Photo update on the students' trip

    This past weekend, Luke and 5 students from the Discipleship School ministered to a new village and their church. The village is accessible only by foot. It is truly a “new” village, with no public school available for the children. In this country, we are used to seeing every, single village have its own primary school. 

Arriving at the village where the car will be parked.

    

And the walk begins...

Still walking...

Starting to see a few houses.

These pioneers have built their homes far apart as they thrive on farming. There is a center/market, so the team was able to have an open-air meeting with choirs and evangelistic preaching. Three other churches also made the trek by foot, bringing their speakers and sound system (and choir members carrying the equipment!) for the weekend meetings.

The believers are all waiting eagerly at the church, and gather for meeting the travelers and for a meal together. 

Then it's time for a shower... bucket bath. Never turn down an offer for a good bucket bath. 😉

It has a door!

After a meal and a shower, it's time for the open air gospel meeting in the town's center. Luke preached a gospel sermon after the choirs performed (no photo of Luke).

A crowd gathers to listen to the choirs.

    On Sunday, they were all up early and walking to the nearby stream where 15 people were baptized. *We hope to get photos soon.*

The students then helped with the children’s meetings and the preaching at the main service. 

Levent giving a short message.

Amani preaching the main message.

    After a rousing meeting where 6 choirs performed, it was time for a quick lunch and then the 3 hour walk back. 

    But that was only to where they had left the car! They hopped in and drove about an hour to the ferry crossing. The ferry was on the other side, but it was quickly nearing the time when it would do its last crossing of the day. 

Thankfully, it did cross over, and the team made it back. It was 9 pm by the time Luke got home — dusty, tired and sore. But thankful for a good weekend trip to the village of Kasagati, where God is building His church!

Thank you for your continued prayers!

May Update

Dear praying friends,

We are ever thankful to our Heavenly Father, for each one of you who faithfully prays for the work of the gospel here in Kigoma, Tanzania. We know that God is working, often in ways we cannot see. It will be an awesome thing to get to see one day all that God was doing “behind the scenes.”

Disciples of Jesus School

By the grace of God we were able to relocate the school to our new (albeit unfinished) campus. 👏👏  We are currently using all 4 rooms of the Office Block for the school’s operation. One for a classroom, 1 for a dormitory, 1 for a teacher’s bedroom and 1 for our “Dorm dad / spiritual leader” who lives on site. We praise God for the 5 students who are growing in their faith and practice. Please pray for God’s provision for the continuing development of the new property. 

Luke finished the 1st term at the end of March, in the old classroom.

Ahadi teaches the first class of the 2nd term in the new classroom!

Students playing volleyball after class on the new school property

The staff/chai room is temporarily used as the dorm. It's a tight fit for 3 bunk beds!

Elder’s seminar and conference

We are preparing to host 50 - 60 elders from the village churches for 2 days of teaching and 3 days of meetings (May 11-15). Please pray for the 3 teachers who will be teaching about Spiritual Leadership. Pray for the many who will be traveling and for encouragement and unity in the progress of the work of the gospel in our 3 Western regions of Tanzania.

Family

Our oldest daughter, Esther, has finished her first year of Nursing at Cedarville University.🥳 Over the summer she will be working as a nurse’s assistant at a summer camp in Ohio. We enjoyed having Emily back from boarding school for almost a month for her Easter break. She recently returned to finish her 10th grade year at Rift Valley Academy (RVA). Miss Paula, who has been teaching Aaron and Michael for the past 3 years has returned to the US. We appreciate the help she has been and will miss her. Gina is trying to finish a couple last subjects with them, as well as finish first grade with William. Pray for each of our children to grow in grace and in the knowledge of our Savior Jesus Christ.

Saying goodbye to Miss Paula. 😢

Other Ministries

There are other ministries we are involved in which we don’t often mention. I only mention them so that you can be praying for us; that we would be filled with wisdom, patience, joy and love in all that we do. 

- Luke is involved with teaching and planning for the Gungu church youth group (in Kigoma town). 

- We purchase Bibles and Christian books (all in Swahili) to sell at a discount price (not for profit) to those in need. Right now we are getting a book display ready for the upcoming elder’s conference. 

- We also provide donated reading glasses free of charge to many elderly believers who cannot read their Bibles anymore due to poor eyesight. 

- We assist many churches in the villages with building projects such as building chapels, and church houses (like a parsonage). 

- We assist national, Tanzanian missionaries who are ministering in remote areas. 

- We assist the poor with medical, educational, food and other needs. 

On top of that we have government paperwork, car repairs, general maintenance, and the needs of daily life. 

An example of an "extra" project:

Last week, Luke (with help from the boys) successfully repaired our broken washing machine!

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer. We serve the greatest of all Masters. He is our Sovereign Conquering King, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To Him belongs all the glory.

Blessings in His name,

Luke and Gina Johnson