Upside down fishies

Dear Friends and Family,

Death seems closer here.  Poverty, war, poor medical care... there are many contributing factors, but the result is that even tiny children are well-acquainted with death.  Every prayer begins with thanksgiving for God's preservation—"We know, Lord, that many people died yesterday from sickness and in accidents; many others did not wake up this morning.  We thank you for preserving and protecting us and bringing us here this morning—bringing us back to life from the sleep of death."  Death may seem close, but every morning I can be reminded of the resurrection—of the One who conquered death and His power.  Another positive thing about Burundians' understanding of the reality of death is their resulting openness to the gospel, especially now, when memories of Burundi's 13 year civil war are so fresh.  Right now, by God's grace, it seems that even small investments of time, energy, and resources have exponential results.  We have no idea how long this time of openness will last, so this is truly a pivotal time for us (and the believers we work with here) to pour our time, energy, and resources into evangelism—into the message of the good news of life-beyond-death, and a newness of life in the here and now.

EVANGELISM THROUGH THE DISCOVERY SCHOOL

Our South African friends Tim and Jeannette orchestrated the Kirundi translation of a children's book that shares the gospel message.  They then sold us seventy-five copies at the incredible price of 20 US cents a book.  The Discovery School first graders are able to read this book for themselves now!  They read the book in class, and then when the time came to send prizes home with the top achievers at the end of term, I rejoiced to be able to give out some copies as rewards.  Pray that this book will have an impact as it goes out into our community.   We also have one large copy of a children's Easter story book (this one given to Jim and Vicky Brooks fby someone in VA and then passed on to us) that we translated, then read aloud and discussed in all the Discovery School classes this past week. That means 290 children heard the gospel at the school this past week.  Praise God with us for the way he brings people and resources from around the world together to further the spread of the gospel here.  Pray that God will provide for the new building the Discovery School needs in order to continue to add a grade each year, and that God will send a teacher to work with us for at least one whole school year.  Meanwhile we are very thankful for Charlotte and the help she is to us and to the school. 

Charlotte teaching a reading lesson                                         Discovery School students

SUNDAY SCHOOL EVANGELISM

Many thanks to those of you who sent flannelgraph materials (especially the extra copies of the Easter story that are being used this week) and collected crayons for the Sunday School kids.  Our local assembly alone has between 300 and 400 kids every Sunday, so this is a huge outreach.  Add in the kids at the more than one hundred other assemblies, and the number of children is staggering! Pray for the under-equipped, overwhelmed Sunday School teachers and that many children would understand the gospel and grow in grace and in the knowledge of God.

Apollinaire, Sunday School Coordinator, Receiving Donated Materials

FILM EVANGELISM

The film team continues to carry the good news all over Burundi.  This week Jesse visited with elders from the Munyinya assembly who came to pick up the gift of a guitar (Their assembly didn't have any instruments before).  They reported that since the film team's visit there a few months ago 25 new believers that were saved after watching the films have become regular attenders and are going on strong for the Lord.  Elders from the Butanuka assembly came to ask for help in purchasing land for a new church plant and reported that their assembly grew by 50 new believers after films were shown there last year.  (This almost doubled the size of their church family as they were a relatively new church plant themselves).    We have much to thank the Lord for!

This past weekend (April 15-17) the film team was in Bururi.  On Friday, after watching   The Answer  and The Creation, 70 people responded to the invitation to accept Christ as Lord.  On Saturday, after listening to Expert's voice over translation (he basically gives a sermon while the film is going on) of Noah, an end times film, and The Madagascar Martyrs , 100 more people responded.   Wow!    

Understandably, we  are committed to seeing this ministry continue—Jesse doesn't go on the trips very often anymore, but he fixes the equipment, settles any interpersonal conflicts that arise, and pays for the fuel needed for the car and the generator (about 130 USD per trip).  Please pray that God will continue to provide for this ongoing financial need, and for endurance, unity, effectiveness, and safety for the team.  There is also a need for sleeping bags.  Bujumbura is built on a small coastal plain, and is the only part of Burundi that isn't mountainous.  When the film team goes on trips, they drive up and up and up.  The farther up they go, the colder the nights get.  There's no snow, but sometimes there is frost on the ground in the mornings.  We brought out some sleeping bags from home four years ago, but after being used every other weekend some of them are rather the worse for wear.  Recently the Sunday School teachers' training team asked if they could have a few sleeping bags to use for their trips.  We passed some on, and so now the film team faces a sleeping bag shortage as well.  If anyone has a used sleeping bag they would be willing to donate, please let us know! 

Some of Saturday night's crowd       Saturday night's responders gathered in the chapel to talk with the elders after the film

The Film Team                                                                                                            In their sleeping bags

FAMILY EVANGELISM

In contrast to the Burundian's familiarity with death, Micah is just figuring out that things die.  Recently Jesse, Zach, and Micah have had a few chances to fish from the shore of Lake Tanganyika and have brought home some fish to keep in our aquarium.  Micah was heartbroken when a few of his fish died.  One night as I put him to bed he started sobbing:

"Mommy, Filapia the fishy died.  Leila the fishy died.  The big rock fish died, too."

"I know.  I'm so sorry, Micah."

"Mommy, Filapia the fish was UPSIDE DOWN!  Leila the fishy was upside down.  The big rock fish was upside down, too!" 

"That's really sad, Micah, but can I tell you something cool?"

"Yes."  Sniffle, sniffle.

"Once your fishies die, can they come back?"

"No."

"Guess what?  Jesus died, just like your fishies, but HE CAME BACK.  HE ROSE AGAIN!"

"Wow!  He has magic powers!"

"He has REAL POWER, Micah.  He's God.  And you know what?  If we ask him to forgive our sins and be Lord of our lives, He will help us come back, too, when we die, and live with Him in heaven."

"Dear God, Please come live with me in heaven.  Amen."

It is such a privilege to be part of a little boy's growing understanding of God's incredible power, and as I think of some of the tragedies in our world since last Easter, I need to be reminded of that power myself.  Our friends Jason and Sarah lost their precious baby boy last May.  Ning Tan is still in desperate need of our prayers as she remains in the ICU after her massive stroke.  She is awake, aware, and occasionally able to make small movements on command, but is still on a respirator and feeding tube.  A local elder's four-year-old, his only son, was killed by a hippo.  Another elder lost one child to a landslide and one to cerebral malaria in the span of a few weeks.  We watched our little Elliot struggle for breath.   We hear of earthquakes, tsunamis, tornadoes…

I am glad Jesus isn't like an upside down fishy.  HE IS ALIVE!

Trusting in His Resurrection Power,

Joy for Jesse, Zachariah, Micah, and Elliot Johnson

Zach and Micah looking at their aquarium                                                       Elliot at the fishing spot