1, 2 and 3!

Lord willing, in mid-May.

October Update

Dear friends and family,
Greetings from Tanzania.
Luke taught at the youth seminar last month, while the marriage seminar was postponed.

Youth seminar at Bukuba.

A group of some 20+ men pulled the boat out of the water for re-caulking and improvements.

Men working for hours getting the boat out of water.

Our mango tree finally dropped all its fruit just as the rains are finally becoming consistent.

Neighbor boys picking mangoes and getting their share.

Last week we enjoyed a little break by Lake Victoria, our car got some needed repairs and we briefly visited a new church.

New church in Mwanza, Tanzania.

Upon our return we joined Gracie (our faithful helper) at the wedding of her nephew.

Gracie (in blue dress) with her husband Abeli next to the bride and groom.

Luke continues to work hard at translating a Doctrinal Survey course. We are looking forward to our trip next month, this time all the way to Bolivia! However, we are not looking forward to the paperwork for the renewal of our work permits. ;-)
With much to be thankful for,
Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

September Update

Dear praying friends and family, thank you very much for your prayers for us this past month. We know that God is working through your prayers to accomplish his purposes here in Kigoma Tanzania.

Ministry News

We mentioned in our last newsletter that Jeremy and Sonja Bassett were visiting from Wisconsin. During their stay we were able to visit the southern village church of Ilagala. 

Gina, Luke, Jeremy and Sonja.

We also took a boat ministry trip north of Kigoma to the predominantly Muslim village of Kagongo. We had 2 days and 2 nights of children's ministry and showing Christian films in the evening. One Muslim young person named Baraka seemed interested and Jeremy and I were able to converse with him at length concerning Christianity and Jesus Christ. Please pray for him and for all that heard the gospel.

Luke, Jeremy and Harry read to set sail.

Later on in the month we traveled down south to the old Burundian refugee settlement of Mishamo. There we participated in 4 days of Seminars in the mornings, evangelistic meetings in the afternoons, and Christian films in the evenings. Gina and the girls were able to go this time. (You can see more photos of that trip in a previous post.)

Family News

Soon after our return from Mishamo Emily got very sick with malaria and an infection for about a week or so. Thankfully she is better although still having a little tummy trouble. We have also been working on our car, trying to stay ahead of the constant maintenance. We installed 5 new tires in preparation for the raining season, which is just beginning. Please pray that there would be sufficient rains this year to sustain the many farmers in this area. Esther enjoys her new "school house" and playing with any kids or adults that might be willing. =)

Emily

Esther

Upcoming Events

Looking forward, I (Luke) will be teaching at 2 seminars; one for youth and the other for married couples. Please pray for my preparation for these events; that God would prepare me and use me for His glory. I also need to finish revising my translation of a Fairhaven Doctrinal Survey course for Berea Bible College, before it gets a final revision and then gets printed.

We thank all of you who remember us regularly before the throne of grace. 

May the God of ALL peace be with you.

Sincerely,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

Mishamo Trip

Here are a few pictures of our trip to Mishamo, the old refugee camp. We had 4 days of evangelistic meetings, seminars, films, and kids' meetings. A couple of people came up to talk and pray after the evening films. However, we don't know what kind of follow-up was arranged with these few. The evangelistic meetings in the afternoon were full of energy, loud music, dust and heat. An evangelist from Tabora (middle of the country) was the special speaker for these meetings and the people loved his enthusiasm. He took time throughout the day to pray and talk with individuals upon request, and there were many! The heat was almost overwhelming. Taking daily, cold bucket baths helped. We were thankful that it didn't rain, that would have made our drive back a big adventure. The drive back was uneventful except for a busted tire on one of the vehicles and zig-zagging between stopped busses and trucks.

Enjoy the pictures!

Waiting at the camp entrance for 2 hrs. because our papers weren't in perfect order.

Finally arriving at our destination after almost 8 hrs. on the road.

Luke selling Bibles and Bible covers from the back of the car. Sold out by day 2.

All ready to show films, just waiting for it to get dark.

Faithful workers in the kitchen. They got kinda goofy when they saw a camera.

Hard working ladies in the kitchen that made food for everyone.

Our room for 4 nights. Girls slept on the floor within a mosquito tent.

Ruth Johnson teaching Sunday School.

Cooking for a crowd.

Ladies stirring the "ugali" until it's not too mushy for serving.

Ugali and beans for lunch.

One of the elders, and hosts, Ruben was busy serving everyone.

Rainy season? Not quite yet.

Rainy season will be upon us in another month or so. Traveling in the rainy season has it's challenges...

And so we try to do as much traveling as we can in these dry "months". However, it doesn't stop us. When you have to travel you just go and pray that the Lord will bring you back safely. On occasion, our trips can get really fun...

On Thursday we will travel south, to a refugee camp (Mishamo) and be there for 4 days with seminars (solid Bible teaching), evangelistic meetings and evening films. There are two vehicles going, and a total of 11 adults plus our 2 girls. Pray that our time will be of mutual encouragement, that we will have strength and health, and for safety on the "fun" roads.
Thank you!
Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

August Update

Dear praying friends and family,
Here's a quick rundown of last month:
-We visited two village churches for their Sunday meetings.
-We visited the families of 4 new babies in the village of Nkungwe.
-We worked on different house projects (Esther's school house!)
-We are enjoying a visit from Jeremy and Sonja Bassett from Wisconsin.
-Luke and Emily both celebrated birthdays this week.
Looking forward:
Tomorrow, a team of 11 will head north to the mostly Muslim village of Kagongo to show evangelistic films for two nights. And do some follow up in the neighboring village of Kigalie (where they showed films last time).
On the 18th of September we will drive south to the refugee camp of Mishamo for a week-long conference, which includes: seminars, evangelistic meetings and films.
Thank you for your prayers.
In Christ,
Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

Emily turns 2!

Our little blondie is turning 2 today! She is a little character at times and finally learning to play nicely (share and not be so selfish) with her big sister Esther. Two years have flown by!
Here's a fun album you can check out to see how she's grown in the past two years. Emily's Album
And here is a very short video of her, on her birthday, singing to herself. =)

(Her mouth is very red because she'd almost managed to finish a huge lollipop she'd gotten for a gift.)

August at a glance

Esther learned how to ride a bike, with no training wheels, even though she begged for them.

Emily at the Kigoma port to get her yellow fever shot. She looks thrilled!

Visiting the small chapel at Sambara one Sunday morning. 

Waiting outside with the kids while Dad has just "one" more meeting.

Emily getting her first hair cut.

Loving the visit from the cousins.

Shooing away the monkeys at the beach. This one's a mama with her baby.

Setting up the trampoline we got from Lauridsens.

Attempting to fly the kite at Ujiji beach with Steven.

Getting our first rain, but it's early so this won't keep up.

Esther holding baby Shadrak who is only 3 days old.

Emily and Esther sporting matching dresses.

4 Babies in one afternoon

We drove to the village of Nkungwe to visit some ladies in the chapel that had recently had babies. We brought gifts of baby powder, baby soap, baby paracetamol and sugar. Esther really enjoyed holding the babies. She would beg to hold each baby during our 3 hour visit. Two of the homes provided meals for us in that short time. As soon as we got home, Esther was bundling her baby doll with at least 2 cloths and holding it very carefully, pretending she was a new mommy.

Visiting 3-day old Shadrak and his mom Bernadetha.

Dismas and his wife had twin girls. Esther is holding one,

and I'm holding the other.

This baby was 1 month old and seemed so much bigger than the newborns.

July Update

Hello dear family and friends. We are praising the Lord for his constant presence with us through the ups and downs of family life and ministry. He is our ever-present help in time of need.

The month of July was busy as usual. In last month's newsletter I (Luke) was just leaving by boat to go down south and teach a seminar to the church at Igalula. The overnight boat trips on the way down, and back up were very memorable. Let's just say they were not designed for personal comfort or relaxation, to put it very mildly. The image of sardines in a floating can would be more accurate, but thankfully I made it safely there and back.

Luke was on this first boat for 14 hours.

The believers were very happy to see me and showed me the whole village. I literally walked from one end of it to the other (4 km. or so), and did plenty of other walking besides. I taught on salvation and the Christian life, as well as some fundamental principles concerning the church. The believers there are few as the church is relatively new. They are doing well at reaching out to the kids but are struggling to reach the adults.

After returning from Igalula we had about a week to get ready for our trip to Kumbya (in Rwanda) for an annual interdenominational missionary conference. We left 1 day early so that we could visit the churches of Kazilamihunda and Kasanda on the way. While driving on our first day we came to a big rut in the road, and when I braked we skidded and I lost control and we hit the rut really hard. The windshield was cracked in many places on the driver's side and the left front wheel got misaligned. However we thank God for his protection as no one was hurt. We were able to limp the car on to the Keza mission station where we were to spend the night. We were still able to meet with both churches, one in the afternoon, and the other the following morning. We had one of our Tanzanian brothers, Raymond, along with us and he was able to help with some of the ministry.

Fortunately, after our mishap with the car, we were able to catch a ride to the conference with my parents and my youngest brother Steven, who were also going. The conference was a real blessing to us and just what we needed. We were able to relax some and be refreshed spiritually as a team from a church in Texas ministered to the adults and also did a VBS program with the kids.

The VBS leaders with the kids.

The conference took place at the beautiful lake Kivu, so we were able to swim and kayak and sail. On our way back from the conference we stopped at Keza and after some minor repairs we drove our car slowly back to Kigoma where it will soon be fixed properly.

Meanwhile two young students from the Kigoma region, Peter and Abeli, left for Moshi to attend Berea Bible College. Abeli is a first semester student and Peter a third and last. Please remember them in your prayers as they receive biblical training, that they will put to good use what they learn. 

Prayer items:

- The young church at Igalula

- Praise for safety on our trip

- Praise for refreshment at conference

- Peter and Abeli at Bible College

May God's grace and peace be with you all,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson