A Fitting Ending & Beginning! • A County Donegal Mystery • Part 6

Joelle had been in Ireland several weeks already, and while she was there she was able to spend quite a bit of time with the church family. 

One of the men that she met at church was named Brandon. 

He was actually planning to go to the U.S. very soon to attend The Master's Seminary! 

His desire was to come back to Ireland and be a part of a church plant. 

Joelle loved the idea, and the two began to get acquainted. 

She knew that she didn't have a lot of time left before she was scheduled to head back to the U.S., so they spent quite a bit of time together.

The news of her ancestry finally came back. 

Yes, she was related to James and Jane Russell!
She would have a share in the inheritance of the ring, although it might be a small portion.
The letter that was found in the Bible at the crypt was enough of an inheritance for her.

This is what it said.

Dearest Eliza and John,

My dearest desire for you is to love and serve the Lord all of your days.
Read His Word dear ones, because there you will find the truth to get you through the darkest of times as it has me.  
It is far more precious and valuable than any jewels I can leave you, though the love of dear James in giving me the gift of the ring is a sweet memory.
Beyond the inheritance of these jewels, you have been deeded some land near this church.
The deed is enclosed.  

Aunt Jane.

Joelle dearly wished that the property could have a church built on it that taught the Word of God accurately, but she would have to wait for the inheritance to be settled to see if that was possible.

Before she left to head back to the U.S., Brandon proposed marriage to Joelle, and she accepted!
They planned to marry in the U.S. shortly before he would go on to seminary.

The rest of Joelle's family had decided to stay in Tennessee and start over.
They would move near Maryville where there was a good church that they could be involved with.

Joelle would one day be able to go back to Ireland and serve the Lord with her husband and see the friends that she had grown to love.
She had a rich heritage, and one day she hoped that many people in Ireland would hear the Gospel and turn to Christ.
The God who is Sovereign over storms and over us all can still change hearts, and He uses His Word and those who proclaim it!
What had started out as a nightmare with a hurricane had become a blessing that had surely worked for the good of Joelle, Brandon, and for Ireland!

A Rich Heritage • A County Donegal Mystery • Part 5

The next day Joelle was so excited to attend the Bible Study and Prayer group in the garden.
She was welcomed and cared for, and people even prayed for those affected by the hurricanes and earthquakes in other parts of the world.
They were going through a portion of Matthew 5 that week.
She followed along, reading from her NASB translation.

Later on that day, she searched out her Mc Intyre ancestry, and she discovered an Eliza and John were the parents of her ancestor who came to the U.S. sometime before 1880.  A DNA sample might prove whether she was actually related to James & Jane Russell.

On the weekend, the family obliged her by going back out to the old Dunlewey church which was near the "Poisoned Glen."
There were differing stories as to why it was called that, but whatever the reason, it was rather intriguing.

Once they got to the church, she walked through the opening and tried to imagine how a jeweled ring could ever be discovered there.
The family found a place to picnic, and they discussed how they could go about finding out about the ring.  It was a lovely day, and Joelle felt at peace.


Weeks went by, and finally, they were rewarded with hearing that permission was given to search for the ring.
Meanwhile, Joelle had a DNA sample taken to see if she could be related to the Russells.
She knew that soon she would have to go back to the U.S., but she had hopes that she would learn about the ring and her heritage before leaving.

They carefully found a way to get into the crypt beneath the church ruins.
The coffin where James was buried was discovered, and an old rusted metal box was found above it.
Joelle was notified, and quickly she and her host family went out to the church again to see what was inside.
An old Bible and a jewelry box were indeed found!
There inside was the beautiful diamond and emerald ring!

The Bible was carefully opened, and Joelle noticed that it was well-worn.  Could James have truly loved reading God's Word?  Was he actually a true believer?  She would like to hope so.
An envelope fell out.  It was addressed to John and Eliza Mc Intyre!
What did it say?  Was this her heritage?
She hoped so.  She now loved Ireland and its people.
She loved the family who had taken her in.
Would Ireland become her new home, or would she go back to America with a new appreciation for both her heritage and her wider spiritual family of brothers and sisters who would inherit the Kingdom of Heaven?