Where in the World are the Johnsons?

Our first visit to Zaporozhye (Nov 2015)

If you read our post about Zaporozhye in November (click HERE to read it), you might be curious about an update. It's been seven months since we initially visited Zaporozhye, so you might be wondering, what did you decide?

As we continued to pray and seek the Lord about Zaporozhye, we felt more and more strongly that we were supposed to be in Zaporozhye. It definitely wasn't the easy choice, but it certainly was the right choice. Saying goodbye to something comfortable/familiar and hello to something new/foreign is always hard. However, the moments in my life that have taken me out of my comfort zone and placed me into a new situation are always the ones that produce the most spiritual growth. 

Back in December 2015, we start to realize that the Lord was calling us to leave Kiev, but we didn't want to tell anyone until we were absolutely sure that the move would happen. We also had a lot of questions about the move that we needed hear from God about before announcing the move. The Lord had called us to do ministry in Kiev, but suddenly we also felt that calling to do ministry in Zap, and the two callings were mutually exclusive. We couldn't do what we were called to do in Zap while we were in Kiev, and vice versa. That left us with only one option - waiting. We had to wait and see how God would bring everything together. We had to wait for the Lord to release us from one ministry so that we could fully commit to the other. 

Our view from the train, heading to Zap with the girls (Jan 2016)

One of the biggest questions we had about moving was concerning our girls. What if they don't want to (or can't) move with us? We knew that God had called us to be a family, but how would that work if we weren't in the same place as them? And what about their studies? Was it even possible for them to come with us to Zaporozhye? As we waited, we prayed, and we asked the Lord to direct our steps. And, as always, the Lord did make our path straight. 

In January, the girls came with us to Zaporozhye to check things out and see if it would be possible for them to move with us. After much consideration, they both decided that for this stage in their lives, it was best for them to stay in Kiev. I think this was a hard realization for all of us to come to, that our time together, living under one roof was coming to an end. But, by no means did that mean our relationship had to end. The girls are still a really important part of our lives, and although I say "girls," they are, in fact, both very capable adults, and we're so proud of them! We talk pretty regularly, and it's cool to see that even though we're separated by physical distance, we're still a little family (which you can see, even down to our "fishki"). 

Byron getting ordained and stepping into the
pastoral role at CCZap

So, the girls moved out March 1st, and that gave us about a month to wrap things up in Kiev with our apartment, find a new apartment in Zaporozhye, and move. March was full of goodbyes, packing, cleaning, and planning. But the Lord brought it all together in the end. We were able to find an apartment in Zap a week before we had to be out of our apartment in Kiev, figured out how to cost effectively ship all of our belongings to our new apartment, and made it to Zap by April 2nd. 

Starting April 2nd, we began full-time ministry in Zap. Byron is currently the pastor, and focuses most of his time/energy on preparing to teach/teaching the Word on Fridays and Sundays, as well as discipleship and assisting with English ministry. And I am focusing on children's ministry, women's ministry, and English ministry. We're praying that we can start doing university and youth ministry soon too. 

Jesus loves Zaporozhye (and we do too!)!

And that brings us to today, June 29th. Things are starting to become really normal for us in Zap, which we're so thankful for. We've been praying for a place to be stable for a long time, and we see that Zap isn't just another dot on the map for us, it's an end-stop. We don't know exactly how long the Lord will allow us to remain in Zap, but we see that the Lord has blessed us with a place with a more permanent calling, and we look forward to finally laying down roots. 

More updates to come! 

Blessings,

Emily