An Article for Tri-County Weekly
A few weeks ago, Matthew and I met with the owner and editor of Tri-County Weekly, which is a newspaper where we live. I wrote an article for the newspaper introducing our family and thanking the community for help that we received back in June. That article has yet to be published, so I am going to share it with you today for Thanksgiving.
Meet The Johnson Family
Two years ago, shortly after Matthew and I were married, our family started building our home, and moved our business to Jameson, MO; a place we now call “Paradise.” Daviess County is our home. Ours is a second marriage and together we have eight children. What a blessing it is for them to be able to grow up here!
Matthew’s Arrest
You may have heard of my husband, Matthew Johnson, a few months ago as he was featured in the paper after his arrest at our home on June 18, 2021. Under current Missouri state law, my husband is required to register as a sex offender. On the 18th, my husband had been serving the community by teaching children about the constitution and our countries founding fathers. He was asked by the Constitution Day Camp committee to represent Patrick Henry and teach about the impact that Mr. Henry made on the birth of our country. Being very passionate about the history of The United States of America, he was excited about this opportunity.
Ready to Serve and Teach
Friday morning, Matthew arrived at Dockery Park in Gallatin, ready to teach. He and seven other men represented and taught children about George Washington, Benjamin Franklin, Samuel Adams, and others. A few hours later, while at our home, Matthew was arrested for being “present or loitering within 500 feet of a public park.” I was 38 weeks pregnant with our eighth child at the time and spent five days with the help of a lawyer and members of our community, trying to get my husband home from the Daviess Dekalb County Regional Jail.
Grateful for Our Community
I will be forever grateful to the good people in our community who supported me and our children during those days. Some of the people that reached out to serve us were people that we didn’t even know very well. Please accept our thanks for your love and kindness towards our family.
Our family loves God, each other, and all of you. We are grateful for the community that we live in and look forward to serving along side you and getting to know many of you better.
Quick Side Note
This article was written about an event that I referenced to in a post titled “Our 48 Hour Rule.” Matthew’s time in jail was one of only two times that we have been apart for more than 48 hours since we were married.
For updates on when new posts are made and for fun pictures of Paradise and our life here, follow me on Instagram @matthewswife19.
