Tonight, I took a dry run with my backpack, meaning I packed up (almost) everything and tried it on. Not too bad at all. I was expecting to be toppling over by the weight, but everything felt very comfortable. I guess the research on packing light, is going to pay off.

There is not much to do in the next couple days. The flight is booked. I have almost everything I'll need. And I have you, my prayer partners. I really want to make it a point to set time aside to really prepare for this trip. It seems the psychical preparations are out weighting the spiritual preparations.

Please pray for:
1. Quite times to meet with God.
2. Fears to be quenched.
3. Solidarity in our team.
4. Ears to hear and eyes to see.


...Ireland is a young country

A succession of home rule bills (to allow Ireland to govern its own affairs rather than the English parliament in London) were attempted to be passed in the late 19th and early 20th century. The final one succeeded but was not enacted due to the outbreak of the 1st World War. In 1916, a small band of Irish men and women staged a rising on Easter Monday. They took over key buildings in Dublin and declared a republic. The main command post was the General Post Office, in what is now O’Connell Street. After heroic fighting, the loss of many lives, and the destruction of much of central Dublin, the rising was overthrown a week later. The leaders were captured and most executed. The Easter Rising had not had widespread support initially, but the brutality of the resulting executions produced a backlash and within six years Ireland was granted Free State status under the British crown. This, however, did not satisfy the more ardent republicans and Ireland was plunged into a civil war. Pro-treaty forces formed the government and fought anti-treaty republicans who had previously fought by their side.

The pro-treaty forces won in 1923, but not until many more lives had been lost. The six counties of the north east, which had exempted themselves from the treaty and remained part of the Union due to their majority Protestant populations, formed the separate state of Northern Ireland. The border between the six counties and the Free State came into existence and remains a bone of contention to this day. Two distinct cultural and ethnic groups, each with their own interpretation of Irish history share the island but will not agree as to the form of government. With these facts in mind one recognizes that Ireland is a young country and proud of its hard won independence. It became a Republic in 1948 and now takes its place among the nations of the world. One of the leaders of the rising, Eamonn DeValera, became its first President and only died in the mid 70s.

Application:

Many are still alive who recall the events surrounding the founding of the nation and so nationalism is a very live issue and has implications for the gospel. To diminish the achievements of this small and culturally rich country is to strengthen the barrier against the gospel. One does not need to be a Roman Catholic to respect this proud and independent race; the more one respects them and their history, the more likely to gain a hearing for the gospel.