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

  

July 9 Prayer Requests

Thank you for praying for the following with us: 

- Please pray that our latest UK visa applications will be processed quickly and efficiently.  (We have had to get new visas extensions through CC York, England as our sponsor in the UK, do to the dissolving of Harvest here in Northern Ireland)

-There is a whole new set of needs and focus for our prayers with the new work. We are calling it "Calvary Braid Valley," (CBV).

-Pray that we will be sensitive to the voice and leading of the Holy Spirit. I so much want CBV to be a work of God and not of man, so we diligently want the Lord to guide us and not be "leaning on our own understanding," but be letting the Lord show us the places to be and strategies to make.

-Pray that we will get an effective and cost-effective website - and for the other practical needs of beginning a new church plant, such as getting a bank account and doing all the things necessary to be a registered charity in Northern Ireland.     

-Pray for our youth - B, K and J that they would continue to enjoy fellowship together, but that the Lord would show us how to effectively bring Jesus to their day to day lives and that they would be serious about their relationships with the Lord.

-Pray also for a weekly meeting with the men from Celebrate Recovery that Rick is leading on Thursday nights here in Ballymena.

Thank you for your prayer support,

Blessings,

Rick and Cindy Johnston