Ministry trips with the students

Here are a few photos of the last ministry trips with the students from the "Disciples of Jesus" school.

Helping haul sand for a village church building.

Starting sunday school at the Kirando church.

Sunday school at Kirando.

All done with church and heading back down for a quick lunch and then the drive home.

Spotting the MV Liemba at the Kirando harbor.

Crossing the ferry at the Malagarasi River.

Sunday school at the Sunuka church.

Sunday school at Sunuka.

The students on the ferry, heading back home.

Seminar Update

Hello dear praying friends and family. 

I thought I would give you a quick update of the seminar on Muslim evangelism which we had at our Gungu chapel Monday through Wednesday. 

It went very well. We averaged around 30 people per session. Monday was all teaching (morning and afternoon) with 4 sessions. On Tuesday there were 2 sessions in the morning and 1 in the afternoon, followed by evangelism. We divided up into 6 groups of 2 or 3 people each. (We did not force anyone who did not feel ready to go). Each group went to a different neighborhood road and we went door to door to talk to people about Christ and the Gospel. We took with us tracts and gospels of John. It was scary and exciting. 

Japhet teaching one of the sessions.

Each group went at its own pace. The report the next day confirmed that our neighborhood has quite a few more Muslims than "Christians". Some encountered opposition from the Muslims, but most were at least willing to listen, and accept literature, and some even allowed us to pray for them at the end. Some of the "Christians" were nominal Christians or Catholics, or no longer attending church, so they needed the Gospel and/or encouragement too. 

Wednesday was a similar format to Tuesday and we went out again to evangelize in the afternoon. All in all it was a very good experience for all of us. It was wonderful to see the excitement of the believers as they shared their reports of how things went in their group. 

Mzee Maisha witnessing to a group of youth.

We want to thank all of you who prayed for us. We know that God heard your prayers and strengthened us for the task. Please keep praying, that this would be an ongoing exercise and that in the long term it would bear fruit. We need persistence to reach the Muslims, whose minds have been blinded to the truth for so long that it is difficult for them to receive God's Word, which is the only thing that can change them. Keep praying for us. With God all things are possible.

We thank God for your partnership in the Gospel,

Sincerely,

Luke Johnson

February Update

Dear praying friends and family, 

We praise the Lord for His goodness to us, for his mercies endure forever.

Ministry

We prayed for a good turnout for the Disciples of Jesus school and we asked you to pray, and the Lord answered our prayers. We were expecting around 7 or 8 and we got (and still have) 14 students! Two of them are from villages and the rest are from town. We have a good mixture of both adults and youth, male and female. And they are all eager to learn and seem quite well behaved. I (Luke) finished teaching “History of Salvation” (a survey of God’s plan of salvation throughout the Bible) for 3 weeks. Now Peter Yamungu is teaching on how to study the Bible and prepare to teach or preach on a passage (Homiletics). Pray for him as he has begun to feel sick. Please pray also for the students, that they would continue to be faithful in their attendance and eagerness to learn and apply God’s Word to their lives.

Students taking their exam.

Next week we plan to have a 3 day seminar at the Gungu town church on evangelism (particularly to Muslims). God has placed His church there in Gungu as a lighthouse in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, but our “light” has not been shining very bright, and there is much fear when it comes to witnessing to Muslims. On the second and third days of the seminar we plan to go out and visit our neighbors door to door and talk with them about Jesus. Please pray that friendships would be developed and that this will be an ongoing exercise through which God’s Spirit will draw Muslims to Christ. We need you to pray for this seminar, and we need you to pray for Christ’s church at Gungu! Please remember us in prayer on the 13th - 15th (Mon - Wed) of February! We know our God is able to do mighty things if we are prepared to suffer for Christ’s sake and step out in faith, and we need the support of your prayers.

Family

Much of our family has been sick with upset tummies for a while (especially Luke and Michael). We have been tested and have taken medicine but our condition has not improved much. We have been enjoying the rain and the green grass and the beautiful sunsets lately. Aaron has just learned to ride a bike so he’s pretty excited about that. Esther and Emily enjoyed staying up until midnight when going with their mom to a muslim friend’s wedding.

Aaron riding his bike.

Thanks for praying for us.

Blessings,

Luke and Gina and kids

And another video

Here is a link to a short video that CMML put together:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yEy9QF9rTLA&feature=youtu.be

Video post

Here is a video we made for our church in Yakima, WA.
It gives a little glimpse into our daily lives.

Just click on the link:

TDBC Video January 2017

2016 in Review

Here is a link to a collection of photos from 2016.

Click HERE to see the photos.

We count it a blessing to serve the Lord in Tanzania, East Africa.
You are welcome to come and visit us!

December Update

Happy New Year to all of you!

We thank the Lord for all of His blessings this past year, and we rejoice in the challenges which He has allowed in our lives which form us spiritually and teach us endurance. We also praise our heavenly King for each one of you who love Christ, though you have not seen Him, and serve Him continually through your prayers and participation in the gospel. Truly our Sovereign Head has designed the body to function in unity and to work together in love.


Ministry
The last time we wrote was in the middle of September. Since then we have had the opportunity to visit 4 churches, one of them a new fellowship of believers started by an elder from a nearby village. We were able to meet them, encourage them in the Word and give guidance to them as they gathered for the first time to remember Christ's death. We gave them some Christian literature and shared a meal together before returning. Please pray for these believers to seek to learn God’s word and be faithful in meeting together to encourage one another. Also, pray that the Holy Spirit would raise up elders among them who will have a true calling to shepherd the flock of God. These saints live in the village of Kajeje.

Luke preaching at Kajeje

Our friend and brother in Christ, Peter Yamungu, made another trip to visit the unreached tribe of the Wataturu, a full day’s drive away from here, in the Tabora region. He was able to meet the local chief and chairman, who was very friendly to him. He preached the Good News to many at a gathering and from house to house. He handed out tracts, portions on Scripture, and 3 Bibles, to those who knew how to read and who understood Kiswahili. He also attended a wedding and got to see their customs, which are very different from his own. We thank the Lord for preparing the way for him and keeping the door open for future service. Our family has decided to support Peter in his vision by sending him to a good missions school in Dar Es Salaam. He will be away from his wife and 4 kids for 8 months (from May - Dec.), with a short break in the middle. Please pray for Peter as he takes this big step of faith to become a cross cultural missionary. Pray for him and his family as they will be apart for this period of time. Pray that he will learn many things that will be useful for him in future service. And pray for our discipleship course, as we will not have Peter, who is one of our key teachers, for our 2nd and 3rd terms.

Chief in the village of Uwajawanungu reading the Bible he received.

Family

We had regional church elder meetings at the end of November and were able to sneak away on the last day and travel to Burundi to spend an early Thanksgiving with Luke’s brother Danny and his wife Anne and their 3 children. We enjoyed our time together and Luke was able to attend a morning session at the Timothy Bible School where Danny was teaching on the 4 gospels. We made it back in time for Thanksgiving in Kigoma and enjoyed the fellowship with other missionaries.

Visiting the cousins in Bujumbura, Burundi

During the month of December we had a visit from Gina’s parents, Mark and Carol Mattix. We had a wonderful time with them doing various things such as celebrating Esther’s 10th. birthday, singing together, rest and relaxation, walks, hikes and talks, 2 nights of camping at the beach, and ministry. Mark gave a 1 day seminar on Creationism. We visited a village church, and Mark preached on Christmas morning. They left the day after Christmas and we thank the Lord for the special time we had together.

On a hike with "Grandpa Mattix".

On a family outing up country.

The four kids.

Looking Forward
On Jan. 9 we’ll start up our new year at the Disciples of Jesus school. A number have shown interest from town and out of town but we wait to see how many will actually come. Please pray that the Lord would bring those who are hungry for God’s Word and ready to put it into practice. At the end of February we’ll start visiting the village churches with the discipleship students to give them opportunity to serve and develop their gifts. Please pray for the many other things that we have planned for this year, that God will direct and enable us in everything, and that His will would be done in us and His people. It is our desire that this would be a fruitful year for Christ’s church in the Kigoma region. We covet your prayers for us and our dear Tanzanian brothers and sisters.

May God’s grace abound to you this year,
Luke and Gina Johnson

August Update

Dear praying friends and family, an update on the work here is long overdue.

We arrived back in Kigoma exactly 4 weeks ago, after traveling to the US for Steven's wedding (Luke's youngest brother). The wedding went very well and we were happy to see many friends and family members. Our stay at the CMML guesthouse was enjoyed by the whole family and we are grateful for the rest we had there.

The Johnsons who attended the wedding.

On our way back we spent almost a week in Kenya with Jacob and Annette Hebert and their 2 boys (Annette is Luke's sister) before making the 3 day drive back to Kigoma.

Aaron and his cousin Carl.

Since returning we have been very busy with car & motorbike repairs, paperwork, and planning for the Disciples of Jesus school graduation. On Saturday, Sept. 3 we had 4 students graduate (just like last year). Please pray that these young people would love the Lord with all their hearts and serve Him faithfully.

Daudi and Shadrack, Happy and Prisca.

Last Sunday we were able to visit a new church plant in a village about 1.5 hours away. We went with a couple of the elders from nearby churches, who are ministering to them at this early stage. We also took Bibles for them to buy at a reduced price. Pray that these believers would be firmly rooted and grounded in the Word, that they might understand God's will for them.

A young girls' choir sings for the church service that is outside.

That very afternoon there is another choir ready to sing!

Unfortunately, a young people's conference and seminar had to be cancelled after the youth leadership were not happy with some of the elder's decisions. Please pray for humility and repentance for the youth leaders, and that there would be a spirit of unity and a willingness to work together.

On the home front we continue to homeschool Esther and Emily. Luke has decided to do science with the girls and Gina does the other subjects. We try and do double each day with Esther so that we can finish 3rd grade and start 4th. This is because her 3rd grade schoolbooks were held up in a container for over half the school year. Pray for strength for Gina as she keeps house, takes care of 2 young boys, cooks, and also tries to find time to homeschool.

Taking a hike on Luke's 35th birthday.

Emily blowing out 6 candles!

Since returning we have also been battling with various illnesses, including worms, bad colds, and malaria. It seems there is always at least 1 or 2 in the family who are not feeling well. Please pray for Aaron to get over malaria and pray for the others who have long been trying to get over their colds. 

Luke continues to meet regularly with an old Muslim man named Nyamweru. They are reading "The King of Glory" book together (in Swahili), 1 or 2 chapters at a time. Only recently has he begun to discuss the things we are reading so we are thankful for the Spirit's work in him. Today our muslim neighbors and friends remember Abraham's sacrifice and make animal sacrifices of their own.  Please pray that God would help them to understand the ultimate sacrifice of the Lamb of God.

Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings in Christ,
Luke and Gina, and Esther, Emily, Aaron and Michael.

Prayer Card

You know... the kind you put on your fridge so you can remember to pray for us. This is it. Print it now!

Summer 2016

Compare it with our first prayer card.... there's a couple more blondies in the picture.

Fall 2008

June Update

Last month Luke went with a team to a newer church plant some 7 hours south of Kigoma. They had a 4-day evangelistic conference with door-to-door visitation, gospel meetings and evening films. Please pray for those that made professions of faith.

Going door to door.

The house where the guests stayed.

Mr. Isaac getting his photo taken with one of the choirs.

All set up for the afternoon conference.

We are enjoying our stay at CMML in New Jersey this month. We have had the opportunity to speak at a few assemblies in the area. Next week we will travel to New York for Steven Johnson's wedding and we look forward to spending time with family.

Back in Kigoma, Tanzania, our brother Japhet continues to teach at the “Disciples of Jesus” school. We recently heard some very sad news, that our friend Heshima was in a motorcycle accident and died. He was a deacon in the Kigoma assembly and choir director and had been the main speaker for the last evangelistic conference. We ask that you pray for that group of believers as they grieve this loss.

Heshima preaching in the afternoon meeting.

Thank you for your prayers for us.

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

with Esther, Emily, Aaron and Michael