Doors and Kids' Club

John Griffin "on the doors" in Ardagh

Monday:We had another time of team devotion and prayer. Andy encouraged us all by reading discussing Romans 10:14 with us. The passage reminded us of how we should have a heart like Christ; we should have a love for the unbelievers nad an eagerness to share the gospel with them.

After our prayer time we were back out "on the doors" in Newcastle West, following up on the delivery of the "Ireland 4You" magazines in estates (developments) around town. We were encouraged to have several good conversations, including some which may be good contacts for follow-up. It's cool to have the whole day focused on Christ when you are going door to door sharing the gospel, and you are challenged to really take a stand for what you believe.

This afternoon, we were in the nearby village of Ardagh. While part of the team continued knocking on doors, Heidi, Callie, Josh, Joan, and Andrew Shanks set up the "tent" on the green and held a kids' club. Despite the rain, several kids came out for the meeting. They started with games, and then they sang a few songs. Josh told them the story of the prodigal son. Afterwards, they had the opportunity to get points for answering questions about the story right.

After the kid's club, we had dinner at Eva and Adam's house. They warmly welcomed us into their home and we had a great time of fellowship together playing games like charades.

Sunday in Newcastle West

Callie writing...

Today we were able to attend Newcastle West Bible Fellowship's Sunday meetings. We broke bread together and remembered our Lord Jesus Christ with the local assembly. Heidi and I had the opportunity to teach the children's Sunday school classes.

I had a class from 5-8 years old and Heidi had the older children's class. It was great being able to teach God's Word, and encouraging to see how excited the younger kids were about it.

Meanwhile, Brian gave the message for the family Bible hour.

After church we were invited to Joseph and Christine's for lunch - a sweet couple from the fellowship. They have four children: Benedict, Benedicta, Rhoda, and Christabel. It was fun being able to spend time with them and get to know them more.

Assembly Ministry

One of the things we do in Ireland is serve various fellowships of Christians through teaching and preaching. For the past few years we have been conducting one day Interpreting the Bible seminars for anyone who wants to dig deeper into God's Word. This year we will be hosting three such sessions. The first two have already happened. At Shanganagh Bible Church (May 23) and Kilkenny Christian Assembly (May 30) we had excellent turn out for the interpretation workshop entitled "Romans: The Good News of Sanctification." We have also had opportunity to interact with smaller groups at Shanganagh, Kilkenny, and Waterford as we share together in prayer and the word.

Continue to pray for the Word to bear fruit not only in salvation for those we evangelized at the doors and on the streets but in the hearts of new believers as they sink down roots in their young Christian lives and for those who must face daily the pressure of living as a very small spiritual minority amongst their families and communities. Give us wisdom in the Word as we seek to encourage believers in the Faith during these challenging times.