Sam and Vreni Lindsay: Ireland

Country Profile

Sam and Vreni Lindsay

Ireland | OM International

Sam Lindsay, from Dublin, Ireland shares about life in the early days of OM:

It was a cold snowy day in the winter of 1965-’66 at the OM Zaventem headquarters in Belgium. Basil was on the roof as we were ‘craning’ the heavy flue-pipe of the new central heating boiler into position. “What does ‘tirez’ mean?”

The French-speaking Belgian engineer was directing operations as the pipe dangled dangerously on the pulley chain. Frantically, I shouted, “Pull, Basil, pull!”

How did the news of OM first reach Dublin’s fair city? In April ‘62, a good friend wrote to us from Cyprus, where he had met Dale Rhoton and Roger Malstead at a conference. Telling us of the proposed ‘venture for Christ’ in Western Europe, Cecil Hall asked us to join.

Wondering who George Verwer and ‘25 students in love with Jesus Christ’ (the letter we received from OM in Spain) were, three Dubliners, Stan Cochrane, my brother Glenn and myself, joined with 300 other young folk to spread the Good News in France, Belgium, Germany, Austria and Italy.

About a thousand young folk were camped in the grounds of Lamorlaye Bible College, just outside Paris, in July 1963. “Please stop working I want you all to spend some time in prayer!” It was George Verwer’s voice on the Tannoy system, emphasizing that all our efforts - preparing tons of literature and 150 vehicles to evangelise Europe - were in vain unless the Lord was in it all.

In ‘72, Vreni and I were asked to go to Italy again with little 9 month-old Timothy. There Stefano was born two months later followed by Jonny in Pisa in ’75.

We returned to Dublin in June ‘76, in time for the first visit of the MV Logos. In the following years we worked with believers in South Dublin, mainly in door-to-door visitation - supported in several summers by OM teams.

In recent years we have enjoyed the ‘sketchboard’ ministry in the city centre with Mickey Walker. I count it a privilege to be a member of the board of OM Ireland. We thank God for Mike’s team - let us all continue to stand behind them in prayer.