We are down to 48 hours before students start to arrive for the fifth year of our Bible Institute. As of right now, we are expecting 45 students!

Naomi had another good appointment yesterday. Both she and the baby are doing well and the doctor is very encouraged by their progress. Last night we went out to celebrate the 24th week of the pregnancy. At this point if the baby was born prematurely it would stand a chance of surviving.

Upcoming things in our lives:
Sept 8-10 Opening Weekend
Sep 18-22 Troy will be helping teach a seminar on the gospel (www.goodseed.com for more info)
Oct 2-6 Open Air Evangelism in Toronto and other cities in southern Ontario.

Thanks for your prayers!

Troy, Naomi, & Ellie

Naomi had another ultrasound and obstetrician appointment in the last week. Her OB is very happy with the baby’s development. She still wants Naomi to be very careful with her amount of activity. She gave Naomi three “milestones” that we can look forward to reaching. A normal pregnancy is about 40 weeks long. Naomi is at 23 weeks. At 24 weeks, we will take a small sigh of relief, as the baby is considered “viable” at that point, though not without many complications. At 32 weeks, we will all breathe a huge sigh of relief, as it would be safe for the baby to be born locally and our hospital is equipped for a baby born 8 weeks early. At 36 weeks, we’ll be laughing, as the baby would no longer be considered premature if born any time after that point. It was helpful to have this timeline and we pray the Lord would help us reach each of these milestones.

Naomi’s mom is here now and we appreciate her help so much. Ellie doesn’t seem to mind her mommy’s limited activity and Troy is surviving alright as well.

We appreciate so much your prayers on our behalf. As one friend reminded us, “He hath done all things well.” Mark 7:37. We rest in the knowledge of His goodness and love for us.

Troy and Naomi Johnstone

For You are great and do wondrous deeds;
You alone are God.
Psalm 86:10 – one of many verses shared during our graduation ceremony today.

Grad is always one of those bitter-sweet times for our staff. We reflect on the great and wondrous deeds that we have witnessed since September as mark the end of another great school year. We also say goodbye to those who we have invested the past year of our lives in.

Through the year you work hard, you become friends with the students, see God working in and through the lives of the students. You see them grow and see how they challenge you.

Today I had the privilege of giving the benediction, praying God’s blessing on these students as they go from here to do His work in this world.

The ladies of the class of 2006 preparing for the start of the ceremony.

The choir sharing together one last time.

Congratulations class of 2006

We proclaim him, admonishing and teaching everyone with all wisdom, so that we may present everyone perfect in Christ. Colossians 1:28

With only 25 days to go before registration weekend our application numbers are holding strong. We still have over 50 apps for this year at the Bible Institute, of which 31 are confirmed (meaning that they sent in a $150 deposit).

To put this in perspective, the most students we have had is 39, and this past year we had only 25. So now we have more students who have confirmed for the coming year than we had this past year! Plus, there are around 20 more who are at some stage in the application process.

We are praying for over 40 students this coming year. It is going to be exciting!