A new household item?

During our first week of stay with our British hosts, Esther has discovered that she enjoys Marmite on her toast. For the Americans that have never tasted this, let me just tell you that it's in a class all its own. The third ingredient is "salt", and that's basically all I taste when I try it. To eat it, you spread a small amount, very thinly on a piece of buttered toast, it's black like tar, and the smell is incredibly strong. A jar can last quite a long time, especially if it's only one person in the house who eats it, i.e. our Esther. So maybe we'll go ahead and buy her a jar while we're in the city!

Layla Nyota Epp

A big CONGRATULATIONS to Daniel and Lisa Epp! They are now parents to a little girl named Layla Nyota.

Layla was born in Winnipeg, Canada

On April 26, 2012; 8:01 pm

And weighted 8 lb. 3 oz.

Newest little Epp.

We are praising the Lord for a safe delivery and for a beautiful, healthy baby. Good job Lisa!
Now the real work begins. (smiley)

Annual General Meeting

This past week we had the 2012 AGM (Annual General Meetings) for CMML missionaries in Tanzania.

We enjoyed a relaxing 3-night stay at a nice hotel at the foothills of Mt. Kilimanjaro. The grounds were so pretty with flowers and trees that they seem to be in perpetual bloom in that fertile land.

Our room during our stay at the "Marangu Hotel".

We got a peek at Mt. Kilimanjaro during a sunny break one afternoon.

Mawenzi peak on Mt. Kilimanjaro.

Those present were: Steven and Gill Davies from Dar Es Salaam, Ron and Maria Cunningham from Moshi, Johnsons from Kigoma, and William and Eunice Rea from Moshi.

(Pictured below from left to right.)

Attendees at the AGM 2012

Each couple had the opportunity to share about the previous year of ministry in their corner of Tanzania. It is always encouraging to hear the reports and to then spend time praying for one another.

Our girls were the only kids and had to sit tight during the meetings, or play by themselves quietly. However, the afternoons were free for swimming and playing and they enjoyed the extra attention from so many nice adults.

Emily at the pool, happy to run around a bit.

Our Late March Update

Greetings to all our dear praying friends & family. It has been a while since some of you have heard from us. Sorry about that.

The month of March has been quite busy for us. With a week to recover from the previous seminar and conference we headed up north to Lake Victoria (11-hr. drive) to visit two fairly new churches in the city of Mwanza. The believers there had been begging us to come, so we finally scheduled it in and made the long trip, coming back 7 days later. They were so appreciative of Luke's teaching and also eagerly bought the Bibles we had brought at a discounted price.

Our week back home had us all feeling sick and worn out. Esther and Gina were recovering from food poisoning, Luke got malaria, then bilharzia, and we all got stomach bugs. Later on Esther got malaria too. It took us a while to get back to normal, but we thank the Lord we are all well now.

The US Embassy paid us a visit to our corner of Tanzania and we were able to renew Esther's expired passport and Luke's soon-to-be-expired-passport. So thankful we don't have to make a trip to the big city, on the other side of the country!

The weekend of March 24-25 we drove to the village of Bukuba for a special meeting recognizing a new elder for the assembly. Well, that was the weekend the rains decided to finally come, and it made the trip exciting. We are very thankful for God's protection on the road.

On Saturday March 31, a dear friend and fellow missionary got married. Our daughter Esther was one of the girls who took part in the ceremony. She enjoyed walking down the aisle in front of the bride & groom.

Next week there will be an outreach by some of the church leaders in a village where the church is struggling. Please pray for fruit from these efforts and growth for the believers.

After working on our taxes we are now getting ready for yet another trip. On April 21 we will be leaving for the town of Moshi (near Mt. Kilimanjaro), where we will first have our missionary Annual General Meeting (AGM), and then Luke will be teaching Romans at Berea Bible College for 3 weeks.

Items for prayer:

- Our trip to Moshi, a 3 day drive (safety & that the car would run well)

- Our annual missionary meeting

- Luke teaching Romans

- Outreach in village church next week

We thank you for your continued prayers for our family and the work.

In His service,

Luke, Gina, Esther & Emily Johnson

The bride with her 6 "bridesmaids".

4-wheeling for Jesus

Sunday at 5 pm, we were finally in the car and ready for the drive home. We had come to the village of Bukuba the night before and had stayed for the Sunday meetings and the recognition of a new elder for the assembly. After a filling lunch of rice, beans, spinach and Coke, we said our good-byes and packed in the car (6 adults and 3 kids). We waved good-bye as we drove off, and continued to wave at the people in the village as we drove by some shops. Then came the mud pit. Luke slowed down a bit, wondering which was the best way to cross, and seeing that it was bad everywhere he went straight ahead. We didn't even get half way thru before we were in too deep for the wheels to grip.

Our Toyota stuck in the mud.

Everybody came running to the mud pit and clucked their tongues as they watched from a distance. The two men in the car with us were town folk and never budged. They just rolled down their windows and yelled out instructions to those who were near: "Go call so-and-so, go get planks..." Luke was the first with his shoes off, pants rolled up and shoveling some mud before other men reluctantly came to see what could be done. Once some planks of wood were set in front of the tires and a failed attempt at getting the tires to grip, more men plunged into the muck and gave a helping hand.

Successfully out of the mud. Now... to go back in another way.

Going back was the only other option. Lots of shoveling and moving the mud away as planks were set as close to the tires as possible. The rest of us ladies and kids got out of the car. Men were pushing and others were pulling as Luke carefully backed up. This time the tires griped and the men managed to get our Toyota out of the mud. Thankfully no one was hurt!

Going around the mud pit but still needing a push.

Everyone had their opinion as to what was the best way around the mud pit. After inspecting and deciding on a route, Luke was back in the car driving as far around as he could. The tires began to spin once again, but they weren't stuck too deep, so a quick push from the men who were close by, and the car was back in motion.

Safely home. Thank you Lord!

We were sure happy to be on our way again. It was 6 pm when we all got back in the car. Luke left some Tz shillings with a fellow believer to "thank" some of the men who had helped. And I (Gina) made sure everyone hosed their feet down before going in the house!

In Mwanza for a week.

To get to Mwanza from Kigoma you head north for about 6 hours and then north-east for the following 4 hours. At the end of your long and hot drive you get to Lake Victoria, hopefully in time for the ferry and not after 6 pm when the ferries no longer operate. This was our first time going on this particular crossing so we were pleasantly surprised at how big and "nice" the ferries were.

Ferry crossing on Lake Victoria.

We arrived in Mwanza just before 7 pm (Monday, March 5) and our friend Jonny Jeremia took us to his house for a hot meal. We climbed up the side of a mountain, walking past homes in single file: up, up, up. His front porch is used for the meetings, so tarps were set up all around to provide shade and protection from the wind.

Luke teaching the small group of believers.

Luke taught for 4 days. The first two days was an overview of the Bible, the third day was the teaching on love, and the fourth day was God's plan for the church. The believers were eagerly taking notes and asking questions at the end of each session. They were all so grateful that Luke had come to visit and made time for teaching them. Luke was tired at the end of the sessions which lasted until 3 pm every day. Being in the big city had us doing other things like shopping and getting our car tuned up, so our days were full.

Jonny's house is on the left.

The girls did a great job of entertaining themselves and climbing rocks and finding "treasure" in the midst of the trash. Esther had a fun time playing with all the other kids once she got used to them.

City of Mwanza

Mwanza is the second biggest city in Tanzania, after Dar Es Salaam. It lies on the shores of the big Lake Victoria, which also borders the countries of Kenya and Uganda.
On Saturday we drove to another neighborhood in Mwanza to visit a second "church" that's just getting started. It would have been faster to walk, the roads for vehicles do a long round-about due to so many boulders.

Large rocks are distinctive of Mwanza. People build around them or on them.

During the week, there was an Evangelistic Conference taking place very close to where we were staying. We could hear the pentecostal preacher (from America) and watch the famous Rose Muhando sing. Thousands came every afternoon and stood in the open field to watch the show.

Storks on tree tops are also listening.

Daddy with little blondie.

Tilapia fish from Lake Victoria.

Finding time to relax and enjoy our two girls.

Enjoying an evening at the fancy hotel. Fishermen are heading out at dusk.

Emily is 18 months old!

Esther on a ferry, crossing Lake Victoria.

A peek at the busy weekend

A big crowd for Sunday morning.

A lot of people means a lot of food.

Everybody praising before the evangelist speaks.

Thanks for your prayers

Dear praying friends and family, we want to thank you for your prayers for the youth seminar, evangelistic conference, and films that took place this past week, beginning Thursday and ending Sunday night.
We wanted to give you a little update on what happened. We had 6 seminar sessions, 2 each day beginning Thursday - Saturday. There were around 80 young people from various village churches and from here. I taught 4 sessions, giving an overview of the Bible, and God's redemption plan in story form, and ending with our response to God, and His plan for our lives. The other seminar teacher urged the young people to live holy lives that are committed to Christ. He was very dynamic and the young people really liked him.
The outdoor evangelistic conference was each afternoon, for 3 consecutive days beginning Friday and ending Sunday. It took place in an open field just behind the church property. We borrowed a stage and we put up poles and a tarp over it, and then the stage was decorated with colorful cloths. There were only 3 choirs (which is few for here) but they did well and there were some special numbers. On Friday there were not very many people, but by Sunday there were well over 200 by my estimation. We had invited an evangelist speaker who presented the gospel with much vigor, telling stories of his own salvation, and the salvation of others, and urging all to repent. At the end of each meeting he prayed for the crowd, and also prayed for the sick.
Before the evangelistic meetings were over the film equipment was being set up and began shortly after the other came to a close, just as the darkness fell. Films were shown for three nights after each of the afternoon meetings. At least one man who has been involved in witchcraft came and talked to my father and one of the church elders. He told them he was touched by the films and that he wanted to break off from his evil lifestyle and learn more about Jesus. He said that he wouldn't be able to come to church on Sunday (this past Sunday) but he would come the next week to learn more.
The whole church worked hard to make this all happen. The women cooked and washed dishes and decorated, and the young people helped set up the stage and sound equipment and benches etc ... and helped take care of the many needs of the visitors. On the last day it seemed as if Satan was going to disrupt things with some contention that began, but it was soon resolved and things continued as planned, albeit late, even for Africa.
We want to thank each and every one of you for your participation in these efforts. We continue to till the ground and sow the seed on the hard ground of the Gungu neighborhood (in Kigoma). Please continue to pray for soft hearts for all those who heard the Word.
Blessings in Him,
Luke Johnson