Summer is coming to an end
Dear Friends and Family,
But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.1 Samuel 12:24
Yet another summer is passing and as we enter into a new season of possibilities and blessings I want to share what God has been doing. The craziness of summer has ended and life is slowing back down to a normal pace. As I look back on all God has done this past season I am overwhelmed with joy by what He has done for us and Velky Krtis.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.Isaiah 12: 5
In the end of June we were blessed to have with a new team of 22 people from Heritage Church in Scottsdale. Our dear friends Devin and Ashleigh lead the team and it was so amazing to have them back in Slovakia serving with us. Also a wonderful friend Chad, who is now a pastor at Heritage, was able to come for the first time.
While
much of the work we were doing was similar to years past, this year we
were able to combine many of the outreaches we were doing with the work the Community Center is doing. For
example, we had a group of ladies doing crafts at Mother's Club with a
few mothers and the female staff from the Community Center. Also we took a group of Americans to the special schools for the first time. On top of that we still did conversational English in the schools, VBS with gypsies and teahouse every day.
We saw God working in many ways during this time, but one that stands out the most was how responsive Chello's boys were. Little Jano (who has been in our update letters a lot) really felt touched by this team. He even told Chello one day "I feel like God sent them here for me." Also one new boy Denis was really affected by this team and even came to our English camps because of how the Heritage team loved him.
When they heard this, they had no further objections and praised God,
saying, "So then, even to Gentiles God has granted repentance that leads
to life."Acts 11:18No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.Romans 8:37
A sad reality that has come to our ministries and pushback is even some hostility from in the community and people who used to come to teahouse. Most of the people who used to come regularly to teahouse do not come anymore because we have too many gypsies at teahouse. Someone even went so far to spray paint all over VK "F --- the USA" during our summer outreaches. While we are sad for those who will not get on board, we are glad for who God is bringing to hear His truth. Chello and I were never under the impression that it would be easy for us as an international and interracial couple living in a town full of racism and nationalism, but hold fast to the belief that God has a perfect plan for us here.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the holy spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 5: 5
English Camps are always our biggest outreach for the whole year. This year was no exception. We had a team of 12 from our home church Grace Community Church, five people from the Journey Church in Camarillo, CA, a young lady from Austria and a woman from New Zealand.I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried how well all these different groups would work together. But God united this team in ways that only He could. I was very impressed not only how well we all worked together, but how quickly friendships were made among us. It was a beautiful picture of God's Kingdom and Heaven to come.
During the first week of camp we offer conversational English in a local school. Every
morning during classes we have an opening program where we play games,
teach them worship songs, Bible verses and have a small talk about
Jesus. Also every evening we have teahouse.
The second week we take teens and young adults up to the mountains for a more intensive camp. It is seven days of 24/7 interaction with the students. The days are broken up into morning and evening programs with team competitions, workshops and "one on one" time. While it is exhausting it is also rewarding.
The
theme of the camps this year was "The World We All Want" and the Bible
teaching was focused on showing the similarities of the perfect world
people imagine and God's perfect plan. I think the teaching was amazing this year and sparked some questions in even the strongest unbelievers.
This year I've been blessed to have all of my Veronikas (Joey, Niki, and Vero Veronika) at camp. I was so encouraged by two of them specifically. Joey, who stepped up both weeks and blew me away. She was like the "hype man" for camps. She danced harder, sang louder and encouraged more than anyone else. She really gave 100% and I was blessed to see it.Also Veronika really took time to make relationships with the young ladies at camp. She has a special gift to find the quiet or shy ones and really love them and get them to open up. There were two girls at camp that asked if they could meet with her regularly to talk about God and what it means to be a Christian. I really pray that she will follow up with them and be a Light and an example in their lives.
You will keep in perfect peace those Whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.Isaiah 26: 3
We are still impatiently awaiting the arrival of our little rock. I am just under a week from my due date, as big as a house and praying every day that he will come today. So far he still looks perfect and healthy, but we will not be sure until he comes out. I can tell you from all his twists, turns and punches he is strong!
On August 16th Zoe celebrated her 2nd birthday! I am so amazing by that precious little girl and how God has blessed and watched over her. She is Such a joy to us. She is still doing well. She is healthy, active and a little too smart for her own good.
Chello has started his vacation so we can prep for Rocky. He still meets with his boys to play soccer a couple times a week but other than that he is home. We are taking this time to relax and focus on our growing family.
Prayer Requests
The Lord will lead our steps and we will let Him.
Please pray for peace and comfort while we wait for Rocky to come. Also please pray for no complications with the delivery and he is healthy.
There is a possibility that we will not be able to come AZ in January to take part in GCC's international weekend and GO Workers retreat. Also we would need to do some more fundraising as we are not sure how long Chello will have work in the Community Center. We are still trying to work out the details and funds, but would love the chance to go home.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.2 Corinthians 4:15
Thank you all once again for all you do for our little family. And thank you for all you do for our ministry here in VK. We know it is a privilege to serve God in VK and are grateful for your participation that allows us to do so. God bless you all!
Chello, Meghan, Zoe & Rocky Johnson
But be sure to fear the Lord and serve him faithfully with all your heart; consider what great things he has done for you.1 Samuel 12:24
Yet another summer is passing and as we enter into a new season of possibilities and blessings I want to share what God has been doing. The craziness of summer has ended and life is slowing back down to a normal pace. As I look back on all God has done this past season I am overwhelmed with joy by what He has done for us and Velky Krtis.
Sing to the Lord, for he has done glorious things; let this be known to all the world.Isaiah 12: 5
In the end of June we were blessed to have with a new team of 22 people from Heritage Church in Scottsdale. Our dear friends Devin and Ashleigh lead the team and it was so amazing to have them back in Slovakia serving with us. Also a wonderful friend Chad, who is now a pastor at Heritage, was able to come for the first time.
We saw God working in many ways during this time, but one that stands out the most was how responsive Chello's boys were. Little Jano (who has been in our update letters a lot) really felt touched by this team. He even told Chello one day "I feel like God sent them here for me." Also one new boy Denis was really affected by this team and even came to our English camps because of how the Heritage team loved him.
A sad reality that has come to our ministries and pushback is even some hostility from in the community and people who used to come to teahouse. Most of the people who used to come regularly to teahouse do not come anymore because we have too many gypsies at teahouse. Someone even went so far to spray paint all over VK "F --- the USA" during our summer outreaches. While we are sad for those who will not get on board, we are glad for who God is bringing to hear His truth. Chello and I were never under the impression that it would be easy for us as an international and interracial couple living in a town full of racism and nationalism, but hold fast to the belief that God has a perfect plan for us here.
And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the holy spirit, who has been given to us.Romans 5: 5
English Camps are always our biggest outreach for the whole year. This year was no exception. We had a team of 12 from our home church Grace Community Church, five people from the Journey Church in Camarillo, CA, a young lady from Austria and a woman from New Zealand.I'm not going to lie, I was a little worried how well all these different groups would work together. But God united this team in ways that only He could. I was very impressed not only how well we all worked together, but how quickly friendships were made among us. It was a beautiful picture of God's Kingdom and Heaven to come.
The second week we take teens and young adults up to the mountains for a more intensive camp. It is seven days of 24/7 interaction with the students. The days are broken up into morning and evening programs with team competitions, workshops and "one on one" time. While it is exhausting it is also rewarding.
This year I've been blessed to have all of my Veronikas (Joey, Niki, and Vero Veronika) at camp. I was so encouraged by two of them specifically. Joey, who stepped up both weeks and blew me away. She was like the "hype man" for camps. She danced harder, sang louder and encouraged more than anyone else. She really gave 100% and I was blessed to see it.Also Veronika really took time to make relationships with the young ladies at camp. She has a special gift to find the quiet or shy ones and really love them and get them to open up. There were two girls at camp that asked if they could meet with her regularly to talk about God and what it means to be a Christian. I really pray that she will follow up with them and be a Light and an example in their lives.
We are still impatiently awaiting the arrival of our little rock. I am just under a week from my due date, as big as a house and praying every day that he will come today. So far he still looks perfect and healthy, but we will not be sure until he comes out. I can tell you from all his twists, turns and punches he is strong!
Prayer Requests
The Lord will lead our steps and we will let Him.
Please pray for peace and comfort while we wait for Rocky to come. Also please pray for no complications with the delivery and he is healthy.
There is a possibility that we will not be able to come AZ in January to take part in GCC's international weekend and GO Workers retreat. Also we would need to do some more fundraising as we are not sure how long Chello will have work in the Community Center. We are still trying to work out the details and funds, but would love the chance to go home.
All this is for your benefit, so that the grace that is reaching more and more people may cause thanksgiving to overflow to the glory of God.2 Corinthians 4:15
Thank you all once again for all you do for our little family. And thank you for all you do for our ministry here in VK. We know it is a privilege to serve God in VK and are grateful for your participation that allows us to do so. God bless you all!
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