EP #42 - From Foster Care to Ukraine, One Yes at a Time w/ Jed Johnson | Plain Values

Marlin Miller sits down with Jed Johnson, founder of Wide Awake International, to hear how God led one ordinary family from Alaska to the front lines of caring for boys with disabilities in Ukraine. Jed grew up as a pastor’s kid in Alaska. When he was 6, his father suffered a devastating double stroke. Life changed dramatically. The strong, adventurous dad became someone who had to relearn almost everything. The family moved to Montana, faced financial hardship, and leaned deeply on faith. Those early years taught Jed resilience, compassion, and the reality that God is present even when life is hard. As an adult, Jed met his wife Kim, a nurse whose childhood dream was to care for orphans. Together they became foster parents to medically fragile babies while serving in their local church. Then God began stirring their hearts toward Ukraine. What started as an adoption attempt eventually led them to move their entire family there, right before the revolution. Jed and Kim have walked alongside boys like Boris, Anton, and Ruslan… young men who came from institutions carrying deep trauma. The work has been incredibly difficult: sleepless nights, aggression, medical needs, and the daily challenge of replacing years of harm with consistent love and safety. Through it all, Jed emphasizes one simple strategy God gave him: “Put one foot in front of the other and say yes to the next thing.” Today their homestead outside Kiev includes a garden, horses for therapy, and a growing community of Ukrainians carrying the work forward. Jed’s story is a beautiful reminder that obedience often looks like small, faithful steps into the unknown… and God meets us there. This conversation encapsulates what we hope to do here with the Plain Values Podcast, telling stories that matter and bring us closer to the table. If this conversation filled your coffee cup, we would humbly invite you to leave a thoughtful comment below and please. The Like and Subscribe buttons help more friends find this episode. We’re always looking for more friends. Find out more about Jed at: https://wideawakeinternational.org Learn more about Plain Values at https://plainvalues.com Timestamps: 00:00 - Introduction 01:49 - Jed's Childhood 04:15 - Meeting Kim & Working with Refugees 08:12 - Fostering Medically Fragile Babies 15:06 - Dad's Life-Altering Stroke 26:07 - Meet the Johnson Family 35:43 - The Reality of Trauma 41:27 - Aging Out of Orphanages 45:57 - A Failed Adoption & God’s Bigger Vision 01:01:14 - Wrestling with God's Goodness 01:11:52 - Replacing Trauma with Love 01:21:43 - Building the Ukrainian Homestead 01:31:58 - Rapid Fire Questions 01:33:43 - How to Pray for Jed 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 🤝THIS EPISODE’S PREMEIR SPONSOR: Seed to Spoon Summit Family-owned and hosted in the heart of Ohio Amish Country, the Seed to Spoon Summit brings together the best voices in homesteading for two inspiring days of practical teaching, hands-on workshops, and real community connection. Featuring Joel Salatin, Justin Rhodes, Sally Fallon Morell, and many more… This is where homesteaders come to learn, grow, and get fired up about building resilient, abundant lives. June 17–18, 2026 at Timbercrest Camp & RV Park in Walnut Creek, Ohio. Learn more: https://seedtospoon.life 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 🤝THIS EPISODE’S FEATURED SPONSOR: Azure Standard Talk about a mission-oriented company; our friends at Azure Standard set the standard of excellence when it comes to sourcing nutritious food for your family. Learn more: https://www.azurestandard.com 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 🤝TODAY’S FEATURED SPONSOR: Kentucky Lumber Our friend Derek Guyer at Kentucky Lumber is the type of guy that you want to support. He is a highly-skilled tradesman who exemplifies excellence in everything he does. Kentucky Lumber is an independent lumber yard that truly does world class work! Learn more: http://www.drywallhaters.com 🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 A great way to show support is to hit LIKE / SUBSCRIBE on this video, and most importantly, join the conversation in the COMMENTS below. We’d love to hear from you. 👉We have a beautiful magazine called Plain Values, sent quarterly ($29/year): https://plainvalues.com/pv-magazine-yt 👉To receive our FREE Plain Values emails: https://plainvalues.com/ 👉To find us on Instagram:   / plainvalues   👉To find us on Facebook:   / plainvalues   🔹🔹🔹🔹🔹 In 2023, we joined forces with Homestead Living. There’s some pretty cool stuff going on there, as well. 👉To subscribe to our stunning Homestead Living magazine ($29/year): https://hmln.co/hlm-pvp-yt 👉To receive our FREE Homestead Living emails: https://homesteadliving.com/ 👉To find us on Instagram:   / homesteadlivingmagazine   👉To find us on Facebook:   / homesteadlivingmagazine   🎵All music by Sam Burchfield (intro) Sam Burchfield - Hold My Hand Recorded Live - Plain Values - Winesburg, OH Learn more about Sam: https://www.samburchfield.com/ #plainvalues #jedjohnson