Luke and Gina's Blog

Tuesday, October 15, 2013

September Update

Dear praying friends and family, we are thankful to God for you, and for His work in each of us.

Last month we mentioned we would be having a visit from Mark & Carol Mattix (Gina's parents). They did come and go and we very much enjoyed our time with them, although much of the time was spent in the car traveling to Mwanza (a 13 hr. drive) to pick them up and drop them off again. We visited some of the believers on our trip back down to Kigoma and attended the Gungu town church on Sunday. We also managed to squeeze in a visit to the Katavi National Park about 8 hrs. south of us and see some of the wildlife there.

Grandpa and Grandma with baby Aaron.

Girls traveling long hours in the car.

Hippo at Katavi National Park in Tanzania.

Posing in front of the hotel.

After returning to Mwanza to drop off Mark & Carol we stayed there for about a week so that Luke could get a root canal done on a tooth that has been bothering him. We visited with the Pasiansi saints on Sunday and also visited several times with another missionary family who have 3 small kids. Luke prepared notes for his upcoming seminar.

The group of believers meeting in Pasiansi, Mwanza.

While there we also got news of a robbery at our house. The perpetrator kicked open the locked door and made off with a stereo, a portable DVD player, Luke's boots & a shaver. He broke our locked office desk drawers, but was not able to get into the top one, which had money in it. We are thankful to the Lord that it was just one man and that he was in a hurry and did not take much.

On Saturday we headed back to Kigoma and stopped at Keza, the mission station where we did our cultural immersion after language school. On Sunday we fellowshipped with the Kasanda church, and the Kazilamihunda believers who had also been invited. On Monday and Tuesday Luke taught several seminars all day, both days (the church, love, and marriage).

Esther and Eva at Keza.

On Saturday we went to the wedding of a friend in the village of Songambele. We left at 8 AM and didn't get back to the house until 9 PM.

Japhet and Sofia's wedding in Songambele.

Luke continues to prepare for his Wednesday afternoon Bible teaching on Nehemiah and will be finishing up in the next 3 weeks. Luke has also agreed to teach Eschatology at a local level Bible school started up in the village of Sunuka, and is preparing for that as well.

Thank you for your interest and for standing with us in prayer.

Sincerely,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily and Aaron Johnson

Saturday, September 14, 2013

Family

Daddy with the 3 kids.

Mommy with the 3 kids.

We love being with our kids!

Tuesday, September 10, 2013

August Update

Greetings in our Savior's name, dear family and praying friends. We do appreciate your prayers and remembrance of us before the Father.

In our last newsletter we mentioned a ministry trip to Songambele. Gina and the kids ended up staying home and Luke went with a small team of 1 elder and 2 young people. We went down on Friday morning. The elder, one of the youth and myself were able to team teach a seminar on Friday afternoon, and Saturday, morning and afternoon. They absorbed the teaching on Christian marriage and had many questions for us. They also begged us to return and teach more in depth on this much neglected subject. The need for biblical teaching in the churches is great, but the workers are few. On Friday and Saturday night we showed evangelistic films and a crowd of 700 or so looked on with much interest. There were even a number of Muslims watching from the shadows at a distance (even though it was the end of Ramadan celebration). However there were no professions of faith that we know of, only the Lord knows. On Sunday morning there was an early baptism of 5 believers, followed by the church service, and then our return to town. Please continue to pray for lasting fruit from these efforts.

On Sunday August 25th, we visited the small village church of Ilagala. They are a very small group of about 6 adults who are struggling to build a building, but more importantly they are not growing. Luke preached a message on evangelism drawn from Christ's example of compassion for the lost and his subsequent call to his disciples to pray for workers in God's harvest fields. The church there needs much prayer and encouragement in this area.

The family is doing well and Esther has started 1st grade at home. Gina is very busy taking care of a baby, homeschooling, cooking and doing laundry. Luke continues to prepare for and teach through the book of Nehemiah at the Wednesday church Bible study. Emily just turned 3 on Sept. 5 and is learning to play by herself during homeschool time, although she would much prefer playing with Esther. Aaron charms us with his smiles, when he's feeling good.

Emily, ready to blow her 3 candles.

Esther and Aaron enjoying the beach.

Up next is the visit of Mark & Carol Mattix (Gina's parents) for the first time. We are very excited to see them and have them see where we work and live. Please pray for their travels and for their health while here.

In the Master's service,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily & Aaron Johnson

Monday, August 5, 2013

July Update

Dear praying friends and family, we give thanks to our God for each of you and your partnership in the gospel and God's work in many different ways. May the Lord continue to fill you with his abundant power for every good work and may you increase in fruitfulness for Him.

Much of the month of July was taken up with family time. We took a 3-day car trip to Kenya, for Luke's youngest brother Steven's graduation from High School. While there all 7 of Harry & Ruth Johnson's kids were able to meet up, along with their respective families. It was a good time of spending together in sports, hikes, activities, shopping & cooking, cleaning up, babysitting, and having family devotions and singing. After graduation we made the long trip back to Kigoma, this time in 2 days. Then we spent 5 days at a privately owned beach. Again, it was a relaxing and much enjoyed break from the ministry.

Family at RVA graduation.

On Saturday, July 27 we attended a wedding of a young couple at the church in the village of Bukuba. The festivities were well enjoyed by all who attended, and the gifts were presented to the bride and groom with much dancing and exuberance (and stirring up of dust).

Wedding ceremony.

Speaking of dust, we are nearing the end of the dry season and most everything is brown and dusty. This is the time for respiratory problems. Luke has had a cough since the beginning of July. Esther and Emily both have coughs and runny noses, and Emily has pinkeye in both eyes to boot. So please pray for our health. Baby Aaron is doing fine and growing plump. He smiles a lot when he gets the attention he craves.

Next weekend we plan to visit the village of Songambele and show evangelistic films for 2 nights and do some teaching there. Please pray for our time there, that it would be fruitful.

In our Savior's care,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily and Aaron Johnson

Wednesday, July 3, 2013

Prayers Answered

Dear praying friends and family,

The newest news here is that the little one has a passport! Looks like we're going to Kenya for "uncle" Steven's graduation. We hope to leave on our 3-day road trip as soon as we get the car loaded. Please pray for the Lord's protection on our trip.

The highlight of our last month was adjusting to having a newborn in the house, and the flus and stomach bugs we all made sure to share around. Please pray that we will all get completely better.

Our girls have been looking forward to this trip and we hope it will be both restful and enjoyable.

In our Savior's loving care,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily and Aaron Johnson

Monday, June 3, 2013

Baby

Bringing Aaron home!

Esther and Emily are happy to finally meet

their little brother!

Aaron Luke Johnson

Born on:

June 2, 2013 at 2:25 pm
8 pounds, 8 ounces

We praise the Lord for this miracle of life.

Thank you for your prayers.

- Luke & Gina

Thursday, April 18, 2013

March Update

Dear praying friends and family,

We enjoyed the visit from William Rea and visiting a few of the churches this last month. Easter Sunday was a full day of celebration (i.e. choirs singing, a skit performance, and lots of food) with the believers at Nkungwe.
Our annual meeting with fellow CMMLers made for 2 delightful days of fellowship and more food.
Praise the Lord we have our renewed visas in hand after a long process. We also have renewed driver's licenses and Luke has the added "motorbike". Our Honda 250 was put to the test on it's first village visit a couple days ago. It's a blessing to have this cheaper mode of transport and we hope to make many more runs with it to the surrounding villages.
As a family, our 2 girls (ages 6 and 2) keep us busy and laughing. Gina is feeling big, but that's normal for her at this stage of pregnancy. =)

Blessings in Christ,
Luke, Gina, Esther and Emily

Tuesday, April 9, 2013

Projects, projects, and more projects.

Whether it's "baking up a storm" in the kitchen, or just trying to keep up with our daily food intake,

Baking Valentine goodies ...

we think of ways to make better use the resources we have.

Making a compost bin to then have fertilizer for our garden ...

Picking guavas from a tree turns into a project so we can quickly use the ripe fruit.

Enjoying God's provision from a tree in our yard ...

Luke has wanted a motorbike for the past 2 years and it's finally coming true. However, he has to build a little shelter for it first.

Making a covering for the new motorbike ...

The girls' closet was misusing space with the pipes going all the way across. So, with some paper and pencil we sketched what we thought would be a better use of space. Gave our drawings to a local carpenter and he delivered the new dresser and bookshelf 4 weeks later. Luke cut the pipes and the drawing became a reality.