To Tanzania and Beyond!

The day we got our "ticket" to our outreach destination: Tanzania

For the past 2 months, the Johnson Family Adventure has been in Tanzania, Africa! It was so incredible to see God working on another continent. Never in our wildest dreams did we think that we would be traveling the world sharing the Gospel. Even more so, we never expected to be in Africa...at least we adults didn't. Funny background story: When we first decided to go into missions, the kids kept telling us they wanted to go to Africa. They told everyone we were going to Africa for missions, which I had to correct because we had no clue where we would be assigned for outreach. But these kids were sure it was Africa.

Another fun background story. One Sunday in El Dorado, Arkansas, our church, One Community Church, had a guest speaker. This guest speaker, Paul Troquille, had been a missionary in Tanzania for many years. As we were leaving the church that morning, he stopped Micah and Evie and told them that he felt one or both would be missionaries one day. How cool is it that a missionary from Tanzania told them they would be missionaries, and then they became missionaries in the same country he served! No doubt God has a sense of humor.

Our amazing YWAM Arusha hosts: Silas (left), Scola, and Moses (right)

When we arrived in Tanzania, we met with our local missionary hosts who would be traveling with us. We were blessed with two translators and a cook to keep us fed and healthy! I will have to do an entire blog post on our hosts. They were amazing. These local Tanzanians are fully dependent on God and overflowing with faith and trust in Him to provide every need they may have. We learned so much from them!

We were able to help build this Massai widow a house for her family.

We spent four weeks with YWAM Arusha. The Arusha base has multiple outposts in the Arusha region. We would travel to an outpost for a week and then return to the Arusha base to rest and catch up on needed jobs like laundry! We experienced many different areas and people in Tanzania. Tanzania has no shortage of beauty! From lush greenery to dusty deserts, Tanzania is a sight to behold. And the people of Tanzania are even better than the land. We were always welcomed with open arms, doted on with gifts, and treated as family.

A piece of our heart will forever be connected to Tanzania.

Our time of ministry was incredible. With travelling to so many different locations, our ministry schedules changed each week. We spent a lot of time doing soccer ministry (even if it's just going out into the community with a soccer ball and playing with whoever showed up!), as well as school programs, building widow houses, children's ministry, church services, painting murals, helping elders, etc. There was always so much fun and joy serving locals and being the hands and feet of Christ.

While there are countless stories I hope to blog over the next few weeks, I can start by saying we regret none of it. We had some challenging times (mainly the travelling every 5-6 days), but we had many more good times. We live to tell stories of living in chicken coops, using squatty-potties and cold bucket showers, and using toothbrushes made of tree branches you have to chew to create the "brush." We also saw a blind man receive sight and countless people give their lives to Christ. Missions is honestly God's greatest adventure for us. He gives you the grace to overcome any difficulty and the heart for the souls he sends you to.

Menye Titolai is a Massai warrior who faithfully serves his community for the Kingdom of God. Talk about a man of faith!

If you have any questions or want to hear any specific stories from our journey, please send us a message! We love connecting with our partners. We can't do this adventure without you! Thank you for your prayers and support. It means the world to us!

Until next time, Mahalo!