Fast Forward!

Well, it has been a while since the last post. My wife reminded me that it has been a year since we left for our 3-month sojourn in Lebanon. This will be a brief attempt to bring interested ones up to present day. We hit the ground running upon our return to the States and have spent the last year in transition while processing and praying through the who, what, when, why, and hows of our time in the Middle East. It has not been easy but it has been good.

So, we landed in Illinois for an unexpected 6 months. It was a good time to visit with friends and family. The Lord provided a place to stay with a dear friend and sister-in-Christ. The daunting downside, however, was that we weren't exactly sure what we were do from there. In the meantime, I was able to get a full-time substitute teaching job (a story that should be a blog entry in itself) that kept us from eating our savings in addition to living rent-free with our friend. After seeking the Lord, we decided to move to Virginia with a group that was planting a church there. I feel like I'm short-changing God by leaving out the details of all the circumstances and amazing provisions that have His fingerprints all over them. All I can say is that there was not one door closed that He did not close nor one door open that He did not open. It has been an amazing journey this past year and, though I am happy to be on this side of it, I am happy. Praise God!

We are now in Virginia. I have recently taken a job with a juvenile detention center. Jessica is loving the local flavor (think Green Acres meets Hippie) where everyone has their own garden, the neighbors can their food, there are lots of thrift stores to choose from, places for the boy to be a boy and on and on. In short, my wife loves it here and it may be difficult to get her back to Lebanon anytime soon. She has transitioned well from being close to friends and family in Kentucky and Illinois. If you were to ask me what my greatest blessing was in this past year of continual transition and uncertainty, I would (without hesitating) point to my wife. With all of the variables we faced, she was and is my constant from which I draw much comfort and strength.

So, what are the plans for the future? There are conversations and prayers about returning to Lebanon but we are open to anything and anywhere to the praise of His Glory. We will continue to update this blog and keep everyone in the know. We love you and thank you for your prayers and support.

Sincerely,
Sean Johnson

Day 66

Today was another emotional day. My neighbor, whom I have grown close to, left this evening to go to her brother's wedding in Syria. She won't be back until after I leave. We got our dates mixed up. I thought we were going to have all this week together and she thought we would have all next week together. We spent some time together this morning and a little bit of time together this evening. I walk by faith.. not knowing what the Lord's will is for our return to Lebanon. I know that salvation is of the Lord. We must be obedient to plant the seeds, be He is the only One who can save. Her husband said that she had been a nicer wife since she had met me and been spending time with me. That was an honor. It shows me that in a small way.. even though there was language barriers that the Lord allowed them both to see something in me that was different... the love of Christ. Please pray for this family, the husband, wife, and 1 year old daughter.
We also said goodbye to our sweet friends, the Swifts, today. We spent some time with the husband and wife. We went downtown and had lunch and saw some of the Roman ruins. It is unbelievable to stand there and look at these columns and realize that they are the real deal... it is so crazy. There were people excavating some of the ruins... I wanted so bad to get down there and dig with them. What a cool job that would be! Yet our job is to dig into the Word of God and find priceless jewels that will never fade!
Please also pray for Sean. He had his insulin pump set in his leg. It went into the muscle and we are afraid that it may be infected. It looks like we are going to have to go to the doctor tomorrow. Please pray that the Lord will heal it. It is very painful. And an infection can be dangerous. Thank you for your love and prayers.

Well... here it goes! We are finishing up our last minute touches and are getting ready to head out. Thank you for your prayers! In addition to those mentioned in our last blog... also pray for strength, energy, and patience. I haven't slept much the past two nights and we have a looooong trip ahead. Pray that I would be full of joy and peace. Please pray that in my exhaustion I would not be irritable and icky. Pray that I would be able to roll with the punches. Pray that we would breath in the Holy Spirit. You know what is awesome?! His word says that in Him we live and move and have our being! Though this body is weary..... His Spirit is alive! In Him I will trust! I am grateful that before this trip begins, He has brought me to a place where I realize that I have no strength of my own to depend on..... we are completely dependant upon Him. We are safe in His Hands!What a blessed place to be! - jessica