Ginger!

This precious pup came to be a part of our family on September 16 of this year. She is a toy poodle, and she was imported to our country from Thailand. Although she doesn't speak Thai or Burmese for that matter. (At least not yet - she's learning...)
Currently she's a little over three months old and she loves exploring outside and learning new tricks. More than anything she likes to cuddle. Her favorite place to be is snuggling in our laps.
She is so sweet and brings so much fun to our days.
Welcome Ginger to the Johnson family!

Wah Soh

It was late on Saturday night when we heard the bell on our front gate ring.

I called for CJ saying, “Anyone coming to our house at this time of night is definitely going to need to talk to the man of the house.”

But I was wrong.

It was a sweet little lady that lives across the street from us. She was so shy as she handed us a fancy, printed invitation card.  Of course it was all written in Burmese, but I could clearly make out the names of her and her husband, her address and a time/date for whatever it was she was inviting us to.

“What is this for?” I asked her, knowing it couldn’t be a wedding. I thought maybe it was an anniversary party.

“It’s called a Wah Soh,” she replied in her native tongue. “Please come,” she said as she walked away.

Neither CJ nor myself knew what a Wah Soh was. Thankfully we were able to ask some other local friends at church the next day.

Our friends explained that a Wah Soh is a Buddhist celebration where people have monks come to their house for a blessing, and they invite all their friends and neighbors to come as well.

Our friends also said that as Christians, they never attended these events.

I didn’t need too much temptation to make me not want to get all dressed up for a Buddhist festival at 9 o’clock the next morning. But then when our friends explained that the people hosting the festival feed everyone who comes, CJ was all in.

“Come on,” he persuaded me. “It will be a good cultural experience.”

Of course our neighbors know we are Christian, and they knew we wouldn’t be doing any worshipping of the monks. They still invited us as a sign of friendship.

We have been trying to build relationships with our neighbors these past couple months that we’ve lived in this part of the city. I’ve been enjoying talking with the other moms who live on our street. They all sit in plastic chairs in the road while the children run around and play. CJ also spends time with the men who like to congregate near a little snack vendor on our block.

Being that we are the first foreigners to live in this area, they all seemed a little leery at first to talk with us. But we’ve invited them into our home. We’ve asked them for advice about this or that – like which market to shop at nearby or the best time of day to pump water, etc. We’ve played with their kids, and we brought them small presents from our trips to other places.

They have begun talking to us more now, and they seem to be a little more at ease around us. They just can’t believe that we don’t eat rice three times a day, and they don’t understand the concept of kids having a bed time. They seem to enjoy marveling at our cultural differences.

I was unsure if we were truly making any headway with them at all, but then the Wah Soh invitation came.

Did you ever get that feeling as a kid when someone you didn’t know real well invited you to their birthday party? Didn’t it make you feel accepted despite the number times you had embarrassed yourself on the playground?

Well, that’s how I felt when we received that invitation.

I felt a little like Sally Fields when she got her Oscar – They like us! They really, really like us!

Still when the time for the party came, I was very nervous. Anytime you do something for the first time, it’s bound to cause some butterflies, let alone a first time cross-cultural experience which provides even more opportunities to make a fool of yourself.

I wanted to make sure we didn’t appear disrespectful due to such a great difference of beliefs. I knew the Wah Soh would be an opportunity to see more about what Buddhists believe and how they worship first-hand. I felt like if we went and respectfully listened to their beliefs, they might even be more willing to listen to ours when we share with them about JC.

So we went.

Of course everyone in Southeast Asia arrives late. It was helpful living right across the street so I could see when people started arriving 30 minutes after the time printed on the invitation.

We greeted our neighbors as we walked into their house, and we were hurried to an open upstairs room where the monks had just started their chanting. There was a room full of people, packed in with just enough room for each person to sit cross-legged. Zoe and I squeezed into a spot along the back wall. CJ was ushered up closer to the front with the other men. (Mia remained at home with a guest who had been staying with us a couple days.)

The monks held long-stemmed flowers with streamers pressed between their hands. They chanted in unison as they kneeled in front of a small, golden Buddha statue in a glass case. Every so often they would say something that the people would repeat, and they all bowed their face to the ground with their hands pressed together at their foreheads.

The people didn’t seem to care that we just sat there watching. Actually, I was silently praying for each person that I could lay my eyes on around the room. I was praying that they would each come to know the Truth, and that they would give their hearts to Him.

We sat through about 30 minutes of the chanting before we excused ourselves.

They insisted we eat before we left. It was really delicious chicken and rice with a curry soup, so we didn’t mind.

We sat and chatted with our neighbors’ daughters for awhile. The family seemed so happy that we came.

Later that day, long after the celebration was over and all the guests had left, the father of the family brought over to our house several containers of left-over food. I thought that was so sweet.

These years we’ve lived in this beautiful city, we’ve worked so hard to assimilate among the people so that we can share Father’s message in ways that the people will receive it. We try to speak their language. We try to dress like them. We try to live among them.

We don’t just want to be some foreigners with a foreign religion.

How can we ever attempt to provide a bridge to the Truth if we live separated and as aliens to the people?

Just like when we’ve visited the local pagodas and we’ve seen the people bowing down there to man-made idols, the Wah Soh was another reminder of the urgency of our mission.

Can it also serve as another reminder to you to pray? Pray for us, of course! But also will you intercede for the people of this city? Pray that their hearts would be open to the Saving Message and that they would receive Him.

Until all have heard!

It's taken me 20 years to get here

I must be crazy.

I live in a third-world country with not-great electricity and even worse internet, yet I’ve just started working on my Masters degree via an online, distance-learning program. What was I thinking?!?!

I am now officially a student at Southeastern Bap. Theo. Sem. (yes, that’s a lot of abbreviations, but the little internet we have is monitored by local govt. authorities, so it’s best to be cautious.)

Another reason why I must have been crazy to think I could do an online program for a religious degree in a place that doesn’t allow such business.

Not to mention that I already have a two full-time jobs including homeschooling my two daughters and working as a Ch. Planter in an unreached and lost city. Oh and just living in a challenging, cross-cultural environment with few conveniences or comforts to make life a little easier eats up a chunk of my time. Where am I supposed to find these extra 20 hours per week needed to read, study, listen to lectures and write papers?

Now that you know I’ve completely lost my mind, I’ll try to explain how I entered into such a situation.

It’s simple, actually.

This past winter, when our family returned to America for a period of Stateside assignment, we spent some time reflecting on the previous three years living in Southeast Asia and praying about Father’s direction for the future.

One of the issues I kept bumping up against was my own lack of Biblical training.

Sure, I’ve read the Good Book. I’ve studied it and memorized portions of it. I know the stories in it pretty well. I’ve even taught Sunday School. I’ve “shared” with people all over the world, and this organization that we work for seems to approve of my capabilities. But now that I find myself teaching and training new believers and working to start new house groups, I feel the need to be able guide and instruct them with a broader understanding of theological concepts.

All that was going on in the back of my head when a friend of mine who visited us in Mississippi mentioned about all the online opportunities for graduate degrees these days. I had never even thought it would be a possibility to attend graduate school since we live on the far side from any schools that I would possibly want to attend.

But I started praying about it.

Would it even be possible?

And then I checked into it.

The people I spoke with really wanted to help me.

I researched and prayed a little more.

And I felt Father speaking to me.

So I went and talked to my pastor.

Of course he’s gonna be for it, right?

I talked with my parents.

I talked with my mother-in-law.

I talked with my kids.

Everyone seemed to think it would be great.

As for CJ, well, he seems to be getting a real kick out knowing what challenges lie ahead that he’s already experienced.

I keep trying to remind him of the many times and ways I helped him when he was doing it almost 20 years ago.

It’s hard to believe it’s been 20 years since I graduated with my Bachelors degree from Samford in 1995. It’s amazing how many things you forget in that long period of time.

Things like… how to study or how to write a paper. And I don’t just mean a news story or a blog. I mean like a 20 page research paper using Turabian style – whatever that is. Apparently it’s required that you use five syllable words in every sentence too.

I thought I would start easy with some intro level courses examining the O.T. or history of the Bap. Ch. or the like. But when I went to register for my classes, those courses were already full. So the classes I was able to get into are deeper and more intense. In other words, no one else wanted to take these classes either. But they are required; so I figured might as well get them out of the way. I know I’m going to learn a lot, and I know the end result will be so worth it.

But I keep finding myself thinking, “Why God?”

“Why this?”

“Why now?”

He keeps answering, “Just trust in me.”

I’m nervous.

Nervous may even be an understatement.

I’m waaaaaaay out of my comfort zone. (That’s a five syllable word, by the way.)

I have no confidence in myself that I’ll actually be able to pull this off.

But then I guess that means I’ll just have to depend on Him.

I’ve been memorizing some verses these days in our local language. The one I’m working on this week comes from the second book of Timothy. It’s the first chapter, verse seven. The passage tells us that He did not give us a spirit of timidity, but instead He gives us a spirit of power and of love and self-discipline.

Self-discipline? Check.

Love? Sure, most days.

It’s the “power” part where I need His indwelling.

Honestly, I’m so thankful for this opportunity. And I’m really praying that this educational endeavor will ultimately benefit the work we’re trying to do here.

Would you pray for that too?

Would you pray that I’m able to balance all the things in my already-busy schedule and prioritize according to His plan?

Would you pray that I could actually do this without really embarrassing myself, my family and my church?

Would you pray that all this is for His glory?

Ok, now who wants to proof-read my 20 page paper? J

Travel with us to distant lands

As much as we love the city where we live and work, every now and then work calls us out to other parts of the country.

It was just such an occasion that sent us, via a 12-hour bus ride, up to the Northeastern part of our country this past weekend. (Many of you have asked us about recent flooding in this country, although this trip was not in relation to that situation. The place where we went had no flooding of any kind.) We visited the city of Nyaung Shwe and stayed near a popular tourist spot called Inle Lake, although we didn’t have much time to be tourists.

We visited a farm and a factory there to learn ways that we can work together, and hopefully provide ideas for opportunities for some of our local partners to have an income while continuing to work with us doing the “Main Thing” in the city.

While we were there, we also got to help organize and lead a discipleship conference. It was a great day of challenging the believers and sharing Truth with those who have not yet believed.

During one of the evenings, we got to visit some co-workers who live in the area. It was such a good time of catching up and spending time together.

On Sunday, we visited a house meeting group in a remote location to encourage and participate in worship. We had to ride a long, narrow, wooden boat for an hour and a half to reach this meeting place.

It was a beautiful place to be sure, but most of all, it was exciting to see that there are people in far off and isolated places worshiping the Father.

It was really fun experiencing the beauty of our country and learning more about the culture of the people. While the city where we live is a hodge-podge of the various people groups, we learn so much by visiting the places where they come from.

It was a great time of family and bonding with some of our local friends.

Teaching, training, learning, giving, singing, laughing, praying and eating – it was surely a trip we won’t soon forget.