A little late blogging

I am sorry that we have not been able to write this week. As some of you may have heard Mandy and I are transitioning into a new area of work. This job is not something completely new to us, but for our time in Mexico it is totally different. We decided that it was time to change our "hours of operation" a little bit while we are here. After praying about our life here and knowing that God is continuing to give us a stronger desire to see the fruit of a life skills center, we decided that we are going to act on that calling. We started going around the church and asking about ministries that needed help. We finally were able to make contact with a guy that runs a ministry called AINDOC (pronounced: I-in-dock). This is a ministry that we had been trying to get ahold of for some time. We had a meeting with the leader and told him all about us and what we are here in the city for, and how God has really been paving the way for us, and opening up some really big doors for our family. We then told him about the vision that God gave Mandy and I about a life skills center, way back before our time in Canada. He then took us for a walk, and showed us something that we could hardly believe. They have a 3 story builing that we have been given one and a half floors of, plus another building similar in size to a barn. He told us that he had been praying that morning for help because he could no longer do what needed to be done all by himself. We accepted this new position and now I want to elaberate on what that is.
Mandy and I have been put into a position where we are going to help the poorest people of Mexico City, through a variety of missions. Currently AINDOC has 22 ministries that are spread throughout all of the Mexico city. These ministeries range from house's for children of prostitutes, to elderly that are homeless, to Native shelters, and even a place that Illegal Immigrants are held until deportation, plus many more. There are now people that are running these programs from there specific locations, but the main problem is getting the supplies they need over to them. To remember we are not in the United States where help from the government is available. All these programs are run totally independant from the government. One of the great things is that there are many companies that are willing to donate supplies, food, clothing, and etc. However, there has been a huge problem of sorting, packaging, and distributing these goods to the specific areas around town. This is where Mandy and I come in. We are now in charge of taking all the received goods from many distributers, and cleaning it, packaging it, sorting it, and then making sure that it needs to get where it needs to get. For example, this week we just received a huge shipment of toys for the street kids for Christmas. We will beging packaging "Christmas packages" in about one month for children that have never had gifts before. We also have a food bank, that is the same, only that is alot busier because of the food that needs to be given out before it gets bad. Alot of what we get is for Native Ministry. It is given for the Indiginous people, and it is destributed to that specific area. Keep in mind this is all private and no government hands in the work. Right now we have huge piles of school supplies that are for kids going back to school, it now late because there was no way of getting them over to the ministries that needed them. There are box's sitting in a corner because there was nobody working in distrobution, and nobody knew they were there. Walmart donated a huge amount of items for the students returning to school but nobody knew they were there and the items just were piling up. This is the problem that we are going after. Another awesome aspect of this ministry is that we are virtually not limited in what we can say, how we can say it, and why we can say it. This gives us the freedom to share the love of Christ with the people and not have to fear an agency disciplining us for it. Right now however, we are just trying to make a little organization of the box's and box's of stuff that we have. After some time we are desiring to get out on the street and actually begin handing out what we are packing with the local ministries that are currently there now. This allow us to show the people the love of Christ that He showed us, which is the most important thing that we can do here. Our girls are helping us a little bit after school as well, and it is great to see them putting stuffed animals in little bags, and having them tell us about the kids they think are going to be receiving them. They have such giving hearts that now when we walk around town they have mommy carry little toys in her purse too give to the street kids when they see them, or change they have received for doing things for people they carry to give to the older homeless people that are on the street. We are so blessed in every aspect of our lives here in Mexico City. Our budget is short, we budgeted too low for the schooling of our girls, but we know that God is in control and as long as we are truthful, honest, loving, and folling Him before anything else we have nothing to worry about. Please keep us in your prayers as we move deeper and deeper into the new ministry that we are busy in, and the direction that God is taking us. Also just incase you all are wondering we have not left the youth that are working with. We are still teaching there as well, and are spending alot of time counseling young Christians in the truth of the scriptures and not the hearcy of the many false religions that surround us daily (trust me there are plenty). Thank you very much, and God Bless you. I also want to say, after seeing all these donations from American companies, God Bless America.

Back to School

Well, we are back now from our month of traveling and working all over Mexico. We were blessed to see many youth step out of the crowd willing to lay it all down to serve our King and Master Jesus Christ. We are now getting more and more involved in the youth ministry here. We are finding that many, many youth and/or young people are willing to step up to take on the call of Christianity but they do not want the religion. This has been wonderful to see because we are showing them what it takes to live a Christian life according to the Bible, and how they cannot do it alone. They are willing to sacrifice whatever God wants from them to be a kings and queens with Him when it is all over. We are in the discipleship of the young people which is something that is really different from what he have done before, but we are really seeing God's hand moving in our family's life and the lives of people around us. Working in a country that is overboard in religion is very different but it is great to see how the word of God is more powerful that ever. Jesus is breaking through the walls of religion and showing that His love for people is more now than ever. We have started working on a class for the people that are really interrested in seeking the face of God and we have more people than we can handle, that are interrested. It is amazing to see the favor that God has given us here, with the people around this community. Sometimes I sit back and say that what we are doing looks impossable in comparison to the size of this city we are working in. Then I have someone talk to us about something that is horrably wrong in their lives, and after spending some time with them and seeing them change through the power of the Holy Spirit in their lives I thank God that this is where He has placed us. Some days are very difficult, and some days are great but all in all it is really teaching us dependance on God. I wished that I could tell all the stories that we see, but we cant (because of the lack of time, and my poor fingers on this computer). I would love to tell you about Sunday right now. We were asked to teach 2 groups of young people during a couple of the services. We prayed about what to teach on and God gave us Hebrew 12:14. We taught on, "live in peace with all people and without holyness no person will see the face of God". In the end we had about 15 kids that we prayed for that stepped forward willing to change there lives and give up there sin to live in holyness. They are the ones that are ready to see the face of God. We have a HUGE burden on our lives to share the message of what it will be like when we stand before our savior and judge. We do not want to here, "Saved, but life wasted" but we will dedicate our lives to hear, "Well done good and faithful servent". This is the heart of our message and the youth are willing to hear it. I think that they can hear the Holy Spirit more clearly becuase their minds are not clouded by the worries of life, bills, payments, necesary provisions, kids, etc. The things that we as adults and parents have to deal with the youth dont understand, yet. I think that because of that, if we can get them hooked now on the reality of Christ, the power of the Holy Spirit, and the truth of the Bible, they will change the world.
Please keep us in your prayers as we push forward on some other plans that we are working on right now. We want to provide a place for the kids that are desiring to learn about God to come to us. Right now we are only teaching where we are invited because we have no place for them to come to us. This is the story of our lives and we need your prayers for the next step. We thought that we were going to be teaching this year as well, but we just found that it will not be happening. God closed the doors for us in that direction, but the same day we had another offer to begin working with the youth in a different aspect. This is a scary new thing, and it is not a ministry that exist, but God is awesome that way, and we will keep you all posted as things happen. Luv ya all, and talk later Ross J.

Our time in Acapulco

Greetings from the wonderful city of Mexico. We have so much to tell you about this trip too Acapulco. It is amazing how much God showed up there. It started out with us praying for money to go help in El Salvador. We didn't realize that God was acually having us raise the money for Acapulco. We were arranged to go to a place called Oaxaca in Mexico with a family of missionaries from Bethany College. From day one things did not work for us to go there, so we knew that were to go somewhere else to help, so we just started looking for a place. We thought that the invitation we got from El Salvador was that place but once again God had different plans. He shut the doors to that place and opened them mightly too Acapulco. We received money from some very close supporters of ours and we had enough money, also we had alittle left over to help with our daughters school uniforms, books and supplies. This was a great need. God has all of it in His hands. We started our time off in our usual whirlwind fashion. We were asked to come a day earier than our already fast time and to preach at church the morning right after we got there. Ross did a wonderful job there. There were many tears and hands in the air for a closer relationship with Jesus. He spoke on the story of Zacchaeus. We were also able to talk with a guy after church who was into drugs and was having a hard time with life. We asked if he wanted to get closer to God and change his ways. We were able to pray with him and help him out a little with a small amount of money that was given to us at the church from a lady. God always gives us opportunities to share about Him if we ask.
I am going to give a quick overview of our week.
Monday we had a open day to get ourselves ready for the week and for our daughters to have some special time with us before we started our busy week.
Tuesday we went on the streets with a group of teenagers spreading the good news and asking if people would like join us for church that night.
Wednesday we had time in the morning to prepare a drama and some events for the weekend ahead and also for our daughters to be able to swim in the pool at the home we stayed at. Then we went to the church and taught a drama to a group of teenagers who would be going on the missions trip with us the next day.
Thursday we went to a village outside of Acapulco on a missions trip with a group of teenagers. We went throughout the village and invited people to church and we performed a drama after service. Also we were able to help clean up the church area for the pastor. We were so proud of the teens we went with.
Fri.,Sat. and Sun. we went on a retreat with 25 teenagers to a place outside of Acapulco. We were able to each preach here and send some good quality time with the young adults. We preach five times over the weekend and had a time of questions each day with the kids. Ross and I gave our testimonies and also preached on "Sex before marriage", "Discipline from God the Father" and "Restoring the heart of the father in the family". God really showed up during these times and 5 teenagers asked for deliverance from depression and another group asked for prayer to have a stronger walk with Jesus. We also taught alot about the armor of God and the spiritual battle that we fight in daily. The Holy Spirit was so thick during these times. We were so blessed to be apart of this group of teens and teen helpers. We had three specific teens come up to us and said they have been praying for preaching like this and for the answers God gave them through us. One kid said that he didn't even need to ask for the answers he needed. We talked about all of them in our sermons. This was a great time and we were able to meet many new teens that are in our prayers now. Please pray for continued strength and teaching in the Lord for these teens. We have alot of pictures and videos on youtube of our trip. Please check them out. We start school one week from now. We have alot of preparing for school. Ross starts teaching at this time also. Thanks for your continued support and all your prayers. We are always in need of them. Satan doesn't want us here because he knows that we are here to God's work. Many Blessings Amanda



This is during our practice time. The next video is the one that we did on the streets.

A week of fun

Hello everyone, we had a wonderful tiring week. We helped work in the childrens summer bible school. Amanda was a teacher of ten year olds and Ross worked in lighting, maintance and sound. The girls learned a lot also during this time. They were both able to be in classes. If you would like to look at pictures and videos of the work we helped with this week you can go to our flicker and youtube account.

This was a wonderful week for our spanish speaking. This whole week was in spanish, no english at all. The students and teachers that I worked with knew no english at all. This was wonderful because so many people want to practice their english with us. We have needed to ask them to speak to us in spanish so we can learn the language. This has been wonderful because we have been able to do a lot of ministry with people in our native tounge this early in our time here but it is not helping us with spanish. We do all our shopping in the markets and on the street so we can find people who only know spanish so we can practice with them. The girls are doing wonderful in spanish but still need prayer to make school and life go smoothly.

We were very blessed today from the people that we are here to help. We had a game today between all the teachers, staff, pastors and other helpers. There was about 2oo helpers there. The game was to give ribbons to people that you thought deserved them. They we different colors, the meanings of the colors were: yellow (obedients to God) red (courages & brave) blue (faithful to the Lord) white (trustworthy) green (a person that is careful with peoples hearts). We had so many people come up to us and give us all the colors but the ones that we got the most (a full hand full) where the yellow , red and blue ones. All that gave them thanked us for leaving our culture, family, homes, food and security to come and help them. There were many tears and lots of hugs. All we could tell them was that it was the desire of our hearts and that God has given us a overflowing amount of peace here. It is very hard at times being away from our families but we know that they will be richly blessed because of it. It is wonderful that we were with them for many years and we have a lot of memories that we will never forget with them. God showed us once more a lesson on how to be humbled before His throne today. It is a blessing that the people see us differnet than many christians and that they want to know what a true walk with God looks like. We have found that people here don't want to reject God but they are tired of lukewarm christianity and religion. We know that God has sent us here to show them that religion has nothing to do with a relationship with God.

Here is a short video showing some of the week and the work we were involved in. There was great ministry going on during the week and there were children that caught the fire of God and it will effect there lives forever.

Trip to El Salvador

July 17th 2008

Friends and Supporters;

Hello everyone, all is well here in Mexico City. The girls are out of school now for the summer and we are busier than ever. Our language learning is going awesome. The girls are doing even better. We hope all of you got our first newsletter a few months ago. You can also keep up with us on our blog account. We write at least once a week. We also put on a lot of videos. http://rossandmandy.blogspot.com We are excited to see what God is doing here and how He is really showing Himself to us and those around us. We have many stories of Gods goodness, provision and protection for us and our family in Mexico City. We are so glad that God has brought us here, and we look forward to continuing our service to Him for a long time in Mexico.
With this in mind, we recently received a letter from some old friends in El Salvador asking for some short time help. As Gods hands and feet we feel that this is something that God has ordained for us and is asking us to go do. They are asking for help to deliver the gospel to some indigenous groups in the mountains of El Salvador. We have felt a very strong urge to go and help them out. Many of you many know the story of El Salvador and why we went there seven years ago. For the ones that have not heard the story let me tell you a short version of it. One night Ross and I prayed to God and told Him that we didn’t feel we were living out our purpose in life. We felt tired of not feeling the peace of God in our lives. The next day Ross went to the church we were going at that time to copy some papers. When he got there the pastor’s wife came and told him if he could get his passports within three days he could have a free ticket to El Salvador to help on a missions trip. He came home so excited but then he decided that he was not going to go if I was not able to go. Right after that we got a call from the pastor’s wife again and she said that another ticket opened up and asked if I also wanted to go. Many people didn’t think that we would get our passports and everything in order within that short of time. God got it done even sooner. A long story short the FED EX truck was late and they forgot our passport package but God had not. We got our passport within three days and we were off to El Salvador to help out the victims of two terrible earthquakes. While we were there God showed us this was what He wanted from us in our lives. God always works great things in numbers.
We landed back home from El Salvador and we both cried out and told God that we didn’t want to be back home. That was on Jan. 28th 2001, Jan. 28th 2002 Alyssa was born and exactly seven years later we landed in Mexico City Jan. 28th 2008. Seven is God’s perfect number. We will be going back to help in El Salvador again with those same passports we got and also with two beautiful girls.
We are praying for the money we need to be here by July 24th 2008. We want to go down July 26th thru August 9th. This is only a week away but we have seen God do great miracles within even shorter amounts of time. We ask if there is anyway that you could help our family financially. We have just received 10% of our money that is necessary to go. We had a lady here in Mexico walk up to us and give us a letter written in English with some money in it. She said she doesn’t know what the money was supposed to be for but that God will provide the all the money that we need. She said that the money she gave would multiple. God sent us once to El Salvador with a miracle and we believe that He will do it again. There will be also another attachment sent with this letter telling you the things that are happening in El Salvador. All we need help with is the money for airfare. We will also include information with who we will be working for. If you would like to donate to us, you can send money to our mission’s agency or you can get a hold of Ross’s mother Linda Hammond or Amanda’s mother Polly Jeannotte and give them your donation. They will be able to put it in our account immediately, but this way is not tax deductible. Their phone numbers are 701-572-9486 (Linda) 701-572-5582. The mailing address for our missions company is:

I.M.F. Missionaries
P.O. Box 32366
Minneapolis, MN 55436
IMF’s telephone number inside the U.S. (1-763-571-5967)
(Please don’t put our names any where on the check, place a extra piece of paper in the envelope with our name on itJ Please make donations out to I.M.F.) They also accept credit card donationsJ

Thank you for keeping up with our family, and many blessing to you and your family.
Dios Te Bendiga!
Ross, Amanda, Alyssa and Zoe Johnston
rossandmandy@yahoo.com

Splitting the Red Sea

I have heard people say that if God only would work miracles again like he did in the Bible they would be able to believe in Him. For me this was the case in times past, but a while back I was challenged by God to see things for myself. I began praying for little things that were possible, but hard to get accomplished. I then started seeing these things being accomplished for us. I have lately been pushed by God to give this message to those around us. This is a hard message to share if you are not seeing miracles happen in your own life. I was not content to be telling people, "Do as I say, not as I do". Lately God has been doing great things for us and our family. I wished that I could include all the miracles in people lives that are happening around us, but I can't. I can however tell you about the latest thing that just happened to us.
As alot you know Mandy and I have seen a great need here in Mexico City for the discipleship of people that are coming to Christ. In order to be able to stay here legally we need to apply for immigration. We found attorneys that work for the church that said that they would help us with it. Somewhere around 3 months ago we gave them the paperwork for it and really nothing has happened. Now lets move forward to Wednesday. We had a friend, talking to his friend a couple days ago and God told him to ask that friend about immigration. He thought it was crazy and blew it off. This feeling that came over him just got stronger and stronger. He then finally submitted and asked her. The lady that he asked told him that in fact she did, her sister worked for immigration. A few minutes after that I just randomly walked into my friends office as they were sitting around talking. They explained everything to me and set up a meeting at the immigration office for Thursday morning. I know that God parted the Red Sea for the Israelites, and it was similar for us. There were hundreds of people standing in lines at the immigrations office here when we walked in. We talked to the front desk people and told them we needed to see a particular immigration agent. They took us, walked right past the crowds behind the front lines and we stood there visiting. They are able to help us out, and get this all taken care of quickly and effectively. Also there are some hang ups that we have with the file, but they are able to help us move around the problems for a quick approval. At this point we are just having to trust God for the final word from the governement, but we are seeing His hand moving all around us. I have other stories of Gods provision and guidance that are equally as important and amazing. As I look around I see that God is opening doors for us, and is bringing people into our lives that are not only a blessing for us, but also an encouragement. I have been told alot by people around us how amazing it is seeing Gods provision for our family but now we are seeing what living a life of expectancy is.

As I do with the people that we are talking to here, I also encourage you to seek out God and find out who He is. Find out what He can be in your life, and what His plan for your life is. Too many times we are just happy doing what we want to do with no reguard for the souls of the people around us. I am not willing to stand before God in the end and have Him say, "Saved, but life wasted!" There will be no negociating, no swaying, no arguing with the eternal label that God puts on us. For this reason I encourage everyone to push into God and see who He really is. Don't listen to the voices of man, because man will always fail us, dont listen to the voices in the street, or those in front of us. Listen to the voice of God and see what He truly wants from us. This is my word for the night, and I hope that it encourages all of you, but even more I hope it stretches all of you to finding out what God wants from you.

Our school presentation

Hello again! The school presentacion went better than we could have ever planned. We had twenty students who were listening. We know that they had to listen too us because it was one of their final tests for the school year in english class:) The outline went something like this: our family, where we were from, where we have been, why we were there, why we are in Mexico and four challenges at the end of it. The challenges were; to come and ask us about our testimonies, to ask God what their purpose in life is, to be willing to see miracles in their own lives and to see Christianity for what it truly is meant to be(without legalism and religion). We have already had eight of the kids come up to us and start asking questions or questioning how to do the challenges that we gave them. We are finding that many people here have heard about the Lord but need a lot of discipling in their lives. Amistad is a wonderful church, but it also has 12-15 thousand people involved in it. Praise God He is working such awesome things through a mega-church. We feel God has sent us here for this very reason. To show what Christ is really all about, unlike many of the churches and luke warm christians have made it out to be. Please keep praying for these teenagers and for the relationships that needs to be built. We laught after we gave our presentation. Because, the things that we felt God wanted us to say were the things that the kids have been getting taught through other speakers. God is showing some of these kids who He really is before they leave for high school. There is not a christian high school around here. The high schools here are very different than the states. The kids are not kept track of like they are in the states. It is more of a honor system. If you don't go to class that's your problem. They also teach against the things the Bible teaches us to be. We have four of the students we spoke to that live really close to our home. A couple live right across the the street.Praise God for His goodness. It makes me laugh because we were not even suppose to be living where we are. It was only because of God that we got our apartment. We wouldn't be able to be doing the ministry that He has us doing right now if we lived in the apartment that was planned for us (just about a hour away). I hope all of you have a great 4th of July. Eat a yummy hamburger and some smores for us.(A good tan wouldn't hurt either:) Tell a soldier thanks also during this week. We are free because of so many of these brave men and women.
Blessings in His name,
Ross, Amanda, Alyssa and Zoe Johnston
p.s.(Amanda)I love and miss all of my family back at home. Dad and mom, I love you:)My sisters, I really love you and miss being with you. Kids, auntie loves you guys abunch, can't wait to make another movie:):)

New opportunity

Hello everyone, I pray all is well with you and your families. WE are doing very well here in Mexico. We have been asked to speak to a group of teenagers in a school on Friday. It will be the students Ross is going to be teaching english to next school year. The ages will be from 12-15yrs old. We were asked to share about ourselves and whatever else the Lord puts on our hearts. We are very excited about this! We have been praying for an opportunity like this. We are also going to be starting a prayer group at our home. We have people that come to our house often and ask us how to get closer to God. I know that we don't always have the right answers to many things but we have the best answer for this question (PRAYER)!! We want our generation to be known as a praying generation and not just for mooching. Prayer is the fastest connection to God. Unfortunately this is the thing that many christians don't do. If they do do it they usually are asking God for something or only allowing a one way conversaion about themselves. They never ask how His heart is or about His opinon. We have been teaching people here that prayer is like a conversation with on of your best friends. You can't always be asking things from a friend, you also have to listen and help that friend out. What makes a true relationship? Here is a website that can answer this question for you. www.wikihow.com/Be-a-Good-Friend We are truly so happy here. It makes us even happier knowing our daughters love it here also. Of course, we have days that we wish we could see our families and give them hugs and kisses but God has been faithful to us in this area. We know that God is watching over our families and is protecting them. One thing God taught me along time ago is to tell your loved ones that you love them every time you leave them. Even if it is just a overnight stay. I know my family knows that I love with much of my heart because I have learned to do this. I hope that you guys will also do this and if there is anything that hinders you from telling them this (something unforgiven) please pray that GOd will show you it. Because, the bible tells us in matthew 6:5-15 and Mark 11:22-26 that if we don't forgive then God will also not forgive us our sins. WOW I am goig to head out now. We have to start working on our presentation for the school. Peace AMANDA

A way to change your heart

Here is a sermon that I heard that I think many of you who are reading this can change your heart. This man (Mike Bickle) is from the house of prayer in Kansas City. He is a great preacher and I know he is not is it for himself like many others out there. Please take the time for God and sit and listen to this sermon. It is broken up in two, twenty minute sermons on youtube. The "one thing" is the conference title 2005. Are you ready to hear how your heart can be radicaly changed? Amanda

part 1



(if you cannot see the video, right click and copy and
paste this link into your webbrowser to watch)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZvPVWE4gDY

part 2



(right click and copy this link into your browser if you have problems)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZFjO0x9rH_o

A email from a friend

>> A TEENAGER'S VIEW OF HEAVEN 17-year-old Brian
>> Moore had only a short time to write something for a
>> class. The subject was what Heaven was like. 'I wowed
>> 'em,' he later told his father, Bruce. 'It's a killer.
>> It's the bomb. It's the best thing I ever wrote..'
>>
>> It also was the last. Brian Moore died May 27,
>> 1997, the day after Memorial Day. He was driving home
>> from a friend's house when his car went off Bulen-Pierce
>> Road in Pickaway County and struck a utility pole. He
>> emerged from the wreck unharmed but stepped on a downed
>> power line and was electrocuted. The Moores framed a copy
>> of Brian's essay and hung it among the family portraits
>> in the living room. 'I think God used him to make a
>> point. I think we were meant to find it and make
>> something out of it,' Mrs. Moore said of the essay. She
>> and her husband want to share their son's vision of life
>> after death. 'I'm happy for Brian. I know he's in heaven.
>> I know I'll see him.'
>>
>>
>>
>> Brian's Essay: The Room... In that place
>> between wakefulness and dreams, I found myself in the
>> room. There were no distinguishing features except for
>> the one wall covered with small index card files. They
>> were like the ones in libraries that list titles by
>> author or subject in alphabetical order. But these files,
>> which stretched from floor to ceiling and seemingly
>> endless in either direction, had very different headings.
>> As I drew near the wall of files, the first to catch my
>> attention was one that read 'Girls I have liked.' I
>> opened it and began flipping through the cards. I quickly
>> shut it, shocked to realize that I recognized the names
>> written on each one. And then without being told, I knew
>> exactly where I was. This lifeless room with its small
>> files was a crude catalog system for my life. Here were
>> written the actions of my every moment, big and small, in
>> a detail my memory couldn't match. A sense of wonder and
>> curiosity, coupled with horror, stirred within m
> e as I began randomly opening files and exploring their
> content. Some brought joy and sweet memories; others a
> sense of shame and regret so intense that I would look
> over my shoulder to see if anyone was watching. A file
> named 'Friends' was next to one marked 'Friends I have
> betrayed.' The titles ranged from the mundane to the
> outright weird 'Books I Have Read,' 'Lies I Have Told,'
> 'Comfort I have Given,' 'Jokes I Have Laughed at ' Some
> were almost hilarious in their exactness: 'Things I've
> yelled at my brothers.' Others I couldn't laugh at:
> 'Things I Have Done in My Anger', 'Things I Have Muttered
> Under My Breath at My Parents.' I never ceased to be
> surprised by the contents. Often there were many more
> cards than I expected. Sometimes fewer than I ! hoped. I
> was overwhelmed by the sheer volume of the life I had
> lived. Could it be possible that I had the time in my
> years to fill each of these thousands or even millions of
> cards? But each card confirmed this truth. Each was w
> ritten in my own handwriting. Each signed with my
> signature. When I
> pulled out the file marked 'TV Shows I have watched', I
> realized the files grew to contain their contents. The
> cards were packed tightly, and yet after two or three
> yards, I hadn't found the end of the file. I shut it,
> shamed, not so much by the quality of shows but more by
> the vast time I knew that file represented. When I came to
> a file marked 'Lustful Thoughts,' I felt a chill run
> through my body. I pulled the file out only an inch, not
> willing to test its size and drew out a card. I shuddered
> at its detailed content. I felt sick to think that such a
> moment had been recorded. An almost animal rage broke on
> me. One thought dominated my mind: No one must ever see
> these cards! No one must ever see this room! I have to
> destroy them!' In insane frenzy I yanked the file out. Its
> size didn't matter now. I had to empty it and burn the
> cards. But as I took it at one end and began pounding it
> on the floor, I could not dislodge a single card. I became
> desperate and pulled out a card,
> only to find it as strong as steel when I tried to tear
> it. Defeated and utterly helpless, I returned the file to
> its slot. Leaning my forehead against the wall, I let out
> a long, self-pitying sigh. And then I saw it.. The title
> bore 'People I Have Shared the Gospel With.' The handle
> was brighter than those around it,seemed newer, almost
> unused. I pulled on its handle and a small box not more
> than three inches long fell into my hands. I could count
> the cards it contained on one hand. And then the tears
> came. I began to weep. Sobs so deep that they hurt. They
> started in my stomach and shook through me. I fell on my
> knees and cried. I cried out of shame, from the
> overwhelming shame of it all. The rows of file shelves
> swirled in my tear-filled eyes. No ! one must ever, ever
> know of this room. I must lock it up and hide the key. But
> then as I pushed away the tears, I saw Him. No, please not
> Him. Not here. Oh, anyone but Jesus. I watched helplessly
> as He began to open the files
> and read the cards. I couldn't bear to watch His response.
> And in th
> e moments I could bring myself to look at His face, I saw
> a sorrow deeper than my own. He seemed to intuitively go
> to the wor st boxes. Why did He have to read every one?
> Finally He turned and looked at me from across the room.
> He looked at me with pity in His eyes. But this was a pity
> that didn't anger me. I dropped my head, covered my face
> with my hands and began to cry again. He walked over and
> put His arm around me. He could have said so many things.
> But He didn't say a word. He just cried with me. Then He
> got up and walked back to the wall of files. Starting at
> one end of the room, He took out a file and, one by one,
> began to sign His name over mine on each card. 'No!' I
> shouted rushing to Him. All I could find to say was 'No,
> no,' as I pulled the card from Him. His name shouldn't be
> on these cards. But there it was, written in red so rich,
> so dark, so alive. The name of Jesus covered mine. It was
> written with His blood. He gently took the card back. He
> smiled a sad smil
> e and began to sign the cards. I don't think I'll ever
> understand how He did it so quickly, but the next instant
> it seemed I heard Him close the last file and walk back to
> my side. He placed His hand on my shoulder and said, 'It
> is finished.' I stood up, and He led me out of the room.
> There was no lock on its door. There were still cards to
> be written! . 'I can do all things through Christ who
> strengthens me. '-Phil. 4:13 'For God so loved the world
> that He gave His only son, that whoever believes in Him
> shall not perish but have eternal life.'

Thank you Jesus for your unselfish love and grace!

Helllo from the Johnston's home in Mexico City

Hello everyone, it has been a crazy week. There has been so much happen since I last blogged. Our financial paper work is well on its way for us to stay and live in Mexico. We will be both working in the school teaching english. Our paper work should be summitted this coming week. This is wonderful because if it would not have been in before June 28 then we would have had to leave the country and try to return again. We have been really working on our spanish lately also. We have had our teachers coming in the mornings and then also in the night we have another teacher come over and help us out. It has been going wonderful. At times a little frustrating but really good. Our girls are now getting better. Everyone has had a run with a crazy cold here. Our bodies are starting to get us to the pollution here. Our lungs are being nicer to us know and our allergies are not so bad. We also heared about some medicne for my ezema around my eyes. This has been the most painful thing to get us to here. I thought if I left North Dakotas cold weather that it would help with my ezema, but I forgot about the pollution. I am sure thankful for the medicated lotion that I found. Our mentors have left on furlough and will be gone from Mexico for two months. We have a lot ahead of us in these two months. Our girls will be done with school in one month. In July we are going to a little indian village for two weeks. We will be staying with some Bethany missionaries that live there. Also we are helping with and working with the childrens pastors for the church. We are going to be doing a week long childrens summer bible camp in July. I could continue to go on and on but I need to ask all my brothers and sisters in the Lord to please be praying for my father (Amanda). He had a slight stroke on Wednesday. Please be praying for a fast and healthy recovery. I thank God for giving my father a second chance at life. I also pray that my dad would see the reason for this second chance. Many blessing to all! Amanda

Asking for forgivness

Here is a little caption of what I am asking for forgiveness for writing.
The catholic church should be on their knees begin for forgivness for making this statue. 50 of the popes have came and gave worship and give honor to this discusting idol. The reason she was excepted was because it was a way for them to "convert" people to their church. Well it has worked! They have officaly helped many souls go to hell to burn for all eternity instead of telling them the truth like they "so called preach." The story is that this virgin appeared to this poor indiginous man on top of a hill next to Mexico City. She told him to build her a temple in honor of her. Then she showed a miracle too one of the bishops by having this man gather wild roses in the middle of their winter. Then she had a image of herself put on the priest robe. Wow this really should have put up red flags everywhere. There is now a building in Mexico where she wanted the temple to be built so people could come and worship her "the so called mother of God." The funny thing that the catholic church has forgotten to add in this building is a representation of Jesus any where. O'ya because they don't want truth in a den where demon manifest and lies are told. The problem with the church is that they either keep Jesus on the cross or keep Him as a baby. They forget to tell the people that Jesus grew up and He got off that cross and that He was resurrected and is now at the right hand of God the Father. One question I would like to ask priests or catholics is "how many times have you been asked to read your bible other than the little scriptures given to you in church? Do they encourage you to have a relationship with Jesus. That He loves you and wants to be your best friend. That you are to go tell other people and tell them about His goodness. Also that the veil was torn right before Jesus died on the cross so we no longer have to tell our sins to a priest. That we can talk one on one with God ourselfs.

God Himself has taught me where I was wrong in writing this. I lumped a group of people together in something that they don't even understand. God has also taught me again that He came to die even for the people that hurt Him. The churches in general have done a lot of this wrong in the eyes of the Lord. A individual person can do so much harm to so many people around them, when they are not listening to the Lord. But that same person can also change the world by being obeying and listening to the Lord. All that a person needs is a repenting heart because God is the one who can see into the depts of our very soul. Please except my apology for the things I said. I have first asked the Lord to forgive me and now I am asking for the people that read this to also forgive me. I have learned again that I am to pray for the people that misrepresent the Lord even if they don't understand that they might be and also for the people who havn't come to know Jesus in a deep personal relationship like He DEMANDS us to do. We all need to come together to fight the battle that we are all having to face. The only way to do this is to show love before all things. Before ourselves, before our comforts , before our pride and anything that you feel the Lord is telling you right know. We need to remember the greatest commandments that God gave us. It is in mathew 22:37-38(Love the Lord your God with all your soul, with all your stregth and with all your might. And the second is like this, you need to love your neighbor as yourself. On these two commandments all the other commandments follow). Jesus also taught me that even if we were to spend all our days serving Christ and in the end we die and go to hell it was still worth it. Because we serve Him not for us but because He is deserving and worthy of our lives. Here is a song and video that really touched my heart and spoke to me as I sat done and watched it. I pray that I will do the same thing for you. Thanks for your time! Amanda

family with us this week

We had the wonderful opertunity this week to have some friends and family with us this last week. Zoe had her 4th birthday party, and Ross's parents were able to be here. We had a wonderful week of playing tourist guide, and hosting everyone at our house. We had 11 people staying in my little 3 bedroom apartment for a few nights. It was incredably fun having everyone here, and people from back home blessed us with wonderful supplies that we cannot buy here. We are so thankful for all the things that we were blessed with and we wanted to say a special "Thank You" to everyone that contributed to that. We have a student that is going to be here any minute so I have to go for now but I will tell you all more about it later. Ross




Here is a photo of all of us in the Metro in down town Mexico City. For this and around 300 other photos and video's follow the Flickr link, or click on the slide show, on the right hand side of this page. --------------------------->

Thank you all again and God Bless.

moving again

I bet you wonder what this is all about. Well, we found out why people do not have carpet in Mexico. We started waking up each morning with little red bumps all over our bodies. We found out that we had a little bug called a chi,chi. This is possably a bed bug or something similar. We were telling people about the problem and a man offered to fumigate our place for free. This was a huge answer to prayer and it killed off the little guys for a while. The last few day it started all over again. At the same time another apartment opened up in the same building. We took advantage of this and went to the church again telling them about our problem (along with the stove that leaks gas fumes and the boiler that wouldn't shut off). After a few days of talking back and forth they decided that we could move upstairs. We went there today and asked about it and they gave us the keys. They told us that the only thing is, they need the keys to our place by tomorrow. We had to move all out stuff out of there, and into the new place in one day. Tomorrow morning we have to get in there and clean, but we are thanking Jesus for His provision. This place is exactly the same except for the fact that we have all tile and NO carpet. They are ripping out the carpet and putting tile in our old place so that it will be ready for the next people moving here from Cancun.
We have a couple from Guadalahara that have moved here that are a huge answer to our prayers. We have hit it off so well the last week. We have been sitting up all night long talking about everything under the sun, and just encouraging each other in the Lord. They have 2 kids the same age as ours and they are also our age, and married around the same time. They are so amazing and also in love with God. They are here preparing also to go overseas but they have to study while first. They have the same heart as us as well. We stand here in awe of God as we see Him preparing the direction of our lives, and how He is providing a team of people around us to help this get accomplished. We are working every day on our language and we are seeing the hand of God moving mightly in our lives. We are excited to tell you more but that is all for now. P.S. Please pray for our family as we continue seeking the face of God in our lives. We are only willing to go in the direction that He moves us as we are starting understand the next steps. Thank you again and talk later. Ross

Another Day in the City

Mandy and I just wanted to say hi to everyone. We also would like to tell you about the wonderful blessing that we were given here. We moved into our new apartement and found out that we had a nasty case of bugs. We had bedbugs in our apartment. When we moved in we saw that the place had carpet, and we were excited. Then we moved in and found out why most people dont have carpet. Incase you didnt know, carpet in Mexico is not common. To make a long story short Alyssa and I prayed about what to do and left it at that. The next day Mandy was visiting with some friends about the problem. We all were covered with little red bits and we were wondering if there was anything here to help ease the pain and itching. There was a lady there from the girls school (a teacher) who said that she knew an exterminator. That morning they called him and he came over. He showed up at 11am and it was done quickly. The best part of it all was that they did not charge us for it. They said that they wanted to do it for free to help our family out, and the guy is not even a Christian. God is using people around us for His work even when they dont know it. IT'S AWESOME!! It has been such a miracle to see how He is providing for us here. It is just one more small conformation that we are walking in the middle of His plan for our lives.

Another reason that we wanted to blog tonight is to put up the newsletter of the family that we are working with here. If you are interrested in seeing the people that are training us, working with us, teaching us, helping us, and sometimes just having to put up with us, here it is: http://archive.constantcontact.com/fs018/1101376921926/archive/1102045947266.html .

We will be excited to tell you more stories about opertunities that God is opening for us here. There are things that are beginning to fall in place for us, as we learn the language. We will blog again soon. thank you and God Bless. Ross

dia de ninos (day of the children)

There are new pictures of the girls in their costumes on our flicker account. Got to the dia de ninos picture group. Hope all is well with everyone. Have a blessed day! Amanda
http://www.flickr.com/photos/rossandmandy/

The perfect day

Today was a wonderful day. We got all the things done yesterday that needed to be completed so we were able to have a family day. Our family went to find a costume for Alyssa and a crown for Zoe. The girls have to dress up for church and school a couple days this coming week. This coming week is a very important week for kids in Mexico. They have huge parties for the kids all week long. They call this week "kids hero week". When the spanish came to concore Mexico there was a group of kids that would not let the spanish take down the Mexican flag. The spanish had to kill all the kids in able for them to take the flag down. It is to remember the bravery that those children had and a memorial for them. The girls have a party at church, two at school and differnet ones around town. Alyssa picked out a butterfly costume and we where very blessed by someone who gave us a beautiful princess dress for Zoe. I am happy with the amount of spanish we can use now. Every where we went today we spoke only in spanish with the people. We are able to get just about anything we need by ourselves now. It might not be perfectly put together but people have been very good about helping us learn. We where even given a compliment on how good our spanish sounds and how far we have come since arriving here. Thanks Jesus! We had to walk about 4 miles to find the costume store and after we went there we took the girls to a play area. It was wonderful to have them playing and to be able to sit and hold my husband while watching them. After that we went home and played for hours with each other. To finish off this wonderful day I was able to watch my husband read the girls stories out of the bible as they fell asleep. Hope everyone who reads this had as great of a day as we were give. "Lord we give you all the credit" Blessings Amanda

Thinking about life

As I sit here this evening listening to the rumble of thunder outside and see the rain falling on the city I am reminded of what God showed me on Sunday. I was reading in Psalms 8 where David was talking about how God created the heavens with the work of His finger, the moon and stars He set in place. Then above all He placed us, lower than the angels yet He places the crown of life on us. He says that he crowns us with glory and honor, He places us above all that He had made. The thing that stood out more than anything is when he said, "What is mere men that you are mindful of him, that the Son of Man cares for him". This is such a true statement! I was woke up by my wife last night about 2:30 in the morning because she had a terrable headache. This I think would classify as a migrain. We were praying for her and after about an hour of her laying on the floor crying in pain and loosing everything in her stomach she was able to get back to sleep. We are not sure what brought this on but one thing that we are sure of, is how fragile we are as humans. As I read this scripture again tonight I loved how David started this out and ended it as well, "Oh Lord, our Lord, how majestic is your name in all the earth" There is nothing more appropiate to say than that. We need to stop and look at who we are as humans. We have so blessed by the people around us here and when I think about living this life and worrying about tomarrow I have to stop myself and realise that this life is not about us, or me. It is all for His glory, no matter what. If we die tonight it was all worth it, as long as He is the one that we lived for. I long for the day that I get to see my savior face to face, but I love every single day that He has given us on this earth. I feel like I am the richest, most blessed man on this earth. Mandy and I have been approached by people living here and they have told us that even though we are still not good at communicating with locals there is a whole community of people watching us. The locals know that we are here and we have been blessed to be accepted by some that hate Christians. Gods favor is before us even though Satan is throwing his darts. We are finding the importance of prayer and utter dependence on God lately. I just had to share that with someone and now I can go to bed. 4 hours of spanish class, 4 hours of teaching english, 2 hours of playing with the girls, spending a little time with my wife and now this I am ready to call it a night. Talk later. Ross

Our lives in the city

It has been 2 months now since we have began working in Mexico City. This week we have friends from Bethany that are here visiting. I think that we have done well showing them around. We have volunteered to show them the places that we know. It has been alot of fun. This week held something different for us. We were approached yesterday and asked if we are interrested in taking a job (with no pay) teaching english in a local school. They know that we are native speakers and we are able to communicate with them in spanish. This would be a win, win situation. They also know that we are Christians and they know where we stand spiritually. They cannot pay us because of the limitations that the government puts on us as Americans living here without a work visa. This is ok though because we are happy living on the support that we get from all of you back home and it makes our words more creditable when talking about Jesus. They know that we are not here for a paycheck but we are here to just show love to them. This is an avenue that Mandy and I have been praying about since we got down here. We were not sure how to make this a reality but God went ahead of us and is preparing the path. The school would give us an invite and that would open the doors (legally) for our family to stay here long term. This also would place us around some of the youth group range of kids that we have been trying to get involved in. The great thing is that we have been praying about staying here and they approached us. This is another conformation that God is in this and we are walking in the middle of His plan for our lives. They would be able to provide us with help pushing our immigration papers through the government. This is not a done deal yet and we will keep you posted as we move towards this step but please keep us in your prayers in reguards to this. We are so thankful for all of you that have made this possible. The girls have told us that they are going to stay here and marry Mexican men. Zoe is already married but she can't remember his name :-) and Lyssa has a little boy that makes her face light up when she sees him. SCARRY! We all love it so much down here and it is great to see what God is doing. We will be able to update more later. Ross

Cookie. Cookie, Cookies

Hello everyone I have some awesome pictures for you guys to look at. We had four kids from Alyssa and Zoe's school come over and bake cookies the other day. (Thanks Mandie for the receipe!) We made chocolate chip cookie for the CNM missions school. It was alot of fun seeing our cookies walking down the street with people:) We have some friends staying with us from Bethany College of Missions. Their names are Mario and Jeannie Benduza. They are going to be in Mexico for about two weeks. We are going to be having alot of visitors within the next month:) Ross's old school teacher and three other people are coming down to visit and go to a little village outside of the city on a missions trip. We are very excited to see them! Also Ross's mom, stepdad and niece are coming to see us! It will be alot of fun. We are starting to get busy here. We are starting to pick up the language and are able to talk to people in small sentences. We had a lady that I(amanda) go to biblestudy with offer to teach us spanish for free! She is going to tutor us three days a week and we also have another lady teaching us for a hour everyday are impatient because we want to know more but we also know that we are doing good for how long we have been here. We were so blessed last night by a mexican couple. They took us and our friends that are staying with us downtown to Mexico's city center. They walked us around and then took us to the top of a building where there was a resturant and feed us some amazing food. We have not been on a date in awhile so it was amazing. The girls were even more excited because they had their favorite babysitter come and watch them. Zoe woke up this morning and asked if we could leave again so her babysitter could come back. We have added some new pictures and videos on our flicker account. Give us a shout on our email or skype number. We would love to here from ya. Email is rossandmandy@yahoo.com / http://rossandmandy.blogspot.com/ Later Amanda