Sept. and Oct. Update

Dear praying friends, we thank the Lord for those of you who faithfully pray and support the Lord's work here in western Tanzania. 

I know it is hard to remember to pray for God's work in other parts of the world where you have never been. This is why we need to be reminded of Col. 4:2-3, "Devote yourselves to prayer, keeping alert in it with an attitude of thanksgiving; praying at the same time for us as well, that God will open up to us a door for the word, so that we may speak forth the mystery of Christ." More prayer is needed for all of Christ's disciples during these difficult times, that God will open up doors for us to speak forth the truth about Christ, which the world so desperately needs.

In our last newsletter we mentioned an upcoming outreach to the remote village of Gambazi. The outreach was well received by the community and the gospel seed was planted in the hearts of those who attended. Pray that it would bear fruit and not be snatched away by the enemy. We thank God for the faithfulness of the 2 elders (Herman and Japheth) in the neighboring village church who take turns walking almost two hours, twice a week, to teach these young ones in the faith at this beginning stage. Please pray for God's Spirit to continue to give them the desire and strength needed for this task.

We want to thank you for praying for our Work Permit appeal. We praise the Lord that it was approved and we were able to proceed and submit our Residence Permit which was also granted. We are finalizing that and then we will have to start on the 3 permits for our school age children. The paperwork and requirements seem unending so please pray for us, that we would persevere through it all. 

On Wednesday (Nov. 25) Luke plans to travel to visit our friend Peter who has been visiting the mostly unreached tribe of the Wataturu. He has already been there for 3.5 weeks witnessing among them, building relationships with them, and teaching those who have decided to follow Christ. Luke will be going with 3 young men from the assembly here in Kigoma and spend 4 nights there. They plan to encourage Peter, help evangelize, teach, and also show gospel films in the evenings. Please pray that our mighty God will rescue many souls from the domain of darkness and transfer them into the kingdom of his beloved Son.

Peter, with the chief's son.

Finally we thank the Lord for helping our family through a time of sickness. Three of our children were sick during the past 2 weeks but are now better, however Gina is now sick. Please pray for God's quick healing for Gina as she will need all her strength to manage the household and homeschool while Luke is gone for most of the week.

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

Luke and Gina and the kids

p.s. you can also see photos that highlight our September and October.

August Update

 Dear friends and family,

    On Saturday we had the graduation ceremony for our ten students at the Disciples of Jesus school. Pray for them to continue studying God's Word and for their continued involvement in ministry in their local churches.

Graduation Day!

    At the beginning of August we took the discipleship students on their last ministry trip to the village of Kinazi. Kinazi is a newer church that still meets under tarps next to the house of one of the elders. They have been working hard on their chapel building but still need a roof. Please pray for them to grow and be grounded in the Word.

Sunday school at Kinazi.    

The church in Kinazi.

The building, just needing a roof.

    After our Work Permit application was rejected we submitted an appeal and are still waiting for an answer. We have been told it can take up to 4 months to hear back from the office so we aren't holding our breath, but we have committed our future to our loving Shepherd and would appreciate your prayers for us as well.

    In two weeks there will be a conference in Gambazi, a village near one of our churches that has been doing outreach there. Pray for the Spirit to convict hearts and for a clear presentation of the gospel.

    We appreciate your prayers for us and we are praying for you as well. In these troubled times you are living in, I would invite you to apply Jesus' words: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called sons of God."

    Grace and peace to you,

        Luke, Gina and the 5 kiddos

Prayer card

Here's a recent family photo and the required prayer card/missionary card we had ready for the summer furlough that never happened. So, here it is instead, for you to print and then put on your fridge. =)

Thanks for your prayers!

Blessings in Christ,

Luke and Gina Johnson

Summer 2020

“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the LORD.” Lam. 3:25-26

Dear brothers and sisters in the Lord, it seems that our gracious Father is teaching many of us the Christian virtue of waiting. It is a hard but valuable lesson to learn. As we wait for the LORD’s goodness and salvation to appear, we must spend our time seeking Him. 

Lately my email inbox has been overflowing with newsletters and it may be the same for you so I will keep this brief.

We continue with 10 students in our discipleship school. At the end of August they will, Lord willing, graduate. We are doing ministry trips with them to churches in town and in the villages.

Visiting the church at the village of Munzeze with the students.

We submitted our Work Permit application a month ago and are waiting for an answer from the Labour Office. Please pray that our Work Permit would be granted.

Our furlough plans are on hold for now, but we still hope to travel to the US this year, if the Lord wills. We wait for the Master to open the door.

The kids continue to enjoy their summer vacation. We were able to take a mini family vacation last week.

Emily enjoying a boat ride on Lake Tanganyika (near Kipili).

Here's a link to a few more photos: Highlights of May and June.

We are burdened for churches here. We are saddened by the news of grave problems in some of them. They need sound Bible teaching and training. Please pray for God’s Spirit to work powerfully in us and in our dear Tanzanian brothers and sisters.

We are saddened by all the upheaval going on in the US. We are praying for the church of Jesus to stand strong at this time. May Christ’s light shine even brighter through you in this dark time. God’s gracious and transforming gospel is still the ONLY solution to man’s deepest needs and problems.

Thank you for your prayers. It is the most important thing you can do. God’s almighty power is unleashed when His people seek Him and ask Him to intervene.

In Christ,

Luke Johnson

Tabitha's wedding

Today we attended the wedding of Tabitha and Japheth. Last year she graduated from the Disciples of Jesus School. She now marries a man from the village next to hers, right on the lake. So we went for the day and celebrated with them. Here are some photos we took so you can catch a glimpse.

After much anticipation the bride finally arrives. Can you spot her?

With much excitement, the groom comes out to meet her.

They enter the church together, the groom leading the way.

The bride and groom, and their attendants behind them; always at the ready.

Japheth checks to see that it's really her. He doesn't want to be deceived the way Jacob was!

The couple held hands for almost the whole ceremony, something uncommon here.

Everyone is the designated photographer! Yay for smartphones.

All go down to the lake to see the couple get their photos taken.

It's quite chaotic and noisy with most of the village kids just hanging out.

Even Esther sneaks in a photo with Tabitha!

And now off to the wedding reception at the groom's house.

The crowds are seated on tarps and under shady mango trees.  All will be fed a meal.

Passersby also stop to to get a glimpse of the choir that is singing.

So there you have it! Some moments were not captured on camera.

To be there you'd see the attendants always fussing over the bride and groom: spraying cologne on them, wiping their brows, brushing the groom's suit and fixing the bride's dress.

A bit of banter goes between the fathers, saying that they must fulfill their duty and keep their promise, i.e. the bride's father no longer calling her daughter, and the groom's father promising to accept her.

The music is deafening. It's not hard to find the current party in town! In fact, there were 3 weddings on this Saturday, and in this very same village. So, as Japhet and Tabitha were finishing with their photo shoot at the lakeside, another wedding party arrived from the Catholic church, ready for their turn at photos by the lake!

The preacher's message was really good. He emphasized how the groom should not have eyes for anyone else. All the other young ladies in the village will get their chance some day, but for him there would be no one else but Tabitha. At this, the ladies in the church erupted into cheers and applause. You see, it is quite common to see women struggling to support their young children, their husbands gone to look for "work" years ago.

Outing

Doing some exploring on a Sunday afternoon.

The stories these old buildings could tell...

Luke's four-day trip to the village of Kahwibiri

Fri. May 15, 2020 --

I got up at 5 AM on Friday morning and ate breakfast and finished getting ready for my trip. Dad and Mom came by to pick me up in their car around 6:20 AM. We went and picked up Ndila at the chapel and then drove down to Ilagala. When we got to Ilagala Dad had to stop before getting to the bridge just past the primary school because it was flooded. A side stream that comes off the Malagarasi river overflowed its banks and swallowed up the road. It was about 200 meters across. After saying good-bye to Dad & Mom we crossed over by small boat (for 200 shillings per person) to the other side and then got on 2 bodabodas (motorcycle taxis) to quickly take us to the ferry to get there on time because we were running late. We got to the ferry just after 8 AM and fortunately it had not yet left. Before getting on the ferry they asked us if we had face masks so we got ours out and put them on. Once on the ferry we took them off because almost no one was wearing them. The river was super high.

Getting on the ferry.

Crossing the Malagarasi river.

Did all the ferry passengers pay 200 shillings??

The ferry was docked at the far right of the normal ramp. Once across there was a huge long line of people waiting to get their temperature checked before getting on the ferry going back the other way to Ilagala. Jems Humbagije soon arrived and we were soon on our way on the daladala (minibus and local transport). Pleasantly this one was not very crowded. Past Sunuka but before Kirando the daladala stopped and we got out. The road was covered in muddy water that had come up from the rising lake and had covered the low spots in the road.

Yep, that's the main road.

Walking thru the water, carrying your luggage.

We took off our shoes and rolled up our pants and waded through 3 flooded areas. At the end of the last one there were 2 boats there to help people cross over because it got real deep there. We got on one of the boats and it took us to the other side.

The man in blue guides people from stepping off the "road" and into deeper water.

These men with their boats help passengers get across a deep section.

There was a daladala on the other side that had just arrived from Mgambo with people who were going to Ilagala and Kigoma but we soon found out that it was not available for us. It was waiting for people coming from Kigoma who had paid for a ticket from town all the way down south to Mgambo. They were guaranteed a seat on a daladala at each successive leg of the journey. But we had heard that the ferry does not cross over again to Mahanga (our side) until 11 AM and it was only around 9:30 in the morning, so we prepared ourselves for a long wait. There were some ladies cooking rice and beans and lots of people were hanging around. I order 4 plates for Jems and Ndila and I and the man from our Ilagala church whom we had met on the daladala, but there were only 2 plates left so we shared the plates.

Waiting by the side of the road for the remaining passengers.

So we sat and waited from about 9:30 AM until 12:30 PM. I talked with a man from near Buhingu (Nkonkwa?) who was interested in studying the Bible more, and wanted to join our Bible school. Finally another daladala came from Kalia but it was also waiting for passengers coming from the other side. We were told to try and get on that one. At around 1 PM they started loading up the bags and the people with tickets and seats got in. The minibus was already full and crowded but a bunch of us had not gotten in yet. Then they noticed that one of the back tires was low so they began to play musical chairs with the tires, swapping them around between the 2 daladalas. They must have moved about 4 tires before they were done. There were still 8 more of us who needed to get in and many bags, including our 2 boxes and I thought there is NO WAY we can fit. But in typical African fashion, somehow it happened, don't ask me how. I was standing on my tiptoes for most of the way, supporting my weight with mostly my arms, one on one side of the car and the other on the other side. The short and stocky man in front of me had nowhere to stand and was hunched over our 2 boxes that were stacked on top of each other, on top of other bags, and kept falling onto a lady with her 3 small kids who was sitting in front of him facing backward. The man kept shifting and then leaning into me and the lady beside me. It was a painful and miserable 1.5 hours to Kahwibiri and the steep hill climbs made it harder to hold on and support our weight.
(missing photos of the cramped bus)
It was raining when we got off at the primary school. Soon one of the church members spotted us and took us to mzee (swahili for Mr. or older man) Benedicto's house behind the small market across the street from the school. The house was made of burnt bricks and had a dirt floor. Once in the house we thanked God that we had made it safely. We discussed some rough plans for the seminar. I rested and dozed a bit and soon they brought us some beans and rice.

Arriving at our host's home. Kitchen is the building on the left.

Manioc drying on tarps. Shower room is the grass hut on the right.

After that we walked the 10 minutes to the church building. They now have doors and windows which they can close up. There were 3 men and 5 women besides us, the guests.

Ndila and Benedicto approaching the chapel building.

Luka led the service. We sang 2 songs and then Ndila taught about the kind of offering God accepts. I could barely keep my eyes open and had to keep fighting the drowsiness. It was lightly raining as we walked back. Back at the house we hung around and talked and waited. It got cold and then dark. Then I gave mzee Benedicto the cell phone I had bought him and he thanked me. Then a lady came in asking to see the Bibles I was selling. Then I was called to take my bucket bath outside. At about 9:30 PM they brought us manioc ugali (the starch staple), cooked cabbage and dagaa (small fish). After that we went to bed. I was given a room by myself and James and Ndila were given the other room adjacent to the sitting room. They had put a thin mattress on a bamboo stick bed and 2 kitenge cloths for a bottom sheet. In the corner of my room there was a round tube standing about 4 feet high, made out of tree bark and stitched together. It was used as a storage bin for sorghum grain.

In the corner, a storage bin made from a tree bark stitched together.

 Before getting ready for bed I called Gina and talked to her. She said that Michael had gotten red spots around his mouth and on his hands and feet, but that they did not seem to hurt him or irritate him too bad. I said good night to Gina and the kids and then got in bed. I had a sweater cap, which I pulled over my face. I heard some mosquitoes but I was mostly covered. I could hear the noise of the ladies talking loudly and finishing up their supper outside as I drifted off to sleep.

Sat. May 16, 2020 --

I woke up early, before dawn, to the almost constant crowing of many roosters. As soon as there was light there was activity, voices and clattering in the kitchen (a small hut outside). I got up and prayed for a while before tidying up the room, getting dressed and making my bed. Then someone came wanting to buy a couple songbooks. After that I read my Bible and then we had a breakfast of tea, chapatis and beans cooked in palm oil. We got ready to go to the chapel. Amosi Amani showed up, having walked the 1.5 hours from Sigunga village. He and Luka had breakfast together and then we all walked to the chapel together for the seminar. I taught the first session from 10 – 11 AM on Church Growth Principles. There were some questions at the end and then James Humbagije taught on “Kupotea kwa mwanadamu mbali na Mungu” (“Man's lost state away from God”). It was good. He talked about the fall and later Zaccheus and how Jesus came to seek the lost. He ended with Jesus' invitation for all who are weary, to come to him for rest.

James teaching on Saturday.

Then I taught another session on my topic form 12:30 – 1:30 PM. There were some questions again. We closed our time and then I made the people who needed reading glasses sit down in a row and try on the different reading glasses I had brought for them. Benedicto, Amosi Amani, Luka's father and one older lady got glasses.

Men attending the teaching on Saturday.

Women attending the teaching.

Then we walked back to Benedicto's house. I lay down for a few minutes and soon it was time for lunch. We had cooked green bananas in a tomato sauce and a ripe banana for dessert. Then we said good-bye to Amosi Amani, who had to walk back to Sigunga because he had to preach at Sigunga the following day. We got back to the church around 4 PM and James taught the first afternoon session on “Kukubaliwa na Mungu” (“Being accepted/approved by God”). There were a couple questions at the end of his teaching. Then I taught on Church Growth Principles and finished up my narration of how the church grew in the book of Acts; an exciting topic. There were a lot of questions by a young man named Bonne Annee and also a young lady from a Pentecostal church. We went until almost 7 PM. We walked back as it was getting dark conversing along the way with that young lady and Ndila. Then we hung out in the sitting area with Bonne Annee, taking turns for baths and talking until the food came around 9 PM. It was corn ugali with a nice chicken sauce. I ate and then called Gina. She told me that William had had a fever all day and had red spots around his mouth, arms, feet and bottom and had been very fussy all day. He would not eat but only wanted to nurse and be held, and fuss and rest. She had given him Tylenol multiple times already but it did not seem to help. I felt so bad that Gina had to go through all that, with me gone but I realized that this too was part of suffering for the sake of the gospel and I needed to count it a privilege.

Luke's roommate.

Sun. May 17, 2020 --

I woke up at 6:45 AM. I said my prayers and then I tidied up my room. After that I read my Bible and also read over my sermon notes. Ndila went to go teach the children at Sunday School at around 8 AM. We had our breakfast of lemon grass tea and 2 maandazis (local doughnut). Then I called Gina to see how she was doing. She said last night was worse than the first night. William's fever would not go down, even with the Tylenol, and he was in a lot of pain. Now the spots almost covered his whole body. He had cried a lot during the night. She was wondering if she should try and have Dr. Meggie look at him. Soon after talking with Gina we walked to the chapel to have the meeting. Luka led the service. During the testimony time almost everyone called our a song to sing and some gave a testimony afterward, most didn't. They sang a lot of songs in Kirundi (a language), and some korasis (antiphonal repetitive choruses) as well. They played a big drum.

With the believers on Sunday morning. Woman playing drum at top right.

I preached on Ps. 84 about longing for the house of the Lord. After the service I gave them an exhortation to be unified and love each other and do the work of the Lord. Then I gave them my box of gifts of used clothes and thanked them for their hospitality. James Humbagije also encouraged them and then Ndila took his turn thanking them. Then a lady and Benedicto got and and thanked us for coming. After that one older man needed glasses so I attended to him. Then we walked back to Benedicto's house. I lay down on my bed and promptly fell asleep. I awoke to voices talking in the living room. I got up and texted Gina asking how William was doing. She said that his fever finally broke and that they were going to have Dr. Meggie look at him. We had lunch and then I texted her again and she said that Dr. Meggie had confirmed that it was hand-foot-mouth disease, not measles. She warned that it was quite contagious, especially for younger children, and that it was viral so there is not much that you can do, except wait it out and treat the symptoms. At around 3:30 PM we walked back to the church. On the way we met two men and a lady needing reading glasses. We went to the chapel and had them try them on until they found one that “fit” their eyes. We started the seminar at 4 PM and I taught until 6:20 PM. There were only a few questions at the end and then we closed our time. One more man needed glasses so I got him a pair. After lunch and the whole time I was teaching I could tell that my tummy was not right. It felt bloated and tight. After we finished the meeting I had a bout of diarrhea. I have been drinking their water which they say comes from a spring so I don't know if it's from the water or the food. We walked back, talking to Leonard, one of the church members who said he is from Burundi. After getting to the house I rested a bit and then wrote in my journal. Richard Emmanuel called me and said that Nathan Rasmussen had called him and told him about some Comorians who live in Zanzibar. He was wanting him to go to them and try and reach them with the gospel. Richard was calling me to see what I thought about it. I expressed a bit of concern because of the lack of support he would have from his church and other KLB churches. But when it sounded like he felt called and wanted to go by faith, trusting God to provide I told him I would not try and hinder him. Then I tried to encourage him in his faith and told him I would be praying for him as he prepared to go. Afterward I called Gina and talked with her for a while. William seems to be quite a bit better. He was a bit fussy at supper and seemed a little warm. Then I got called to bathe so I said good night to them. After my bucket bath my tummy troubled me again so I had to visit the outhouse again. Then we had supper and I went to bed soon after that.

With the fever gone, William gets a popsicle to soothe his sores.

Mon. May 18, 2020 --

My alarm went off at 6:45 AM but I did not get up until about 7:15 AM when mzee Benedicto called for us to get up and get ready before the daladala comes. My stomach was feeling much better. I got dressed and then went out to wash my face. Then I spread out my things on my bed so that I could organize and pack them for our trip home. While I was making a quick visit to the bathroom I heard the minibus coming and my hosts were yelling for us to hurry up and get on before it left. They went out to the road to stop it. James and Ndila and I all rushed to pack up and our hosts helped grab our bags. We bargained over the ticket price and our bags were packed into the back and we said good-bye to the saints, got in and were off. There was standing room only and it was pretty tight quarters with trying to stand, brace ourselves by holding onto the side lip of the roof and bending over because of the low roof. Fortunately the driver was going pretty fast and the pain and discomfort lasted only about 75 minutes. Along the way we stopped to pick up more people but it wasn't as crowded as the last daladala we were on when we going to Kahwibiri. Finally we got to the place where the lake covered the road. We got out and took off our shoes and rolled up our pants and got onto the small boats that took us over to the shallow water on the other side. We got out into the shallow water and walked for about 1 km. through the 3 long puddles until we got to the other side. We waited for the next daladala for about 30 minutes. When it pulled up we loaded up and those with seats got in. We were waiting for the conductor from the first daladala because we had all paid him full fares to where we were going and had no tickets to get on the next 2 daladalas. He assured us that he was coming with us all the way to Kigoma town. We waited for another 25 minutes before he finally came. He said he was helping the driver remove a broken part from the daladala so that he could take it to town to find a replacement. We got in and drove the 45 minutes to Ilagala. This time I was very uncomfortable. For the first half of the time I had a severe neck cramp from bending over and I was crammed between 2 ladies. Finally, the person behind me shifted to the other side and I was able to shift into that space and I was somewhat more comfortable and had a little more space. We arrived at the ferry crossing and got out. I divided the small “gunia” of corn which I had gotten as a gift. I gave half of it to Jems Humbagije and said good-bye to him. He was going to walk home from there to Kalinkungwe.

Crossing the first section of deep water.

Everybody piles into the boats.

It's a busy place.

I washed my hands, put on my face mask and waited in line to have my temperature checked for Coronavirus, before buying my ticket and getting on the ferry. We crossed over and then had to walk for almost 2 km. before getting to some more puddles and the side river from the big Malagarasi river that had overflowed and had washed over the road for a large area. We got on to a boat once again and crossed over. On the other side I was able to get a seat because a few people were not continuing on with us, having arrived. The daladala was very hot as we waited about 30 minutes for the driver to come. Soon we were on our way. I wore my face mask the whole way on that last leg of the journey. Unfortunately Ndila was not able to get a seat so he had to stand for most of the trip. The trip took a full 1.5 hours. As people settled into the journey a drowsiness came over most of the passengers. The man next to me was carrying a toddler who fell asleep leaning on the backpack that I was holding on my lap, and the man soon followed suit. I felt bad for a pregnant lady who had been with us the whole way and had to walk that whole way through water and over land. She finally was able to sit on the spare tire by the door for the last leg of the journey. However I could see her heaving into her kitenge and wiping her face clean from the throwup. When we got close to town people began to disembark and Ndila finally got to sit down. When we got to Mwandiga we had to stop and get our temperature checked for Coronavirus. I texted Gina to tell her we were almost there. We stopped at the “Zulu” stand and got off. I said good-bye to Ndila and gave him the rest of the corn. I saw our car coming and flagged Gina down. It was around 2 PM and I hadn't eaten anything all day. She picked me up and we went home. I was so glad to see my wife and be home. We ate a late lunch together. I soon got to see Michael and his hand-foot-mouth disease spots, and when William got up from his nap I got to see him. William certainly got a worse case of it than Michael and he had a lot of nasty red spots all around his mouth and by his nose, On his hands and feet and a lot of new ones on his knees. He looked pretty miserable.

The two youngest, recovering from hand-foot-mouth disease.