular. Unfortunately, I have called by a couple times, but she still has not been very open. At the end of the month, Kelly and I celebrated our 18th wedding anniversary at a restaurant, and we all worked hard getting fliers out for our Summer Bible Camp and Teen Rally. Also during the month, the Lord brought 10 visitors into our church.
August
This was probably my busiest month. It began with our Summer Bible Camp and Teen Rally. We had two lads from Neighbourhood Bible Time come and help us with the programme. They did a great job, and the Lord brought 10 children. One trusted the Lord, and 2 more received assurance of salvation. Then during our Teen Rally, we had 9 teens, which was a record number and a blessing, since I was expecting only 2; 4 of the teens trusted the Lord as their Saviour. The last day, I was able to take them to visit the Gap of Dunloe. That week while the rally was happening, Kelly and Keith II were packing for a trip to the States for a month. They left the day after the rally, and I was left with the two youngest boys. They were very well behaved and helpful. I was even able to change light fixtures, paint the hall and bathroom, and have two visitors over for dinner before Kelly got home. We had 5 visitors during August.
Soul Winning
I have been witnessing to a man whom I began going through a study on biblical salvation with. I have found that he is trying to mix the Bible with his Catholic beliefs and is resistant to making a decision to trust the Lord as his Saviour. I am going to have to end our meetings soon. Please pray that the Holy Spirit would convict him and that he would make the right decision.
Please pray for these needs:
1. The church to grow together
2. New building
3. Co-laborers in Limerick
4. Protection over the ministry
I want to give my sincere thanks to those who are praying diligently for our ministry, sending encouraging cards, emails, and messages online, and for those who support us financially, holding the ropes so we can search for spiritual diamonds on the Emerald Isle. I can’t begin to express the depth of my gratitude to all of you. May the Lord bless you.
In the campaign for Irish souls,
Keith Hamilton
