God is not human, that he should lie, not a human being, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill? Numbers 23:19
Happy New Year to all! Our reading this morning reminded us that while we make 
resolutions and try to keep them, God does not have trouble keeping resolutions. It was a good reminder that God’s promises are unchanging. Jesus is one of those promises to us – a Savior, Friend, Brother, Teacher, Everlasting Father, Counselor, Prince of Peace, Healer, Redeemer, Immanuel-God with us. God is not a liar. Though circumstances may make this harder to believe at certain times, we are grateful to look back and say at this point in our lives, “Yes! God keeps God’s promises!” We see it in each of our personal stories, how we met in Europe, our timing to live in Florida, Sophia’s birth, the lives of our family members and friends, and of course, the many details that lead us to go to Japan to work with Brazilians, Latinos and Internationals.
If you are reading this for the first time, please check out our blog and video. Click here.
For a blog post about our 3 week trip to South America, click here.
With a new year in front of us, we’d like to review 2014 in numbers:
15 – months that we have been raising support for Project Japan
695 – number of people praying and receiving this email newsletter (in English, Portuguese and Spanish)
115 – number of financial partners (this includes family, friends, churches and 
companies)
71% – the percentage we are currently at thanks to your prayers and faithful giving!
9% – the remaining percentage needed to buy tickets and visas for Japan
100% – our goal for 2015 is to be 100% pledged for our two-year budget (this includes ALL costs: flights, insurance, rent, a monthly stipend, transportation and a 10% administration fee)
4 – years (as of last September) that Johnna has been working as an executive assistant
6 – months that Fabio has been officially serving the Brazilian Baptist Church (The Grace Way) as associate pastor
18 – months that Sophia turned on December 29th
What’s next?
See below, or for a more detailed answer, go to our most recent blog post.
SPOTLIGHT CORNER!
Click here for our videos (thank you videos, trips, etc.)
PRAISE
– Thank you for being part of this journey! We could not be at this stage without you.
– A restful time at Christmas with Johnna’s family, we are grateful that Johnna’s office closed for 11 days this year!
– God’s faithful promises to us and the way God weaves a beautiful tapestry out of all of life’s experiences.
PRAYER
– Pray for our upcoming transition. As soon as we hit 80%, Johnna will give two weeks notice, we will need to get our visas, sell our car and furniture and get out of our lease early or find someone to live here.
– Pray that Fabio will have his interview for U.S. citizenship soon, so he can become a U.S. citizen before we go to Japan.
– Fabio is heading to Denver for Covenant Midwinter, the annual training and fellowship meeting of the Covenant church, at the end of January. He’ll be taking History of the Covenant Church while he is there. Pray for good connections and meaningful conversations as he is encouraged and encourages others.
Grateful to be walking with you at the start of 2015!
All the best to you and your loved ones. Know we are praying for you!
Fabio, Johnna and Sophia
