Our Second Half Life Begins

A letter from Charles Johnson preparing to serve in Zambia

November 2015

In Falling Upward: Spirituality for the Two Halves of Life, author and Franciscan priest Richard Rohr describes the two parts of one’s spiritual life.  In the first half, Rohr tells us, we focus on establishing our identity, our career, our family and friends.  During this time we are establishing a routine for our lives.  And then something unforeseen occurs, we suffer a loss of some type, a crisis beyond anything we could ever imagine.  Maybe a job is lost, a house burns down, a serious illness occurs, or as was our case, the death of our son Holden.  Rohr observes that—from this point on—the second half of life may or may not happen.  You can avoid it if you choose, and stay stuck where you are, but we can also use the experience of our loss to find deeper spiritual meaning in our lives and as a result find ourselves falling upward into the second half of life. 

October 4th Commissioning at our home church, Northwood Presbyterian, San Antonio, TX

I’m reminded of II Corinthians 12: 9: “He said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is made perfect in weakness.’ So, I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may dwell in me.”

On October 4, 20 months of stress seemed to melt away when we were commissioned as Presbyterian mission co-workers during worship at our church, Northwood Presbyterian, in San Antonio.  As quite frequently happens during sacred moments in our church, the children were invited to be a part; they encircled us and prayed for us during the children’s message.  We’ll always remember when Pastor Traci Smith, former pastor Frank Seaman, the elders, and all of our friends came up, laid hands on us and prayed for us.  The sound of all of their voices lifted in individual prayers for us was one of those thin places where God is so very close.

Finally October 12 arrived and we traveled to Louisville to begin our three-week orientation for new mission co-workers.  Upon our arrival we met Reverend Cathy Chang, her husband, Juan Lopez, and their beautiful daughter, Aurélie, who will be moving to the Philippines, where they will be working with the issue of human trafficking and slavery.  We’ve also come to know Reverend David Cortes-Fuentes and his wife, Josey Saez Acevedo, who will be moving to Cuba, where David will teach New Testament and Greek at the Evangelical Theological Seminary, and Josey will work in Christian Education.  Donna Sloan will be serving as a long-term volunteer and will teach at a seminary in Malawi, near where we will be living in Eastern Zambia.  Over the past three weeks we’ve become family, and each night we looked forward to Aurélie’s hugs at bedtime.

Fall Colors at Mt. St. Francis where our orientation was held.

During orientation we stayed at Mount Saint Francis Center for Spirituality, a Franciscan retreat center across the Ohio River in southern Indiana.  Most of our training took place there, with occasional trips into the Presbyterian Center in Louisville.  When we arrived, the leaves were just beginning to show their fall colors; over these three weeks they exploded into a beautiful mixture of orange, red and gold.  It was a sight to behold for Texans who might need to wear a sweater every third year.

Although we each come from different places and backgrounds, our stories share many similarities.  We’ve shared and laughed around the table as we’ve learned about each other and from each other.

During the first week of orientation the program focused on employment and policy matters.  In week two we began to delve deeply into cultural intelligence and telling our story, as we prepared to visit churches and other groups during our interpretation assignment.  On Thursday of week two Melissa and I shared our call story with World Mission staff in the chapel. Although we were nervous, we made it through!  It was truly an emotional afternoon as we listened to each other’s stories, hearing how God has been working in each of our lives, calling us to this place.    

Newly Commissioned Mission Co-Workers. Left to Right: Cathy Chang, Juan Lopez, Donna Sloan, Charles Johnson, Josey Saez, Jack Cormack, Melissa Johnson, and David Cortes.

Over the weekend after week two we participated in an “Experiential Learning” exercise in which each new mission co-worker family stayed with a family from another culture.  Wesley and Sussan Lasu, and their children, Rocky, Ladou, Exile, and Sophie, hosted Melissa and me.  Wesley and Sussan are refugees from South Sudan, having fled the war there in the 1990s.  We were humbled by their gracious hospitality.  We learned of their courageous flight from Sudan to Cairo before they were ultimately granted asylum in the U.S.  Here they are active as leaders in the Louisville South Sudanese Community.  When our weekend with their family was over we had made new friends, and we left with a new understanding of the difficulties faced by refugees in our country.

As we began our final week we continued to focus on cross-cultural mission, conflict resolution, and theology and culture.  As we discussed these topics in depth, our experiences in Congo—including some failings—provided great insight into how we might do things differently in Zambia.  I am reminded of a quote from Paolo Freire that our leader, Del Braaksma, shared with us in week one:  An experience not reflected on is not learning.

The highlight of the final week was the worship service in the chapel at the Presbyterian Center, where we were commissioned once again.  The sound of the hymns in the chapel was beautiful, as was the message, delivered by Greg Allen-Pickett.  Participating in this service with our new co-worker friends was especially meaningful to us and will be remembered forever.

As we think back about the beautiful transformation of the Fall leaves that took place while we were at orientation, we are reminded of the changes that occurred in each of us.  We arrived a little uncertain, still stressed by all the personal matters wrapped up just prior to our arrival.  We left orientation better equipped and even stronger in our faith, guided by Christ to new places, cultures and people, and with new friends—family, really.

We ask that you pray for and with all of us as we continue this journey.  There are lots of unknowns ahead and we all need your prayers and support.  We ask you to consider making a commitment to support us financially for our four-year term.   Thank you!  More information on how to give can be found at the bottom of this page.

May the peace of Christ be with you.
Charles & Melissa Johnson

The 2015 Presbyterian Mission Yearbook for Prayer & Study, Zambia,p. 154, 155