Bus trip - a letter to my Mom

We have arrived safely at Keza.
Thurs. we got on a "micro" that took us to Arusha, another big city about an hour from Moshi. We met up with some friends (Upendo, a Korean girl that works with YWAM and Teresa) from the Morogoro Language School. They took us to this wonderful Indian restaurant and had a feast and then went to Teresa's house (the American single lady that's a surgeon's nurse) where she had a room for us. We were all up by 5 am and after a breakfast they drove us to town to catch our bus that left right at 5:59 am. They weren't kidding about leaving on time (it was to leave at 6 am)!! And what a bus it was! The interior of the bus had been completely re-done locally. Our seats were welded onto steel bars, the luggage compartment was all steel as well with sharp corners that ended just above our seats. We were seated in the next to last row, just across from a tourist couple. Being in the back meant we felt every bump in the road, and we soon learned that the driver didn't quite feel the bumps the way we did! He wouldn't slow down nearly enough for the numerous speed bumps on our way out of Arusha. Our group of three seats was being occupied by 3 adults and two kids, one of the kids being 14 or so. Since her father had bought only one ticket, she sat on his lap the whole way, but he wasn't a small man and so it was a tight squeeze for the first 8 hours. All of a sudden one of those speed bumps sent us "back row" people flying some two feet in the air. The oriental man in the last row was clutching his neck in pain, he had been trying to get some sleep. We all just laughed it off and held on tightly, ready for the next leap. That's when I noticed the lady across the aisle from us, she looked so frightened, her eyes huge and anxious. Her friend next to her was clutching her wadded-up shawl tightly to his forehead. When the next bump hit just as hard she couldn't keep quiet any longer and started calling out saying that the driver should slow down, especially since her friend now had a gash over his left eyebrow and was bleeding. After a lot more shouting the driver finally slowed down and came to a stop. Everybody turned around to see the poor man who was in shock and looking very pale. They were given a seat up front while someone came to their seats. Of course that meant the girl had to sit in the aisle, nobody was willing to take the man's seat! (About an hour later a passenger was picked up and he headed to that empty seat, but he must have already heard the story 'cause he couldn't stop looking at the sharp metal just above his head and held on tightly to the seat in front of him).
3 hours later we stopped at a town to pick up more passengers and Luke bolted out of the bus to relieve himself. Of course Esther and I had to go as well so we made our way off the bus, stepping over luggage that was along the entire center aisle. Found the restrooms and after paying went to stand in line with some other 20 women who looked miserable from "holding it" so long. There were only two women in front of me when the father of the 14 year old girl came running to say that the bus was leaving. The two bathroom doors opened immediately and the young girl emerged while the rest of the ladies in line turned around to run toward the bus. Well, I was next in line now, so I jumped in to help Esther go and I couldn't leave without going myself, all the while people shouted outside to stop the eager bus driver. Grabbing Esther I ran the whole way to the bus as it continued to pull away. Esther laughed her head off the whole while and everybody just laughed with her seeing a gringa running to catch her bus. Well, we learned our lesson and barely sipped at our water bottles the rest of the day.
Finally at just past 6 pm we pulled into Kahama where we found a guest house to spend the night. We were up before 5 am the next morning and off to the bus station to board our second bus which promptly left at 6:02 am. We thought the first bus was bad, ... this one had seats falling apart and windows that didn't close properly on top of bad suspension and zero cushion for our seats. The bus started off not quite full but by the time we arrived at Keza it was filled with people crowding the aisle that it was difficult to move past them when our destination approached. Feeling every achy bone and joint we hauled our two bags (SO glad we didn't pack more) up the drive way to our house. That was at 10:20am.
The first thing we did was boil some water so Luke and I could have our morning coffee and then we sat down for a bowl of corn flakes. Two hours later we were groggy from our nap but wanted to start unpacking. Finally at around 3 pm got the motivation to get into our car and drive the half hour to Kibondo for a much needed grocery shopping. We arrived at the market just as the rain started to pour, so we purchased the things on our list as fast as we could and got back in the car with two freshly roasted corn on the cobs to share on the drive back. The road out of town was slick, a toyota in front of us was sliding all over the place so we took our cue and went at a crawl over the red clay soil. A truck had already slid into the ditch and guys were running back with dry grass to place in front of the wheels for traction. As we neared Keza we noticed that the rain had reached there as well and things were still very wet. Sure enough, at the bottom of our last hill was a huge semi jack-knifed and blocking 3/4 of the road. Luke decided to check and see if it was safe to squeeze past and the men said it was fine. As he headed back to the car the semi truck driver decided to straighten out and in so doing blocked the entire road! Motorcyclists approached the scene and drove up the bank and into the bushes in order to get around the semi. Luke thought he'd be able to do the same but wanted to run home quickly to get his machete first. Then the rain started pouring. Luke was the one with a raincoat so he grabbed a few grocery bags and headed home while Esther and I stayed in the dry car. Just before Luke returned another 4WD vehicle was the first to attempt what the motorcycles had been doing and was successful. So I was anxious to have Luke back and try the same, seeing that the sun had already set and we'd have no option but to leave the car behind with Luke spending the night with it to guard. Mr. Englebert (manager at Keza) showed up just then, knowing that we were there had come down to encourage Luke to try and drive around the semi before too much traffic ruined the detour with their ruts. So, Luke put the vehicle into 4WD and we headed into the bushes, it was no problem at all and we were back on the road and needing to go into the ditch in order to get around another truck that had shut off its engine, resigned to spend the night on the road just as the rain started up again.
It was wonderful to be back home and sleeping in our own beds. We decided to drive to church this morning once Luke saw that the semi and other trucks had moved on earlier in the morning. But just as we were saying good-bye to Anton and his family the thunder and dark clouds were approaching. By the time we got home it was raining, and it continues to do so at this hour (5 pm). I hear some engines revving, I wonder if it's another truck getting stuck on the slick clay road. Rainy season means we might have trouble on the road but it's also needed by the many farmers. Just north of us the people have planted but they still haven't here because they haven't had the long rains.

November Update

Students at chai break...

Waiting for Daddy to come back...
Mt. Kilimanjaro... (Danny Johnson has climbed it!)

Greetings in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

I (Luke) have now finished teaching the book of Amos at the Bible College and I think it went well. I had 4 students who were quite attentive and enjoyed the class. The college is located in the town of Moshi which is at the base of the famous Mt. Kilimanjaro so we have enjoyed seeing it in the early mornings and in the evenings. Otherwise during the day it is always covered with clouds. We leave tomorrow on our 2-day bus trip home (at Keza).

When we get home I (Luke) will continue teaching through the Firm Foundations course. We plan on spending Christmas with my parents in Kigoma and then returning to Keza until March, when I will be finishing up the Firm Foundations course. Then we plan to move to Kigoma town and find a more permanent residence.

Gina and I have been saddened by the lack of maturity and scriptural grounding that we seem to see in almost all the churches that we have visited. We have been burdened to pray that God would raise up mature and godly leaders who will shepherd the flock and protect them from false doctrine. We are also praying about what part we can have in that process. We would appreciate if you joined your prayers with ours regarding this.

Here are some other matters of prayer as well:
- Pray for the students at the Bible College as they finish up. Pray that they would use what they have learned to serve the Lord and build up Christ's church as they return to their respective homes.
- Pray that the Firm Foundations course would be used by God to ground the believers at Kaziramihunda in the faith.
- Pray that we would be able to find a suitable place to live when we move to Kigoma town.
- Pray that we would have wisdom and direction from the Holy Spirit as to our involvement in teaching, encouraging, and training leaders and the other believers as well.

In Christ,
Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

October Update

Eva, Esther and Hobu...

Luke teaching Firm Foundations Course...

Dear praying friends and family,

Another month goes by and we rejoice in the many blessings from the Lord that were evident to us. The literature we brought back with us from our last trip has been greatly appreciated. We have given some hymnbooks for the chapel's use, and it's neat to see the men and women flip thru them trying to see how many songs they know and remembering some forgotten ones. Word has gotten around that we have Bibles too, and boy have there been requests! Many at the chapel are eagerly getting their own. One man at the chapel wondered if it was possible to learn from the Bible by just reading it on his own, he didn't expect Luke's affirmative answer and we were happy to see him reading it on his own later that afternoon. 

Luke started teaching the Firm Foundations course just days after we'd sent our last newsletter. It was not our original intention to begin the course this early but that's OK, one needs to be flexible. The people at the chapel seem to be enjoying the lessons, some are faithful note takers. A crowd of kids arrive as well, mostly because they are following our car, but then quite a few stay to listen to the lesson, it appeals to the kids as well since it has pictures and charts and is more of a classroom setting.

Luke keeps busy with preparing the weekly Firm Foundations lesson as well as his upcoming course on Amos at the Bible college. Esther keeps busy with running off to play with her best friend Eva, picking some wild fruit in the forest behind our house, and finding creative ways for getting as filthy as possible by lunch time. =) I (Gina) keep busy with keeping the family clean and fed. (I, Luke, will just add that that is not an easy task. She cooks on a kerosene stove, and bakes things in a wood stove oven. She also has to cook just the right amount because we don't have a fridge and leftovers won't keep. And she washes all our clothes by hand!) 

At the end of this month (Oct. 23rd) we will drive to Moshi (northern TZ) along with Luke's parents to the Berea Bible College. Luke, and Luke's dad will both be teaching classes at the Bible college there. Luke will be teaching a 6-day course on the book of Amos, complete with student notes and a final exam on day 7.

Prayer Requests:

- Luke's preparation of the Amos class

- For faithful attendance of the Firm Foundations course

- Wisdom in knowing how to best help the people at the chapel with their various needs

We thank the Lord for those of you that remember us regularly in your prayers. Our God is able to do more than we can even ask or think because of His infinite power. May all the glory be His!

With love in the Spirit,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

September Update

All ready for church...

Boredom...

Most recent family photo....

Dear Praying Friends and Family, sorry this month's letter is a little late in coming, but as you can imagine we've been quite busy lately.

Church Life

The small assembly that we attend is located in a nearby village called Kaziramihunda (Sorry, I know that's a hard one to pronounce so don't worry if you have trouble with it). It is about an hour's walk from our house at Keza. Since we've been there they have started breaking bread every week and we are encouraged by that. There is only one elder but even he has not really been officially recognized as such. His name is Anton. There are many doctrinal errors present among them, which is mainly the result of a lack of good biblical teaching. What concerns us most is the fact that there are even misconceptions regarding salvation. We have made plans with the elder to teach the "Firm Foundations" course starting in November. The course is a chronological history of salvation which will hopefully help clear up some basic misunderstandings about salvation.

Resources

After 3 1/2 weeks of being back at Keza we made a trip to Mwanza. We took my little brother Steven with us so that he could meet up with another family that was traveling back to his boarding school in Kenya. While there we had some work done on the car that could not be done in Kigoma. We also took the opportunity to shop for a few things we can't get where we are; including a small solar system to power our computer during the day when there is no electricity. Then we drove to Dodoma, the capital city (11 hours away), and visited Inge and Monica (2 German CMML missionaries who publish books for the churches here). We attended church with them on Sunday and then Monday was spent browsing and choosing Christian literature for the churches here. We got Bibles, hymnbooks, commentaries, tracts and much other useful Christian literature in Swahili. We are thankful for these resources and pray that they will be used for God's glory and the strengthening of the churches of Tanzania.

Pray for:

- Spiritual growth for the church at Kaziramihunda

- Preparation for teaching "Firm Foundations" course

- Relationship building with the people here

- Wisdom in the use/distribution of the literature

Thank you for your prayers for the work here. I am reminded that God loves to use the prayers of His people to accomplish His work.

Sincerely,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

August Update

Our house at Keza...

Ben graduates...

After the Rugby game...

Dear Friends and Family,

We are back from our long family trip to Kenya. Spent countless hours in the car, waited at border crossings, and stayed in different homes and hotels during the 14-day long trip.  We witnessed Ben Johnson's graduation from High School at RVA, returning alumni trying unsuccessfully to beat the soccer and rugby varsity team, watching a Rugby match for the first time (for Gina and Esther) and meeting many other missionaries both in Tanzania and Kenya. In all it turned into a mini-vacation, both restful and adventurous. 

On our drive back we were dropped-off at our new home in Keza, some 6 hours north of Kigoma. We have now had a week to completely unpack and turn the little house into our own. Sunday morning we walked some 50 minutes to the nearest assembly in the town of Kaziramihunda to fellowship with some 25 other believers. Luke was asked to speak that morning and I (Gina) have already been pleaded with to teach the women's bible study. 

We have spent the last few days in Kigoma going to offices and getting all the required paperwork for the car. Monday morning we hope to pick up the last of that paperwork and drive back to Keza. 

Praises:

- Paperwork for car completed

- Safety in travel

Pray for:

- Continued learning of language and culture

- Involvement in the nearby chapel

- Boldness in reaching out to our new neighbors

With love in Christ,

Luke, Gina and Esther

Our "new" car

We are very thankful for the Lord's provision of a car for us. We got it used from another missionary family who just recently moved to the Congo. It is a 1991 Toyota Hilux Surf. It was in fairly good condition although I worked on it for 2 days along with 2 mechanics to get it up to par. We put new tires on it, changed all the fluids, changed some worn steering components and some bad seals, and of course cleaned it up real well. We hope it will be used for many more years in the Lord's service. 

Evangelistic Trip

Two days after we arrived in Kigoma where my (Luke) parents live, we went on an evangelistic outreach trip for a week. We went down south to an old Burundian refugee resettlement called Katumba.  

 

We had a seminar each morning (teaching about the local church) based on William McDonald's Emmaus Course "Christ loved the church" (See below).

Then from about 3 to 6 PM each day we had an evangelistic meeting ...

With singing and lots of special numbers from the numerous church choirs ...

And finally preaching at the end.

Then in the evenings we showed gospel films as soon as it was dark enough.

On Sunday 11 people were baptized. Here are the witnesses ...

And here is one of those who was baptized.

All in all in was a good experience of the rustic conditions which most people in this country experience daily; namely no electricity, running water or western toilets, and rice and beans each day. We are thankful that we did not get sick at all while down there, although the dusty dry season weather got to our noses and throats a bit.

July Update

Dear praying friends and family,

 We have enjoyed the couple of weeks we've had in Kigoma with Mom and Dad Johnson. Esther is loving all the attention she gets from her grandparents and the swimming in Lake Tanganyika just a few meters from the house.

 

Village Visit: Our first week back we headed off to Katumba, a refugee settlement some 11 hrs. south of Kigoma for an evangelistic conference. The believers took very good care of us, providing a bed frame at last minute and some straw mats for the bed. The "little house" that we stayed in was a newly built pharmacy but was available for our use while there. Dad Johnson along with other leaders taught seminars from the Emmaus  Correspondence Course "Christ loved the Church" each morning. The afternoon was filled with the regular meeting which consisted of many choirs singing, a speaker giving the gospel message and then an invitation to confess sins as well as an opportunity to pray for the sick. As soon as the afternoon meeting came to a close, the men would quickly set up for the films, that way, when the sun set, the movies could begin right away. On our last night of movies was the biggest crowd we had since word had gotten around the village. Kids by the hundreds were everywhere, it wouldn't take much to round them up for an impromptu Sunday School! On Sunday 11 believers were baptized.

 

Youth Conference: Luke was asked to speak at the first youth conference held at the local assembly, so he worked hard on getting enough material to last for two 2-hour messages. At the end of the second message it was open to questions and the youth had many. 

Retreat: These past three days we had a nice mini-retreat with Mom and Dad Johnson and their co-worker Brook Ford. We spent a lot of time in prayer and seeking God's leading in regards to the ministry possibilities in this area. It also proved to be a good time for us to ask questions and get familiar with the past and current ministries by other missionaries in the Kigoma area.

More Travel: In one week we'll be on our way to Kenya for Ben's High School graduation (Luke's younger brother). We're working hard to get our "new" used car ready for the trip. On the way up we'll drop off a few of our belongings at Keza. On our way back from Kenya (around July 22), we will settle there until the end of the year. Then we will move to Kigoma town.

We are praying that we'll be able to be in contact via e-mail and internet while we live at Keza even though there is no phone line or electricity. There is an option of doing email through a wireless modem, so pray that the details for that possibility will all come together.

Pray for:

- Our trip to Kenya (July 6 - 22)

- Our 5 month stay at Keza for cultural immersion

- God's guidance for our future ministry in the Kigoma region

With love in Christ,

Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson

Quick note

Hello dear praying friends. We just wanted to let you all know that we arrived in Kigoma safely on Sunday, after finishing up at the Language School.

 

Tomorrow (Tues. June 16) we (my Dad, Gina, Esther and I as well as other Tanzanian believers) head to an old refugee settlement for Burundi refugees who fled the war in 1972. The trip takes 11 hours on bad roads and the name of the place is Katumba. We are going to have meetings with teaching about the local church and show films in the evening. We will be back next Monday (June 22).

 

Please pray for spiritual growth and fruit and also for us as we take care of Esther in the rustic conditions (i.e. no water, electricity, or toilets); in other words normal conditions for the majority of the population here in Tanzania. 

 

Also 2 days after we get back I (Luke) will be teaching at a 3 day Youth Seminar at our church. Pray that I would be able to prepare adequately as it will all be in Swahili. I feel pressed for time and a little overwhelmed.

 

Thanks for your prayers.

 

With love in Christ,

                              Luke, Gina, and Esther Johnson

Language School Grad

On June 12, after 4 months of an intensive study of Swahili grammar and vocabulary Gina graduated along with 11 others. It was a nice fairly simple ceremony. All the graduates seemed eager to move on to other things, including the practical and conversational aspect of language learning. Here are the graduates with some of the teachers.

Graduates and teachers.