Picture Gallery |
Johnson Christmas 2011 Family Photo Front row: Carly, Christopher, James, Daniel, Samuel, Lizzie. Back row: Sarah, Andy, Ken, Melli, Angel, Cindy. | |
"Come On Daddy Cheer Up!!" Lizzie and Carly were brought to the hospital by their dorm mom to cheer up their daddy. Thank you again for praying for Kenny. "Prayer is the most practical thing...the exercise of drawing on the grace of God." (Oswald Chambers) We can't stop thanking God for His grace in getting us through this time of surgery! When Remy, at the Mission in Burundi, called and asked, "How are you doing?" Ken replied, "I'm fine-- How's your motorcycle?" Ken was anxious to get out of the hospital and eager to get back to work fixing things, especially motorcycles! Many thanks! Much love! and Merry Christmas! | |
Could These Guys Scare Anybody?? Andy and Micah We
didn't have a Halloween Party or go Trick or Treating, but in the open
market where used clothes pour in from the West, I found a pile of
kids' Halloween costumes for less than 50 cents apiece. The kids are
having fun dressing up like Barney the Dinosaur, a Dalmatian, Tigger,
etc. Here is our little boy, Andy, dressed as Winnie the Pooh, hugging
his cousin Micah, as Woody from Toy Story. My kids are so glad to have their cousins, Zach and Micah, close by, living at the mission. They are sad to see them go on furlough for 6 months. Please pray for Jesse, Joy and their three little boys in their travels to the USA, visiting family and friends, speaking in churches, and getting medical attention. As missionaries always know but are hesitant to say, "Furloughs are not vacations." (Except for the children, who have a ball!) | |
In Memory of Eleanor Johnson I love this poignant photo of Mom Eleanor, with Ken holding her close... I felt her energy--once while visiting a few years back, when Mom was 92, I slept beside her bed on a mattress on the floor, and awoke early to see her doing calisthenics before getting up. Wow! Does anybody do that? I groan at my cowardly avoidance of necessary duty, but Mom Eleanor never wasted precious moments moaning or waiting to be asked to help someone or do any job. What an inspiration to me and to the many others she touched over here! What reassurance that we'll see her again one day! --Melli | |
Who Wouldn't Love A Doll Like This??  Meet little 9-year-old Sarah, happily holding her new soft, Cuddly, hand-made doll! She was one of the first babies in the Arms of Love Baby Home, and now has a mother of her own whose name is Concessa, but lovingly referred to as Mama Sarah. Sarah also has two sisters who are also being fostered by Mama Sarah--Aniella 10, and little Benni who has cerebral palsy. Mama Sarah also cared for little Deborah, who had AIDS and is now in Heaven. Thank you for praying for these foster mothers who love and care for these precious little ones who have been abandoned. God bless you! | |
Wearied of Picture Taking ....  "Wish
you could get the smells through a photo! Ken fried bacon every
morning to help wake us up! The "simple life" for a week is quite
tiring on mommies (I remember my own dear mumso wasn’t truly thrilled
with camping in Yellowstone National Park). It's hard to locate
belongings in the dark of the hut, but on the other hand, I'd rather
NOT see the creepy crawlers co-habiting with me. Now and then we
heard, "DADDY! COME QUICK! THERE'S A HUGE SPIDER...!" But
the lovely birdsong evening and morning was a nice switch from
telephones, radios and traffic." --Melli | |
No Graveside Service for Gerard .... At
first the family thought they would have only a small, quiet graveside
service, but so many people were phoning and wanting to have a church
service that it all changed. When we arrived at the church, it
was overflowing with people and we were thankful for the sound system
enabling all to hear a wonderful salvation challenge to "BE READY!" We
learned such lovely things about Gerard--he was so generous with
everyone, helping so many people and so humble about it. God
helped Ken to testify about Gerald's ministry to us and everyone. He
was a vital member of our Mission family--we ALL miss him! | |
Looks Like It Never Happened .....  When we got this note from Melli last February our hearts ached for our grandson, Sammy. Melli wrote: "When Samuel came home from school, I saw his two front teeth badly chipped. He slipped on a stick near a cement step, falling on his teeth. Joy told me the dentist at RVA had fixed her chip-ped tooth, so I hope he can fix Sam's—one tooth is rather sharp and irritates his lips, and they both are so sensitive to hot tea, and cold water." Praise God for the "miracle" restoration Dr. Josiah Rich has performed! --Grandpa in Florida | |
Fun Of Sharing at Easter  Our kids had a ball coloring five dozen Easter eggs to tuck in seven big boxes of treats and other stuff for nannies fostering Rainbow kids. Lizzie, Carly & Gerard went with me in our 30- year-old Toyota Corolla, over almost impossible roads—walking to two places since we couldn’t drive up the meandering little paths with the car. In the photo, 4-year-old Anna needs some help from her older foster sister to handle their Easter box. | |
NIZI with BABY NDIHOKUBKAYO--LOVE WON OUT!  Nizigiyimana had no milk for the child so she begged others in her village, and fed the newborn cow's milk. The baby fell sick with diarrhea followed by malaria and was taken to a hospital for medicine. This is where our Social Worker, Lea, first met Nizi, who was going door to door on the hospital compound asking people for milk. By God's grace, Lea happened to be there visiting a patient and immediately called the Rainbow Centre to bring formula, bottles and other supplies for this baby. How thankful we are that God enabled us to help! | |
Johnson's New Home WE REALLY NEED A VIDEO ... ... to show you the house the Lord has provided! This
photo is taken from the corner of the grassy garden area looking at the
back of the house where all the bedrooms are. The large window by
the palm tree opens in the front room we’ll use as an office. The whole side yard is open space with grass and a cement square that is perfect for a basket-ball court, plus lovely for outdoor entertaining. Burundians cook outside and comment on how wonderful the cooking area is! (on other side of lattice fence.) I can hardly wait to get started, fixing and painting. Over Easter break when the children return from Rift Valley Academy, we'll get them busy fixing their rooms! | |
16th Parenthood Anniversary! Ken
and I became parents through adoption 16 years ago when we anxiously
opened our arms and hearts to tiny Sarah, our first baby. She's as tall
as I am now! On Sarah's 1st birthday God gave us Lizzie—then Carly, a
few months later. We thought three were all, but God kept giving. Now, we can't imagine our family without Cindy, James, Daniel, Samuel, Christopher, Angel and Andy—all miracle babies with beautiful stories of rescue and healing. We love being parents though it gets wild and crazy sometimes! Thank you for praying for the children and for us to stay strong, brave and courageous for as long as it takes! --Melli and Ken | |
Another Rainbow Centre Miracle .......  | |
Johnson Family Photo 2010 Please pray for Ken & Melli Johnson & Family as they share Jesus Christ’s redeeming love in Burundi, Central Africa. Children’s Birthdays: Sarah January 18, 1995 Lizzie October 20, 1995 Carly May 1, 1996 Cindy August 27, 1999 James January 5, 2001 Daniel July 16, 2002 Samuel July 17, 2003 Christopher March 6, 2006 Angel September 12, 2007 Andy January 1, 2008 Left to right in photo (front row): Carly, Andy, Melli, Ken, Angel and Sarah; (back row): Lizzie, Cindy, James, Danny Sammy, and Christopher. | |
| Valeria & Mugisha WHAT A GIFT… Wow! Who wouldn’t just love to look under some plants in your garden And find a real live baby doll! It’s like a fairy tale coming true! But miracles still happen—to encourage and warm our sometimes sad, cold and doubting souls. “Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God!” –Matthew 5:8 MERRY CHRISTMAS! | |
Meet Mama Sarah ...... Melli has known "Mama Sarah" since she became foster mother to baby Sarah, one of the first babies to come to the Rainbow Centre when her mother had died, and the neighbor who was keeping her became sick and could no longer take care of her. This photo was taken as Sarah (in red tank top) and her older sister, Anyela, were in their school uniforms—a khaki shirt and skirt, and sporting very short hair-do’s that the school requires. Mama Sarah has a helper to aid her in coping with little Bennie who often has seizures and flails her arms and legs. We don't know what happened to Bennie—she was brought to the Rainbow Centre when only a tiny baby by a neighbor, who said the mother had died. We've had some physical therapy for her and a whole lot of love. Thank you for your prayers for this beautiful family! | |
| Radiating God's Love . . . Meet Ruthie and Billie  Ruthie radiates love for Billy who has been transformed by it. She says, “I am so happy, so thankful to God for allowing me to be Billy’s mommy. Thank you, everyone who has helped to make this possible. May God bless you!” Our motto at the Rainbow Centre: “Welcome a child; welcome me.” --Jesus (Matthew 18:5) | |
Meet Anna and Vanessa  Meet Anna and Vanessa—the baby girl she found and brought to the Rainbow Centre's "Twizere" (Let's Have Hope) baby feeding Project. Though already breastfeeding her own son, she gladly chose to take Vanessa, also—rather unusual here in Burundi. So, we began to help her by giving "busoma", a powdered cereal (soya, corn, sorghum) she fed to her son, while she breastfed Vanessa—like having twins. Speaking of twins, malnourished mothers of twins at Kigobe Mission who can't make enough milk for both babies, are given powdered milk. We even have triplets! Thank you for helping feed our "baby boom"! | |
How Many Can Fit Inside A Grass Hat? Surprise! Actually we fit four in a hut. We were 16 people in four huts atthe annual Kumbya Missionary Retreat near Kibogora Mission in Rwanda-- a great time of spiritual and physical refreshing with missionary families from across Central Africa! The children had invited three friends to come with us along with Gioia Varenkamp, our volunteer from California. I was able to visit Kibogora again--where Africa started for me twenty years ago. It looks pretty much the same, but oh, what adventures I've had since then! Thanks to all our friends, family, and prayer partners, vitally encouraging and supporting us. --Melli  | |
See Our Little Alligator Even an alligator opens it's ruthlessly snapped tight jaws sometimes, as you can see from this photo Gioia took of the small alligator at Light and Life Park this week...but the door to fly on British Airways through London was certainly snapped shut for our six young children. That's okay, as God has made another way possible and it is all for the best. My friend in Bujumbura told me that with the elections going on there things have been somewhat tense (it's much better now) so we don't mind missing out on the reported grenade attacks. Better the 4th of July fireworks than "fireworks" in Bujumbura. Gioia with Angel and Andy  | |
Packing the Luggage in "Bigfoot" | |
 This
has been a delightful year for the children! What a positive
learning adventure for them! They are ambivalent about saying
goodbye to teachers and friends. James, who loves school here
says, "I don't want to leave." Cindy says, "I like it here, but I
miss my sisters!" Daniel says, "I can’t wait to get on the
airplane!" (He loves to fly.) So we say good-bye to our “furlough home” in Lakeland, Florida, this past year. How God has blessed us with love and caring from friends and family! It's been good. Thank you everyone! Next letter will be from Burundi, AFRICA! | |
My Name is Sammy and I am Six Years Old!”  Imagine not being able to say your name. As Samuel grows it is more and more frustrating for him to try to communicate and be like everyone else. The electronic ALT-CHAT talking machine, provided for his use by the public school, is giving him confidence. It has hundreds of possibilities for communicating with pictures that translate into a speaking voice to get his ideas across. He loves to push the button that speaks his name and tells his age. A friend wrote immediately after hearing about it asking if she could purchase one for Sam to take back to Burundi with him when we leave in June. What a wonderful answer to our need—even before we prayed about it! Thank you for your continuing prayers for Sammy and all the kids. | |
Showing Off Their New Sun Glasses We
thought you might enjoy a childhood moment with our three youngest
grandchildren “showing off” their new “cool” sun glasses.
Christopher (in the middle with the captivating smile)just turned four
last month; Angel (with the pink shades) was two last September; Andy
(flexing his muscles) turned two on New Year’s Day. These three
bundles of energy are dedicated to making sure Melli doesn’t get lonely
when Cindy, James, Danny & Sammy are in school—there is never a
dull moment when they are awake! | |
Bikes Hanging Like Bats.... What do you do to keep from stumbling over ten thrift store bicycles in various stages of “functioning decrepitude” ? Ken solved the problem(as you see in the photo) by hanging them on hooks (as Melli so aptly described) “like so many bats on a wall”. Ha! No problem directing people to their house—just look for the carport with all the hanging bikes! A neighbor gave them a basketball goal that needed only a net to make it complete (well, the plastic tank/base for holding water to stabilize the unit leaked—so Ken anchored it to a tree with ropes) and it serves as a magnet for other kids in the neighborhood after school. | |
Trophy Time at Cub Scouts Pinewood Derby  Front Row: Sammy, James & Danny Back Row: Ken & Cindy Melli
took this photo just after James and Danny were awarded trophies for
the second and third place performances of their hand-fashioned
pinewood race cars. Sammy is not yet a Cub Scout, but is
obviously happy to hold up one of the winning racers. None of the cars have "motors". The winners are the ones that respond best to the "pull" of gravity as the cars roll down a steeply inclined track. | |
“Studying At Home" while waiting… Lizzie (age 14) Sarah (age 15) Carly (age 13) Sarah
and Carly were supposed to return to school in Kenya on January 6, but
their flight was cancelled—so the airline booked them to return with
Lizzie on the 18th. Lizzie was unable to go with them on the 6th
as she and Cindy have to appear in person for final interview with US
Immigration in the process for U.S. Citizenship. So, they really
are studying at home to compensate for arriving two weeks late at Rift
Valley Academy. Thank you for remembering them in your prayers—along with the rest of the family while separated in the coming months. | |
Johnson Family Photo 2009 Left to right in photo (front row): Lizzie, James and Christopher, Samuel, Cindy, Carly, Daniel, Sarah (with Angel); (back row): Ken, Melli (with Andy). | |
Trick or Treaters WITH
A SPIRIT OF HIGH ADVENTURE Cindy & the older boys donned their
costumes ready to invade the neighborhood. Angel and Andy settled for
riding in the stroller as we set out Trick or Treating. When I
was a child, we didn’t go to such extremes... I think I colored a paper
bag and stuck it on my head with eye holes. My sister Vondria, the
artist of the family, won best costume prize when she put green oatmeal
on her face and wrapped herself in torn up sheets. My
kids asked, "Mama, what are you going as?" I replied, "I'm going as
your spacey, worn out looking mama! If costumes were being judged, I'd
probably win!" Actually, we all came back winners with lots of candy to
share with Lizzie who chose to stay at home to greet "Trick or
Treaters" coming to our home. | |
NOT THE “BEVERLY HILLBILLIES”…  Even though it may bring them to mind! Here are the “Burundi Johnsons” with the first load of household furnishings donated by friends at Light & Life Park for their rental house just two blocks from Padgett Elementary School where Cindy, James, Daniel & Samuel attend. Lizzie will walk Christopher about 3 blocks to Lake Gibson Church of the Nazarene Pre-school on the way to her middle school just across the street from the church. How about that for God’s Global Positioning System! Cindy’s arm is in a brace and sling as a result of a tumble off her bicycle—just a simple fracture that is healing nicely. Thank you for your continuing prayers! | |
| No Horsing Around at School for James This Year | |
Melli
mentioned his remarkable change of attitude, but it took the carefully
printed note written to me on the day of “Open House” to clinch it and
melt my heart: “DEAR GRANDPA, THANK YOU FOR COMING TO OPEN HOUSE! MY FAVORITE THING ABOUT 2ND GRADE IS GRAET (GREAT). I LOVE IT WHEN WE GO TO BOOK FAIRE. I HOPE YOU LIKE SITTING AT MY DESK. I CLEANED IT OUT JUST FOR YOU! I LOVE YOU! --LOVE FROM JAMES” (The photo on the merry-go-round was taken while visiting Aunt Carol and Uncle David Johnson this summer in Maryland.) | |
| The Johnson Family Parade | |
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| BELIEVE IT OR NOT—TWO ARE MISSING. . . This
photo of the “Johnson Family Parade” was taken without Lizzie (who is
joining the family in July at the end of her school term) and Sarah,
who was in town with a friend at deadline. It’s still quite a
“line-up”—and Hannah was taking the picture! In addition to bike
riding, there is swimming, miniature golf and tennis—plus the
oft-repeated question, “Grandpa, can I drive your golf cart?” And
they keep wondering when they will see an alligator! Oh, to have some of their seemingly boundless energy! | |
| WAITING FOR THE MILK… | |
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The Rainbow Centre and the Kigobe Mission are the only two places we know of that regularly distribute milk in Burundi. The Twizere program at the Rainbow Centre feeds 136 babies per month and the milk project at Kigobe Mission now feeds 140 babies per month. Yesterday I saw two tiny babies with malformation of the esophagus which hinders them from growing. I struggled with tears wondering if they would survive, and after that all my photos were blurry —I couldn’t focus my eyes or the camera. But as I was leaving, I took one last photo of a big sister waiting patiently for the milk distribution with her baby sister on her back. I’m so glad it turned out! --Melli | |
| HIP, HIP HOORAY FOR CARLY MAE! | |
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Here is Carly on her 13th birthday (May 1st), celebrating with girlfriends and her chocolate cake! Her Kirundi name, Ingabire (Inga-beer-ee), means "gift"! I remember as a young girl in South Dakota that kids made May Day baskets filled with candy and flowers. I'd take them around to my friends' houses, place the basket on the step, ring the doorbell and then run and hide. When my friend opened the door she'd look around, see me hiding and give chase. It was a fun tradition, but does anyone do this anymore? It seemed right to name our third baby girl "Carly Mae" and give her the birth date of May Day, since she was a newborn found naked, crying, and alone on the forest floor—waiting to be loved and cherished. Carly is a dear gift, and is a strong and loyal friend. | |
FIELD TRIP IN KENYA…   Not many seventh graders get to be “up close and personal” with giraffes, orphaned elephants and premature baby rhinos while on a “field trip” with their mother during midterm break. Of course, (unless you’re a “missionary kid”) not many attend boarding school fifteen hundred miles from home! Sarah and Carly have been home schooling diligently with their volunteer teacher, Christy Jones, and are excited about rejoining their classmates at RVA this fall. Not sure yet whether Cindy will be accepted, but she’s hoping! Thank you for keeping Ken, Melli and each of the children in your prayers! | |
DEDICATED YOUNG VOLUNTEERS…   Meet Wicke (Vicka) WoBner from Germany as she works in the classroom with Samuel, and Johan Andersson from Sweden who is back-packing” with Christopher. Vicka spent a year working in a girls’ school in Perth, Australia, but this is her first assignment in Africa. Johan loves Africa (his fourth time of volunteer service), enjoys learning different languages and came “hoping there is lots to do in Ken’s shop that I can help with! ”Melli’s comment, “Both of them fit into our family hullabaloo’ and are helping so much! We just love them!” | |
2008 Family Photo Left to right in family photo on other side (front row): Cindy, Sarah, Melli (with Angel), Ken (with Andy); back row): Lizzie, Carly, James, Daniel, Samuel, Christopher | |