Imitators of Those

“And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.”

Hebrews 6:11-12

Author: Dónal

  • The Change Along The Way

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    Dónal
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    The story goes, that when the Cambridge Seven (distinguished young British missionaries who had left their popular sports careers and student lives, to move to China) arrived on those Eastern shores, that they had somewhat of a run-in with their new team leader – Hudson Taylor. Hudson Taylor was well known for his deep commitment…

  • Trust Not In Fluent Lips

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    Dónal
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    “Are you so foolish? Having begun by the Spirit, are you now being perfected by the flesh?” – Galatians 3:3 For new missionaries, the realm of language learning is a battlefield. Never mind the funny mistakes one makes (E.g. You try telling your students that you’re proud of them, and instead tell them that you’re pregnant…), on…

  • The Tears That Are Seeds of Hope

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    Dónal
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    There is so much decay around us. Everywhere. Each one. Declining health, immense poverty, death, broken relationships, unloved children, shame, starvation, mental scarring, oppression, broken systems, corrupt systems, non-existent systems. And that is a short-list for our corner of this globe. Each nation has its own list. Maybe we just grow numb to it with…

  • Leviticus and the Pilgrim Mind

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    Dónal
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    Childhood summers meant camping. On an almost rolling two-year cycle, we would one year go down to camp in the very south of Ireland, and the next, load up our 7-seater car with all manner of things, catch a ferry to England for a quick visit with our grandparents, and then take the Channel Tunnel…

  • Leviticus and The Right Hand of Fellowship

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    Dónal
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    My alarm went off. I rolled out of bed, threw on some clothes and plodded into the kitchen. Switching the kettle on, while rubbing my bleary eyes, I gathered the necessary coffee-making implements and waited patiently for the water to boil. After preparing my locally-produced coffee, and waiting the perfect 3 minutes (no arguing!) for…

  • The Faithful Understand the Time

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    Dónal
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    If you were to drive a couple of hours North-West of Dublin, until you find the Middle-of-Nowhere, then take a left down a very bumpy, pot-hole filled road, cross a bridge, down another few roads with grass growing up them, you will come across a little village. It is a single street, with a couple…

  • Leviticus and the Butchery of Eid

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    Dónal
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    The animals streamed into the capital in the days preceding Kurbani Eid. The basement of every apartment block became home to half a dozen or so offerings-to-be; mostly bulls, the occasional heifer and even a goat or two. Out in the streets pick-up trucks loaded with these same animals drove back and forth, delivering them…

  • The Pigeon and the Coo d’Etat

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    Dónal
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    The chilly air of a Scottish April morning warmed slightly as the sun rose slowly. Or at least, became present in unseen places. It doesn’t shine too intensely in Scotland on a regular basis. Nonetheless, as the dewy ground heated slightly it gave way to a gentle mist, the dawning light catching the edges thereof,…

  • 30 Years Old: What Lies Ahead?

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    Dónal
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    This week I turn 30. I’m not really one for birthdays. Dee and I have been together for 15 years (yes, I know, too young… moving on). The first year of our childhood romance we enthusiastically bought each other presents… and that was the last time. We are both terrible present buyers, poor celebrators in…

  • Soul Ceol

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    Dónal
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    Almost 3 years ago, I teared up one night, when, after our Friday evening church meeting, my then 4-year old daughter came out of her kid’s club and told me about the cycle of the book of Judges; Sin, Enemy, Repentance, Deliverer, Sin, Enemy, Repentance, Deliverer, etc., etc. I teared up because I remember the…

  • The Longings of the Human Heart

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    Dónal
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    I didn’t expect this to happen. If you’d asked me 7 months ago what I would be involved with in South Asia, I could have given you a plethora of important answers, and many an idea springing from a (admittedly sometimes overactive) holy imagination. But amongst all those options that my uninitiated brain could formulate,…

  • Who Are You?

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    Dónal
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    Slowly, he approached his father’s tent. Heart beating, skin itching, mind whirring. Determination etched on his face; today he would finally steal grace. “Did my brother’s clothes always weigh so heavy?” he wondered. Maybe the weight lay elsewhere. Did he pause for a minute outside the tent door? Did he fortify his resolve with reasoning,…