Johnstein!

Hey everyone... Thanks for the continued prayers and kind words. A ton has been happening in regards to this trip...it's amazing really, how God is going before us and preparing the way for this trip. Amazing connections that have happened since the last update. * Got in contact with a "Kosovo Softball Federation" - a very new (formed 2012) group of baseball/softball playing Kosovars (about 40-45 kids). This is pretty amazing because all our early research and info suggested that Baseball was COMPLETELY unknown. Now, at the very least, there are kids who will be interested in attending the camp. We will hopefully be meeting with the young man who has been heading up this group. * The group above has been sharing 20 previously donated gloves amongst the 45 participants. Obviously, difficult to practice baseball if not everyone has access to gloves or other equipment. The great news of God's provision is that He is working through the club that I play for (Vienn...

Next Monday (29 July), Rebecca, our colleagues Brian and Pearl Williams, and I will be boarding a plane headed to Pristina, Kosovo! While there well will be meeting with folks in the government as well as local ministry leaders, and identifying potential locations for the camp. God's provision for this trip has been perfect! We needed roughly 640€ for our airfare. Yesterday we received a donation that put us at that amount, so we purchased our tickets last night! We are still in need of some financial gifts/support for our accommodation and expenses, but we are trusting that God will provide the necessary amount, just as he has in the past. Please let me know (mdjohnstone@gmail.com) if this is something you'd like to be a part of, either now or in the future. Please keep us in your prayers as we for prepare for this new ministry.

Earlier this year, our school received a visit from the ambassador of Kosovo. Through the relationship built by our colleagues Brian and Pearl Williams with the Ambassador and his staff, there has developed a new and exciting ministry opportunity. Brian and Pearl have been working with the Ambassador to establish a baseball ministry in Kosovo, connecting short termers in the states with youth organizations in Kosovo to do summer baseball camps. Ambassador from Kosovo speaking at ICSV The organizations in Kosovo and various government officials have invited us to travel to Kosovo to "scout out" the area in order to identify potential facilities for the camps and be introduced to the partner organizations. This week long trip would be at the end of this month and would entail meeting with high level national officials, the mayor of the capitol city, the head of the dept of sports, and heads of youth service organizations. The basic plan is to have the trip last for two w...