4-wheeling for Jesus

Sunday at 5 pm, we were finally in the car and ready for the drive home. We had come to the village of Bukuba the night before and had stayed for the Sunday meetings and the recognition of a new elder for the assembly. After a filling lunch of rice, beans, spinach and Coke, we said our good-byes and packed in the car (6 adults and 3 kids). We waved good-bye as we drove off, and continued to wave at the people in the village as we drove by some shops. Then came the mud pit. Luke slowed down a bit, wondering which was the best way to cross, and seeing that it was bad everywhere he went straight ahead. We didn't even get half way thru before we were in too deep for the wheels to grip.

Our Toyota stuck in the mud.

Everybody came running to the mud pit and clucked their tongues as they watched from a distance. The two men in the car with us were town folk and never budged. They just rolled down their windows and yelled out instructions to those who were near: "Go call so-and-so, go get planks..." Luke was the first with his shoes off, pants rolled up and shoveling some mud before other men reluctantly came to see what could be done. Once some planks of wood were set in front of the tires and a failed attempt at getting the tires to grip, more men plunged into the muck and gave a helping hand.

Successfully out of the mud. Now... to go back in another way.

Going back was the only other option. Lots of shoveling and moving the mud away as planks were set as close to the tires as possible. The rest of us ladies and kids got out of the car. Men were pushing and others were pulling as Luke carefully backed up. This time the tires griped and the men managed to get our Toyota out of the mud. Thankfully no one was hurt!

Going around the mud pit but still needing a push.

Everyone had their opinion as to what was the best way around the mud pit. After inspecting and deciding on a route, Luke was back in the car driving as far around as he could. The tires began to spin once again, but they weren't stuck too deep, so a quick push from the men who were close by, and the car was back in motion.

Safely home. Thank you Lord!

We were sure happy to be on our way again. It was 6 pm when we all got back in the car. Luke left some Tz shillings with a fellow believer to "thank" some of the men who had helped. And I (Gina) made sure everyone hosed their feet down before going in the house!

In Mwanza for a week.

To get to Mwanza from Kigoma you head north for about 6 hours and then north-east for the following 4 hours. At the end of your long and hot drive you get to Lake Victoria, hopefully in time for the ferry and not after 6 pm when the ferries no longer operate. This was our first time going on this particular crossing so we were pleasantly surprised at how big and "nice" the ferries were.

Ferry crossing on Lake Victoria.

We arrived in Mwanza just before 7 pm (Monday, March 5) and our friend Jonny Jeremia took us to his house for a hot meal. We climbed up the side of a mountain, walking past homes in single file: up, up, up. His front porch is used for the meetings, so tarps were set up all around to provide shade and protection from the wind.

Luke teaching the small group of believers.

Luke taught for 4 days. The first two days was an overview of the Bible, the third day was the teaching on love, and the fourth day was God's plan for the church. The believers were eagerly taking notes and asking questions at the end of each session. They were all so grateful that Luke had come to visit and made time for teaching them. Luke was tired at the end of the sessions which lasted until 3 pm every day. Being in the big city had us doing other things like shopping and getting our car tuned up, so our days were full.

Jonny's house is on the left.

The girls did a great job of entertaining themselves and climbing rocks and finding "treasure" in the midst of the trash. Esther had a fun time playing with all the other kids once she got used to them.

City of Mwanza

Mwanza is the second biggest city in Tanzania, after Dar Es Salaam. It lies on the shores of the big Lake Victoria, which also borders the countries of Kenya and Uganda.
On Saturday we drove to another neighborhood in Mwanza to visit a second "church" that's just getting started. It would have been faster to walk, the roads for vehicles do a long round-about due to so many boulders.

Large rocks are distinctive of Mwanza. People build around them or on them.

During the week, there was an Evangelistic Conference taking place very close to where we were staying. We could hear the pentecostal preacher (from America) and watch the famous Rose Muhando sing. Thousands came every afternoon and stood in the open field to watch the show.

Storks on tree tops are also listening.

Daddy with little blondie.

Tilapia fish from Lake Victoria.

Finding time to relax and enjoy our two girls.

Enjoying an evening at the fancy hotel. Fishermen are heading out at dusk.

Emily is 18 months old!

Esther on a ferry, crossing Lake Victoria.

A peek at the busy weekend

A big crowd for Sunday morning.

A lot of people means a lot of food.

Everybody praising before the evangelist speaks.

Thanks for your prayers

Dear praying friends and family, we want to thank you for your prayers for the youth seminar, evangelistic conference, and films that took place this past week, beginning Thursday and ending Sunday night.
We wanted to give you a little update on what happened. We had 6 seminar sessions, 2 each day beginning Thursday - Saturday. There were around 80 young people from various village churches and from here. I taught 4 sessions, giving an overview of the Bible, and God's redemption plan in story form, and ending with our response to God, and His plan for our lives. The other seminar teacher urged the young people to live holy lives that are committed to Christ. He was very dynamic and the young people really liked him.
The outdoor evangelistic conference was each afternoon, for 3 consecutive days beginning Friday and ending Sunday. It took place in an open field just behind the church property. We borrowed a stage and we put up poles and a tarp over it, and then the stage was decorated with colorful cloths. There were only 3 choirs (which is few for here) but they did well and there were some special numbers. On Friday there were not very many people, but by Sunday there were well over 200 by my estimation. We had invited an evangelist speaker who presented the gospel with much vigor, telling stories of his own salvation, and the salvation of others, and urging all to repent. At the end of each meeting he prayed for the crowd, and also prayed for the sick.
Before the evangelistic meetings were over the film equipment was being set up and began shortly after the other came to a close, just as the darkness fell. Films were shown for three nights after each of the afternoon meetings. At least one man who has been involved in witchcraft came and talked to my father and one of the church elders. He told them he was touched by the films and that he wanted to break off from his evil lifestyle and learn more about Jesus. He said that he wouldn't be able to come to church on Sunday (this past Sunday) but he would come the next week to learn more.
The whole church worked hard to make this all happen. The women cooked and washed dishes and decorated, and the young people helped set up the stage and sound equipment and benches etc ... and helped take care of the many needs of the visitors. On the last day it seemed as if Satan was going to disrupt things with some contention that began, but it was soon resolved and things continued as planned, albeit late, even for Africa.
We want to thank each and every one of you for your participation in these efforts. We continue to till the ground and sow the seed on the hard ground of the Gungu neighborhood (in Kigoma). Please continue to pray for soft hearts for all those who heard the Word.
Blessings in Him,
Luke Johnson

Conference (Feb. 24-26)

An open field just beyond the local church is where the stage is set. Big speakers are connected to precious electricity, but when that fails there's a generator ready to be turned on to keep the music and sound system as loud as possible. Several choirs go to the front to sing their two songs each. The choirs are one of the main attractions, people just stop what they're doing to see how they sing and how good their choreography is. Just as the singing was brought to an end, a group of some 5 guys were invited to come and sing at last minute and introduced as the "New Revelation" group. They popped in a CD (all the other choirs had done their own music and singing) and invited some 4 to 5 youth to join them with some back-dancing. At the invitation some 25 youth, boys and girls, went up and joined in the dancing, following the main guy's lead they all moved in unison like they'd practiced. What a show! The guys were invited to come the following day.

Stage is decorated and set on an open field.

The conference speaker is bringing things to a close with a time for "blessing".

A good-sized road goes right past so people are stopping to see what's going on. The speaker/evangelist is good at reminding the sound system guys to tone things down when he wants to pray. The evangelist is not out done by the choirs and does a good job of putting on his own show with dancing and stomping on stage. The people love him.
As soon as the conference is done, (around 7 pm) the screen for the films and all the cords and projector are brought out and set up for a show at night.
That ends day #1. Tomorrow we get to do it all over again.

Want to learn some Swahili?

Posters are up, food is being bought and the chapel property is cleared for the big weekend. 

Here's a copy of the posters that were made:

TANGAZO

Mkutano wa

 Injili

Mwinjilisti Jekonia Rusogi atahubiri. Wagonjwa na wenye shida mbalimbali wataombewa.

Mkutano utafanyika katika uwanja wa Kanisa La Biblia, Gungu Geza Ulole, na utaanza tarehe 24 hadi 26, kuanzia saa 9:00 alasiri hadi saa 12:30 jioni.

"Tena habari njema ya ufalme itahubiriwa katika ulimwengu wote, kuwa ushuhuda kwa mataifa yote; hapo ndipo ule mwisho utakapokuja" - Mat. 24:14

February Update

Dear friends and family, we give thanks to our great God and Savior for each of you who think of us and pray for us in the challenges we face as messengers of the Good News.

One highlight of this past month was the voyage on the sailboat "Wings of the Morning". A team of 8 went south with the purpose of visiting the village churches at Buhingu and Igalula. The two-day journey down there turned into three due to strong winds. Once they arrived, the meetings with these believers was of mutual encouragement, with Biblical teaching in the mornings and afternoons, and evangelistic films in the evenings. One evening they experienced such strong winds and high waves that Luke and Ruth were up most of the night bailing the boat while the rest of the team, who were ministering on land, prayed hard for them. We are thankful to the Lord for the blessings we experienced, and also for His strong hand of protection over the team. 

Another highlight was the choosing of 4 deacons for the Gungu chapel here in town. This has been in the works a long time and has been made a matter of long-standing prayer by the believers. We are excited to now have these 4 godly men who have been selected for this role of service in the church. Pray with us that it will be a catalyst that will soon cause growth and awakening among the saints here.

Heshima, Japhet, Peter & Husseni (4 deacons)

Looking ahead, we have a youth conference we are getting ready for (Feb. 23-26) at the local assembly. Luke will be teaching several sessions of the morning and mid-day seminars. In the afternoons there will be evangelistic meetings. These consist of many church choirs along with energetic congregational choruses, followed by the preaching of a special speaker and evangelist. In the evenings we will show Christian films. The purpose is to reach the neighborhood around the church with he gospel. Pray for God's Spirit to draw many to come and hear His life-changing and saving Word, and that many would be obedient to the faith. Pray for the preparations, as the youth are mostly in charge of getting things ready, under the guidance of the elders.

As we write this email, 3 students from the Kigoma region are on their way by bus to Berea Bible College in Moshi, to start their 2nd. semester of training. Please pray for them, and all the other students from many other parts of the country, that they would have eager and willing hearts to learn and put into practice what they are taught by God. Also pray for their families at home as they will be gone for 4 months. Many of the students are elders in their churches or are otherwise very active in their churches. It is not uncommon for them to leave behind their wife and 9 or more kids.

Our family is doing well, although lately we have been troubled by various illnesses. Esther was sick with malaria last week. Luke had a bad sunburn, followed by bad stomach pains earlier this week, and Emily currently has a throat infection and is running a high fever. However we rejoice in our tribulations and know that the Father is always near.

We are truly humbled by your participation in the gospel until now, and look forward to what God has in store for us and you. 

In His grace,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

Boat Trip Photos

Emineli at the front of the boat.

Lameck keeping the course steady. (Filter at right for drinking water.)

Japhet, Danieli and Emineli relaxing at the bow.