Power Up

Downtown Vilnius

A few weeks, I had the opportunity to attend a WorldVenture training conference in Lithuania offered for all missionaries in Europe and the Middle East. Nate attended this conference in the spring and they offered it twice in the year so couples like us with little kids could take turns. I was so thankful for the chance to attend.

Sessions in the hotel

It was a really refreshing week for me, not only because it was a break from the everyday and a chance to get away and relax a little, but especially because of all the great training content and conversations with other missionaries. There is something special about missionaries getting together, even if they have never met, because we all understand each other and the experiences we've gone through integrating into a new culture and learning a language. The worship and prayer times were also incredibly refreshing, since on most Sunday mornings here I miss part or all of the service because of the kids.

The main thrust of the conference was about skills in interpersonal relationships. It sounds like such a basic topic, but all of us need to constantly be striving to improve how we relate with others. This affects everything we do - our ministry in the church, how we care for others outside the church, how we have healthy marriages and family relationships, and everything in between. We discussed topics like encouragement, trust, listening, healthy rest, moral purity and conflict resolution. It was especially interesting to discuss how these topics each play out uniquely in our culture where we live, in comparison to American culture where we may be most comfortable.

We visited a Lithuanian Castle midway through the week

New friends!

The leadership of Europe and the Middle East for WorldVenture was there at the conference teaching the content. Informally, though, at meal times and in between times, they were also there to discuss how we are doing and questions we may have about things at the mission. Having these conversations in person is so valuable, and I was really thankful to get some questions answered about some recent financial changes and to get to know some people in leadership positions that I hadn't met before.

I'm so thankful for WorldVenture and that it makes it a priority to offer conferences like these, where we can come away with practical learning and new relationships and connections. And I'm thankful for Nate, who stayed home with the kids so I could attend!

Power Up Conference

Every few years WorldVenture, our missions organization, plans a regional conference for everyone working in Europe. We missed the last one, because it was just a few days before Ellie was born. That conference took place over New Years with child care so that families could attend without school issues and bring their kids along. This time around, they chose a different model that we are really excited about. They are putting the exact same conference on twice, once in the spring and again in the fall so that families with small kids can attend, with the parents taking turns. Bethany is looking forward to having Maya weaned and having a new gal arrive on our field so that they can go together in the fall, so the spring time was my turn.

The conference was called Power Up and took place in Vilnus, Lithuania. For those that think this sounds like a really exotic location, remember that A) This is still EU, which means easier travel for most of us who already have EU visas and B) it is a lot cheaper than having something like this in a place like Switzerland or France, where everything would be more expensive from food to lodging. It was a really pretty city and a place that would be fun to go back and visit. There was an interesting mix of old world monarchical history and the recent soviet influences. It is still a country stuck between and influenced by both Moscow and Europe. The old city was a great place to just wander around and find little corners and shops.

the view of the city from our hotel

evening wandering in the city

The conference itself was on interpersonal communication. This is a topic near and dear to my heart and something I find very important. Here were a few key takeaways that I gleaned from our time.

1. The first thing I wanted to share was from a session called "Loving Listening." They talked about how we can show people we love them by making them feel truly heard. There was a quote from David Augsberger: "Being heard is so close to being loved, that for the average person they are almost indistinguishable." We often don't realize the power that we hold, simply by listening to people. Life can be so hectic and full of running from thing to thing, that there is a huge relational power in stopping what we are doing and truly listening to what another person has to say. Not just hearing them, or trying to break in and make our point, but listening to them and understanding where they are coming from. This can help all of our relationships from casual acquaintances all the way to the people that are dearest to us. How can we show the people around us we care for them by listening to them?

2.  Another key group of sessions was about the book Crucial Conversations. They defined a "crucial conversation" not necessarily as conflict, but just like the subtitle of the book says "when things are at stake." When we disagree and decisions need to be made, we get into the realm of a crucial conversation. One of my main take-aways was a pretty simple observation. It is the idea that when we are in a conversation and someone says something we don't understand or it seems to be negative or critical, we create a narrative in our own minds about what that could mean. We set their statement in a context which answers the question "why would someone say something like that?" Often the answer can be something like: "They think I am stupid" or "they don't believe I am capable of succeeding here." We then go forward with that internal story and begin to believe it is true. But what happens if that isn't true? Do we really take time to expose those underlying stories to the light of day and check if that person really believes that? There are often totally reasonable explanations that also fit the facts of a situation, and it is our personal fears or insecurities that drive it forward.


There were many other key takeaways from the time there from personal soul care and rest, building trust in relationships, and personal moral purity; just to name a few. I am very excited for Bethany to be able to go to the same conference in the fall so that we can debrief and compare notes.

Emotionally Intelligent

After our first week in Colorado at Renewal Conference, we came to the WorldVenture home office and spent a little more than a week there for a debrief seminar. The debrief seminar was a chance to connect with other international workers and share about our last term on the mission field. We also had the chance to visit with supporters, friends and family in the Denver area.

One thing we addressed was especially valuable to us. We talked about emotional intelligence, which is our ability to read a situation and a person emotionally and take that into account. This is also valid for our own emotions. It is our ability to take in and understand the information that emotions provide and act in a way that takes that information into account.

American culture on the whole has not had a great relationship with emotions, especially my (Nate's) gender. We see some emotional expressions as signs of weakness and someone that accesses that part of themselves as out of control.

The challenge is that our emotions are a part of us, just like anything else. When our finger hurts we pull back from the source of the pain. When something feels good, like a massage at the spa, we want to go back again and again. Our emotions give us cues to what is going on in our hearts. One example the presenter used was really powerful.

Our trainer talked about a pastor trying to decide between two future ministry opportunities. With the first option, he explained it very matter-of-factly. He went through the advantages and disadvantages straightforwardly. Then he got to the second option. His eyes lit up and his whole countenance changed. You could tell this second option accessed something deep within him, and he was very excited. At the end of explaining the two options, he finished by saying that he wasn't sure which option was for him or which direction God was leading.

The counselor pointed out the difference between the two and said that maybe he already had a decision. His emotional reaction had displayed what his deep desires were. That doesn't mean that is where God is leading this man 100%, but it should be a clue. Furthermore, recognizing this is a big part of emotional intelligence. It is the ability to read the clues that our own and other's emotions are giving and then taking those into account.

One good question in the face of all this is:

How has this helped us?

Our lives are full of change and transitions. Often we don't notice to toll those transitions are taking on us, but our emotions are a very helpful cue. I have seen many times over the last few years where my own personal emotional reaction to a situation goes far beyond how I would normally react to that situation. These emotions are an important clue that I have something I haven't thought about or processed.

Ultimately, there is a continuum to emotions. We can either shut out all emotions, or we can overindulge in them. In German, there is a phrase, "you can fall off either side of a horse." This is as true with emotional engagement as any other part of life. When we shove our emotions down, we are setting ourselves up for them to explode or come out sideways. When we go to the other side, we can wallow in self pity or become overly sensitive. But when we healthily engage our emotions, we can fully experience the life that God has for us.

How has emotional intelligence helped you handle situations in your life?   Leave your answers in the comments below.

Debrief Week

Every step of the way, it continues to be confirmed for us why we partnered with our missions organization, WorldVenture. The staff there care for us and our ministry deeply and continually offer us great support to continue serving on the mission field. We are so blessed.

We just finished up a week and a half training session at WorldVenture headquarters, where we debriefed from our first 3 years in Austria. We went through this training and debrief with two single women who also just finished their first term and then (3) older couples who have served for decades on the field. The variety of perspectives around the table was incredibly valuable, as we discussed what God did and taught us during our previous term of service.

In addition to group debrief sessions, we were also given time with professional counselors to discuss how we are doing in all areas - emotionally, spiritually, mentally and physically, both individually and in our marriage. These sessions were incredibly valuable for us and we were given specific tasks and tools to use going forward.

Another important piece of our time there was having the chance to hear from and meet with various departments at WorldVenture - finance, medical, communications, etc. Each department supports our ministry and it was helpful to be able to ask questions and better learn how to make use of their services.

Each missionary or family shared an update with the WorldVenture staff, reminding them of the great work that their efforts back in Colorado support. We would not be able to serve without them and we want them to know how thankful we are!

It was an incredible restful time in CO. Outside of our meetings, we were able to rest and enjoy a quiet place to stay. We were very thankful for this respite before our busy travel starts up again!

Preaching Conference

Last Saturday, I (Nate) had the privilege of taking part in the 1st Predigertag at the Quellenstrasse Church. This was a one-day preaching conference at our field leader's church in the 10th district hosted by Langham Preaching, which is a part of All Souls Church in England.

The goal of the conference was to teach the whole process of preaching an expository sermon. (Don't be scared off by the word "expository"! It just means going through a single passage and explaining its meaning and application.) This contrasts with "topical" sermons, which use many different bible texts and seek to address a single topic (eg. marriage, fear, or redemption). If you are curious what this looks like, this book by Brian Chapel called Christ-Centered Preaching is one of the main books used to teach this process.

If you are thinking, "wow that is a lot of content to cover in a single day!" you would be right. This became even more difficult because the speaker presented in English and then another pastor translated into German. The translator did an amazing job, and I am continually impressed at those that are able to do that well. Now that I speak German, though, I find it distracting to basically listen to a message twice. It is also hard to not start thinking about how I would translate something into German. I think it is mentally easier for me to be in one language than switching between two. This is why often at a German speaking event or a church service, I will speak with other English speakers in German. It is less work to switch gears and remember English words than it is to just speak German.

I was very excited by a few specific things at this conference. First, it was great to see a lot of younger guys at this conference. It is easy sometimes to forget that God is moving among the younger generation here in Austria, but Saturday was a good reminder to me that there God is at work here. It was also exciting to see so many different churches and areas of Austria represented. We had leaders from many of the provinces of Austria, included a contingent from Tirol, which is way on the western side!

This conference was also a great chance for me to see Bobby Harnist and Pastor Jeff from Grace Community Bible Church. Bobby and his wife, Danielle, will soon be missionaries here and Danielle and I grew up together. Bobby and his pastor are in Austria for a week visiting with church leaders and prepping for the Harnists to come here. 

Based on all this, we ask for your prayer. Please pray for the leaders of the churches in Austria, that they would be close to God and lead wisely and faithfully, as well as faithfully teach God's word in their churches.

Experiencing Community

Over 40 adults and 30 kids that attending SPLICE training with us

Last Friday, we finished up the SPLICE training at MTI and said goodbye to most of our fellow missionaries (just a few are staying on for the next two weeks with us). It is amazing how close we got to these new friends during our 3 weeks at MTI. We lived in community together, which meant we ate all 3 meals together everyday, lived in the same building, and spent time hanging out and playing games nearly every evening. We also went through very emotional times of processing together in class, sharing our hurts, fears, grief, loss, joys and anxieties. We worshiped and studied scripture together. We bonded over the fact that we don't have homes to go back to, we don't know what our futures hold, and we are in transition. We identified with each other in the challenges we're facing and those that are ahead.

It was sad to see our many friends leave, but we are so thankful for the chance to live in community with them. After being "nomadic" for so long, Nate and I were really refreshed by times of just having fun with friends! We haven't lived near close peer friends for awhile, and this was a void we didn't realized until we got here.

Lord willing, we will get the chance to meet up with these friends again in cities around the world, as we continue in our missionary careers. We look forward to seeing how God will keep us connected and use us all in our respective ministries!

Living in Paradox

Nate mentioned a few posts ago that our MTI training introduced us to the important concept of a "pair of ducks". With every big transition, we experience paradoxical feelings - positive and excited feelings and difficult, hard feelings. To represent this paradox, we have two ducks - a "yay duck" and a "yuck duck". The yay duck represents the positive feelings we're experiencing and the yuck duck represents the sad, hard feelings that we feel at the same time.

When we were visiting Manitou Springs last weekend, we stumbled on a great discovery - a rubber ducky store! So we picked up these two ducks to represent our "yays" and our "yucks". When we're struggling with paradoxical feelings, we can use this concept to discuss and explain how we're feeling.

As we've been processing our yays and our yucks these past few weeks at MTI, here are some of the feelings I've been experiencing:

YAY DUCKS

• After anticipating our move to Austria for over 3 years, I'm excited to finally take the next step!
• I'm eager to learn about Austrian culture and to develop relationships with Austrians.
• Being able to communicate in another language is something I've always longed to do.
• After living in transition for a year, we look forward to finally settling down somewhere and having a place of our own.
• We are excited to join our WorldVenture team and to meet other missionaries in Vienna!
• We feel that God has clearly called us to Austria. We're eager to move closer to our calling there. 

YUCK DUCKS

• We have to say goodbye to family and friends, knowing we may not see them for 3 - 4 years or more.
• We have to start over with building community in a new place that is completely foreign.
• I'm afraid to learn a new language, knowing it will be hard and I will make LOTS of mistakes.
• I will be stripped of my identity in all of the areas where I now feel competent. 
• We hope to raise children overseas. It's scary and sad to think that our kids will grow up without their grandparents close by and that I will learn to be a mom with my own mother far away.

Both of these lists could go on. It's been really helpful for me to acknowledge the existence of both categories, rather than focusing on one or the other. It's ok to feel excited and heartbroken about the transition all at the same time.

When have you experienced a "pair of ducks" in your life?

Mission Training International Week 1

Bethany and I have been at Mission Training International in Palmer Lake, CO for the last week. We have made it through dehydration (we are up at 7,000 ft or so), new people, and full days of discussing challenging issues we will face as we go about the process of crossing cultural barriers.

We have been talking about different metaphors to help us process through the changes that we have and will experience. We talked about two ducks. The first is our "yay" duck. These are times in our life where we have things to celebrate; these are the things we are excited about and thankful for. The other is our "yuck" duck. That duck is the times in our life that are hard and the challenges and struggles we face.

The hard part about transition, including going to the mission field, is that the two ducks travel together. When we experience change, we have things that we look forward to and things that will be hard. And we can't separate them - they move together. This is the paradox (pair-of-ducks) of transition.

We will continue to share what we're learning as the weeks progress. For now, here are some pictures from our time here. Enjoy!

Nate was a visual aid for how we are all affected by expectations

The mountain behind the MTI building

The sun setting behind the mountains

This is our part of the valley

The MTI building

Joining Forces with the A-Team

One important way that we communicate with our friends, family and supporters is with a monthly email newsletter. We spend a lot of time thinking about and writing our monthly update, and we pray each month about how it will impact, engage and move in the hearts of its readers. If you're not already on our mailing list, I would encourage you to sign up using the form on the right!

This month's update gives a great overview of our recent visit to Colorado. I thought it would be fun to post it here. Enjoy!


Dear friends & family,

We are back in Connecticut after a productive trip to Colorado last month. It was exhausting, wonderful, encouraging, and a great time of learning and growth. We processed so much information in such a short period of time, we feel as though we are still working through some of it! We also spent time with friends, some we have known since the beginning of our missions journey and some brand new.  Click here to see a video of our time in Colorado.

Here is a brief overview of what we did and how God was working through our trip!

TRAINING
During our first four days in Denver, we attended a final workshop with WorldVenture staff called “Pre-departure Training”.  We explored some of the major transitional issues that we’ll face as we leave one culture and head to another, addressing issues like learning how to mourn and properly say goodbye to people, places and seasons of life. It was another stage of realization that our huge life transition is quickly approaching, and it provided some helpful tools to process.

 

SYMPOSIUM
Over the following weekend, we attended the Missions Symposium 2012 at Denver Seminary (click the link to access conference materials).  These sessions were very valuable, and though we didn’t attend some of the sessions due to illness, we plan to spend more time processing through them. We heard from Christopher J.H. Wright, author of the well-known missions text The Mission of God; we are very excited to read his book and fully digest his thoughts on missions!

RENEWAL CONFERENCE
The second week was spent at the WorldVenture Annual Renewal Conference, which kicked off with a two-day prayer summit. It was a valuable time of corporate prayer for the missionaries, the leadership of WorldVenture, and God’s direction in all of our lives. We also had some "family business" time, where we discussed issues our organization is facing and new opportunities ahead. More than anything, this conference reaffirmed our love and commitment to this great group of WorldVenture men and women!

At Renewal Conference, we spent time with fellow appointees, men and women who are at a similar point in their preparation process.  It is always encouraging to spend time with people who understand the challenges and joys of heading to the mission field. We are consistently blessed by their support and friendship.

THE A-TEAM
Sadly, we did not see Mr. T and his infamous “A-Team” during our Colorado visit. But we got something even better...we got to spend time with our Austria team, the real A-Team!  All but two families from Vienna were in town for the week, and Bethany used her organizational skills to coordinate a dinner at a local German restaurant (which our team members were quick to point out is different from Austrian food!).  It was fun to see many of our team members in one place, as well as to meet some former Austria team members.  What a wonderful legacy of ministry we are stepping into!  

Thank you for your continued prayers, as well as your generous support that opened the door for us to attend Pre-departure Training and this conference. Have a great month!


Blessings,
Nate & Bethany Johnson

We're Here!

I apologize for the lack of blog posts this past week. Nate was up in New Hampshire on his annual ice climbing trip, while I was working at an event in San Diego. We meet up in Denver today at WorldVenture headquarters for two weeks, and we're excited we are finally here!

Our first week at WorldVenture...we will be going through Pre-Departure Training (thanks to the prayers and support of so many who helped us reach 60%!). These 3 days are focused on preparing for departure. Part of the training is about the logistical side, discussing things like visas, shipping containers, departure requirements, and the like. But another very important part is the emotional and spiritual side. During this training, we will meet with staff and counselors to begin talking about saying goodbye and going through the major transition of moving to Austria.

This training comes at the perfect time for us. We are just beginning to do things or see people "for the last time" and the goodbyes are slowly ramping up. We have been focusing for the last year on building our team of financial and prayer supporters, but now we must shift our focus to also include how to emotionally, spiritually and mentally prepare for the stress, sadness and adjustment that a cross-cultural move can create. We are looking forward to what we will learn this week about culture shock, maintaining connections to home, and saying goodbye well.

This weekend... we will attend two days of a Missions Symposium at Denver Seminary. This is a first time event and we look forward to hearing from experienced and charismatic speakers who are well-known in the missions community. We will also get to meet and network with many other missionaries and missions support staff, learning from them and building new relationships.

 
Next week in Colorado...we will attend WorldVenture's Renewal Conference. This week-long event is a time for WorldVenture missionaries and staff to come together for worship, prayer and updates. We will spend time sharing and hearing from the field and home office, praying for one another, and seeking the Lord's guidance in our lives, ministry and direction as an organization. Nate and I are especially excited to spend time with several Austria team members at this conference, whom we haven't seen since our Vision Trip last April!

Please pray... for 2 weeks of blessing, encouragement, learning and growth. Please pray that the Lord would protect us from feeling overwhelmed, stressed or fearful of the transitions ahead, but that instead, these 2 weeks would excite us about the journey He has laid out for us and the team that surrounds us at WorldVenture.

Thank you for your prayers!