The Beginning of the End

We had a whirlwind of a weekend! Sunday was my last time preaching and Jenn and a few people from the team were able to lead worship. It was really fun--I enjoyed teaching and I felt like I was able to honor the people of this church who have been so gracious to us in the past seven years. After church they threw us a "going away" party and I was surprised at how many people turned out to hug us and tell us how much they would miss our team. It was a good time--I think we all felt loved.

The next couple weeks are all about closure. I don't know if I'm going to be able to fit in all the last minute meetings with different people, but I'm working on it.

Coming up for air.

The pace is beginning to pick up as we come into the home stretch in our transition to Durango. We are working on the final details of selling/buying and moving. The Daniels leave on June first and Jenn and the kids and I drive out on the 11th. We are still waiting for Peggy's house to sell as well as the Daniels' properties.

This weekend (May 28th) is my last chance to preach at SVCC as well as the last opportunity for our worship-leading team members (Heidi, Daena, Jenn, and Steve) to lead worship. Last week I found out that the church is going to have a special offering for our team and throw us a party after church this weekend. I am grateful for the gesture--especially in light of our process with church leadership over the past several months. For me, it is an indication that we have, indeed, handled ourselves wisely in this transition--to the point where the SVCC leadership feels they can support us in this way.

I can see that, while our team is excited about the transition, we are also beginning to feel the stress of the move. I am really praying that God's peace prevails while marriages, parenting, finances, and relationships are being stretched to their max. I am also praying that I am able to be wise and insightful in the way I lead this team through this time. I'm not entirely sure what I have to offer them, but I sincerely want to serve them and honor the incredible risks and sacrifices each of them is making in pursuing this call.

We are still praying for the funding to show up and for the provision of jobs when we arrive. The next time I post here, I will probably be living in an empty house out of a suitcase in Salinas hoping all our stuff made it into storage in Durango safely! Thank you to everyone who has been following our journey here and supporting us in prayer!

The Johnson's Have A House!

It's true! Jennifer was successful in her mission of picking and buying our new home in Durango in three days over this past weekend. She managed to find a house that she really likes, fits our needs, has a large enough man cave (garage) for me AND fits in our price range. Perhaps one of the best features of this home is it's location in a great development surrounded by neighbors who we can get to know and may potentially be impacted by CTK. Peggy also put an offer on a home contingent on her Salinas house selling.

So, we have the Daniels moving on June 1st, I will be moving Jenn and the kids on the 14th of June and I will rejoin them on July 13th followed shortly by Steve the first week of August (Peggy will move as soon as her house sells--please pray that that happens soon!). We are all anxious to get there and begin construction of our new faith community. I feel a little like we are all jumping from a plane. We're jumping at different times, but all going to the same place--and I won't feel right until we are all safely on the ground!

We are still watching the support come in. So far we have an amazing group of people supporting us prayerfully and financially. Right now we stand at about 25% of what it would take to support us for the first year, so we could use prayer for more support and for quick hiring at new jobs in Durango for Steve and I.

House-buying Mission

Jennifer and Peggy left today in the wee hours of the morning for Durango to take a whirlwind tour of all the (six) houses in our price range, intent on making an offer on one of them by Monday! This is, of course, exciting and mildly terrifying. I am really praying that Jenn is able to make a choice with confidence that she is informed and wise and Spirit-led. I'm looking forward to this experience for Jennifer--naturally, I want her to find the right home, but I also want this to be an opportunity for her to grow in trusting her intuition and experience God's blessing in a personal way. I can't wait to see what I am able to post here Monday!