Coming Into Focus

Greetings from Kigoma, Tanzania!

We are thanking the Lord for His strength and goodness as the days and weeks seem to fly by. We are thankful for how the Gospel is continuing to "run swiftly and be honored" as Paul says in 2 Thessalonians 3:1. In the midst of all of the challenges, the Lord is working.

Above is a picture of the "street boys"during one of our weekly meetings. This particular week I shared with them about 3 people I know who decided to get saved and the verses of Scripture that prompted their decision. One of the three was a friend in Durham, NC. He was reading through Job, and came to 3:25 where it says, "For the thing I greatly feared has come upon me. And what I dreaded has happened to me. I am not at ease, I am not quiet, I have no rest, for trouble comes." He knew he needed to get saved, but was putting the Lord off thinking he had plenty of time to do that, but after reading this verse he got saved right away. He didn't want the thing that he feared (judgment) to come upon him! Hopefully one day I will be able to tell the stories of how these guys decided to follow Jesus!

The reading room is continuing to go well in Ujiji. The children continue to come and watch "The King of Glory" and "The Jesus Film" almost every day. There are some local pastors that come and check out books regularly and other locals who trickle in periodically. I have a faithful helper whose name is Asheri, a deacon in our assembly, and he does a good job of filling in for me when I have other responsibilities.

The assemblies here in our area had a big evangelistic conference planned for the first weekend in July in a small village called Mwakizega. Over forty Burundians came down to do the teaching and preaching. The conference lasted 3 days with seminars each morning for the Christians, and a big Gospel meeting each afternoon. This conference was well attended, the Gospel was preached clearly, and we trust the Lord will bless the Seed that was sown. Also, I (John) survived my first village trip. :)

The big job that I was involved with, outside of my regular ministries, was the building of the stage. Luke Johnson led this work. Luke, myself, and several young guys from the chapel did the work of cutting the wood and putting it together. There were several choirs which sang on this stage during the conference, and it proved to be a blessing to have. We hope to use this for many more conferences in the future.

During the conference, Harry Johnson showed evangelistic films at night (below). We thank the Lord that the equipment worked properly and many heard the Gospel.

Overall the conference went really well, hundreds if not thousands heard the Gospel, the seminars were very good, and everyone from the chapel went home on Monday physically exhausted, but spiritually encouraged!

During the month of June, we also went to visit a friend who lives in the small fishing village next to us called Kibirizi. While we were there, lots and lots of kids came out to see the "Wazungu"! This happens almost everywhere we go, and provides a great opportunity to point these precious souls to Jesus.

We were able to share the Gospel with them and I (John) shared with them the story of how I got saved. Many of these children are of the other faith and we were delighted to share with them about God's amazing love for everyone! This family has a great view of Kigoma and Lake Tanganyika from their home (below). You can see the many fishing boats in the picture below.

We were also able to have another youth meeting at our home during the month of June. We had a good turn out as over 20 youth and a few leaders showed up for our meeting. Luke and Gina led the youth in a game of "Guess the Bible character" with yes or no questions. It was guys verses girls and the guys won! Luke led us in a few songs and he taught our group one song in English! (Watch below) After the music, John brought a message on "Honesty" and we had some discussion about "Gehazi" in 2 Kings when he lied to Naaman and then to Elisha to get the talents of silver and clothes before being struck with leprosy. After our study, Jennifer served refreshments and we enjoyed some fellowship together before driving them home.

Below are a few video clips of the singing. :)

As a family, we are doing really well. We thank the Lord that we have stayed relatively healthy and no one has been seriously injured this month (praying that continues). :) Homeschool is going well, but not without its challenges. Sam and Katie are both learning to read and write. Sam loves math and is really good with numbers. Katie is a really good reader. Isaac and Elaina are doing great and working hard to finish the school year.

We continue to have many interruptions with unexpected visitors so we continue to pray in faith knowing that the Lord will give us the help we need in His perfect timing.

This past Father's Day we had a nice evening together.

We covet your prayers as we continue to serve the Lord here in various aspects of Gospel work in Kigoma. We have shared much of the spiritual work of the Gospel we have been involved in, but there are also many physical needs people bring to us every day. We need much wisdom as we pray through these many requests. Thank you for your love and support as we "Seek to point many to the Light of the World"!

"In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. And the Light shines in the darkness and the darkness did not comprehend it. There was a man sent from God whose name was John. This man came for a witness, to bear witness of the Light, that all through Him might believe. He was not that Light, but was sent to bear witness of that Light. That was the True Light which gives light to every man coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made by Him, and the world did not know Him. He came to His own and His own did not receive Him. But as many as received Him, to them He gave the right to become the children of God, to those who believe in Him name." Amen.