Address: 350 Lynnwood Drive, Greenback, TN 37742

Phone: 865.856.5802 Email: kevsdarling@gmail.com

New Website: www.lightofireland.wordpress.com
October 2010, Volume II, Issue III
Dear Praying Friends,

This time of year in many parts of the world, it is harvest time. It is a beautiful in our neck of the woods. The autumn
leaves are at their peak. Each morning, we awake to a scenic view of smoky hills in their splendor. Indeed, breath
taking! Here is a passage you may want to ponder on your next autumn drive through the countryside this year:

“Say not ye, There are yet four months, and then cometh harvest? behold, I say unto you, Lift up your eyes, and look
on the fields; for they are white already to harvest” (John 4:35).

“Nach ndeir sibhse’Ceithre mhí eile agus beidh an fômhar ann’?Seo mise á rá libh: Tógaigí bhur
súile agus féachaigí ar na goirt; tá said geal chun an fhómhair.” (Eoin 4:35)

Jesus speaks of the harvest of souls around us. Let us remember this and labor on in the fields.

Excitement! Prayer Target

Travel plans are shaping… Prayer as we
Passports are ready. Addie continue to prepare
just received her very first for our trip for
passport. Doesn’t she look Jan- Feb, and look
thrilled? God is doing His for inexpensive
work, and we’re looking housing while we’re
forward to purchasing our there.
tickets for Ireland next
month.

New Board Member
We have just recently added another Board Member to
the team. His name is Jonathan Hawkins. Jonathan is a
native of Oregon State where he currently resides. He
works in agriculture as a hazel nut farmer, and on top
of all that Jonathan is a leader in his local church. He
has a thriving Bible Study ministry and a personal
interest in missions. Jonathan and Kevin met on a
mission’s trip to Russia where they served for more
that nine months together. Jonathan also has a deep
walk with God and Kevin has been very blessed by his
kind mentorship.
Deputation
We’ve been so excited about the opportunities to speak
with various churches and groups this past 6 months. If
you or someone else would be interested in having us
come and share about Ireland, please contact us via
phone or e-mail.
3800 Tracts
Labor Day weekend, we enjoyed the challenge of passing
Out tracts at one of the largest Larbor Day firework
shows in North America! Between six people, we were able
to distribute 3,800 in 2 hours. Pray that seeds would be sown.
O’Keeffe Family
Let me introduce you to the O’Keeffe family. Kevin
met them on his first visit to Ireland in 2005. Since then
we have kept in touch. It is thrilling to hear how God
has called them to building a new church in the greater
Cork area.
Testimony of Kevin O’Keeffe:
Col 1:13 says, “Who hath delivered us from the
power of darkness, and hath translated us into the
kingdom of his dear Son.”
I grew up outside of Cork City in a small village called
Cullen. My father's occupation was that of a dairy
farmer. It was quite a pleasant upbringing in many
respects. We lived directly across the way from the local
Catholic Church of the area, so like most youngsters I
accepted many of its doctrines without question. Besides
this, my parents were the result of several generations of
Catholics, and would not have tolerated any deviation
from such a faith.
It was couple weeks prior to my thirteenth
birthday before I took my first alcoholic drink. From
that first encounter, I knew that alcohol would play a
major role in my life. I became a regular at many of the
local pubs in our village like most of my school friends.
After leaving school, I went to college to study
Engineering in the town of Tralee. I liked my course for
the most part, and it seemed like things were going well.
I always seemed to be able to balance my study with an
excessive alcoholic social life.
Emigration was quite common practice for my
other brothers and sisters, so when I got the
opportunity, I travelled to New York City. I was 21 years
of age by this time and I would describe myself as more
than a little rebellious. I loved music and lyrics that were
not very popular and anything that was different from
the mainstream of society I progressed down-hill into
whatever I thought was morally right or wrong; the more
I followed my own heart the deeper I became
entrenched in sin.
I had always felt that there was something missing
in my life. It seemed like nothing could ever fill that
void. I remember a heavy depression setting in upon my
life. My lifestyle seemed to be getting more and more
heavily into sin. But I would reason and excuse this
behaviour by seeing everybody else in the same manner.
I figured that since I believed in a personal God, that I
had nothing to worry about. It was around this time that
someone handed me a Gospel leaflet. It wasn't clear at
first, but it seemed that there was something different
about the Jesus of the Bible. I recall one night feeling so
empty. I didn't even feel like going out. It was a Saturday
night and I just knew there must be something more to
life than what I had experienced. I began to flick
through the radio channels just to hear anything
different. I came across a preacher for the very first time
speaking about Satan being the god of this world. It had
never occurred to me that the Bible expressed such a
view as this. The more I thought of it, the more it made
sense. It seemed to be a crucial piece of the puzzle that
gave validation to the Gospel message that I had heard
previously.
This however, caused a even greater level of
depression. It was around that time that I felt such
hopelessness in every aspect of life. I went out one
Thursday night after work feeling so low. On a usual
night I would combine drugs and Alcohol and would
suffer memory loss for most of the time. This particular
night I was going home in the early hours of the
morning. I felt so sick of everything in life. I remember
leaning up against a wall and for the first time in my life
attempting to pray with all of my heart. The only words I
could come up with were, "God help". The next
morning I woke up hung over. I had forgotten
everything about the night before and was more
concerned about recovering than anything else. I had
thought about purchasing a Bible many times previously
but never had acted upon it, so I decided to make this,
the day. On my way to the book shop I came across a
street Evangelist preaching the same message that I had
heard previously. I remember agreeing with everything
that He had to say, and when he gave an invitation to
come and receive the Lord as my personal Saviour, I
continued walking on down the street. But, thanks be
unto the Lord, that preacher followed me. I am so
thankful for that man’s boldness. He approached me and
asked some related questions. He showed me from
Scripture that all of mankind had a sin problem, and
that, by Jesus shedding His blood on the cross, He made
atonement for all my sin. And, the only thing I had to do
was to repent and believe on Him by faith as my
personal Saviour. Well, I didn't know how to pray, so he
led me in a sinner’s prayer.
“Once an Irish man gets fully committed to the
cause of Christ, there is no stopping him. God
gives you a burden for your own people, kind of
like Nehemiah’s burden to restore and rebuild
the walls of Jerusalem.” – Kevin O’Keeffe
2
 Now, it wasn't the words that were important, but
rather, a heart that desired forgiveness. There will never
be a day that will surpass that day, at least, on this side of
eternity. More importantly, I know that I will never face
judgement for my sins in the fires of Hell.
Not only has he given me eternal life, but He has
blessed me with a beautiful wife, named Eileen, and
three blessed little girls, named, Lydia, Rebekah, and
Rachel.
I now want to follow the Lord in obedience to
His call on my life. He has called me to preach His
precious Word. What a high privilege He has given me!
Amen. I will never understand the grace of God that
reached down to a sinful man, to such a person as I.
AMEN !!!
O’Keeffe Family, missionaries to their own people.
Testimony of Eileen O’Keeffe:
I grew up in the north side of cork city. I always
had a great relationship with my Granddad who
was one of the first people who had a love for
Jesus that was not like any other that I’ve seen
before. My Granddad died on 16 of January, th
1999. His death was a great loss to me.
I was 19 years old when I began to
experiment with the night life, and the parties,
and alcohol. I was seeking the high from it all,
and a confidence that seemed to go with it, but
I kept experiencing hurt and emptiness.
At the age of 22 years, after getting hurt,
I realized that I had enough of this painful dark
life; I began to pray to Jesus to help me. I had
gone through nine months of a very hard
pregnancy with only my family to help me out.
During that time my mum, Lily and Brother
Weston, asked me to come to church with them.
I didn’t go at that time because I thought I
would be meeting a judgmental type of people.
But then in April of 2002, after the birth of my
beautiful daughter Lydia I began to attending
church, where I was greeted with Love and
respect. Each week in that church of Blarney
Baptist church I heard the word of God
preached, and as I listened I realised that Jesus
loves me and died for my sins, then one Sunday
morning on the 23 of June during the Lord’s
rd
Supper, with the fear of God, I accepted Jesus
Christ as my Saviour. Not only was I saved from
hell, Jesus Christ healed me from all past hurts.
Since that wonderful day my life has
changed. I have gained a new appreciation of
life. The Lord blessed me with a wonderful
husband named Kevin O’Keeffe, who has helped
me to keep strong in the Lord. We got married
on the 3 of September 2003 and have now three
rd
blessed girls, Lydia, Rebekah, and, Rachel.
The Lord has called us now as a family to
do His work. He has blessed Kevin greatly with
the knowledge of his Word. He teaches us as a
family to keep strong in Christ. We now want to
devote our lives to help others to know Christ as
their own personal Saviour.
1 John 4:19 says, “We love him, because he
first loved us.”
Amen.
"Get all you
can, save all
you can and
give all you
can.”
- John Wesley
We’re collecting an offering to give to the O’Keeffe
family as well as other Irish missionaries on our upcoming
trip to Ireland. If you would like to contribute to the
O’Keeffe’s mission work or any other Irish missionary,
please designate donations “For the O’Keeffe Family” or
“For Irish Missionary.” 100% of your designated offering
will be given to their work.
In the Service of our Lord,