A day trip to a white rocky beach north of Kigoma...
Esther showing off her new hairstyle....
Esther's figured out that Christmas involves gifts...
Drilling a well at the Chapel in Kigoma ...
Wednesday, January 6, 2010
January Update
Dear family and friends,
First of all we would like to wish you all a blessed New Year. Our wish for each of you this year is that you continue to grow in your knowledge of our Savior and become more like Him.
As we think back on this past year we can say that it has been one of many changes, yet through it all we have seen God's hand at work and experienced His faithfulness. When we look at the great task that has been entrusted to us we cannot help but feel inadequate, but we know that our "adequacy is from God" (2 Cor. 3:5) and so we persevere. God's infinite power is at work in and through us, frail clay vessels that we are. But this is so that all the glory will go to God (2 Cor. 4:7).
We would ask that your prayers for us this year would be directed toward our ownspiritual growth and development. With the changes and the pressures and the responsibilities and the requests for help, we can easily see how little the fruit of the Spirit is displayed in our lives. But we are called by God to display the glorious attributes of His Spirit in EVERY situation in our lives, not just when it is easy. This becomes even more important when God's reputation is at stake because we are His servants and representatives. We lament the fact that our sinful flesh seems to often veil "Christ in us" (Col. 1:27).
So would you please pray that we would display the Spirit's love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control (Gal. 5:22-23). And would you also pray that we would have the "wisdom from above" (James 3:17) for each situation that we are faced with this coming year.
Ministry (God's work through us) can only prosper insomuch as we are walking in close fellowship with Him and in obedience to His Word.
We thank God for all of you that pray for us.
With love in the Spirit,
Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson
Thursday, December 3, 2009
December Update
Believers at the Kaziramihunda Chapel we attend...
Dear praying friends and family,
The recent rains have truly been a blessing for our neighbors who are mostly farmers. However the rain creates a set of new problems*ahem* adventures for us. The half-day trips to town for supplies could end up being a lot longer than expected if we happen to get caught behind some trucks that are stuck in the mud, and blocking the road.
I (Luke) continue to teach through the Firm Foundations course twice a week. We just finished the story of Joseph. I have also been preaching on Sunday mornings for the past 3 weeks, and I have been going through Galatians. So needless to say, I have been doing a lot of preparation work, and I'm getting quite worn out.
However, we plan on spending Christmas with Harry and Ruth Johnson (my parents in Kigoma), and it will be nice to get away for 3 weeks or so. Although it seems we have plenty of stuff planned for that time so I don't know how restful it will actually be. I plan on working ahead on the Firm Foundations courses and reading through some of the Swahili Christian books we got in order to familiarize myself with the resources that are available in Swahili. And then I need to work on the car ... and the list goes on.
There is the possibility of a new church starting in another village nearby (Kasanda), so please pray for wisdom regarding that. This coming Sunday (Dec. 6), we will be visiting them. They are a small group of believers who meet in a home.
Pray for:
- Spiritual fruit and maturity from the teaching
- Wisdom regarding helping people and the possibility of this new church
- That we would have a restful, yet productive, Christmas break
Remembering our Savior's birth,
Luke, Gina and Esther Johnson
Saturday, November 7, 2009
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.
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.
Thursday, November 5, 2009
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
Friday, October 2, 2009
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
Friday, September 4, 2009
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
Friday, July 31, 2009
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
Thursday, July 9, 2009
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.
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