Return of recap

After our visit with the Mullins in Buncrana we drove across the border into Northern Ireland and got a hotel room in Derry. In case you aren't aware, Northern Ireland is part of the U.K., while the Republic of Ireland is an independent country. So we were surprised to find that the only indication that we were in a different country was that the road signs were now in miles and not kilometers, including the speed limit signs. Unfortunately, the car we were driving didn't have a dual unit speedometer, so I was constantly having to convert the speed we were traveling in my head.

Having no days off up to this time, we had decided to take Monday off. We were going to spend some time in the morning exploring Derry and then drive along the north coast taking in the sights as we made our way to Cushendall for the night.

Monday morning our mobile phone wasn't working properly (others couldn't hear me when I called them) and we were not able to top up our minutes using the automatic system. We had registered a credit card with O2, our provider earlier, but couldn't get it to work. We found an O2 store in Derry, but they weren't able to help us since our service was with O2 in the Republic.

"You'll need to drive to Letterkenny, to the O2 store there and they can help you," the attendant told me.

"How far is it?"

"Only a 20-minute drive there."

So we decided, we had no choice if we had any hope of using our phone in Northern Ireland. We set out for Letterkenny, arriving there 45 minutes later. 20-minutes... yeah right.

By the time we got there, we needed to find somewhere to eat. After lunch we spent a frustrating couple of hours sorting through the problems, never really solving anything. The best thing we could do is buy a top up card and hope that the glitch we'd had with our phone had corrected itself. We never did get the credit card registered as it would have required jumping through major hoops since the credit card was issued in the U.S. However, the phone did start working again in the North. Never did solve that mystery.

We had wanted to see some things in Derry, but were more interested in the Giant's Causeway. This time of year daylight is short and so we made a bee-line to the coast. Arriving at dusk, and not knowing how long of a hike it was to the Causeway, we realized after we had walked about a quarter of a mile down a steep incline that we weren't going to be able to really see anything by the time we would get there.

It was then decided that we could work it out to return to this area of the coast in the morning and still make it to our appointment that afternoon in Balymena.

Winded from the climb, we got back in the car and headed for Cushendall. After an unplanned detour, we made it to our B&B and settled down for the night.

So much for our "day off".

The next day was to be much better.

Jet lag? Oh, yeah.

It was a long day. If we had stayed on Dublin time we were up from 6 AM to 3:30 AM. But who's complaining? It was an uneventful day of traveling. We didn't have to connect through Paris (always a nightmare). We had the best flight crew we've ever had on a transatlantic flight. Not so bad.

Of course we decided not to set an alarm for this morning and we were both awake by 7 AM. Oh well...

The past three weeks comprised our best trip to Ireland so far. We were so busy and forgot to work in any days off ahead of time so we ended up working or traveling or both every day except one. Live and learn.

So now we have only two months before our next trip. It's lining up to be a very significant trip as we have a lot of individuals and churches interested in us working with them in April.

We will also be spending Easter (the 8th) with my brother Dennis and sister Dianne and those members of their families that can come with them to Ireland. It's Dennis' birthday, and it will be Dianne's family's first time to Ireland. We're looking forward to this little family reunion, as the last time the three of us were together was more than 7 years ago.

In addition to all that we will be doing in Ireland, we will also be flying to the Czech Republic and back. We've been invited to attend a conference of Europe Worship Link, a fellowship of key leaders involved in worship ministry representing countries across Europe. Should be very interesting as it will be primarily attended by European citizens.

The next two months will mean a lot of work, not only in preparing for our trip and keeping the bills paid and food on the table, but we really need to do what we can to increase our monthly support level. If we are going to continue working like this we really must be able to draw a larger salary from GEM -- and in order to do that we have to have a greater number of monthly financial partners. So we have our work cut out for us.

If you would be interested in supporting our ministry work in Ireland, check out the FAQ's on our website.

All-in-all, the past three weeks were wonderful (although we really missed Molly and our friends) and we are very excited to find out what our next trip holds.

son of recap

So, we had gone to Letterkenny pretty much for the sole purpose of meeting Mike Mullins, Ireland director of Operation Mobilization, a multinational mission organization. He was the guest speaker that morning. After worshipping with those in Letterkenny, we would follow him to his house and spend the afternoon with him and his family. But we took the opportunity to introduce ourselves to the worship leaders, P. J. (who was leading that morning) and Joe (who is the main worship leader, but playing bass that morning). As we shared with them what we do, Joe surprised us by saying, “We’d love to have you come and work with our band!”

Well okay, then – if you insist!

We had a good talk with Joe and hope to connect up with him and the worship team at Letterkenny on one of our subsequent trips this year.

As Mike Mullins spoke it became quickly apparent that what we had heard about him was absolutely true. This man is a powerhouse for the Lord. So much energy and joy surrounds him, along with a true heart for the lost.

After the service, and after Mike was able to pull himself away from the hordes, we followed him for the beautiful 20 minute drive north to Buncrana. His Dutch wife, Aster had lunch laid out shortly after we arrived. As we sat around the table with Mike, Aster and their four little ones, we had a great time talking about all things ministerial, including sharing with them about our work.

Mike is working on a very exciting project that he told us all about. In short, Buncrana sits on Lough Swilly, a finger of an inlet that extends inland from the Atlantic. It was in the shelter of this harbor two centuries ago that a ship, crippled by a fierce storm, found refuge. It carried a man by the name of John Newton, a British slave trader. Not a man of faith previously, he, along with the others on board prayed for God’s grace to save them. There was a break in the storm that revealed the inlet and the boat listed into the Lough. Within two hours the storm had regained strength and it was obvious that, had they not found this shelter, they would have all perished.

It was at this time that Newton became a Christian and it was as a result of the grace that he had experienced that he penned the song Amazing Grace. He, together with William Wilberforce were the catalysts in seeing slavery abolished in the British Isles.

April 8, 2007, which happens to be Easter, marks the 200th anniversary of this event, and when Mike Mullins discovered this, he set out to let all those in local and national government, as well as church leaders throughout Ireland, know about this landmark. It has now been declared “Amazing Grace Sunday” and the goal is to have every church in Ireland sing Amazing Grace that morning.

Plus, Walden Media has produced a movie about the history that I have just shared, called Amazing Grace, and there is talk of having the Ireland premier take place in this little village of Buncrana.

The city council also wants a monument erected, overlooking Lough Swilly and is asking Mike to oversee that.

Mike drove us to the place that is planned to have the monument, which happens to be next to an old fort. Mike and others have been told they can have the fort to renovate and house a cultural center that will be about Newton's life and the history of slavery.

It will be exciting to see how God will use this to draw many to himself this year and in the years to come. It will also be exciting to see how God will continue to use Mike Mullins and his ministry throughout Ireland and the world.

A quick note

Sorry to keep you hanging from the cliff a little while longer.

We had a very busy, very good weekend beginning Friday morning (we had no Internet available) and when we got back to the Kingsleys' yesterday evening we had to pack and get ready for our trip home today. It's 6:30 AM right now and I feel that I could have slept another couple of hours easily. Maybe I'll be able to sleep some on the plane.

I'll be getting the rest of our journeys posted this week, so check back.

Once again - sorry for the delay.

recap part 2

After leaving the cliffs we wound around to the back side of the mountain and on to Glencolmcille. We didn't know what to expect as we drove across the stark bogland, but soon a large glen opened before us and we were looking down upon the quiet village and quaint farms scattered up and down the valley. To the west (we were on the south edge) the glen opened up to the Atlantic. It was clear to us why St. Columba chose this scenic location to establish a monastery in the 6th century.

We descended to the village and made our way up the glen to the home of Conal and Heather McIntyre who lead one of the few small home fellowships in the this area of the county. There are no evangelical churches aside from house churches in southwest Donegal. Conal and Heather live in an old, traditional farmhouse set in a beautiful part of the valley.

The four of us sat around the warmth of the antique iron stove, enjoying the conversation along with the earthy, sweet aroma of the turf fire. Soon we were joined by Ciaran (Conal's brother), Sheila and Margaret, who all attend the same home fellowship and are involved in different aspects of leading worship with Heather.

After a nice meal together we spent some time talking about worship, worship leading and the challenges and struggles that this small fellowship faces in their worship ministry. After a while, the guitars and keyboard were brought out and we did some songs together, giving Beth and I the opportunity to offer some pointers to help improve on what they were doing.

This was one of the most rewarding and enjoyable times we have spent in ministry thus far.

The next morning (Sunday) we were up early and on our way to Letterkenny, about and hour and a half north. We were to attend church at Letterkenny Christian Fellowship at 11 am. It was a beautiful drive and we were slowed down a bit when we encountered snow on the road while traversing a high mountain pass. We were only a few minutes late.

We entered the community hall where there were about 125 adults and children worshiping under the leadership of a small band, who really sounded quite good, especially given the room they had to work in and the sound system they possessed.

We were there not only to worship with the body there, but we were to meet our next contact, Mike Mullens, who happened to be the guest speaker that morning. We got more than we bargained for...

TBC...