The Johnson's Journey
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Highlights
Friday, March 4, 2011
Chai and Chapati
Calendar of Upcoming Events:
• April 2011 ShortTerm Mission to Sudan
• July 2011 ShortTerm mission to Peru
Prayer Requests:
• That God would open our eyes to those hurting around us and that we would not forsake them
• That we would be faithful administers of the Gospel of Peace to students, faculty, and locals
• That God would direct the time, treasure, and talents he has given us in f that most glorifies Him
• Shortterm veterinary missions
• That we would show the love of Christ
2 Corinthians 5: 1721
Jenn and I did short-term mission to India in January. The food was spicy, bold, hot, sizzling, and scrumptious. The streets were loud, crowded, smoky and serpentine. The clothing was vibrant, bright, colorful and varied. Rickshaws, dump-trucks, taxis, vans, bicycles, cars, and cows were all intricately painted and adorned. It seems all the colors of the rainbow were packed into a big box and carried to India. Then, someone placed dynamite on that box, splashing its contents hitherto.
Combating the color was a spiritual darkness that permeated every corner of the land. Idols were ever-present; whether along the road, in the car, or in the store. With Hinduism, you can worship any number of literally thousands of gods. To begin with, Jenn and I were stunned by the outward display of idolatry. The idea of worshipping something created by man’s hands!! Unspeakable! We sure were glad that we didn’t worship these idols.
Then we began to think about ourselves...
Do we worship anything man-made? Do we elevate THINGS— a new car, a new house, a piece of land, cows, a motorcycle, perfume, gold, silver, 401Ks,... Do we worship IMAGES—supermodels, actors, TV...
And thus began the introspection.
The idols we worship aren’t blue statues with 8 arms or pink elephant-man hybrids. No, we pretty them up and make them less creepy and more acceptable.
I think God knows mankind’s tendencies. He told Moses, He carved it in stone, He told Moses again...and again... The first commandment- You shall have no other gods before me. The Israelites had a hard time with this- so do we!
While conducting animal care workshops on water buffalos with an oppressed people group at the base of the Himalayas Jenn and I learned to examine our own worship.
The theme for Christian Veterinary Mission this past year was “living lives of worship;” a valiant task, impossible without Jesus Christ.
Reconciliation
February 25, 2011 St. Kitts #3
Drs. Jason and Jennifer Johnson Mailing Address: 630 US Hwy 1 Suite 600 North Brunswick, NJ 08902 Vonage (local call from USA): 334.239.2537
Jenn cell: 869.669.0735
jennifertjohnson@hotmail.com
Jason cell: 869.660.3897
dr.jasonjohnson@gmail.com
Saturday, October 2, 2010
What's Up?
Hi All
Monday, June 7, 2010
St.Kitts June 2010
OK, so I am finally posting an update. Sorry it took so long.
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
St.Kitts it is!
Next. Ross University has an opening. We just so happen to meet another professor teaching there at Christian Veterinary Mission's Short Course. She encouraged us to apply, so we did. Then we got an interview. Open door. OK, but we really don't want to live there. We think about it for a couple of weeks -paralysis of analysis again :) I have been praying for God to open and close doors and for eyes that see and ears that hear concerning our next step in life for 6 months now. Since this door was open we decided to go. What did we have to lose?
The interview was great. The school was more than impressive. The views were breathtaking. The faculty was welcoming and interesting. The administration was accommodating. Very nice. Too bad we still didn't really want to go.
So, we started praying for Birmingham. Close to family, close to other ministry opportunities, close to friends, fun to be had by all. Jason go a couple of interviews in Birmingham just before Christmas. We were so excited. We just knew this was it. Wrong! One interview just didn't work out. The other interview went TERRIBLE. For those of you who know my husband, you know he doesn't have terrible interviews. To say the least we were broken, crushed.
So, more praying was in order. We were sad and upset and confused. By the way, at this point we have a great offer from Ross and they are waiting on an answer. We were very open and honest about our opportunities in Birmingham, but they were ready to get things going or move to the next candidate.
Jason and I prayed for a while that day after the bomb of an interview. This is what God said to me. Ezekiel 12:2-3 (paraphrased) ...you live among rebels who have eyes but refuse to see. They have ears but refuse to hear. Pretend you are being sent into exile. Pack the few items an exile would carry and leave your home to go somewhere else. WOW. OK, thanks God. Seriously. Don't we wish He would be that clear all the time? Or is He? I had been the rebel with closed eyes and ears. And while we aren't going into "exile" Jason and I were viewing it almost that way.
What now? I waited for Jason to pray and listen. God gave him Jeremiah 29:10-11 - you will be in exile then I will bring you home again. For I know the plans I have for you. We prayed together and felt that God has been guiding us to St.Kitts all along. Our desires sometimes get in the way of God's. Sure we say not my will but Yours, but this was an eye opener for us. We may say it but we certainly didn't mean it. What we meant was God give us what we want, when and how we want it otherwise we'll be upset. His timing is perfect, but the waiting is hard. For Jason and I our reasoning and over analysis always gets in the way. God just says listen to Me. We make it really hard though sometimes.
We know we'll face struggles, but we rejoice in obedience. We know that God is good all the time and the best place we can be is His will (not ours!). So we're sorting and running here and there and everywhere to get it all done. The tentative date to leave is Feb. 3. Our last day in Auburn will be Jan 14 or 15. We know it is time to move on, but we will miss all of our friends and our church. Feel free to visit anytime! I can't wait to share more about island life - good and bad.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Uganda - part 2
After Dr. Val finished the animal health training we headed back to Soroti. We were back at the bed and breakfast and warm showers. We met a great team from Oregon who brought supplies for Thanksgiving dinner. So everyone pitched in and we had an amazing Thanksgiving - turkey(oh yes, a turkey met an untimely death, but he was delicious), stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, peas, pumpkin pie and more. Thanks again any Oregon teammates that may read this!!!
After meeting with the CLIDE consultancy in Soroti to discuss how we may be able to join their team we headed to Kapchorwa. This is where I got a little sick, took some anti nausea meds then passed out for a while. It was a long car ride, but at the end I was all better! Dr. Val lived in Kapchorwa when she was first in Uganda. It is certainly a beautiful place. We had been in the hot, dusty plains but had now arrived in the more mountainous region near the Kenya border. There were waterfalls, caves and vegetation everywhere. People were drying coffee beans along the edge of the road. It was very exciting. The people were very friendly. We ate at a small roadside "restaurant" - I can't remember the name of what we ate, but it was delicious. We even had a soda that afternoon. The idea would be to start some breeding projects to enhance the cattle genetics in the area with the possibility of marketing milk,etc. We had a great dinner - guacamole and chips, rice and groundnut (peanut) sauce. We stayed at a great place that overlooked the mountains. Then next morning Jason and I climbed to the top and watched the sun rise over the plains. It was beautiful. The next day we visited the hospital in town - I won't go into all that. We should all be thankful for the medical care we have. Then we had tea with some of Val's friends. Thus our short stay in Kapchorwa ended, but it was the most appealing place to both Jason and myself. We had to start the drive back to Kampala to get things ready to come back to the states.
Back to the big city :) We spent a couple of hours that afternoon shopping for souvenirs then met with Lindsay (Jason's sister) again. That night was pretty uneventful- the power was out most of the night. The next morning we went to church in Kampala then had a great cup of coffee at 1000 cups. Then we headed out to look at one more rental house. The house was beautiful and huge. Another beautiful house with a wall with glass at the top! We had lunch - fried chicken. Lindsay fed chicken to the stray cat who looked like he needed a little food. When Lindsay moved her hand it startled him and he bit her. Just a tiny bite though. No broken skin, thankfully. This just goes to show you that you can't trust a cat anywhere - Africa, USA - they're all the same. You play by their rules or else some body's gonna get hurt :)
Dr. Val then transported us to the airport. We had a 9 hour layover in Amsterdam so we decided to catch the train and look around for a few hours. We went from hot and dusty to cold and wet. From nice people to pretty grumpy people. I'm glad we went, but I certainly wouldn't waste the time or money to take a trip specifically designed with Amsterdam in mind. The canals were neat.
So, what is the conclusion? While Jason loves Africa and would move there tomorrow I don't feel like God was saying this is it. This is where you need to be. Don't get me wrong, God is doing all kinds of work in Uganda, but for me I need peace that it is what God wants our family to pursue. We still plan for long term mission, it always comes back to the when and where. I just don't think the timing is right, yet. 2 steps forward and 3 steps back - I feel like this is the story of my life some days!! So for now we will keep praying. Thanks to any of you who have prayed for us. We will keep you updated. You can learn more about Dr. Val and her ministry at cvmusa.org. Visit Uganda if you get the chance.
Friday, December 4, 2009
Uganda - the first half of the trip
Kampala: Since I couldn't sleep on the plane it wasn't so hard to fall asleep in our hotel room to the sound of loud music and partying in the streets outside . Can you tell I am not a city girl? The hotel was very nice. At least we got to stay there one night :) The next day we got to look at 2 houses in the city as we prayerfully consider if God would have us move to Kampala. The houses were all very nice. Nice big walls around them with broken glass or barbed wire lining the top. A good deterrent to any thieves, vagabonds, etc. Comforting. Really. Seriously, the houses were better than I had imagined. The rental prices were also higher than I had expected, but we see the house as a ministry tool for short-term visitors, so I guess we need the extra room. After looking at the houses we had a nice lunch - Sambosa. Kinda like a deep fried hot pocket full of veges or beef or fish. Pretty tasty. Oh, it's the time of year for grasshoppers too. You can buy fried grasshoppers on the side of the road. People are carrying them around in huge plastic containers and will sell you a small or large paper bag of them. So Dr. Val bought us a small bag. I use the term us loosely. Jason and Val ate a few. Not me. Not that hungry. Thanks anyway though.
On to Soroti: Does anyone like Robert Earl Keen? The road goes on forever..... We drove the rest of the afternoon, had dinner (chicken stir fry- yummy) near Mt. Elgon then made it to our "bed and breakfast" in Soroti. We had a nice place with another hot shower - this is where the hot showers end for a while. Just thought I'd point that out. The next morning we were off again.
To Kangole: Did I already say that the road goes on forever? New things are always exciting though, so we didn't mind. All the people, huts, termite mounds, potholes we passed were interesting to us. Then we got to the mountains just before Kangole. Very beautiful - Jason will be irritated that I don't remember the name of them :) I'll post pictures when I find the camera. They mark the entry into Karamoja. This is the area Dr. Val spends most of her time in. God is doing some amazing things out there. Dr. Val has helped facilitate peace villages among the fighting tribes in an area that had previously been uninhabited due to fear of cattle raids and the fighting and bloodshed that follows. I know I am not doing Dr. Val or the peace villages any justice - I am sure she could write a book on it. Just trust me, God is doing some amazing things.
We spent the next 3 days assisting and observing an animal health worker training seminar. Part of the goal of the training is to educate and enable individuals to treat and care for the animals (cattle, goats mainly) in areas where there is no veterinary care. The participants were eager to learn. We ate a lot of beans and rice. There was usually cabbage too. Most nights there was some form of meat - just pick out what you want - knee with ligaments and cartilage, broken pieces of bone. No one seemed to mind though except me. Spoiled American. Did I mention there were small rocks and grit in the rice :)
Anyway, it's late. Stay tuned for the play by play of the rest of our week!