Oh Holy Night
This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger."
Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
"Glory to God in the highest,and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests." ~Luke 2:12-14
O Holy Night
O holy night, the stars are brightly shining;
It is the night of the dear Savior’s birth!
Long lay the world in sin and error pining,
Till He appeared and the soul felt its worth.
A thrill of hope, the weary soul rejoices,
For yonder breaks a new and glorious morn.
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Led by the light of faith serenely beaming,
With glowing hearts by His cradle we stand.
So led by light of a star sweetly gleaming,
Here came the wise men from Orient land.
The King of kings lay thus in lowly manger,
In all our trials born to be our friend!
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Truly He taught us to love one another;
His law is love and His Gospel is peace.
Chains shall He break for the slave is our brother
And in His Name all oppression shall cease.
Sweet hymns of joy in grateful chorus raise we,
Let all within us praise His holy Name!
Fall on your knees, O hear the angel voices!
O night divine, O night when Christ was born!
O night, O holy night, O night divine!
Merry Christmas
Merry Christmas!
"And when .......they saw the young child.......and fell down, and worshipped Him: and when they had opened their treasures, they presented unto Him gifts; gold, and frankincense and myrrh." Matthew 2:11
Greetings from Minneapolis
Brother Yun = One Amazing Man of God
While I've been home I've been slowly reading through Brother Yun's "Living Water" book. I have to say that this man is a man on fire for the Lord and says it like it is and it is so very refreshing! I hate it when authors sugar coat things when people's eternity is at stake! We must preach the gospel in FULL no ommission, and no additions. As it is. is enough. Read the following excerpt from the book. I hope it challenges you in your faith as much as it has challenged me. If you want to talk further about this I would be more than happy to have a conversation with you, email or call me.
Job 11:5-9, 13-19
that he would open his lips against you
and disclose to you the secrets of wisdom,
for true wisdom has two sides.
Know this: God has even forgotten some of your sin.
"Can you fathom the mysteries of God?
Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
They are higher than the heavens—what can you do?
They are deeper than the depths of the grave —what can you know?
Their measure is longer than the earth
and wider than the sea.
"Yet if you devote your heart to him
and stretch out your hands to him,
if you put away the sin that is in your hand
and allow no evil to dwell in your tent,
then you will lift up your face without shame;
you will stand firm and without fear.
You will surely forget your trouble,
recalling it only as waters gone by.
Life will be brighter than noonday,
and darkness will become like morning.
You will be secure, because there is hope;
you will look about you and take your rest in safety.
You will lie down, with no one to make you afraid,
and many will court your favor.
Set Apart
Here am I. All of Me. Take my life. Take all of me.
More.
Have you ever tasted the best...(insert food here), and couldn't stop thinking about it days, weeks even months after? You think to yourself I want more of....
Exodus 33:18-23 (New International Version)
18 Then Moses said, "Now show me your glory."
19 And the LORD said, "I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you, and I will proclaim my name, the LORD, in your presence. I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy, and I will have compassion on whom I will have compassion. 20 But," he said, "you cannot see my face, for no one may see me and live."
21 Then the LORD said, "There is a place near me where you may stand on a rock. 22 When my glory passes by, I will put you in a cleft in the rock and cover you with my hand until I have passed by.23 Then I will remove my hand and you will see my back; but my face must not be seen."
**Can you imagine seeing God's glory? Moses got to see God's back! What?!? What does that even look like? I wanna see that. do you?**
Hello. No, I Haven't Fallen Off a Cliff.
Hi friends and family,
And so it begins... Welcome to summer!
Hello to all of you.
An Elementary Faith
We The Undeserving
Hola!
- I finished language school on the 29th of May. It went very well I learned a lot of words, grammar, verbs, forms, conjugations etc.. It was slightly overwhelming, but much needed. The down side of coming back to the base and living with english speakers is that you loose your spanish if it doesn't get used. I try to get out as much as possible and talk with my Mexican friends here, but unfortunately there isn't a ton of time for that.
- Summer has started here at GFM and the interns have arrived! I'm very excited about this summer and can't wait to see what God has in store, but now that the interns are here we are very busy. We have 2 weeks of intern training before the first short term team arrives, so we have a lot of preparation and fun times to be had.
"return to me with all your heart,
with fasting and weeping and mourning."
and not your garments.
Return to the LORD your God,
for he is gracious and compassionate,
slow to anger and abounding in love,
and he relents from sending calamity.
and leave behind a blessing—
grain offerings and drink offerings
for the LORD your God.
I will pour out my Spirit on all people.
Your sons and daughters will prophesy,
your old men will dream dreams,
your young men will see visions.
Even on my servants, both men and women,
I will pour out my Spirit in those days.
I will show wonders in the heavens
and on the earth,
blood and fire and billows of smoke.
How amazing is that!! God wants us to seek him fully, whether you have turned completely away from Him, or if you are luke-warm in your relationship with God he wants you back fully! Not only does he accept you with open arms, but did you see that he also pours out his blessing. Not only that, but he also wants to pour out his spirit on us and we will prophesy, dream dreams, see visions, miracles, and wonders! Its right there in the Bible folks and that book is a living book that we can take as promises for today. I expect my God to do the same things he did in the old testament, and the new for that matter, today in our lives.
Sunday night God was merciful to grace me with His presence and show me that he is everything that I need and that when people fail me its ok because he's got me and in him is all. Today's little girls get taught about knights in shining armor, prince charming and living happily ever after, but honestly that doesn't exist. No man, not even the godliest of men can fulfill that expectation, because they weren't ever supposed to. God is the only one that can fulfill those expectations and exceed those expectations. I've now learned that relationships with others are just the icing on the cake, and that they should never be the actual cake or sustenance in our lives that role belongs only to our God. Let God be your knight in shining armor let him sweep you off your feet and woo you and fill your heart with joy. He is faithful to do it and he will never disappoint.
Being Missional in Oaxaca
Hey to all of you!
Day One of Missional life in Oaxaca: Bread Ministry
Martha
Tonight I bought a loaf of bread in the bakery and asked God to put a woman in my path that needed that loaf of bread. As I walked down the street sure enough there was a woman with her baby sitting on the sidewalk begging. I walked up to her and asked her if she wanted the bread and she accepted it gladly. I then asked if she knew Jesus Christ, and she said that she did. I then asked if I could pray for her and at this point she said she didn’t know what I was saying so I tried a different word for pray and she still said that she didn’t know what I was saying. Then I asked if she knew Spanish and she said that she didn’t. I asked her, her name and she said that it was Martha I told her that I was pleased to meet her and went on my way all the time praying for Martha and her little baby. I don’t know if Martha really didn’t know Spanish or if she just didn’t want me to pray for her, either way I pray that she felt that God blessed in some way through that brief meeting on the street. I also pray that God received all the glory and praise.
Day 2: Bible Verses
Maria Cruz
Last night I looked up bible verses in Spanish and wrote them on a note card so that I had something today to give along with the bread. This afternoon I went back to my usual bakery and bought another loaf of bread (I’ll have to take note of the name next time). As I went on my way praying that God would put a woman in my path that needed that bread I came across Martha from yesterday. I said a quick personal hello and went on my way. I think I’m gonna try and find her everyday and try to talk to her, I have a feeling that she really does know Spanish but doesn’t want to let it on, maybe because she doesn’t trust me, I don’t know, anyway I’m gonna be persistent. I went to the Zocolo and sat down and in a little while a old woman came to the people next to me and begged for money. I felt God telling me that she was the one I was supposed to give the bread to so I sort of followed her (I know it sounds creepy, but I promise it wasn’t and if it was I don’t care cuz it was in the name of Jesus). Once I caught up with her where there weren’t a lot of people around I gave her the bread and this time asked if she understood and read Spanish and then gave her the card and asked if she knew Jesuscristo and she said that she did. I also asked to pray for her, and she said yes, but was more interested in either getting more money or leaving or both. Anyway, I didn’t get a chance to pray with her but as I walked away I did pray for her. So far this experiment in human standards has not been a success, but I know that God is so much bigger than us and can use anything he wants to speak to his children and I’m trusting in that and am trying to be obedient to his instructions.
Day 3: God is Faithful to His Children
Today I didn’t buy bread I had a full day of things to do, but I don’t consider it a waste. I had a couple of good spiritual conversations. Today I had my first intercambio with Beeanay (phonetic spelling, I don’t know how she spells her name) she is 21 and a Chirstian from a strong Christian family. We talked about what I’m doing here in
Day 4: Just Add Water
Sandra
Today I added water. So I bought my loaf of bread again today and walked the street looking for the right woman to give it to, then I saw a woman with 4 children who were dressed in dirty clothes sitting in the street. I had already walked past them before I realized that this was the woman that I was supposed to give the bread to. I turned around and walked back to where she was I squatted down and asked if she understood Spanish and she said she understands a little. So then I asked if she wanted the bread and of course she said that she did. I asked if she knew Jesus Christ and again she said she did, so then I asked if I could pray for her and her children and she said yes so I got a chance to pray with them for a little while (yeah!) and after I was done I gave her a note card with some verses on it and told her that they were from the bible. I really hope she reads them and takes them to heart. After that her oldest daughter asked if I would buy them a water and really how could I say no to that request something as basic as water…so I went to the store and bought them some water and when I came back I talked to her for a little while longer then said goodbye, I think that God wants me to find Sandra again and talk with her some more, and I hope that as my Spanish progresses I will be able to talk with her more about Jesus and what He did for her. I really want to be able to pray for people in Spanish, please pray that God will give me the language abilities to do so. I want people like Sandra to be able to understand what I’m saying when I pray for them. Thank you Father for this opportunity, my your name be glorified through this.
The Start of a New Adventure: Language School
Greetings from Oaxaca City Mexico!
Minneapolis My Lovely Home
Hello to all of you out in blogland!
Minneapolis:
Minneapolis/St. Paul have 136 languages and more than 70 ethnic groups represented.
The Philips neighborhood of Minneapolis alone has 100 languages spoken.
More than 20% of the population of the Twin Cities is first or second generation immigrants. This is more than 500,000 people.
In 1990 there were 4 Muslim mosques in the Twin Cities. In 2005 there are more than 70.
The Twin Cities has the largest Hmong, Somali and Ethiopian populations in the U.S.
The Twin Cities has the second largest Tibetan population in the U.S.
The Twin Cities has the largest concentration of Native Americans in an urban area in the US.
University of Minnesota:
130 countries represented
The university community includes approximately 3,300 international students and 1,200 international scholars and faculty members
Top 5 Countries represented: China, India, Republic of Korea, Taiwan
10/40 Window:
2.5 billion people in 6500 people groups are un-reached worldwide.
97% of the world’s un-reached people groups live in the 10/40 window.
10/40 window contains over 70% of the world’s people but only 8% of the church’s missionary efforts.
Spring Short-Term Trips
Sorry I kinda fell off the face of the earth, but here is the latest and greatest on the life of Leah Johnson:
3 weeks ago we finished classes and now we are at the end of our short term trips. so let me catch you up on whats been happening here:
Trip #1 March 7-14: Village of Tidaa
* We went in to work with a church there that GFM has worked with in the past. We drilled a couple of wells and were able to locate water in one, we also did a community service project, Health camp in the elementary school and a medical outreach that was based out of the church.
* The things that the church in Tidaa has gone through in order to get where it is today was a huge encouragement to my faith and a challenge. The earliest believers went through a lot of persecution in order to practice their faith in Jesus Christ. The first Christian from that village is still alive and in the congregation today, and he's been going over the mountains to reach the unreached village of Diuxi about two kilometers away. The first Christians in this particular village were subjected to beatings, public embarrassment, jail time, loss of property and privileges, and some of them were completely rejected by friends and family just for pronouncing faith in Christ and leaving the Catholic church. It was so amazing to me to see these old people that had been tested and prevailed over all the odds through their faith in the Lord, and are now free to worship in the way that they want to. How amazing our God is!
Trip #2 March 14- 21: Town of Tepos
* We partnered with a missionary named Bernardo and his wife. Again we brought in medical teams, taught health classes in the schools and drilled a well, along with helping them construct their church building. I was able to spend a lot of time with Bernardo's wife Synthia and their 4 children while cooking for the team in their household. They are truly remarkable people who truly love the Lord and want to do his will. They have been missionaries in this area for 5 years and in July they will be returning to their home church in the northern part of Mexico since they have raised up leaders in tepos to continue the work.
* This is a pretty cool testimony of how God uses short term trips for his glory: We met a man at the church who told us that the reason he accepted Jesus was because of a medical outreach that GFM did in his village about two years ago. Although they weren't able to do much for him other than give him medicine, they prayed for him and he said that no one else had ever done that before and believed that God could heal him. He then went on to accept Jesus into his life. It's always an encouraging thing to see the fruit of past labors here in towns that we go in to.
Trip #3 March 21-28: Tlaxiaco
* This week we are here in our colonia (our city) we are doing the the health camp at the school with the kindergarteners and also holding a medical clinic both here and in a village and in the jail. On Tuesday night we had a movie at the base, we showed "Fireproof" and about 100 of our neighbors and friends came. We are still in the middle of the trip so I can't fill you in on everything, but I had a lot of fun working with the kids in the school, we weren't able to directly share the gospel message with them, but we were able to love them and pray for them.
* The guys are in a village 2 hours away drilling wells. I heard that they struck water in one well which is good, but more importantly I heard that one of the guys, Jordan, was able to share his testimony with a guy who is struggling with some substance abuse and because he was able to share with him the guy was so excited by what he heard he asked him to go on his radio show and share it again along with the whole gospel message. Praise the Lord! I don't know what happened, but I'll keep you posted.
* This week has been good for me to catch up with my friends in the colonia and in town. I'm hoping to have some more time to visit my precious Mexican friends and spend time building those relationships. I continue to pray for them and I hope that my time in Oaxaca will produce better language skills that I can then use to communicate better with them and go deeper in those relationships and hopefully be able to disciple them.
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There you have it my life for the past month in a crazy, busy, amazing nutshell. I would appreciate it if you could keep me in your prayers as I continue to seek after what God wants for me and for the steps that he has already revealed and laid out for me.
In case you don't know I will be home from April 9th to May 2nd then I will be returning to Oaxaca for language school from May 2nd to June 1stish, then I will be returning to Tlaxiaco for the summer and be down here doing summer teams. After that is still up in the air, but I still believe that God is calling me to stay on next year to staff MTS and then GFM USA either Atlanta or Houston, but I'm not gonna put God in a box things change and usually they do for the better.
Love you all and will see most of you in a little over a week!
Oh Sweet Clarity
Praise the Lord I have direction!
So here's the deal, I'm staying in Mexico after all, for the summer at least. So here is the complete story:
I have to say up until about two weeks ago I didn’t think that I was
going to stay here in Oaxaca for my apprenticeship/internship. That all changed when Dan and Grant told the class that GFM was going stateside in about a year and would no longer be in Oaxaca, but rather focus on the large cities that have people from several different countries. I think God had been preparing my heart ever since we read a Perspectives article that talked about how strategic large cities are. It was one of those things that seems so obvious, but yet you don’t really think about it until someone points it out to you and lays it out in a way like the Perspectives does. 2 weeks ago during worship time I did a listening prayer and asked God if I was supposed to go ahead and do GFM USA and God gave me a yes, but being a human I asked God to give me clear confirmation on His answer. Last weekend while I was in Oaxaca I started to think about language school and was very excited about the prospect of doing language school if I got God’s confirmation to stay. Also last weekend I felt God’s peace rest upon me and I felt as I looked out the window in the suburban that this was going to be my home for the next year. Still I felt like peace and his yes in prayer wasn’t enough until last week when we talked about how God guides us in decisions, and sometimes it's through peace in our spirits. At that point I felt confident that God was leading me to stay here, which for now means language school in May, doing the apprenticeship this summer (June-August). After that hopefully I will also help out with MTS next year (September-April 2010) and helping to set up GFM USA, and then actually doing GFM USA where-ever that may be next summer. I will be home in April for a few weeks (probably April 9-May 1) so if you'd like to hear more about what God is doing in my life I'd love to tell you.
If you would like more information about GFM USA you can visit this link: http://www.globalfrontiermissions.com/usa/index.html
I'm still unsure how much I will need monthly for support and I will let you all know as soon as I know, but if you are interested in coming alongside me financially you can go to this link: https://www.justgive.org/nonprofits/donate.jsp?ein=31-1738321 and in the "Designate My donation" write: Leah Johnson
Thanks for all your prayers on my behalf for direction, I have really felt them the past months! I love all of you and if you have any questions please feel free to ask.
Counting the Cost of God's Blessing
As I celebrate my 25th year of being in this world my one desire is that this next year be wholly and completely dedicated to the purposes of the Lord. I know that I just referenced a song in my last blog, but my life is heavily influenced by music so I'm sorry, but I guess you'll just have to bear with me:).
I have frequently thought about and prayed the song "I want it all" by Shane and Shane, but today God revealed a new thing to me that I would like to share with you all. In case you don't know the first part of the song goes like this:
Use me, break me, waste me on You, Lord
Ruin me, take me, waste me on You
For to die is to live...
To starve is to feast
And less of me is more of Jesus
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
If i lose my life
I gain everything
And at the cross
Away with all death's sting
Lord, I want it all
Lord, I want it all
In Philippians 1:21 It says: For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain.
Today it struck me as I was listening to this song that this death that is talked about is not only physical death, but also death to my dreams and aspirations. In Western culture we are told that we have rights to personal happiness and comfort in our lives. I realized that up until now I wanted a relationship with Jesus on my terms and that meant having the life I desired: getting married, having a pleasant, enjoyable job, having kids, a nice house, spreading the love of God in the way I wanted, to retire comfortably, and enjoy my grandchildren, and die a peaceful death at the end of my life. (I would like to say here that I believe that God does call some people and blesses them with this type of life)
Now I realize that God calls us to give up everything including our lives to follow him. Of course I've heard this before, but I still clung to the idea that surely when God told Abraham in Genesis 12:1 "Leave your country, your people and your father's household and go to the land I will show you", and when Jesus told his disciples to leave everything to follow him; he didn't mean that I needed to literally leave/give up everything to follow him. Today I realized that yes he did mean me too, he wants every aspect of our lives to use for his glory. Today I say, if that means remaining single, going to a far off village where life is everything but convenient, not having contact with my family, not being able to retire in comfort, giving him my youth for his purposes instead of mine, releasing all other dreams and struggling financially for the rest of my life for the sake of His glory then I say "Praise the Lord!". Today I choose to die to myself and my human desires, because as Jesus says in Mark 10: 29-31: I tell you the truth, Jesus replied, no one who has left home or brothers or sisters or mother or father or children or fields for me and the gospel 30will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age (homes, brothers, sisters, mothers, children and fields—and with them, persecutions) and in the age to come, eternal life. 31But many who are first will be last, and the last first.
God has so much to give to us, no it's not always the same success this world recognizes, but it is so much greater than that. He offers peace, joy, love and the best thing ever a personal relationship with Him that includes eternal life with Him. We will never experience these gifts while we chase after the things of the flesh, because God isn't concerned with what we can acquire, but instead He is concerned with our hearts. Where is your heart? As for me my heart is spoken for, Jesus is Lord of my life, I am his child and as a child of God I submit to his plans and his authority. His covering is the best place we can be.
Lord, I pray that as I start a new year of my life that I continue to remember that this world is not my home, and I need to live as such. I commit this year into your hands and will chase after your heart instead of my own.
His Provision is Worth the Wait. Always.
You hold the future in your hands
You know my dreams and you have a plan
And as you light my way, I'll follow you
My eyes on all of the above
My soul secure in all you've done
My minds made up
And you are the only one for me
Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours
You hold the earth in your command
You are the rock on which I stand
And as I live each day, I'll follow you
My eyes on all of the above
My soul secure in all you've done
My minds made up
And you are the only one for me
Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours
Aren't afraid, aren't ashamed Lord we know who we are
We are your people and we won't be silent
Unified hear us cry at the top of our lungs
You our God and we will not be shaken
Aren't afraid, aren't ashamed Lord we know who we are
We are your people and we won't be silent
Unified hear us cry at the top of our lungs
You our God and we will not be shaken
Jesus, savior, in my life you are everything
My future decided, I will praise your name
And I know that I am, I am yours
Yeah, I know that I am, I am yours
New Direction and No Direction. Confused? So Am I
Hello to all of you out there!
Yearning, and Burning with Passion for God
Happy New Years to You All!
