It saddens me to say, as most of you are already aware, my father went to be with the Lord on the evening of September 2nd. If you are just now receiving this news, I’m sorry for the delay. We sent out an e-mail shortly after his death to everyone on our e-mail list, but we are just now getting something out by mail. These last two months have been very difficult for us as a family. I was in Nicaragua at the time of his death. Traveling back and forth to Nicaragua
has been difficult lately, but thankfully I was able to travel by land the following day to Costa Rica and fly out of there to be in Texas with my family and help make arrangements for the funeral. I want to thank all of you who have reached out to us and have been praying for us. Your prayers are greatly appreciated.
My father served the Lord in full-time ministry for 52 years. What a legacy he has left behind! Although those of us who knew him are saddened by the loss, we know that he is finally in the presence of the Savior he loved and served. Even though he has left this world, my prayer is that his legacy will live on through the ministries he founded. One of those being New Hope Children’s Foundation, which he founded in 2000 and I have been directing for the last several years. Even though my father traveled around the world in ministry, Nicaragua and the Nicaraguan people always held a special place in his heart and he loved going there. Please continue to keep us in your prayers. That we may be found faithful in everything the Lord has called us to do. Also I would like to thank every single one of you who have faithfully
stood with us over the years. Each one of you are so important to us and we do not take
any of you for granted. Thank you for partnering with us to reach Nicaragua for Christ!

National day of the bible

On September 25th, we celebrated Bible Day in Nicaragua! This day was recognized and enacted by the
government on October 15th, 2002 and it was established that it would always be on the last Sunday of
each September. This year our students got together with their Bible teachers, one being myself, and we
began to make plans to celebrate this special day.
Our objective as their Bible teachers, was that our students would understand on an even greater level how
the Word of God is vital to their lives in order for them to have a correct walk with the Lord. We also taught them about the importance of reading the Word of God, practicing it and putting it into action and how it brings many benefits
to them. Our goal is that they learn to love the Word of God and the One who inspired the Word.
The word we imparted to them was to know that God teaches us that the Word must be the Light that overcomes darkness and illuminates our day to day walk. In the same manner, the Word is food that strengthens our
Spirit just as our body needs food to function and sustain life. The Word is the best gift we have in order
to be edified and transformed as we put it into action. Our generation must learn to thirst and hunger
for the Word of God. We taught them that they must smell of holiness and purity to be a pleasing
fragrance before God. They must remember every day that without holiness no one will see the Lord.
Our goal is that they learn to love the Word of God and the One who inspired the Word.
This day was a beautiful time with our student body. Nicaragua is blessed to have the opportunity
to celebrate this great day when in many other countries it is prohibited. As children of God
we should celebrate the Bible every day by reading the Word, which leads us into having communication
and intimate fellowship with our Father.

INDIGENOUS DAY

On Friday, October 21st, MTC celebrated Indigenous People Day; a day where the indigenous people of Nicaragua are
celebrated and the arrival of Christopher Columbus to the Americas is remembered. We begun early in the morning with a fair where students dressed in various typical indigenous clothes. It was an event not only of fellowship but a means to raise funds to support the school. The students brought various typical foods to sell with the goal of donating the profit to New Hope. The idea was presented and coordinated by the administration of MTC so our students and their families could realize the need of New Hope in Nicaragua and could participate in sowing back into the ministry. Students participated from preschool to eleventh grade. This fair was held to have a time of unity and fellowship, but at the same time it was a blessing to see reflected in our students the values that our teachers have instilled in them on a daily basis.

hurricane Julia

Hurricane Julia has left many in Nicaragua devastated in a matter of 2 weeks. On the morning of October 9th, Julia with wind speeds of 85 mph made landfall on the Atlantic Coast of Nicaragua, in Laguna de Perlas, where it decimated into a tropical storm. On one hand it was good that it downgraded from a Hurricane to a Tropical Storm, but on the other hand, as a result of this it moved a lot slower across Nicaragua which brought extreme amounts of rain, causing numerous floods and mudslides to occur; forcing many people to evacuate their homes. As a result of this latest hurricane many people had their homes damaged and others sadly lost their very lives. It has been reported a total of 28 people dead, numerous hospitalized and hundreds, possibly thousands homeless as Julia left destruction in her wake.
At New Hope in El Crucero, Nicaragua, we were not an exception for the calamity of Julia. We know that amidst this chaos God was in control. Even though we did not come out of it unscathed, we believe that the mighty hand of God was over us and protected us. Our students, teachers and staff members were all unharmed. Nevertheless, we were greatly affected by the passing of Julia and the many damages it caused. We have damage to different roofs and gutters that were torn off and other damages that need to be repaired. At this time we don’t have the finances to make these repairs
and we are not sure exactly how much it will cost. The list is extensive on the repairs that need to be done on the various ministry facilities of New Hope, but little by little we will repair them as God provides. Please agree with us in prayer for the finances needed to make these necessary repairs and also so that we can help others as well who were affected as a
result of the hurricane. Your prayers and financial support are greatly appreciated.

Finances needed for the month of November

Please agree with us in prayer for the finances we need to operate during the month
of November. Our current monthly budget is $9,772. This amount covers just our bare
minimum operating expenses. We praise the Lord for those of you who are faithfully supporting
New Hope each month. Your faithful giving means so much to us! We cannot say
thank you enough.
Please agree with us in prayer for the additional $4,249 needed for this month, that in the
natural we are not projected to receive, but by faith we believe the Lord will provide!
Please also agree with us for the finances needed for maintenance and repairs to the
building structures at New Hope. This is something that is not included in our basic
monthly operating expenses and especially after hurricane Julia there is much that needs
to be done.

Gym Remodel
Please continue to agree with us in prayer for the remaining $32,000 needed to finish remodeling the
gym. The majority of these funds are to purchase the wood for the supports for the roof that goes around
the classrooms. We are believing that we will soon be able to purchase this in Jesus’ Name!

Dear Friend,

How are you? With a couple Good News Club leaders getting Covid and me needing a root canal (please continue to pray for my tooth as it’s a 3 step process), it has been a bit of a slow start to school term 4. But we are pressing on.

Last week Launceston’s Good News Club had 5 new children! What a blessing! 

Longford will resume after illnesses tomorrow. However, I was able to take one of our Longford girls to our church network’s youth group I help with (which is 4 churches coming together to make a youth group) for the first time Friday night as during the last term of the year 6th graders are allowed to come to youth group. That was great to get to spend some time together. She is the one who became a Christian at the Will Graham KidzFest earlier this year and who had a big change in her life at school as a result. She let me know Friday that her step brother is moving in with them tomorrow. Please pray for this transition in an already stretched family and that her step brother (4th grade) would want to come to Good News Club too.

Also, it’s the time of year to now start planning for summer ministry. Directly with children, we will be holding our holiday clubs in Launceston and George Town again. There is much to get ready for that. I will also be training a couple teachers in CEF’s Teaching Children Effectively college-level course. It has been since before the pandemic that I have taught the course in Tasmania although I did help someone else out with teaching the course while stuck in America in 2020. So you can begin now to pray as I brush up on my Teaching Children Effectively skills for that to go well in January.

That is the quick update here. I hope to send the another update around Thanksgiving, but in case you’re one of those families that celebrates the weekend before I hope you all have a wonderfully blessed American Thanksgiving!

In Christ,

Stephanie

I am grateful for our past month, because it was a great month of ministry. We started our box of smiles project and fed many families. It was amazing what we heard, as we took the boxes of smiles to the families: One lady said they bought medicine for their sick child and they had no money left for food; Another person said we are completely out of food, Praise God for answered prayers. Remember it only takes $30 to fill a box with food, so please designate your donations to, “Box of Smiles”. We use all the money that is sent to buy all of the food the first week of each month.  Please remember this food goes to the working poor in our churches. These people tithe, they are in church every week, and they are not battling addictions. These are people fighting to survive. Please be generous and pray for this ministry. No child should go to bed hungry. Please help us, and thank you for what you will send. Together we can make a difference. 

We are doing so much ministry, and it feels so good. Our men’s ministry is continuing to grow, and the men are raising up and becoming the spiritual leaders of their families. Several months ago, some of these men hardly came to church, but now they never miss a service. They are disciplining their children, doing daily devotions, and these once stern faces, now have loving smiles. Our parenting classes are also changing families. We even have grandparents, and people with no children attending. There is a real spiritual hunger that is growing in our classes. I am also doing premarital classes and next month we will have our first marriage at the ranch. 

Finally, we are continuing to fix up our new church at Coquimatlan. This past week I put in the first sink, and now they can stop using the outside hose. This week we will also be putting up a donated TV so we will have words for the songs.  We are trying to bring healing to this church that is hurting. I have never been busier. Thanks to your support we are changing our world.  We really need your prayers and support.  We will leave the lights on for you. Thank you all very much. You are the best.

Please make Donations to: Mission to the Children PO BX 211322 Bedford, TV 76095
https://www.paypal.com/paypalme/missiontothechildren

We need to have a plan, strategy, vision, and God will amend it if he needs it. Believers in Acts had all three. They went to key cities, the capitals of the provinces as they preached the good news. There they preached at the synagogues or main gov’t buildings. From there the gospel was flowing naturally through all the joints and natural connections to the smaller places in the region. Soon the whole area was saturated with the good news. Were there any changes to the pattern? There were. And there will if we let God lead us. But God wants us to use our smart mind and planning abilities in the gospel preaching. Too often, we see Christians that do not have a plan or a strategy, not saying a vision. This is especially true here in B-stan.

Church Plant In Moscow
It is hard to believe that it is right in this moment there is a new church being planted in Moscow. Brother who was saved and raised in our church in Ufa, along with his team, answered the call. Many of you know him. Please pray for the success of this endeavor. Pray for a good rental hall and a heart of the landlord.

Men’s Club
Please pray for our men’s club participants. One old man – Anatoly – is not doing well. He also must take care of his even older mother. Because of that he has to stay home. He has been of great help for me for many years.

Kazakhstan
Due to rapidly deteriorating situation we have to relocate across the border to Kazakhstan. We had to make this decision for the safety and well-being of the family and the ministry. Our initial plan is stay there for two months. We remain in contact with all our key leaders on the ground. That will sure incur some unplanned expenses on us. Our estimates show us, we are going to need $600 per month for the total of $1200 for the duration of the trip. That is the price of the tickets and rental place.

Friends and Family
Tim is becoming a leader in his basketball team. And it is also so cute to see how a six years old Christina’s reciting a bible verse.
Continue to pray for Liliya’s father. We cannot say for sure but we are making attempts to speak the gospel into his ears.
Thank you once again for your faithful prayers for us, our family and ministry. We have been humbled and overwhelmed by your love and partnership.

You can make tax deductible contribution to Ufa Bible Ministries which is recognized by the IRS as a 501c3 non-profit entity. Make checks payable to:
Ufa Bible Ministries
PO BOX 1761, Columbia, SC 29202

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!