Good Morning, Team!
It's been a really long time since we sent you an update. We're sorry for how long it's been. This school year has been incredibly busy, both in terms of ministry and family. Sitting down to let you all know what's been happening here has been challenging.
To help improve the situation, we'd like to try something a little different. Rather than sending huge newsletters less frequently, we'd like to start sending short updates more frequently. This will give you a better picture of what's been happening here without overwhelming you with lots to read!
Home Assignment:
Our second daughter, Lizzy, will be graduating from high school at the end of May. In order to help her transition to life at college and in the US, we will be taking a short home assignment this coming June and July.
We would love to see you! Below are states and churches we will be visiting. We look forward to catching up with you at these churches, but we would also enjoy meeting with any of you during the weekdays as well. Please email us to set up a convenient time to grab a coffee or share a meal together.
- June 1-19 in Wisconsin
- June 1 -Bethel OPC church
- June 8 -Green Bay ECC church
- June 15 -First CRC Oostburg
- June 19-22 in Grand Rapids, MI
- June 28-July 3 -South and North Carolina
- June 29th -Crossgate church in SC
- July 3-19 -generally in Chicago, IL area
- July 6 - Pardeville WI church
- July 20-28 - in Wisconsin
- July 29-Aug 1 -in Chicago, IL area
- Aug 1- Ben, Miriam, and Sam return to Chiang Mai for school, Becca will remain until later in Aug to move the girls into university.
Please pray for us as we help Lizzy move to America. Much of her life has been in Thailand. It has become her home. While America is where her citizenship is, moving to America will be like leaving home for a foreign country for her. We will also miss her very much.
Myanmar Earthquake
As I’m sure you all know, it’s been an eventful time for us lately. On the afternoon of March 28, two major earthquakes hit in different areas of Myanmar. It’s hard to know exactly how much damage they caused and how many lives have been lost in Myanmar. But, suffice it to say, the suffering has been significant.
The same earthquakes shook the city of Bangkok where they collapsed one high rise building that was under construction and did serious damage to many other buildings.
It is somewhat surreal that the same quakes that did so much damage to Myanmar and Bangkok did very little damage here in Chiang Mai. We definitely felt it. It felt a lot like standing in a small rowboat that is being rocked by waves. Except we were standing on concrete. Many people experienced motion sickness. Our kids’ school was evacuated while they inspected the buildings for damage. After about 30 minutes outside, the students were allowed back in the school and the school day finished as normal.
We are exceedingly thankful to God that he protected us and so many others all over the region that could have been injured or even killed. It has also been an opportunity to listen to people’s stories of what happened to them and offer encouragement in a fearful time.
At least for now, we don’t have any specific relief work planned. One of our Thai partners has been involved in bringing the gospel and relief to people affected by the civil war in Myanmar. If he travels to the areas hit by the earthquake and sees opportunities for help, we will let you know.
While we don't anticipate helping much with this earthquake, we do have an account to help us respond quickly if relief work is needed for things like natural disasters. If you'd like to give to this account so we have money for this or other crisis relief needs, you can click the button below:
Support the Thailand Crisis Relief Fund
If you decide to give to Myanmar relief, please be careful about who you give to. There are many relief organizations that send relief money to NGOs that run the money through the government of Myanmar. The government has been using that money to fund war efforts that have been killing innocent people. There are several good organizations using funds for good work. I would recommend MTW and Free Burma Rangers. We know good people in both organizations and know they will do good work.
Please be in prayer for the people of Myanmar and Bangkok as aftershocks continue and there is much cleanup to be done.
Thank you all so very much for your partnership in this ministry. Your prayers and concern for us (especially in times like earthquakes) are a great encouragement.
Blessings,
Ben and Becca Johnson
