The TNT team has arrived in Dublin

Team members safely arrived in Ireland within the last few days with no interruptions or delays from Iceland's volcano, praise the Lord. Most of the members have recovered or are currently recovering from "jet lag." This years team is a lot smaller than previous years so the orientation and schedule is a little different as well.
Upon arriving at Shanganagh Bible Church, we noticed that many improvements had been made to their building. They've finally established themselves in the building. We've had the opportunity of meeting many of the church members and missionaries that we will be working with.

One of our first jobs as a team was to put labels on several thousand 4 You magazines; these magazines are really good opportunities for people to hear about Christ. On our first night here, the church served us a delicious meal. After dinner we had prayer meeting; it was good to go to the Lord in prayer with brothers and sisters in Christ from across the ocean.
Today started off with a nice breakfast, and lots of Irish history from Frank Carolan. After Frank spoke to us we were told helpful tips on sharing our testimonies with the people of Ireland. We also had a really good discussion about saving faith. After a full day of orientation and training, we are going to have dinner at Frank and Grace Carolan's tonight. We're looking forward to getting to know them better. The team seems to have started off with good harmony--having craic (Irish for great fun) slagging each other (making fun of/teasing) and laughing together. But we're still missing two members who will join us next week.

2010 Team: Ready, Set, Go!

Although our numbers are down significantly this year, the Lord has provided 10 team members who will be used of Him to serve and build up Irish believers and assemblies and reach out with the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. Please PRAY for these team members:

Yvette Bustillos, FL
Leonard Carolan, Ireland
Josh George, AB
Ernie Imken, NY
Heidi Koppen, IA
Brian Kramer, MN
Callie Manning, LA
Joan Plympton, NY
Jim Van Dine, IA
Victor Zaki, TN

Four are first-timers who will arrive in Ireland more than a bit fearful of what they've got themselves into and worried about all that they don't know. This might even be true of some of the TnT veterans. The reality is this "fear will give way to faith" as they trust the Lord and a tremendous blessing will be the inevitable result.

Please PRAY that as team members leave home and travel to Dublin, that the Lord will over-rule their travel and all will arrive safely in Dublin (Monday-Wednesday next week). PRAY that they will be able to recover from the jet lag quickly as they will be involved in outreach starting next Thursday in Newcastle West, Co Limerick.

Thank the LORD that Jim Van Dine arrived safely in Dublin this morning and is already preparing for the first of three one-day mini-Bible schools he'll be running over then next month. Saturday's sessions will be hosted by the Shanganagh Bible Church at Glenmaris House in Shankill. Jim will hopefully have time to explain the curriculum for the day and also report afterwards.

Team Newcastle West
Praise the Lord, someone came to the Lord this week! On Friday, Brian Aggett visited several travellers with Kathy Moriarty and a traveller named Miles professed salvation. Please pray for him.

We wrapped up kids club on Friday and were blessed with a good turn out and unusually sunny weather for the entire week. Several moms said they would be interested in later kids clubs.

We headed into downtown Dublin on Saturday planning to use the paint board but were rained out. We handed out tracts instead.

Today, Sunday, is the last day of our official duties. We leave tomorrow morning for our three-day team trip.

Saturday, June 6, 2009

Thursday, June 4
Hey everybody! Greetings and God Bless! Things are slowly wrapping up as our time is coming to a close. Today we letterboxed all day and worked really hard at getting magazine numbers to a minimum for Kevin and Katy when other members of the Waterford Team leave. Later into the evening, the men had some male bonding time and the women had a fellowship time with a couple other female members of the Waterford Assembly. We had a lot of fun and learned a few new things about ourselves and the others. We pray for continual support for the people we meet here in Ireland as well as for our work in the missions field. Have a great day and talk to you all very soon!

Friday, June 5
Today was a good day! We have less than one thousand magazines left! Over 14 000 magazines have been distributed across the Waterford area whose population is around 18 000. This afternoon we also travelled door-to-door again. Ashley and Deirdre, another member of the Waterford Christian Assembly had a really good conversation with James, a man who practices Gnosticism. He seemed really interested in what we had to say and hopefully he makes it out to the Gospel meeting we are holding tomorrow night at Dooley’s Hotel. They also got to speak to a Buddhist lady and although she was unwilling to speak at first she also seemed accepting of what they had to say. Please keep everyone in your prayers, especially with the Team Trip coming up and the travelling we will be doing across the country! That night Daniella, a lady from the Waterford Christian Assembly and her son Jordan came over and made a wonderful dinner for us. And a few others joined in a few games after dinner with some singing in between. That’s all for now and we will talk to you soon! Have a great day and God Bless!

Saturday, June 6
Ah Saturday, a relaxing day of the week no doubt and this morning we took a very nice break from doing our letterboxing that is now complete, or very, very, very nearly. After a great hot lunch made by Katy, we headed out to the city centre to do some more open air work. It was very cold and we got rained out, but we met a number of other believers, one man, named Dave was looking for an assembly to join. Kevin thinks we may join the Waterford Assembly which would be fantastic! Pray for him and the others posted in the blog above and before. The Team Trip is coming up and we head out to meet one another on Monday! Please keep us in your prayers as we travel across Ireland! Thanks very much for your support! Have a great day and God Bless!

Wednesday, June 3, 2009

Team Newcastle West

We haven’t fallen off the face of the earth! Rather we moved into a new location where we have no Internet access. So here’s a little update to cover the last three days.

By the way, we have had beautiful sunny weather since Friday, which has helped facilitate our work! Sunny days are a rarity in Ireland.

Sunday

Sunday, we worshipped with the saints at Newcastle West Bible Fellowship in the morning. Mylene and Rachel took Natalie and Gillian’s Sunday school classes. In honor of Kevin’s birthday, Jewel made a fajita lunch and we had the missionaries and John Griffin join us at our little rented house. We did a few more doors late afternoon and enjoyed a campfire, BBQ and devotional by Brian A. in the evening.

Monday

Monday morning we packed the minibus and headed back to Greystones where we at lasagna lunch made by Ron as well as Frank and Grace Carolan. We then drove on to Shankill where we are now staying in a large old home that was just purchased by the local Shanganagh Bible Chapel a few weeks before.

Tuesday

We distributed Bible packages in the morning and did door-to-door in the afternoon. Our first kids club in a nearby neighbourhood was a success despite some initial opposition. The president of the neighbourhood association suggested that perhaps we should not be here. We had 12 great kids out. Jewel visited the travelers (a nomadic gypsy people native to Ireland) with Kathy Moriarty in the afternoon. We ended the day attending the prayer meeting at the home of the Davises.

Wednesday

More letter boxing and door to door work, a visit to some of the travelers for Rachel, and another good kids club. The kids were very attentive.

We have found the residents in this town to be somewhat less responsive than those in Newcastle West. Please pray the Lord directs us to people who are seeking Him.

Thanks for your prayers!

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Team Dublin

On Monday, the Kilkenny team (formerly known as the Dublin team!) moved to Kilkenny. We took the day to visit the Cahire Castle and get settled into our new home in the Kilkenny Assembly Church. It was a much needed break and we had a lot of fun scaling the castle walls and exploring the different areas.

Today, Tuesday, we began letter boxing areas of Kilkenny with “4You” magazines in the morning and then went into downtown Kilkenny to do some open air work. Tim Hood, Ernie, and Matt all did the sketch board while the rest of us passed out tracts and talked with people around the area. Heidi and Tim talked to some young girls for quite some time and a few of them were really interested. They were engaged and asked a lot of questions, they didn’t just accept it and “yes” Heidi which was encouraging. Sarah, Jen, Ernie, and Suzy all had long conversations with people from all walks of life and today was also Matt’s first open air sketch board experience! He did so well and we are all so excited for the great things the Lord is doing with him and for our team.

Since we are settling into a new area we ask that you pray that we settle in quick so we can get into the groove again. We are going to be doing a Kids Club on our own (through the Kilkenny assembly) and so we need to plan games, stories, and get kids! Please pray that we are effective in canvassing for the club and that we look to the Lord for guidance in all decisions. Pray for sarah because she is leading the club this week and this will be her first time as head leader. Lastly pray for our fearless leader Tim. He has been so great and decisive but it takes a lot of energy. We are so thankful to have him as our leader and we are also thankful for our whole team and the great experiences we are having together.

Saturday, May 30, 2009

Team Waterford
Hello dear readers! Today was a momentous day – we did not letterbox! This morning began with our usual devotional by David. He shared from Acts 1 and discussed how we needed to be unified in presenting the gospel and to go out in the Lord’s strength. It was an encouraging time once again.

Around 11 am, the team packed up the sketch board and some song visuals, and headed for the park. Once there, we attempted to look casual by tossing a ball around till Kevin had the sketch board ready. Once ready, a few of us went and invited the kids from the park to come for a Bible lesson and some songs. We got started by singing to just the team, but God blessed our efforts and several young girls came and listened to the songs, the verse game, and the Bible lesson. Ashleigh and Sarah handed out Wordless Book bracelets to more kids afterwards. After another verse game, the team was finished and headed back to the house for lunch. Tim Hood came by for lunch and to help in the afternoon.

Since God had provided a rare sunny Irish day, the team headed to the square for an afternoon of sketch boarding and open air evangelism. Kevin, Josiah, and Tim all skillfully presented a sketch board message, while the other team members engaged in conversation. Ashleigh and Sarah had the opportunity to have a conversation with two girls, Megan and Teesha. Megan, rather hardened to religion and uninterested at the beginning, slowly came to reveal that she blamed God for her friend’s untimely death a few years ago. Sarah was able to share some of her experiences and is praying that Megan will be thinking about it and be reading the tract. Tim and Kevin also engaged in several interesting conversations around the sketch board. The Wilsons came over for some evening fellowship but otherwise the team enjoyed a quiet night of rest and relaxation.






Team Dublin
The Shanganah retreat is taking place this weekend (Friday through Monday) at Carraig Eden in Greystone. The Dublin team has been able to help out with preparing meals for the Shanganah assembly as well as fellowship with them during the day. Jim Van Dine has been giving great talks on David “A man after God’s own heart” so that we can all emulate David’s submissive heart in our own lives.

On Saturday we had the opportunity to go into downtown Dublin to help out with some on-going open air work with Vincent Gannon. The team passed out numerous tracks and Bibles to passers-by and many of the team members had great discussions. Heidi was able to talk with an atheist man for a long while and really get him thinking about the Lord through her own happy, friendly demeanor. There were many people who asked for prayer including a lady named Kathleen who went home with a New Testament. Because the weather was so nice many people were out and about and much more willing to talk which was really an encouragement. We came back to Carraig Eden to have dinner and hear another great talk as well as fellowship with some fun quizzes administered by Frank Carolan.

The Shanganah assembly has been so welcoming and friendly to our team that we all feel like family. It shows how strong a bond can occur between strangers when they first have a relationship with Jesus Christ.

We ask that you pray for energy for our team because we have had a number of late nights and early mornings in addition to many long spiritual conversations which can be very engaging but draining (in a good way!). We ask that the Lord would keep our spirits high and in constant remembrance of his gift to us on the cross so that we can continue to put him first, others second, and ourselves last.


Tim Hood (centre, in grey striped shirt) speaks with a passserby in Dublin.


Matt Furey (right, in black hooded sweatshirt) speaks with a couple of folks in Dublin.

Jen Nygaard, Sarah Mattox, Joan Plympton, Matt Furey, Ernie Imken.


Kids club.

Heidi Koppen delivering Bibles.


Team Newcastle West
Saturday was our day off. We had a splendid day at the seaside. Colin and Natalie Burnett and their daughter Ashley showed us the town, cliffs and beach of Kilkee, about a two-hour drive from Newcastle West.

The cliffs were breathtaking and inspired a couple of us to sing Majesty while we gazed at them. Amy and Rachel ran into some cliff fisherman (they have massive poles and lines with as many as six hooks!) and shared the gospel with them.

We ate lunch and spent the afternoon on the beach, though the water was too cold for us to venture very far into it. Traditional fish and chips were had for dinner, also on the beach.

Andrew, our leader, bought some of the local fare – what looked like fresh sea snails – and shared it with us. The sign said, Winkles and Dillisk. The winkles are the snails, and we’re still not quite sure what dillisk is. You pull the snail out with a pin and it is a tiny, curly, fishy tasting little creature.



Colin Burnett played guitar for us each morning while we sang before our group devotional.


Brian Russell (left) and his wife are visiting from Eastbourne. He led us in morning devotions on Friday. On the right is Andrew Shanks, a full-time worker here and Brian's nephew.


Andrew Cockburn, our team leader, speaks with some Catholic school girls on Friday when we took the paint board to Limerick city.


Colin speaks to some boys.


Colin preaching with the paint board.

Friday, May 29, 2009

Team Newcastle West
When Aomen lost his job today, Jewel Hobbs met him with warm word and a Christian magazine. She was with the team in Limerick this afternoon. She told him about the article on the economic downturn and it led to an opportunity to share the entire gospel. His eyes shaded by sunglasses, he was wiping his eyes before she finished.

“It was God’s perfect timing,” said Jewel, who had six solid conversations this afternoon in the city’s shopping plaza where the team set up a paint board to preach the gospel and hand out tracts and magazines.

One man, working as the mime in the square, told her his mother handed out tracts about Jesus too, but he didn’t believe. Two young boys wanted nothing to do with God, though they were raised by Baptist parents who encouraged them to walk in the way. But they and several others listened to her share the gospel.

Near the end of the day, Jewel was picking up discarded tracts when she came across Dave. He asked her many questions, such as “How do I know that this is the Bible I can believe?” She presented the gospel to him. At the end of their conversation he said to her, “so what you’re saying is God sent his Son to die for our sins and if we place our trust in the work of Jesus Christ then we can be forgiven for doing anything?” She ended up handing him all the literature she had just collected from the ground. He said he would read it tonight. “I said, it’s a lot of literature I’ve given you, but he said, no I’m going to read it all.”

Our hearts are cheered as we near the end of our time in Newcastle West. We leave on Monday. Amy Deligdisch, who leads our kids clubs, noticed a change in the answers of one young girl named Erica who came every day. Amy asked how we can know we will go to heaven. On the first day, Erica said, “sacraments and prayer.” On the last day, she said “believe in Jesus.

Tomorrow is our day off. We will head to a beach and enjoy some sun and rest.