Guess who?

The girls at 3 months old. Which one is Esther and which one is Emily?

God's protection

(note to my mom -- Don't read this)

-- (Sept. 2010) Driving from Keza to Kigoma we met a small truck on a turn in the road. Neither of us were completely on our side of the road so we quickly moved to our left (the side we were supposed to be on) only to skid on the lose gravel that sits on the compact red soil. In trying to stay on the road and not go in the ditch the vehicle over-corrected and went to the other side making a U turn in the dust of the passing truck. The small truck halted to a stop and the many passengers in the back jumped off to come help us assuming we had flipped. We drove up to meet them and assure them that we (including Esther 3, Emily 2 weeks) were OK. Thank you Lord for your protection!

-- (Oct. 2010) The plug to our toaster was beginning to smoke while plugged into the kitchen socket. Oblivious to any of this, I (Gina) decided to unplug it on my way out to hang laundry while leaving Emily in her bouncy seat. I could not pull the plug out, the plastic was melted and the 'tronic' multi-plug was beginning to deform from the heat. The Lord protected us from a possible fire by making me check on the plug at that exact moment.

-- (Dec. 2010) I (Gina) walked into the kitchen and immediately smelled the overpowering fumes of propane gas. The milk that had been left to reach a boiling point had instead boiled over and extinguished the flame leaving the burner 'on' to allow the gas to continually leak. I had been in the bedroom down the hall nursing Emily and talking with Esther for some 20 minutes while the fumes filled the kitchen. Thankfully there was no other flame on in the entire house to start an unwanted fire. The Lord protected our family once again!

Highlights from November

The boat thus far...

Grandparents with Emily and Elliot Johnson

Peter and Naomi on their wedding day

when visiting a village...

You gotta wait

and wait for your lunch

except for Emily.

December Update

Hello dear family and praying friends. 

As Christmas approaches I have been thinking about Matthew's account of Christ's birth. "God with us" was born as King of the Jews and deserves to be worshipped by all men, even powerful men from the East (the Magi). This Christmas let's remember to truly worship the One who was born to rule this world and seek to make His name known to others. Wise men still recognize this Jesus to be the King of Kings and the Lord of Lords.

This past month we attended the wedding of Peter and Naomi, a young couple at our church. This event was delayed due to a heavy rain but when it started it was celebrated with much joy, singing and dancing, and gift giving. We pray that God will continue to use them, now together, to build up His church.

We also got to go to the village of Bukuba, where I had taught a young people's seminar last month. This time the whole family was able to go and the believers were delighted to meet Gina, Esther and Emily. We went up on Saturday for a youth leader meeting and returned to Kigoma the next day, after the Sunday service. Again, we took a box of Bibles to sell at discounted price and not one was left by the time we returned. 

Lately I have been working on the sailing boat (a gaff-rigged ketch) that my father has been building for ministry on the lake. The roof structure for the cabin is finished and ready to be planked. We pray that this boat will be used to encourage the believers in the village churches along the lake.

We also had a family visit. Jesse and Joy Johnson and their 3 boys Zach, Micah, and Elliot came down from Burundi for a week so we spent time with them. 

Pray for:

- Christmas conference in the town of Lugunga that we plan to attend.

- The work that still needs to be done to finish the boat.

Thank you all, especially for your prayers. We appreciate the part that each of you plays in the work that God is doing.

In Christ,

Luke Johnson, for the rest of the family.

Ladies from the chapel visiting Gina

Emily at 7 weeks

Esther practicing her letters

November Update

Hello dear friends and family,

We are thankful to the Lord for the new life that we have in Him. I have been recently thinking of the privilege that we as believers have been given, namely to manifest the sweet aroma of the knowledge of Christ in EVERY place. (2 Cor. 2:14) Do I smell of Christ through my attitude, words and actions to the people I come in contact with every day? 

As I mentioned in our last newsletter there was a young people's seminar in the village of Bukuba on Oct. 15-17. The good hand of the Lord was with us and I taught a course on Sexual Purity which was well received. On the second day the things we talked about generated many questions and much discussion. Even the girls were asking questions, which is quite unusual for this culture, so I think it was well received. While there we also chose some leaders for the young people for the 5 churches in the north of our region. Their job is to help start youth groups in the churches and organize young people's events, seminars and activities. We hope that this will help the young people's work to go forward and that more youth will begin to attend our churches.

On Tuesday (Nov. 2) the ladies from church came to visit Gina to officially welcome us to our new house and congratulate her on the birth of Emily. It was a good time of praising the Lord for what he has done. They brought gifts (mostly fruit and vegetables) and prayed for our family and then they enjoyed some refreshments together before going home. We are thankful for their loving and joyful support. 

Tomorrow we will go with my parents to a small village church about 1 hour away. You can pray for this church in Kizenga as it has been struggling for many years and has not grown at all. There is only one elder and the church members consist mostly of his extended family.

Esther is learning her letters and enjoys practicing her Swahili at church and with 'mama Gracie' that comes to clean twice a week. Emily is now 2 months old and gracing us with her smiles and longer nights. =)

We thank the Lord for all you who faithfully support us in prayer. We know that our Great God delights to work through your petitions on our behalf.

You can specifically pray for:

- The youth work in the churches. That it would move forward through the efforts

 of the newly chosen leaders.

- The small struggling church of Kizenga; that it would grow.

- Spiritual discernment for us. That we would focus our efforts on what 

  God wants us to be doing, and not our own plans.

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther, and Emily Johnson

October Update

Hello dear family and praying friends. We hope you are all doing well. 

The Lord continues to give us opportunities to minister. Last weekend (Oct. 1-3) I, Luke, attended a Seminar/Evangelistic Conference in a village called Munzeze, about 2 hours North-East of Kigoma. On the way there I picked up 2 Tanzania brothers who were going to be the evangelistic speakers. I taught a seminar on the book of Galatians Friday and Saturday mornings, and in the 

afternoons and at night we had evangelistic meetings outside.

What does an evangelistic meeting look like here? I thought you'd ask, so if you'll allow me, I'll try and give you a little picture of one. It means a long introduction where each special guest must be recognized and welcomed personally, as well as given the chance to greet everyone. This is followed by a LOT of singing. Each church choir that was invited to the conference (3 in this case) gets to sing a total of 4 songs each during the service, and then of course there is a lot of congregational singing of choruses and a few songs out of the songbook. And finally you have an evangelistic message that could be anywhere from 1-2 hours long. Then you have an altar call followed by announcements, and finally the closing prayer.

This is what the afternoon services looked like, and then you have a slightly shortened version of the same thing at the night services beginning at 8PM and ending anytime between 11PM and midnight. Needless to say I was pretty tired after the weekend, but in spite of this, the Tanzanians always seem to enjoy the fellowship, and especially the choir songs. The choirs are aided by a generator to power their keyboard, 2 electric guitars, and bass guitar. The choir members all do synchronized actions and steps (or should I just say they dance?) to the beat of the music. There always seems to be technical problems during their performances, such as excessive feedback, but they just keep going in spite of the unbearable high pitch squeal from the speakers ...

On Sunday we had a regular service outside and I preached a message on knowing God. During the weekend Gina stayed home with the 2 girls and I was very happy to see them at around 7:30 PM Sunday night after dropping off all the people that had crammed into the car. Was there any lasting fruit from this conference? Only God knows for certain. After one of the evangelistic messages there were a few professions of faith but I don't think there was very good follow-up by the leaders of the local church. One encouraging factor was that the people seemed to be very attentive during the seminar and they had a fair amount of good questions during the question times at the end of each session. Also I took 23 Bibles and was able to sell all of them at a reduced cost. The believer's were very eager to get them so we pray that God's Word will dwell richly in them. Is there a better way of conducting these evangelistic conferences? Probably, but the hard thing is getting them to think outside the box. That's how they have always done them, and that's how everyone else does them so why change now?

These are just some of the questions that we deal with on the mission field so we would appreciate your prayers for wisdom and discernment each day concerning all these issues, and that God would always be glorified through us.

On the home front we continue to adjust to having a newborn baby. Gina of course, cannot get a good night's rest at this stage, so pray for strength for her. And then it is hard to get the housework done with a talkative and active Esther and a hungry or fussy baby who needs a diaper change ...  Meanwhile I am trying to fix the leaky roof before the rains come and keep up with the little problems that the car keeps reminding me of, and administrative things and ... and then I wonder why I don't seem to have enough time to prepare for the next seminar. So this is when we learn to depend on God and draw our strength from Him. The next seminar will be for young people in the village of Bukuba next weekend (Oct. 15-17). Please pray for this young people's seminar as I will be teaching part of it.

We truly are blessed and privileged to serve our Lord and we wish we could do more for Him, but we hope we are faithful in all things including the "small" things. 

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther, and Emily Johnson

September Update

Emily Jane born Sept. 5th 2010

Esther

Esther meeting Emily

Family of 4

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

We're headed back to Kigoma after a wonderful time in Moshi, in northern Tanzania. The Rea's have been so good to us during our month-long stay with them, and Esther will miss the fun she's had with Uncle William and Aunt Eunice. We go back with 2 kids this time, making it a new experience for us. 

Luke taught two courses at Berea Bible College: Amos and History of Salvation. The courses went well even though there were only 2 students in the class. At this year's meeting of church leaders the issue of poor attendance was discussed so pray that next year there will be much better attendance at the Bible College.

On our drive down we hope to visit the believers at Kaziramihunda and Kasanda once again (where we lived for 8 months last year). Soon after getting back to Kigoma there will be an Evangelistic conference in one village (Munzeze) and a Young people's meeting planned in another village (Bukuba). You can pray for the ministry that will go on in each of these places.

That's all the news for now. May Christ continue to build His church all over the world.

In His Service, 

Luke, Gina, Esther, and Emily Johnson

August Update

Hope of the Nations' helicopter

Luke on his ride

Luke and Gina in Burundi

Dear friends and family,

After 3 days of uneventful travel (praise the Lord) we made it safely to the northern city of Moshi. William and Eunice Rea have been so kind to let us stay at their place for our extended visit.  Today Luke began his first day of teaching at the Berea Bible College and will continue to teach for the next month. This week he teaches on the book of Amos (same as last year) and in two weeks he'll teach a shorter 20-lesson version of the Firm Foundations. He has other speaking engagements in that in-between week so he'll be busy preparing during his free time.

Last month Luke got to ride in a helicopter for the first time. He was asked to help as an interpreter for a medical visit to a village that has no road access. We took a trip to Burundi and had a good visit with Luke's brother Jesse and family, and got a glimpse of their world during our week stay. Luke helped them by organizing one of the storage rooms. Since then Luke has been preparing for his classes and Gina has been getting things ready for the baby's arrival.

Please pray for:

- Strength for Luke as he teaches every day

- Peace for Gina in the last month of pregnancy

With love in Christ,

Gina, Luke and Esther

Just Keeps Growing

Dear friends and family,

We had a safe trip to Mwanza (northern Tanzania) and back. We barely had time to dust ourselves off after the first day of travel when we visited the church at Kasanda. They had a meal ready for the entire church and then a meeting where Luke spoke. They eagerly bought the few books that Luke brought. The following morning we made our way to Kazira and enjoyed a great time of fellowship with our friends. One man from the previous church wanted to join us for the second meeting so he got to hear Luke's message twice!

Our two nights were spent in our old little house at Keza. It was neat to visit everyone again and get free meals! Esther disappeared for hours on end, she was so excited to be back with her playing buddies. I (Gina) even got to see a World Cup soccer game on "generator night" with 50+ people crowded in front of the solitary TV. 

The Lord's protection of us was evident during our time at the big city of Mwanza. Thankfully nothing was stolen, only broken locks in an attempt to get something out of the car. Esther enjoyed the company of her uncle Ben on our long 13 hour drive back to Kigoma.

Lord willing we will drive back up north in a month, this time to Moshi (at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro) for Luke to teach at the Berea Bible College once again. But before we go there we want to visit Luke's brother Jesse and his family in Burundi, only an 8 hour drive from Kigoma.

Please pray for:

-Health and energy for Gina during the last 2 months of pregnancy

-Luke to have time in preparing for teaching at Berea Bible College

-Safety (and comfort=)) in travel

With love in the Spirit,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

With Dr. Steven and his family at Keza

Esther at 3 years and 6 months

Gina at 7 months

June Update

Dear friends and family,

We finally moved into our own place on May 28 and are getting settled in little by little. There is always more to do to make the place more like home. We had a local carpenter make us a dining room table with chairs and just recently picked those up. Before that we were eating our meals at a small desk. Our living room consists of 2 wooden benches and a wooden chair (no sofas yet). Gina cooks on an electric hot plate and uses the washer at my parent's house to do laundry.  But I won't bore you with our lists of "To do's" and "To get". 

We visited one of the local churches down south on the coast of the lake called Mwakizega. We travelled with one of the Tanzanian elders from the church here in Kigoma town and it was a blessing to have him along. I had the privilege of preaching on Rom. 3:19-28. 

The church was made up of more women than men and there is only one elder there. They have been having work days to gather piles of stones to sell for building and we have helped them buy some tools for that. We also left them some discounted Bibles which they will pay for later.

Lord willing we will make a trip to Mwanza (northern Tanzania) in a week. We hope to buy some of the things that are on our "To get" list. On the way there we will stop for 2 days at Keza Swedish Mission (where we were for 8 months) and visit the believers at Kaziramihunda (Sunday morning) and Kasanda (Sunday afternoon). 

Esther is our chatter-box, and always full of questions. With her books and toys finally unpacked she is enjoying all the "new" stuff she has. She dances, jumps and runs around while singing during our evening family devotions and continually asks to pray before meals. She is very excited about being a big sister and a helper for mommy. I (Gina) am getting bigger and more uncomfortable by the day. Had a first ultrasound this last week and everything looked great. 

Please pray for:

-Safe trip to Mwanza and back

-Good visit with the believers at Kazira and Kasanda

-Luke's preparation for teaching at the Bible College in August

In His Grace,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

May Update

Dear praying friends, we hope you are all well and walking close to the Lord.

Last time we wrote we mentioned that we were going to have the Annual General Meeting for the CMML missionaries in Tanzania.  That went well and we were able to hear reports of what God has been doing in different parts of the country.

House

We also mentioned that God provided a house for us to rent.  After the missionary meeting was over we have been been working to get the house in shape for us to move in.  Plumbing, electrical, painting, fixing doors and windows and screens etc ...  We have not yet moved into the house but we're getting close to being done.  There always seems to be one more thing ...  It will be nice to be able to unpack and organize much of our stuff which has been in storage the whole time since we arrived. Gina is half way there with the pregnancy and Esther eagerly awaits a baby sister. We'll just find out when the time comes. =)

Ministry

We have already been invited to visit a church down south on the 16th. of this month.  We have been trying to learn from my parents as much as we can about the churches in the area,  and of course we plan to visit and help nurture them in due time as the Lord leads.  There are 20 churches total in the Kigoma and Rukwa regions that we hope to help minister to.  Meanwhile we can learn about them and pray for them.  Many of them have various problems.  They lack good teaching and have no resources, so we would appreciate it if you would pray with us for these churches and their spiritual growth. 

There have been 2 deaths that have affected us recently; one an old man from the church whose funeral we attended and the other a young muslim man (Amisi Omari) who was a mechanic that often worked on my Dad's car.  Amisi collapsed suddenly while walking in town and died soon after arriving at the hospital.  My Dad had often witnessed to him but he had made no profession of faith, to our knowledge.  This was a solemn reminder of the brevity of life and the fact that death can come so suddenly.  Please pray for Amisi's muslim family that they would turn to the Lord in this difficult time. 

Well that's all the news for now.  Thank you for your prayers and gifts.  May the Lord continue to bless and use each of you where you are.

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther, and ? Johnson

Little One on the Way

Esther at Lake Tanganyika Hotel.

I (Gina) am 22 weeks pregnant and feel the baby moving quite a bit. I am unable to make sudden movements, like standing up quickly or changing positions while lying down. Pulled out the maternity clothing I have, there are a few of my regular items that I can still wear, things that are stretchy or baggy. Esther likes to ask about the baby and touch my growing belly. She hasn't felt the baby yet, but she thinks she has. She's convinced it's a girl, but we don't know yet. Maybe in the next month I'll get an ultrasound, but we don't want to find out the gender until the baby is born.

Welcome to Kigoma

Missionaries (with CMML) from the north of Tanzania came and we were all together for about 3 days. We had the required meetings on the first day, but the rest of the time was spent in sweet fellowship and sharing about our different ministries.

(from left to right: Harry & Ruth Johnson, Brook Ford, Louise Smith, Eunice & William Rea, Ron Cunningham, Esther & Gina Johnson, and Christina Heckman.)

The town of Kigoma is next to Lake Tanganyika.

Easter 2010

We have been in Kigoma for about two weeks now. Jesse, Joy and family came down from Burundi for a week-long break. Uncle Ken's three oldest daughters came along as well. The cousins (Esther, Zach and Micah) had lots of fun playing in the big house and in the water whenever they got a chance. Grandma made sure they had an easter egg hung in the yard. It was a full house with everyone here, we tried to not step on eachother's toes! At meal times there were 14 of us, and the preparations for a meal was no easy task.

Esther, Micah and Zach hiding in the linen closet.

April Update

New Beginnings

Dear praying friends and family,We said good-bye to the dear brothers and sisters of Kaziramihunda. They provided a meal for the church on our last Sunday together and we enjoyed sweet fellowship one last time. Luke was able to finish the Firm Foundations Course and also finish teaching thru the book of Galatians.Now we are safely in Kigoma town, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika. Our purpose in coming here was to establish a more central base from which we can go out and help teach, train, and provide resources to the village churches in the surrounding area.

We began searching for a house to rent and found many of them unfinished or  not ready for moving into.  Then God opened the door for a small cottage-likehouse that is on a former Baptist compound. There are some minor repairs and painting to do, as well as getting appliances and furniture, but otherwise it is available for us to move into right now. Thank you for those of you who prayed for us regarding this. We have already made arrangements with the landlords and we praise the Lord for His provision for us at this point in time.

Right now Jesse and Joy Johnson and family are visiting from Burundi and we are all staying at Harry and Ruth's place so they have a full house. After the Burundi folks return the Annual General Meeting of CMML missionaries of Northern Tanzania will take place here in Kigoma. Pray for those traveling and that all that is discussed and decided will expand God's kingdom here on earth. 

Then we hope to work on getting the house ready and moving in. We appreciate your prayers during this transition time. Oh, and one more thing that we forgot to mention last time is that Gina is pregnant and due the beginning of September, so we could use your prayers in that too. =)

Thanks for all of you who remember us in your prayers regularly. We remember you as well and thank the Lord for all of you who help hold up our weak arms, as Aaron and Hur did with Moses, so that God can win the victory here!

Serving a RISEN Savior,

Luke, Gina, Esther and ?  Johnson

Saying good-bye to Dr. Steven and his family

Ladies from the church on our last Sunday

The Scarf

Esther must wear her scarf wherever she goes. It accompanies whatever outfit she has on. When at home she spends hours adjusting her baby doll on her back and tying the baby on with her scarf, just the way the women here carry their babies. Her scarf is the one thing I allow her to take to church, and since her baby stays home she pretends she has a baby.  She will try and wear her scarf like a skirt, tucking it  in on the side. Otherwise she'll wrap it around her head and ask me to help her tie it. She doesn't consider herself properly dressed if she doesn't have her scarf, even when she's on her way to visit her friends, she must have it.

Esther following behind as we head to a Baptism site.

March Update

Dear praying friends, another month has gone by and it is time to write again and let you all know how we're doing.

There has been a lot of rain recently, which is good for the people's crops.  The people have started harvesting their beans, corn, and sweet potatoes. We have gotten several gifts of sweet potatoes and corn and are trying to figure out what to do with so much of it. 

Last Sunday we visited the Kasanda church for the last time before we leave. There are a few more people attending the church now, so they are slowly growing. They plan to have a baptism on Easter Sunday. They built a small stick frame and are now meeting under the tarp we got for them. They would like to purchase a small piece of land closer to the center of the town, but of course they do not have the means. We are still praying about that.

Kasanda Chapel

We only have about 3 weeks left before we move to Kigoma. I will be preaching every Sunday at Kazilamihunda until we leave, in order to finish up a series on Galatians that I started. I continue to teach the Firm Foundations course. We only have 7 lessons left before we're finished. The church is planning some farewell "thing" for us that we are not supposed to know about. 

Esther really loves to play with her friends and comes back to the house stained red from the soil. She is really picking up on Swahili and even some words in Kiha, the tribal language around here. She will be really sad to leave her friends here when the time comes.

Prayer requests:

- That we would finish strong here and make the most of the rest of our time.

- That God would provide a place for us to live in Kigoma that will be suitable for us  and our ministry.

- For wisdom as we become involved in ministry there in Kigoma.

In Christ,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

Feasting on Flying Termites

Waiting patiently for the flying termites....

De-winging the termites...

The sum of our collection...

Crunchy and a bit salty, mmm!

February Update

Still learning

Hello dear praying friends, 

We are thankful to God for the work that He is pleased to do through us. We count it a privilege to be in Tanzania. We continue to LEARN from day to day more of God's calling for us here.

Gina and Esther continue to learn and practice their Swahili with the people around here, and I continue to learn new words as I prepare my messages.

I am still busy teaching the Firm Foundations course on Wednesdays and Saturdays each week. We still have about 2 months to go before we're finished.

On Tuesday I taught a one time class on baptism to the candidates, and one of the elders and I talked with each of them individually, as there is often a lot of confusion regarding why we baptize. We had the baptism today (Sat. Feb. 6), and six believers were baptized. We have been pleased to see the slow but steady growth of this local church during the time we have been with them. All glory be to God!

We visited the new church in Kasanda 2 Sundays ago and have agreed to help them get a tarp, since they currently meet under a mango tree. It is rainy season right now and they usually have to cancel their meetings when it rains, since their homes aren't big enough for them to meet in. 

The believers at Kasanda have also asked for us to teach the Firm Foundations course to them. At this point we can't do this, even though we do have a desire to help each church get firmly grounded in this way. Pray that God would show us when and how to go about doing this.

Prayer for:

-  God's Spirit to open spiritually blind eyes to the gospel through the teaching.

-  Our move to Kigoma at the end of March, and for suitable housing there.

-  Transition into the ministries in Kigoma and wisdom with involvement.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. May the Lord richly bless each one of you in your own service for Him.

In Christ,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

Christmas in Kigoma

A day trip to a white rocky beach north of Kigoma...

Esther showing off her new hairstyle....

Esther's figured out that Christmas involves gifts...

Drilling a well at the Chapel in Kigoma ...

January Update

Dear family and friends,

First of all we would like to wish you all a blessed New Year. Our wish for  each of you this year is that you continue to grow in your knowledge of our Savior and become more like Him.

As we think back on this past year we can say that it has been one of many changes, yet through it all we have seen God's hand at work and experienced His faithfulness. When we look at the great task that has been entrusted to us we cannot help but feel inadequate, but we know that our "adequacy is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5) and so we persevere. God's infinite power is at work in and through us, frail clay vessels that we are. But this is so that all the glory will go to God (2 Cor. 4:7).

We would ask that your prayers for us this year would be directed toward our ownspiritual growth and development. With the changes and the pressures and the responsibilities and the requests for help, we can easily see how little the fruit of the Spirit is displayed in our lives. But we are called by God to display the glorious attributes of His Spirit in EVERY situation in our lives, not just when it is easy. This becomes even more important when God's reputation is at stake because we are His servants and representatives. We lament the fact that our sinful flesh seems to often veil "Christ in us" (Col. 1:27).

So would you please pray that we would display the Spirit's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). And would you also pray that we would have the "wisdom from above" (James 3:17) for each situation that we are faced with this coming year.

Ministry (God's work through us) can only prosper insomuch as we are walking in close fellowship with Him and in obedience to His Word.

We thank God for all of you that pray for us.

With love in the Spirit,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson