Dear loved ones and friends…
God bless you all with a great new year!!!
We hope and pray this newsletter finds you in good health and that it will be an inspiration to you!…
We don’t know what the Lord has in store for each one of us, but we know we can keep on trusting in Him Who knows the end from the beginning and that is a very comforting thought…
The Lord gave us a verse for this New Year that I have shared with some of you already…
It’s in Romans 15:13 and it says: May the GOD of HOPE fill you with ALL JOY and PEACE in BELIEVING that you may ABOUND in HOPE by the POWER of the HOLY SPIRIT…
No matter what’s ahead this year He can and will do this for us if we ASK Him and stay CLOSE to Him…

End of the year 2023…

The last two months of the year were full of meetings, reports, graduations, Christmas and New Year!
Amongst them were the men and women’s National congress which were attended very well and were an inspiration to many! The theme for the men was: “The armor of God and being strong in the Power of His might” and the women’s theme was: “Arise and shine” We need both themes for this year 2024 and keep our eyes on Him.
Then we had the National ministerial congress where all the pastors and district supervisors got their new assignments for 2024.
We can stay at our church and are very thankful for that!

Graduations at the “New Horizon” school…

Amongst the graduating high school students was “our” student, named Jenesis, who we were able to help and support for 12 years by the grace of God for He provided for her…
I was her English teacher at that time and we found out that she didn’t have a sponsor, and without it she wouldn’t be able to stay in school! We fell in love with her the first time she entered Kindergarten. She was so cute and has beautiful eyes and by faith we said “yes” to sponsor her and God hasn’t failed her nor us…He is so very good and faithful and we are so blessed…
She is turning 18 in April and she is very talented, artistic and a beautiful young lady!
She is seriously praying about what to do next, for there are different options but she is not sure yet. So, Robert and I are praying for God’s will and direction in her life and we thank God for the inspiration she is to others and us!

Back to school…

I am going back to work as a volunteer chaplain in the “New Horizon “school and help with teaching the Bible program for the mothers of the students and doing the devotionals with the teachers.

The church…

Well, we must confess that 2023 has been a very challenging year for our church family and for us!
But as always God has been faithful in that He has not given us more than we are able to bear and also to bear one another’s burden and so to fulfill the law of Christ. (1Cor 10:13 and Galatians 6:20)

Lidio and Aylin…

Two of our teens Lidio and Aylin have turned 15 years old which is a very special Birthday here!  
It’s the age of responsibility and their confirmation of faith.
We made it very special for them. They are both very precious and responsible kids, serious about the Lord, as well as with their studies, (they are both A students) and they love and honor their parents and grandparents all of whom are very humble and hardworking people and also members of our church.
We presented the teens each with their own study Bible, from which each one confirmed their faith in the Lord and shared Psalm 119:33 to 45 with the congregation…Aylin, was given a simple ring which is a symbol of God’s unending love for her, and Lidio received a lapel pin of the Christian flag to remind him of God’s Banner of Love over Him…
Then they both received a cute alarm clock to remind them to take time with the Lord every day and that time is short and that Jesus could return at any time. They loved it!
We have graduated them from the pre teens Sunday school class and are now disciplining them with Bible studies and counseling!
The rest of the kids Sunday school class are all 13 years and under so besides our two teens we just have young couples, older couples and single adults. We thank and praise the Lord for His faithfulness in the lives of those two precious teens…

Prayer, Practice, Prepare and Postpone…

Well, in the middle of all the things going on, we were praying, preparing, and practicing for Christmas and all were giving their best, especially the pre teens and teens. It had not been easy because we had lots of rain at the end of November and the beginning of December, which made traveling for us very difficult and for our members as well for they had to walk through the rain and mud to church.

Car problems…

Our car broke down once during that time but we got it repaired! PTL! We were hoping and preparing for a big turnout on the 17th of December ready to reach more souls for Jesus…having  special morning service and in the evening the theater, songs and a special message to honor His Birthday!
Robert and I were all set for that special Sunday, our car was filled to the top with props, clothes, small gifts and extra equipment and food, ready to leave at 3 am.
But then, without warning (the weather forecast here is seldom right) just before leaving it started to rain and storm and it lasted all day!!! We couldn’t make it to the church, neither could our people and all electricity went out as well! It went on like that the next day as well…On the 19^th we were able to communicate with our church family again and decided to try again on the 21th.
We set out again and it started out as a beautiful day but it reached 110 Celsius and when we were half way our car broke down again…When we finally got home the heat was unbearable and there was no electricity! So, our Christmas play would not have been possible anyway without the working of the ceiling fans, the kids all dressed up, would have fainted and in that kind of heat the people don’t come out! Then Saturday 23th and Sunday the 24^th our church members were traveling with their families to visit other family members…So all we could do for them was a Christmas service through WhatsApp and that was so disappointing for everyone, especially the Sunday school kids!

The New year…and Dengue fever…and three kings day…

We kept on having torrential rainfall for days and people came back from visiting their relatives during Christmas and New Year and many came back with dengue symptoms…
Since the 6^th of January here is “three kings day” and that is the day of giving gifts to the children instead of Christmas day, we prayed about it and together with the church we decided we would have our Sunday service and Christmas play on the 7^th So we still could be a witness and the kids were more than ready and happy to do it and we could also share the small gifts we had prepared for them.
Well, the service and play went very well, but hardly anybody from the neighborhood came out due to dengue symptoms and our two of our little shepherd boys were sick as well and could not make it! That did NOT stop the enthusiasm, we had explained to them before, that even if nobody came, we would do it before the Lord and the heavenly host for they would be watching!!!
And we all just went on and had a wonderful and blessed time together!
It went great! And we all felt we had won the battle for the Lord!
Well the dengue situation got worse and quite a few of our church families were affected by it, either coming down with it or running back and forth to the hospital with family members. Several of our older people are having it for a second or third time which is dangerous because it can cause hemorrhaging and then death. Robert and I had it once at the same time (it’s contagious) and it left us terribly weak for weeks on end…Please, keep praying for healing and protection for our people and for us, all of Paraguay is fighting the same battle every year due to the heavy rainfalls, humidity and the heat the dengue mosquito’s flourish!

Our God has a great sense of humor and definitely hears our prayers…

We have to share this little story! God keeps on showing up even in the smallest details and He makes us laugh and let us know that He hears us always…
One of our church family is dear Sabrina, she is 75 years old. She has been for many years very active in the church… In 2020 she almost died during Covid due to the fact that she has severe heart problems…Since that time she follows our Sunday services through “WhatsApp” and she is so thankful for that. Well, the Lord ensured her that He has not forgotten her! Last month on our way to the church, we were overtaken by a terrible rainstorm. We had promised to go and see Sabrina and her husband Miguel before the church service because she wasn’t feeling well. Like always before traveling, we prayed for protection and that we would have enough time to see how Sabrina was doing. The rain kept pouring down merciless and we weren’t sure that we were able to get to the church. We asked the Lord to please not let us pass by Sabrina’s house unnoticed! It was so bad that Robert had to pull off the road because we couldn’t see anymore where we were going and then our car didn’t restart…
We were sitting there for about ten minutes until the rainstorm slowed down a bit and we could finally get our bearings. To our great surprise when we opened the doors of our car, we found ourselves parked in front of Sabrina’s house!!! That was absolutely God’s doing!

We visited with her and Miguel, prayed with them and they were thrilled and so inspired by what the Lord had done…
Then wanting to go to the church our car didn’t start and we were stuck! We found out that no one had gone to church because the dirt roads were impossible to walk or travel.
After praying and trying again we knew we had to find a solution to go home and by God’s Grace we got in contact with the Touring agency who picked us up with a tow truck and towed us home…Our car had to go back to the shop and is still going…

Youth camp…

In the middle of February the Youth Federation asked me to be their camp nurse and counselor.
I thank the Lord that I could be part of the camp staff and see how the Lord would work in the hearts of the 90+ youth that would participate from different parts of the country…
Some of the staff were the young people who we had trained in their preteens and teens years and it was our greatest joy that they had turned out to be very responsible, caring and on fire young adults for Jesus…I was privileged to lead them in a time of devotion and prayer and worked side by side with them to get things set up and prepared for first aid, kitchen work, counseling, etc. he theme they had chosen for this year was: Maranatha, Jesus coming soon… At the end of camp, 82 of the 90 youth gave their lives to Jesus! It was a blessed but sobering time for these kids and for us as well.

Thank you for all your loving support in gifts and prayers so we can keep going! We thank the LORD for His faithfulness and YOURS during all those years!  We love you!

A big hug wrapped up in prayer…Robert and Joy.

Through destruction & Disappointment we press on
“But one thing I do: forgetting what lies behind and reaching forward to what lies ahead. We press on toward the goal!” Philippians 3:13-14

Greetings loved ones! December always makes us pause and take into account the past year and all God has done. Let us bring you on a recap of the journey over the past year!

In January, we were still trying to get the space ready for services. We needed doors, electric work and the Lord starting bringing people who would become our foundational church members.

February saw the soft launch of Living Hope Church, Galway City Centre. We had our first salvation on one of our first services! Praise God!

In March we saw the return of Jordan, one of our first youth we ministered to as youth pastors at Galway Christian Fellowship. He came to Chris and asked him to become his mentor, and he has grown in leaps and bounds over this past year! We are in awe of what God has done in and through him. Today, he is our greeter/host and in charge of overseeing everything on Sunday mornings are running smoothly. He has preached twice and has a massive anointing! We are so
thankful for him!

In April, we had our first Easter service, and also started our “Jesus Walks/Homeless Ministry” monthly. We were able to get out on the streets and bless the homeless with food, and also be used by God to walk the streets, pray over them and be used by the Holy Spirit to bless whoever God put on our hearts.

In May, I (Larena) was delivered of anxieties that I’ve struggled with for over 32 years! It was a massive breakthrough that has put me in a better place to deal with the insane attacks that were to come in the months that followed. Had I still dealt with anxieties, I don’t think I would have been able to get through the trials that were to come. God has been so faithful and helped me immensely through it all.

We would face many issues arising with our home in the months to come. We were out of water 4 times in 3 months. Our heating stopped working numerous times as well, after several massive storms came through, doing much damage. We were also out of electricity due to the storms. I have struggled with a chronic health condition that flares up when high times of stress come. We were also told that soon our landlady would want to sell her home in the middle of a housing
crisis. All of this has made us lean even heavier into Jesus. We were seeing salvations and increased numbers in the church. Our weekly life groups were thriving and Chris had officially established the church as an official company, one step before making LHC a charity.

In July, we finally had a presence on the streets, as we were able to purchase a sign that we put up in our window every day, constantly displaying the times of our services. We started to see a massive growth in the online viewing of sermons and website hits, as an initial version of the website had been completed the month prior. We were also planning more baptisms that would come in August.

We had another salvation in the month of August, a home bbq party, and also stuffed many toiletries bags for the homeless. We continued our Jesus Walks/Homeless ministry monthly. Our kitchen got licensed, allowing us to start making food to bring out into the streets.

September we had 4 more baptized, making 7 individuals for the year. We were seeing breakthroughs in the lives of those attending, and had another salvation this month, and an increase in growth. We were running about 18-20 every Sunday.
We were in awe of what God was doing!

During this time, we were getting our ducks in a row to apply for a loan to secure a smaller home for our family. During a housing crisis, we are faced with having to raise anywhere from $500-1000 more a month to downsize into a new rental home. We were hopeful that things would work out. We had an amazing team from Suncrest Church Indiana come and literally just be the hands and feet of Jesus! They helped us get so much caught up on around the house, and around the church. It was such an immense blessing and help to us in a time of need. At this point, we had seen 3 salvations over the year, and 7 baptisms, and we were able to keep one individual from homelessness. It was amazing watching what God did
and how He made all of this possible!

November came and we found out that, due to our circumstances/status as foreign missionaries, we were unable to get a loan. This hit us very hard personally. Not to mention we had a big let down in ministry and our house got hit by another massive storm, literally bringing so much destruction on many things we had just repaired. We were pressed on every side, but not crushed. We have had to pause and recount the cost, but we see that it’s worth it!

December we went out on the streets for the first time with hot food to feed the homeless. It was a beautiful night and we know many more will come.

Most importantly, we want to thank all of you for all your love, your support, & your investment in this work in 2023. Without you we know it’s not possible. Thank you for taking the journey with us! As we look to 2024, we are expectant to see what God will do! Happy New Year!

All our love, The Johnstons

Prayer Requests
We would be honored if you would pray with us concerning:
Please pray for our living situation. We are unsure of what this will look like moving forward.
Please pray for the fundraising process for 2024. We need to raise about $11,000 for the year to meet the budget.
Please pray for Living Hope Church to continue to reach the lost, the hurting, and the down and out, discipling them
into a real relationship with Jesus.

This is our call.
This is why we are
here. Please pray we
fulfill that call.