Jude 24–25
Barry, who is originally from county Westmeath in the
Republic of Ireland met Raquel, who is from Portugal, at his local church in
Limerick in 1995. It was love at first sight and the rest, they say is history!
Barry left the Emerald Isle in 1996 to begin his new life in Portugal
eventually earning his undergraduate degree in Modern Languages (English and
Spanish) and becoming an English teacher in the small town of Seixal, just
south of the capital city of Lisbon.
Raquel also earned her undergraduate
degree in music teaching, and both worked in the education sector for 17 years.
They married in 1998 and have three children, Mateus who is married to
Kerry, David, and Rebeca. Barry and Raquel were actively involved in
their local evangelical church in Seixal where Raquel was brought up. Barry became
one of the three elders that composed the leadership there being responsible
for pastoral care, preaching and teaching, as well as worship.
In 2012, having been
approached by Keith Lindsay and Victor Maxwell, they were challenged, invited,
and accepted by Acre Gospel Mission to develop the Portuguese speaking ministry
as the pastoral team within the International Evangelical Church of the
Algarve. This has been their ministry since 2013.
Apart from discipling, counselling, coordinating Sunday
school and worship, Raquel works alongside the Evangelical Alliance in Portugal
with the organization COMACEP. This organization is responsible for deploying
volunteers into state schools nationwide to teach evangelical studies. Apart
from pastoring the Portuguese speaking side of the ministry at the church,
Barry is heavily involved in discipleship and is also director of the
International Theological Leadership College. He is currently in the process of
completing his master’s degree in biblical and theological studies with Dallas
Theological Seminary.
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