July/August ’09 Newsletter
Address: 101 Stevens Rd., Greenback, TN 37742
Temporary Phone: (865) 856-7407 · E-mail: kevsdarling@gmail.com
Dear Family and Friends,
We wanted to share with you highlights of the
past couple of months; in addition, news from Ireland
and a few prayer concerns.
Baby News
We have some very exciting news –
Our once family of two has now
increased to three. We’re expecting
a baby! Darleen is 11-weeks a long
and is doing very well. Last week
we had the privilege of hearing our baby’s heartbeat for
the first time. He/she is doing well! (Our due date is
Jan. 16th, 2010.)
BMW Visit
Biblical Ministries Worldwide is a church-planting
mission organization that serves independent churches.
BMW missionaries began church planting in Ireland in
the mid 1970’s. The first of this month, we traveled to
Georgia to meet with the field director and talk about
possibly joining their team. We were blessed by
BMW’s kind hospitality and encouragement to us.
We are prayerfully considering joining the BMW
team and would appreciate your prayers for wisdom
and guidance.
Goals for 2009:
God still continues to press on our hearts the vision
to deepen our walk with Him, raise a godly family, and
serve Him on the mission field. Taking pen in hand, we
wrote out what we feel God wants us to make every
effort to accomplish this year.
Of primary importance, we have committed this first
year solely to our marriage. Our aim is to seek Christ
first in our relationship, seek to better understand each
other and strength our relationship, and grow in a Christ
saturated love.
Second, prepare for our little one!
Third, continue studies on the Irish culture and
pursue missionary training workshops, as the Lord
allows.
Lastly, continue researching ideas for a mission
organization to team up with in Ireland.
(Continue on next page)
Ireland Prayer Target
Please join us and pray for the
county of
Cork.
Pray for
the Irish
Church to
have
purpose Cork
and vision
in raising
up
believers committed to holiness in
Christ. Also, pray for the
Bellincollig church, located at the
heart of Cork County.
News From Ireland
Hi, my name is John Mahony and
I’m a
Christian
living
down
near the
south
coast of
Ireland in John with Pastor Ledbetter’s son.
a town called Ballincollig! I was born
a Catholic like most people in
Ireland, but I got saved at the age of
20! On an island of about 6 million
people, I am blessed to be part of one
of the 20 or so Bible-believing
Baptist churches. Compare this to the
state of Indiana which is similar in
size to Ireland. There is lots of room
for more churches to be planted here!
Condition of the field and the need
With the ongoing scandals of abuse
by members of the Catholic clergy in
Ireland, materialism and also the
current trend of atheism because of
science falsely so-called, many
people have no interest whatsoever in
discussing anything “religious”. It is
also considered patriotic to be
Catholic because of our historic
struggles with Britain! Satan
certainly uses every angle to blind Even though Ireland is just as
the minds of them which believe not modern as America, and probably not
(2Cor. 4:4). as far gone morally as the rest of
Europe, the country still desperately
Salvation needs the Saviour. Not the false Jesus
In Ireland, trusting Christ as your of Catholicism who is still dying on
personal Saviour is very costly. As it the cross, not the god of money, or
says in Luke 12:51-53, a new the god of science, but the only One
Christian is immediately thrust into a who can save to the uttermost and
very difficult situation and is truly still does!
tested if their conversion was Matt. 9:37-38; Acts 26:18; 1Thes.
genuine. New believers must learn 5:25
fast to trust in the sufficiency of
God’s grace, the need to study to We thank John for his report on the
have answers for their spouses, current work in Ballincollig. Last
children and others, and also not to summer ’08 (and summer ‘05)
neglect the meeting together as a Kevin had the privilege of visiting
church whenever the doors are open Ballincollig Bible Church.
for preaching, edification and
exhortation!
Current work in the Ballincollig
church “Má thugann tú taitneamh
I am currently working under Pastor
don Tiarna tabharfaidh
Craig Ledbetter. We average 80-90
seisean duit mian do chroí”
people on a Sunday morning and we
(Salm 37 [36]:4, Irish Bible).
are considered one of the bigger
churches here (just to give you an
idea compared to America). We are “Delight thyself also in the
Lord, and He shall give thee the
also blessed to have two other
missionaries, the Eberly’s and the desires of thine heart” (Psalm
Hamilton’s helping us right now. 37:4).
I am working with the teenagers,
discipling them, and praying that
God would cast down strongholds
through His word (2Cor. 10:4-5). My In the Service of our Lord,
Dad runs a Reformer’s Unanimous
ministry which reaches out to those
overcome with addictions. We also
host a nationwide Men’s Retreat and
Youth Camp to reach out and affect
the whole country for Christ.
This is the work and the fruit is lives
transformed by the gospel of Jesus
Christ, broken marriages reconciled,
whole families saved, teens and kids
living for Christ, the addicted
overcoming by the blood of the
Lamb, precious souls growing in
grace and in the knowledge of Jesus
Christ. (2Pet. 3:18)