Paul & Beth Kostner Newsletter (Winter 2021)

With God we shall do valiantly; it is He who will tread down our foes. Psalm 

108:13

Winter 2021

Dear Friends, Family, and Former Team Members,

Today we are celebrating Colton’s 24th birthday. Time continues to FLY by. There are so many precious memories of the past 24+ years—memories of our children, our extended family, our marriage, our former team members and ministry. I wouldn’t rewrite a page of our lives—I see God’s orchestrating hand in every moment, good and not so good. 

Colton again decided to hold off on school. He continues to work at a local restaurant. The kids gifted us with a new TV at Christmas (one of many nice perks of having adult children!), so he and Paul have enjoyed spending time together watching shows and documentaries while I sit in my chair watching HGTV with one ear bud in.

BJ turned 21 in late September—our youngest is an “adult”! He continues to enjoy his technician job with a small aerospace company. It is very “hands on” and that is what he loves. The company is also sending him to school for certification. Before Christmas, he enjoyed a weekend ski trip to North Carolina with his girlfriend’s family. After Christmas, he had another ski trip to Colorado where he stayed with one of his friends from Bryan College. He said that the skiing was much better in Colorado...

Lindsay continues to enjoy her job as an adoption specialist.She was able to facilitate 23 adoptions this past year, despite the pandemic. Six of these children were adopted into their forever homes the week just before Christmas. She is still working remotely, even when it comes to court proceedings. We really enjoy seeing her periodically—whether we are in Orlando or if she drives over. 

Danae is enjoying her job and roommates in the Chicago area, but the winter weather—not so much. She has had a couple of visitors and they all really enjoyed going to Chicago and experiencing the sites. She seems to be doing well with “adulting” and all that entails. All the ins and outs of health insurance are proving to be challenging at times. It was nice to have her home for a few days during the Christmas holidays.

Paul and our Director, Richard, had a two-week trip to Uganda where they visited our three bases there. It was a productive trip and helped with Paul’s travel “itch”. We (Paul & I) are hoping to go visit our bases in Indonesia, India and Myanmar sometime in the near future. 

Paul and I both continue with our US Teams responsibilities. Paul has been busy securing the travel arrangements and he communicates regularly with the missionaries. We are also hoping to secure several US projects as back ups. My registration responsibilities continue and are increasing as we get closer to the summer. We have over 300 team members and leaders registered! The uncertainty with COVID-19 is ever present and ever changing which affects not only our summer ministry, but also our overseas ministries. It is impossible to predict what this summer will look like. Regardless, we are planning to have teams and ministry this summer in a safe environment unless an impenetrable brick wall appears.

So far, I am the only one who has contracted COVID-19. It was a rough couple of weeks (of course it was while Paul was in Uganda), but the boys were good about checking on me. I am now fully recovered.

The Bible school continues to do well. We have nine students (two new ones) at this time, but I already have two new applications for the fall term. The students are great—they keep me on my toes and make me laugh often. The hardest part of my BMW responsibilities is securing teachers for each term. With the availability of Zoom, that aspect is getting much easier. 

We plan on having our annual 5K Mud Run on Saturday, May 8th. Preparations are already underway and registrations are open. We have had such positive feedback from our previous Mud Runs and the profit goes to purchase medicines, food, etc. for underprivileged children overseas. Please go to our website (https://mudrun.teenmissions.org) for more information.

Despite the worldwide COVID-19 pandemic, all of our overseas bases have continued ministry in some form. In the Philippines, government officials requested that the students and staff resume their Sunday school ministries. Not only are many children attending, but many parents are also attending. India has been providing relief with food and blankets. Honduras, which saw much devastation this summer/fall due to two hurricanes in addition to the Covid crisis, was given special permission to hold their two Boot Camps. Even though one was cancelled a few days in due to Covid, the other one was able to run in its entirety and send the teens to their projects. By the time you receive this letter, a container filled with food, clothing, blankets and other supplies, should have arrived in Honduras with the contents being distributed in the areas greatly affected by the hurricanes. Our goal is not only to help with the physical needs in these areas, but to also introduce them to the Good News of Christ. We are so thankful for the enthusiasm of the overseas staff and students in their various ministries along with the staff and students we have the privilege of working with on a day-to-day basis.

Thank you so much for your faithful prayers and support. You may think that you are only supporting us, but your prayers and support are also a valuable part of what is going on with the Teen Missions ministries all over the world. 

You are making a difference!

In Christ,

Paul, Beth, Colton & Danae Kostner