People have been saying it for years, and it is medically confirmed: I have a lot of problems in my head. On Thursday, I (Troy) will finally be heading to the hospital for some exciting endoscopic surgery inside my skull! I’m not really looking forward to this, but for many years I have had sinus issues, and after a few examinations, the Ear Nose Throat doctor has determined that I do have some physical blockages that can be opened up. Hopefully this will clear up my annual parade of sinus infections, help me breath better, and maybe even give me a better sense of smell! I expect this weekend I will look like I was hit in the face with a shovel, as I will likely have two black eyes and a very swollen face. I’ll be going under general anesthesia for this surgery, and would appreciate your prayers for the recovery.

Also going on in my head is some spinning. I have occasionally had some mild issues with dizziness for a few years now. Last month, I was at a Vestibular Clinic (dizziness doctors) for some testing that came back negative for several diseases, thankfully! But last week I had some pretty severe vertigo and am still working through some milder forms of it. The vertigo did unfortunately cause a delay in our plans to celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary last week, but we were testing out that whole “in sickness and in health” commitment. Anyway, I’m now well-versed in the arts of the Epley and Foster-type maneuvers to attempt to correct the vertigo, but I would appreciate your prayers nonetheless that this dizziness would pass.

Hooked up for a test where they induce vertigo and use special cameras to check my eye movement.

Please continue to pray for the study Naomi is involved in with several unbelievers. She and her co-teacher are making progress through By This Name but it hasn’t been without obstacles.

This past Sunday we finished up the By This Name Bible study at a local church that I had mentioned a few weeks ago. It was a great joy to join this congregation in fellowship as we explored together the simple plan of salvation laid out in this book. As part of the last lesson, we often ask a few questions of the participants to help gauge their understanding of the Gospel. I always enjoy reading the many clear expressions of faith. One question is also about how the study has helped them. I’ll leave you with a few of their responses.

“It has helped me to see the story of Jesus throughout the whole Bible.”

“It has taught me a lot of the Bible that I did not understand.”

“The relevance and importance of the Old Testament to the New Testament. Like the unblemished animal offering for the atonement of our sins so thus, Jesus became the Lamb of God who takes away our sins.”

“It puts together the salvation message from Genesis to the New Testament – clearly illustrating God’s plan of redemption through the shedding of blood as atonement and restoration of mans relationship with God.”

“Brought me back to the Lord and reminded me what my long lost beliefs were.”

“It has helped to make talking to unbelievers about the importance of salvation and not just believing that there is a God.”

“This has been beneficial for me because I was not a believer. I did not think there was any way out of life for me but this has taught me I am not alone. I have Jesus.”

To God be the glory for these testimonies!

Celebrating fifteen years of love, life and ministry together.

On April 27, 2002…

t doesn’t seem so long ago that I was standing at the front of First Baptist Church in Olds, Alberta, nervously waiting for the most wonderful woman I had met. Right on time, the door opened and in walked Naomi in her wedding dress, and my heart stopped. That wonderful day we started a new life together.

Shortly after our honeymoon, we packed up our few belongings and drove to New Brunswick where we stayed a few weeks to visit people and supporters, then finally moved again to our new home in Ontario to officially begin our 15 years of missionary work together.

I am so thankful for Naomi and cannot imagine my life without her! Naomi, congratulations for keeping your sanity while being married to me these fifteen years, and I look forward to many more. I love you more each year.

Here is a quick look back at our lives together… with prayer card photos… because we are missionaries.

2002

Newlyweds ready to head off to Word of Life and start our years of ministry at the soon-to-be-opened Bible Institute. So young… he is so beardless.

2005

Three years in and suddenly there is an Ellie!

2007

Now there is an Adelaine in the picture, literally. We celebrated our fifth anniversary and also changed our address. In the Fall of 2007 we said goodbye to our dear coworkers at WOLBI and moved to Alberta to join the ministry of GoodSeed.

2008

Plus Ethan and there are now five in this Johnstone clan! Aww, look, that was when Ethan was smaller than his sisters. How times have changed!

2009

Kids growing like kids do.

2010

We purchased our house this year and moved out of the country and into town. GoodSeed made the same move to our new office in town. Kids keep growing.

2013

Married 11 years by the time of this photo, our little family is enjoying Alberta life.

2015

Our most current prayer card is already two years old. Guess we need to get a new one!

Thank you for your prayers and support for our family these 15 years of marriage and ministry! Now if you will, excuse me, I need to go on a date with my bride.

Troy & Naomi

Immigration: Missions on our doorstep

At our church here in Alberta, we recently had a speaker from Syria who leads a ministry that works with refugees. He shared about his experiences with the collapse of civilization in Syria, how he fled the country, and his current ministry helping other refugees. At the end of the service, I was able to give him a copy of the GoodSeed book, All that the Prophets have Spoken, a book written for people coming from an Islamic worldview. Actually, I gave him a stack: English, Arabic, Farsi (Iranian), Turkish and French. He was very pleased to learn about and receive these resources, and some day I hope to hear about how they have been used.

Later that same week, I met up with a guy in Calgary from whom I was buying some used stuff from. I keep a box in the trunk of the car full of books to give away. When we concluded our business, I thanked him and asked him if I could give him a book. He said yes, and I asked him what languages he reads. He listed about five, but Farsi (Iranian) was his “heart” language, so I was able to give him a copy of All the Prophets have Spoken in his native tongue!

Immigration is back at the top of the news cycle again, and everybody is talking about it. People from all over the world are coming to Canada, the United States and other Western countries. That means the mission field is coming to us. But are you and your church prepared to share the true hope, the Gospel, with people of other worldviews and languages?

At GoodSeed we have invested years of work in creating resources for people from eastern religions and those coming from Christian or Islamic backgrounds, and then spent more years translating our evangelism and discipleship resources into many different languages, including our children’s book, The Lamb.

What Are Christmas and Easter All About?
Laos, Chichewa, Chinese, English, French

The Story that Matters
English, English with KJV, French, Hungarian, Lingala

We encourage people to have books available to give away at any moment. In the trunk of my car, I have a “be ready box” full of books, mostly English, but a few translations, that I can hand to a stranger. You never know when an interaction can lead to someone being receptive to a book. But if you don’t have the tools at hand, you may not get another opportunity!

Do you and your church have the tools to respond to people in your community?

Our family and ministry have seen the Lord work in some exciting ways! Let us share with you.

1) Books to Africa

We recently heard from a Christian ministry in Northern Ireland that has partnered with us to print and ship GoodSeed resources free of charge. They wanted to let us know about another shipment going out.
“This week we shipped another container to Congo with 40,000 Lingala and 360,000 French The Story that Matters.”
This is in addition to 400,000 books that were shipped in 2015.
Please rejoice with us as these books are made available in Congo to help people understand the simple Gospel message.

2) New Wheels

We have been praying for several years about getting a van, and we now have a nice one! Our 13-year old SUV had been getting the family around for quite a while, but we were able to sell it for a good price and purchase a well-maintained used van. Having a reliable vehicle with Sanity Saver Space™ for the kids (so that they are not literally squeezed shoulder-to-shoulder) was a prerequisite for the upcoming Epic Road Trip (details to come)! Many thanks to Riverside Baptist Church, as well as some family members, who contributed to make this purchase possible.

3) Teeth

Ellie, our eldest, is needing some dental work, and we needed help with paying for it. Last week we launched a Go Fund Me campaign to raise $2400 to help with the cost of the dental appliance and appointments for her severe overbite. Within four days, God’s people had responded and exceeded our goal! Thank you to those who were able to help and thank you Lord for your provision through your servants!

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name;
make known among the nations what he has done.
Sing to him, sing praise to him;
tell of all his wonderful acts.
Psalms 105:1-2

A couple weeks ago I had the privilege of auditing a course on Spiritual Leadership at Millar College of the Bible in rural Saskatchewan. One of my coworkers is fulfilling his fourth year internship there, and he was able to arrange for three others and myself to sit in on the course. What a blessing it was to us! As part of the course work, we were required to read Oswald Sander’s classic, “Spiritual Leadership”. If you haven’t had a chance to read this, then I would encourage you to pick up a copy. This, along with the other readings, papers to write, and classroom teaching and discussions was a very rewarding and challenging time. Together, we were all encouraged in the work God has called us to and challenged in our own lives as leaders in our families and ministry. We also really enjoyed our time of fellowship with the staff and students, all of whom were very welcoming to us.

Jesus called them together and said, “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them.  Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant,  and whoever wants to be first must be your slave—  just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Matthew 20:25-28