December/January Update

"And I sought for a man among them who should build up the wall and stand in the breach before me for the land, that I should not destroy it, but I found none." (Eze. 22:30)

Dear praying friends,

Most of us have heard about, "Prayer warriors," but I wonder where they are today. I wonder why I am not one of them, fighting for the advance of the gospel and Christ's kingdom here on earth. Where are those who will stand in the gap and intercede on behalf of our families, Christ's church, and the nations? The walls of protection are broken down and destruction is near. The Lord is looking for courageous men and women who will intercede, but they are hard to find. Instead, we are "at ease in Zion," thinking all is well, when all is not well. Almighty Father, "Will you not revive us again, that your people may rejoice in you?" (Ps. 85:6). Brothers and sisters, let us unite in prayer and fasting on behalf of Christ's work that he may revive us again. There is great need today for a people devoted to prayer.

Disciples of Jesus school

On Jan. 8 we began a new year of training. We currently have 11 students. The Lord answered our prayers as last year we had to close due to a lack of students. Please keep praying for these students, that their minds and hearts would be open to receive the Word that is planted in them and that they would learn from Christ and bear much fruit for Him.

Full classroom

Peter teaches homiletics

There is still much to be done at the new property purchased for the discipleship school, before we can begin meeting and teaching there. Please pray that the Lord would raise up faithful servants among the Tanzanians to serve there, as there is a great need for honest and faithful workers. Also, pray for the progress of the construction work as the Lord provides.

Village churches

There are problems in many of the village assemblies that need to be addressed, especially with regard to overbearing elders who want to hold on to power instead of shepherding the flock as they are commanded to. Pray for those of us who have a burden to go visit these places and provide biblical teaching and godly counsel.

Luke preaches at Ilagala church.

Boys in the front row during the service.

Also there have been attacks from the enemy using groups of people who go around spreading fear and lies, especially in the churches. They claim to know secret things about people, and use their witchcraft powers to malign God's servants and sow seeds of discord and fear among God's people. Many Christians are gripped by fear and give in to the claims and demands of these wicked people. Pray for courage and faith for the believers, to trust in God's power, and know that greater is He that is in them, than he that is in the world. We are in a spiritual battle.

Peter's work among the Wataturu

At the beginning of January, Peter, our national brother and missionary to the Wataturu returned to visit and strengthen the 2 small churches in the Tabora region. It was the earnest desire of 5 of the believers to be baptized and make public their choice to follow Christ. We rejoice at the work that God is doing among them. Continue to pray for these new believers to make progress in the faith and be steadfast and immovable, abounding in the work of the Lord.

Peter baptizes a new believer

Also, we continue to pray for our brother David Michael, who has been studying at the Missions school since March of last year. Right now he is halfway through his 2 months of field work, then he will be required to do research among an unreached people group in Tanzania. Please pray for God to guide David and his wife Sara, as to where they should serve God. And pray that the Tanzanian church will rise to the challenge of sending and supporting national missionaries.

Family

We certainly miss our 2 girls, Esther and Emily who are gone to boarding school in Kenya (Rift Valley Academy or RVA) 8.5 months out of the year. We were delighted that Emily was baptized at RVA at the end of last term. We were happy to have them back home for Christmas break for about 1 month. Next week Gina will travel to be with them for their short midterm break. Aaron and Michael continue to do homeschool each week day with a volunteer teacher. Please pray for the spiritual growth of each of our children and that we as parents would be faithful to train them in the fear of the Lord. 

Full house - full heart.

4 older kids on a hike during vacation.

May the Lord make his face shine on you as you intercede with us for these petitions.

Blessings,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily, Aaron, Michael and William Johnson

November Update

Dear praying friends and family,

We are thankful for all that the team from the US was able to accomplish in September. They did all the electrical wiring for the workshop and the office block out at the new discipleship school property.

Soon after that our family drove to Kenya to be with our daughters Esther and Emily for their midterm break from Rift Valley Academy (RVA). We were able to spend a lovely extended weekend together, including a boat trip to an island to see animals, a national park, a fancy pool and some eating out. We were thankful to hear of God's Spirit working on campus during RVA's spiritual emphasis week. As a result, our daughter Emily decided to be baptized, and this took place at the end of term (November).

Visiting Nakuru National Park

Here in Kigoma we have been able to visit a few people in their homes. I (Luke) went to visit an old Muslim man (Mr. Nyamweru) who I witnessed to and read the New Testament with. I had not seen Nyamweru in a while and he would often come to our house. I decided to go to his house and when I arrived his wife told me he had died 5 days before. It was a sober reminder to make the most of every opportunity we have with unbelievers. I was able to read the Scriptures with them and talk with the wife and son and another old man about the importance of knowing where we will go when we die, and that Jesus is the only one who can give us that assurance. Please pray for the family's salvation as they are all Muslim. As a family we were also able to visit and Aroni and Prisca, a young couple from our church who just had their firstborn son. It was a nice time of fellowship.

William holding Aroni and Prisca's baby boy.

At the beginning of November we were able to visit the village church of Kalinkungwe. We took 2 young men from the town church. We were disappointed to see a decrease in number but we were able to share some gifts with them and encourage them after the service to press on in the Lord's work and to be consistent in meeting together. This coming Sunday (Dec. 3) we plan to visit the village church at Ilagala. Pray for God to raise up faithful elders who will fulfill their calling of shepherding the flock. Pray for safety on the roads as we travel and that we won't get stuck as there has been a LOT of rain for the past month or so.

Only a few kids came out in the pouring rain.

Luke preaching at Kalinkungwe.

Crossing on a ferry to get to church.

In the middle of November we were able to host, along with the Kinlaws (our CMML coworkers) the youth from the Gungu town church. There were about 20 of them and we had a time of games, singing, and a message, followed by snacks. We plan to meet again with them this Friday (Dec. 1). Pray for their spiritual growth and that they would have a desire to serve the Lord.

Esther and Emily made it back home safely from boarding school on Sat. Nov. 25. We are so happy to have our girls back for the whole month of December. We plan to celebrate Esther and Gina's birthdays, go to the beach for swimming and fishing, go on some hikes and runs together, and of course decorate for and celebrate Christmas together. 

We are making preparations for a new year of studies at the Disciples of Jesus school. We have sent out most invitations to the village churches and we are getting the new schedule made up. I (Luke) have been working on the desks for the Discipleship school as the old desk legs kept breaking. I had 15 new metal desk legs made with a storage shelf underneath. Now I just need to secure the wooden tops to them. Pray that the students who come next year would be hand picked by God and eager to study and grow.

New discipleship school desk (without the wooden top)

Luke, busy with projects.

We appreciate your partnership in the gospel as you lift up these items in prayer to the God who sees and the God who is able.

Blessings in our Savior's name,

Luke and Gina Johnson

September Update

Dear praying friends and family,

We are back in Kigoma. 

Our short visit to the east coast was wonderful. We had a chance to visit a few churches, the kids did VBS for a week, and the Mattix clan got together to celebrate Mom and Dad. The highlight was the fellowship with the believers and seeing their continued faithfulness to God.

With Mom and Dad (Mark and Carol Mattix) at CMML.

We returned to Africa, stopping in Kenya to drop off Esther and Emily at their school, Rift Valley Academy. The girls got settled into their dorms, and battling jet-lag the rest of us barely caught a late night flight to Tanzania. After readjusting the luggage (for our domestic flight) during a short layover, we boarded our last flight to Kigoma. We were home, after only being away for one month, but it sure felt longer.

So, as you can imagine, our house is not quite the same, with only 3 boys. And on our first week home, it was painfully obvious when we had to connect with our two girls via whatsapp and facetime so we could all sing to Luke on his birthday. Please pray for us as we continue to adjust.

Kids gathered around to wish their Daddy a Happy Birthday.

On our second week home, the local church hosted a Youth Conference. For four days, over 100 youth stayed at the church. They enjoyed fellowship and seminar teaching, Christian films, lots of music and even a talent show. On Sunday they were all eager to have their choirs sing, this made for a lively church service. There were 12 village churches represented; what an encouragement to see so many gathered and praising God through their Christ-centered songs. Thank you for praying for this conference, and for the youth of Tanzania.

Gungu choir taking its turn on Sunday morning.

A full house, and a good meal for everyone.

In the middle of this youth conference, a team from the USA arrived in Kigoma. There are 5 men, and 2 women who have come to do work at the Discipleship School property as well as other odd jobs and ministry. They will be here for just over 2 weeks. Pray for a blessed and profitable time together.

Electrical work at the work site, and some of the equipment.

We really appreciate you and your support for the ministry in Tanzania.

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

July Update

Dear praying friends,

We greet you all in our precious Savior's name. This summer (dry season for us) has been very busy and it does not look like things will slow down any time soon.

Encouraging the Saints

We have had a lot of trips to the villages to visit, encourage, teach and attend conferences. We also have been trying to get the young people excited about attending a big youth conference planned for the beginning of September. On Thursday (July 20) Luke will drive south about 14 hours with a team of 10 men to have an evangelistic conference that will include door-to-door evangelism, open air choirs and preaching and evangelistic films in the evening. They will take 2 cars and will return on Monday (July 24), Lord willing. Please pray for safety and for fruit that remains from all the seminars and conferences that took place this summer.

Open air preaching in Munzeze

Conference in Nkungwe

Disciples of Jesus School and Graduation

Unfortunately, at the end of April we had to close the discipleship program due to a lack of students. Although we started the year with 5 students, 2 of those were continuing from last year, and 2 more dropped out. So, when the 2 from last year finished up their remaining classes we were left with 1 student. We decided to close and reopen in January 2024. We notified all the elders in the assemblies in hopes that they will encourage the saints to prepare for next year. We recently had a small graduation ceremony for the 2 students that completed the course this year. Please pray for a good number of students, ones chosen and prepared by the Spirit, to attend next year.

Graduation

The New Discipleship Property (Bushabani)

Meanwhile, the construction work has continued at the Bushabani plot on the outskirts of town where we are building a discipleship school. We have built and roofed a workshop and the office block and library, but have not plastered or finished the floors. We recently stopped the work and will continue perhaps in the fall, as the Lord provides. We are excited that a team from the US will be coming for about 3 weeks to visit he Kinlaws and also help us with some electrical work (among other things) at the new plot in September. Pray for them as they prepare for that, and pray for God's continued provision for the construction work.

Progress on the office block

So far, so good.

Literature

At the beginning of July we were happy to receive an order of 5 boxes of good, Christian books from our brethren in the Lord at KLB Publishers. These include Bible commentaries, Bible dictionaries, revised and updated songbooks and many other books, all in Kiswahili. We will sell them at a 30% discount to the saints in the churches. Pray for a greater hunger among God's people to know the Word.

Family and Trip to the US

In May and in June we celebrated birthdays of 2 of our boys. Now we are happy to have Esther back from RVA (boarding school in Kenya) for summer vacation. She has been home for a week. In less than 2 weeks we begin our travels to the US. It starts with a trek across the country by bus to Dar and then we fly to the US.  We will be at the CMML headquarters in NJ for about 3 weeks for a family reunion of the Mattixes (celebrating Mark & Carol's 50th wedding anniversary) and visiting a few churches in the area. We are looking forward to a break, or at least a change of routine. As soon as we get back we will travel to Kenya to drop off Esther (starting 11th grade) and Emily (starting 8th grade). Please pray for our family during these transitions; for Esther and especially Emily, as she adjusts to boarding school for the first time.

As always, we depend on your prayers and can't tell how vital they are to the ministry here.

With Christian love,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily, Aaron, Michael and William

Attempting a family photo with a timer. =)

May Update

 Dear praying friends and family,

Thank you so much for your prayers!

Luke returned safely Sunday night from his trip to Kibondo, Kasanda and Kazira. The seminar was well received, with 60+ attendees from several churches. The 6 youth brought their enthusiasm and talent to the joy of the believers.

Happy, Aroni and Taji sing at Kibondo.

We've been enjoying a lot of rain as the season comes to an end. This makes for muddy roads (muddy children!), and in some cases, impossible-to-pass roads.

William cooling off at church after a rain.

We're thankful that, in spite of the rain, the construction of the workshop at the Bible School property is making good progress. We are thankful for God's protection over the workers and the property. Here are a series of photos to show what's happened since February:

Foundation and walls going up (Feb 10)

Ring-beam in place, and venting blocks installed (March 14)

Michael, Aaron and William posing.

Trusses taking shape (April 8)

And finally, a shiny blue roof! (April 21)

Please pray now for the construction of the office block, pictured below:

As a family we loved having Esther home for the month of April. We are thankful for the schooling and new experiences our children are learning. Emily continues to homeschool (with a little help from mom). Aaron and Michael have recently joined a missionary friend and his teacher and they are eager to learn each day. William keeps this household on its toes. He excels at inviting himself over to the neighbors' houses (and snacks!).

Reunited after 3 months.

Blessings in Christ,

 Luke and Gina Johnson

It just keeps raining, and the lake keeps rising

Rain at home,

And rain at church,

There's freedom to play.

The water level is high.

Nowhere is safe to stay dry.

Watching a storm approach from across the lake.

Which make for fantastic sunsets.

Even with no sandy beach,

The water doesn't change,

It's the kids' favorite place to be.

February Update

Dear praying friends,

We praise our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ, for carrying us safely into this new year of 2023. May our bodies be a living offering to Him this year.

Discipleship School

On January 9 we began a new year at the Disciples of Jesus school. We have 5 students and we pray the Lord will bring a few more to study with us. Right now Peter Yamungu is teaching on sermon and Bible lesson preparation. We have already had a work day, helping one of the village churches to dig a latrine (toilet). As usual, we plan to do ministry in the village churches, and this year we want to start doing door to door evangelism. Please pray for the spiritual growth of the students, and for the teaching, planning, and scheduling of all these ministries.

Students working.

Discipleship School Property

Praise the Lord with us! We broke ground at the new discipleship school property on January 26. The foundation for the workshop is progressing quickly. After that we plan to build the office block (offices and library), as funds allow. Please pray that all will be done as unto the Lord, according to His perfect will, and that our King would be greatly glorified.

Digging the foundation.

Family

Esther is in 10th grade and is on the soccer team at Rift Valley Academy (RVA) and doing well academically. She comes home from Kenya for about a month of vacation every 3 months. We thank the Lord for a nice Christmas break with her during the month of December. Our homeschoolers are Emily, who is in 7th grade, Aaron in 3rd grade and Michael in 2nd grade. William spends his mornings at Grandpa and Grandma's house so as not to disturb the homeschoolers. Emily loves to cook, make candles, play piano and listen to Adventures in Odyssey. Aaron loves being outside, building his fort and making sticks into bows, arrows and swords. Michael loves to sing, play with his friends and drive his imaginary car. William tries to keep up with his big brothers. Living by the lake means we get to enjoy the beach once a week.

Attempting to get a nice photo of all the kids. =)

View over Lake Tanganyika.

Upcoming

Luke will continue to be very busy checking up on the construction and keeping financial records of everything. He will also be teaching again at the Disciples of Jesus school at the end of this month. Gina is preparing to travel to Kenya in less than a week to see Esther for a few days during her midterm break. On Feb. 20-24 we will have our yearly regional elders conference. Harry Johnson (Luke's Dad) will be teaching a seminar for 2.5 days and then we will have 2 days of business meetings. Please pray for the Spirit's guidance and help for the work at the construction site, Gina's travels and the elder's conference.

Blessings in the Name above every Name,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily, Aaron, Michael and William

November Update

Dear praying friends,

Well, it's about time we update you on the work here. We rejoice that the rains are finally here after a longer than usual dry season. Pray for a good rainy season so that the farmers can get good crops.

Disciples of Jesus school

On October 29, 2022 six students from our discipleship program graduated. Please pray that they would serve the Lord as they return to their home churches. Also pray that the Lord would begin to prepare those for next year. Lord willing, we will begin a new year on Jan. 09, 2023.

Graduates: Shadrack, Neema, Faraja, Tumaini, Daudi and Herman

Bushabani Discipleship school property

We have been working on completing the building plans and getting them approved at the land office for quite some time. We are also waiting on the building permit to be issued so that we can begin building as the Lord provides. Please pray the permit and the plans would be issued soon and that the Lord would help us find an experienced and trustworthy foreman to oversee the work.

Family

We have had quite a few travels lately. At the end of August we traveled to Moshi for a conference of church elders from all over the country. Luke taught a few sessions along with others. On the way there we were delayed for 2 days by car trouble but God took care of us (you can read it on our previous blog post). At the end of September Luke flew to Kenya to be with Esther for 2 weeks due to some struggles she is having at boarding school. During that time Gina and Emily flew to Cyprus to attend Gina's niece's wedding. The 3 boys stayed behind and enjoyed quality time with grandpa and grandma. 😉 Then we all joined up on the coast and went to Zanzibar (an island off the coast of Tanzania) for a 3 night family vacation. Esther returned to RVA (her boarding school) and we took the 2 day train ride back to Kigoma. Please pray for Esther at boarding school, and for Gina as she homeschools Emily, Aaron and Michael.

Hours of fun on the train.

Permits

A couple months ago Luke began working on submitting his online application for his Work and Residence Permits (i.e. Permission to live and work in the country). After many hours of paperwork and collecting and submitting additional documents we praise the Lord that they were both granted. Please pray as we begin the process of applying for student permits for the school age kids. 

Visiting village churches

Last week we were able to visit the village church in Kamala. We were encouraged by their growth, joy and love for one another. Next weekend Luke will travel with an elder to teach a one day seminar at a struggling church. He will stay on for the Sunday meeting and then return. Pray for our preparation.

Luke preaching at the Kamala church.

Upcoming

This Friday we, along with John and Jeniffer Kinlaw, plan on having an evening of fun and teaching for the youth from the Kigoma town church. Also, we are looking forward to having Esther back in a couple of weeks (just after Thanksgiving) for her Christmas vacation.

Thank you for your partnership in the gospel. Pray that the gospel would bear much fruit in the lives of many.

Grace and peace to you,

Luke and Gina and the kiddos

Blessed to be all together.