Life at the moment, via photos:

We haven't missed a beat with homeschool; new house, same books, busy kids!

A common sight: lots of green, sunny skies and laundry.

Flowers that brighten our day.

Sweet mangoes from our tree.

A task is never as easy as you think it'll be; he had to break the cement for this one.

Kids working on science.

Aaron and Emily learning about electricity and magnets.

Food: it's what the kids want, 3 times a day!

Then there's this cutie, who likes to push the shopping cart around.

He adds a lot of fun and noise to our day.

Did I mention the kids do school?

At the end of the day, the sunset over Lake Tanganyika is always a treat.

And as the day winds down, the electricity goes off, a good reminder to slow down.

The world in a pandemic and our lives continue as normal ... kind of.

On Monday, March 16, the government announced the first case of Covid-19 in the country of Tanzania. And so that week we saw the beginning of washing buckets in the stores, a few people wearing masks, and the name calling of foreign, white people. Local schools were closed, with not much notice to the parents, and the embassies advised their people to return to their homeland ASAP.

Multiple washing buckets at the Kigoma train station.

Aaron washing his hands before going into the store.

Kigoma market, with washing buckets at every stall.

Here we are a month later, and the washing buckets at every store has become a norm. On Sunday we all dutifully wash our hands before going into the building, give a nod to our brothers and sisters in Christ while asking about their family and health. This past Sunday the blue plastic chairs were arranged about 2 feet from each other, an attempt at social distancing. But at the end of the service we sit in small circles and discuss the strangeness of this new normal.

Believers arriving for the Sunday service, washing their hands at the entrance.

Cute toddler at church!

A deacon and his family giving testimony of God's goodness.

Family devotions

First Update for 2020

Dear praying friends, it has been a long time since we wrote an update and we apologize for that. Thank you for those of you who continue to pray for us regularly.

Disciples of Jesus school

We are nearing the end of our 2nd trimester at the Bible school. We have 11 students still going strong. We have begun visiting village churches with the students, giving them opportunities to minister and use their spiritual gifts. Please pray that they would continue persevering and that they would be eager to learn and obey God's word.

Moving house

We successfully moved house and are settled into a smaller one than before, reminding us that we need to downsize and give things away. The kids enjoy the "forest" out back and playing with the Kinlaw kids and other neighbors kids in the afternoons.

Christmas with family

Over Christmas and New year we were able to drive to Kenya to meet up with many of the Johnson siblings and their families and Dad and Mom Johnson. We spent part of the time in the capital city, Nairobi, and we also spent a few days at the coast. The kids enjoyed exploring the ocean reef at low tide and snorkeling in the marine park and seeing the beautiful sea life that God's creative word fashioned. After returning in early January we were blessed with a 3 week visit from Mark and Carol Mattix and Fionna (Gina's parents and niece). There were some home improvement projects, a hike, a stay at the beach, and a visit to Katavi National Park, as well as much time to talk and visit.

Car repairs

On our long drive to Kenya (3 days going and 3 days returning) we noticed that our car was burning a huge amount of oil. We knew that the engine needed a major overhaul. Luke decided to take the car to Burundi to get it fixed. We now have it back after 3 weeks in the garage. Please pray that our car would continue to run well and be useful for God's kingdom.

Furlough plans

Some of you may already know that we plan to be in the US from April 24 to July 16, 2020. We plan on traveling a lot, starting on the East Coast and making our way to the West Coast and back for our return flight. Because of the current Coronavirus pandemic we are holding our travel plans loosely. We continue to pray but are confident that our times are in God's hands.

Family

Gina is trying to get as much homeschool done with the kids before our trip. Michael (5 yrs) just recently learned to ride his bike and is starting to learn how to swim. Baby William at 9 months is crawling/cruising around the house and keeping us on our toes. We are thankful for each of our kids.

After their recent dental check-up, they are very happy!

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

Sept. and Oct. Update

Dear praying friends, grace to you.

Disciples of Jesus School

We are nearing the end of our 1st term at the Disciples of Jesus school. For most of the term we have had 13 faithful students and now we have 14. They all seem eager to learn and we have a good mixture of adults and youth. I am currently teaching "Bible study methods and resources."

Property title deed - God answers prayer!

We are very excited and thankful to the Lord for answering our many prayers about getting the title deed for the 2nd property that was purchased for the Disciples of Jesus school. We were defrauded in the purchase of the first property, but we praise the Lord for helping with the second. Now with the title deed in hand we can begin to make plans to develop the land. We trust our great God to provide in His way and time.

Encouraging the village churches

"After they had preached the gospel to that city and had made many disciples, they returned … strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying, "Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God" (Acts 14:21-22). God has laid it on our heart to try and get out more to the village assemblies to preach, teach, exhort and encourage the struggling disciples. We have been accompanied by the Kinlaws who would like to see and visit the village churches as well. It has been good to meet with the saints and also exhort them to celebrate the Lord's table weekly.

Crossing the river ferry to visit the new church at Kalinkungwe.

Visiting the village church in Bukuba that needs help with the building.

Moving house

We were given notice the middle of August that we would need to find another house to rent. So for 2.5 weeks we packed up our house and began searching for another one. The Lord provided a house to rent on the same compound as Harry and Ruth Johnson and John and Jenniffer Kinlaw. It needed to be fixed up and was worked on for much of September. I am still working on the kitchen cabinets and a few other things before we can move in. In the meantime God provided a house for us to stay in through the generosity of a missionary couple that is on furlough.

Family

Gina continues strong with homeschooling the 3 older kids and taking care of a baby, on top of everything else she does for our family! We enjoyed a family outing to a river for Emily's 9th. birthday. William, who is now 5 months old, has gotten very active and expressive and brings us much joy and laughter. Aaron (6) decided to see which was harder, his head or a rock at the beach, which resulted in a nice goose egg over his left eye. He also has malaria to boot. He is recovering.

Family life: some of the monotony and some of the fun.

Thank you so much for remembering us in prayer. Please remember to pray for God's church in the Kigoma region.

In Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

July and August Update

Dear friends, we are thankful to the Lord for his faithfulness and goodness to us. The last time we wrote was to announce William's safe arrival into our family. He is now 3 months old and enjoys the constant attention he gets from his older siblings.

In June there was an evangelistic conference and outreach at one of the churches about 7 hours south of Kigoma. My father and mother and a team of elders attended and helped with the ministry. After that we began in earnest to meet and plan for an even bigger conference in the village of Mwakizega, about 1 hour south of Kigoma. This conference had been proposed by the saints in Burundi, who ended up bringing at team of 65 or so to minister. There were seminar teachers, preachers and choirs. 

John Kinlaw and I (Luke), along with 3 young men from the church were busy for 2.5 weeks before the conference making a big stage that could be dismantled and transported to the site. A month and a half later I called the elders to see how the church is doing with follow-up. They have 4 new members and the rest of the people they visit keep telling them they will come, but they don't.

Choir performing during the afternoon conference in the main square of the village.

After the conference we made a trip to Burundi for a 3 day Johnson family reunion. Five out of seven of us kids were there with our families. It was an enjoyable time, although my father was quite sick with bronchitis. Then we traveled to Rwanda to attend a yearly interdenominational missionary conference. It was wonderful to be able to send our kids each morning to a kid's program and receive teaching from God's Word.

Unfortunately it was during this time that we heard of Lydia's sickness (my brother Danny's daughter). She went unconscious and started having seizures and have to be Medivac-ed to Nairobi Kenya for treatment. She came close to dying from cerebral malaria, but by God's grace she has mostly recovered. We are thankful for the many that were praying for her.

Johnson family reunion in Burundi.

Also my parents were not well during the conference as my father's bronchitis persisted and my mother fell and sprained her ankle. On top of all this they had very bad car trouble and had to be towed by us from the conference in Rwanda all the way to Burundi, up and down windy escarpments. We are so thankful for the Lord's protection and for the tow bar that a missionary couple lent us. 

Now we are back in Kigoma. Gina has started a new year of homeschool with 3 of the kids. Yesterday we began a new school year at the Disciples of Jesus school. We have 9 students so far and they seem eager to learn. I am teaching a survey of salvation history and enjoying it immensely. Pray that God would keep the students safe from the enemy's attacks.

We are thankful for the joy and eagerness of the new believers at the Kamala village church which we visited on Sunday. Pray for their spiritual growth and protection, and for Stanislaus who is attending our discipleship course.

The church at Kamala, on a Sunday morning.

Please also pray for us as we move from our current house in the next month.  Pray that we would be able to transition smoothly and that the kids wouldn't get too far behind in school.

Thank you so much for your support. By your prayers and gifts you are involved in the ministry and the lives of the people here. 

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

Project finished

The stage is all done!
So now, they load up the truck and send it to the town of Mwakizega, that's where the 3-day conference will be. The men will go with the truck and set up the stage at a soccer field near the center of town.

The truck arrives, an hour late...

All hands helping to load the "tables".

and then the legs that bolt onto the "tables" of the stage.

Don't forget the stairs... Luke finished them at 11 pm last night, just in time!

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!