February Update

Dear praying friends and family, 

We praise the Lord for His goodness to us, for his mercies endure forever.

Ministry

We prayed for a good turnout for the Disciples of Jesus school and we asked you to pray, and the Lord answered our prayers. We were expecting around 7 or 8 and we got (and still have) 14 students! Two of them are from villages and the rest are from town. We have a good mixture of both adults and youth, male and female. And they are all eager to learn and seem quite well behaved. I (Luke) finished teaching “History of Salvation” (a survey of God’s plan of salvation throughout the Bible) for 3 weeks. Now Peter Yamungu is teaching on how to study the Bible and prepare to teach or preach on a passage (Homiletics). Pray for him as he has begun to feel sick. Please pray also for the students, that they would continue to be faithful in their attendance and eagerness to learn and apply God’s Word to their lives.

Students taking their exam.

Next week we plan to have a 3 day seminar at the Gungu town church on evangelism (particularly to Muslims). God has placed His church there in Gungu as a lighthouse in a predominantly Muslim neighborhood, but our “light” has not been shining very bright, and there is much fear when it comes to witnessing to Muslims. On the second and third days of the seminar we plan to go out and visit our neighbors door to door and talk with them about Jesus. Please pray that friendships would be developed and that this will be an ongoing exercise through which God’s Spirit will draw Muslims to Christ. We need you to pray for this seminar, and we need you to pray for Christ’s church at Gungu! Please remember us in prayer on the 13th - 15th (Mon - Wed) of February! We know our God is able to do mighty things if we are prepared to suffer for Christ’s sake and step out in faith, and we need the support of your prayers.

Family

Much of our family has been sick with upset tummies for a while (especially Luke and Michael). We have been tested and have taken medicine but our condition has not improved much. We have been enjoying the rain and the green grass and the beautiful sunsets lately. Aaron has just learned to ride a bike so he’s pretty excited about that. Esther and Emily enjoyed staying up until midnight when going with their mom to a muslim friend’s wedding.

Aaron riding his bike.

Thanks for praying for us.

Blessings,

Luke and Gina and kids

May Newsletter

We praise the Lord for his provision and continued guidance as we serve Him in western Tanzania. Our news since our last newsletter is that Luke was able to travel to the bigger town of Mpanda south of here. Together with fellow believers he taught for 3 days on Christ Loved the Church. In the evening he showed evangelistic films. This church is only about a year old. The few believers use a classroom in a nearby school for their meetings. Because the seminars were being held on a school day they had to meet elsewhere. One man from the church welcomed everyone to his place. A temporary shelter of tarps was made so they could sit in his front yard and learn from the Word of God.

Sunday morning service was held in a school classroom.

Japhet teaching a seminar session.

Fellow leaders who attended the seminar and helped teach. Man in the blue shirt hosted everybody on his property.

That same week, Peter, from the Kigoma church made a trip to visit a tribe called the Wataturu in central Tanzania. Peter has a burden for this fairly unreached people group and wishes to see lives changed by the Gospel and a church established in their community. He is seeking the Lord's guidance as to maybe living among them and having the local church support him and his young family as missionaries. Please pray for him.

Peter (in the yellow) with the Wataturu.

Early this morning Luke left once more to help with an evangelistic conference south of here. For three days they will do door-to-door and then a gospel presentation and in the evenings show evangelistic films. The days will be long and tiring but please pray that the truth of God's Word will be proclaimed. Pray for a spiritual hunger, especially in this month of Ramaddan.

As a family, we are looking forward to a 5-week break in the US next month. We will be in New Jersey and New York to attend Luke's brother's wedding. Aaron celebrated turning three last week. Emily celebrated finishing kindergarten this week. Michael is now a walker and getting into more mischief than before! Esther enjoys playing with her neighbor friends and is such a help to her mom.

Aaron on his birthday.

Luke and baby Michael taking a much needed siesta.

Thank you for your prayers.

Blessings in Christ,

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

April and May Update

Dear praying friends and family, this newsletter is long overdue! We thank the Lord that we have been keeping busy in His service.

Since our last newsletter we have been to Moshi and back for our Annual General Meeting with other CMML missionaries. It was an encouraging time. While there we left the kids with their grandparents and Gina and I traveled with baby Michael to Dar Es Salaam to visit the U.S. Embassy and fill out the paperwork for his birth certificate and passport. Please pray that those would be sent to us soon, before we have to travel in July.

While we were gone we heard that my motorcycle had been stolen, but miraculously, a day later some students found it hidden and reported it to the police. Upon returning to Kigoma, I was eventually able to get it back from the police after multiple visits to the station. Praise the Lord for His help in this situation!

A couple weeks later I taught the last course at the discipleship course on the end times. During the last week of teaching we welcomed Nate and Tabi Douglas who were visiting from our home assembly in Yakima, Washington. What a blessing it was to spend time with them and show them some of the ministry that the Lord has called us to. On their first Saturday here we had a church celebration for our 4 graduating discipleship students. We praise the Lord for their determination throughout the year and it is our earnest prayer that they will go on serving the Master faithfully. Please pray for them. Their names are Paulo, Aroni, Peter, and Furaha.

Graduates with the 3 teachers.

On Sunday we visited a village church with Nate and Tabi. On the way back the clutch failed but God helped us to get it fixed temporarily and get back home. 

Nate, Luke and Aaron fixing the car.

We also spent some time at the beach and sailing with them, and Tabi got to teach at the Good News Girl's club and the women's meeting. On another day we visited with 2 of the deacons in their homes. Nate and Tabi helped Esther with her homeschool, they spent time with the kids, and they helped around the house, and they encouraged us by talking with us and asking questions. We were sad to see them leave but we know they were eager to get back home to their 5 kids. Praise the Lord for their encouraging visit!

(There are many more photos from Nate and Tabi's visit, if you'd like to see those just click on this link: https://www.facebook.com/gina.johnson.739/media_set?set=a.10153083895704219.1073741834.614664218&type=3&pnref=story )

Upcoming

Right now I am trying to buy some new tires before the 4 day evangelistic conference in the remote village of Kahwibiri. Pray that the tires arrive from the big city in time, and pray for other repairs on the car before this big trip. We hope to do door to door evangelism, open air meetings, and show evangelistic films in the evenings. Please pray for lasting fruit at the conference. 

When I return I will be teaching a course on Hermeneutics (Bible interpretation) at a local Bible College in town. And then in July Peter Yamungu (one of the discipleship course teachers) and I will be teaching a 3 day seminar at one of the village churches. Please pray that in all these endeavors each member of the body would become complete in Christ.

The Homefront

Meanwhile, and perhaps most importantly, Gina continues to homeschool Esther (currently in their last week!), and take care of a 3 month old baby, as well as 2 other kids (and a thousand other things I don't have time to list here). I am so thankful for all that she does for our family. On June 2nd we celebrated Aaron's 2nd birthday. He is growing up so fast and tries to keep up with his sisters.

Aaron on his birthday.

Thank you for remembering to pray for us. We need to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, because sometimes we forget that we are serving Him.

In Christ,

Luke and Gina

January Update

Hello dear family and praying friends. This newsletter is long overdue. We’ll begin by wishing you a happy new year (although it’s already February). 

Ministry

These past 2 months have gone by quickly. We finished our 2nd term of the discipleship course on Dec. 19, so up to that point we were busy with that 3 times a week. Then Christmas was upon us with its different celebrations. In January I (Luke) have been meeting with the other discipleship teachers (Peter & Japhet) to plan for the 3rd and last term of the discipleship program. Luke has also attended some church leader meetings, trying to sort out some problems. That, along with the many requests we get daily in this needy part of the world, has taken up much of our time.

Opening gifts.

Family

Over Christmas week Luke’s Uncle Ken & Aunt Melli + their 10 kids drove down to Kigoma from Burundi for a little break. Then at the beginning of January Luke’s sister Annette & her husband and 2 boys drove down from Kenya, to spend a couple of days with us. We were pleased to see them and catch up on their news. Besides that, Gina has been busy homeschooling Esther, along with the multitude of other tasks that need to be done daily to keep our family going. As a family we all eagerly await the arrival of the next baby, Lord willing, in the next few weeks. Please pray for special strength for Gina in these last days, and for a safe birth for both mother and child. We would also appreciate prayer for Luke’s mother, Ruth Johnson, who is currently in the US and is scheduled to have corrective heart surgery on Feb. 13. Please pray that it would go well and that she would have a quick and smooth recovery, and that God would be glorified.

Upcoming

The 3rd term of the discipleship course begins tomorrow (Monday, Feb. 2). It will continue for 3 1/2 months, 3 times a week. Please pray for God’s wisdom, health & strength for the teachers, and for personal growth & faithfulness in the life of the students. We have added practical ministry for them this time and will be visiting 7 village churches throughout the course. We hope to give them opportunities to discover, and use their spiritual gifts, as well as share what they are learning in the classroom. We want to build in them a vision for serving the Lord and helping with the many needs in the village churches. We also pray that the churches will be encouraged as we visit and minister to them. 

We are so thankful to God for each and every one of you who prays for us faithfully. May God strengthen you more and more in your inner man to pray more fervently than ever. We sincerely believe that this is where the battle is won, in the spiritual realm, through the prayers of God’s people. And pray for us, that a door of opportunity would be opened to us, for effective and fruitful service.

Blessings in Christ,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily, Aaron & ???? Johnson

October Update

Dear praying friends and family, we thank you for your prayers for us. Here are a few highlights from the past 2 months.

Ministry
We got the discipleship course up and running soon after our return. We still have 5 young students who meet 3 times a week for 2 hours to study God's Word. After class we get to play some sports. We were able to make some volleyball posts and now we have another sport to play besides soccer (or football for those who live outside the U.S.)
The first 2 weeks of October Luke went to the village of Sunuka to teach at the local Bible College (Grace Bible College). He taught on the doctrine of salvation, 4 hours a day. We are thankful for God's protection and help when Luke fell over on his motorcycle due to the bad road (i.e. rocks and loose gravel). He scraped up his right palm and sprained his right ankle. Fortunately, as God would have it, this happened directly opposite a new dispensary and Luke was able to walk there and get his wounds cleaned and bandaged before continuing on his way.
Beginning tomorrow (Mon. Oct. 27) Luke will begin teaching a 3 week course on the doctrine of salvation to the discipleship students here in Kigoma town. Please pray that God would be glorified in that.

Family
Our family is happy to be back home in Kigoma. Gina continues to homeschool Esther every week day (2nd grade). Esther and Emily enjoy playing with our neighbor's girls, Reagan and Sarah. Little Aaron loves to tag along with his sisters and is showing more and more of his personality. He still doesn't talk much but he makes up for it with a wide range of noises. Lord willing we will welcome another child into our family in February. Please pray for Gina as she will be entering the uncomfortable and tiresome months.
Harry and Ruth Johnson (Luke's parents and our co-workers) have traveled to the U.S. so that Ruth's heart condition can be checked out by the doctors. Please pray for them, that the doctors would have wisdom as to how best to help her. Please pray for us as we hold the fort here with some added responsibilities.

Aaron is all ready for bed.

Emily as she catches flying termites.

Thanks for joining with us in this ministry and spiritual battle. Pray that we would be bold and pursue our calling with wisdom and zeal.

With love in our Savior's name,

Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily and Aaron Johnson

September Update

Greetings from Kigoma, Tanzania.

Our family has been home for a month now and we're feeling more settled in. Emily and Luke both celebrated birthdays this past month. Esther has begun 2nd grade in homeschooling, and Emily keeps Aaron entertained during the school hours. However, the favorite past time for the girls is to play with their neighbor friends.

Emily on her 4th birthday.

The discipleship course at the local church is in its 4th week with two faithful brothers (Japhet and Peter) teaching the first two modules. Luke is up for teaching next, but before that, he's teaching Soteriology at Grace Bible College for two weeks. He drove the motorbike down to the village this morning and plans to stay until Friday, teaching 4 hours every afternoon. He hadn't quite made it to the village when he called to say he'd been in a small accident. He was being treated at a health clinic for his bruised ankle and sore hand. Now he's arrived at his destination and teaching the students. We pray he'll make it thru the end of the week and that he'll heal fast and have strength to do it all over again next week.

Thank you for your prayers for us and the Lord's ministry in eastern Africa.

Blessings in Christ,
Luke, Gina, Esther, Emily and Aaron Johnson

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.

New dresser for the girls ...

And then there's some projects which take a full 9 months to complete. Been working on this one for a while, but the end is in sight!

One more month to go!

I love projects and love seeing them finished!

Just a typical Sunday ...

All three of my kids. =)

Luke leading the sunday service at the Kigoma chapel.

August at a glance

Esther learned how to ride a bike, with no training wheels, even though she begged for them.

Emily at the Kigoma port to get her yellow fever shot. She looks thrilled!

Visiting the small chapel at Sambara one Sunday morning. 

Waiting outside with the kids while Dad has just "one" more meeting.

Emily getting her first hair cut.

Loving the visit from the cousins.

Shooing away the monkeys at the beach. This one's a mama with her baby.

Setting up the trampoline we got from Lauridsens.

Attempting to fly the kite at Ujiji beach with Steven.

Getting our first rain, but it's early so this won't keep up.

Esther holding baby Shadrak who is only 3 days old.

Emily and Esther sporting matching dresses.

The Chronicles of Narnia

We have greatly enjoyed reading thru the Chronicles of Narnia with our daughter Esther. She first got excited about the series when watching the movie "The Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe". So we borrowed a complete series from Luke's mom and dad and began to read. It all begins, of course, way before Lucy and Edmund and our daughter was hooked. We looked forward to our evenings of reading and Luke and I re-acquainted ourselves with all the colorful characters and Esther interrupted continuously with many questions. A couple of nights she'd ask that we specifically pray that the White Witch wouldn't come get her, and when playing she would sometimes pretend to be Queen Prunaprismia.

Tonight we read the last chapters of "The Last Battle". It's been a great adventure for Daddy, Mommy and Daughter. But I think we'll have to repeat the whole thing in another 5 years, just to refresh our memories!

The book we've just finished reading.

Aslan tells the children when they arrive in his country that: "the term is over: the holidays have begun. The dream is ended: this is the morning." -- Heaven is going to be great!

Nairobi Fly

Nairobi Fly on the dish rack.

We have lots of bugs in muggy Tanzania. When you see a bug you smack it. Whether it be annoying flying ants, a biting red ant, or a disgusting cockroach, you don't inspect the victim but instead reach for your left flipflop (because you're right handed) and quickly kill it.

Not so with this bug... Introducing the Nairobi Fly. 

Our not-so-friendly critter.

This one you don't smack carelessly. 

If it's gastric juices get onto your skin you will swell so much that your throat will close up. A run to the nearest hospital is a must to get proper medication via an IV.

Just kidding.

But... you will get a red, bumpy, and itchy sore that spreads if the gastric juices touch your skin. The sore is called a Nairobi Eye. The only way for the sore to heal is to leave it alone, and that is very hard for little girls to do. If you scratch it and then scratch some place else, you will be dealing with two sores shortly. 

They are easy to identify with their red-black-red exterior but they are fairly small. This one was a big one at almost 1 cm. The last black little tip will sometimes curl up and when it does the bug resembles a miniature scorpion. =)

Weddings

The bride and groom are never to lift a finger. Their assistants are there to fuss over them. Like, wipe the sweat from their faces, adjust the veil, and adjust the "cool" sunglasses. The bride does not show emotion and has her eyes downcast at all times and bows low to her husband at the appropriate times. The groom however is more free to "be himself".

Attendants fussing over Abeli and Bernadeta.

The "Icky, Mud-wedding"

On Saturday we attended a wedding in a nearby village. Our car was loaded with people as we headed out at 9 am to get there in time for the ceremony that was to start at 10 am. Just before noon the bride finally arrived with her attendants and proceeded to the nearest house to finish getting ready. An impromptu meeting was started while we waited for the bride, and the rain started to pour! The man leading the ceremony eagerly called for the bride, asking that she'd come because we had all waited long enough. She finally made it out, under umbrellas and some 3 girls helping her keep the white dress from getting all muddy. 

Bernadeta, the bride being escorted to the chapel.

The rain never let up, and the walk to the reception was a mucky mess. 

People trying to stay dry during the reception and walking barefoot for a better grip.

Finally wanting to head home after 4 pm we made our way to the car to find that the kids had tried their hand at some "mud art" on the windows of our car. So, the wedding will go down in history, as Esther likes to call it: "the icky, mud-wedding".

Guess who?

The girls at 3 months old. Which one is Esther and which one is Emily?

God's protection

(note to my mom -- Don't read this)

-- (Sept. 2010) Driving from Keza to Kigoma we met a small truck on a turn in the road. Neither of us were completely on our side of the road so we quickly moved to our left (the side we were supposed to be on) only to skid on the lose gravel that sits on the compact red soil. In trying to stay on the road and not go in the ditch the vehicle over-corrected and went to the other side making a U turn in the dust of the passing truck. The small truck halted to a stop and the many passengers in the back jumped off to come help us assuming we had flipped. We drove up to meet them and assure them that we (including Esther 3, Emily 2 weeks) were OK. Thank you Lord for your protection!

-- (Oct. 2010) The plug to our toaster was beginning to smoke while plugged into the kitchen socket. Oblivious to any of this, I (Gina) decided to unplug it on my way out to hang laundry while leaving Emily in her bouncy seat. I could not pull the plug out, the plastic was melted and the 'tronic' multi-plug was beginning to deform from the heat. The Lord protected us from a possible fire by making me check on the plug at that exact moment.

-- (Dec. 2010) I (Gina) walked into the kitchen and immediately smelled the overpowering fumes of propane gas. The milk that had been left to reach a boiling point had instead boiled over and extinguished the flame leaving the burner 'on' to allow the gas to continually leak. I had been in the bedroom down the hall nursing Emily and talking with Esther for some 20 minutes while the fumes filled the kitchen. Thankfully there was no other flame on in the entire house to start an unwanted fire. The Lord protected our family once again!

Highlights from November

The boat thus far...

Grandparents with Emily and Elliot Johnson

Peter and Naomi on their wedding day

when visiting a village...

You gotta wait

and wait for your lunch

except for Emily.