Rain on the Tin Roof

As I sit down to write this update the rain is pounding on the metal roof and occasional thunder booms across the sky. These last couple months have been so full that the rainy season really snuck up on us this year. That leak that I never got around to fixing during the short dry season has decided to start dripping in earnest… onto my night stand. 

The 10/40 Window JoshuaProject.net

When we sent our last update I (Douglas) was headed to Cartagena Colombia for an international Frontier Missions gathering with YWAM. Frontier Missions, by the way, is the branch of missions work that focuses on getting the good new about Jesus out to people who have never heard it before. Most of those places are located within a large stretch of land sometimes known as the 10/40 window covering North Africa all the way to Japan and is home to almost half the world's population.

The gathering was a wonderful experience. I was able to get to know mobilizers who, like us, work to send missionaries to the unreached. I was also able to meet many missionaries who are working directly in the 10/40 window, planting churches and bringing the good news to many people. It was amazing to see these two halves of what we do come together. During the gathering I was asked to be the Frontier Missions coordinator for YWAM Central America joining two other leaders, a Jamaican lady who coordinates FM in the Caribbean and a Nicaraguan fellow who works mobilizing the Latino population in the US.

What this means for us is that our roles here in Costa Rica are changing. We have stepped out of most of our logistical roles and now our main focus here will be mobilization and training of new missionaries, working both here at the YWAM center and also with local pastors and churches.  Karen’s role will be primarily Member Care which means that she will be responsible for providing follow up and discipleship for potential missionaries as they prepare to go and long term care once they are on the field to help them stay healthy.

@ the Guatemala Zoo - can you see the baby hippo?

Our DTS serving short term in the Near East and South Asia

 We are very excited for this change, it is something that has been our passion for years and finally being able to focus most of our energy on it is an answer to much prayer. Our last few weeks were spent putting together Frontier Missions publicity for our YWAM regional conference that took place in Guatemala the first week of May. We have even been given a small office space here at the YWAM base and yesterday we were donated three desks and chairs, so we are official. : ) Right now we have a small team of people that will be working with us. A couple of them are currently leading our Frontier Missions Discipleship Training School (DTS) that is on outreach in two locations in the Near East and South Asia.

This new season of ministry, while exciting, is also going to be bringing new challenges for us as family. We will be traveling a lot more within the country meeting with pastors and doing training and mobilization in local churches. Also I will be doing more travel around the region doing similar ministry in YWAM bases throughout Central America. In the next couple months we will be continuing to establish our team and new ministry. We have a couple of teaching opportunities coming up and we are also beginning to prepare for our Islamic Studies Seminar that begins in early July.

As a family we have been entering a new season as well. Both the boys are participating in a weekly soccer club and we just got Gabriel started in swimming classes. He is an excellent swimmer and we hope that he will be able to compete someday soon. Riah is asking to take Karate again and we are looking for a place so he may begin training. We are all trying to take better care of ourselves as it is so easy to just keep working and let our health suffer.


Our homeschooling has moved up a notch as well. We have added in a couple of subjects that we have been weak in order to make sure both the boys are where they need to be. Their school schedule is pretty intense but they are both hard workers and super smart. The boys are growing fast. Gabriel is growing a centimeter per month according the the doctor and it is becoming normal that we finish dinner and he looks around as asks, “What else is there?” Riah has not started his growth spurt yet but he will catch up soon enough. If they were both growing as fast as Gabriel we would be in serious trouble.

Personally it has been a rather complicated transition. We have had several close friends leave the country over the last couple years and it has been a rather lonely stretch especially for Karen. As well, We are realizing with all these new ministry opportunities and with our growing boys that we are needing to increase our monthly income. We are trusting in the Lord that as he brings new opportunities he will also bring the finances needed  to walk in them.

As missionaries we live off peoples gifts and donations and so we would like to invite you to pray about becoming a monthly supporter. If God puts it on your heart to join us financially it would be a great blessing to us and help us to move forward in this new season. Just click on the link below for more information on how to join our financial team. We also have already felt that our need for solid prayer warriors is more necessary than ever. If you love to pray and would like to receive special prayer updates please write us at dkgzjohnston@gmail.com

Thank you all again for joining us in this grand adventure. May you be blessed!

Douglas, Karen, Gabriel, and Zachariah

For information on how to join our finanancial team or how to make a donation click here.  

Karen's honest feelings toward blogging!

In our world today there are so many different ways to communicate in written form.  From texting to Facebook and of course Blogging! As a missionary I am so thankful for all of the different ways there are to communicate but for those of you who know me well know that for me my most natural form of communication is verbal! I struggle to express myself in written form and every month or so Douglas or I express a desire to communicate with those of you who care to know what we have been up to and then about two months later we finally find the time and the energy to sit and write this blog. I wish I was like so many of my friends and family who love to sit and write and share in written form but that is just not me. So here we are again writing a blog about two months later than we would have liked and as always it is a challenge for me to decide how and what to communicate with all of you. But we value all of you that take your time to read about our crazy lives and love to share about the exciting things that God is doing here in Costa Rica and around the world.

So lets see what has happened since our last post?

Seeing as it was last September much has happened! So to try and sum up!

In Early November Mom and Dad Johnston came for a visit so Douglass Dad could teach in the Bible Core Course. It was so great to have them here with us for a little bit.

On  the 16th of December we celebrated the 8th BCC (Bible Core Course) Graduation. It was such a Joy to see 9 students from 7 different countries participate in this three month intensive course. It was a particularly momentous occasion for Douglas and I as this will be the 8th and final BCC that Douglas will  lead. Next year this school will be led by a good friend of ours and it has been so great to see how God has raised up the next leader for this course.

Christmas was shortly after that and it was wonderful to be able to celebrate in our new house with Good friends.  

Our hose at Christmas time our snowman friend that me and the boys made this year, the tree, the boys watching a Christmas movie, while I mix sugar cookie dough.

That is Gabriel on the roof of one of the houses and in the distance other guys on the roof of another of the houses.

During the few weeks we had off for Christmas and New Years we agreed to help out with a ministry connected to our YWAM base called Homes of Hope. We helped host a team from the States that came to build three homes for three needy families here in Cost Rica. The homes are build in only two days and it is an amazing thing to be a part of.  




Another major event for our family was Zachariah deciding to cut off all his hair! This may seem like a simple thing to most of you but it was a major decision for my son who has wanted his hair long since he was old enough to have an opinion. He likes it and we all think it makes him look older which he also appreciates.



We returned to Costa Rica about 10 months ago from our year long absence and since then we have not had the time or finances to visit the beach for more than a short day trip but at the beginning of this month we were so blessed to be able to head to one of our favorite beaches here for two nights. it was such a wonderful time to rest and relax as a family. Not to mention do a little surfing and work on our tans.

So that's whats been happening in our family. Now what has been happening in our ministry here is Costa Rica? To tell the truth there has been way too much to give all the details so we will have to stick with the highlights.

Of course as mentioned above we completed our 8th Bible Course which was a major accomplishment. What we didnt mention is that 5 of the students decided to stay on and do a 2 month outreach. We formed two teams, one that is working with local churches in northwestern Costa Rica. The second group is currently serving in a majority Muslim country. We are very excited about both groups but especially the second one. As most of you know, our vision is to mobilize Latin Americans for missions work with people groups that have not heard the gospel so it was great for us when some of the students felt called to minister in that part of the world, even if just for a few months. We have also had two other short term teams go out to that part of the world as well a Discipleship Training School that also has a Frontier Mission focus. It is being led by a couple our our Frontier Mission team members.

Here is a link to the video one of our teams produced talking about their experience. Listen to the Voiceless

Here at the YWAM missions center Karen and I have committed to serve in logistical areas until the end of March. It has been good, especially since we were absent from Costa Rica for most of 2015 and a part of 2016. We felt that we needed to invest in the missions center for a while to help strength the infrastructure. That being said our hearts are set on Frontier Mission and starting April, for the first time since we have been serving here, we will be focusing our energies almost completely  just on mobilizing, training, and sending Latinos to unreached nations. For us, April marks a major shift. To be able to focus on Frontier Mission completely will be a dream come true.

Please be praying for us during this transition. We are excited for the new things that are coming and to be able to focus ourselves on what we are most passionate about. Pray that God will open doors for us with local churches and that we can continue to develop our Frontier Missions team.

If you would like to support us financially as we walk into this new season you can you can donate directly by clicking the Donate via PayPal button below or by following the link to our Donation page for more information.

Thank you for your support and prayers.

Many blessings,

Douglas, Karen, Gabriel, and Riah

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New Beginnings (and some endings)

 The last few months have been so eventful it has been hard to find time to communicate but finally things are settling a little so here are the highlights of our crazy summer. (which is actually rainy season for us.)

First off since our last post both our boys had Birthdays. In July Zachariah celebrated his tenth birthday. He was very excited to finally reach the double digits. Then just this last weekend Gabriel turned 12! We can not believe that he will be a teen in just a years time although he is definitely tall enough. He has grown sooo tall this last year. It has been such an incredible blessing to have these silly, playful, intelligent, gentle, and often crazy boys as part of our family.


The biggest change and most important piece of news it that right at the end of July we were able to move into our new house. We had written about it back in May as a possibility but within the next couple weeks after writing, our old house sold and things started to move quickly. For about two months I ran all over the place filing papers and calling banks. It seems like a big blur but we have now been in our new place for 8 weeks. It is a bit of a fixer upper and at times the amount of work to be done is overwhelming but it is an answer to much prayer. It is easy to get to and large enough to host many people. Plus it has extra room for the boys homeschooling and plenty of room for them to run and play. We are very, very blessed and cannot believe that we are actually settled in our own place again after so long.

Another big event from the last weeks is that we just returned from a huge YWAM conference in Kansas City. Some 3500 Ywamers from around the globe gathered together along with the International House of Prayer (IHOP) for a week of teaching, fellowship and worship. It was great hearing about what is going on around the globe, both the successes and the challenges. The focus of the teaching was on bible translation, reaching the least reached around the globe, and how the gospel changes societies as it enters different areas of influence such as business, education and healthcare, to name a few. It was a great time for networking as well and we were able to make some excellent new connections.

Family!

Since we were headed to the US anyway we decided that Karen and the boys should take advantage of the trip and make a short two week stop over in Oregon. Karen's parents are moving from their home of 40 years and Karen was able to help with some sorting and packing and spend some special time with her family.

Friends!

Plus the boys were able to attend the last week of summer camp at Trout Creek Bible Camp with there two best stateside friends who happen to be the sons of Karen's life long best friend. What a Blessing!

Fresh Bibles ready to be broken in

So what's next? Right now we are in the process of starting our next bible core course. This will be school number 8 since we started it here in Costa Rica 6 years ago. Since then 70+ students from 15+ different nations who are now serving the Lord on 5 different continents and many nations have complete this course. It has been a great privilege to be able to serve in this school and we love it every time. Looking beyond the school we have been working hard to put together a team of people that are focused specifically on Frontier Missions. We have several short term teams that will be heading out in the next year and even have a few long term people that are headed out as well. The Bible school will now become part of a year long training program to prepare people who want to work with Unreached Peoples long term. Many new doors are opening and we are excited for this new season.

A couple of prayer requests:

• The Bible school is always an intense and tiring time. Pray for extra strength and energy and for Karen in particular as she serves at the base and shoulders most of the homeschooling. 
• Pray for our Frontier Missions team. That God would help us to gather the right people and build a healthy team.
• Pray for our finances as we enter into this new season. With the boys growing, the new house and new ministry opportunities our monthly expenses have grown. Pray for an increase in God's provision.

That's it for now! Blessings,

Douglas, Karen, and the boys.

Rivers, Houses, and Ministry Trips

Two months have flown by since we got back into Costa Rica. At the moment we are still living here on the YWAM facility in our little room and it has been quite the adventure. Our place backs right up to the river and every time it rains the river becomes a raging torrent. But when it is nice we get to enjoy the wild life. So far the boys have seen a good sized crab trucking down river, a nutria, a possum, and numerous tropical birds. Plus the raccoons that do laps on the tin roof in the middle of the night. (Not to mention the good number of rats that frolic by the river.)

Our old house Before...

and after!

Our house sale/purchase process is moving ahead steadily.We've been working really hard on our home on the south side of San José and it has already sold. Now we are waiting for the bank so we can sign papers and get our check. Praise the LORD!

The house we hope to buy!

Once we have the money in the bank we can start moving forward with the purchase of the new home close by the YWAM center. We went back up last week to chat with the owner and take a few photos. The house is everything that we have prayed for and we are very
hopeful that it will soon be ours.

We greatly appreciate your prayers for the loan process. We will need to get a loan for about half the value of the house and getting loans here is very complicated and difficult. Plus interest rates hover at around 9% average. We are praying for a miracle and trust that God has something wonderful for us.

Gabriel, Riah and a good friend

Bit by bit we have been entering back into base life and ministry. In many ways it has been very good to live here at the facility because it puts us in contact with many of our single missionaries who live here as well. The boys got right back to work on their tree house and have added a second floor. So far we have had no major accidents although there have been a couple close calls.

Karen has stepped into the role of Personnel Coordinator where she oversees our long term staff, helping to ensure that our base community functions well and that people are able to move forward in their passions and giftings. I (Douglas) am serving again as part of the leadership team and I have stepped into oversee some of the logistical areas of the base as well. Our missions community serves as a platform for a half dozen different ministries, at least as many training courses, and hosts some 50 short term teams annually who come to serve in various locations around the country. Our roles help to ensure that things run smoothly and that our missionaries don't burn out from exhaustion.

Karen and I with some friends from YWAM.

In addition to our work here at the center we are moving forward with our vision to set up a frontier missions team. Although it is not official, we have two couples who share our passion for the unreached who we hope will be joining our team. Together with two of our potential team members, Vernon and Maylenn, both Costa Ricans, we were able to travel north to a small community near the border with Nicaragua. We were able to speak with representatives from several churches who want to get more involved in missions. We talked about local opportunities as well as the challenge to take the Gospel to those who have never heard it.

Sharing about missions with a local church.

God is opening up doors for us to share in churches around the country and we hope to be doing more of this sort of trip in the near future.










Looking towards the next few months we want to communicate a special need. In early September YWAM will be hosting an international conference in Kansas City, Missouri. This would be a great time for us to reconnect with fellow missionaries from around the world, hear what God is doing in our mission and also a time to be refreshed. We have felt that as much as we are not looking forward to traveling again so soon this is an important conference for our whole family to attend. They will be having a special program for the kids and it is such a crucial time for them to connect with other missionary kids like themselves. With airfare and hotel the cost should be around $2,500. This is an extra expense beyond out normal donations and we will have to raise all our own funding. So if you would like to make a special donation please just click on the "Make a Donation" tab above for more info.

Thanks to all of you for your continued prayers and support!

Blessings the Johnstons,

Douglas, Karen, Gabriel and Zachariah

13 months later...

After 13 months of living out of suitcases, visiting 6 countries on 4 continents, sitting with refugees and sipping tea in Lebanon, sweating through summer in Cairo, 3 months climbing the hills of Amman, and then experiencing winter in the great Northwest of the USA, we finally arrived again in our beloved Costa Rica!


  We spent the last few weeks of our time in the US doing a road trip. Through some fellow missionaries in Costa Rica we made a connection with a couple who works for Disney who gifted us 2 free days at Disneyland which was a dream come true for the whole family. It was spring break for a couple of states so the lines were a bit long but that didn't bother us a bit. From LA we headed east and visited some of Karen's family in Arizona and then on to Texas to visit my family. We boarded the last flight of our long journey last Saturday and arrived safely here in Costa Rica.

We have spent the last couple days reconnecting with friends and our life here. As well, we have had to start the lengthy process of picking up where we left off thirteen months ago. Our first major hurdle is finding permanent housing. At the moment we are living in two small rooms that our mission center is providing. After living out of bags for so long we are definitely ready to settle down some place more permanent. As some of you might remember, several years ago we were able to purchase a small home on the south side of San José but unfortunately the mission center is on the east side of town and travel between the two areas is quite difficult. As we enter into this new season of ministry we have felt that it is very important for us to have a home that is easily accessible for people from the center so that we can use our home for discipleship and ministry. The afternoon after we got back into the country we headed out to see what was available in our area and we have already seen five houses and found one we are hoping might be the house that God has for us.

We ask for your prayers in this process, first that we would be able to sell our other house quickly, second, that we can get approved for a loan for the balance. And third, this will mean an increase in our monthly expenses so please pray for God's provision as well.

Ministry wise, the focus of this next season will be on gathering a team of like-minded people who are committed to seeing a mission movement begin here in Costa Rica as Costa Ricans are sent out to reach those who have never heard the Gospel around the globe. We recognized while were in the Middle East that the vision that we have is much larger than we can hope to accomplish on our own and that together with a team we could accomplish so much more. We have 2 couples and a single fellow that have been on our minds for a long time. Please pray that God will give us clarity and wisdom in this process of team building.

We are excited for the new things that God will bring in this next season of our lives here in Central America and we will make sure to keep you all up to date as things move forward. Thank you all again for your prayers and support.

Douglas, Karen, Gabriel and Zachariah