I’m not going to delete this blog for now, because I may find the need to return in order to provide more ministry dedicated posts. However, for the time being we’re going to be at losjohnsons.wordpress.com. If any of you rely soly on this blog to recieve updates, please send me an email so I can add you to the update letter that I periodically send out.

See you at losjohnsons!

Michael – Email:mdj9775@gmail.com

i had really hoped to be able to return, and aside from the obvious of being able to work on IMAGINE ministry stuff and continuing in spanish classes; i had also planned to find an apartment for Whit and I to move into after the wedding. additionally we have a number of things that we had wanted to take down to Quito in our luggage, however since neither of us will be able to go down before the wedding, the amount of things that we will be able to carry will now be greatly reduced. however, there are definitely some benefits that come out of this as well. one, we won’t be spending the money for two extra flights this fall and even more importantly, we will be able to spend the remainder of the time before the wedding, planning and preparing for this special time together.

the last month has already been really busy, and i know (especially since i did everything i could to return to Ecuador) that being here till the wedding is best. i have actually wondered many times how i/we would have done everything necessary to plan for the wedding and our lives together if i had been in Quito most of the time as planned. i love to see the Lord’s hand in things!

i would like to ask for your prayers during this time, that my time here would be well spent helping my bride to be with all the preparations, meanwhile working on things in Ecuador and preparing for our life there.

also, if you are interested in supporting Whitney and i as we start our life in missions together in Ecuador, please navigate to the donations link listed on my blog.

so trying to catch you up to date over the last little bit…right after my last posting i left for Honduras to visit a girl named Whitney whom I’m now dating seriously. also in June I went back to the US of A for a buddies wedding i was a part of, and then had time to spend with some supporters, friends, family, and my girlfriend. also during this time i was able to spend much needed time with people back in the states who are helping/advising with other areas of IMAGINE including our non-profit license. i just returned back to Quito a little over a week ago and have been getting settled back in, which has been different since my partner Marco is in Bolivia speaking to a group of youth leaders.

before i left marco and i were busy meeting up with other contacts/organizations that will allow us better understand the needs of the people that will be most productive to target. we believe that collaborating with other organization not only allows us to get our hands dirty in the early stages of IMAGINE, but also gives us good experience helping other organizations that have been working in this city for many years. also in the weeks leading up to my departure to the US, we visited the slums and spent time with some of the people and children that we will be serving in the upcoming months and years. due to IMAGINE’s limited budget, we mostly spent time with the people that we encountered, but we also gave out suckers, sandwiches, and toys. we hope to continue spending time and serving the people of Quito in these ways until we are able to get more of a budget to do more substantial projects.

while i was gone, Marco helped with a group that was traveling through from Mexico to Argentina. this was quite a big production that IMAGINE partnered in with their leg of the trip here in Ecuador. the group presented quite a creative theatrical explanation of the gospel. its is so cool to hear of others that have a similar heart to reach out to those who are impoverished, hurt, and confused…especially when those people seem to be few and far between. we look forward to continuing to step through the doors, opportunities, and collaborating with other organizations to see lives continually changed for the gospel.

many days we are blown away by the Lords goodness and how he chooses to work regardless of the fact that we are a developing organization. but i wouldn’t be sharing the entire truth and picture if i left out that there are days that we feel overwhelmed and even a bit discouraged in the task that lies ahead of us. however, we are continually reminded that we are only asked to follow the Spirit and be obedient to the roles that he has us playing in advancing the Kingdom. i plan to send another update real real soon! in the meantime i pray that your hearts and affections will be stirred for our Savior Jesus Christ!

on another note, i was able to really lavish the luxury or should i say the rarity of eating sushi!! it was one of the most blissful nights since i’ve been here, especially since sushi has become one of my favorite foods and i have yet to eat any since i’ve been in Quito!

these are some good days, b/c i can see God at work in many areas: IMAGINE, my own life, and in my spanish classes. and when i speak of my spanish classes i do mean my progress in learning Spanish, but i’m also referring to being able to continue to share the Gospel with other teachers, especially the guy whom i’ve had for a teacher over the last month. it is a slow process with him, because there isn’t a ton of interest on his part or a feeling of urgency, but i have given him a bible and many days we talk about things. i continue to stress that in no way do i want him to feel that i’m trying to convince or persuade him into anything, but rather just to take the idea of Truth, and life (eternal) serious for himself, b/c i get the feeling he just feels like there is only here an now, and after we die there is nothing else. but i know that God works everything out to his purpose, so i’m convinced that God is working in his life!!

well ok, maybe i didn’t make that as short as i had hoped, i’ll try to work on that! please feel free to drop me a line and/or update me on how ya’ll are doing!?

the last few weekends i’ve had the opportunity to travel to several parts of the country and hang out w/ some of Marco’s friends (mine too now)! these trips have been a lot of fun and a great way to take a vaca from school and see some of Ecuador. I’ve been able to visit the outskirts of the jungle and some old traditional town’s, allowing me to see some of the history of Ecuador and the indigenous people that still occupy a large part of the country (unlike the US). also this past sunday i made it to my first Ecuadorian futbol game. i’ve been super excited to see some futbol games since I am living in latin america now!

regarding ministerial type stuff, Marco and I have been really encouraged over the last few weeks by how some opportunities and events are starting to come together! the pastor of the house church that we attend is also the dean of a University in Quito and he also has many connections with other Universities around the city. he offered an open door to come on campus to share with the students about community service projects. we believe this will be an amazing way for us to begin to work on University campuses. hopefully this will also allow us to enter other campuses as well. the pastor also informed us that many of the universities are warming up to the idea of their students participating in community service projects because there is an organization that ranks the Universities across latin america, and one of the criterion they use is the Universities emphasis on community service. additionally, we’ve also had someone approach us about helping the senior students at an english school on their final project which involves creating a company and a business strategy. we believe this would not only allow us to establish great relationship with upcoming University students but also enable us to emphasize ethical business practices. finally for now, in the end of this month we have “twestival” which is a huge event that is promoted by Twitter that encourages awareness for community aid organizations. this will provide a great deal of publicity for IMAGINE and other organizations here in Quito, withe the hopes that community transformation will become part of the mind set here in Ecuador. these are just of few of the upcoming opportunities that we will be focusing on over the next several months.

well as you can see things are not slowing down, but these are exciting times and we’re witnessing things beginning to come together. i’ll try to attach a few pic over the next few days!

the first 2-3 weeks, and honestly even still, we’ve been running crazy trying to take care of miscellaneous things that must be done before we can do anything else. for example…we were doing some of the following: geting office supplies and groceries, setting up internet (an incredibly frustrating process), finding the right battery for marco’s/our car, geting my phone set up, geting me signed up for spanish classes, ect ect… if i told you nearly everything we did, i’d probably fall asleep as i’m sure you would too.

we have really seen and been involved with God doing some cool stuff while we’ve been here. first off, shortly after arriving, we had over 120 people at our house for an entire day of worship/praise/teaching/and encouragement. even though i was coming down with a cold, it was mind blowing that i was experiencing a large group of people coming together to worship our Savior. i also know that since there isn’t an abundance of Jesus followers here, these events are pretty rare (unlike what many of us have experienced in the states). last weekend we also had another group of about 30 people here to have a BBQ, watch movies, and play Ecua-volley (a rendition of volleyball). marco and i believe we have this house (his parents) so we can provide a place for people to come together to worship, hang out, and just be a huge blessing to others. and even after only being here for a few weeks the house has been exactly that, many times! marco and i are both involved with a house church that meets 2 times a week. we are actually going to be pretty integral in the leadership of the house church. the pastor is the dean of theology at a Christian University here in Quito. from what i can understand, and from what Marco’s told me about him, he’s a real deep thinker and challenges everyone a ton!

so on the the less uplifting things. the day i arrived i was coming down with a cold. this lasted for nearly 3 weeks and escalated into bronchitis or pneumonia at the end. i never went to a doctor, i finally took a antibiotic that i still had from my last trip. i should have taken it much sooner, but i thought it’s just had a cold and it would go away. also during this nasty cold i had two other pretty crazy experiences. after i had been in quito for about 4 days, i was ridding the scooter, so we could have a ride back after we left the car at the mechanic. well, i laid the bike down going around a round-a-bout. i didn’t get too hurt, just some nasty scabs and strawberry’s, but i realized how much worse it could have been, seeing that it was in the middle of downtown Quito. the encouraging thing is that the drivers here in Quito are much more accustomed to people zooming around on motorcycles, so they’re really alert and defensive. thats not all, a few days after that, we we’re taking the car back to the mechanic and the battery we had just bought 3 days earlier started sparking (b/c it was touching metal). well marco and i got out to move it away from the metal and when we did it fell back on the metal and exploded all over us. both marco and i got battery acid in our eyes and i got acid in my mouth. however, our sovereign Lord was watching over us, b/c there was a neighborhood with a guardshack with a bathroom right next to where our car was parked….what are the chances! we washed our eyes out immediately and even went to a clinic right after that and were teated even more. a few days later we saw that our jackets and clothes we were wearing had holes all over them from the battery acid. so, to say that i felt blessed and that the Lord was watching over us, is the biggest understatement. marco and i found ourselves laughing about both of these events later seeing they both happened within days of each other. in the matter of less than a week, i had never felt my life more at risk and more un-invinceable.

well, with all this being said, we cannot help but praise the Lord for all he has done for us. marco and i have had some amazing times praying and worshiping the Lord with other people and by ourselves. we’ve said many times how its amazing that we actually have a lot of “things” here (car, scooter, house, video projector, money from supporters, ect) but none of it is really ours. it’s all being lent to us or has been given to us, therefore, we cannot be proud or boastful, because out of the Lord’s grace it’s been given to us. we’re amazed at how we’ve already seem Him at work and how much grace He’s given us just in the last few weeks.

i look forward to updating again soon. i’ve already experienced sooo many things in the last few weeks that i’ve never experienced in my previous 25 years.

*i’ll put some pics up on flickr in the next few days*

These things that God’s been dealing with me on, aren’t ones which I claim to have totally figured out (nor will I ever) are surrounding the issues of sanctification, training my heart, and how to “struggle well.” Let me preface by saying I’m not a deep thinker necessarily, but Matt Chandler is, and I’m able to take some things from the interpretations he has made.

It’s not a revelation, but I’m never going to be able to conquer sin, or maybe I should take a step back and say that I’m never even going to conquer the temptation that derives the sin. The heart of the issue that I’ve been dealing with is…why do I (and we) always have certain things that I struggle with and it seems like I never can overcome? I mean even Paul (who is one of the greatest men of God in the Bible) talks about this in Romans, how the things he wants to do he doesn’t and the things he doesn’t want to do, he does. I think we can see this struggle will never die, due to the flaw of our nature. But rather the question isn’t how to get rid of the struggle, but how to “struggle well.” James 5:16 shows the importance of not waging this battle on our own, but rather sharing our struggles with others closest to us, not just once but regularly. This can prevent satan from attacking us one on one, but rather we have encouragement, rebuke, and help from those who love us most. Satan uses embarrassment from sin (as if no one else struggles with these issues) to wage war against us most effectively, to keep us from getting help. Surrounding ourselves with friends whom we can share the issues with and get them in the open, even getting counseling, and constantly drawing near to solid and challenging teaching, are all huge ways to to “struggle well” and keep from spinning in place or even regressing.

Just to touch on another super basic and fundamental issue that Paul talks about in Romans 9:16 is how it doesn’t depend on my efforts or trying harder. When I do this, I’m completely forgetting the entire reason Jesus came….because I COULDN’T, CAN’T, and WON’T be able to overcome all temptations, no matter how disciplined I am or how hard I work. But rather I must depend on God’s mercy and grace, that He willingly lavished upon us. This requires me to give up on my effort, and rather to wait on his mercy and grace to deliver me from these temptations (but even then we still will struggle, thus we need to “struggle well.” The way I should do this is to wait while surrounding myself with sound teaching, friends and even counselors who love me and want to help share those struggles, and walk in obedience the best I know how!

Somewhat separately from these matters, but still talking about how God’s been dealing with me… I’ve also been reminded how my hearts desire to draw near to idols, some obvious, and others so hidden and obscure that Satan desires for me to be deceived or justify them away until my heart becomes so hardened where I cannot even hear the voice of God. Thus, this brings me to the realization that I need to daily challenge myself to search my heart for anything that I may be putting ULTIMATE before God (ANYTHING!)!?

Well, these are the ways my savior and creator has been working with me…maybe u can relate.?

I’ll be posting another blog soon and/or sending out a newsletter regarding all the preparations and provisions of the Lord as i’ve been anxiously awaiting my departure for Ecuador!

on nov 19th my church (crossroads community church ) hosted a support dinner for me, where i was able to tell some 40+ of my closest friends about the next chapter in my life that God is beginning. that night was such an incredibly monumental and emotional night for me. it was amazing to see so many of those closest to me coming together to hear and support the vision that God’s put in my heart. i was and still am overwhelmed by all the blessings God has provided for IMAGINE our organization/movement to take flight. i’ve had one after another interaction and experience where God has encouraged and provided in different and greater ways than I could have imagined.

this has also been an incredible time to see friends and family and really invest in some new friendships that God’s placed in my life. i feel blessed on so many levels its hard to explain. i definitely have many bitter/sweet feelings about leaving my life as i currently know it in the US (and all my friends and family) for Quito. however, i am so excited for what God has planned before us and i feel his hand guiding and providing for us on this journey. i know that i’m very much naive towards what lies ahead, but i’m not sure that i’ll ever be fully prepared nor do i think the Lord wants me to be (at least in many of the ways we think of being prepared).

in these days, i’m trying to IMAGINE the size of the God we serve and what he wants to do, and up to this point He seems to be stretching even my imagination!! I hope that always happens!!

this week i am having a support dinner to bring local friends and family together to share what God is doing in my heart and explain my future plans. i have been super blessed by my church and staff who have planned and incurred the costs of the dinner. i’ve also had a friend who has redesigned the IMAGINE logo and created a postcard flyer that I can give to my supporters. these are just a few of the ways that God has been tremendously blessing our organization over the last couple months.

i’m hoping to get down to Quito around the first of Dec. however, I still don’t have a flight booked and I’m trying to wait to make sure that we’re going to have enough money to support the org for the first year before leaving. i really need to get down there soon, b/c i’m forgetting my spanish since i’m not using it. i will be signing into a spanish institute as soon as i arrive in Quito. marco and i talk very often about logistics, but it’s quit frustrating since the internet is inconsistent and less than stellar.

within the next couple weeks i should know if i’ll be able to leave by the first part of dec. i’m so excited about the path that God preparing for us!! i really will update again soon.

as far as the things that i can communicate about my time in south america. through interacting with many students and people in south america, i’ve come to recognize a culmination of negative feelings they have toward, the church, christians, or people that claim to believe in Christ. many of these people are filled with bitterness and resentment towards religions that claims to follow Christ for several reasons. first, they feel that “we” are arrogant in our approach. “we” try to impose our beliefs and convert them without even developing a relationship with them. it appears that “we” soley want to convert them, rather than get to know them and love them. another reason for this bitterness is due to “our” judgmental attitude. instead of conveying love, “we” mostly communicate the judgment and wrath that God will pour on them if they don’t confess their sin. lastly, they believe that most “christ followers” are hypocritical. since “we” convey the gospel (which is love) in ways other than love, “we” are portrayed as hypocrites. hearing these beliefs about “christ followers” was very disturbing for me. i realized how much south americans have been hurt by the actions and attitudes of the church and christ followers. this has developed a passion within me to want to change the way Christ is portrayed in South America.

through my DTS with YWAM i began to develop a close relationship with a guy in my small group whose name is marco. he and i have seen the same needs and feel the same passion for showing Jesus to the people of south america in a serving, loving, and relationtional way. in these days, i’m seeking counsel from others and the face of God to see how He may lead me in this next step. if God continues to confirm the steps and open the doors to go back to South America, then i will be looking to return in the near future to begin taking language classes and mastering the language while working on setting up the ministry. in these moments i’m looking at different mission organizations to see if there are any that i feel would be a good fit to partner with in this effort. i understand that going with an organization would make things much easier from the from the getgo, but i’m open to beginning things on my own if that’s the way God is leading.

i’m beginning to try to really reflect back on my DTS and identify key things that God’s been teaching me and how He’s been shaping my journey in missions and my relationship with Him. this is a process that takes a good deal of time…but i know this is crucial for me to begin to move on the next page in missions. i look forward to continue to update on here, as i hear from God.

1 Corinthians 10:33 – “For I am not seeking my own good but the good of many, so that they may be saved.”