October Time!
Dear
Friends and Family,
God has raised this Jesus to life, and we
are all witnesses of it.Exalted to the right hand of God, He has received from
the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and
hear.
Acts 2:32-33
I must apologize
for the tardiness of this update. Once again I have fallen sick with another
kidney infection. The good news is that we caught it early this time around and
were able to take proper precautions in treating it. Though the infection is
gone, the doctors are still trying to figure out what is causing the infections
and why the pain on the right side of my back continues, even though all of the
other symptoms seems to be subsiding. Thankfully my energy is returning more
and more each day and I am ready to get back into the ministry and the swing of
things.
As a
church we are doing an in-depth study on the book of Acts. My brother, Noah ,as
well as the other teaching pastors have been looking specifically at how we can
apply these verses to our church body; specifically, how to serve one another as well as share the
gospel with our community here in Veľký Krtiš.
May the Lord make your love increase and overflow for eachother and for everyone else, just
as ours does for you.
Personally,
I have felt more and more the Spirit leading me into really taking on more with
the women in Veľký Krtiš. Our Ladies’Bible Study has been put on hold for a
long time now because of scheduling conflicts and general life“ busy-ness”.
With everyone working, going to school or taking care of families; I have been
almost pulling my hair out to find a time for us to meet. I know this is
something that God wants to happen, I just need to be patientand faithful that
it will happen in his time.
Also I
am trying to commit to have a Ladies’ Night on a regular basis. Just a time for
women to come over, hang out, do crafts, eat goodies and invite their friends.
I was able
to have a small Ladies’ Night before I got sick. We made personalized coffee
mugs, watched My Big Fat Greek Wedding in Slovak and talked for hours. I really
do see this ministry as an important part of why God has me here and I’m
looking forward to how He will bless it.
Each of you should use whatever gift you
have received toserve others, as
faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms.
1 Peter 4:10
We have
been so blessed this year to have my mother and father, Randy and Peggy Johnson,
staying with us as well as serving here in VK alongside us. Peggy was here for four
months and Randy for one month. Though it was cramped at times with the four of
us living on our tiny apartment Chello and I were so encouraged to have them
here. We said goodbye to them on October 2 and are hoping to get to see them
again soon.
We also
welcomed our friend Wes;he was here for summer camps with a team from Grace
Community Church and was going to spend the rest of the year backpacking and
traveling until God spoke to his heart and lead him back to VK. Wes will be
here serving alongside us until December 1st. He has already been a
big help working and serving around the Teahouse, and teaching English in local
schools helping to create a buzz about Teahouse. We are so thankful to have him
here and are truly blessed that God has sent us some help for this season.
The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone;
Construction
on our Teahouse and Church plans are still underway. Though at times it seems
we will never have a finished project, our property is showing such an improvement
and looking better and better all the time. Currently we are working on a brick
patio and walkway. This is important because with all the rain and snow we get
here, the whole yard and walkway to the
teahouse just turns into one big pile of mud. Now we have a beautiful, clean
area that can be used year round and will really make the space look so much
better. We have to thank the High School group from Scottsdale Bible Church for
raising the funds for this project. God has really blessed our ministry though
our relationships there.
Also the
Teahouse ministry is thriving! For the first time in a long time the ministry
is able to support itself. We are now open every Saturday and Wednesday and
without fail students are showing up each time. We also had an amazing gift of
a dart board and foosball table. This is amazing for getting students through
the door and keeping them coming back. I’m not going to lie, Chello and I have
both been really excited to interact via foosball.
We also
have our Annual Costume Party coming up on the 27thof October. This
is one of our biggest parties of the year and we are super excited to see how
God is going to bless it and who He will bring though the doors.
A father to the fatherless, a defender of
widows, is God in His holy dwelling.
This
past Friday, we had another opportunity to go and serve in the retirement home
here in VK. The weather was amazing and warm enough for them to have a Fall
festival, in celebration of October being the national month for respecting
your elders in Slovakia. Three of our friends from Cinobana (another church
plant about 40 minutes from VK) came to sing and we played games and ate cake
and goulash with them. It is always hard for me to know who is really getting
the blessings from this ministry more, us or them. I always leave feeling so happy
that the little we do is so greatly appreciated by the residents as well as the
staff.
Another
amazing thing, is that the same reporter for the radio who interviewed me
during the summer camps is now an English student of my brother Noah. He was
talking to her during one of their lessons about what we do at the retirement
home and she came this time to observe and interview him about this ministry.
He was able to share the Biblical truths about why we do what we do and why
these people are important to God. I don’t know when the story will be on the
air, but I can see God working in mighty ways here in VK and His gospel is
getting out in some amazing ways!
Prayer Requests
After they prayed, the place where they were meeting was shaken. And they were all filled with the Holy Spirit and spoke the word of God boldly.
The Lord will lead our steps and we will let Him.
Praise God on October 12th I had
my TWO year anniversary of living here in Veľký Krtiš! At times it seemed like
I was never going to make it here, and other times I didn’t think I was going
to last here. But God has been faithful in caring me through and blessing me
every step of the way.
The Lord will continue to bless the work in
Veľký Krtiš and His gospel will continue to reach the ears of the lost and His
kingdom will grow in numbers as the lost are found and hearts are saved in this
place.
For continued healing and general health for
me.
Praise
God that Chello has still been able to work, bringing in enough for us to stay
in VK and continue to serve here;all the while still
being able to serve faithfully in the various ministries here.
First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world.
Again we tell you all of our gratitude in
your service to this ministry as well to Chello and I as you pray for us and
encourage us. You are a rich blessing to us and an amazing encouragement as we
go forward and serve. Thank you for all your service!!!!
Chello & Meghan Johnson
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