Dear praying friends,
I have been reading through the book of Judges and I thank the Lord for his amazing grace in choosing and using weak vessels for his work, like the judges … and like you and I. We are certainly insufficient for the task but "we have this treasure (the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ) in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves." (2 Cor. 4:7) I can't help but think of the story of Gideon and his 300 men (Judges 7) who had torches (light) inside earthen vessels, and when they were broken the light shone forth in the darkness and God gave them a great victory against the enemy. We too must be broken and humbled before the light of Christ can truly shine through us, piercing the darkness and bringing victory against the enemy. Gideon and his men also sounded trumpets and called on the name of Yahweh, in whose strength they were going into battle. We too must sound the trumpet, as local gathered believers, calling in unison on the name of the LORD for His kingdom to come to our communities where He has placed us. O Lord, come to our aid. The enemy is strong but You are stronger.
Disciples of Jesus School
We continue with 6 committed young men at the discipleship school. We are nearing the end of the first term and have already made a ministry trip to the village and had a work day. Peter is starting to teach Old Testament survey (part 1) and then I will finish with Bible study methods before they take a break. We hope to move the school to the new property by next term but there is still some work to do out there. Please pray for the remaining work at the property to be completed and pray for the students to persevere and grow in their studies of the Word. We have also invited another man named Daudi Jeremia onto the school board to help us out. Pray for unity and a good transition for Daudi and us as we will begin working together in the coming months.
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| Ministry trip to Kirando church. |
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| Work day at the future school property. |
KLB Churches
The group of churches (assemblies) we work with are called KLB (Kanisa La Biblia) churches here in Tanzania. There are now 40 KLB churches in the 3 Western regions of Tanzania where we work. Most are in villages, and some are in bigger towns. Pray for revival and an outpouring of God's Spirit in His church. Pray especially for the elders of these assemblies. Many of them are struggling with poverty and are also neglecting to disciple and train up others to help them in the work. Pray for God to lead us to know how to help them. Pray for wisdom to know what to teach on for our annual meeting of the elders in May.
Family
We are thankful that God continues to provide for our needs and for the ministry here, through many of you. Esther, who is studying at Cedarville University, is currently on Spring break in Pennsylvania with the Swansons (Luke's 10th grade boarding school dorm parents). Pray for a restful time for her and continued strength as she pursues her nursing degree. Gina got a chance to spend midterm break with Emily in Nairobi Kenya mid-February. Our boys continue to homeschool here in Kigoma with us.
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| Boys at school; boys at play. |
Thank you for standing with us in prayer and for shining Christ's light where he has placed you.
Luke and Gina Johnson