Our new abode

It's the fall! And for the Johnsons, that means...it's time to move!

That's right - we've relocated to our third apartment in three years. Trust me - it's not that we enjoy the process of packing, sorting, schlepping, unpacking, organizing (ok, maybe I enjoy that...), etc. It's a lot of work. But we found a new apartment that is allowing us to save a significant amount of money each month and we just couldn't pass it up.

Here are some photos of our new place!

The living room, as viewed from the hallway. My cute husband is watching TV on the couch :)

The kitchen, where you can look out into the living room.

Another view of the kitchen.

View of the living room from the opposite end (same end as the kitchen).

Master bedroom

Second bedroom (which we're using as an office)

Summer in Review

In July, I was matron of honor in my good friend, Sarah Schnaidt's wedding. It was a beautiful ceremony and a great celebration! She and her husband, Russell, are missionaries in Moscow.

Early in August, Nate and I went up to Minnesota to spend the weekend on his parents boat.

We also got to go climbing at Redwing that weekend.

Also in August, my company (One Smooth Stone) celebrated its 15th anniversary. In the afternoon of our celebration day, the staff went on a segway tour of Chicago.

Nate and I went to Navy Pier to see the Tall Ships exhibit at the end of August.

We spent Labor Day in Connecticut visiting family. We had the privelege of flying to Atlanta the day before and picking up my brother and sister-in-law's two oldest kids. It was a fun weekend with them!

We ate lobster for my birthday dinner that weekend.

It was a busy summer but a fun one! Sorry for the lack of blog posts...we'll try to keep up with it better this fall :)

Fall 2010 Ministry Update

We recently sent out an update email on our ministry plans. If you did not receive this email and wish to be added to our mailing list, please contact bethanyjohnson83@gmail.com.

Dear friends and family,

Happy fall! For us, the summer has flown by and we are shocked that we are already in the midst of September and autumn colors and temperatures are just around the corner! We hope you and your family enjoyed a fun, warm and safe summer this year.

It has been about 5 months since we last sent out an update email and in that time, our plans for pursuing overseas ministry with WorldVenture (www.worldventure.com) have continued to progress. Here is an update on what has happened in the last few months...

• We spent time from April until July connecting with the leadership of our congregation, Parkview Community Church, and sharing with them our vision and hope for our ministry. This time was valuable in building their confidence in us and allowed us to discuss what a partnership between Parkview and WorldVenture could look like, as our sending church and sending organization.
• After discussions and meetings with Parkview, as well as significant amounts of prayer, Parkview agreed to serve as our home sending church and to provide support to us through the application and preparation process.
• In July, we were privileged to connect with several WorldVenture missionaries from Vienna, Austria (both in person and via skype). After these meetings, we felt confirmed in our desire to join the Vienna team. The team members confirmed their need for new missionaries in the field and described opportunities for us to serve in the areas of theological teaching, discipleship, evangelism, music ministry and church planting.
• In July, we also began the application for long term service for WorldVenture. After gathering references and transcripts, completing evaluations, and answering many applications questions and essays, we submitted our application on September 3rd.
• In an effort to prepare for our transition raising prayer and financial support, we went searching for an affordable apartment with a flexible lease. We found a great apartment that fits within our budget and will be moving in 2 weeks. Our new apartment will allow us to save more money and potentially cut back on work hours, once we are ready to focus more on preparing for the field.

Now that our application has been submitted, we should hear back from WorldVenture by the end of September regarding next steps.

During this time, we would appreciate your continued prayer...

• Praise God with us for His guidance in the process thus far and the ways He has already provided for us. We are so thankful for the meetings we were able to have with WorldVenture missionaries this summer, the new apartment we found, and our church's willingness to support us.
• Pray for wisdom and discernment for the WorldVenture application review committee, who will be reading and reviewing our application over the next few weeks and making a decision about inviting us out to Colorado for the next step.
• Pray for continued patience and trust in God for us, as we wait for the pieces to come together.
• Pray that our move to our new apartment goes smoothly.
• Pray for continued unity in our marriage and in our ministry direction. Pray that God would continue to prepare us for the field, even in ways we do not yet even realize.

Many thanks and blessings to each and every one of you for your continued support and prayer. We look forward to keeping in touch and connecting with you in the months and years ahead as we continue along this journey God has laid out for us.

In Christ,

Nate and Bethany Johnson