The Chronicles of Narnia

We have greatly enjoyed reading thru the Chronicles of Narnia with our daughter Esther. She first got excited about the series when watching the movie "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe". So we borrowed a complete series from Luke's mom and dad and began to read. It all begins, of course, way before Lucy and Edmund and our daughter was hooked. We looked forward to our evenings of reading and Luke and I re-acquainted ourselves with all the colorful characters and Esther interrupted continuously with many questions. A couple of nights she'd ask that we specifically pray that the White Witch wouldn't come get her, and when playing she would sometimes pretend to be Queen Prunaprismia.

Tonight we read the last chapters of "The Last Battle". It's been a great adventure for Daddy, Mommy and Daughter. But I think we'll have to repeat the whole thing in another 5 years, just to refresh our memories!

The book we've just finished reading.

Aslan tells the children when they arrive in his country that: "the term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning." -- Heaven is going to be great!

June Update

Dear praying friends and family,

The team of 8 that went up north on the lake returned safely. Thank you for your prayers. They showed Christian films for the two nights they were there and also did some impromptu meetings with the many children. The village is mainly Muslim, but the parents seemed OK with sending their kids to listen to some Bible stories. There was a little bit of resistance when some young guys tried to shoo away some of the kids on the first night when the films were being set up. Also there was no response either night after the gospel had been clearly presented. Please pray that the seed planted will bear fruit eventually. This may be one of the first times some of them have ever heard the gospel clearly presented to them. With time, prayer, and the help of the Holy Spirit the Word may begin to sink in and germinate. In a neighboring village there is a slightly bigger evangelical presence and Luke and Harry were able to visit that village briefly as well.

This past Sunday we visited a small group of believers at Munzeze, a church an hour's drive away from our town that has recently gone thru a split so they're struggling. Luke encouraged them with a message on Psalm 27.

The next adventure is for Luke as he goes (this very night) by local transport to the village of Igalula, south of here. This is his second time to that village, the first time was on the sailboat Wings of the Morning when they braved some strong winds and waves. After a night of travel on the taxi motor boat, he hopes to spend Sunday plus 2 more days of teaching the believers, Lord willing. Pray that the believers will attend these seminars and grow in their knowledge of the Scriptures and be encouraged with Christian fellowship.

Small boats ferrying people to the big motor boat.

At the end of July we as a family will drive to Rwanda for a missionary conference. Luke went to these conferences as a kid, but it's a first for us girls and we're looking forward to the little break.

Please remember in prayer:

- Munzeze believers

- A safe boat journey for Luke

- Teaching at Igalula

- Our 2-day drive to Rwanda 

Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings in Christ,

Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

Safe Return

The team of 8 that went up north on the lake have just returned safely. They showed films for the two nights they were there and also did some impromptu meetings with the many children. The village is mainly Muslim, but the parents seemed OK with sending their kids to listen to some Bible stories. Pray that the seed planted will bear fruit. In a neighboring village there is a bigger evangelical presence and Luke and Harry were able to visit that village briefly as well.

Tomorrow we hope to minister to the small group of believers at Munzeze, a church an hour's drive away from our town that has recently gone thru a split so they're struggling.

Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings,

Luke and Gina Johnson

Team of 8 go up-lake...

Please remember in prayer as a team of 8 go up lake to the village of Kigalye to show films for two nights. It is a small village, mainly Muslim with one evangelical church. They left today, Thursday, and hope to return Saturday.
They are (pictured from left to right): Danieli, Mauridi, Heshima, Luke, Emineli, Lameck, Ruth and Harry.

Team of 8 all ready to cast off.

Pray for safe sailing, protection at the open harbor where the boat will be anchored and for the films during the evenings as well as any contacts and conversations with the village people throughout the day.
Thank you for your prayers.

May Update

Dear praying friends and family,
It has been over a month since some of you have heard from us, so we like to give you a brief summary of what we have been doing.
In the last week of April we drove 2 full days to get to the town of Moshi, located near the Kenyan border and Mt. Kilimanjaro. Our first business was the Annual General Meeting at CMML-Tanzania missionaries. We spent 2 full days at a hotel enjoying fellowship with one another, and hearing reports of each one's work, and also taking care of some of the more practical things in the business meeting.
Starting Monday, the following week, Luke began teaching a 3-week course on the book of Romans at Berea Bible College. Every day, he taught for 3 hours to 16 students. These were 2nd semester students (the full program is 3 semesters long). Luke enjoyed the course and learned a lot, although he was busy, always preparing for the next lesson. We are very grateful to our hosts, William and Eunice Rea, who graciously opened up their home to us and fed us very well. Esther and Emily also enjoyed the extra attention, and Esther loved playing with her new Indian friend Bhavia, who lived nearby. We did get the change to go to a swimming pool a few times, and Esther can now swim for short distances all on her own.

Esther swimming at Hotel.

After the course ended we trekked back home and spent a few days unpacking and settling in. On May 28-31 we were happy to welcome to Kigoma 2 visitors from CMML, Bob Dadd and Allan Wilks. We enjoyed a sail with them and we visited the David Livingstone memorial where Stanley first met him. The guests also visited one village assembly and the town assembly of Gungu before returning to the U.S.

Allan Wilks keeping the course steady.

Now Luke is busy preparing to teach a 1-week youth ministry course at the Lake Tanganyika Christian College here in Kigoma town. After that is over he will take a local boat down south to visit the new assembly at Igalula and give a brief seminar.
Meanwhile, Gina takes care of the family, cooking lovely meals, and homeschooling Esther who is in Kindergarten. Emily has become very good at making huge messes in the house and at making us laugh as she repeats new words.
We would welcome your continued prayers concerning:
- Luke's teaching opportunities
- Gina as she home schools Esther

May God's peace be with you all. Amen
Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

Jay & Katrina Erickson

The Ericksons, off to Zambia for a year.

A young couple, serving the Lord in Africa.
Both parents died this past Saturday in a plane crash, leaving behind their two little girls.

(To read more about the tragedy you can click on this Site.)

Our prayers are with the family that they left behind.

Are you ready to meet your Savior?

C.S. Lewis writes: " You don't have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body."

A new household item?

During our first week of stay with our British hosts, Esther has discovered that she enjoys Marmite on her toast. For the Americans that have never tasted this, let me just tell you that it's in a class all its own. The third ingredient is "salt", and that's basically all I taste when I try it. To eat it, you spread a small amount, very thinly on a piece of buttered toast, it's black like tar, and the smell is incredibly strong. A jar can last quite a long time, especially if it's only one person in the house who eats it, i.e. our Esther. So maybe we'll go ahead and buy her a jar while we're in the city!

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".