We thank the Lord for all of His blessings this past year, and we rejoice in the challenges which He has allowed in our lives which form us spiritually and teach us endurance. We also praise our heavenly King for each one of you who love Christ, though you have not seen Him, and serve Him continually through your prayers and participation in the gospel. Truly our Sovereign Head has designed the body to function in unity and to work together in love.
Ministry
The last time we wrote was in the middle of September. Since then we have had the opportunity to visit 4 churches, one of them a new fellowship of believers started by an elder from a nearby village. We were able to meet them, encourage them in the Word and give guidance to them as they gathered for the first time to remember Christ's death. We gave them some Christian literature and shared a meal together before returning. Please pray for these believers to seek to learn God’s word and be faithful in meeting together to encourage one another. Also, pray that the Holy Spirit would raise up elders among them who will have a true calling to shepherd the flock of God. These saints live in the village of Kajeje.
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| Luke preaching at Kajeje |
Our friend and brother in Christ, Peter Yamungu, made another trip to visit the unreached tribe of the Wataturu, a full day’s drive away from here, in the Tabora region. He was able to meet the local chief and chairman, who was very friendly to him. He preached the Good News to many at a gathering and from house to house. He handed out tracts, portions on Scripture, and 3 Bibles, to those who knew how to read and who understood Kiswahili. He also attended a wedding and got to see their customs, which are very different from his own. We thank the Lord for preparing the way for him and keeping the door open for future service. Our family has decided to support Peter in his vision by sending him to a good missions school in Dar Es Salaam. He will be away from his wife and 4 kids for 8 months (from May - Dec.), with a short break in the middle. Please pray for Peter as he takes this big step of faith to become a cross cultural missionary. Pray for him and his family as they will be apart for this period of time. Pray that he will learn many things that will be useful for him in future service. And pray for our discipleship course, as we will not have Peter, who is one of our key teachers, for our 2nd and 3rd terms.
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| Chief in the village of Uwajawanungu reading the Bible he received. |
Family
We had regional church elder meetings at the end of November and were able to sneak away on the last day and travel to Burundi to spend an early Thanksgiving with Luke’s brother Danny and his wife Anne and their 3 children. We enjoyed our time together and Luke was able to attend a morning session at the Timothy Bible School where Danny was teaching on the 4 gospels. We made it back in time for Thanksgiving in Kigoma and enjoyed the fellowship with other missionaries.
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| Visiting the cousins in Bujumbura, Burundi |
During the month of December we had a visit from Gina’s parents, Mark and Carol Mattix. We had a wonderful time with them doing various things such as celebrating Esther’s 10th. birthday, singing together, rest and relaxation, walks, hikes and talks, 2 nights of camping at the beach, and ministry. Mark gave a 1 day seminar on Creationism. We visited a village church, and Mark preached on Christmas morning. They left the day after Christmas and we thank the Lord for the special time we had together.
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| On a hike with "Grandpa Mattix". |
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| On a family outing up country. |
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| The four kids. |
On Jan. 9 we’ll start up our new year at the Disciples of Jesus school. A number have shown interest from town and out of town but we wait to see how many will actually come. Please pray that the Lord would bring those who are hungry for God’s Word and ready to put it into practice. At the end of February we’ll start visiting the village churches with the discipleship students to give them opportunity to serve and develop their gifts. Please pray for the many other things that we have planned for this year, that God will direct and enable us in everything, and that His will would be done in us and His people. It is our desire that this would be a fruitful year for Christ’s church in the Kigoma region. We covet your prayers for us and our dear Tanzanian brothers and sisters.
May God’s grace abound to you this year,
Luke and Gina Johnson
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