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