Visit to Buhingu and Igalula

The sail boat is once again all geared up for another voyage. This one will be the longest it's ever done. Luke, Harry, Ruth, Emineli, Japhet and Danieli will leave in the morning (17th) with film equipment, fuel for the outboard engine, bibles and food. After a day of traveling south they will drop anchor at the village of Kirando where they plan to spend the night. At this village two more men (Amosi and Lamech) will jump on board to join the crew as they travel the second day to the villages of Buhingu and Igalula.
The 4 days at these two villages will consist of seminars for the adults in the morning, some teaching for the children and then evangelistic films in the evening.
On Monday, the 23rd they plan to head back and Lord willing arrive back in Kigoma Bay on the 24th.
Please pray:
- for safety as they travel
- for health and strength
- that the visit will be of mutual blessing

January Update

Dear Praying Friends and Family,

The sailing trip to Kiziba went well. Esther and Luke enjoyed sailing with the rest of the Johnson clan, consisting of: Harry, Ruth, their son Steven, Uncle Ken, Aunt Melli and their 10 kids visiting from Burundi. We are thankful there is a good outboard engine for use when the wind isn't cooperating. On the 17th of this month a trip down south is being planned. Luke, Harry and several other church leaders will sail for two days to get to the villages of Buhingu and Igalula to pay them a 4-day visit for the first time. Please pray that this trip will be of mutual encouragement as the leaders teach morning seminars.

The gang arriving safely back in Kigoma Bay

We celebrated Christmas Eve with fellow missionaries of Kigoma. At the local church we celebrated Christmas Day with some special numbers by the adults and kids. The Sunday School kids did a great job of acting out a song and Luke spoke on Isaiah 9.

At the end of the service (around 2 pm) we all enjoyed a meal of rice and beans.

Thank you for your continued prayers for the Lord's work in western Tanzania. The year has just begun and many of the struggling churches need guidance, encouragement and solid teaching. Pray that we will have God's clear guidance and that we won't get discouraged in the coming days.

May this coming year be one of spiritual blessing and growth.

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

Nairobi Fly

Nairobi Fly on the dish rack.

We have lots of bugs in muggy Tanzania. When you see a bug you smack it. Whether it be annoying flying ants, a biting red ant, or a disgusting cockroach, you don't inspect the victim but instead reach for your left flipflop (because you're right handed) and quickly kill it.

Not so with this bug... Introducing the Nairobi Fly. 

Our not-so-friendly critter.

This one you don't smack carelessly. 

If it's gastric juices get onto your skin you will swell so much that your throat will close up. A run to the nearest hospital is a must to get proper medication via an IV.

Just kidding.

But... you will get a red, bumpy, and itchy sore that spreads if the gastric juices touch your skin. The sore is called a Nairobi Eye. The only way for the sore to heal is to leave it alone, and that is very hard for little girls to do. If you scratch it and then scratch some place else, you will be dealing with two sores shortly. 

They are easy to identify with their red-black-red exterior but they are fairly small. This one was a big one at almost 1 cm. The last black little tip will sometimes curl up and when it does the bug resembles a miniature scorpion. =)

Christmas Day

On Christmas Day the Sunday School kids did a great job of acting out a song.

Kids who performed either by singing or acting.

A couple of ladies cooked in the old chapel building nearby and dished up some 80 plates. After the main service everyone was given a ticket. With that ticket you were eligible for a plate of rice and beans. Excitement filled the air as everyone enjoyed food and fellowship, this was a day of sherehe (party)!

Ladies dishing up the meal. 1 plate per adult!

Christmas Eve

Esther and I (Gina), once again, enjoyed baking some goodies for Christmas. 

Esther's cookies.

On Christmas Eve we opened our gifts. We were especially delighted with the surprise packages that our friends at Tieton Drive Bible Chapel sent us. Such a treat to get some American goodies!

Emily and Esther swarmed by gifts!

That afternoon the missionary community had a short Christmas Eve Service and Luke shared from Isaiah 9.

Then for a special Christmas Eve Dinner the missionaries (that were present) of Kigoma went to a fancy hotel to enjoy good food and fellowship.

Esther with nicely combed hair for the hotel.

Celebrating 6 years of Marriage

Quite an adventure; 6 years later and two girls of our own... whew! God is so good. We look forward to the many more that we will have together.

We aren't very photogenic...

December Update

Dear Friends and family, we are continually thankful to God for your prayers for us. They are much appreciated and vital to the work here.

Last month we had a 2-day Youth Seminar at the village of Songambele, planning meetings for upcoming events, a 3-day Seminar and Conference at the village of Nkungwe, a special day of prayer for the young people at the town church, and I did some preaching. Then at the beginning of December we had a celebration for the Gungu church Youth Group to thank God for the 3 years that we've been meeting. 

However, it's not the busy schedule that counts, or the events and activities that we do, but rather our heart attitude and the spiritual benefits that come from what we do. It seems that in all the busyness we can lose sight of the real reason we're doing these things, and become somewhat distant in our relationship with the Master like Martha. It takes a conscious effort to be like Mary and choose what's better, and that is to spend time listening to the Savior. Please continue to pray for us that we would be firm in our devotion to Christ and not become overwhelmed or discouraged with the work and the small problems and difficulties of daily life that seem to add up really fast. 

As we look ahead we have a sailing trip planned for this weekend. It's our first real trip (3 nights) for the boat. Then maybe sometime in January we will make a trip down south to visit two new churches and bring teaching and encouragement to them. We also just bought a new stock of Bibles which we hope to sell at a reduced cost to the believers in the churches that we visit.

As a family, we were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with the fellow American missionaries who live in town. We even managed to get a turkey! Then last Saturday we celebrated Esther's 5th birthday at the beach along with a Danish missionary family that has 3 girls who are good friends with Esther. Unfortunately, for Gina's birthday and our 6th anniversary I (Luke) will be away on this boat trip, but we hope to do something special when I return.

We hope you all can look back on this year and see all that God has been doing in and through you. May you have a blessed Christmas remembering God's saving act of sending His Son into the world, and may we all press on to know our God more fully next year.

In His loving care,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

Praise items:

- An encouraging Seminar & Conference at Nkungwe.

- Thankful for a good youth celebration.

Prayer Items:

- Safety for sailing up the lake this weekend.

- That we would not get discouraged.

- Luke preaching on Christmas day.

- Upcoming ministry travels.

- Distribution of Bibles & hunger for God's Word.

Esther is 5!

At breakfast, opening gifts and card.

Spending the afternoon at the pool.

Family photo.

Twin Babies

On Oct. 20, 2011, Anne Johnson gave birth to two beautiful twin girls. Rebekah Faith was sheltered in the Everlasting arms of her heavenly Father and Ruth Margaret was joyfully held by her earthly mommy and daddy.  We continue to pray for this new family as they adjust to having a little one in the home and as they grieve. We love you Danny, Anne and Baby Ruth!

Danny, Anne and baby Ruth Johnson

"The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away. Blessed be the name of the LORD." Job. 1:21b

End of Year Busy-ness

Ministry has really “picked up” lately. Dad and Mom Johnson have been away for the past month and that might have something to do with the extra load that fell on us. We have been in Kigoma 2 years and we are feeling more settled.

Luke was heavily involved in the youth seminar we had this past weekend (Nov. 25-27). Many youth came from other villages and spent the days in close quarters, sharing meals and sleeping on reed mats in the chapel at night. They gathered on 4 ocassions for some solid teaching and then twice for an evangelistic conference held outside to draw the neighbors. We trust the efforts for these big events will result in an awakening and spiritual maturity.

Christmas is around the corner, hard to believe! We look forward to another youth event this Sunday with the local church. Many more meetings are being planned for the end of the year. Pray that God's Word will bear fruit in the lives of those who trust Him.