Good things to come!

It’s been a while since we posted so we apologize in advance for the length of this post but we hope that you will bear with us. Blessings, D & K

The last several weeks here in Costa Rica have been particularly challenging. We sent out an email a couple of weeks ago letting people know about our two current challenges, our home and car, both of which we are looking to change soon.

 In regards to the house we made an $800 initial payment to give us one month in which to figure out financing for the down payment. We had a couple of people contact us with advice and possibilities but we are still waiting and praying. We have found out that US banks are not allowed by Costa Rican law to issue loans for house purchases in Costa Rica so at this point it looks like a bank loan is not a possibility. We have a couple of other options that we are looking at but we ask that you be lifting this all up in prayer. Here are a couple of photos of the house so that you can see what it looks like. For those that missed the email, our current home is far enough away from the YWAM base that ministry has become very complicated and at times impossible simply due to the distance. The house that you see in the pictures is a little over a mile from the base and, most important, right on the bus line so that we can be at the base in about 10 minutes by bus and 5min by car. If you would like to see some more photos just click on this link: House Photos

Our car is the other challenge and another place where you can be lifting us up in prayer. Our van is approaching the end of its life. The repairs that need to be made are more than the value of the car and so we simply need to find something else. We have had about $1500 come in towards repairs or a new vehicle but since cars are 50 to 100 percent more expensive here due to taxes we still need a sizable amount of money.

In the midst of these two challenges we have had a lot of stress to be sure, but at the same time we have felt the peace of God knowing that we are not here of our own accord but because this is where God has placed us. If he truly desires for these needs to be met right now then He will show us the way.

Here on the YWAM base we are gearing up for the next Bible Core Course (BCC) that starts in a few weeks. We have 14 students registered from the US, Canada, Denmark, Guatemala, and Costa Rica. The most exciting part besides having so many students is that we currently have 4 staff member besides myself commit to the school with another possibly joining us in mid April. Here are three of the four prepping for the book of Leviticus. All of them are new and have never staffed a BCC before so we will have a pretty steep learning curve but I’m excited to have the help. As a team we have already started meeting every day to pray for the school, to train and to get ready for the arrival of the students. It has been a blessed challenge to move from arranging all the details myself to figuring out how to delegate them to others. This picture to the left is our office. A shining example of my organizational skill. : ) 

One of the praises that we have is that just this last week Karen was able to start training people to take over two of the logistical jobs that she has been juggling. This will allow her more time to focus on discipleship and mentoring of our long term staff. This is something that has been on her heart for a long time and we are excited to see how it will turn out. We are excited to have the stress of some of the logistics removed but it is always difficult to give something that you have invested time and energy into away to someone else.

A bit about the boys: Gabriel has been enjoying homeschooling and extra time with Daddy. He is currently focused on learning to read and is making huge strides. He hopes to be able to read chapter books within a few more months. Riah has been enjoying his school and is learning all kinds of things. He loves numbers and all kinds of animals. The photo here is of the boys as Filibusters a group of Americans who tried to invade Costa Rica in the mid 19th century. Funny that our two boys would be chosen to play the role of the American invaders, not exactly what we would call politically correct. : ) Oh well.

There is always more to tell but never enough room. You can keep up with me on Facebook as well; I often post more daily life stuff on there. If you don’t already have me as a friend just look up dkgzjohnston@gmail.com and send me a friend request.

In Christ,

Douglas, Karen, Gabriel and Zachariah