This is part one of a three part series on my mission trip to Ireland. Read part two here. Read part three here.

Insights From Ireland: The Story

Scripture

“The Spirit you received does not make you slaves, so that you live in fear again; rather, the Spirit you received brought about your adoption to sonship. And by him we cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” –Romans 8:15

Thoughts

In 2002, I spent two months in Ireland as an intern with World Harvest Missions. Even 10 years later, my experiences still help shape my faith. Here a few reasons why.

Upon arriving in Dublin (three days late due to an airlines strike), I settled in at Kinlay House for two weeks. During this time I went through orientation and cross-cultural training to prepare me for the remaining six weeks. Then I traveled to Greystones (not to be confused with the castle of GraySkull) where I spent another two weeks. The first week was spent studying the book of Galatians, which led us into Sonship. This training pierced my heart and I came to a deeper understanding of who I really am – a son, not an orphan. I had the privilege of being discipled by Josiah Brancroft, who is now the head of World Harvest Missions.

I realized through this that I had so much fear inside, fear that I hadn’t ever acknowledged to myself. I was able to voice my fears to my brothers and sisters. As we were praying, one of the Irish leaders shared this verse – Romans 8:15. She personalized it and said to me, “For you, Jacob, did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of Sonship. And by him, you cry, ‘Abba, Father.’” I also learned that I cannot hide my feelings behind a wall of fear because if I do, I am sinning against God. I allowed God to start knocking this wall down, leaving a pile of rubble at my feet and opening me up to receive others’ love that Christ shows through them. This wall had served as a deflector shield, keeping people out. With this wall in rubble, I could now go out in the strength of my Father – not in my fear.

We interns were divided up into teams to go out into the community to share the Gospel. My team went door-to-door for two weeks in Westport to meet people, share Christ and offer a local opportunity for Bible Study. Lots of doors were closed in our faces, but a few were willing to hear what we had to offer. One door, in particular, ended up being providential. A lady in her 60’s answered the door and was too busy taking care of her elderly mother to talk. So—she kept the door open. This open door led to an amazing encounter that I’ll share in Part 2. One of the things I learned from this encounter is when we choose to keep knocking, God will open the door. I shared things with her that weren’t on the “normal” evangelical script. The result was definitely abnormal.

Overall, not many people seemed responsive to hearing the Gospel but a few weeks later, we heard that there were two people who called the local pastor we had partnered with, inquiring about the Bible Study that would begin that fall. With evangelism, I learned it’s more about what God wants to do, not the way we feel people should respond. At least two people were open to accepting Christ as their Savior who wouldn’t have been had we not been obedient to share.

From Westport, we moved onto Achill Island, with a population of about 4,000. At the time, there were only seven evangelical Christians on the entire island. While there, our job was to pray that God would open hearts and change lives. Ross Ryan, the church planter on Achill Island, prayed with each of us with the hope that we would leave the island weeping for the lost and that God would give us a picture of what hell would look like. I prayed then, as I still pray now, that God will continue this work in me and in the church community. I found my fear turning into something so much more powerful—a passion to reach those who don’t know the love of Christ.

Shortly after arriving back in the states, I received an email from a World Harvest apprentice that I worked with in Ireland who described perfectly what Ireland is like: beautiful, green and picturesque—ugly, empty, dry, barren and dangerous. There is more to this place than meets the eye. The same is true for our own homes, neighborhoods and communities.

This is why I titled this work, “Journey From Fear Into Faith.” I’ll expand on this more in Parts 2 & 3.

Pix From Ireland

This reminded me of when Jacob was running from Esau. He used a stone for a pillow. This is where I slept for a week – although no one was chasing me, except maybe – God.

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Scripture tells us that a high tower is a safe haven. When the Vikings invaded, many people fled to this very tower.

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Caption:​This church in Glendalough was built in the 1800’s. This is where the Book of Kells was written over 1,000 years ago. It is an illuminated manuscript Gospel book in Latin.

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Caption:​The streets of Dublin – very busy and lots of pubs.

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Caption:​While riding bikes, we ran across this Celtic warrior. I still have no idea what he’s pointing at.

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Caption:​This is the image a lot of people think of when someone mentions Ireland.

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Caption:​Ireland is completely surrounded by water. These are the Cliffs of Moher. This is where I spent my 24th birthday.