Newsletter: Sept. 2005

A Heart for Burundi, the "Heart" of Africa.
Jesse, Joy & Zachariah Johnson

Dear Friends and Family,

Several weeks ago I was at home taking care of Zach while Jesse was a work. He woke up from his nap and began to make noise. I recognized the signs. The crying, mixed with little grunts. The hands to the mouth. He was hungry. As I picked him up, I laughingly whispered, “You of little faith. Doesn’t Mommy feed you every time? Just a minute. It’s coming.” I was struck almost immediately by my own words, and as Zach began to eat hungrily I thought about them. How often does God ask me the same question? He has faithfully supplied my every need each day of my life so far, and yet so often I come to him like Zach, doing the adult version of crying with my hands to my mouth, to remind him of the immediacy of my need. Of course, God commands us to pray, but the worry that so often prompts me is as unnecessary as it is wrong. God has proved his faithfulness over and over again. I have no need to doubt. I’m glad that God has given us Zach as a reminder of his faithfulness as we begin the process of moving to Burundi. In fact, we picked his name with that in mind. Zachariah means “Yahweh Remembers”— God remembers his covenant promises and will be eternally faithful to them. Zach will need to rest on that knowledge through all the changes and challenges he will face over the years. So will his mom and dad.

After much prayer, we have set our departure for the second week of January. Jesse will continue to work for Guthman Construction through the end of September. Meanwhile, we will continue to be involved in our home church and work on the practicalities involved with moving to Africa—things like finding health insurance, reading about how to manage our taxes, getting Zach his passport and immunizations, and sorting through what will stay and what will come along.

When Jesse stops working, we will officially become a part of Christian Missions in Many Lands (CMML). At that point we will also have the freedom to take a long road trip—we will be visiting churches in Michigan, Ohio, and Illinois from mid-October through mid-November. When we return, we will pack up our apartment. December will be filled with family time—Jesse will attend his brother Luke’s wedding in Bolivia (as well as the first time in more than 3 years that his whole family will be together), return to celebrate Christmas with my family, and then, on December 26, we will drive up to Maryland to spend 5 days with Jesse’s parents, brothers, and sisters—their first chance to meet Zach. The plan is to return the day after New Years, complete our last minute preparations, and fly to Burundi.

Once there, Lord willing, we will have the joy of watching Burundi continue to emerge from the darkness of war. A momentous step in the peace process was made last month, as Burundians elected a Hutu president to preside over their newly created, ethnically mixed government and army. The new president is a born again Christian. Please pray for him as he leads the country through the process of reconstruction, especially as he does not have the asset of much education.

Thank you so much for your prayers for us too, as well as your encouragement and support. We have set up a special account for the gifts we have received for our work in Burundi, and we have been amazed at your generosity. We have enough to pay for our tickets as well as the majority of our outgoing expenses. Thank you! We are praying that God will richly bless you all.

In Christ,

Jesse, Joy, and baby Zach