Jackie's Journey "I Can Do It Myself!"

Shortly after daybreak, an arctic explorer stood at the base of an eight-thousand-foot mountain.  The temperature was thirty below zero.  He was about 600 miles from the North Pole, when suddenly, a strange feeling overcame him and he considered turning back.  His uneasiness was heightened  by the unusual pattern of tracks in the snow.  He quickly recognized that most of the prints belonged  to arctic wolves!

 As he continued up the mountain, the wolf prints disappeared. However, he still sensed an eerie presence.  Something was watching him. Pulling himself up to the next snowy rise, the man was stunned by a rush of fur that flashed by his face! Wolves??  Polar Bear??

To his amazement it was a Musk Oxen.  The shaggy animals swiftly formed a circle, standing shoulder to shoulder, horns lowered and their young calves tucked inside the wall of protection.

 The ravaging wolves had no recourse but to retreat.  There was power in numbers.  Out of the corner of his eye, he spotted another wolf that was now coming right for…him!  Only five feet away stood the huge wolf pack!  The wolves were no match for the combined protection that the musk oxen gave each other.   BUT the wolves were fearless against one man who tried to make it on his own…(condensed Bill Gothard material)

 Do you know anyone who says, “I can do it myself?”  I think there is a little of that independent spirit in all of us.  We forget the danger of trying to make it on our own. Most of us are convinced we have it covered…no help needed in our decision-making process. The savage wolves in life are just waiting to pounce…they come in different forms, but the end result is all the same.  There is self-rejection, rebellion, guilt, bitterness, anger,  purposelessness, habits and addictions, peer dependence, financial bondage….

 Understanding that the only safe place on this complex and confusing planet is to be wrapped inside the circle of the perfect will of God, walking in the light and truth of HIS Word.  This is our only hope. Facing the tomorrows independently of HIM is to invite the inevitable, like the arctic explorer.  None of us can do it alone…

 Which wolves are after your soul?

~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 "Busy Bees!"

Bees…bees…bees!  Buzzing busy bees!  These little creatures have taken over my house…again!  They burrow into a tiny entrance and come in a swarm once a year in the spring.  Tiny, over-active little furry insects with a hum that is continual and high pitched.

 They are efficient and they store, clean, repair, guard, nurse and scout for the Queen Bee!  She, by the way, lays 2,000 to 3,000 eggs a day!  Bees make a moaning sound that travels through the hive when threatened.  All the bees throb as though they were afflicted with fever which signals each bee to quicky adapt…even change role…in an effort to re-establish balance in the hive.

 Bees show us what loyalty is all about by their commitment to common goals and their amazingly accurate system of inter-communication for the benefit of the good for all.  If the bee rebels, the whole colony suffers and collapses.  This intriguing bug is the epitome of unity…the bonding  of individuals in a commitment of sacrificial support and defense. We could learn from the little bee!

 Loyalty is using difficult times to demonstrate our commitment to God and  those He has called us to serve. We are a Christian Colony. How loyal are you?  Do you ever doubt God’s sovereignty during trials or do you draw closer to Him? Are you double-minded or divisive?  Do you speak well of your authorities when in turmoil or do you murmur?  What’s your protective ratio?  Are you tempted to “throw others under the bus” to protect yourself?  The opposite of loyalty is infidelity.    

 God wants us to be reliable messengers for Him with common goals that glorify Him.  He wants us devoted to Him first, His Word, His commands, His people, His plan and His purpose. Like the Honeybee that rebels and the hive suffers and collapses, we have the same result if our loyalty is to the world and not a committed fellowship to God.  Do you know who you are loyal to? 

 We are facing difficult days ahead…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. 

Jackie's Journey "Decisions...Decisions!"

Once upon a time there were three bear cubs romping in a field. They stumble across a caribou  that the wolves had killed.  They energetically begin to sniff and help themselves to the warm meat, thinking the wolves were gone.  But they were hiding…waiting to attack!  Wolves run in packs and the littlest bear took the worst of the beating. Mama bear hears her cubs howling and instantly comes to the rescue.   The littlest cub, bleeding and yet determined, ignores the call of mom and runs back toward the meat again! Decisions…decisions…

 For the second time, the mama bear exposes herself and the other cubs to danger.  The lead wolf draws mom away so the rest of the pack can attack the two cubs left alone.  The Mama bear, now furious, swings her paws in defense and with some fury pushes her three cubs into the thicket and down into the stream.  The smallest cub is now dripping with blood.  With all the bears in the water…they wait until the wolves no longer pursue them.

 The wounds were a lasting reminder of the consequence of not following the instruction of the one responsible for him (his mom, in this case!) Witchcraft is a devastating sin.  One which we saw in our village in the Darien. God states that rebellion is just like the sin of witchcraft! II Sam. 15:23 Disobedience  against our authority will always define the extent of our rebellion. 

 God places everyone under authority…parents, government, church leaders, employers, etc.  Every human authority is under the authority of God and the Bible. We are either safe under the protection of the one responsible for us or we are in rebellion.  (Ultimately against God)

 It’s a choice  we make consistently during a 24-hour period.  If we get out from  under the protective covering of our authority,  we expose ourselves to the realm and power of Satan’s control.  We choose to follow God’s clear instruction or we choose to follow the one who is out to kill, steal and destroy us. Jn. 8:44  Rebellion comes with a consequence…just as the littlest bear did, as he stood in the stream… bleeding!  Decisions…decisions! 

 What is your decision?

Who are you following ?

How’s your attitude, your words, your countenance, etc?

 We all make choices that affect everyone around us.

Know your authority and listen carefully and quickly obey…

~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 "Are You Crying Out?"

A CALL TO ALL WOMEN!

If there was ever a time in history

That called for us to fall on our knees…

This is the time!

“Arise and  cry out in the night,  as the  watches of the night begin;

Pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children.” 

Lamentations 2:19

Does your prayer life show the value of those we love and especially, our children?

Years ago, a godly Nebraska friend, Ginny Steele, gave me an alphabet of character qualities with scripture that I could consistently and systematically pray into my two little princesses,  Christina and Kimberly Joy.  It has now been extended as a prayer into the lives of my seven grandchildren.

 Years ago,  a godly Nebraska friend, Ginny Steele, gave me an alphabet of character qualities with scripture that I could consistently and systematically pray into my two little Princesses.

It has now been extended as a prayer into the lives my seven grandchildren.

 It begins with:

1.     Alert to subtle sin and how to avoid involvement in it.  (Mark14: 36)

2.     Bold to live for Christ and share the gospel.  (Acts 4:29)

3.     Compassionate to the needs and hurts of others.  (Col. 3:12,13; 1 Jn. 3:7)

4.     Dependability even if it involves sacrifice!  (Rom. 14:12; Psa.15:4)

5.     Eagerness and Endurance to accomplish God’s best.  (Gal. 6:9)

6.     Fruit of the Holy Spirit  (Gal. 5: 22,23)

7.     Gentle and Generous (Lu. 6:35-38; Pro. 15: 1; 11 Cor. 9:6; 1 Thess. 2: 7)

8.     Humble enough to realize God and others are responsible for whatever achievements are attained  (1 Pet. 5: 6; Jas. 4: 6) and verbally grateful!

9.     Initiative to respond without being asked.  (Psa. 87: 15,16; Rom. 12:21)

10.  Joyful because of harmony with God and others. (Psa. 97: 11,12; Pro.15: 13)

11.  Kind heart. (Hab. 3:18; 1 Peter 1: 8)

12.  Love for God, His Word and others.  (1 Jn. 4:7,8; 1Cor. 13: 3)

13.  Meekness of spirit.  (1Peter 3: 4; Psa. 62: 5)

14.  Never forsake the Lord.  (Joshua 24: 16)

15.  Obedient to God and other divinely appointed authority.  (Deut. 5:29; Rom. 2: 13; 11 Cor. 10: 5)

16.  Patience to wait on God.  (Jas. 1:2-4; Rom. 5:3,4)

17.  Quality time with God daily and Quiet spirit.  (Psa.46: 10)

1.          Quick to confess sin.    (1 Jn.1: 9; Psa. 46: 10)

18.  Repentant heart leading to knowledge of the truth.  (Job 11: 14,15; 11 Tim. 2:25)

19.  Self-Control…a Separated Life.  (Titus 2: 11,12; Gal.5: 24,25)

20.  Truthful and Thankful with Transparent motives.   (Eph. 4:25)

21.  Unique Ability to live by faith in the Living God.  (Gal.2: 20; Eph. 2:8; 2 Cor. 5:7)

22.  Virtue (Moral Purity) of spirit and life. (1 Thess. 4: 3)

23.  Wisdom to see life from God’s point of view. (Etc. 2: 26; Jas. 1: 5; Pro. 9:10)

24.  Exalt God in everything. (Ex. 15:2; Psa. 99:5; Isa. 25:1)

25.  Yield personal rights to God for victory over Anger. (Matt. 16:24-26; Gal. 5:24; Lu.2: 28; Titus 2: 11,12: Col. 3: 5)

26.  Zero in on God’s Will daily.  (Rom. 12:2; 1 Jn. 2:17; Psa.40:8)

 Will you join me in obediently and faithfully

praying daily for our children and grandchildren?

 Your prayer life for your children demonstrates their value to you!

“Arise, cry out in the night, as the watches of the night begin;

pour out your heart like water in the presence of the Lord.

 Lift up your hands to Him for the lives of your children.”

Lamentations 2:19

~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 "Silent Promises?"

We live up a narrow gorge that stretches from the valley floor with its ocean and sandy beach to the top of the hill over-looking the harbor.  My desk sits at a window that has a view to an island 26 miles away.  Currently, I am watching the fog blanketing the coastline, bringing a cool breeze into our torched summer afternoon.  Watching the birds ride the currents is a regular distraction and preoccupation.

 I  was watching a large hawk sweep down across the pool in the backyard.  As he  ascended high up  into the sky above the valley below, he screeched loudly, over and over.  I observed this magnificent creature ride the current up and down…back and forth.  A  short time later, he swooped down into our yard again…only this time…he was silent…

 He had a snake dangling from his talons!

 “God provides for the cattle and

for the young ravens …when they call out!”

 Psalm 147:9

 I paused and realized…  I am that helpless raven that is found “crying out”. Totally dependent on God, placing  my faith continually on His promises and unfailing love!  Whether with no communication with the outside world in the jungles of Panama or here, in the U.S., with way to many ways to communicate.  The most important line of communication to keep open is that with the “King of Kings”!

 There are three common characteristics in the lives of our heroes of faith.  The first is their total dependence on God.  The second is they cried out to God first and then obeyed. And lastly, they courageously walked through the door of fear and doubt to experience the joy of genuine faith.

 Everything in life is a faith issue.

 “Faith is dead to doubts; dumb to discouragement;

blind to impossibilities”.

 We live in a hurricane with endless noise and activity.  Hearing the voice of God speaking to us when we cry out is a cherished and coveted practice, because He whispers in the quietness of our consciousness as His Word is read and His truth dwells richly in us.

 Are you listening for His whisper?   

~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 "Outlandish Otter Antics!"

Jungle  living was a lot of work.  The daily routine, just to live,  often became humdrum and after removing the clothes from the clothesline for the second or third time because of thundering rain… even dreary!  At times, it was tedious and monotonous.  

 One day, our partner’s second son, David, came up the bank with a playful river otter in tow.  He had been fishing and this roly-poly little bundle of hyperactivity followed him home! That  delightful creature found joy in life by just being in David’s presence.  He was attention-grabbing and outlandishly  fascinating every waking minute.  He made even his mundane chores a delight.   

 We watched him conquer the fear of water and take on any difficult activity and turn it into  a lively pursuit.  He entertained us all for hours. His carefree, light-hearted attitude began to speak to my rotten heart!  Joy is not the absence of trouble and inconvenience but the presence of Christ and His fullness.   Joy is the the component that, when added to a trial, provides the strength to endure it.

 Had I forgotten that “in His presence is the fullness of joy; and at His right hand there are pleasures for evermore?” Psa. 16; 11  The rewards of joy are physical, psychological and spiritual.  Joy is contagious and I was catching the little otter’s enthusiasm!  Joy is our brightness because “a merry heart makes a cheerful countenance.” Proverbs 15:13  It does good like medicine.” Proverbs 17: 22  Joy is the reward of giving love away.  “The joy of the Lord is our strength!”Neh. 8: 10  Joy is the reward of giving love away!

 “Who among us can be counted on for happiness?   It is those who never take  self into consideration.” Amy Carmichael  JOY HAS NO VALUE UNTIL IT IS GIVEN AWAY.  The person who gives joy away becomes richer.  Joy can be expressed in as simple as  a genuine smile from a joyful heart.

 Do people see a bright countenance when they look at you?

Are you reflecting  gratefulness with your attitude

toward other’s, your children and family?

If the Word is dwelling richly in you,

and your fellowship with Him is whole-hearted …

your spirit will be joyful.

~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 "Fact or Fiction?"

We are confounded with everyone’s opinion.  We cannot escape it!  Everyone has to have a voice. People fight for their opinions.  “Opinions cannot survive if one has no chance to fight for them.” Thomas Mann   Differences of opinion separate families, friends and divide churches.  You can have a low opinion, an informed opinion, a “contrary to popular belief” opinion, a high opinion, a general opinion, an expert opinion, to mention a few.  In truth, there is nothing so short-lived as an opinion without a personal biblical conviction. 

 The Atheist says “There is no God”

The Agnostic says “There might be a God”

The Humanist says “Let’s remove God”

Pornography says:  “Sex is God”

Greed says “Money is God”

Pride says “Power is God”

Satan says “Be your own God”

 “The tongue with its opinions can be a beautiful angel or a hideous demon. It can be honey or vinegar.  The tongue can be pure or vile. The tongue can caress or cut. It can rouse men to act as well as it can subdue their emotions.  A false whisper can infuriate a nation, but the power of eloquence can quell the fury of a multitude.  A word of anger can wound while a word of kindness can heal.  Words of hate can kill and words of love can revive.”

 God says: “Death and life are in the power of the tongue”. Proverbs 18: 21

 One day opinions will flee and at the name of Jesus every knee will bow and every tongue will confess who the REAL, TRUE God is! Romans 14: 11  “The unattended garden will soon be overrun with weeds; the heart that fails to cultivate truth and root out error will shortly be a theological wilderness!” A.W.Tozer

 Do you want to put order back in your life and understand our current world events? Whether a mom, college student, young married person, grandma, or whatever your current station in life…we would do well to remember what God says.  It is His opinion only that counts!  “Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations ;I will be exalted in the earth!” Psalm 46: 10

 Find Him and His opinion and what He thinks about everything in the Bible…

Reading required…

~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 "What A Life!"

Engagement picture of Catherine Landaas and Nikita Golovachev

 I am at a “Princess Wedding” this week-end, rehearsing in my mind the early years of our married lives and the opportunities God gave us and to realize that…we never made a sacrifice…it was all privilege…

“James and Amelia Hudson loved their children and, like all doting parents, they enjoyed giving them little treats on occasion. But once in a while, when Amelia brought a dessert to the table for her family, James would say, "Who will see if they can do without today?" He explained it to the children this way:

By and by, you will have to say "No" to yourself when we are not there to help you, and very difficult you will find it when you want a thing tremendously. So let us try to practice now, for the sooner you begin, the stronger will be the habit.

 The children were not punished if they chose not to give up the sweet, but if they were able to go the entire day without it they were rewarded with some other treat and most importantly, with the loving approval of their parents. Hudson Taylor took this lesson to heart and learned early how to say "no" to himself. He went on to live a life characterized by self-denial for the sake of the gospel, and yet, when he looked back over his long life he said, "I never made a sacrifice."

 How could he honestly say such a thing?

 From his conversion in his teens, Hudson Taylor had a deep passion for God and desire to serve him as a missionary in China. All through his young adulthood his focus on this goal never failed. Most of China's inland cities had never seen a foreign missionary and a million Chinese each month were dying without having heard the gospel. Taylor could not understand how any believer could be unmoved in the face of such staggering need. He left his home in Barnsley in 1850 to study medicine in London, planning to go to China at the first opportunity as a medical missionary.

Taylor was touched by the plight of the poor in the slums of London. He chose to live among them in order to devote as much of his small income as possible to medicines and tracts to alleviate both the physical and spiritual suffering of the community. The damp, smelly neighborhood (aptly named Drainside) in which he rented a room was a full four miles from the hospital, which meant Taylor had at least an hour's brisk walk each way in every kind of weather. He willingly made that sacrifice to serve the poor.

During his studies at the hospital, Taylor was required to dissect a cadaver. While working on a particularly dangerous specimen, a small open wound on Taylor's finger allowed contaminants from the cadaver to enter his own blood stream. He became ill almost immediately. As soon as the teacher on duty learned what had happened and diagnosed "malignant fever," he urged Taylor to hurry home to get his affairs in order. "You are a dead man," he said grimly, expecting Taylor to die within hours. And though Taylor did get very sick, he recovered fully. The physician who cared for him credited Taylor's careful lifestyle and his long walks to and from the hospital as giving him the stamina to survive. Suddenly, his choice to live in Drainside didn't seem like a sacrifice.

During this same period of Taylor's life, the woman he loved refused to marry him unless he gave up his dream of serving in China. Taylor ended this relationship with tears. He trusted that God (like his parents at the dinner table) would have something better for him later if he denied himself for the sake of the gospel. And his faith proved true. God provided a wife in China—one who shared his passion for missionary work. Maria grew up in China, the daughter of English missionaries in Shanghai. She was as fluent in Mandarin as she was in English and became great help and comfort in Taylor's work. "It never cooled, my love for her," he said forty years later—"It has not cooled now." The relationship he gave up in London no longer seemed like a sacrifice.

In China, Taylor found that to gain an audience with the people, he first needed to give up his European dress and customs. He adopted a pigtail and chopsticks and traveled from town to town, living in boats, in small shacks or in attic garrets, usually battling insects and vermin. Once, on a journey to an inland city, he was robbed of his traveling bed, spare clothes, surgical instruments, and a Bible given to him by his mother. Taylor decided not to prosecute the thief because of the harsh Chinese penal system, but wrote the culprit a letter instead, urging him to repent. He described his plea to the errant servant in a letter sent home to England. That letter somehow fell into the hands of George Mueller of Bristol. He was so impressed by the spirit of the writer that he became a supporter of the mission. Taylor's sacrifice of the right to prosecute the man who stole his bed resulted in a supporter who would provide over $10,000 per year for the mission and would be a friend and advisor in times of trial. Looking back, giving up the right to justice did not seem like a sacrifice.

Taylor endured many hardships including arrests, insults, slander and poverty, but lived his life believing what Christ said in Mark 10:29,30—that if we give up anything for the sake of the gospel we will receive blessings one hundred times better in this life, and eternal life in the world to come. With that perspective, he could truly say, I never made a sacrifice."

“Truly, I tell you,” 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 will fail to receive a hundred times as much in this present age…and in the age to come eternal life.”

Mark 10: 29 and 30

~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 "Crisis of Conscience!"

As a “Christian” nation, we face the unbelievable turmoil and chaos that stems from hearts that are cold and indifferent toward the things of God.  The sacrifice of the permanent on the altar of the immediate is rampant. Wrong choices are everywhere. In our homes, churches, universities, communities…

 “A seared conscience is one whose warning voice has been suppressed and perverted habitually, so that eventually instead of serving as a guide, it only confirms the person in his premeditatedly evil course.”  I Timothy 4: 2 Robert Little 

 The conscience is the ten commandments written on the hearts of man and is our moral law within. Romans 2:14-15 It is the capacity that is filled by the Holy Spirit and desires control at salvation.  “Though every believer has the Holy Spirit, the Holy Spirit does not have every believer,” A. W. Tozer “God put within each of us something that cries aloud against us, whenever we do what we know to be wrong.  It is the detective that watches the direction of our steps and decries every conscious transgression. 

Conscience is a vigilant eye before which each imagination, thought and act is held up for either censure or approval. There is no greater proof of the existence of a moral law and lawgiver in the universe than this little light of the soul.  It is God’s voice to the inner man.  Conscience is our wisest counselor and teacher, our most faithful and most patient friend.” Billy Graham

 “God commands us to be filled with the Holy Spirit; and if we are not filled, it is because we are living beneath our privileges.  If you have been born of the Holy Spirit, you will not have to serve God…it will become the natural thing to do.” D.L. Moody “It is impossible for one to despair who remembers that his helper is omnipotent!” Jeremy Taylor

“A person’s conscience, like a warning sign on the highway,

tells us what we shouldn’t do…but it does not keep us from doing it.” Frank Clark

The choice is always ours!!

~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 "Promises and Possibilities!"

Moms, have you thought about the culture our young children are growing into? Our faith is marginalized, immorality is expected and acceptable, socialism is fashionable, life is under attack, our Christian values and religious freedoms are deemed outdated and offensive.

 Time cannot be expanded, accumulated, mortgaged, hastened, or retarded.  It just keeps on…”

I usually begin my introspection regarding ‘time ‘after Christmas when facing the New Year! However, I can’t stop thinking about my seven grandchildren and how quickly time has passed from the day in the hospital when each one was placed in my arms until today when I look up (they are all way taller than I am!) and realize how adult they all are!

 They were tiny little ones not too long ago, just a blink, wrapped in a promise and a possibility not yet realized.  Time has flown and every call or contact is a special blessing, as they each find their own voice of influence.  They are the declaration for the next generation. 

 They are our future.

 I am currently the grandmother of 4 University students.  Each one has been sent as a missionary to colleges around the country.  They are courageous and are standing alone for what they believe!  Our oldest granddaughter is a graduate of USC, our second granddaughter, Alexandra, is a graduate of Biola and currently getting her MBA from Liberty University in Lynchburg, Virginia, attending with her husband, Jackson, who is also a Liberty student.  My grandson Payton, has one semester left at Liberty to graduate and his year-younger brother, Christopher, is my fourth student at Liberty and will graduate a year and a half from now.

 They are gone …in a blink! 

Alexandra, Christopher, Catherine and Payton

I never dreamed that years ago in the jungles of Panama that I would have the opportunity and blessing to have lived locally with all 7 of my grandchildren. Our hearts desire was to serve the Kuna Tribe in the Darien until…forever!  God had a different plan for us and our time here in the states became planting Spanish-speaking churches and discipling leadership to move on to a different location and start another church.  We have seen God establish seven churches (in Panama, Mexico, and in Southern California).  This has enabled us to be near our girls and their growing families.

 The challenge, now, is to not drop the ball at this stage!

 Where are you in the growth of your family?

 Are they being prepared to face the culture

that is clamoring for their souls?

~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.