Many Answered Prayers at a crucial time
“And my God will supply every need of yours according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” Philippians 4:19
Greetings loved ones! Please forgive me for this September
newsletter coming so late to you! If you’ve been following our updates on
Facebook, you know a lot has been keeping us quite busy.
First of all I’ll start with an update on Liam. We finally got him
in for surgery and he’s currently recovering from that. The poor kid had
been dealing with a hernia for months and we didn’t realize it until August.
We took him in to the doctor and they said it would “heal on its own.” Once
the hernia doubled in size, that answer didn’t sit right. After much research,
Larena found out that this type of hernia not only doesn’t heal itself over
time, but if it becomes incarcerated could lead to a life threatening situation.
On top of that, the longer you wait from diagnosis, the greater the risk of
incarceration! It was a stressful battle, but Larena was able to finally get
an appointment within a week. As the date approached, we were
anticipating the feeling of relief on the other side of the surgery. However,
the week leading up to Liam’s surgery Anora came down with some sort
of sickness that had similarities to the E-coli infection that put her in kidney
failure just two years ago. We took her in to get checked and they found
trace blood and protein in her urine. She eventually bounced back, but we
think she may have picked up a respiratory infection at the doctors office,
which she then brought home to Liam. The poor guy got sick with a high
fever and trouble breathing the night before his surgery, meaning they had
to postpone his surgery! This was super stressful for us, because Larena
had fought so hard to get the surgery date. Thankfully we only had to wait
another week. This past week we were able to take a 3 hour drive out to
Dublin and finally get the surgery he needed. Interestingly enough, when
they got in there they found that he actually had two hernias in one! The
surgeon said he must’ve been in serious discomfort. Well, he’s home now
and recovering. The challenge now is keeping him from running too hard,
jumping on something, or falling as he climbs all over things. This kid is
so active, it’s hard to explain to him that he may pop a stitch if he’s not
careful. Please pray he recovers fully, thank you!
Praise God the work on the ministry space in town is going
really well. We have had a hard working crew helping us paint and prep
the space each week. The main room and entry way has been primed and
painted, along with the kids ministry room. We are getting close to being
finished painting the kitchen and bathroom areas, and my office space has
one full coat of primer on it now. It has been so nice having a painting
crew join me each week. One girl, a Lithuanian who has been living in
Galway for many years has been helping paint 1-3 times a week for the
past few weeks. She loves helping, and is super excited about our vision
for building a community of believers among the young people in Galway
City. She has also become a huge answer to our prayers for someone who
would be willing to baby sit the kids!
The word’s getting out about what we’re doing, and people are
stepping up to help in huge ways. A few weeks ago I got a message from
a girl named Jill, who used to run the youth program at a church up the
road from GCF. Her and her husband Conor had been living up north in
Donegal for a while, but were moving back down for a few months to have
their baby in Galway. She remembered me talking about this city center
dream years ago and offered their help in any way I needed it. Conor has
been with me at the space each week, painting, assembling furniture, and
helping hang the TV. He’s been a tremendous help and I’m so thankful
for him. It was great to reconnect with him as well, because years ago I
was his designated mentor as he went through CCI Academy courses.
A woman named Anne also contacted me a few weeks ago and
saw online that we had a space in town. She was super excited to hear
about it because she (and many others) had been praying for something
to come to Galway City Center for years. We knew her from our previous
church and she told me about a few people who lived in town who she
would want to invite to our services once we started. These are people
who were either too far away to get over to any church outside of the city
or they might be too intimidated to step foot in a church like that. The
cozy atmosphere of our “home church” style would speak to these people
a little better. Anne has been coming in each week to help clean and
prepare the space for ministry. She has also offered to make decorative
signs for the walls. Just the other day, Anne came up to me and handed
me an envelope for the ministry. Inside it was €500 for furniture! It’s the
first Irish investment! We are just so blessed by her generosity, her
excitement for the ministry, and her willingness to help and invite others.
As she worked, she started sharing very helpful and creative ideas about
ways in which to reach the community. As a local Irish woman, we value
her suggestions tremendously. It’s important for us to meet the needs of
the local community & connect with them in a way that is most efficient.
Thank God for all of the excitement surrounding this church
plant, and for the many people who have come to help. We’re so grateful
for these folks, and for others like David, Aaron, and Michael who have
also helped us paint and move heavy objects. We’re also thankful for
everyone who has invested financially in this project. We only have 30%
of our startup budget left to raise, and just €12,000 left to raise for the
ongoing annual budget. Thank you for being a part of this amazing dream
come true. Thank you for sharing our video and website with your church
leadership teams. Thank you for all of the connections, for stepping up
and going above and beyond in your donations towards this ministry, and
for your constant prayer and intercession! Thank you for being there with
us every step of the way! We are so thrilled about this exciting season that
is finally is upon us! God bless you all. ~The Johnstons
Prayer
Requests
We would be honored
if you would pray with
us concerning:
Please pray for Liam’s
healing, that this situation on
will be over in Jesus name.
Please pray for the
continued work needed to
be done for the space to
be ready to have a Sunday
service!
Please pray the people
who have supported this
work, that they too will be
blessed for everything
they have given to help us!
Please pray for the
following individuals we
are currently ministering
to on the streets:
Thomas
Costa
Nadia
Brian
Martin
Pray for salvation and for
breakthrough!
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