Costa Rica

Josiah and Cynthia Hubbard were married in November 2003 and wasted no time returning to the field. Both have experience serving in Costa Rica, but the two have been serving as a team since 2004. They are directors of EMAUS Foursquare medical ministry, which provides medical care for the most remote regions of the country. They will also be working with the Cabecer Indians who live in the jungle and a five-day hike from the road. Their home church, River of Life Foursquare Church in Berea, Ky., supports the Hubbard's ministry.

John and Ruth Weed graduated from Columbia International University (formerly called Columbia Bible College in Columbia, S.C.). John later pursued further education at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, Calif., taking cross-cultural courses, and attended UCLA Islamic classes.

Their first assignment was a three-year mission in Alexandria, Egypt where they witnessed many Muslims coming to know Jesus. During this time, however, John and Ruth were sent to prison for carrying out their ministry and deported out of the country. The Weeds then moved to the Ivory Coast in West Africa and started two churches among the Muslim community. Kazakhstan is their third missions assignment; their second included the Joy Church they planted 12 years ago in the city of Almaty, Kazakhstan.