...and now home again.

We just returned from 5 weeks in Europe (3-1/2 weeks in Czech) and bring home with us the good report that the Dennys have settled into their temporary lodging at Villa Sitna Penzion and Marcus is in week #3 of intensive Czech language classes. Their big transition to missionary life is underway!

The wait for their Czech visas seemed to take forever, but they received word on Easter Sunday that they had arrived at our house! The Dennys were celebrating Easter with Marcus' family in Vancouver and our pastor's family was picking our our mail and watching for the visas. But the visas must have come by other means than USPS -- following the busy Easter Sunday service, they drove by our house to check and leaning against our front door was a packet containing the 5 passports (with Czech visa stamps) and more than $500 cash to refund overpayment for the visa applications!

Thankfully we were able to extend our stay in Czech a few days so that we could be there when the family wheeled past customs into the airport waiting area. The little girls were soooo excited to finally arrive on Czech soil! A grandma can only wonder how their little imaginations had conjured up what it would be like in the Czech Republic. Several months ago Lydia had asked her mother if she might be a queen in the Czech Republic (and seemed slightly disappointed when told she would still be Lydia).

The family has dived into the busy ministry routine established by missionaries Peter and Sonya Smith seem to be very much enjoying the fellowship of Czech believers in Kladno. A couple days after they arrived, we were making a stop at a Kladno shopping center and were delighted to see a good friend from the past in the parking lot. Renata Vodhanilov was with her husband Ondra and their little boy Simon. Renata was beaming to see Marcus and Amie and to meet their little girls--in 2000 she spent 4-5 months here in Spokane and she assisted with a series of the summer outreach camps in CZ.

When we ran into Vodhanlovs we were enroute to Globus and Ikea, two large stores just outside of Prague. Amazingly, at Ikea Marcus ran into the sister of another good Czech friend who did not know the Dennys were moving to CZ. It seems as if Czech contacts from the past are lying in wait for them.

Marcus commented that it seems much more common, now, for Czechs to speak some English, which will make their acquisition of Czech language more difficult. In 2000-2001 when Marcus lived in CZ for 9 months, for survival he had to learn to use Czech language. Today you can navigate fairly well in English, but you cannot effectively pastor a church without fluency in the native language of the people.

So please pray for the Dennys as they seek to immerse themselves in Czech language study. Amie is not, as yet, taking any language lessons, so please pray that Marcus is able to help her learn and that God provides many Czech friends who are willing to coach her. They are considering enrolling Lydia in Skolka (Czech preschool) in the fall, which will provide a playgroup for the girls and should help them learn to speak Czech.

Thanks so much for standing with us in our mission trips to the Czech Republic and especially for standing with the Dennys in their transition to the mission field.

Please keep praying....

Marcus, Amie and the girls are back with us for a little while as they continue waiting for their Czech visas. They turned their passports in at the Czech Consulate in Los Angeles on December 29th and one month later they learned that their passports were in the Czech Republic going through the visa process. It is now March 26th and yesterday Marcus finally was able to speak with someone at the Czech Consulate -- "passports still in the Czech Republic" was the information he received.

My responses? 1-Significant disappointment since Ken and I leave for the Czech Republic in less than 2 weeks and were so looking forward to being there with the Dennys; 2-The thought, "How can a foreign government refuse to return American passports?" 3-The thought, "Just one more lingering symptom of communist-era bureaucracy trying to exercise control over people's lives." 4-"But God..." is in sovereign control of all things and His timing is perfect.

Please pray that He mysteriously delivers the passports to the Johnson mailbox in the next couple of weeks so that the Dennys can transition their lives to the mission field in the Czech Republic. Thanks for standing with them.

PLEASE PRAY for the Czech church and outreach ministry.

In July of 2009 Ken and I will be a part of a team ministering in the Czech Republic through an outreach English camp. This ministry is a collaboration between Czech Christians from Kladno and Usti nad Labem, a team from Cornerstone Bible Church (CBC) in Orange County, CA, and our Spokane church, Christ Our Hope Bible Church (COHBC).

Czech campers seem to love spending time with American Christians, but they are not easily persuaded about Jesus Christ. Some have shared this ministry who returned to the U.S. certain that God is not working on Czech soil. Yet despite its slow progress, Ken and I have sustained hope for this ministry. July 2009 will be our sixth summer mission team to the Czech Republic, and we have seen God work, using Czech-American friendships (over time) to draw people to the Savior.

Nine summers ago I first met Kari Sabevova, a widow whose heart was embittered toward God. Her daughter Aneta (a Christian) asked me to share Christ with her mother. I tried (through translation) in the summers of 2000 and 2001. Ken tried in the summers of 2002 and 2003. Ironically, my daughter Amie helped me share with Kari in 2001, and helped Ken in 2002. At the time it seemed futile. God did not seem to be working in the heart of this embittered middle-aged woman.

Ken and I were both on a mission team to the Czech Republic at Christmas 2003--Marcus and Amie were there as well, with a team from CBC. The Lord gave the four of us an opportunity to share with Kari. Ken and I shared our widowhood experiences in light of the gospel of Jesus Christ, and our witness started bearing fruit. We don't know when Kari turned to Christ, but the following winter we returned to CZ to find the light of Christ shining on Kari's face. We rejoice to see Kari knit into the Kladno church, faithfully following Christ, loving and serving the saints, reaching out to other Czechs. Two months ago she asked Peter Smith if she could be baptized.

As I write this the Denny family are preparing to transition to Kladno to continue the ministry Peter and Sonya Smith started a decade ago. As the Smith family make plans to return to the U.S., the Denny family are awaiting visas, hoping to move to Czech by the end of March. Please pray that their Czech visas arrive by mid-March so that they can purchase airline tickets.

Our summer team longs for committed prayer partners as we prepare. We go with a forebearing spirit, trusting that God is at work. Your prayers on behalf of the Kladno church are a vital part of God's ministry there.

In the past year the Lord added three new saints to the Kladno church. We praise God for the Smiths' enduring ministry to Daniel Adamovsky--eight years as neighbors and faithful witnesses bore fruit in Daniel's repentance, salvation and baptism two months ago. We praise God for Eva and Radek who demonstrated obedience in baptism during the final days of last summer's outreach ministry.

Please plead with us before the throne of grace for two college students, Honza P. and Veronika M., who recently abandoned fellowship with the Kladno church to follow the ways of the world.

Summary of Prayer Requests:
1-For Czech visas to arrive by mid-March for Marcus, Amie, Lydia, Sophia and Chloe Denny.
2-For their transition to the mission field and for their language acquisition.
3-That Ken and I would be used of the Lord on our coming trip to the Czech Republic, April 7-30.
4-That God would lead in preparations for the July summer teams: excellent collaboration between Peter & Marcus; between the Kladno & Usti churches; between CZ leadership & COHBC/CBC teams.
5-For Daniel A., Eva F. and Radek to continue growing in Christ.
6-For repentance for Honza P. and Veronika M.
7-For salvation for Veronika's boyfriend Rene.

Ken Johnson's missions agency

Well, 2009 has started out like a wild ride. Ken is starting a missions agency to manage the financial resources of missionaries (actually, in the beginning only the Dennys) who are being shepherded by a church. Last week Missionary Financial Resources was incorporated in the State of Washington and now we are filing for not-for-profit status.

The Denny family are here with us until Tuesday the 17th of February, when they depart for Vancouver. A couple days later Marcus, Amie and baby Chloe fly to CA for a long weekend (Marcus is officiating at a wedding, Amie is a bridesmaid), then back to Vancouver. The following weekend the entire family flies to Michigan where Marcus will preach at a church that is interested in supporting them. They will be departing for Czech when their visas arrive and they purchase tickets.

Ken and I have airline tickets to depart for Czech April 7th. We sure hope they will be there to greet us!!!

Here are some crucial prayer requests:

1-For the visas to arrive before the end of March
2-That they will sell their van and get a good price for it (only about 20,000 milies on it, if anyone is interested)
3-That one-way ticket prices will not go up before they are able to purchase tickets.
4-That Peter Smith will be able to locate convenient (and not too expensive) temporary lodging for them for about 4 months--when the Smiths depart, they plan to move into the Smiths' home