Paul and Beth Kostner Newsletter (Winter 2023)
Dear Friends and Family,
Well, another year has begun. As many of you will attest to, the years seem to fly by. It is hard to believe that we have been on staff since 1990—33 years! Our hard times have been few and far between—we have never regretted following God’s call on our lives to serve here. The staff that we love, the kids that have grabbed our hearts, and seeing the far-reaching eternal impact of this ministry are just a few of the benefits of our “job”. One thing we tell our team members is to always follow Jesus, especially in the hard times—He is so, so worth it.
Well, what has happened since our last newsletter in September? We currently have 165 team members and 60 leaders registered. We are really excited about what the Lord is going to do in and through these team members’ and leaders’ lives. Before we blink, they will be going through their training at the Lord’s Boot Camp before traveling to do ministry all over the world—Asia, Africa, Australia, and South and Central America.
Paul and I are scheduled to lead the Philippines Leader Development Team where we will be going to our Teen Missions Philippines base near Butuan on the island of Mindanao. Our team begins training a week earlier than the other teams as they will go through their specialized Boot Camp training. Following their week-long training, they will begin their first “project” which is to assist with the Boot Camp classes (puppets, music, drama and construction) along with daily breakfast KP duty, judging the Obstacle Course, cleaning the Boot Camp bathrooms every morning, helping in the kitchen, assisting with filming the evening rallies along with other small jobs that are vital to the running of Boot Camp. After Commissioning, we will travel to the Philippines where we will be building a concrete culvert to improve the road at the base. The team will also be assisting the Philippine Bible school students with their Sunday school ministries. Two of our leaders were team members on our India LDT team last year and the third is raising support to join staff. Needless to say, we are so excited!
Teen Missions is starting something new this spring—week-long Spring Break trips. We have one trip planned for Florida where the team will help with the preparations needed for the Mud Run and Boot Camp. There is another team to Detroit, where the team will be teaching English to Syrian refugees along with helping with clean-up projects in the city. Many teens desire a missionary vision, but are hesitant or unable to commit to a summer-long trip.
Paul spent the last couple of weeks traveling to Guatemala, Costa Rica, Bolivia and Brazil where he checked out this summer’s projects along with setting up future projects. I was able to join him in Brazil for a few days. We had led a team to Brazil in 1987, but had not been back since. What a blessing this trip was for us! We were able to connect with a former team member who was a part of the first graduating class from Teen Missions Bible school here in Florida. He and his wife (who he had met in Brazil when he was a team member in 1987 on the Brazil Film Team) have worked in Brazil since the 1990’s. He will be hosting our team this summer. We also met with another former Teen Missions Bible school student who is running a Christian retreat center along with his regular job. It was so encouraging to see what the Lord is doing in and through the former team members and the impact that the ministry of Teen Missions has had in Brazil and continues to have.
We recently had our monthly Zoom meeting with the staff on one of our Asian bases. It was such a blessing to “meet” the current student body of 10 students. Despite the language barrier among them, they are working together and are eager to learn God’s Word!
We had a wonderful Christmas holiday with our kids. Danae flew in from Phoenix for a couple of weeks. She was able to work remotely which was a blessing. Fourteen (of our 17) team members and one leader started arriving on December 27 (our 36th anniversary), with the last one arriving on December 31, for a reunion. We had a WONDERFUL few days—full of laughter, sharing, games and food. The weather was gorgeous! It was such a blessing to reminisce about our summer in India. Six (so far) of our team members are returning this summer as leaders and some others are still praying about it!
Thank you so much for your faithfulness in praying for us and supporting Teen Missions for our ministry. We pray that this newsletter gives you a small glimpse of the integral part you play in this ministry and the eternal impact it is having all over the world!
In Christ,
Paul & Beth 
