Layla Nyota Epp

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Daniel and Lisa Epp! They are now parents to a little girl named Layla Nyota.

Layla was born in Winnipeg, Canada

On April 26, 2012; 8:01 pm

And weighted 8 lb. 3 oz.

Newest little Epp.

We are praising the Lord for a safe delivery and for a beautiful, healthy baby. Good job Lisa!
Now the real work begins. (smiley)

Annual General Meeting

This past week we had the 2012 AGM (Annual General Meetings) for CMML missionaries in Tanzania.

We enjoyed a relaxing 3-night stay at a nice hotel at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The grounds were so pretty with flowers and trees that they seem to be in perpetual bloom in that fertile land.

Our room during our stay at the "Marangu Hotel".

We got a peek at Mt. Kilimanjaro during a sunny break one afternoon.

Mawenzi peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Those present were: Steven and Gill Davies from Dar Es Salaam, Ron and Maria Cunningham from Moshi, Johnsons from Kigoma, and William and Eunice Rea from Moshi.

(Pictured below from left to right.)

Attendees at the AGM 2012

Each couple had the opportunity to share about the previous year of ministry in their corner of Tanzania. It is always encouraging to hear the reports and to then spend time praying for one another.

Our girls were the only kids and had to sit tight during the meetings, or play by themselves quietly. However, the afternoons were free for swimming and playing and they enjoyed the extra attention from so many nice adults.

Emily at the pool, happy to run around a bit.

Our Late March Update

Greetings to all our dear praying friends & family. It has been a while since some of you have heard from us. Sorry about that.

The month of March has been quite busy for us. With a week to recover from the previous seminar and conference we headed up north to Lake Victoria (11-hr. drive) to visit two fairly new churches in the city of Mwanza. The believers there had been begging us to come, so we finally scheduled it in and made the long trip, coming back 7 days later. They were so appreciative of Luke's teaching and also eagerly bought the Bibles we had brought at a discounted price.

Our week back home had us all feeling sick and worn out. Esther and Gina were recovering from food poisoning, Luke got malaria, then bilharzia, and we all got stomach bugs. Later on Esther got malaria too. It took us a while to get back to normal, but we thank the Lord we are all well now.

The US Embassy paid us a visit to our corner of Tanzania and we were able to renew Esther's expired passport and Luke's soon-to-be-expired-passport. So thankful we don't have to make a trip to the big city, on the other side of the country!

The weekend of March 24-25 we drove to the village of Bukuba for a special meeting recognizing a new elder for the assembly. Well, that was the weekend the rains decided to finally come, and it made the trip exciting. We are very thankful for God's protection on the road.

On Saturday March 31, a dear friend and fellow missionary got married. Our daughter Esther was one of the girls who took part in the ceremony. She enjoyed walking down the aisle in front of the bride & groom.

Next week there will be an outreach by some of the church leaders in a village where the church is struggling. Please pray for fruit from these efforts and growth for the believers.

After working on our taxes we are now getting ready for yet another trip. On April 21 we will be leaving for the town of Moshi (near Mt. Kilimanjaro), where we will first have our missionary Annual General Meeting (AGM), and then Luke will be teaching Romans at Berea Bible College for 3 weeks.

Items for prayer:

- Our trip to Moshi, a 3 day drive (safety & that the car would run well)

- Our annual missionary meeting

- Luke teaching Romans

- Outreach in village church next week

We thank you for your continued prayers for our family and the work.

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

The bride with her 6 "bridesmaids".