What a trip!

Just wanted to let you know that we arrived safely in Kigoma. What a trip!

The train pulled in at 7:20 pm on Friday. That was way earlier than we thought and a nice bonus to be able to be in our house before 8 pm and sitting down for a supper (that was all prepared in advance by our house helper, Grace). We were all bathed or showered and in our beds shortly after that. Boy, did it feel good to sleep in our own beds. Of course we were all up around 2 am. Emily walked right past me in the hallway with her Bible and into the living room at one point, while I put the boys down for the 16th time. She matter-of-factly tells me that she’s going to read her bible now. Well, I reminded her of the time and that she had to wait for the sun to come up first if she wanted to be out of bed!

It’s just amazing to think that everything went as planned, the car trip, with meeting up with Larry at SeaTac to get our two suitcases and giving him the car, and then onto 3 long flights, the luggage all arriving in Dar, and then our train tickets waiting for us at the motel where we stayed before getting on the train. We had no idea how it would all turn out. We prayed that God would just make things happen because a lot of things were out of our control.

While in Newark, we decided to use the smartphone one last time to check for any new e-mails. So we found a place to sit and charge it for a bit and then we fired it up. The first e-mail that caught our attention was from the man in Dar who had purchased our train tickets… well he said that something urgent had just come up so he was not able to meet us at the train station as planned. So where should he have the tickets sent? Wow, we hadn’t thought of that sudden change. And we had to think fast. So that is how the train tickets ended up at our motel. We had already made reservations at this hotel for one night so we figured it was the safest place to have something like tickets be dropped off.

God protected and guided every step of the way. I had prayed that the luggage wouldn’t arrive. You see I had visions of us arriving at a very crowded Dar Es Salaam train station with 6 pieces of checked luggage, all of our carry on back packs and our 4 kids, ... in the pouring rain. I figured it’d be simpler to have the airline figure out how to get our luggage to Kigoma if they misplaced it and all we had to deal with was our carry ons and the kids. But our luggage did arrive, and the moment of checking into the train station wasn’t as chaotic as it could have been. And it did rain very hard, but not until we were settled into our cabin!

All of our checked bags fit under the bunks, and the two carry ons were used by the boys to stand on and look out the window. So it wasn’t too crowded on the train after all.

So today we are busy unpacking and organizing. It rained in the night and it has stayed overcast all day so it’s nice to have cooler weather. And the cooler weather meant that our beach day was cancelled, and just as well as we have so much to do to get this place ship-shape.

Luke begins teaching on Monday. Tomorrow we will see everyone at the local church. The kids have had a chance to pick guavas and eat fresh mangoes, now they are catching up with the neighbor kids.

And I need to prepare supper.
Bye for now.
Gina for the family

Getting comfortable for a night at SeaTac, or uncomfortable.

The calm train station... maybe it's because we were more than an hour early!

Back on the train, feels so familiar...  it's only our 4th time this year!

First african meal on the train. Dig in!

Lake Tanganyika, at last!

October News

Family News

 As a family we have been in the US since August. We have had a chance to visit family and friends on the west coast. Luke has been able to share numerous times about the ministries in Tanzania to a few churches as well. In all of this the Lord has blessed us immensely by providing for our needs and protecting us on the many travels. You can pray for Harry and Ruth Johnson as they carry the burden alone back in Kigoma. We look forward to our return in November. Luke will begin teaching our first Monday back and the girls will begin the full load of 2nd and 5th grade. 

Discipleship School

The school hasn't skipped a beat in our absence and is under the capable supervision of brother Japhet. Harry Johnson is currently teaching on the End Times.

Pray for the students to be diligent in this last trimester of classes and to finish strong. We hope to have some 10 men and women graduating the middle of December, Lord willing.

Special Prayer

We ask that you pray for us as we continue to seek the Lord in regards to a property that was purchased for the use of the Discipleship School. After 2 years of visiting the local land office, we have not made any headway so we are weary and discouraged. However, we want to trust God and ask that He work a miracle in all this if He so wills.

Blessings in Christ,

  Luke and Gina Johnson

August and September in Photos

Highlights from our time in the States --

Ice skating for the first time!

Enjoying a few days at a retreat center in northern Washington.

Spending time with family.

Picking a whole lot of blueberries

Playing in the snow on Mt. Baker.

Seeing family after many years.

Spending a day with Daniel and Lisa Epp and their 3 kids.

Visiting the Lewis and Clark Caverns in Montana.

Visiting "Kigoma friends" while in Montana.

Spending a day at Yellowstone National Park.

Visiting the Sonodas in Boise.

The Solar Eclipse!

Going to the Oregon Coast.

Seeing family on Shearer Hill.

Bajaji

Our main mode of transportation while in the big city is a Bajaji. They are 3 wheeled motorbike taxis, with a canopy for the passengers. A typical bajaji has a 200 cc engine, so it isn't built for speed, but it sure is convenient for zipping around town past the long lines of traffic.
Now can a family of 6 fit into one Bajaji?

Esther and Emily on the sidewalk side.

Gina and Aaron in the middle.

Luke and Michael on the street side.

Yes, we can! And our backpacks get dumped behind us where the engine sits, there's a place for everything. Safari njema!

June and July Update

Dear praying friends and family,

As our family gets ready to board our international flight this afternoon, we are reminded of the goodness of our Lord and are thankful for His protection and provision during these last couple of months.
Luke taught three weeks on the doctrine of Salvation at the Disciples of Jesus school in June. He has also taken the students on three different ministry trips to village churches where they taught the children and preached the Word.

Francoise teaching the Sunday School children in Kinazi.

The young men of the Disciples of Jesus school practiced for weeks in preparation for a friendly soccer match with the nearby church of Nkungwe. Pray for the students as they finish up their second term. Pray for Japhet as he's the only remaining full-time teacher there.

Soccer players from Kigoma.

In July we had a wonderful visit with some of Luke's siblings and their families. We enjoyed a hike to nearby waterfalls, outings to the beach, campfires with lots of singing and even an anniversary celebration for Harry and Ruth Johnson.

Waterfall hike with family.

Our kids especially enjoyed the visit from our friend Nicola, who lives in the DR Congo and came with her two young children to Kigoma. She is currently caring for a baby boy, whose mother died while giving birth and the family was unable to care for the infant. Baby Benjamin has since doubled his weight and our girls loved playing mommy with him!

Esther feeding baby Benjamin.

Our travels began last weekend by taking the train for two days to the big city of Dar on the east coast.

Aaron eating chicken on the train ride. It was really tough.

Pretty countryside along the train tracks as we near the east coast.

While in Dar we took the opportunity to visit our good friend Peter who is studying at a missions college in preparation to go to an unreached tribe in Tanzania. Please pray for him as he studies and is apart from his family during these months.

Peter (in blue) with his roommate Abson and their dorm room.

We look forward to seeing some of you while we are in the Northwest for the next 3 months.
Please pray for us as we continue our trip.
Blessings in Christ.

Luke and Gina Johnson

May Update

Dear praying friends and family,

Earlier this month, Luke went on a week-long ministry boat trip with his parents, Harry and Ruth Johnson. They were able to visit and encourage 3 village churches along the lake south of Kigoma. In all they showed evangelistic films 5 nights, had special church meetings, Ruth taught the children and met with the women. We are thankful to the Lord for his protection during the long sail. Please pray for Shakira, a young woman who was prayed for and delivered from demons. (See the previous blog posts for more on the boat trip.)
Those with google accounts can view an album of Luke's photos of the ministry boat trip.

The crew sailing home.

Harry, all ready to show films.

A guest teacher just finished teaching Angels and Demons to the remaining 10 faithful students. Luke will teach the next course, beginning Monday, on the study of salvation. They have begun their ministry trips to the villages every other Sunday. Today they visited the village church in Ilagala. Pray for the students as they continue to learn in the classroom and then minister in these churches by preaching the Word of God.

Students with Ahadi (in the back, in purple), the guest teacher.

This weekend begins the fasting month of Ramadan for our muslim neighbors and friends. Pray that many would be drawn to Christ during this time of seeking. The local church continues with the weekly door-to-door visitation in their area. Luke meets weekly with an old muslim man named Nyamweru and is nearing the end of the book King of Glory. He is showing a lot more interest in the stories. Pray that the Lord would open his eyes to his sinful condition and his need of a Savior.

Pray for an evangelistic conference in the town of Kibondo, northeast of Kigoma at the beginning of June.

Luke with Nyamweru.

We are planning to visit the Northwest in the late summer from August to October of this year, Lord willing. The kids are excited about the upcoming plane ride and the many new things to do and see in the US. We look forward to seeing many of you.

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

3 of 3 - Ministry Boat Trip - Buhingu

On May 12, 2017 the boat was ready to cast off from Igalula and continue on their sail toward Buhingu. So they headed south, towards the Mahale mountains but stopping just shy of them.

Polo on deck relaxing as they motor out of Igalula.

Emineli up front watching for hazards.

Amani Ali joined the crew to guide them into safe harbor.

Anchored at Buhingu with film equipment ashore.

Ruth teaching the kids.

The crew went ashore and were received at Musa's house. The women cooked for them all, serving them lunch and dinner, sometimes they ate chicken, but often it was fish or beans.

The women at Musa's house washing the dishes and serving the guests.

And then it rained. Finally! The swells got quite high on the lake as the boat rocked, but the anchors and the mooring rope held.

Harry and Ruth collecting rain water.

As the rain stopped, the crew went to see the chapel building. The believers here have finished their foundation, and built the brick walls. They just need to finish with a tin roof.

Chapel building at Buhingu.

Again, the team got ready to show films that evening in the center of town.

Harry with the eager spectators.

The screen on stilts.

Unfortunately, the sound cut off 20 minutes into the film Ben Hur. They worked hard at trying to figure out what the problem was, but after another 20 minutes had to cancel the films.

The Mahale Mountains are so close.

The next morning, Saturday, they had a meeting in the church and Luke preached. Ruth had meetings with the ladies and also with the kids. Emineli and Luke worked at getting the sound for the film equipment to work. They figured out what the problem was but they could not get the parts needed in the village. So instead of canceling films for the second night, they looked into renting an amp and a speaker. The local people brought the needed amp and speaker at 5 minutes 'til 7 pm, so they quickly got the film equipment set up and showed Ben Hur. The boat crew was back on their boat by 11 pm and ready for a good night's sleep, with a couple mosquitoes bothering them now and then.

Believers in the unfinished chapel.

Rainbow over Buhingu.

Sunday morning the believers met again for worship in their unfinished chapel. Ruth first taught Sunday School and at around 10 am the main service started. Polo gave a short message and Harry gave the main message. Then the crew went to Musa's house for one last lunch before loading the film equipment onto the boat and beginning their sail back. At 3:30 pm they pulled anchor.

Polo and Emineli are happy to be going back home.

Sails are up.

The wind was perfect to sail with so they put all 4 sails up. But as the swells got bigger and the wind died down they had to slowly let down one sail at a time and then rely on the motor. At 7 pm the sun set and they could see less and less. And then the stars were out, they were so beautiful and so many. The motor used a whole tank of fuel as they fought the big swells and needed to add more. Finally at 10 pm the moon came up and glowed yellow on the water and bathed them in light. They could now better make out the outline of the mountains and the cape. At 11:45 pm they anchored at Kirando. Amosi Amani went ashore to go home; they tied the boat to some reeds and finally went to bed.

Polo and Harry on the last day of sailing.

The next morning at 6:30 am they pulled anchor and eagerly got to work on their last day of sailing. The land breeze made it perfect for sailing, so again, with all the sails up they cruised along, averaging 4 knots and later 5. They enjoyed a good sail, using the motor only a few times and pulled into Kikodeko in the Kigoma bay at 2:30 pm, much earlier than was expected. The kids and I were very happy to have Luke home.

Sunrise

Emineli, Ruth and Harry. Almost home!