The Lord's Creative Time at CreationFest

Rick led morning devotions for us campers who were up bright and early.

Us in the camping office...working hard, can't you tell???

Rick, Desiree Uht, me and Janelle Uht - two girls we taught in Sunday school when they were just 'wee-ins'. The girls were at CreationFest serving in the children's ministry area with a team from Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa.

Rick, Eddie, Cindy, Chris and Dave - the Wren brothers, Chris and Dave worked with us in the camping office

You know the times I’m talking about – when we do things because we know it’s the right thing to do, yet we wonder if any real good can come out of it. I kind of thought CreationFest would be like that. CreationFest is a week-long Christian festival combining bands, Biblical teaching and youth and children’s activities. It is not your usual music fest; as I came to see it (and the way it was received by most everyone in attendance) it was a Christian festival done right.

CreationFest was sponsored by the Calvary Chapels of the UK and Ireland. It was free to attend and had camping at a nominal cost. While at the UK Pastors and Leaders Conference held in York, England at the start of July, Cindy and I were led to volunteer to head the camping when the need was broadcasted. Oh well, it’s not glamorous, but it’s necessary. But God… who always has surprises for us, used these two simple servants in amazing ways.

We were “stuck” in the camping office in the back corner of the festival site, but people were brought to us. The office had power outlets and word soon got out that portable devices could be charged there. Some would come in, they thought, just to charge their mobile phones and would engage in conversation and lo and behold, real ministry was happening in their lives. We prayed for their needs, gave counsel, encouraged and befriended them and saw the Lord move through us.

The peak experience came as we ended up leading a girl to faith in Christ! She, too, had just walked up to the office with a practical need to be met, but the Lord used us to meet the greatest need of all in her life. The CreationFest had as a primary goal – which was wonderfully met, to build up the body of Christ. But being a Calvary Chapel sponsored function, the gospel was frequently presented and 58 new members of the family of God were officially registered! Make that 59 with our new sister Judy.

Thanks for all your prayers during this time, we are so very grateful for you!!!

Rick and Cindy Johnston

Independence Day

Its funny how terms are used differently – and taken for granted as well. What is simply called "the Fourth of July" in America is known as "Independence Day" in the UK. It actually makes much more sense to call it that because it describes the reason for the holiday. It is the day Americans celebrate their freedom from being a colony of England to becoming an independent country. As you might imagine, we wondered how it is viewed by citizens of this province of the United Kingdom, but it is mostly accepted as a historical fact simply with curiosity as to how it is celebrated.

As Christians, we can recognize our own personal "independence day." Mine is on November the 8^th. That is the day I accepted Jesus Christ as my savior and was forgiven by God of my sin. It was the day I was set free. It is a glorious freedom – freedom from the stain of sin, freedom from working to try to be "good enough" to make it to heaven, freedom to love. But the Apostle Paul makes an enigmatic statement about freedom in the first verse of Galatians chapter five: "[It is] for freedom that Christ has set us free." I get the "Christ has set us free" bit – he has set us free from the burdens and cravings of sin - but it is 'for freedom' to or for what? The context of the verse, however, is about salvation by grace through faith.

Paul continues on in the verse to say "stand firm therefore in the liberty by which Christ has made us free and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery." Oh, I see, we can be-come entangled in the urges of the sinful nature and fall into bondage, imprisoned by evil lusts. That must be why he says later to "walk in the Spirit and you will not gratify the lusts of the flesh" (5:16) and also "having been set free from sin, you become slaves of righteousness" (Romans 6:18). So, it is for freedom from guilt; for freedom from striving; for freedom from fear; for freedom from doubt and so on. This is a pretty good deal. So one more question remains: do you have your own independence day?

4th of July

Harvest held a 4th of July BBQ outreach at Justin & Melissa's home. They arrived in March from Tucson, AZ. Their current plan is to be here for 1 year, and then see how the Lord leads. The BBQ was a great success, 3 neighbors came over, and enjoyed the BBQ'd sausages and hamburgers. The weather was just right, it rained all weekend, until church ended on the 4th..then puffy white clouds, and lots of sunshine. The kids (big and small :) played in the jumpy house and kicked the football (soccer ball) around in the back yard. There was lots of great fellowship, and opened doors with their neighbors!

UK Pastors/Leaders Conference - 1 Year in Northern Ireland

It's been one year now that we have been in Northern Ireland and what a year it has been. God has shown us over and over, in subtle ways, how clearly it is His will for us to be here. To be in ministry for Him full time, with people that we enjoy, doing what we love and fulfills us so, is such a blessing. But God isn't finished working in us, either. One statement from the Pastor's conference has summed it up: "It's not the work that God is doing through you that matters, what is important is the work God is doing in you."

In this past year, the Lord has graciously provided perfect transportation for us and a wonderful house to live in. He even supplied a kitten to comfort and entertain us! He has opened doors of opportunity to minister to others through children's church and the retirement community at Moreland Close, as well as prison ministry and Christian ministry in the greater community.

But at the conference, in talking with Phil Twente, the missions pastor at Calvary Chapel Costa Mesa, he said how difficult the first years are for those of us who have left the familiar and are serving in a different culture. The harsh reality is that there are difficulties and we are in a spiritual battle. We "fight the good fight of faith" with enemies within (our own sinful human nature) and enemies without – unseen enemies that are trying to confuse us and discourage us from following the course the Lord has laid before us.

Second Thessalonians 3:3 reminds us, "Yet the Lord is faithful [literally: utterly to be depended upon] and He will strengthen you and set you on a firm foundation and guard you from the evil one."   Another encouraging message from God's word says to us in Philippians 1:6, also in the Amplified Bible, "And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ – right up to the time of His return – developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you." May the Lord Jesus keep working in us in the years ahead and even work through us!

 

1 Yr Anniversary in Northern Ireland

Wow, can you believe it!  We've been in Northern Ireland 1 year today!  We arrived June 11, 2009.
 
We are so blessed and are amazed how faithful the Lord has been.  Along with you, those who love, pray and support us...we couldn't be here with you, so we wanted to once again say, "Thank You"
 
 
We also have a prayer request for a few folks here, Stef and Cindy have Mono (Glandular Fever), and yesterday we found out that one of the other ladies, Gillian, may have come down with this as well...please be praying they will all recuperate quickly, and that it will not spread further.  Thanks so much!
 
 
God Bless YOU!
Rick and Cindy Johnston
 
"And I will give you shepherds according to My heart, who will feed you with knowledge and understanding." Jer 3:15,

Harvest's First Day in New Building

The first Sunday for Harvest to be in the new church building happened to be one of the coldest days in recent decades! Unfortunately the building is unheated, so we have only a couple of space heaters mounted on the walls and a borrowed floor standing propane heater - and it ran out of gas. We had it running for two days straight, moving day and Sunday. The building is a warehouse type of facility located in an industrial estate (an "estate" is a term for a neighborhood). But it is in a good location with plenty of traffic. It is just up the road and around the bend from the county Motor Vehicle Department.

It is quite a nice move up for us. We moved from an upstairs building that was approx. 750 square feet to one on the ground floor that is 2800 square feet. And, yes, they still use imperial measurements here. It is a mixed use of the metric (centimetres, kilometres) and imperial (inches, feet, miles) in the UK. With all the snow lately, news broadcasts gave depths in centimetres first then inches. However, temperatures are in Centigrade and Cindy and I have to keep converting the Celcius to Fahrenheit .

The temperature in the building before service peaked at about 10 degrees Celcius, which is 50 degrees Fahrenheit. That was when there was still propane in the canister. By the time service was to begin, the propane had run out (we and Pastor William had arrived two hours before service was to begin to heat up the building and, uh oh, ended up using up the gas that remained!) So we decided to meet in the children's room which was toasty warm due to two floor standing heaters which had been running for two hours. The whole church squezed into the room and worshiped together, then Rick briefly shared with the children and William gave a (for him) brief message.

The video clip on this link is the fellowship after service. We always have a leisurely time of fellowship (and food, of course) after every service. The larger building affords a permenant area for fellowship and the chairs in the sanctuary area beyond it now don't have to be stacked up after each service. I think this setup creates a first impression when you walk in that really reflects what Harvest is all about. We are family gathering together in the Lord, and what do families do? We huddle together in the cold - and eat. :-) But families support one another, accept each other and build up one another. This is truly what the "building" of Harvest is about. It's not four walls and a roof, but a group of people in love with Jesus and desiring to see the other person grow stronger in the Lord. So even though the room was cold, there was still alot of warmth from each other.


Please pray for:

• Continued wisdom in effective use of funds for building improvements
• To be a place of light and ministry in the estate
• To grow - in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ and in numbers as He wills

Learning to Purrrrr....

Among the things the Lord put on our hearts in preparation for life in Northern Ireland was to get a kitten. He provided it straight away when we arrived, and Miss Mittens has turned out to be a great source of joy and entertainment in our lives. Our wee Irish cat has a fun personality, but she thinks she’s a puppy for she will chase her tail to amuse herself and follow us around from room to room as we move about the house, happy to be wherever we are.
As we see our kitten settle in for a nap near us, it reminds us of a lesson that we’ve been learning lately. Sunday morning teaching has been going through the book of 1st Timothy and in chapter 6 verses 6-8 it says, “Now godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out; and having food and clothing, with these we shall be content.” Learning the lesson of contentment has been a paramount issue in our lives. In this world we are bombarded with messages telling us that we won’t be happy unless we have the newest, the flashiest, the costliest, the latest gadget or a higher position and greater responsibilities. Contentment is a fleeting image flashed before our eyes and never able to obtain. John D. Rockefeller, one of the world’s richest men ever, was once asked by a reporter of his wealth, “How much is enough?” Rockefeller replied, “Just a little more.” That is the human condition: we are never satisfied with what we have at the moment, but want a little more – or a lot more!
Cindy and I have been battling this tendency toward discontentment. As I mentioned last time, we are purposely starting slow. Although we want more, more, more ministry, God is slowing us down and asking us to learn to be content at the moment. Our natural desires are to be busy at work for the Lord, but He is asking, “Will you be content with what I have for you right now?” I am reminded of Zechariah 4:10 where God says, “For who has despised the day of small things…” Jesus said, “He who is faithful in what is least is faithful also in much.”
So in this time that seems like least, we are learning to be content and be faithful to what God has called us to be. Then we look at the cat when she settles down at our side, content with food and shelter and glad to be in our presence. She knows this by beginning to purr as we stroke her head. Cindy and I likewise are learning to purr as we settle in with the Lord; content with what He is giving us.