September 22, 2008
Hello to all,

How have you been? We pray that everyone is doing great. We are doing good. We have been struggling with the beginnings of colds and sore throat. The change of weather was so sudden and earlier than normal. They say that this is the beginning of the rainy season, which has brought along the windy and cooler temperatures. We haven't seen the sun for days. Our high for today was 50 degrees, but when the wind hits you it feels much cooler. It is downright bbrrrrrrr!!!! We can hardly wait for the extreme coldness that everyone here keeps mentioning. No, not really!!! This coolness appears to be nothing for some of the locals. We still see people running around without coats in sleeveless shirts; and no, they don't appear to be homeless. There is one English word that comes to mind when we see such a site as this, CRAZY!!!

The last time we wrote, we had asked for you to be praying concerning our lost luggage. It had all of Uriah's clothes and our winter coats inside along with a few other things. We kept calling the airport and even made a couple of trips there to talk to the airline company concerning the whereabouts of our missing luggage. They kept telling us that it was being held in Milan, Italy at the customs department being investigated. A few days later the airport called to let us know that they think they found our missing luggage. They had traced it all the way to Jamaica. It made it to Italy and then was sent to Jamaica instead of Odessa! Can you believe that? They sent the luggage next flight out and we finally received the bag Wednesday afternoon. Praise the Lord!!!! Another praise report was when we told the airline company what was in the luggage, they said that if we want to go out and purchase new clothes and coats and bring the receipt back to them then they would cover 50% of the cost. We bought Uriah a couple of long sleeve shirts and a coat (because clothes are very expensive here we were not able to afford many) and took the receipt back to the airport. The airline company decided to pay the entire amount that we spent on the clothes. We were surprised, and began thanking our awesome God.

It is so awesome to know that God loves us so much that he will throw in a few little blessings while continuing to meet our every need. You know that the temperatures didn't drop to 50 until we received our luggage. Thank you Lord!

We have been busy going to Internot #4 daily. We usually take 3-4 children each day to McDonalds to eat and play. We get to know them and show that we love and care about them. It is so sad to hear how many of the children came to live at the Internot. It would just break your hearts. After hearing how this one boy named Dema, which is now 15 years of age, came to the Internot, I nearly lost control of the tears sitting in McDonalds. His mother was raised at Internot#4 from when she was much younger. She was never adopted so there she stayed until she was of age to leave. When she did, she later became pregnant with Dema. After he was born, his mother had died so he was taken to the center for orphan or abandoned children. Because he had terrible asthma, he was sent to Internot#4 where the very same caregiver that took care of his mother when she was younger, began taking care of him. Dema came to know of his mother through this woman. He later in life was excited to find out that he had an only family member which was an older sister, but then broke his heart when she wouldn't have anything to do with him. Here at Internot#4, this child has lived his whole life. He has given up on being adopted but now hopes to finish school and become a medical doctor. He is a brilliant young man who loves the Lord with all his heart and wants to be able to help others.

There are many more children like Dema. Many are waiting and hoping to be adopted, and there are those that are fortunate enough to be chosen by a family that wants to give them a loving home and better future. We could go on with many more heart breaking stories of the lives that we have come to love. Our passion while we are here in Odessa is to visit the center for the aids infected children that will never become adoptable. We will be visiting them once we get the okay. We also want to go to the village that we had heard about since we have been here. The people are very poverty stricken, many people, no work, very poor housing, many widows, and many children. Please be in prayer for these two places on our list to visit.

We have many photos we would like to share with you, once we figure out how to send them. We finally have them sorted and downloaded into the computer. Hopefully you will receive a few of them by this weekend.

Lela is doing well. She sends her love to all. She tells us daily that she is so happy that we had come to Odessa to stay with her, and be a part of the children's lives. Lela loves the idea that we want to start a Bible study with the children after their school. Not sure how this will work for they don't have much free time after school.

It has been a little difficult at times with the family becoming homesick for loved ones. We miss you all so much. It seems so different being so far away and knowing that the time difference is so far off from the time in Florida. We were told about a site by the name of Skype.com. It is a free site that you can call to talk with anyone anywhere for free just as if you were talking on a phone. It has been great! There are a few minor things that we miss. One is a hot shower! It's not much fun to take cold showers, especially when it's cold outside. Every once in awhile the water heater might stay on long enough for one, but it is a quick one just in case. You learn to thank the Lord for every little drop of warm water you get. LOL 

We wanted to say thank you for your many prayers while we are here. We love and miss you. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Take care and may God continue to bless you all.

Love,
The Johnson's
Marc, Taralea, Uriah, & Eyleah

Hello from Odessa. We pray that all is well. God has been taking good care of us here through others who are His hands and His feet. Michele, a missionary from Nebraska, was kind enough to take a bus, well out of her way, in order to pick us up and take us to a Bible study downtown. Afterward, she again took the bus with us back to Lela’s and then to her home. What a blessing! We were able to meet about 20 different Americans and enjoyed hearing how God was enabling them to establish new churches. Some of the churches have started by ministering to the needs of the poor and homeless. We were excited to feel so welcomed by this group of committed Christians.

As a result of attending this Bible study, Taralea was invited to a women’s Bible study held once a month at different locations. This first one she attended was only about a 10 minute walk from Lela’s house. Here, she met seven more Americans and also a Canadian. It is really encouraging to see how others have adapted and are accomplishing God’s will. We will be looking into some of the ministry opportunities these others are a part of.

We have been continuing to visit the children in the Internots. We feel so privileged to be able to help meet many of their needs. We make it clear to them that it is because God loves them and has provided this through many others back in America who love them too.

As many of you know from previous updates, the cost of living is much higher. It seems that only bus transportation is truly reasonable (because they really pack them). Due to this higher cost of living, we will need additional funds. I have held off announcing this sooner in hopes that a project I’ve been looking into might help supplement some of these funds. It is uncertain how much is needed at this time, due to unknown utility costs. Some here claim that they are supposed to quadruple. Ukraine purchases its natural gas from Russia, who has been putting a lot of pressure on them (threatening to shut off the supply until they pay off their debt). From what is known, we estimate about $2,200 is needed for the remainder of our stay (not including utilities). We also are aware of how the economy is suffering there in the States. We pray that everyone continues to put their trust in the Lord, and not in the government of man.

Philippians 4:19 - But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. No need to worry about tomorrow. Thank you all for continuing to pray for us. Continue in Christ.