June Update

Hello dear praying friends, we hope that another month finds you walking in the light. 

Wow, in exactly 2 weeks from today (Sunday) we will be in Kigoma. Our time here at the Language School is already coming to an end. Our time here was very profitable. Gina now feels equipped in the grammar aspect of the language but in sore need of practice with regard to the conversational aspect. We hope to get plenty of conversation practice during our six month cultural immersion time; but more about that later.

This past month has gone by really fast. At the time of our last update, Esther and I (Luke) had just embarked on a 1 week trip to Kigoma to help my parents sort, pack and move their stuff to another house. Thanks to your prayers and our Lord's help the trip was a success. My parent's were encouraged by the progress that was made in the move and now they are completely moved into their "new" house.

At the same time I was able to get a lot of other things done regarding our own plans and future. We got our visas stamped into our passports so now we are completely legal. (Although we already had our work permit, the actual visas had to be stamped into our passports in Kigoma, where we will be working). 

I also got to look at a car that is for sale. It is owned by a missionary family that just moved over to the DR Congo. It is quite old and needs various and sundry repairs, but is at a price that we can afford. We see it as a real provision from the Lord because we weren't even looking for a car but we had been praying about one. And then this opportunity arose without us even asking about it. After looking it over real well and talking with the owner we think we will go ahead and buy it. It is a 1991 Toyota Hilux Surf with a 3.0 L diesel engine. It also has 4WD, which is important due to the bad roads here. 

We also found a house in which to stay through the end of the year, for our six month cultural immersion time. It is not the Baptist house that we originally thought we would rent. This house is in a different place called Keza. It is at a former Swedish mission station, which is now run by Tanzanians. The small house is furnished with the bare essentials. There is electricity by generator a few times a week and running water but no inside toilet or shower. We'll have to figure out how to get email access.

While there, we will also be able to attend a small new church nearby, that my father helped start a few years ago. We praying that during that time we will be able to develop some deeper relationships with some Tanzanian people and really get to know their culture and language much better. We hope that this phase of preparation will lay a foundation for understanding the people here and having an effective ministry among them. So please pray that we will learn a lot during that time.

And finally, I am still preparing for the Amos course. I will not be teaching it until the end of October so I have some time but I really do need a big head start since it will all be in Swahili.

Here are some praises and prayer requests:

- Praise for the Lord's help in my parent's move, and for God's provision of a house and a car for us

- Please pray that our knowledge of the Tanzanian people and their culture and language would continue to grow daily

- Pray that God would fill us with a love for the people here and a focused vision of how best to reach them with God's life changing truth 

- And last but not least pray for our personal walk with the Lord. That we would be kept from sin and temptation and abide in Christ that we might bear much fruit.

Thank you and may God continue to bless you as He works in and through each of you as well.

With love in the Spirit,

                                         Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson