LEDBETTER'S IRELAND UPDATE
Vol.
IX, No. 1
January,
1999
Greetings again from Ireland! It amazes
me how the ministry is always so fresh and new each day. What a joy to serve my
loving Saviour! I and my family want to thank you all for your wonderful love
and kindness that you continue to show towards us, in the cards you send, and
the gifts we received here back at Christmas! THANK YOU so very much! The kids
appreciate (as we adults do) the sacrifice you make in taking the time to
gather the items, and boxing them, and shipping them to us, and we are always
humbled by your generosity!
Christmas Events. Christmas here was packed with our first Church
Worker's Banquet (which was absolutely a dream, as the people's hearts
were unified in commitment to reaching more souls for Christ), our annual
Christmas dinner (which by the way was fully catered by a man in the
church who is a chef), our annual Christmas play (which so
blessed us all at the super presentation of the Christmas Story and Gospel),
and to top it all off, our Christmas Day Meeting! Every year, we
make sure that Christmas Day is not wholly given over to greed and grub,
but we make sure the Lord Jesus is honoured on HIS birthday in worship, and
Gospel preaching! The folks wouldn't miss it, because it just would not be the
celebration of Christ's-birth without the Gospel being preached, and Christians
being together!
Family Stuff. It has been said, we don't mention enough stuff about
our family. Well, here is some of the latest gossip! Sharon, our oldest,
is TWELVE years old this month - WOW! I am amazed at her growth. She
continues to do well with violin, the piano, homeschool, as well as Irish folk dancing. Joel, who is ten years old, is a
strong young man. He also is learning the piano, and doing well in his
schooling. It has been hard for him to not be in the sporting clubs here since
they ALL play and have their matches on Sundays, but he is an exceptional
blessing to me, and I look forward to his help in the ministry as he grows
older! Ruth, who is eight years old is one sweet girl! She too is
learning the piano well, and Irish folk dancing.
Sharon, Joel, and Ruth are avid readers, and thankfully love books! Joshua
is five years old, and in kindergarten, and would much rather be out playing
(obviously) than reading and studying. He takes very well after Joel though,
and is a blessing of a son, with his great attitude and energy! Sarah,
our youngest, melts everyone's heart! She is a year and four months now, and a
handful! Nita and I are really blessed to have such a family! Nita is
obviously busy home-making, but also in teaching Sunday School, and is about to
start up a ladies' Bible Study in February!
Final Note. Loads of people here are on the verge of getting
saved. Patience, consistency, prayer, planting and watering are what we are
busy doing, but waiting is the hardest part. So many come and go,
and then come back, and then go away again. They know what they must do, but
fear the cost. The darkness of religion and ignorance is so strong here!
Please, remember the precious souls listed below, as their eternity is in the
balance.
See also the Back Page. The back of this month's Prayer Letter is meant to
brief you on the current ministry accomplishments the Lord has been doing
through both you, and us Ledbetters here in Ireland. These are YOUR accomplishments as well as ours,
since you co-labour with us in your fervent prayer and financial support!
Prayer List:
·
Pray for a series of
special meetings we plan to hold soon in a Mallow Hotel about the Second
Coming of Jesus Christ. We need a lot of prayer for this to take off! The
Christians in Mallow need a lot of courage!
·
The following need to
get saved: Josephine Anders, the Mayer Family, Mary Sommers,
Warren Cross, Mary Tighe, Marlene Layton, Isabella
Lynch, and Jeff Monaghan.
·
Pray for these to grow
strong: Derek and Eileen Anders, Jenna Monaghan, Deila
Buckley, Emmet Lynch, Kevin Butler, Ken Manley, Pat Tighe,
and The Daly Family.
Some of the 1998 Accomplishments in the Ministry in Blarney and
Mallow:
·
We celebrated FOUR
years of ministry here in Blarney in June, and our First in Mallow!
·
I got to speak 4 times
at two different universities here in Cork; three of the times on
the Creation/Evolution issue, with over 50 people attending (they are
very interested in this subject, and want me back)!
·
3 folks were led to Christ this year (Derek Anders,
Eileen Daly, and Jenna Monaghan)! Oh that there would be more for the LORD!
·
5 folks were Baptized this past year! Each one is still
going strong for the Lord! Thankfully, that has been our experience, that when
someone does get saved (even though few in number), they usually get baptized,
and they seem to really grow, and grow, and grow!
·
41 visitors came for the first time to Blarney, and 31
came out to the church in Mallow! Praise God!
·
We blitzed the Tour
de France bike race crowds with 10,000 Gospel tracts! All over
the crowd people could be seen reading the saving Gospel from start to finish -
they had nothing else to do - AMEN!
·
10 people are being discipled in the word of God on a
weekly basis with our discipleship program! Our Wednesday evening Bible Study
in our home is packed out almost every time!
·
The church in Blarney
has taken on its first missionary, and is preparing to take on a second soon!
·
And yet, both churches
are encountering serious opposition from the devil - you must expect this when
you set out to do what the Lord leads you to do! Praise God! But let me
repeat, there is a great need for prayer for these folks, and for God to send
help in training them in being good soldiers of the cross!
Areas We Need Prayer About As We Work On
Them:
I wish for so many more folks to get saved -
it can take a whole lot more effort than you ever dreamed, but our Lord says
even just ONE makes it all worth while (Luke 15:7)! AMEN! So pray that we
ALL win more souls this year!
Many of the new Irish Christians get so much pressure and persecution here,
that they lose sight of our Lord's command to "count it all JOY"
when they find life rough going (James 1:2)! Naturally, I think people are so
programmed into thinking once they get saved, life will be automatically
easier, and better, and more enjoyable. But as they study their Bible, and
begin to live for the Lord they encounter struggles that just aren't what they
expected. Pray that these folks "endure hardness as good soldiers
of Jesus Christ!" (2Timothy 2:3). Attendance overall has
slumped due to some amazingly difficult trials in their lives. Discouragement
is a formidable enemy of the Christian's life - but it shouldn't be!
We need COURAGE among our folks to witness
more, and lead people to Christ themselves! This is where God will really
be able to bless, when the Irish begin to win the Irish!
The folks in Mallow need to catch the
vision that Mallow is going to hell, and they have a responsibility
to reach them as a unified body of witness, willing to sacrifice everything for
souls! Pray they reach for this goal!
We
have seen so many great miracle events here in our corner of God's field, and
so desperately hunger for greater things to be accomplished. We do not know
when our Lord is coming, but we know there is ever more work to do!
Furlough Facts. I have been written, and asked many many times
recently about when we are going to come back on furlough and report to all our
supporting churches. I can say without hesitation, I don't know.
The Lord called me to come to Ireland to start a
church. That means, getting folks saved, training them, baptizing them, and
then equipping them to operate as a local body of believers, representing the
Lord Jesus to the surrounding community in witness, and life, and worship. They
MUST be able to function on their own, with their own Irish pastor before I can leave them. Otherwise, experience
shows, that all the labours that I have invested, will have been wasted. Please
understand - I did not come over here for a short visit, but have moved here,
and am settled in for the "long-haul." Pray that the men in these two
churches take up the challenge of spiritual leadership, not just in their
homes, but in their church!
Until
next time, God Bless Ye All!
Craig
Ledbetter and Family