Jackie's Journey "The Sixty Year Journey!"

My husband’s birthday was yesterday!  Our 60th wedding anniversary was a few weeks ago. A lifetime of memories and markers.  My parents were married 74 years and Ralph’s parents were married 47 years, so… 60 years did not seem inordinately long and I looked forward to many more years…but God had a better plan.

 I met my Prince at Bob Jones University and if you were to ask our college friends, they would be astounded that we are celebrating 60 years!  Most did not give us two years!  Ralph and I were polar opposites in almost every way.  However, we had the one element in marriage that will guarantee longevity…we were both individually committed to “burn out” serving God wherever He led us.  My husband’s godly zeal and spiritual leadership in our home was always preeminent and a constant for the last 60 years!

 I was blessed with a man who loved me unconditionally and when he said, “For better or worse”…he meant it.  We weathered the storms of life with near death experiences more than once and his loyalty to me and to God was unwavering. “Deference living” rather than compromise, was a key to our taking our two wills and finding harmony in God’s will.

 Ralph’s name means “bold counselor” and that he was…a man of daring motion and direction.  He was once told he was “an afflicter of the comfortable and a comfort to the afflicted”.  I could write a book with all his wise one-liners, biblical formulas and scriptural definitions.  His capacity to see things in Scripture and interpret them from “inside out” to give a total new look at a familiar verse was uncanny.

 Christian missionaries are people whose passion is to make the Lord Jesus known to the whole world.  They are completely under the command of King Jesus (my Paratrooper husband would roll out of bed, stand at attention and salute heavenward, committing his day!) and missionaries will go anywhere, under any circumstances, for no pay, with poor living conditions and food, even though no one ever notices.  They know their Sovereign Lord is watching every minute and that is the only reward and joy they seek…a true missionary is someone who will risk everything for the sake of the lost of this world.  This was my husband.

 We have a precious heritage that is a loving reminder of his loyalty to God and his responsibility into the third and fourth generations.

God’s faithfulness…

 If we had these 60 years to do over again, we would like to serve more and better, as we were bought with the price of His blood. Rom. 6: 16-18 says, “We were slaves of sin and now are slaves of righteousness.”  God called my Ralph home in February, so… it’s just me now…and I work daily on being a better slave!

 However impressive or challenging your marriage may be,

 It is the genuine proof of the degree of your loyalty to God.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Misery Is Optional!"

“When God wants to bring more power

into your life,

HE brings more pressure!”. A.B. Simpson

 Things had calmed down after the drug addict’s break-in, and I stood in the middle of the room…oh, sooo grateful.  Pressure,  by my husband’s definition, is a continuing opportunity for others to observe our true character, “for our light affliction, which is but for a moment, works for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory”.

 Needless to say, we did not go back to bed and as dawn shed its morning light, I was busily packing and “oh, so ready” to keep that Gorgas Lab appointment and head back to our home in the jungles of the Darien.

 Who would have thought that an ordinary family would sense more safety in a jungle house with no lock, a bark frame and surrounded by indigenous people and wild jungle animals…than in a thriving metropolis with all the locks and amenities known to man??

 I learned a lesson that night.  This experience drove home the truth that the promise, “Safety is in the Lord” is an absolute reality given to those who walk with Him, because the promise that “the beloved of the Lord will dwell in safety by Him;  the Lord will cover him all day (and night) long”. II Cor. 4:17   The world is too small a place to afford safety to a man that disobeys God!

 Our appointment at the Center for Disease Control was early and to get into the Lab we were required to walk past a zoo-like structure that caged a number of odiferous monkeys. They were loud and aggressive  and grabbed Ralph’s sunglasses as we made our way down the foyer.

 We were greeted by two of the staff that led us down a long corridor  into a small room with  odd jars of unspeakable contents lining the counters.  After a series of tests and reviewing the hospital report, these research doctors, who had been so kind to us, both had victory smiles of success on their faces!

 “As incredible as this may seem, Ralph”, they started their explanation, “somehow, you have broken into a cycle only seen in animals, specifically horses.  You have Strongyloidiasis, a parasite that burrows into the intestinal wall…and eats it! The reason the Coca-Cola gave you relief is because the parasite would not burrow  its head in those moments because… it feeds on sugar!  So, you were able to sense a temporary relief.  This particular parasite is literally… eating your intestinal wall!”

 Looking for a source of entry, one doctor asked to see Ralph’s feet.  Ralph’s heels were deeply cracked and the parasite had entered into his system directly from the contaminated soil in the Choco settlement he had recently visited.  As interested as Ralph was in the entire explanation, all he REALLY wanted to know was…HOW DO I KILL THE CREATURES!

 THE GOOD NEWS…there was a treatment…BUT…it was for horses! 

THE BAD NEWS…the  doctors were not confident that is would work on a human…or, because of its toxicity…kill him!  They carefully instructed that under NO circumstances was he to take more than one teaspoon a day.

 We stayed another week in Panama City for them to run a last test to see if the medicine had worked.  After three days of one teaspoon and still no sleep or relief, Ralph looked at me and our little girls and said, “It’s me or the bugs!”  He, instantly, took the bottle, turned it upside down, emptying its entirety into his mouth!  My heart sunk!!

 Who does that??

 He seemed fine for the first hour or so, and I breathed a sigh of relief. Then abruptly, he became  agitated and turned into the HULK!  He grabbed my arm and yelled something unintelligible.  His wild eyes looked like the man that had broken into the house a few days earlier!

 What had he done?!

This strong, gentle man had become forceful and alarming.

 Fortunately, we were still in the city, but it was too late to alert the doctors.  When morning broke, we headed to the Lab.   Had Ralph done something irreparable?  He, however was excited to let the doctors know that the massive dosage of the poisonous drug had made him a crazy man…but it did not KILL HIM! 

 THE REAL QUESTION:  DID IT KiLL THE PARASITES??

 “Who can speak and have it happen if the Lord has  not decreed it?  Is it not from the mouth of the Most High that both calamities and good things come?  Why should any man complain…” Lam. 3: 37-39

 The doctors were horrified and shocked that he had taken the whole bottle,  but were grateful that he had survived!  They were anxious to run tests, so we waited patiently for the results.  IF the parasites lived through the toxic exposure, there was no other treatment known to help us.

 They quietly re-entered the room…gleaming!  Ralph had lived…the bugs had died!  During those days of excruciating pain, never once did Ralph complain.  He was not suffering…just ask him!  Remember, “Suffering is an option!”  He gave thanks continually and even at his worst, submitted to the  will of God.

 “The fear of the Lord leads to life,

and whoever has it rests satisfied;

he will not be visited by harm.” Psa. 19: 23

 Pressure is the great tester of our spiritual condition…”The greatness of a man’s power is the measure of his surrender.” (Wm. Booth)

 How do you respond to pressure?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Inexplicable Agony!"

Ralph and Christina teaching one evening in our rustic jungle living room…

 The word that Americans were living on the Pucuro River among an isolated tribe located near the headwaters was big news to the people in a tiny Choco settlement about a day’s journey downriver by dugout. Ralph and Jay Gunsteens were eager to take some of our new believing Kuna’s on their first missionary trip down river into this community.

 I remember the day they took off in the piragua and wondered how these remote people would receive the message God was bringing to them.  It was rainy season and the mud was deep as they arrived on  the riverbank.   This secluded  group of Indians had a few horses and cows and the ground was thoroughly contaminated.  Ralph, who had his combat boots for just such an occasion, was wearing his flip-flops and sinking deep into the wet ground.

The Choco village a day downriver

Darkness was closing in and the boys were invited to eat and spend the night.  The next day they were given an opportunity to open the Word and share God’s love, plan and provision.  Ralph and Jay were well received and some of the townspeople even returned a visit to Pucuro in the weeks that followed.

 About two weeks after returning to our village, Ralph began to suffer with excruciating abdominal pain.  We committed him to our healing God.  The limited medical resources available to us interior had been exhausted.  Since we were soon due to renew our visas, we decided to take the three-day journey early and leave for Panama City to see if the doctors in the Canal Zone could help us.

 The  medical doctors realized Ralph had picked up something rare and unusual and unable to find the source after a battery of tests, they sent us to Gorgas Laboratory,  the Center for Disease Control for the military in Central America. Ralph was becoming increasingly restless and powerless to cope with the intense pain.  He would walk the floor, day and night and had not slept for days.  His only few moments of relief came when he would drink a bottle of Coca-Cola!

 I knew I had been called to this ministry and I knew God was allowing this exercise for our good, it had divine purpose and would benefit others; yet, this was touching one of God’s most faithful servants and I was stymied!

 Have you ever wondered why it is so much more difficult

to watch the pain of someone else ??

 The Lab was our last hope.  We made an immediate appointment and to our surprise…they could take us in early the next morning!  After all, Ralph’s case was intriguing…it came out of the remote jungle! The Lord had opened up a home on the military base for us to use the few days we planned to be in the city and we were grateful for His provision.

 That night, Ralph stopped pacing and laid down sometime after midnight.  I breathed a sigh of relief.  About two hours later, we were jolted by someone breaking the glass on the back door!  Literally… breaking into the house!  The  frantic and hostile man was reaching through the shattered glass and unlocking the latch!

 Ralph was instantly on his feet yelling at the intruder!  As he left our bedroom, he turned and said, “Safety is in the Lord, Jackie!”  As he slammed the door shut, he told me to call the military police and stay with the girls. Panicked and processing, I did as I was told and listened to the scuffle in the hall!  There were loud voices and then silence!  My heart stopped!!

 In a few seconds, Ralph had subdued the man and tapped on our door to tell us we were going to be alright.  The intruder was a cocaine addict and knew someone that lived in this borrowed house.  He needed money and was desperate to get in!

 Have you ever had an intruder violently

invade your place of safety?

 This is Part One of this saga…

And Ralph’s prognosis?  You won’t believe it…

See you next week to find out…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Unforeseen Journey!"

When my husband unexpectantly left to be with the Lord, “”I groaned in anguish of heart”.  I began reading Psalms, knowing I could not doubt in the dark what God had given me in the light. HE had proven Himself over and over again and I was in the habit of thanking HIM  through the unknown and trusting HIS sovereignty.  Every Psalm spoke to me and portions were jumping off the page!

When I got to  Psalm 40, the pattern through this storm was clear.  “ I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry.  HE lifted me out of the slimy pit and set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.  He put a new song in my mouth and heart…and if that wasn’t  enough, He gave me a plan and a promise”. (vs. 1-5)

 I waited

I cried out

HE heard me

HE turned toward me

HE put a new song in me

HE gave me the plan

HE gave me the promise

 HE said “Blessed is the  one who trusts in the Lord” (vs 4 the promise) and “Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in HIM” (vs 3b the plan). I will look forward to sharing the wonders He has done and the things HE has planned for us. None can compare with all HE has done.  If I was to speak and tell of His  great deeds…they would be too many to declare.

 Here I am… my desire is to do HIS will…As HE leads,

I will follow with  joy…one day at a time.

Thank you for praying for our family...

 I am grateful for all the love and support that

has been showered on us throughout this journey

of tremendous loss and HOPE.

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Hiding Places"

It has been 23 days since Ralph left for heaven and the Word of God has come alive.  I can remember in the jungles of Panama different times when trials and difficulties made the Word seer my heart like fire with truth, comfort, encouragement, and life-lessons.  I can attest to God’s unfailing love and faithfulness… there is  “Joy in  the morning”!  Ralph used to tell me, “Trust in the dark what God gave you in the light”.

 My hearts song this morning is, “Hear my cry,  Oh  God; listen to my prayer. From the ends of the Earth,  I call  to you, I call as my heart grows faint; lead me  to the  rock that  is  higher than I.  For  you have been my  refuge, a strong  tower against the foe.  I long to dwell in your tent forever and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.  For you, God, have heard my vows; you have given me  the  heritage  of those who fear your name.”  Psalm 61

 This is the vow Ralph and I made shortly after we married in 1965.

I found it in my Bible…

 Lord, we give up our  own purposes and plans and all desires, hopes and ambitions…(whether they be of flesh or soulish) and accept your will for our lives.  We give ourselves to YOU, our lives, our all… to be YOURS forever.  We hand over to you all our friendships, and all the people who we love are to take second place in our hearts. We surrender to you.  Fill us with YOUR Holy Spirit, work out YOUR WILL for our lives…at any cost, now and forever…

 He kept his vow…

Now…it’s my turn!

 “Whoever dwells in the shelter of the Most High will rest in the shadow of the Almighty…

HE will cover you with HIS feathers and under HIS wings you will find refuge.” Psalm 91: 1,4

 I am resting and rejoicing this morning…

 Have a great  week…

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Don't Worry...I've Got Your Back!"

A protective Panamanian sloth high up in the tree-top!

 “I’ve got your back”…we love those reassuring words. Mom’s are great, aren’t they? They always have our back.“ God said, I will show them ‘my back’ and not my face…”  in Jeremiah 18:17.  NOT reassuring words.  In fact, I can’t think of any words more distressing than to have the Creator of the universe turn His back on me!  The Israelites had exchanged their first love of God, forgotten Him and chosen instead disobedience and idolatry.  They were proud, stiff-necked and against God’s ways…

Sound like anyone you know?

 Jeremiah, the weeping prophet, speaking from the Potter’s house to the people of Judah and those living in Jerusalem, receives a message from God.  These people had ignored God and the consequence of their sin came with the words, “I will scatter them before their enemies and ‘I will show them my back’ and not my face in their day of disaster”!! Jer. 18:17

 In those days people from many nations passed by and asked, “Why had the Lord done such a thing?’  And the answer was: “Because they have forsaken the covenant of the Lord their God and have worshipped and served other Gods.’”

 In this day the “song and dance” is the much the same.  Our very culture is full of seekers of pleasure, people of entitlement, and the masses consumed with their own ways.  Our biggest enemy is…US!

“How do I know?” you ask.   Look around.  What do you see?  Wars and rumors of wars, international uncertainty, disorder, lawlessness, absence of strong biblical leadership, broken homes and relationships, independent and divisive spirits, debates on gender, spiritual deadness, lethargy toward good works and service, self-first mentality, absence of hospitality, (me first…gimme’ mine!)…just to mention a few…

 What did God do when the Old Testament nation of Israel decided to walk contrary to His plan, purpose and way?  My grandson, Christopher sent me a verse from Proverbs from Chapter 1.  God said, “…they will call to me but I will  not answer; they will look for me but will not find me, since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord and would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke…” 

 We all want the protection and safety, but often choose the consequence of disobedience and compromise.  The day is coming when we will be held accountable, as individuals and as a nation.

 Do our convictions line up with what God gives us in His Word

or has the world drawn us away to drink the cool-aide?!! (Jim Jones)

My grandsons, Payton telling Maverick while attempting to climb the stairs…

”We can do this…I’ve got your back…let’s go!”

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "First Impressions!"

HERE WE ARE! Address: El Rio Pucuro,

Nowhereland!

A year or so after moving into the Darien Gap in the jungles of Panama, I was asked to jot down my first impressions by our field leaders. To my surprise I read my notes in our New Tribes Mission Brown Gold Magazine (now called Ethnos 360) months later in May 1973.  A few days ago, I was going through some photo albums and found that same article.

 The purpose of the writing was to call attention to the desperate need to reach these unreached people tucked into little corners all over the world.  H.A. Roberts said, “The toughest challenges lead to the greatest triumph’s”.  The call is as imperative now, as it ever was then.  Here is that quoted article reproduced:

 Our village carved out of dense jungle.  My house has a tin roof in the foreground.

 Only 26 days ago we flew into El Real in an eight-passenger plane and we were picked up by the same dilapidated jeep that had met us 6 months before.  We headed to the waterfront, a short ride on a dusty, pot-holed, bumpy road that I viewed between my feet through the holes in the floorboard! 

We got as close as the jeep could go and then hobbled ¼ mile with 3-month-old Kim in my arms, 3-year-old Christina hanging on to my dress, three suit-cases, an infant seat to use in the floor of the dugout, and boiled water!

 We traveled an hour by dugout canoe to Yavisa for the night.  Next morning, at 5:00 a.m., we loaded the piraguas (dugout canoes) for our village on the river Pucuro.  We ate fish and rice for breakfast and began our 11-hour trip upriver.

 The winding river Pucuro!

 Hours passed and I couldn’t believe the beauty I was beholding.  The jungle is plush, full and spattered with green and yellow blankets of butterflies all along the way.  The first six hours were quick and, other than cramped arms and legs from protecting Kim from the beating sun and being sandwiched between our household belongings, we all fared well.  The last six hours were a real battle against our dry river and a swift current!  No less than twenty times Ralph and the others jumped into the shallow water to push us over rocks, etc. that worked like a barricade to delay our long-awaited entrance into the land of the Kuna people.

 Dry Season means shallow waters!

 Just before dark I looked up and saw brown bodies silhouetted along the sandy break in the jungle.  My heart began to pound as I realized I was about to face a people that had consumed our hearts and minds for over three years!

Would they accept us?

Would they grab my baby and run into the dark?

What should I expect?

 “My grace is sufficient…” flooded my mind as I yielded to His soft voice and relaxed!

 As we pulled into shore at 6:30 p.m. the people swarmed all over us. My fear came upon me, as somebody took Kim out of my arms and stepped away into the dark jungle.  In the confusion Christina lost her shoe and I felt Ralph tug on my arm to head up the bank to our house.  I called over and over in the dark for Kimi and at long last, somebody abruptly laid her in my arms while the others laughed.

 As we meandered up a narrow, overgrown muddy path to glimpse our jungle house, all I could hear was little Christina in her Daddy’s arms asking for her lost shoe! 

 Oh, for the simple trust of a child!

 In a few moments we stepped into our new home.  The dirt floor was cold, mainly because we were wet from our trip in, but too, it was dark and the river had filled the air with moisture.  The following morning, I opened my eyes to what looked like a storehouse with boxes, tanks, mosquito netting, etc.  Soon we were busy greeting people, finding suitcases with dry clothes, and hunting through canned goods and paper sacks for food to eat.

 Now, 26 days later, I’m looking back to the first “Congreso” (village meeting)where I drank my first Indian “chicha” (banana drink) from communal cups, the first days of helping women sweep the village where I obtained my four blisters on one hand, the initial jolt of a hairy tarantula spider on my laundered sheet, the adjustment to the intense curiosity of the people, the initiation of washing clothes in the river, the perpetual problem of children urinating in our house, and the mixed emotions of a protective mother.

 This evening, less than a month interior, we find ourselves with tape recorder in hand and a house full of Indians, struggling again to communicate the precious Gospel of Jesus with these still in heathen darkness.”

 Will you join me this new year?

Will you pray for tribal missionaries?

Will you pray for the need in the many still unreached tribes?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "WATCH OUT!"

In 2008, Angela Ramsey, a sweet friend, sent me these thoughts.  “We so easily forget the control our thoughts have over our lives, and the impact our words have on others.  By simply changing our thought process, our lives will become better and our words can positively influence the lives of others.

 As believers, some of us tend to have the idea that God should control our thoughts while we are on auto pilot.  Our free will tells us otherwise.  We should strive to be like Him and not allow our flesh to destroy us with the sharpest weapon we own......our tongue!”

 “Life and death are in the power of the tongue.” Proverbs 18: 21  Our words have the power to create conditions in our lives. In Panama when I was verbalizing my fears, my husband gave me a warning in a verse that spoke volumes to me because of all the unknowns surrounding me.  It is taken from the book of Job (3: 25).  Job said, “What I always feared has happened to me.  What I dreaded has come true.”

 What do you dread?

“Your words, which spring from your thoughts, have power to create conditions in your life.  
If you keep saying you can't stand your job , you might lose your job. 
If you keep saying you can't stand your body , your body can become sick. 
If you keep saying you can't stand your car , your car could be stolen or just stop operating. 
If you keep saying you're broke , guess what? You'll always be broke. 
If you keep saying you can't trust a man or trust a woman , you will always find someone in your life to hurt and betray you. 
If you keep saying you can't find a job , you will remain unemployed. 
If you keep saying you can't find someone to love you or believe in you , your very thought will attract more experiences to confirm your beliefs. 
If you keep talking about a divorce or break up in a relationship , then you might end up with it. 

Convert your thoughts and conversations into God-filled, power packed action of trust, faith , hope , and unconditional love. Stand back and wait for  your circumstances and situationsto change when you change the way you think and speak.”

Watch your Thoughts , they become words. 
Watch your Words , they become actions. 
Watch your Actions , they become habits. 
Watch your Habits , they become character. 
Watch your Character , for it becomes your Destiny .

 Have a great week!

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "The Journey Goes On..."

Today is our Wedding Anniversary!  Marriage has been the proving ground for developing our loyalty to God.  My parents were married 72 years, so 58 years does not seem long. Time does not hold still!  “How completely satisfying to turn from our limitations to a God who has none.  Eternal years lie in His heart.  For Him time does not pass, it remains; and those who are in Christ share with Him all the riches of limitless time and endless years.  God never hurries.  There are no deadlines against which He must work.  Only to know this is to quiet our spirits and relax our nerves.  For those out of Christ, time is a devouring beast!”  A.W.Tozer

“Faithful is He who calls you, who will also do it”.

I Thessalonians 5: 24

 How many years have you been married? 

 I met my Prince at the University and if you were to ask our college friends, they would be astounded that we are celebrating 58 years together. Most did not give us two years!  Ralph and I are polar opposites in almost every way.  However, we had the one element in marriage that will guarantee longevity…we were both individually committed to “burn out” serving God wherever He led us. My husband’s godly zeal and spiritual leadership in our home has been preeminent and a constant for all these years! 

 I have been blessed with a man who has loved me unconditionally and when he said “for better or worse” he meant it.  We have weathered the storms of life with near death experiences  with long recovery times, more than once, and his loyalty to God and me is notable.  Ralph and I continue to learn and grow together.  Choosing to live in deference has been imperative and key to our taking our two strong wills and finding harmony in God’s will.

 Ralph’s name means “bold counselor” and that he is! He is, also, a man of motion and direction.  He was once told he is an” afflicter of the comfortable and a comfort to the afflicted!”  I could write a book with all his wise one-liners, biblical formulas and scriptural definitions.  His capacity to see things in Scripture and interpret them from the inside out to give a total new look to a familiar verse is uncanny! 

 We were told in our early married life regarding missions that Christian missionaries are people whose passion is to make the Lord Jesus known to the whole world.  They are completely under the command of King Jesus (Ralph often rolls out of bed, stands at attention and salutes heavenward, committing his day!), and they will go anywhere, under any circumstances, for no pay, with poor living conditions and food, even though no one ever notices.  They know their Sovereign God is watching every minute, and that is the only reward and joy they seek…a true missionary is someone who will risk everything for the sake of the lost of this world…this is my husband!

 We have a precious heritage that is a loving reminder of our responsibility

 into the third and fourth generations.

We are convinced that He takes the weak and confounds the mighty.  We are proof of this truth and His faithfulness…I Corinthians 2:1-2 speaks my heart, like Paul’s, when he says, “…I did not come to you with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and Him crucified.  I came to you in weakness and fear and with much trembling. My message was not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power so that your faith might not rest on men’s wisdom but God’s power”.

 The chief value of an anniversary is to call us to greater faithfulness in the time that is left.  If we had these 58 years to do over again, we would like to serve more… and better, as we were bought with the price of His blood.  Romans 6: 16-18 says, “We were slaves of sin and now are slaves of righteousness”.   We work daily on being better slaves!

 Have you found your marriage to be a proving ground

for your faithfulness to God?

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights. 

Jackie's Journey "Obstacle or Opportunity?"

We are ending the month of July 2023…half of this year…already GONE!  The world is facing a countdown on a the fast track, with multiple obstacles from which no one is exempt!   On a National, State and Local level we have been,  and  are being forced to face new challenges.  Some tests are big, but none bigger than God’s drive through these encounters to see our lives changed…

 As women of faith, we face the ultimate challenge of practicing, sharing, and comforting those around us who are struggling with how to handle it all.  Abraham’s life demonstrated that even the heathen around him recognized the difference between how he lived and those observing him. (Gen. 21:22)  Abimelech spoke to Abraham saying, “God is with you in all you do”!  God told Gideon, “There is a might in you so powerful it can save Israel and that might is MY PRESENCE!”

 The Isaiah 43: 1-5 verses confirm that when God’s presence abides on us, we can go through any fire, pass through any waters, through rivers that overflow us (Pucuro, in the Darien jungle!) and know His presence is all we need abiding in us.  We are responsible to choose to “practice His  presence”.  As we do this, God will guide our steps, open doors of ministry, move obstacles, lift cares, remove fears and abide in us!

 “Fear not for I am with you” is the promise and comfort

we all need to combat the steady barrage of lies and chaos.

 God’s abiding presence brings peace and triumph.  The manifestation of the Spirit-controlled  life…directed and trusting only God…is key to laying hold of the power of God.  It is NOT, God  plus whatever makes me comfortable or is  convenient, BUT only God, plus nothing.

God  attaches a condition to  having His presence in our lives.

Do you know what it is?

We know it is useless to attempt any endeavor apart from  Him… which can only be maintained in our lives, as  we  choose to confess sin and not allow  any unresolved relationship to hinder it!

“God works through holiness,  not a dirty cup!”

Roy Heisson  Calvary Road

 When the Israelites were in the wilderness, God manifested His presence to them in a cloud.  This cloud was a pledge.  They never had to figure out their direction or future because their confidence was in that visible cloud of God’s protection.  Today, the cloud of God’s presence hovers over our secret closet of communion with Him through His Word and prayer.

 Peace is the prize and it will lead us, empower us, and keep us in God’s rest in every area of our lives, regardless of the confusion and disorder around us. “The continual pursuit of God’s presence will direct us into a revelation of Christ’s glory.  God’s presence will go with us and He will give us rest.” (Exodus 33: 13)

 Our guide through this maze is waiting to give us peace and rest…

 Are you ready??

~Jackie Johnson - I am a former tribal missionary to the Kuna Indians on the Colombian border in Central America.  Fluent in several languages, my husband and I currently pastor a Spanish-speaking church in Southern California.  My passion is mentoring and equipping dedicated young women for life, marriage, motherhood, and beyond. I am the mother of two daughters and the grandmother of three Princesses and four young Knights.