Progress on the project

These are what they have made so far!

The kids new playground!

Stage project

Luke and John, along with some young guys from church have been working on building a stage. There is a conference planned for July 5 - 7 in the village of Mwakizega. A team of 85 Burundians are coming to minister and preach at this evangelistic conference.
At first it looked like we'd be able to rent a stage, but when they heard it was out of town they were not willing to rent it to us. So Luke decided he'd build one. That began the long process of figuring out all the details of it: coming up with a portable design, figuring how many boards and bolts would be needed, making arrangements to buy boards and have them delivered, and even looking into buying a machine that can plane the hundreds of boards.
So it all finally came together and the five men have been working hard since Monday. Looks like they won't be getting a rest soon, this is a big project and the planing machine can only barely keep ahead of the eager crew.

Planing with the "new" machine.

Putting it together with bolts.

Testing how sturdy it is. This is only 1/10 of the size.

Lots and lots of boards!

Don't blink...

And just like that, William is 1 month old already!

Siblings

There's a baby in the house, and we're loving it!

He's here!

	We are happy to announce the birth of our son: William Kyle Johnson Born in Kigoma, Tanzania  on May 20th at 3:45 am weighing 3.16 kg. We praise God that the siblings are all adjusting well, little William is healthy  and mama is resting and recovering.  Thank you for your prayers on our behalf.  Blessings in Christ, Luke and Gina Johnson

Bringing William home.

April and May Update

Dear praying friends, thank you for your prayers for the graduation last Saturday. The ceremony was a joyous occasion. Please pray for the 6 graduates that they would continue to grow and learn and serve their Master. We are attaching a few photos of the graduation.

Teachers and graduates

Graduates after receiving wreaths and gifts.

Happy family and friends.

We praise the Lord for good attendance (almost 30 people) at the 2 day evangelism seminar. We went out in teams in the afternoons to put into practice what we learned. Pray for all of us to continue to be effective witnesses for Christ on a day to day basis.

John Kinlaw teaching at the evangelism seminar.

Pray for the Muslims in our community (and worldwide) during this month of Ramadan fasting. Pray for a genuine spiritual hunger for the truth. Pray for conviction, repentance and faith in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Also please continue to pray for Peter and Naomi who have gone to visit the unreached Wataturu tribe. They have just arrived at their destination and they will spend 5 days of ministry and friendship building there. It is Naomi's first time to meet this tribe. Pray for the Lord's leading for them as they feel called to be full time missionaries to this tribe.

Finally, please be in prayer for Gina and our baby as her due date approaches. Pray for a safe delivery for mother and child.

May the Lord bless you for your partnership in the gospel.

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

February and March Update

Dear praying friends, we trust you had a worshipful Easter. We have a wonderful Savior who was not only willing to die for us, but had the power to rise again.

We praise the Lord for each one of you and are thankful for your prayers and gifts that sustain us in our Master's service. 

Disciples of Jesus School

Today the students took their last exam (Church and Missions) and Lord willing we will celebrate their graduation next Saturday (May 4th). We will have 6 graduates. 2 men, 1 woman, 2 young men and 1 young lady. Please pray that they would continue on in the Lord's service and that He would guide their steps.

Luke teaching "Christ and the Holy Spirit" at the Disciples of Jesus School.

Land purchased for Disciples of Jesus school

The paperwork for the land that was purchased for our Bible school is moving along slowly but surely. There are many many requirements, but we think we are nearly done submitting everything in order to get the title deed. Please pray that the title deed would be issued without any more delays once the paperwork is submitted.

Evangelism Seminar

Tomorrow and the next day (Friday and Saturday Apr. 26-27) our fellow worker John Kinlaw will be teaching in Swahili. Please pray for him that the Holy Spirit would communicate clearly through him (in spite of language constraints). Pray also that the methods and illustrations presented would equip and inspire the believers as we go out in teams to preach Christ in the afternoons.

Peter and Naomi - Missionaries to the Wataturu tribe

On May 6 Peter (elder at our chapel) and his wife, Naomi plan to visit an unreached tribe. It will be Peter's 5th visit but Naomi's first. Pray for the Lord's protection over them and that our Savior God would open doors for His Word to continue to be sown. Peter shared a testimony that already 2 people have made professions of faith in Christ and 1 more is waiting for Peter to come and then he will make his decision. Pray for lasting fruit. Pray for the Lord's guidance for Peter and Naomi as to when and how they can move there full time. Pray for the Tanzanian churches to rise to the occasion of sending and supporting a full time missionary family. 

Peter and Naomi singing a special number at church.

Family Life

For the past 2 weeks our family has been fighting sickness. First it was a bad cold that made its rounds (only Esther was spared). Then it was worms that affected the 2 boys (so we all took worm medicine). That was followed by a flu which started with Aaron (vomiting and extreme weakness) and passed on to Michael (who is still recovering). Please pray for our health at this time, and especially for Gina to stay healthy in these last few weeks before delivery. We eagerly await the arrival of our 5th child, but please pray for safety for mother and child.

We know that our Almighty God will accomplish much for his glory as you labor with us in prayer.

Blessings and peace to you all, in our Savior's name

Luke, Gina and the kids

Dec. and Jan. Update

Dear praying friends and family, we thank our Lord for each one of you who remembers us in prayer. Your prayers are needed as we fight for our King. We are weak and need His strength.

There was a 3 day Christmas conference at the Gungu town church. We invited believers from the neighboring village of Nkungwe. Over the New Year we were able to spend some time with Jesse and Danny's families (Luke's brothers) who came down from Burundi for a few days. Some of us even got the first time experience of scuba diving in the lake.

At the beginning of January we met with Harry and Ruth Johnson and John and Jenniffer Kinlaw for a missionary planning meeting for the year. Please pray for the Holy Spirit to revive the churches in this region, bringing repentance and an urgency to proclaim the gospel to the unsaved. Pray that the church leaders would humble themselves and be servant leaders who are worthy of imitation.

On January 14 we started the 3rd term of the Disciples of Jesus school. We continue with 5 faithful students and Harry Johnson is currently teaching on the End Times. We hope to make 3 ministry trips to the villages. Our 4th year graduation is planned for the end of April and Lord willing we will have 8 graduates. Please pray that they lay their lives on the altar and for God to use them. We were able to purchase a piece of land for expanding the discipleship school. Please pray that we will be able to get the title deed from the land office and not be cheated by them like last time.

Luke is coming to the end of his marathon teaching series on the Holy Spirit (begun in Sept. 2018) at the local town church of Gungu. We are encouraged at the good attendance on Wednesday afternoons. Please pray that each one would yield to the Holy Spirit, discover their spiritual gift and begin to use it for the building up of the body of Christ.

Our son Michael recently turned 4 years old. The older three, Esther, Emily and Aaron work hard at their schooling which is all done at home. We are thankful for the Lord's healing of Gina from the malaria she had, and pray He will bring full recovery and strength to her body. Pray that she will stay healthy during the remainder of this pregnancy. We all eagerly await the arrival of the newest member of our family, due in May.

Blessings in Christ,
Luke and Gina Johnson

Oct. and Nov. Update

Dear praying friends and family, we appreciate every one of you who remembers to pray for us. A lot has happened since we last wrote at the end of September.

Discipleship school

About 2 weeks ago we finished our 2nd term at the Disciples of Jesus school. We are pleased to see the 6 students enthusiastic and growing in their knowledge of the Word. Pray that they would be greatly used to fulfill Christ's mission on earth. We were able to make 2 village ministry trips with the students, to give them opportunities to serve the Lord.

Village church start-ups

In mid-June we started meeting with a small group of believers in the Kizenga village, about half an hour out of town. The Gungu town church, along with another neighboring village church, made a rotation schedule for teaching Sunday school, leading the service and preaching on Sundays. We continue to minister there on a weekly basis. Please pray for more people to come, especially those we have visited and witnessed to. Please also pray for the Lord to raise up local shepherds for that flock so that they won't have to depend on ministry from the outside. In November we started meeting again in another village called Kamala. It is a similar situation to Kizenga. Please pray for spiritual fruit and growth in both places.

Praying for the sick at the end of the service in Kizenga.

Teaching on Wednesdays

Luke has been teaching on the Holy Spirit at the town church on Wednesday afternoons. Pray for him as he continues to prepare this series. He will probably finish around the end of January 2019.

Youth Group

This coming Friday we will be hosting a second youth group meeting at our house. John & Jenniffer Kinlaw (new missionaries) and us have been burdened to get to know and teach the youth of the chapel in a more relaxed setting, away from church. We want to address pertinent issues and guide them to make God-honoring decisions in their lives.Please pray for us as we meet with them once a month, that the Lord would use these times to shape them. Our first meeting last month went really well.

Helping with needs

As always, much of our ministry involves helping the needy. The needs and requests are so great that it is sometimes overwhelming. People needing food, medical help, educational help, and even help with small businesses. Also there are many church needs such as chapel buildings, and musical instruments for choirs. Of course we know that the greatest needs are spiritual, but we cannot ignore the physical needs, nor can we neglect to show Christ's love and compassion in practical ways.

Thanksgiving

We were able to celebrate Thanksgiving with a nice traditional meal with other American missionaries in town. Truly, when we look around us we have so much to be thankful for, and most of all we give thanks to our God and Father who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in Christ. 

We are so thankful for our children.

Esther's baptism

On November 4 our daughter Esther was baptized at the Gungu town church, along with 3 other youth. We are happy for her desire to publicly declare herself a devoted follower of Christ. Please pray for her continued growth.

Ashura, Jenny, Isa and Esther after their baptism.

Upcoming

This month we will be celebrating Esther's and Gina's birthday. This coming Sunday will be a special Sunday school program. Then on Dec. 23-25 our town church will be hosting a 3 day Christmas conference with 3 nearby village churches. Pray that we would be refreshed daily in the Word and not grow weary in doing good.

May the Lord bless you and keep you,

Sincerely,

Luke, Gina and the kids

July, August and September Update

"How great are his signs, how mighty His wonders! His kingdom is an everlasting kingdom, and his dominion endures from generation to generation." (Dan. 4:3)

Greetings to all of you in our wonderful Savior's name. It has been a while since we wrote a proper update; the end of June, to be specific.

After the evangelistic conference in Songambele, my father, some church elders and I took a 5 day trip down south. I was dropped off with one other elder at the village of Katumba where we have a church. We team taught a 2 day seminar and then fellowshipped with the believers on Sunday. Meanwhile my Dad and the other elders went further south to visit 4 new churches for the first time. All in all the trip went well, the fellowship was uplifting and God's Word was taught.

The following week, in the middle of July, the Gungu town church hosted 3 days of meetings for the local elders of the Kigoma region. Besides discussing ministry and administrative items the Scriptures were taught 2 of the evenings.

The following week there was yet another evangelistic conference, 6.5 hours north-east of Kigoma, in the village of Kasanda. This time I was able to go with my family and we picked up 2 elders along the way. The seminar times in the morning were poorly organized and very late in starting, yet well attended. The afternoons consisted of open air preaching and in the evenings we showed the "King of Glory" film in Swahili.

Getting ready to show "King of Glory" in Kasanda.

5 believers baptized in the river at Kasanda.

By this time we were ready for a break and the last week of July we got to go to a missionary retreat on Lake Kivu in Rwanda. It was a wonderful time of being taught in the mornings (with the kids attending their own program) and the afternoons full of family activities and/or relaxing by the water. On the way back to Kigoma we stopped by to visit Danny & Anne Johnson (Luke's younger brother's family) in Gisuru, Burundi.

"Camping" in Rwanda for a week.

Kid having fun in the water

As soon as we got back the discipleship course started its 2nd term. Then toward the end of August we got a brief visit from Brook Ford (former missionary in Kigoma). It was great to see her again, and she spent much of it, traveling, teaching and ministering to the ladies. While that was going on we snuck in another visit to Burundi, this time to see Jesse and Joy Johnson (Luke's older brother's family) who had just returned from the US.

We got back just in time for me to begin teaching on Salvation at the Disciples of Jesus school, and also once a week at the mid-week Bible study at the Gungu town church.

Luke teaching at Disciples of Jesus School.

I just got back from another evangelistic conference in the village of Munzeze. The seminar was well received and prompted some good questions. The gospel preaching was met with no visible response, although the Word was faithfully sown, and will not return void. There seems to be a spiritual blindness over that village; even the evangelical churches are very stagnant, with little or no growth. Please pray for that village, that Satan's strongholds would be broken down and the veil lifted from people's eyes.

Harry Johnson teaching the morning seminar at Munzeze.

Gina has begun a new school year of homeschooling, and now Aaron has begun kindergarten. Please pray for Gina as she tries to find time to focus on each of the 3 school children. It is not an easy task, I assure you, especially with a little 3 year old (Michael) who feels left out.

Lately I have been challenged about the need to unite in prayer for the churches of the Kigoma region. Pray that they would grow and multiply with vitality and boldness, like the churches in the book of Acts. Please join with us in prayer for the outpouring of God's life-giving Spirit. God may be wanting us to take a bold step in a new direction, but we want to make sure we are following His lead, and not our own agenda. Prayer is the key that will open this new door. Please pray with us.

Thank you for your partnership with us in the gospel.

Grace and peace be multiplied to you,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily, Aaron and Michael