Young missionary wanted to change the world

By AMY FORLITI
Associated Press Writer

As Tiffany Johnson was growing up, she loved to go fishing with her dad.

At twilight, Tom Johnson would tell his little girl that it was time to go home, but she always suggested they wait a little longer, try a little harder.

Sure enough, the wait usually paid off and Tiff would whisper, “Dad, I got one!”

“She was always such a patient person,” Tom Johnson said Tuesday in Minneapolis. “Fishing was something that was just our time, the one special thing we did together.”

Tiffany Johnson had been working as a missionary for about three years and was at a training center in Arvada, Colo., on Sunday when a gunman entered and opened fire.

Tom Johnson said his daughter survived the ride to the hospital and tried to describe the gunman in the ambulance. But she had been shot eight times. She died on the operating table.

“I always worried about her going to Africa, and then this happens,” Tom Johnson said. “I don't know how anybody could make it through something like this without having faith.”

Family members remember the 26-year-old as a loving, generous person who dedicated her life to helping others. They said she loved working with children and wanted to have a family of her own.

She wanted “to change the world by loving on people,” her father said.

Tiffany began working with Youth With a Mission in 2006 as a student, and received additional training to become a staff person.

“She was energetic for the Lord,” Tom Johnson said.

Her work with YWAM was scheduled to end in March and she planned to return home to attend the University of Minnesota. She wanted to study international business, with a focus on Japanese culture.

The family has established a memorial fund at an Assemblies of God church to help raise money for future youth missionaries. Tom Johnson said his daughter often struggled to come up with funding for her missions, and she would have wanted to give support to others. Donations may be sent to the Tiffany Johnson Memorial Fund, Cedar Valley Church, 8600 Bloomington Ave., Bloomington, MN 55425.