December 30 Praise Report and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

-Praise the Lord: for our first Christmas Eve gathering as CBV. It was intimate and the Lord blessed the time. 

 -Praise the Lord: We had a renewing, relaxing and peaceful Christmas and Boxing Day with our dear friends Stephen and Lorraine.

-Praise the Lord: He has been faithful to Trisha and others who have battled depression this holiday season.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha, our 'daughter-in-law' who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season, being the first Christmas after the death of Daniel, our son and for others who are battling depression at this time of the year.

- Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit so he will show us where He wants us to do in the coming year, what strategies to make and for Him to open doors... and that whenever CBV meets, the presence and power of the Lord will be experienced.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an dystonia torticollis that has tightened some neck muscles into a permanent knot and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction in the brain.                                  

- Pray for Muriel Ireland, whose husband George recently died. She is very confused and missing her life-long partner. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on her.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

December 23 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: We had a wonderful Christmas meal with the folks at Celebrate Recovery. Cindy & I were privileged to be able to help with the cooking of the meal.

-Praise the Lord: for He is giving Cindy and I "peace that passes understanding" through this first Christmas season without Daniel, our son who died in April. 

-Praise the Lord: He is faithful to Trisha and she is finding strength in him and seeking fellowship this season. Your prayers are working!

-Praise the Lord: John has done well. Thank you for your prayers!

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha, our 'daughter-in-law' who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season, missing Daniel.

- Pray against a spirit of depression that has come over most of the folks in our church body. The Christmas season can be a difficult time for many.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an dystonia torticollis that has tightened some neck muscles into a permanent knot and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction in the brain.                              

- Our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland from Mooreland Close has gone home to meet the Lord this week. Pray for his dear wife, Muriel, who is very confused and missing her life-long partner. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on her.

God bless you, and Merry Christmas!

Rick & Cindy Johnston

December 16 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: 'Santa' had a wonderful appearance at Crocus, the special needs youth club. It was great loving on the kids and making them feel special.

-Praise the Lord: for the rewarding time watching "White Christmas" with Pearle, Maggie and Gail's mother. 

-Praise the Lord: we have been hearing from Trisha that she is doing pretty well this season. Your prayers are working!

-Praise the Lord: John is still doing well. But please keep praying!

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season.

-Pray for John, one of our older youth, who is incredibly busy this holiday season with music recitals as well as his 1st year college work... That he will personally experience the Lord's touch and strength upon his life.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain.

 

-Please continue to pray for the Lord to work in our youth group. They enjoy meeting together, but there is not much spiritual hunger. Continue to pray for two of our youth: B. who is struggling with her identity in Christ and K. who is doubting her salvation.

- Keep praying for Leo and Cheryl Rose in Inverness Scotland whose application for permanent residency was turned down by the UK authorities. They filed an appeal through a lawyer in London and must receive an answer by January 8. The appeal may be this week, as the Lord worked an amazing act of grace last week by getting them the very large payment required for the lawyer!   

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

December 9 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: we had a wonderful Christmas Dinner for the folks at Mooreland Close.

-Praise the Lord: for the fellowship and closeness the Lord brought about in us as a church as we served together putting on the Christmas Dinner. (Jan's sister Angela joined us in helping out. Your prayers are working!)

-Praise the Lord: for the healing of Rick's eye after it was scratched.

-Praise the Lord: we have already heard back from the Charity Commission and have been given a 3-month window to apply for registration as a charity.

-Praise the Lord: for how well John is doing. Keep praying!

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season.

-Pray for John, one of our older youth, who is incredibly busy this holiday season with music recitals as well as his 1st year college work... That he will personally experience the Lord's touch and strength upon his life.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain.                            

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland from Mooreland Close, who is now in a nursing home, but is coming to the end of his life. Pray for his dear wife, Muriel, who is with him now in the nursing home. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

- This Friday, our youth group will be helping out with a special needs Christian youth organization as well, Rick will playing Santa for them.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

December 1 Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: we had a few good Skype calls with folks in California on Thanksgiving day. It was nice to have a touch of 'home.' 

-Praise the Lord: for Jan and Michael having a wonderful 'holiday' in Dubai.

-Praise the Lord: for a good fellowship together on our "Thanksgiving Sunday" .

-Praise the Lord: for some good times of fellowship with the youth as well as a couple from church.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season.

-Pray for John, one of our older youth, who is incredibly busy this holiday season with music recitals as well as his 1st year college work... That he will personally experience the Lord's touch and strength upon his life.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain.                           

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland from Mooreland Close, as he is now in a nursing home, but is not expected to last much longer. Pray for his dear wife, Muriel, who is with him now in the nursing home. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of the heels of Rick's feet. (They're about 97% healed!)
Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

October / November 2014

  

 In the photograph above, Mount Slemish can be seen looming over the start of the valley of the River Braid which is to the far left of the view. The Braid River flows past Broughshane and on to Ballymena and gives its name to the area and thus to the name of our church. There are a lot of churches in the area and many good ones. But God has planned one more… our new work, Calvary Braid Valley.

A New Work in the Braid Valley

The land we are living in has seen many works of God over the centuries. It has been said that Saint Patrick, when he was kidnapped as a teen-ager from Britain by Irish pirates, was sold as a slave and forced to herd swine outdoors in the slopes of Mt. Slemish. It was here that the Spirit of God stirred up faith in the young man so desperate for freedom. But it was also here that he saw the native Irish in an equally desperate condition trapped in fear of pagan ignorance of God.

Patrick was miraculously able to escape from his dreaded captors, hoping never to return to that spiritually dark and dreary land. But God called him back, this time of his free will, to bring “good news,” the gospel, to those lost and empty souls – and the rest is history! Now, we don’t presume to be anything like Saint Patrick, except in one way. We are stepping out in faith and above all, obedience to the Lord.

I have been going through the Book of Joshua on Sunday mornings and it has really spoken into our circumstances. I am reminded of the story told in the 3^rd chapter when the priests who were carrying the Ark of the Covenant stepped into the Jordan River under the Lord’s direction. They had been told they would cross the river on dry ground, yet when the put their feet in the water – nothing happened!

Yet the Scripture says something did happen: “the water above that point began backing up a great distance away.” As they stepped out in obedience, a miracle occurred, but 15 miles upstream, so they didn’t see the results for some time. As they stayed put in the torrent, their faith & obedience came through as the waters dried up and all the people did pass into the Promised Land on dry ground.

We also have, in effect, stepped into the River Braid at the Lord’s direction and things are moving for us too…by faith! It can be a scary thing to ‘walk by faith, not by sight’ and continue to move on despite outward appearances – but God is faithful, has a plan and won’t let us down. CBV may yet be small, but we’re strong!  

November 25 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: Pat from Mooreland Close has been healed of a heart condition by medication.

-Praise the Lord: for John being blessed with Rick at a monthly men's meeting and Bible study.

-Praise the Lord: for Cindy getting over the bad cold that she had this past week and the cough being almost gone.

-Praise the Lord: we submitted our request for charitable status to the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland.  (According to their website though, it will be a 2-3 year wait!)

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for Trisha (who was engaged our late son, Daniel) who is struggling with loneliness during this holiday season.

-Pray for John, one of our older youth, who is incredibly busy this holiday season with music recitals as well as his 1st year college work... That he will personally experience the Lord's touch and strength upon his life.

- Pray for Jan and Michael as they are away this evening on vacation for 12 days to Dubai.  Jan asked specifically that she would be able to share the Lord with her unsaved friends there, Mike and Joy.

- Please keep praying for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain.

- Pray that we will get affiliated with Calvary Chapel Association quickly (this should happen soon now that I've talked about it with Pastor Dave in York) 

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland from Mooreland Close, as he is now in a nursing home, but is not expected to last much longer. Pray for his dear wife, Muriel, who is with him now in the nursing home. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

November 18 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: the great time of fellowship we all had last week as we gathered to celebrate Rick's birthday.

-Praise the Lord: the spiritual growth the women are experiencing through their Bible study.

-Praise the Lord: for the pastors being refreshed during the prayer meeting going on right now in York.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray for John, one of our older youth, who is incredibly busy this holiday season with music recitals as well as his 1st year college work... That he will personally experience the Lord's touch and strength upon his life.

- Pray for Jan and Michael as they are away this evening on vacation for 10 days to Dubai.  Jan asked specifically that she would be able to share the Lord with her unsaved friends who live there, Mike and Joy.

- Please pray for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain.

- Pray for the Lord to work in our youth group. They enjoy meeting together, but there is not much spiritual hunger. Continue to pray for two of our youth: B. who is struggling with her identity in Christ and K. who is doubting her salvation.                                       

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland as he is now in the hospital, not expected to last much longer. Pray for his dear wife, Muriel. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Blessings,

Rick and Cindy Johnston

November 4 Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: the chili cook-off was a great success

-Praise the Lord: Gail got some other work!

-Praise the Lord: for the renewed relationship with Ruth and Gareth

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. (They're about 95% healed!)

- Also please pray for healing of Gail's neck. It is a lot more painful than she let's on. She has an unpronounceable medical condition that stiffens the neck muscles and is actually caused by a stress-related reaction of the brain

-  Please pray for the completion of the church website which should be finalized this Friday - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.                                          

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland and his wife Muriel at Mooreland Close. Though George still has his quick wit and sharp mind, his body is wearing out from cancer and a bad heart and we have just heard that he is going downhill quickly. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

- We pray for the Lord to use us more and more at Mooreland Close. We need to be praying for dear Margaret again, as she had a flare-up of arthritis in her foot making walking painful, so she couldn't make it to church with us Sunday as she had hoped. 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Blessings,

Rick and Cindy Johnston

October 29 Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.

Praise Reports:

-Praise the Lord: Margaret is pain-free! It turns out it was shingles that was giving the back pain - which disappeared when she got an anti-shingles injection
-Praise the Lord: Gail got some work!
-Praise the Lord: for the many answers to the specific prayers we have been giving to all of you.
-Praise the Lord: for how the Holy Spirit is moving in our Sunday morning service.

Thank you for praying for the following with us:

- Keep praying for Ruth and her husband Gareth to draw close and to find a place to rent that is reasonable and near to where they are now living .

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. (They're about 95% healed!)

- Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

- Please pray for our friend and brother in the Lord, George Ireland and his wife Muriel. These are dear friends at Mooreland Close and though George still has his quick wit and sharp mind, his body is wearing out from cancer and a bad heart. We pray for the Lord's peace and grace to be poured out on them.

        By the way, they and everyone at the Close were absolutely thrilled to hear that so many people in America are praying for them!

- Pray for Rick's hair-cutter, Jacqueline Kennedy, who is a believer and recently had the early stages of breast cancer diagnosed and has begun treatment. Please pray for a complete healing.

Be praying for these upcoming items:

- Church chili cook-off outreach November 2

- Christmas luncheon at Mooreland Close, Dec 5. They've asked us to cater the event, as they really enjoyed the Thanksgiving meal we did for them last year. (Also, the Lord closed the door at Johnston Close.)


Thank you for your faithful prayers,

God bless you,
Rick & Cindy Johnston

October 22 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: for the 11 guys that completed the Kairos course at Maghaberry Prison. Each one was genuinely moved by the Holy Spirit.

-Praise the Lord: Ruth's living conditions will be changed! She and her husband Gareth are drawing closer, too.

-Praise the Lord: for Cindy's completion of food preparation safety course so she will be able to cater meals.

-Praise the Lord: for finally getting a church bank account opened.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Be praying for Ruth and her husband Gareth to draw even closer and to find a place to rent that is reasonable and near to where they are now living .

- Pray also for another lady from church, Gail, who needs to find work.

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet.

-  Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

- Church Chili Cook-Off outreach Nov 2

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Rick and Cindy Johnston

October 14 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: for the encouragement we got and for the Lord showing us what to retain from the church planting seminar we attended last week.

-Praise the Lord: Rick's back was healed!

-Praise the Lord: for the many opportunities the Lord has given us lately.

-Praise the Lord: for open doors to share the Lord in schools here as well as prisons.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-Pray for a woman from church, Gail, who needs to find work.

-Pray for a woman who is needing to make changes in her living arrangements to avoid stressful conditions that are causing major health issues. She also needs her husband to understand the importance of moving and be sensitive to her need.

-Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet.

-Rick will be going to Maghaberry Prison for a  Kairos 3-day 'Retreat' 15-18 October

-For the Lord to increase attendance at CBV as He sees fit

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

October 7 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: for Gail accepting the Lord last week!

-Praise the Lord: Rick's feet are even better this week

-Praise the Lord: for Cindy not getting sick

-Praise the Lord: for Jan's sister Angela who attended the monthly community prayer of blessing for Ballymena with us.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet.

-  Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland. We were able to get calvarybraidvalley.org  domain name and are now setting up the site.  But it has been a cause of humbling for me as I have been attempting to do it myself and getting frustrated.

- Pray that we will get affiliated with Calvary Chapel Association quickly

- Pray that we will remain sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

- Pray for Rick's involvement with Kairos, a prison ministry, with which he goes in once a month. In particular, please pray for a 4-day outreach inside Maghaberry Prison that will be next week.

- Pray for Rick's hair-cutter, Jacqueline Kennedy, who is a believer and recently had the early stages of breast cancer diagnosed and has begun treatment. Please pray for a complete healing.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Rick and Cindy Johnston

September 30 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: Rick's arm is back to normal

-Praise the Lord: Rick's feet are much, much better also

-Praise the Lord: for the feeling of unity and closeness together and with the Lord on Sunday mornings 

-Praise the Lord: for meetings we were involved with this past week in town about a men's fellowship and networking among churches!

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. 

- Pray that Cindy will not succumb to a 'bug' that's going around and not get sick


- Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland. We were able to get calvarybraidvalley.org domain name and are now setting up the site.

-We still pray for a worship leader (although worship is working out OK right now by using 'canned' music) as well as for the rest of a team - children and youth workers, to be developed now so that we will be prepared for what the Lord might bring us.                                                       

- Pray for Leo and Cheryl Rose in Inverness Scotland. This pastor, originally from America was very helpful to me personally when needing direction as to establishing the church, has had their application for permanent residency turned down by the UK authorities. This is distressing to us, but devastating to Leo and Cheryl, who have been there a long time. They're considering what to do as they only have 8 days to appeal. They may have to go to an immigration detention centre, while waiting for the appeal to be processed.      

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
God bless you,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

September 23 Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: we had children at church for the first time and it went quite well as they remembered us and how much they are loved.

-Praise the Lord: the bank account for the new church has been accepted and is set up now.

-Praise the Lord: The women's Bible study morning and evening meetings are going extremely. The women are so hungry for the Lord, they've never had anything like this before!!  

-Praise the Lord: for a barbeque we had with a couple who used to be part of Harvest. It was a good time (great craic!) and we now know how better to pray for D and MH. We pray for them to return to fellowship with the Lord - and us, if that be the Lord's will.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 
 
- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. There is still pain in the heel which spreads to the the bottoms of the feet when I'm standing for a while or else walking on hard ground. I've been a bit of a stubborn ninny about seeing the doctor about this - but I'm expecting God's touch on me. Wisdom needed, perhaps?

- It's getting better, but my (Rick's) arm is a bit swollen after being stung by wasps and brushing against stinging nettles. Yes, I'm taking an antihistamine, but I'd like prayers for a speedy healing nonetheless... it's quite itchy. 

- Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the last things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland. We were able to get calvarybraidvalley.org domain name and are now setting up the site.

- Pray that we will get affiliated with Calvary Chapel Association quickly

- Pray that we will remain sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

- We pray that the Lord shows us where He wants us to be, what strategies to make and for Him to open doors.

- Pray also that the Holy Spirit will move in and through the worship.

-We still pray for a worship leader (although worship is working out OK right now by using 'canned' music) as well as for the rest of a team - children and youth workers, to be developed now so that we will be prepared for what the Lord might bring us.       

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston                   

      

September 16 Praise Reports & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

 

-Praise the Lord: Our visas arrived yesterday morning. Hallelujah! It's great to have them in hand.

 

-Praise the Lord: the bank account for the new church is now able to proceed.

-Praise the Lord: for a good youth meeting last Friday night.


Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. There is still pain in the heel which spreads to the the bottoms of the feet when I'm standing for a while or else walking on hard ground. 

- Please continue to pray for the completion of the church website - and for the other things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland. We were able to get calvarybraidvalley.org domain name and are now setting up the site.

- Pray that we will get affiliated with Calvary Chapel Association quickly

-We still pray for a worship leader (although worship is working out OK right now by using 'canned' music) as well as for the rest of a team - children and youth workers, to be developed now so that we will be prepared for what the Lord might bring us.                                                        

- Pray for Rick's involvement with Kairos, a prison ministry, with which he goes in once a month. In particular, please pray for a 4-day inside outreach that will be in the middle of October. Also, this Friday he'll be going in for a monthly reunion meeting with some former participants.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

Trust In The Lord With All Your Heart

This morning I turned over a daily scripture card and guess what? Again, the message that has been coming to us over and over showed up. Quoting Proverbs chapter 3 and verse 5 it said: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding.” This is a favorite verse of many and a guiding principal for most, but do we it really follow it? I know that I’ve sure been tested on this lately.
 
If we look at this Scripture, we see first what we are to trust in. Not our-selves, but the Lord. Our natural tendency is opposite: we want to trust our own logic, our own experience, our own amazing brilliance. But God is saying: “Trust me instead.” As we trust in God’s wonderful faithfulness, we learn that He won’t let us down. Moses said, “Know therefore that the LORD your God is God, the faithful God…” ‘Faithful’ means utterly dependable, so we trust a God who’ll not let us down.
 
This trust of Him is tested. We trust the Lord the same way we come into relationship with Him – by faith. Faith is tested also, in order to strengthen it. When all the craziness was happening to us, with the church we were here to serve with being dissolved and with it our permission to stay in the country, we had to seek the Lord trusting that He will guide us. God spoke to my heart many ways with the same message: ‘I will do a work you will not believe, even if you were told it.’ He did his part – giving guidance and direction, I just needed to do my part, to trust in the Lord with all my heart.
 
So we’ve stayed put, and sure enough, God gave us new sponsorship for a visa to remain here where He has led us, he gave us a few people to begin the new church with and he has given us more people to grow the congregation. I do love the dynamic of our meetings Sunday mornings. We are also going through the book of Joshua, and boy, it is full of examples of a faithful God doing what He promised, but in ways that are completely illogical, completely beyond our own understanding!
 
To be honest, sometimes I look at our small group on Sunday morning and I wonder if the Lord’s word to my heart will come to pass, but then I’ll get a wee nudge from the Holy Spirit to remind me to trust in him and not look at circumstances. So we can relax, let out a sigh and ‘trust in the Lord with all our hearts and not lean on our own understanding.’ It’s an exciting adventure to live life entrusting ourselves to a faithful God – one who will never let us down.

Pastor Rick

September 9 Praise Reports and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

 

-Praise the Lord: for our car being repaired and a special donation that came which covered half  the cost  

-Praise the Lord: for the proper request for biometrics that came this past week (long story). We had to pay for our biometric data to be recorded again, but this will really enable the UK visa to be issued!

 

-Praise the Lord: the first week of the woman's study went extremely well. The ladies are very excited and encouraged to be meeting and have something just for themselves.

-Praise the Lord: for showing us that the doors are closed right now for doing a work in Belfast

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. There is still pain in the heel and on the bottoms of the feet. It is not likely to be plantar fasciitis, the pain is concentrated in the heel and ankle. 

- Please continue to pray for getting a church website set up - and for the other things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland. We were able to get calvarybraidvalley.org domain name and are now setting up the site.

- Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

- We pray that the Lord show us the places to be, what strategies to make and for Him to open doors.

 -Pray that whenever CBV meets, the presence and power of the Lord will be experienced and the Holy Spirit will be free to move amongst us.                        

  

-We still pray for a worship leader (although worship is working out OK right now by using 'canned' music) as well as for the rest of a team - children and youth workers, to be developed now so that we will be prepared for what the Lord might bring us.          

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

God bless you,

Rick and Cindy Johnston  

September 2 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-You can keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. There is still pain in the heel and on the bottoms of the feet. It most likely is plantar fasciitis 

- Please continue to pray for us in setting up a church website - and for the other things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

-We have a need with getting a bank account for the church. Since Cindy and I are in "limbo" while the visa application is in process, the bank cannot open an account for the church. Pray that this will be resolved quickly.

- Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

- We pray that the Lord show us the places to be, what strategies to make and for Him to open doors.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

God bless you,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

August 26 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-You can keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's feet. There is still pain in the heel and on the bottoms of the feet.

-There was an issue with the visas that occurred last week. We received a letter from the Home Office that in effect said that they were not satisfied by the status that we were applying under. Our sponsor sent a letter further clarifying the reasoning we used. Pray that they will accept the explanation and quickly complete the process of issuing a visa.

-Please continue to pray for us in setting up a church website - and for the other things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

-Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.

-Pray that whenever CBV meets, the presence and power of the Lord will be experienced and the Holy Spirit will be free to move amongst us.                       

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,
Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

August 19 Praise & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.   

Praise Reports: 

-Praise the Lord: I love what the Lord is doing among us on Sunday mornings
 
-Praise the Lord: for fruit coming from Mooreland Close, the retired folks place. 
 
-Praise the Lord: all 10 spaces for the women's Bible study are filled for both daytime and evening sessions.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 
 -You can keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's foot. There is still a little pain in the heel and on the bottoms of the feet.

-Please pray that the UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently. We still have heard nothing and it's been about a month and a half. 

-We have a recent need that has arisen with getting a church bank account. Since Cindy and I are in "limbo" while the visa application is in process, the bank cannot open an account for the church. Pray that this will be resolved quickly.

-Please continue to pray that setting up a website will be smooth and when up and running, it will run without glitches - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant and doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

- Pray for Saeed Abedini, imprisoned in Iran for his faith. Word was received this week that ISIS terrorists in the prison have threatened to kill him.                        

-Please pray for Margaret Henry, our dear 'granny' in the faith who lives in Mooreland Close. She has a variety of health issues, especially scoliosis of the spine that is worsening in condition and is causing extreme pain.

Thank you for your faithful prayers,

Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

August 12 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-You can keep praying for a complete healing of Rick's foot. There is still a little pain in the heel, but I think the cause was from cheap shoes (don't get the athletic shoes from Costco!).

-Please pray that the UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently. We still have heard nothing and it's been about a month and a half. 

-We have a recent need that has arisen with getting a church bank account. Since Cindy and I are in "limbo" while  the visa application is in process, the bank cannot open an account for the church. Pray that this will be resolved quickly.

-Please continue to pray that setting up a website will be smooth and that it will run without glitches - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant and doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

-Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. I so much want Calvary Braid Valley to be a work of God and not of man, so we are diligently seeking the Lord's guidance and trying not be "leaning on our own understanding," but instead letting the Lord show us the places to be, what strategies to make and for Him to open doors.

Thank you as always for your faithful prayer support,

Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

August 5 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-Please keep praying for CreationFest - that camping and the camping office will go smoothly, for there to be safety for everyone on the site and for the people attending to be encouraged in their faith or get saved during the festival.

-Pray for my preparation for the message I will be giving this coming Sunday morning. There is not much time to prepare while in Cornwall and we won't be getting home until late Saturday afternoon!

-Pray for healing of Rick's foot. There is a lot of pain in the heels, making walking difficult

-Please pray that the UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently.  
-Please continue to pray that setting up a website will be smooth and that it will run without glitches - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant, also doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

Blessings,
Rick & Cindy Johnston

July 29 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

-Please pray for CreationFest - that camping and the camping office will go smoothly, for there to be safety for everyone on the site and for the people attending to be encouraged in their faith or get saved during the festival.

-We will also be sharing our son, Daniel's, testimony one evening in the Youth Venue during the festival, please pray many youth's hearts are drawn to the Lord.

-Pray for the church while those who are around next Sunday will be meeting together while we're away.

-Please pray that the UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently.  

-Please continue to pray that the website set up will be smooth and it will run without glitches - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant, also doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

-We have a new need that just turned up today with getting a church bank account. Since Cindy and I are in "limbo" with the visa while a new application is in process, the bank cannot open an account for the church. Pray that this will be resolved quickly.
Thank you for your faithful prayer support,

We so appreciate you!

Blessings,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

July 15 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us:

- Please pray for Megan Pechonis and her 4 children, as her husband Phil, who was the co-founder of CreationFest in the UK, passed away this morning after battling cancer.

- Please pray that the UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently. 

-Pray that the website set up will be smooth and it will run without glitches - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant, also doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.

-Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit.I so much want Calvary Braid Valley to be a work of God and not of man, so we are diligently seeking the Lord's guidance for us and not be "leaning on our own understanding," but letting the Lord show us the places to be and what strategies to make.

-Pray that whenever Calvary Braid Valley meets, the presence and power of the Lord will be experienced and the Holy Spirit will be free to move amongst us. My vision for CBV is for us "to know Jesus and to see Him made known."

-Pray with us for these needs in the USA: Trisha and Ashley's walk with the Lord to be strong; for Krissy to find the strength in the Lord that she needs; for Christine to be saved and for the rest of our family in America who aren't saved to have peace with God.

Thank you for your faithful prayers,
Rick and Cindy Johnston

Hold on everybody...here we go!!!!

Braid Valley, where Ballymena and Broughshane are located.  This is a view of Mount Slemish where Saint Patrick was held as a slave in the early 400’s.

   The Peter Pan ride at Disneyland has a memorable beginning.  As the ride starts the riders are lifted above London and Peter Pan appears with the announcement, “Hold on everybody here…we… go!” We feel that we are at the start of Peter Pan’s ride with the situation of our lives at present.

It has been quite a ride since March.  At that time, Pastor William announced that he would be stepping down from the pulpit and leaving Harvest. This, of course, was devastating news for Cindy and me on many levels. But the main point was that he didn’t see the church as a viable work because it had gotten too small and would be dissolving it in July when his official resignation took place.  No Harvest meant no sponsorship for a visa to allow us to remain in Northern Ireland.

Subsequently, we had to do some serious soul-searching and God’s-will-seeking. We were reminded of the original call to Northern Ireland and we certainly want to stay here because the people are etched on our hearts.  Too much work and relationship-building has taken place in the last 5 years. Meanwhile, the Lord repeatedly confirmed to us that it is His will for us to stay and continue the work begun with Harvest.  Many times He whispered to my heart, “Watch and see what I will do.”

What has resulted is that Harvest was dissolved early this month; we have received new sponsorship for a 3 year UK visa from Calvary Chapel York located in England, and are starting a new church in Ballymena called “Calvary Braid Valley.” Starting with a few people remaining from Harvest, we have already seen steady growth. Now, the numbers aren’t huge, but they are going in the right direction!

It would be a daunting prospect to be held responsible for the success of this new venture if it were not for the direction, assurance and encouragement by the Lord that we have received from Him. There is a lot of work ahead for us, not the least being all the practical duties of setting up a new church, so we appreciate your prayers on our behalf.   We are meeting Sunday mornings in our home right now and going through the Book of Joshua.  The first chapter of Joshua has an exhortation to him that the Holy Spirit has applied to my heart; “Be strong and courageous for the Lord is with you wherever you go.”

Thank you as always for your faithful prayer support,

Rick and Cindy Johnston