Looking back and excitement ahead!
“The one who calls you is faithful, and he will do it.” 1 Thessalonians 5:24

Greetings loved ones! We thank God for you, and hope
you had a wonderful, cozy, healthy Christmas! We pray your new
year will be better than 2021!
Every December, we cannot help but look back on the
previous year and then eagerly look towards the year ahead. The
past 12 months have been very humbling. We saw the beginning
of a shadowing process in Navan/Dublin with Lighthouse Church
that lasted a year (officially starting September 2020). As
September 2021 came Chris put the final touches on the brand
new church website/app he had been working on. He also
completed a 40 page illustrated training manual for the portable
church set up and tear down process. It certainly was a time of
stretching, serving, learning and growth! It did not turn out to
look like what we thought it would. However, that tends to be the
way the Lord works sometimes. Our interpretation of what God
said sometimes looks different than His ultimate intentions. Gods
ways are always higher than our ways! That is why staying close
to the Lord in prayer is so very crucial!!

The year we spent shadowing really helped us realize
something very important. We learned who we are and who
aren’t. Our Irish mentor Sean Mullarkey, lead Pastor of St.
Mark’s Church and national leader of Christian Churches
Ireland confirmed this in our meeting with him. Chris did not
know what I knew even before we took the plunge, that He was
already ready to be the Pastor God has called him to be. Yet, I also
knew that he needed the shadowing process. So it was an
important step that needed to be taken. It was important for him
to help again with video productions, tech support, and creating
the process for the set up/tear down of every future church plant
Lighthouse will have. It was important for him to lead a small
group again. It helped him regain confidence. This season was
good for his morale, because it reminded him of who God created
him to be. I’ve always known he was ready, he needed to know it
in himself, and this process really showed him that. Praise God!

This chapter also helped us as a couple. It’s amazing
that only through this shadowing process could we have had
the breakthrough that came in our relationship. It
strengthened us to remember that we are a team and God has
called us to do this together. We know He will bring the people
He has set aside for this work, but we needed to do this as a
team. I am 100% behind Chris and I have never been more
excited in all my life to follow him! It’s exhilarating!
As autumn died down, we knew that God was pulling
us back home to Galway. We could no longer deny it. We
connected with all of our mentors, both on the US side and the
Ireland side asking them for wisdom. They all said the same
thing, “Get ye back to Galway!” So with this confirmation and
encouragement, we had to go back to Pastor Jamie to let him
know our plans. He was not happy to see us go in the least, I
truly believe he had about 10-15 year plans for us on the Dublin
side, but we knew we needed to get back home.

It was then that we became very intentional in our
Galway church plant focus. We started fasting, praying and
seeking God for the next steps. God spoke to us, as He always
does and He asked us to do the honourable thing and meet with
every Pastor whose church is on the outskirts of Galway to
inform them of what this next season will look like for us in city
center. That took us all of October and November to
accomplish. Then, Finally we heard the Holy Spirit say,“Rest”,
as the next season is just on the horizon. To say we look to 2022
with eagerness and excitement is an understatement!

Beloved, THIS season is what we have been waiting
for, for over 20 years! God is faithful, He has called us to it, and
He will do it! We could NOT have gotten to this point without
you! The BEST is coming and we can’t wait to share it with
you! We will indeed need more American churches and
individuals to want to partner on the ground floor of this city
center ministry and church plant. Please pray for that! We will
need to raise a decent sized budget to rent the space in Galway
city center and work out of. It’s a BIG prayer request. It’s a
HUGE amount that we simply do not have! But we remind
ourselves, this is not OUR church or ministry, it’s GOD’S
church and ministry. So if He called us to it, HE will provide
for it! God has shown us a vision of our church in Galway City
serving the homeless, reaching college students, presenting the
Gospel message, starting Alpha courses and small groups. We
long to baptize people, raise up healthy and impactful leaders,
and pray for the Holy Spirits power to transform lives! Will
you continue to take this adventure with us? Pray for
provisions, pray for protection, pray for unending possibilities!
We love you, we thank God for you! We couldn’t do this without
you! Happy New Year! All our love, The Johnston Family

Prayer Requests
We would be honored if
you would pray with us
concerning:
Please pray for this next
season of ministry. Pray
the Lord leads us in every
step and detail.
Please pray for the space
in town that we are meant
to find that God has set
aside for us.
Please pray for the
individuals and churches
that God already has set
apart to help with the
ground floor of what God
is doing.
Please pray for provisions,
protection and endless
opportunities to advance
the Kingdom of God.

Support Information
If you would like to team
up & contribute to this
important mission, please
make checks out to:
Hope Ireland Missions
229 W. Exchange St.
Crete, IL 60417
(Chris & Larena Johnston
on the memo line)
Simply go to:
www.hopeirelandmissions.com
& click on “donate.”

Dear Friends,

For most of us 2021 has been an incredibly challenging year in
so many ways. Having personally done ministry for thirty years
in very spiritually difficult areas and as a family having
ministered in Mexico for eighteen years we are used to going
through spiritual attacks and adversity as we spread the Gospel
wherever God sends us. 2021 and 2020 have been full of one
trial after another as we continue to reach lost souls for Christ
and train leaders in Mexico and around the world. Sylvia’s CSF
leak and subsequent surgery has been the culmination. There
were many times when I wondered if Sylvia was going to make it
through the terrible ordeal. Through it all, especially in the most
challenging times, we have sensed God’s presence in a mighty
way, and He has been faithful to bring us through it all. Thanks
for all your faithful prayers for us, for helping us with the
medical bills and for the encouraging words!

When Sylvia went to the Mayo Clinic, she was at a level of
health of 10 -15%. Since the surgery at the Mayo Clinic her
health level has increased to 65 – 70%. We thank God for the
significant improvement she has made since her surgery. She
can help the ministry again, to a certain extent, but still tires
easily from being bedridden for the greater part of eight
months. Although Sylvia is much improved, she still has severe
headaches that come and go, a continual ringing in her ears,
frequent headrushes and a numbness in her face and neck.
Recently, Sylvia had an MRI in Texas and the neurosurgeon told
Sylvia that the fluid and blood on her brain is gone except the
top of her brain where she has some fluid but the blood is gone.
The doctors in Mayo think that Sylvia may have a small leak in
another part of her spine into her brain or, because the previous
leak that she had was so big, there is a small leak still coming
from the previous large leak. The surgeon who did the surgery
on Sylvia said that her CSF leak was the biggest leak that he had
ever seen. Please pray for God to miraculously heal Sylvia before
her scheduled appointment on January 24th. If we need to go to
the Mayo Clinic appointment, we ask you to pray for God to give
the doctor’s wisdom and that Sylvia would leave the hospital
with the leak 100 % fixed and healed and that every symptom
would be gone. We so appreciate your prayers!

Our Christmas outreaches went incredibly well although we
had to make some unexpected, last-minute changes due to
circumstances. Our plans were to go to the mountains of San
Luis Potosi, 12 hours into Mexico, to do the Christmas
outreaches. However, the van we were going to drive suddenly
would not start the day before we were to leave. Although we
immediately got the van into the mechanic, and he replaced the
battery and IRP sensor the van still would not start. Two days
had already gone by, time seemed to be fleeing and so we made
the decision that we would minister a little closer to the border
in the city of Acuna, Mexico, across the bridge from Del Rio,
Texas.

Pastor Jesus Garcia, who we are working with in starting video
Bible Colleges in Mexico, coordinated most of the Christmas
outreaches in Acuna. In all, we did ten outreaches in Acuna and
two in Nuevo Laredo. We ministered to approximately seven
hundred people in Acuna and approximately 250 people in
Nuevo Laredo. Over 400 people of all ages prayed to make Jesus
their Lord and Savior. Please pray that all these new believers
get involved in a local church and grow strong in their faith.
Pastors and church leaders will be reaching out to these people
to help them grow in their faith and to become a part of the
church. After each outreach anyone who was able to read and
wanted a Bible received one along with a Gospel tract explaining
salvation. This was followed by parents receiving a quilt or
blanket for their family and being able to take clothes for their
family. Each child also received a nice Joy Box or Blessing Bag for
a Christmas gift. We had an incredible team working together on
these outreaches. Marty came from Florida and as always
trained the kids to perform a powerful drama, preached God’s
Word and filled in so many other needy areas. Susan came from
North Carolina and besides leading the songs during the
outreaches she also shared God’s plan of salvation, through
making bracelets, using colored beads depicting various aspects
of salvation. Sheila from Rochester helped fill in the gaps where
needed at each outreach and David Wold did five different
Pastor and Leadership Conferences at churches between Acuna
and Nuevo Laredo.

Thanks for your prayers for God to impact lives during the
Christmas outreaches and for your part in supplying ministry
supplies for all these outreaches. The kids sure loved their Joy
Boxes and Blessing Bags, and the blankets are such a blessing
during the chilly winter days in Mexico. Many of our outreaches
were in neighborhoods where families live in pallet houses where
cold air blows through the holes in the walls making for very frigid
days and nights.
In January, if all goes as planned, I will be going to Obregon,
Sonora to do a Bible College graduation, to do children’s
outreaches and literature distribution and to buy the materials to
complete a church building for a church among the Yaqui Indians
in Vicam, Sonora. This is in the area where Sylvia’s grandma, on
her mom’s side, grew up and lived for most of her life.
Thanks for your partnership with GCOM. We all do our part and
God is glorified, souls are saved, disciples are made, and pastors
are trained! Praying that you and your family all have a blessed
2022 and that God uses you in a mighty way to impact lives for
Christ this upcoming year!!

In Christ’s Love,
Rev. Kevin, Sylvia and Joshua Rosendahl

Recap of 2021

The year 2021 was a year of challenges in Thailand (as it was for all of us), but it was also a year of progress. Covid shut-downs and mandates may occasionally have slowed activities down, they also created opportunities to minister to the hurting and needy. Mekong Bible Training Center and Lighthouse Church were able to reach out with food and supply assistance, as well as the Gospel, to people in their neighborhoods and across the border in war-torn Myanmar. Bible classes, Bible studies, and prayer meetings continued despite needing to be online at times. New believers came to the Lord and were baptized in the new baptismal tank on the Training Center property. Christmas was celebrated with church parties and outreaches to neighboring villages. Also, great progress was made on the construction of the main conference building. See the pictures below representing all of these activities. Eagles Rest International Ministries was involved in all of this through financial contributions, consultation, and administrative services like bookkeeping and letter-writing.

In spite of Covid restrictions and the war in Myanmar, the church of God in Thailand and surrounding countries is growing. Praise be to God!

On personal notes for Pastor ChiChang, director of MBTC, and his family, they welcomed a new baby daughter into their household at the end of November. See the picture below. Also, their oldest daughter continues to do outstanding work in her higher education studies toward becoming a missionary doctor. ERIM is financially supporting her schooling. 

Doug and Jill have not yet returned to Thailand due to Covid issues, but we have been busy on the homefront in the U.S. with Bible studies, prayer meetings, and working toward establishing a viable home church modeled on the Book of Acts template. Also, at the end of the summer, Jill received her Master of Divinity degree from Regent University.

Thank you so much for your prayers and financial support. We could do none of these things without you! God bless you throughout the New Year!

Looking Forward to 2022

In 2022, ERIM looks forward to continuing to support the work in Thailand as we have been doing with the potential for a return to boots-on-the-ground there at some point during the year. As much as we love being home with our biological family and U.S. friends, we miss our dear friends and spiritually adopted family in Thailand and would love to hug them in person. 

Also, Men at Rest (MAR), the men’s Bible study sponsored by ERIM, will continue to meet Saturday mornings at 8 a.m. at the Riverside Town Hall in Dawson, MN. All men are welcome to dig into God’s Word together in a highly interactive and mutually supportive atmosphere. Ecumenical prayer will continue the third Tuesday of every month at 7 p.m. with rotating churches hosting.  

Again, a heartfelt thank you for your prayers and financial support as we continue to preach the gospel of Jesus Christ and reach out to people at home and abroad in His name.