9 more days!

Wow! Nine more days, and we are boarding plains to go to India. God, you are good!

I was asked today by a friend, "Why India?" I have been asking that before, and I think my answer was the same as I always answered. "I honestly don't know." This time however it struck me differently as I proceeded to explain the fact of our faith in God to do what He needs to do in us now in India for what is next.

Why India? Why America? Why now? Why difficulty? Why pain? Why suffering? Why? I honestly don't know, but what I do know is God will take care of us where ever we are, and what ever we are going through. That is Faith. Faith is working when you don't have an instruction manual in front of you. Faith is jumping when you cannot see what you are jumping into. When God said India to us, we had a choice to say no, but in our mind if we would say no to God, we would miss the opportunity for something greater. Why India? Maybe to be there for the rest of our lives. Maybe to be there for a few years then go somewhere else God is leading us to. All I know is he wants to take us to India to make us better. India will be a time of shaping and forming. We will be trained and developed there. We chose "Yes." Because in our 11 plus years together we have seen God speak and do amazing things. Never in those 11 years did He let us down. When God spoke he provided. Isaac, Gabriel, and Sophie are living testimonies of God's great provision. He spoke to us to adopt. He provided every bit of money. He spoke to us to go to India. He has provided once again. His provision is so amazing. His love for us is so great.

I close this blog with this scripture below. This is the perfect example of what I have written about here.

Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2

This scripture uses the description if an author writing a novel. I look at it as a composer putting the most beautiful music together, or an artist creating his masterpiece. You may ask me Why India? I want to ask you "why" are you going through what you are going through? Why are you headed in the direction you are headed? Is God leading you? Have you given him authority (Is He your author) or are you in authority? I choose Him as my "author." I want to be a masterpiece created by the master. I choose "yes" every time he speaks because I know He will make me something great. It may be hard in between, but in the end He will have a masterpiece. Why India? So God can do what ever he wants in us. It is not my life. I am His!

His Servants Forever

Brian & Jessica

10 more days!

Ten more days until we fly out! Oh My! How time flies by so quickly. Jessica and I are thrilled that we have made it. I know this blog has been neglected, but I promise to begin writing regularly. Keep an eye on this blog for future updates. The countdown is on. We are almost out of here!

We appreciate everyone who assisted in getting us to this point. Everyone's prayers and donations are greatly appreciated. We still need all the prayers and financial support while we are in India, so if you feel you would like to support us, know that your donation is tax deductible. you could send checks to P.O. Box 91753 Raleigh, NC 27675 or you could visit www.impactofhope.org and pay via paypal on the donation button. If you ever have any questions feel free to shot me an e-mail at johnsons@impactofhope.org

We love and Appreciate you all.

HIS Servants Forever,

Brian & Jessica

Today marks 12 more days until we fly out. Time has flown by. Jess and I are amazed at how God has provided.

We had a wonderful summer, and believe our time in India will be even better. As you continue to follow our journey please feel free to comment and let us know you are following. I will do my best to keep writing and maybe even give you a video blog from time to time. Remember in your prayers and remember any contribution is greatly appreciated. We love and appreciate all of you for linking arms with us.

HIS Servants Forever

Brian & Jessica

The last few weeks have flown by and September is literally right around the corner. Since our last newsletter we have been able to do a lot of traveling and see many of our dear friends and family. I resigned from my job on July 1st and we headed for Florida July 6th. It was wonderful to spend time with the Johnson family. We were also able to see many of our friends from college who live in the Tampa area which was fantastic. Brian spoke at several churches while we were there and was able to share what we will be doing while in India. Filling out the paperwork to apply for our visas was a daunting task, but we got it done and sent them off. There was one small glitch, but the Indian Embassy was kind and walked us through the changes. We were excited to have our 10 year visas approved in 3 days, and back in our hands in 7 days. What a miracle! This can often times be a difficult document to obtain, but the Lord was on our side and things worked out just fine. We returned to Raleigh on August 6th. Thanks mom and dad Johnson for helping us with the drive back to Raleigh! Our plane tickets have been purchased and we leave for India on September 3rd. It is a 32 hour trip, so please be praying for us during that time! We arrive in Coimbatore on Saturday morning, September 5th. The kids are all set for their first year of Home School. Most of the curriculum we needed was given to us which was wonderful. We had to purchase some things, but not nearly what we originally planned for. A huge “Thank You” to everyone who helped with school materials! Johnson Home School is stocked and ready for a great year. God has truly blessed us as we have prepared to depart for India. He has proven that if you put your trust and faith in Him that He will show you how awesome and faithful He is.

Jessica and I want to thank everyone who has joined us on this amazing journey. We know that it is not always easy to give, and that many of you have done so sacrificially. Thank you for your support both through prayer and financial giving. We ask that you continue to join us in both areas as we get ready to leave home and move to Coimbatore. There will be many tears over the next few weeks as leaving family and friends is not easy. However; we are confident that we are in the best place to be, God’s perfect will for us and there is no where else we would rather be. Please keep in touch and we look forward to sending our next newsletter from India!

God Bless,

Hello friends! In our last newsletter we had several prayer requests, and we are happy to report that most of those requests have already been answered! We found renters for our house who moved in two weeks after choosing our home. They are a really nice couple that moved to
Raleigh from Florida (isn’t that ironic). After a whirlwind of packing, a final yard sale, and a few tears we moved out of our house two weeks later. Our good friends; Jenn and Alain Aguilar, and their three month old Coby, welcomed all five of us into their home and were gracious hosts for
about two weeks. We then moved into my parents house for nearly 10 days, which the kids thoroughly enjoyed! Thanks Nana and Pop Pop! On Monday we traveled down to North Florida where we will stay with Brian’s parents for the rest of July and possibly some of August. My last
day at work was last Wednesday, which left me with a variety of emotions, but we were all ready for the next step in our pre-India preparations. The kids have done well with all of the moving and shuffling over the past month. We keep telling them that this is a part of the adventure of serving God and preparing to move to India. We have also all received our passports since the last newsletter.

God is amazing and has provided for us beyond our wildest dreams. We are happy to report that we are approximately 94% to our monthly goal! Brian I want to thank each and every one of you who have committed to give faithfully and financially support our family while we work in India. We also want to thank all of you have committed to pray for us. Jessica and I are blessed to have partners like you! If you have committed to give monthly, and have not begun to send in support we ask that you begin to do so in August as we need to continue to prepare to leave in
September. Thank you again and know we are praying for you as well as we partner together.

As we prepare to depart for India in September we want to let you know some of our current needs and prayer requests. We are right at the threshold of leaving the states and moving to India for the next two years. This is crunch time for us. We have our passports, will be applying for our visas this month, and need to purchase our plane tickets soon as well. In order for us to purchase our tickets we need to raise approximately $6,000.00. We also need to finish raising the funds for our Emergency Cash Fund which will assist us with furnishing our home once we arrive in India, help with any emergency situations that may arise and allow us to purchase our tickets to return to the US in two years. The amount we need to raise for that fund is another $12,000.00 which again can feel overwhelming, but we trust that God knows our need and He is going to meet it! If you are not able to commit on a monthly basis but are able to make a one time donation we ask that you would pray about assisting us with these final two areas of need. $18,000.00 is a lot of money in our eyes, but we serve a big God who has provided and will continue to do so. Would you pray about partnering with us as we complete the final phase of our fundraising? Our goal and desire is still to leave for Coimbatore the first week of September.

Brian’s brother, Michael, has come up with a creative way to financially support us while we serve in India. He has started a T-Shirt business called LifeFit. All of the proceeds from the sale of these shirts goes to missions. We are grateful for the work and creativity he has put into making these shirts which have in turn enabled him to support our work in India. Brian and I are so looking forward to heading to India and can’t wait to wrap our arms around the children there. Thank you again for your prayer and support over the last few months. This journey has been a real test of our faith, and it is exciting to see that time and time again God has met our needs and opened the doors for us. Please continue to pray for us as we are now within two months of leaving. We hope to get together with many of Floridian friend while we are in Florida, so give us a call!