Dearest Friends,
Our Last Day in Limerick
We had the longest afternoon of shows. It was exactly what we had been asking God to give us, except for a torrential downpour which soaked all of our equipment. However, even after we all got wet, we stayed and did hours more of puppet shows and band sets. At one point it was raining rather significantly, but the crowd wasn’t going away. Since the crowd was not leaving, we finished the puppet show.
There were so many people who came today and listened despite the weather. God answered all of our prayers! We were so blessed by the interest that people showed in the Gospel. We passed out lots of children’s literature, free CDs, and lollipops. It was an interesting day in other ways. We had a very sad, very drunk man come to the show. He said that God had failed him, but several of us talked with him and encouraged him that God could not fail him. Some young men came running by who were wearing very little clothing, supposedly advertising a wrestling match. You never know who you’ll get on the street. God always surprises us with the ways He causes people to listen to His rescue plan for them.
Limerick is not a tourist destination, but a city where 110,000 people live and work. Outside of the church where we are staying, there is a large display of street art done by the young people in the city. There are many plaques which say, “When I am older, I want…” Most talk about wanting to be happy and healthy or famous. I found one particularly chilling. It said, “When I am older, I want to be alive.” There is great hopelessness in this place. Limerick has a bad reputation and boasts a high crime rate. They have a lot of homeless people and so many problems that only the Gospel can address. Most people do not go to church and do not express any interest in Jesus Christ. This is a place where we need to be on the streets so that we can talk to people about Jesus who are never coming to church.
Please pray for Limerick. Please ask God to grow the seeds that have been planted for the Good News. Please pray for us as we head for the Rose of Tralee Festival, where we will finish our tour. We need you to pray. We need you to remember that even though you are not hearing stories about orphans, hungry kids, or refugees…the needs are the same. These people need Jesus. Please pray.
In Jesus,
Linda, Sam, Josh, Teresa, Evangeline, Daniel, Drake, Leslie, and Reality