海角视频

Mary Johnson鈥檚 first international mission trip to Mexico led her to change her major 鈥� and marked a turning point in her life. 

During spring break of her freshman year at 海角视频, Mary and the Korean Club partnered with Maranatha Volunteers International to help build a church in Guam煤chil, Sinaloa, in Northwestern Mexico. She said she had several 鈥渞eal conversations鈥� with local residents about how wonderful it is to work for God and decided to switch her major from liberal studies to Spanish. Another memory from the trip made an indelible impact. 

鈥淚 will never forget that last night, as we fellowshipped together in the newly built church, a young girl came up to me and said in Spanish, 鈥楾here will always be a place for you in Guam煤chil,鈥欌�� Mary recalls. 鈥淲hile I have yet to return to that little church we built, there has always been a place for me in missions.鈥� 

Indeed, since that trip nearly two decades ago, Mary has served on almost 70 mission trips locally and worldwide. She first graduated from PUC in 1999 with a degree in Spanish and later earned her master鈥檚 degree in education in 2001. After college, she spent a year as a missionary in Puerto Rico as a 4th-6th grade social studies teacher. Mary even took a year off from her career as a high school Spanish teacher to go on as many mission trips as possible. She went on 18 trips in just 13 months. 

Nearly half of Mary鈥檚 trips and projects have been with Maranatha, and she鈥檚 come to feel like the members - from all over the world - are family. 

The leadership of Steve Case, the long-time director of many multi-group and summer family projects for the organization, has particularly impacted Mary. She described Case as very organized, patient, congenial, and composed, but most of all, submissive to the Lord鈥檚 will. Through his example, she learned that God is the true leader of any mission trip, and it鈥檚 most important to surrender to His leading. 

Case says Mary鈥檚 strong commitment to Christ stands out. Mary 鈥渄evotes her life to loving God and serving others,鈥� he says. 鈥淪he鈥檚 a woman of conviction and action that matches her conviction.鈥�

One of the best things about Mary is that she makes things fun. Ask anyone what鈥檚 most memorable about Mary, and high on that list is her wonderful laugh. 

鈥淚t鈥檚 spontaneous,鈥� Case says, 鈥渁nd it jump-starts a group or changes a potentially tense moment into a fun time.鈥� 

Mary loves mission work for many reasons - for the people she meets and the experience of being in other cultures and countries. But, she says, there is one sole purpose for all of her trips - spreading the gospel around the world to hasten Jesus鈥� return. 

For Mary, mission trips remind her that everywhere she goes is a mission field. While doing errands near her school in Brentwood or home in Antioch, California, she leaves tracts and magazines at gas pumps, ATMs, or on car door handles. 

Along with her sister, Angel Johnson, 鈥�93, who has also served as a missionary on nearly a third of her trips, Mary enjoys volunteering locally. They鈥檝e worked at the Concord Seventh-day Adventist Church food bank, sent shoe box gifts through Operation Christmas Child, and prepared care packages for delivery to missionary friends in the Philippines. 

Mary鈥檚 mission work has ranged from construction projects and landscaping to translating and even preaching. In addition to Maranatha, she鈥檚 worked with Build and Restore, The Quiet Hour, Broken Chains for Humanity, and Amazing Facts, among many others.

But where she finds the most joy is working with children鈥檚 ministries. 

Children鈥檚 ministries usually include leading Vacation Bible School, which Mary does, but Case says she does so much more. She has the 鈥渁ttitude and practice of jumping right into things,鈥� which he says results in lots of 鈥渁ctivity and progress.鈥� Mary always immerses herself in neighborhoods, schools, homes, and parks - wherever there are kids. 

Mary鈥檚 last meeting with every group of children 鈥� no matter what country she is in 鈥� is the same. Together, she and the children make crowns and talk about heaven. She reminds them no matter where they are in the world -be it Zambia, Mexico, or the Philippines - they will all see Jesus coming at the same time. 

With tears in her eyes, Mary tells them she looks forward to meeting them in the air on that glorious day - a day when her lifelong mission is fulfilled and she and so many others she鈥檚 ministered to will go home to live with Jesus forever. 

Here are three of Mary鈥檚 favorite memories, in her own words, from her children鈥檚 ministries around the world: 

鈥淚 led children鈥檚 ministry there for hundreds of kids at a time - ranging from preschool to sixth grade - all in the school auditorium. I taught them about the power of prayer - that it鈥檚 a two-way street. It鈥檚 not just us talking to God; we need to listen too. So when we prayed, we had some moments of silence to hear God speak. Even with hundreds of kids, you could hear a pin drop as we listened for God鈥檚 voice.鈥� 

鈥淚 did a children鈥檚 program while the adults were in the evangelistic series. I had a small group, so I could get to know the kids. At the end of the week, a child gave me a teddy bear. At first, I did not want to accept the gift, but the child insisted. I didn鈥檛 want the child to miss out on the blessing of giving, so I finally accepted it and have kept it to this day.鈥�

鈥淚 just fell in love with this 3-year-old little boy. He loved to sing with me and sit on my lap at church. However, I do not speak Visayan, and he didn鈥檛 know very much English. He would talk to me in Visayan, and I would talk to him in English. Then one day, an older child told him, 鈥楾eacher Mary only speaks English.鈥� His eyes brightened, and he began exclaiming 鈥楧olphin!鈥� Doggie!鈥� and other words he knew in English. I long for the day when I will see him again, and we will speak the same language - the language of heaven.鈥�