Traveling

Waiting for our bus in London.

Emily and Uncle Chris in Camiri.

Luke and his two girls heading over to the farm.

New Year

Hello dear family and friends. Happy New Year to all! We have been so "busy" visiting with other family and friends here in Bolivia that this month's letter is late in coming. Sorry about that.

Well, here we are in Bolivia staying with Mark and Carol Mattix (Gina's parents) and seeing Jesse and Janel Mattix over at the farm on most days. Esther and Emily are enjoying playing with and getting to know their cousins Fionna and Isaac. Upon arrival Gina and I were put right to work by her brother Christopher and got to sing in an evening Christmas program.

We have had the opportunity to visit the church Gina grew up in and see a lot of her old friends. We also visited the new church that has recently started. We have had a few speaking opportunities, at Youth Group, and at mid-week Bible studies. We traveled to the town of Huacareta and met with the small church there. We have also battled with the flu and stomach issues at various times. We are thankful Emily is doing better after a long bout of stomach problems.

Next Sunday we will be traveling back to Tanzania. We will spend 3 days in Florida with Gina's brother Matt and family and then on to London and then Dar Es Salaam (Tanzania). And then it's only a 3 day drive back to our home in Kigoma. Needless to say we would appreciate your prayers for our travels, and for comfort for Gina, as she is past her halfway mark in her pregnancy.

We are thankful to the Lord for the refreshing time we have had here, but in some ways look forward to getting back into the work there in Kigoma.

We are thankful for the new year we have been given to serve Him and the hope of Christ's return for His church. It could be this year!

In His blessings,

Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily Johnson

Quick November Update

Hello dear praying friends and family.

The past few weeks have been quite busy. We had a visit from 2 Johnson families: Jesse & Joy's and Danny & Anne's from Burundi. We celebrated Thanksgiving together and Danny brought the turkey with him.

The gang posing for a good-bye photo.

(Thanks to Steven for the photo of the gang!)

After they left we had 2 days to pack up and get ready for our trip/visit to Bolivia for nearly 2 months. We celebrated Esther's 6th birthday with Grandpa & Grandma (Harry & Ruth Johnson) and Uncle Stevie the day before we left. 

Esther on her early birthday celebration.

(Esther after blowing her 6 candles.)

Then we drove for 3 days across the country to get to Dar Es Salaam, the coastal city from which we fly out. We are thankful to God for safety on all the dangerous roads and for no major car trouble. 

Tomorrow (Sunday Dec. 9) we fly to London, then Miami, then Peru, then La Paz Bolivia, and finally Santa Cruz Bolivia. We will arrive, Lord willing, on Tuesday morning and will be met by Mark & Carol Mattix. We plan to be back in Tanzania on Jan. 25, 2013. 

For those of you have not heard yet, we want to announce that we are expecting a third little Johnson kid mid-May of next year.

Your thoughts and prayers will be much appreciated for our long travels and for Gina's pregnancy.

Thank you.

In His care,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily & ??? (baby) Johnson

If you'd like to see some pictures of our trip so far click here.

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.)