October 27 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: We submitted our application for visa today.

- Praise the Lord - the details for the coffee morning are all sorted!

- Praise the Lord - The baking day last Saturday was a great success! 12 folks attended and Lynsey experienced first hand the love of Jesus!

- Praise the Lord: Everyone was blessed Sunday evening when Rick shared his testimony at Culleybacky Methodist church,

- Praise the Lord - Leo's parents relocation to Calif went smoothly, and they are both settling in their new homes.  

 

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Pray that our visa application which was submitted today will be processed smoothly and quickly.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study. Lynsey came to hear Rick's testimony and was really moved hearing about the Lord's faithfulness in our life over the years and what Rick had been delivered from.

- Pray that the coffee morning fund raiser for the Christian radio station will be a great success and Ruth grows in confidence in the abilities the Lord has gifted her with.

- Please lift up Rick in his preparation for Kairos prison ministry (week of November 10-13)

- Please continue to pray for more spiritual hunger in our youth group. 

- The youth could also use prayer for the puppet show they'll be doing for Crocus, a special needs youth group, on 30 November.

- Pray that church members keep growing in confidence in the Lord, but we're praising the Lord for the growth that we are seeing!

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

Busy Busy Busy, So Rest in the Lord

It’s become a very busy time since summer ended. As soon as we returned from the Missions Conference, we needed to set things in motion to have our wee church become a licensed sponsor for the UK Visas and Immigration department. That was accomplished at the end of September.

 

Meanwhile, the work of the ministry has accelerated and expanded, praise the Lord. Exciting things are happening as we get more and more involved in the lives of people around here.  Oh, and we can’t forget that we now have to be getting another visa for ourselves. Busy, busy, busy.

It could be very easy to get tired out or even burn out. But the Lord who carries us is faithful. In Psalm 37, verse 7, God gives His people a place of refreshing when He says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” Ah, what a place to be – that is, in the Lord. He gives us strength and direction as we wait on him to guide and he gives us peace as He gives the strength to carry on. I recall the words we read as we studied the book of Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

That is the secret: to not rely on feeble human strength, but rest in the Lord and receive His strength. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.” See? He gives us rest!

So instead of carrying the burden of worry for the people, we “cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us.” We are seeing the Lord doing what He promised to do as He spoke to my heart last year. He is bringing more people to our fellowship and it is growing by word of mouth, just as He said it would.  So, we appreciate your prayers for us and our church family as the Lord keeps us busy with the work of the kingdom.

Pastor Rick 

October 20 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: We are moving ahead with the coffee morning fundraiser for November 7.

- Praise the Lord - The ladies are taking to heart what they are studying and overcoming fears.

- Praise the Lord: We had a full house Sunday morning, literally, as a family and 6 of their kids that we hadn't seen for a while visited us. They're planning to return Saturday for the baking day outreach.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Rick will be giving his testimony at a Methodist church in a town nearby. Pray that a message from the Lord will encourage and touch people through him.

-  Pray that the Lord will bless the baking day outreach with good fellowship and an openness to Him.

- Please keep praying for Jenny that God will give her understanding of her personal salvation and assurance of her place in His kingdom.

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey from the women's study.

- Pray that Cindy and I will be successful in getting our next visa. It is only one more week before we can apply!

- We pray for Pat who must retire from managing Mooreland Close due to MS: 1) that her financial needs will be met and 2) for the next manager at Mooreland Close to be another godly person so that the people there will continue to be well taken care of and we will keep our good relationship with the Close. 

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Rick & Cindy Johnston

Busy Busy Busy, So Rest in the Lord!

It’s become a very busy time since summer ended. As soon as we returned from the Missions Conference, we needed to set things in motion to have our wee church become a licensed sponsor for the UK Visas and Immigration department. That was accomplished at the end of September.

 

Meanwhile, the work of the ministry has accelerated and expanded, praise the Lord. Exciting things are happening as we get more and more involved in the lives of people around here.  Oh, and we can’t forget that we now have to be getting another visa for ourselves. Busy, busy, busy.

It could be very easy to get tired out or even burn out. But the Lord who carries us is faithful. In Psalm 37, verse 7, God gives His people a place of refreshing when He says, “Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him.” Ah, what a place to be – that is, in the Lord. He gives us strength and direction as we wait on him to guide and he gives us peace as He gives the strength to carry on. I recall the words we read as we studied the book of Joshua: “Be strong and of good courage… for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”

That is the secret: to not rely on feeble human strength, but rest in the Lord and receive His strength. Jesus said in Matthew 11:28, “Come to me, all you who are troubled and weighted down with care, and I will give you rest.” See? He gives us rest!

So instead of carrying the burden of worry for the people, we “cast our cares on Him, for He cares for us.” We are seeing the Lord doing what He promised to do as He spoke to my heart last year. He is bringing more people to our fellowship and it is growing by word of mouth, just as He said it would.  So, we appreciate your prayers for us and our church family as the Lord keeps us busy with the work of the kingdom.

Pastor Rick

October 13 Praises & Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- We praise the Lord, by faith: Because, though it was tough to hear, Pat at Mooreland Close is being forced into retirement due to her deteriorating physical condition from MS but she is trusting the Lord for the future with these major changes in her life.

- Praise the Lord - The youth are meeting faithfully to practice their puppet show

- Praise the Lord: The surgery went well for Val Hoile's shoulder. We are praying for a good recovery.

 Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- We pray for Pat: 1) that her financial needs will be met and 2) for the next manager at Mooreland Close to be another godly person so that the people there will be well taken care of and we will continue our good relationship with the Close. 

- We pray for the move of Leo's parents this week from Oregon to southern California: that the logistics and layover at the airport will go smoothly and for her mum, who has dementia, to settle well with the change.

- Please keep praying for Jenny "that God...may give to [her] the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of [her] understanding being enlightened" (Eph 1:17-18a)

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey who are beginning the women's study.

- Pray that Cindy and I will be successful in getting our next visa. It will be two more weeks before we can apply.

Thank you for your faithful prayer support

God bless you,

Pastor Rick & Cindy Johnston

October 6 Praises and Prayer Requests

Here are praise reports and prayer requests for this week.  

Praise Reports:

- Praise the Lord: A new girl, Lynsey, has come to the women's study and taken the last book, then was at church with us on Sunday. 

- Praise the Lord - The youth have written the puppet show they will performing at the end of November, bringing an early start of Christmas for the special needs youth group, Crocus. 

- Praise the Lord: Rick has been asked to take an entire evening service and share his testimony at Cullybacky Methodist Church.

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- We pray for Leo's parents who will be moved from Oregon to southern California next week: for her mum, who has dementia, to settle well with the change and her father to hear Monday that the catheter for his prostate can be removed.

- Please pray for Jenny "that God...may give to [her] the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the knowledge of Him, the eyes of [her] understanding being enlightened" (Eph 1:17-18a)

- Pray for the salvation of Leanda and Lynsey who are beginning the women's study.

- Pray that Cindy and I will be successful in getting our next visa. It will be three more weeks before we can apply.

- Val Hoile, the wife of a pastor in Warrington England and a personal friend of ours is having surgery on her shoulder this Friday. Her arm must then remain immobile for 8 weeks after the operation. We're praying with her for a quicker recovery!

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