Extension News Touches Base Around The World…

Thank you for taking time to read this week’s report. You can go to the following link and read all the latest news, along with seeing the pictures associated with the news.

God bless
Bob

Preparing For The Journey Ahead…

Thank you for taking time to read the weekly report. You can read all the details and see pictures connected to the work by clicking on this link.

Bob

Bear Valley Lectureship 2011

Thank you for taking time to read the weekly report. You can read all the details and see pictures connected to the work by clicking on this link.

Bob

The Numbers We Know Are Life Changing…

As we remember the tragedy of 9/11, the lives lost, sacrifices of many who went to help, and a country changed forever, the lessons continue. We have a greater perspective on the value of life and family. We understand how the direction of the future can change in an instant. We also know the need to be prepared for every situation. The most important lesson to learn is we need God.

I am sure pulpits across the United States, and maybe around the world, focused on the lessons connected to the anniversary of 9/11. I was privileged to hear one of the finest lessons before the Lord’s Supper by Michael Hite. He spoke of how our minds instantly recall images when we hear the numbers 9/11. What do we recall when we hear numbers like 27/50; 15/37; 23/46; or 19/30? These are the passages from the gospels that express the last breath our Savior took on the cross. These numbers should bring powerful images to mind.

At a time when our world is focused on the events of 10 years ago, as Christians, our thoughts should weekly, yes daily, remember the events of almost 2,000 years ago when our Savior came in the flesh and gave His life to provide access to heaven. The way of salvation was secured through His sacrifice.

This is indeed the purpose behind the work we do in Extension Training. With each week, I am increasingly privileged to share in the efforts of so many to help prepare men around the world in the sound doctrine of God’s word. I count it one of God’s greatest blessings given to me in the opportunity to see it, read about it, and share in this work. Thank you for making this possible.

The reports this week focus on many areas around the world expressing the greatness of our God working through faithful men for the good of the Kingdom.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Extension Reports 

BVBIU: Gorlovka, Ukraine
The new class of students are now preparing themselves for the Lord’s work. Read more about each of the students and see their pictures in this month’s report from Dennis.

Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies: Tamale, Ghana

REPORT FROM TAMALE INSTITUTE OF BIBLICAL STUDIES – GHANA
Activities have resumed in earnest after a break. Instructors and Students of Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies look refreshed. Management wishes to thank all individuals and organizations who in diverse ways made the maiden graduation ceremony successful. Our prayer is that the graduants will continuously commit themselves to the great commission.

The Institute encountered the saddest experience ever to be thought of a day after the graduation. As part of the Institute’s effort of producing self- reliant preachers, sought the services of the late Sister Avril Keoughan. She visited Tamale once every quarter with her team to teach the students on Primary Health Care. Prior to the graduation ceremony, she informed the Institute of the need to conclude her syllabus with a three – day activity. She was electicuted by a faulty water heater in the bathroom when she was bathing after her first day class activities, and died at the Tamale Teaching Hospital. She was buried at the Bomso Church premises on the 27^th August, 2011.

TRIBUTE BY THE CHURCHES OF CHRIST, TAMALE.

“The righteous perish, and no one ponders it in his heart; devout men are taken away, and no one understands that the righteous are taken away to be spared from evil”.  (Isaiah 57:1) New International Version

Avril Keoughan was a Canadian Public Health Practitioner who worked closely with the Churches of Christ in Ghana. She started her carrier in Ghana at the Bomso Clinic. She was later engaged by the Village of Hope. She finally came to settle in Kumasi where she worked with the Bomso Clinic. Her vocation as public health practitioner took her to several towns and villages in the north. Especially in Yendi and its surrounding villages where together with the Yendi church set up a clinic in Yendi and gave health care to the people there. Together with Sister Johnson and Brother Bob Williams all deceased, Tamale Church was assisted to establish a Clinic at Cheshagu in the Tolon- Kunbungu District in the early 90s.

When the Tamale Institute of Biblical studies (TIBS) was established two years ago she was invited to teach the trainee preachers in public health. The rationale for the above was to enable them get some vocation as a supplement to the preaching work, an offer she accepted with enthusiasm and since then has been visiting with her team every three months to teach.

Avril Keoughan happens to be one of the resource persons invited by the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies to its annual lectureship and maiden graduation ceremony held on 24^th and 25^th June 2011 respectively. In addition to the above, she was to take the graduands through their last lectures in public health and to examine them in the subject before they went to the field.

On the day of graduation, she was invited to present a prize to the well behaved student. She also took part in the thanksgiving ceremony held on 26^th June 2011 to express the institute’s gratitude to the Almighty for making the graduation possible. It was at TIBS, on Monday 27^th June 2011, around 9:30 pm, that she met her untimely death.

She had earlier that very Monday organized a class for her students and arranged with them so that they could take their exams the following day (Tuesday, 28 June). She was to proceed to Kumasi that very Tuesday after conducting the exams for them (the students). However, Tuesday 28^th June 2011 never came to meet her alive.

She was going to take her bath that fateful Monday night after watching a television program on CBS that she was electrocuted by a faulty wall heater and died when she was being rushed to the hospital.  True therefore goes the saying that we know where we were born but not where we shall die. Yes, she was born in Canada but ended her life in Tamale, Ghana.  

At age 62 the normal expectation was that she still had some meaningful years to live on this earth.  Nevertheless, things did not happen the way we thought. We loved and cherished her dearly for her immense contribution to the church and TIBS and wished she stayed a bit longer to teach the subsequent trainee preachers their lessons in public health. But our expectations have been shattered at our feet. We really did not understand why things happened this way, but the Almighty knows best and it is his will that must prevail.

At this moment we are at the crossroads ready to part company with her since her physical body will soon be lowered into the grave and today will be the last day we shall be setting eyes on her. However, we still nurture the hope that we shall meet one day in Heaven where the saints will forever be comforted.

Avril! Farewell
Avril! (Farewell in Dagbani)Ti chepsi- a
Avril! Damrifua Due.

ITL: Guatemala City, Guatemala
The following information has the most recent details about the new class at the Theological Institute of Latin America in Guatemala. 

Introduction: The Need
What all began in April 2008 as a Saturday program and in March 2009 as a full-time institute for training men and women to work in God’s Kingdom continues to be blessed by God Almighty.

As we have graduated our first class and have moved into our 2nd promotion (BETA Class), the work seems to get greater and greater. Someone told us that it would get easier after the 1st year. ☺ However, we are enjoying the opportunities that God has given us.

Our goal from the beginning has not been to impress our supporters with numbers. Rather, we have sought to establish a quality program that emphasizes character, discipline and fidelity to the Word of God, as well as a passion for reaching the lost in this world. We are partnered with Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (BVBID) to continue with the goal of giving the best Bible training possible.

The NEED TO TRAIN WORKERS IS GREAT and we are thankful to have, to help with this need, four fulltime instructors, Anibal Ramirez, Byron Benitez, Darvin Alvarez and Hawatthia Jones. We are also grateful for our supporters. Congregations like the Morristown church of Christ make it possible for Darvin to work full time with both the church in Coban and with ITL. BVBID provides the opportunity for our students to receive some of the best possible instruction from good, faithful brothers from the United States. We believe that Instituto Teológico Latinoamericano (ITL) is a good example of what God says in Psalm 133:1, “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brothers to dwell together in unity!”

ITL is moving forward with many exciting things to report. Since ITL has two programs of study, let us begin with the Saturday program first, then we will update you on the full-time program.

Saturday Program
After graduating our first class, of which 3 individuals were from the Saturday program, it was decided to move this portion of the work from a rented elementary school facility in Zone 7 of Guatemala City to the present site where the full-time program is located. Keeping the students’ needs in mind was the main reason that kept us in that previous location. One of our students would not have been able to finish her studies had we moved before we did. And, we are glad we stayed because this allowed her to be a part of our first graduating class.

This move of the Saturday program has many benefits both for the teachers and for the students. A few of these benefits are: we save Q500 per month (about $65) on rent; we are able to use more modern means of teaching (PowerPoint, etc.); and the area is much safer. No one regrets staying in the other area for the need of a student, but also no one regrets making this move for the Saturday program.

It is hard to believe how time is passing by as we have already entered into our 2nd quarter of this three-year program. In the 1st quarter the classes were Language and Research taught by Anibal Ramirez and Christian Ethics taught by Darvin Alvarez. Presently, we are teaching The Gospels/The Life of Christ (Hi) and Hermeneutics (Byron). We currently have 8 students. Since enrollment for this program is open each quarter, the number of students can vary each quarter.

Full-Time Program
ITL’s full-time program, which works along with BVBID’s extension program, has now also entered into its 2nd quarter of its 2nd promotion. As most of you are aware, this program offers two years of intensive biblical studies, basic living and food expenses, a computer lab, and a limited amount of funds for personal expenses for each student attending. Since the students live on campus, we tried to make their accommodations as comfortable as possible—not luxurious by any means, but comfortable. There are also the additional expenses (housing, schooling, clothing, etc.) for any children with whom the students enter ITL.

There were several changes to make after our first class graduated. One change was that we needed a driver for the new ITL van. Francisco Ramos, our van driver, graduated and none of our new students have a license to drive. The dilemma was taken care of pretty easily in that the staff quickly divided the driving times amongst ourselves to make sure that someone was available to transport the students when needed. But the second change, the need for a full-time cook, presented a little greater of a challenge. The distance from Linda Vista presented a problem in hiring a member of the congregation. So, we contacted a lady in our area in whom we have confidence to see if she would be available to work as our cook; sadly, she was not available. Thankfully, she knew someone who was and highly recommended that we consider her. Her name is Elena Solorzano and she is working out very well as the ITL full-time cook. Elena is not a Christian at the present although she is a very religious lady. Please pray for everyone at ITL as we strive to share the saving grace of God with Elena through both words and actions.

The full–time ITL facility is something we are proud of and something that we try to take care of. We rent it from a lady who lives most of the year in the United States. We also have sturdy desks and nice chairs that we make efforts at taking care of. We were able to have them custom made for our students when the full-time program first began—a result of a gracious donation from Wesley and Amanda Walker. Wesley was recently hired as the pulpit minister for the Woodson Chapel church of Christ, where he formerly served as the associate minister. Wesley has also been on the ITL campus where he taught one of our short courses. We hope that Amanda will visit soon!

Each quarter the students receive five to six weeks of instruction from the local ITL teachers. In addition, they receive instruction from at least three instructors who come to teach in the short course portion of our studies. These instructors, coordinated through BVBID’s extension program, come and teach an assigned course for one week. There are more than 30 hours of instruction time in each of these short courses. The students are given a full research week at the end of the short course periods to complete any assignments left by the visiting instructor. Some instructors cannot actually come to Guatemala so they teach by means of videoconferencing. We are eternally grateful to a brother at the Broadway church of Christ in Paducah, Kentucky, who generously purchased our VC equipment. This has allowed good, qualified instructors from the U.S.A., such as Dan Owen, the evangelist at Broadway, to teach our students here in Guatemala.

We have enrolled six full-time students and they are adjusting to their new living quarters and new daily schedule. This is the first time that some of these students have studied at this educational level, so it has been a little trying for both the students and for the teachers, with the work load being as strenuous as it is. But everyone is surviving. ☺ This new student body has made ITL an international institute. We have two students, Angel Gabriel Gonzales Morales and Eliezer Nieves Perez Gonzales, who are from Panama. Our other students are from Guatemala. We have Arnoldo Alejandro Tot Pelaez from the city of Coban and Manuel David Avila Chuc from Samayac. We also have Walter and Nohelis Dardon (and their two year old daughter, Keira) who came to ITL from the Linda Vista congregation. In a near future report we will send a short biographical sketch of each of our new students.

Due to a delayed start of the full-time program, the first quarter had to be revised from how we normally start our quarter. Instead of a three course load, we started with two courses from our local instructors on May 16th. These courses were Christian Ethics taught by Byron and Techniques of Research taught by Anibal. This was followed by two short courses, which were Leadership, taught by Lindell Mitchell and Introduction to the Old Testament, taught by Denton Landon. Conrad Pinder, from Costa Rica, came once again to translate for the short courses. We are now towards the end of our 2nd quarter. From our full-time instructors the students have received Homiletics, taught by Hawatthia; Hermeneutics, taught by Darvin; and Introduction to the New Testament, taught by Anibal. We then had a full three weeks of short courses, followed by one week of research to complete all assignments for these courses. The short course classes were Job, taught by Donnie Bates; Intertestamental History, taught by Gary Fallis; and How to Study the Bible, taught by Dan Owen, using our VC system. Presently, the students are working on campaign with the new church in San Cristobal, Alta Verapaz. Their break week will follow to allow them time to recharge to start their 3rd quarter on Monday, September 19.

Property for ITL
Thank you for your prayers as we went through our ordeal with our first property purchase. We are thankful to God that we received all of our money back, even the lawyer’s fees. The money is safely stored away in a reliable bank here in Guatemala. Over the past few months we have not had a lot of time to look for property. Earlier this year we did quite a bit of searching. We found what we thought would be the PERFECT property for ITL and the price given by the realtor made it even more attractive; it sounded too good to be true. And, after further investigation, we found that it was too good to be true. ☺ So, we hope to begin our search again very soon. Please continue to keep this project in your prayers.

ITL Lectureship 2012
We are happy to announce information about ITL’s 3rd Annual Lectureship. The theme that has been selected is “Adequately Searching the Scriptures.” The main goal of this lectureship is to help equip Christians on how to study the Bible personally. There will be an emphasis on the methods, the principles and the processes of interpreting the Scriptures, as well as some attention to errors like the New Hermeneutic.

We have two keynote speakers already confirmed and will be finalizing other details very soon. We are confident that this will be a quality program for the serious Bible student. We hope to record the sessions and have them available for distribution.

We were pleased with the attendance made up of brethren from various parts of the world for our 2011 lectureship. We plan to put together a package like we did for this past lectureship, which will include the lectureship events and some sightseeing tours. If you would like to attend, the lectureship dates are March 15-18, 2012. You may want to schedule your arrival for the early afternoon of the 15th and your departure for the 19th, unless you want to stay extra time for more sightseeing or relaxation.

The Work of ITL Moves Forward
We hope that as a result of this newsletter you will be able to see some of the great things taking place with ITL. We have had to face great challenges and Satan is still busy trying to stop our work. But we believe that preparing men and women effectively and biblically is a work worth our effort and worth enduring persecution if that is what is needed.

There is so much more to share with you, but we will bring this newsletter to an end. We will include more details in future correspondence. We love you and appreciate very much your taking time to keep up with how God is working in Guatemala through a small Bible institute called ITL.

Please continue to pray for ITL, for the new students and for us.

Porque Él vive (Because He lives),
Hawatthia “Hi” Jones Byron E. Benitez

Please send all funds to our overseeing congregation, marked “Mission: Guatemala” to the following address:

Kingsley Terrace Church of Christ Attn: Dwaine Himes/Mission: Guatemala 2031 E. 30th Street Indianapolis, IN 46218

Team Guatemala missions also reports about the tremendous work they are doing in spreading the gospel in Guatemala. The report is below.

Greetings dear family and friends!

We hope and pray that all of you are doing well. We are doing fine.

The current report has the purpose of informing you of a recent mission team that came to work with us here in Guatemala. Their visit was a true blessing to us and we are thankful for their work, love and sacrifice.

The team of 20 arrived to Guatemala on Thursday, July 7, greeted at the airport by ITL students and Linda Vista members. The team was made up of five from Indiana, 11 from Florence, Alabama, two from Minnesota, and two from California. This year we had from Indiana Melvin Denny, Rashad Gold, Henry and Candace Shelton, and Lesha Colglazier, the team coordinator. From Alabama, there were Kerry Williams and his daughter, Reann, Joshua Wear, Buddy Baker, Raymond Voigt Jr, Ashley House, Austin Penter, and the Krieger family – Joey, Kelli, Luke and Brandon. This year, Hi’s sister, LaVaughn Booker came with the team. Her son, and Hi’s nephew, Joey was able to make his second visit in a row. They are the two that live in Minnesota. From California, Byron’s mother, Aralee Hernandez, and niece, Ashley Figueroa, came again this year. The evening of their arrival we met for dinner with the team to share information they would need to know about their time in Guatemala.

Friday, July 8, the team got a touch of the local culture by touring Guatemala City and shopping at Central Market, which is underground. Most of the team did very well at haggling. Be careful if they try to buy something from you! ☺ That evening Byron and Hawatthia hosted the team and others from Linda Vista for dinner in their home. The evening was filled with fellowship, singing and the annual Jenga game. We are sad to report that the men lost to the women this year!

As in years past, Saturday is the day we have a seminar at Linda Vista. Each year we have the blessing of having other congregations in attendance. This year’s theme was “Don’t Worry – Trust in God!” All the lessons for the week looked at this theme from various aspects. The seminar began with a lesson from us to a combined audience. After this initial lesson, the audience was divided into different groups: children, teens, ladies and men. Several members of the mission team presented lessons at this time. We were especially impressed to see the teenagers who came from the Sherrod Ave. congregation and from Minnesota teach and assist in teaching. Arelee, Ashley, Byron, Benjamin Montejo and Johania Reyes served as translators.

The Lord’s Day was special with a bi-lingual worship service for both the morning and evening times. Kerry William, the full-time evangelist for the Sherrod Avenue church of Christ in Florence, Alabama, spoke for the morning service. Joey Krieger, also from Sherrod Avenue, led songs in English. Rashad Gold spoke for the evening service and Henry Shelton led the songs in English. Both are from the Kingsley Terrace church of Christ in Indianapolis, Indiana. Other young men on the team helped with other parts of worship in English. After the morning worship, Bible classes were taught by Raymond Voigt, youth minister at Sherrod Avenue, for the teens, Kelli Krieger coordinated the classes for the children, being assisted by Reann Williams and Ashley House. We were given the adult class.

We had lunch at the home of Adela Ramos again this year. It was wonderful. This is our usual stop on our way to visit the Amatitlan National Hospital on Sunday afternoon. The team and Linda Vista members were able to deliver care packages to the patients and were able pray with them. So, as you can see, the Lord’s Day was a full day of worship, service and blessings.

On Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday the team had the opportunity to work on 3 families’ homes to make much needed improvements. Cesar Tovar, a member at Linda Vista, served as our foreman on these projects. It was great to see him able to work after having suffered a serious illness that almost took his life. On Monday, we worked at the home of Siria Reyes for our first project. She is an older member of Linda Vista that really needed work on her home. We replaced half of the house’s tin roof because it was leaking severely. In addition, most of the rooms in the house were painted a nice light blue, to match the color Siria already had in her home. With many hands that were available and ready to work, most of the work was done by the time we went to lunch. Each afternoon, all of us ate lunch at the church building, where Isabel Tovar and her helpers served delicious meals. As a result of finishing most of the work in the morning, the team was able to go back to the hotel early to rest after having been in the strong sun during the morning.

On Tuesday and Wednesday, the team worked in two other homes. These belong to Maritza and Lorena Garcia, sisters in the flesh and sisters in the Lord. At Maritza’s house, we were able to place new tin roof over one of her rooms and we laid concrete where dirt had previously served as the floor. At Lorena’s house, we worked in her kitchen, replacing the tin roof and also laying a concrete floor over the dirt. These two sisters and their families were grateful for the efforts done on their behalf.

On Monday and Tuesday evenings, Joey Krieger, a song leader and music teacher, worked with the Linda Vista congregation to teach four-part harmony. It was a treat to see the members singing their parts proudly. By the end of the seminar, the Christians who attended these two nights sounded great! Although we understand that God is interested in the heart more than the harmony, it sure was nice to hear how the church improved in harmony in just a short time. Thanks Joey for your help!

On Wednesday evening, we were blessed to have Melvin Denny give our devotional. It was especially encouraging to see him before the church because this was Melvin’s first time to give a lesson. Great job, Melvin! After the devotional, Kelli, Reann, and Ashley taught the children, Lesha taught the ladies, and Kerry taught the men.

On Thursday, all of us went in the rented bus to the city of Chichicastenango. Market days are Thursdays and Sundays, so the group was ready to haggle once again. We contracted a tour guide on this occasion, who gave us good insight on Guatemala’s history and the places we passed on the way to Chichi (what the locals call the city). We were able to see the variety of the country’s landscape— volcanoes, mountains, farmland, and various towns. Because we are in the rainy season, there is always a chance that the rain will catch you while you are out and about. Well, the rain did catch us on this day, but it did not stop us! ☺ It was interesting to see all the creative solutions that were made to try to stay dry.

The trip is not complete without a visit to Antigua Guatemala for sight-seeing, shopping and lunch at the restaurant Fonda de Calle Real. Our first stop was to a coffee plantation just outside the city limits, where we got a tour of the facilities and of their music museum. Next, we ate lunch at the restaurant mentioned. Finally, the essential shopping stop was made so that our U.S. brethren could contribute to the Guatemalan economy. ☺ As the sun set in the west, we loaded onto the bus and made our way to Linda Vista for a going-away celebration. If we had to summarize the tone of the event, it would be with the words “mutual appreciation.” The mission team had many kind words of gratitude to express to the church for hosting them, and the church likewise expressed many thanks for the team’s decision to come to share ten days with them. The night ended with lots of hugs, plenty of Spanglish, loads of pictures, and a good deal of love.

There were a few challenges during the week, but the team was able to accomplish what it had planned. The new ones learned on more than one occasion the key words for the trip: be flexible. Lesha, the team coordinator, said that she knows that each of the team members were grateful for the time they were able to spend in Guatemala and have a better appreciation for their brothers and sisters here! A sincere thank you goes out to each team member for all your efforts and a special thanks to the team nurse, Candace Shelton, for your extra efforts to keep everyone moving. Much to our sadness, the team members boarded their plane on Saturday to fly back to the United States.

Thanks again to Lesha for a superb job in directing once again our July team. Your expertise helps to make everything go much smoother. Also, thanks to the team for coming to Guatemala to share your faith and your love. You all made a BIG difference in the lives of your spiritual (and physical) family here. We must also mention that Lesha helped us this year to write this newsletter. Thank you! The idea was to get it out sooner, but in spite of her efforts, we still managed to get this newsletter later than we had hoped. Sorry!

We will close for now. However, we cannot close without saying thank you to all our supporters, family and friends who read our reports. If possible, why not make a visit yourself to see the work first hand. Our July team, Lord willing, will return next year July 5-14. Hope to see you on that team!

¡Que Dios los bendiga! (May God bless you all!)

Hawatthia Byron

“Teaching the CENTRAL MESSAGE in CENTRAL AMERICA!”

The team that works in Guatemala is also involved in several areas. The following report provides information about the work they share in with the World English Institute. 

Greetings from the South!

Once again this year we were blessed to host teams from World English Institute (WEI).

There were two teams, the first arriving on the same day that our July Mission Team departed. As in years past, these teachers arrived willing and ready to work in this special ministry.

Needless to say, we continue to be sold on WEI! Our brother Dick Ady has done a great job at developing this ministry that uses the Bible to teach English. For those who are new at receiving our reports, please allow us a few lines to tell you a little about WEI. The lessons, from beginner to advanced courses, are designed to lead the student through God’s plan of redemption, making the most of Biblical events to develop conversation and to create dialogue.

The students know from the beginning that it is not just an English class. They know that they will have the chance to enhance their English while having a chance to enhance their Bible knowledge; thankfully, the use of the Bible is a drawing factor here in Guatemala. After the teachers depart, the students can also continue their studies on line. And, in addition to all of this, once the students complete the advanced courses they are able, if they wish, to take the exam (the TOEFL) required by most U.S. universities before accepting foreign students, which is also the exam that opens many job opportunities in Guatemala. Of course, the ultimate goal is to help lead the students to Christ.

Each year, most of our students here in Guatemala have been eager to register knowing these facts already mentioned. Another item of importance about WEI is that, in most cases, there is a one-on-one student to teacher ratio. We say in most cases because there are occasions in which the teachers have more than one student during a class time. In these situations an effort is made to match students with an English level that is similar.

We could write more about WEI but we believe this is enough to help you better understand why we are excited about this ministry and the importance of individuals and local congregations supporting it financially. Now, let us tell you a little about what took place with the two teams that visited us this year.

This year we had four teachers on each team. The teams were here for two weeks each, which gave each student a month of studies. We had about 40 students who registered for the program. The hotel where the teams stayed gave a meeting room each day for the studies, without additional cost. This was a significant savings. It was also a benefit to the hotel in that several of their employees were able to take these classes. We were able to make many positive contacts in the hotel.

The first group of WEI teachers consisted of Anna Pride, the team coordinator, Nancy Petrokansky, Emma Stallworth and Michelle Avalos. They came from the state of Connecticut. Each teacher taught at least seven students each day with their first class starting at 9 a.m. As we mentioned earlier, there were class times that had more than one student. Except for Anna, everyone enjoyed a three hour break in the middle of the day; Anna took on a returning student from 12:00 – 1:00. This extended break time was used for lunch, which meant exploring new restaurants in the area, etc, and for down time to prepare for the last four students. Their last student studied from 6 to 7 each evening.

For their full weekend off the team took a tour on Saturday to Antigua with a local tour agency. It was a day full of culture experiences, shopping and just relaxation. They returned to the hotel that evening where we joined them for dinner.

On Sunday, they had the opportunity to worship with the local church in Linda Vista. This year they did not teach at Linda Vista, even though they offered to do so. With our July team having just departed, it was decided that it was probably best to go ahead with our normal program for the church. They did, however, bring special care packages from the congregation to our children. You can see in the picture the team with the children. Like any group of children, ours thoroughly enjoyed receiving this gift.

Our second team was made up of two couples. Greg Weston, the team coordinator, and his wife, LaDon, came from Ashland, Oregon. Joining them were Pete and Amanda Shaw from Tulsa, Oklahoma. They maintained pretty much the same schedule as the first team and they, too, did a great job as they worked with the students.

On their full weekend off, they, also, made a trip to Antigua. Because we were scheduled to teach in the ITL Saturday program, only Hi was able to accompany them this year. While in Antigua, they started with a visit to a coffee farm. Unfortunately, there was not an English speaking tour guide available, so they had to read the signs and listen to taped information as they went through the farm. Since we are not coffee drinkers, Hi was not a lot of help in giving a tour; we do not know good coffee from bad coffee. ☺

Something interesting happened while they were going through the farm; they met the owner. The group had just passed a picture of him on exhibit that was taken some 35+ years ago. He was a very interesting person and had a lot to say about his part of operating the farm now. Thankfully, he provided our guests with some up-to-date information about the farm. From there, the team went into the center of Antigua and to the market. After leaving Antigua, they traveled back to Guatemala City where Byron joined them for dinner.

On Sunday, this team also worshipped with the family at Linda Vista. Greg Weston preached and taught class. He did an excellent job. Byron served as his translator. After morning worship we ate in the home of Anna Maria Penado and her daughter, Johania. Johania is very familiar with the team because she served as their secretary/receptionist each day. Her regular job is that of secretary for ITL.

In addition to all the good that was already taking place, this team was able to see fruit born from the seed that had been planted through the labors of both teams (see 1 Corinthians 3:6). The first was Thelma Fabiola Chan Rodriguez, a new student for this year. Thelma, a student of Michelle Avalos on the first team and Amanda Shaw on the second, came to the conclusion that she needed to obey her Lord in baptism. We were asked to step in and to study with her in Spanish to make sure that she understood the commitment that she was making. After the study we talked with the person in charge of the private swimming pool area. We were allowed to use the pool to immerse Thelma, who then became our new sister in Christ. As a result of WEI, Thelma’s English is much better, but most important, her soul is saved. In the picture, Thelma is the one standing on the right with a white blouse. Please keep Thelma in your prayers. She has a good job, but the problem is that she works all day on Sunday. She stated that she is going to work on that because she understands the importance of assembling with the saints on the first day of the week.

The next conversion involved Donna Suseth Alvarado Castillo. Donna is a returning student from the two previous years that WEI has been taught here in Guatemala. Her teachers were Anna Pride on the first team and Greg Weston on the second. Donna’s story is very interesting. After one of their studies, Donna told Greg that she was not a Christian and that she needed to be baptized. Greg let Donna know that he and the rest of us were there to help in any way that we could. But Donna told Greg that she could not be baptized because she and Giovanni were not married. They had, according to Donna, been living together for a long time. Thankfully, Donna understood the importance of her soul and the soul of Giovanni and she accepted the invitation of Greg to study with both of them. To make a longer story shorter, Greg then asked if we would step in to study with both of them in Spanish to make sure we could answer any questions that they might have. Of course, we agreed to help.

Marriage is not a topic in the WEI studies. However, repentance is. And, after talking about repentance before one is baptized, Donna came to the conclusion herself that two people cannot live in sin and expect God to forgive them of it if they continue in that sin, even though they had been baptized. We fully agree with her conclusion. But the interesting part of her story is that after talking with both her and Giovanni, we found out that they were married. They had been taught—and for many years felt they were living incorrectly—that they needed to have a church wedding and to be married by someone in the church (a teaching of the Catholic Church). Because they only had married as the law of the land required, they had been erroneously led to believe that God did not accept their marriage. You should have seen the look on their faces when they discovered that after all these years their marriage is acceptable in God’s eyes. They realized that they did not need to repent of and rectify a sin that they were not in. Now, it was time for them to answer a more important question: was their relationship with God acceptable? Both acknowledged that it was not. We went to the hotel swimming pool area where Greg immersed them into Christ!

Please keep Giovanni and Donna in your prayers. Pray that we will be able to help them grow in their new walk with the Lord. Also, pray that they will be a positive influence on their children and that they, too, will come to know and obey the saving grace of God.

How exciting it was to have both teams with us. They left us some good contacts. We are presently studying with Douglas Roberto Rivas Perez. He has some very different ideas about several religious topics. Hopefully, we can help him better understand what God’s will is for him and for everyone that seeks the Lord. Gilmar Ruben Barrios is another student that has shown much interest. With the exception of one Sunday since the WEI studies have stopped, Gilmar has been at Linda Vista each week for worship. Lord willing, we will travel to his home to study with him and his wife on Saturday, September 10. Gilmar’s desire is for him and his family to be united in the “things of the Lord.” Please pray that we, with God’s help, can help him achieve this goal.

We close by asking that you please keep Dick Ady, WEI, the WEI teachers and students, and us in your prayers. If you have a desire to come to Guatemala with one of the WEI teams or to go anywhere else in the world where WEI is, just let us know. We will put you in touch with the right people; you can also visit the WEI website at www.worldenglishinstitute.org.

May God continue to bless each of you with the knowledge of His presence! We love you and are thankful that you have an interest in how the Lord is working in the small country of Guatemala.

Because He First Loved Us,
Hawatthia “Hi” Jones Byron E. Benitez

“Teaching the CENTRAL MESSAGE in CENTRAL AMERICA!”

Uganda School Of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

Thanks be to our Lord Jesus Christ who is always on our side as we strive to do his will. I did not send my weekly newsletter due to our usual problem of power. On Saturday, 3rd September 2011, I left Busia heading to Nairobi, Kenya to attend fund raising drive for brother Samson Omutele’s son who is pursuing higher education in Kenyatta University of Nairobi. 30 people were expected to come but only 16 turned up for the occasion. The target of the funds needed was 80,000/= Kenya money which is almost $889 dollars for the first semester. We managed to raise 60,000/=$668 dollars. We thanked the Lord for that much. Brother Samson will start from there.

I worshiped with Babadogo Church of Christ where brother Samson Omutele is the preacher. On 5th September I arrived back from Nairobi and on 6th September 2011, I started teaching at Uganda School of Evangelism in a short course. This time as I said earlier, I am teaching (missions Church planting) /World Evangelism. I will be ending on 16th September 2011. May the Lord bless you all.

Yours
Francis Wechesa

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers;

We hope and we pray all is well in your life and that this short message finds you blessed by the Lord in just the right ways. We are reminded daily as to the good fortune we have in that we are children of God and fellow workers with you in the greatest of all life’s ventures.

The good news keeps getting better all the time. We will be blessed with the arrival of Buddy Fry, Steve Wiseman and his daughter Lexi. Both Steve and Buddy will be speaking at the Tanzania Leadership Conference (23rd-25th). Buddy will also be teaching a Short Course at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching.

Yesterday was a special day at the Arusha congregation. The ladies (25 in number) held a “Ladies Day,” inviting sisters from other congregations as well. They where treated by the men (15 in number), who cooked, served and cleaned, that the ladies might enjoy their day more fully. A truly great day of fellowship and yes, fun!

The Arusha congregation will also host the evangelists who will come from all over Tanzania (some from Uganda) for the leadership conference on Sunday the 25th as part of their “Friends Day”. We are expecting over 200 on this special day. Buddy Fry will preach the lesson, we will enjoy a fellowship meal together followed by a singing.

The good reports keep on coming our way from our Andrew Connally School of Preaching graduates. David Bayi reports a husband and wife obeyed the Gospel last week. Benard Elias reports a new church plant (Omoya Church of Christ). Eight souls obeyed the Truth of God’s Word on that great day. A total of 21 souls have been added to the Lord’s Body and one soul restored as a result of their recent evangelistic efforts.

Please remember Christopher Mwakabanje and Emanuel Peter in your prayers as they are in the middle of teaching two short courses at the Chimala school. What a joy it is to see the good men of Tanzania grow in Christ and busy about the work of God.

We have some busy times ahead of us over the next 90 days; visitors coming, seminars, our second year students (17 in number) will be graduating in November. December we will host the Future Preacher’s Training Camp, Tanzania Youth Seminar, and much more. Your prayers are needed and appreciated. Thank you all for all you mean to the work of God here in Tanzania.

Our hearts and our prayers go up on behalf of all who have suffered at the hand of evil as we remember the target events of 9/11 and all the lives affected by those fighting this evil. God be with us and may His name continue to be lifted high for all to see!

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Arusha, Tanzania: Jimmy Gee Report
Dear Supporters, Family and Friends.

We hope you are taking advantage of your opportunities to serve God wherever you are. Jimmy taught Bible class and preached on “Lessons Learned from 9/11” this morning at the Kisongo congregation. In the ladies’ class, Trina took a lesson from Genesis 18:16-33 where Abraham asks God to spare Sodom and Gomorrah for the righteous souls.

Many of you know that our youngest son, Matthew, has cerebral palsy. We found a “therapist” (not full-fledged) who will work with him every day and we are already seeing some slight improvement. Abigail has initiated several discussions with the therapist concerning religion. He is a Lutheran and believes in infant baptism. He told Abigail that she needs someone with a college education to explain it to her. (Ha/ha) We are glad the Bible is written on a 6th grade level where all (if we really try and “diligently seek” him, Heb. 11:6) can understand regardless of education level.

Yesterday, the Arusha church conducted a Ladies’ Seminar for their congregation which included 3 Tanzanian speakers and one American speaker, Stephanie Stafford (the mission team directors’ wife). One of the speakers, Grace, who attends Kisongo and works as a cook at ACSOP, told us that it was a great seminar!

Prisca, who visited the Kisongo church a few weeks ago, had been studying with Jimmy. Sadly, it seems she has lost interest in studying the Bible, and desires to “live as a Jew” celebrating their holidays, observing the Sabbath, etc. Please pray that she can be reached.

On Friday, one of our neighbors (a non-Christian, older Maasi woman who attends services occasionally) came to our gate asking for “chakula” (food).  After gathering a few things, she was so grateful that, besides shaking Trina’s hand continually, she gave her a Maasi blessing…she took Trina’s hand and spit on it. The next day she attended the Ladies’ meeting at our house where we were discussing the upcoming seminars in October and the Marriage Seminar that Chris and Beth Akin plan to conduct next year. On Sunday, after a great lesson from Jimmy asking the congregation if they were prepared to die, she responded and asked to be baptized! Ahimidiwe, preacher at Kisongo, had also been studying with her for the past 3 months. So, some “planted” and some “watered” but God gave the increase!

Some of our children have been handing out Bible tracts to people walking by our house (most mainly on their way to the mosquito net factory) and at the market. Most people gladly take them and immediately read them.

In about two weeks the annual Tanzania Leadership Conference will take place. There are two brothers coming from the US to attend and speak. Steve Wiseman and Buddy Fry, both from Texas, will be here. In addition to speaking at the conference, Steve will do some evangelism and Buddy will teach a short course at the ACSOP.  Please pray for their safe travels.

About the same time we are also expecting Jimmy’s great-aunt Edith Kincaid as well as Trina’s mother Rita Ward. Please pray for their safe travels as well.

As always, we are very thankful for your sacrifices which allow us to be here to be involved in this wonderful work. May God bless you all richly.

In Christ,
The Gees

Final Thoughts
I know the report is lengthy, if you read each report. However, the work of the Lord is spreading, growing, and changing the lives of people all around the world. I am not trying to speak for anyone else, but I think we feel the same in how great it is to know we are sharing in this work.

Thank you for all you do to make this work possible. Without you, the world would be a different place…but not for the better. Because of you, lives are being changed and this is what Extension Training is all about. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

Lift Up Your Eyes And Look…

Over the last few days stateside staff in the Bear Valle Extension Program, along with the Denver staff, met in Colorado for a retreat. The theme of the retreat was “Lift Up Your Eyes And Look.” The idea is based on the text of Genesis 13:14-15 where God wants Abram to see the land He is going to give Abram and his descendants. Each lesson was uplifting and faith building. We all learned of the need for us to do as Abram, lift up our eyes and look all around us.

Along with the lessons, staff members provided reports about the various areas of the work. Updates were given regarding each of the locations where Bear Valley is privileged to share in the work of training men to preach the gospel. Exciting only begins to describe the atmosphere of the retreat as we listened to the work being accomplished around the world.

The retreat also affords opportunity to discuss face to face the various issues we need to consider regarding the overall work. This year we were able to look at a number of areas involving the improvement of communication in every location, the possibilities of alternative training models, and the requirements for the various certificates offered through the Bear Valley Bible Institute. The discussions were encouraging and informative. Considering everyone’s suggestions we hope to narrow our focus and improve the overall work of the Extension Program in each location.

The challenges in the work of training men to preach are certainly easier to overcome when working with such qualified and experienced men as the staff of the Bear Valley Bible Institute within the Extension Program and at the Denver campus. I am thankful to have opportunity to learn from such a wonderful group of men who love the Lord, have a compassion for the lost, and are driven by the desire to train men to preach.

Next year’s retreat will focus on the text of Nehemiah 2:18. The theme will be “Let Us Arise And Build.” According to the power of God to do far beyond all we ask or think (Eph. 3:20) and God’s instruction to lift up our eyes and look (Gen. 13:14), it is time for us to arise and build. I look forward to the powerful lessons to aid us in our efforts to fulfill God’s command.

There are several reports this week and they are listed below.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Howell Ferguson’s report for August is now available. Howell shares a report from Brent Smith and writes about his upcoming trip to Ukraine.

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

Accept greetings from your brethren here. The students, staff and members of the Wotutu congregation send greetings to you and your family in Jesus name. I do hope you are doing great in your services to the Lord.

God is helping us meet up with our program. The last week of the third quarter in CBIW went on well, we give glory to God for all He had been doing to us and the work we are doing in His vineyard.

Minister Awum Nicholoas, my advisor, was invited to come to CBIW from Kumba, about 80 kilometers from Wotutu, to lecture part of the Prison Epistles as a short course. He did well as he had once been a lecturer in a Bible College. Awum Nicholas checked on students as they were taking notes. Brother Awum stayed in Wotutu for one week teaching in the school. He left and is back home safe and sound. Keep the old minister in your prayers for his zeal to serve even at this age in Africa still moving around for evangelism.

As I am writing you this mail, all our students left campus for campaign into different congregations for mission work. All have called to relate information to me about their safe trip to their various destinations. May God be praised. Some of them travel 4 hours in water to get to a village which a sister is demanding the school to go and help establish a congregation here. Keep them in your prayers.

Brother Tobias, as student of CBIW taught prospects very close to the Wotutu church hall the Bible on house to house evangelism. Please keep this effort in your prayers that we shall plant and continue to water for God to give the increase.

Brother Ititi Benedict took a snap shot with a prospect in Wotutu village. Evangelism is our mission and our mission is evangelism, that is a strong force that drives our students to work even though the work load was too much for them to go through their short courses and also to reach out to souls, all is because we THINK SOULS and we are having the vision to always rob from the strong man’s house. Please help us with your prayers to accomplish all this.

VISIONS
More evangelistic programs as we approach the dry season, but many things are still to be put in place, like a public address system, generator and an evangelistic van.

APPRECIATION
Many thanks to God for His care and love over us. God is the pillar that supports us through you.

I thank you for all your support to see that CBIW stands firm no the solid rock of the gospel to train men to preach the gospel in many places under heaven. Please let us know that to which more is given, more is expected. We have the strong desire to do more for the Lord in this country. Please continue to stand with us for the glory to our King.

The students will finish the campaign and move straight to their homes to spend one week with their families and they shall return on campus on the 18th September 2011 before 6 pm and we shall start the last quarter for this year on the 19th September.

To this effect I will not send a weekly report until the 18th of September where I will report the details of the campaign.

Thanks very much for loving the work here in Wotutu, Cameroon. God will watch over you until then.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director CBIW

BVBIU: Gorlovka, Ukraine
Dear brothers, churches and families.

In Ukraine, as it is in other parts of the world, the summer comes to its end, and this period is usually connected with recreation, traveling and spending time with one’s family.

We had a wonderful chance to get some rest and get ready to the new school year. We thank God that we were able to change the registration of the building from educational to religious facility, and this way we can use it safely.

On September 3, we’ll have an orientation day at the institute, where we’ll address the rules and requirements for the students. We have 9 new students entering this program as freshmen. Three of them are ladies. All of them are about of the same age. These young people are willing to sacrifice their time and strength to serve and win new souls for our Lord. The classes at the institute will start on September 5.

In this month I had an opportunity to visit several local churches and preach at some of them, like Slavyansk, Gorlovka, Kramatorsk, and Krasnyy Lyman. Brothers and sisters there accepted me with joy and enthusiasm, and many of them are sending their greetings to you, especially the churches that our students attend.

The building of the institute is ready to the new school year. Our new secretary Oksana has put in order our library and electronic information. We have also prepared a study room for the Master’s class.

Now we have enough room to provide housing for all the students from other towns.

Starting with the new school year, we plan to start a Bible school for kids at the building of the institute, which will work during the week, and in this way it would help Central church of Christ. We would be grateful if you keep this project in your prayers.

On September 29, we had a meeting of the preachers that was attended by brothers from Donetsk and Lugansk regions.  We try to meet as often as we can and keep in touch. There is a recent tendency in Ukraine that some churches start departing from sound doctrine and try to influence other churches too. I think it’s very important to have communication and support those preachers who stay committed to the biblical position.

One of the problems, that worry me now, is that we haven’t started any new local churches. We have students, and in the next year we’ll have new graduates, but we don’t have any plans on how to use them after they graduate from school and how to help them in their ministry. If you have any ideas or experience in this matter, please write to me.

I’m very glad that many of the American brothers responded to my previous letter and are ready to come to Ukraine to teach. We are in great need of your experience and support. I will have all of the information in September and will send you an updated schedule with your names.

Thank you for your prayers and support of the institute and my family. God has shown us His power and care in multiple ways when we started previous school year, and I hope we’ll rely more on Him during this year.

Your brother in Christ,
Dennis.

International Bible Institute Of Siem Reap: Cambodia
Dear brethren,

We met again for the month of August to talk about the work of Jesus Christ that’s happening in Siem Reap, Cambodia. As always, I am grateful to God and the brethren for the opportunity to be a part of this meaningful work. I know many people say they love what they do, but I am truly thankful that I am counted worthy enough to be a servant of the Almighty in this part of the world.

Paul wrote to the evangelist Timothy exhorting him to make full proof of his ministry by being sober minded in all things, enduring afflictions, and doing the work of an evangelist (2 Tim. 4:5). Part of my responsibility as an evangelist is to be watchful in all things. Especially on the mission field when there are so many distractions from the evil one and his ministers (2 Cor. 11:15).

Time and time again the Bible teaches us to beware of false teachers and mark those who follow not after the traditions and teachings of the apostles. We must be on guard and contend for the faith that was once and for all delivered to the saints, keeping sound doctrine. However, we must also consider the emphasis of the Bible on unity, forgiveness, teaching to restore the error, and making sound judgments. Sometimes we focus too much on the former and forget about the latter. It’s true we must guard against man-made doctrines creeping into the church, but we must also be wise enough and loving enough to correct those who may teach false doctrine but are sincere about serving God. We should be able to discern when to ‘speak the truth in love’ in hopes of converting the sinner’s soul and when not to ‘cast our pearls to the pigs’ and have them trampled on.

A good biblical example that I like to use in emphasizing this point is found in Acts 18:24-28. Was Apollos a false teacher? According to scripture, “he spoke and taught diligently the things of the Lord, knowing only the baptism of John” (v-25). That sounds like a false teacher by some of our standard nowadays! However, while in Ephesus he encountered Priscilla and Aquila, coworkers of the apostle Paul who instructed him more accurately (v 26). Evidently Apollos repented of teaching falsely on baptism and became a huge asset to Paul and the work of God in that area.

How many of us today would’ve marked Apollos and had nothing to do with him because we heard him teach falsely on baptism? Moreover, how many of us would even dare to approach a “well versed and eloquent man” and correct him? For tentmakers like Priscilla and Aquila to not only approach but correct the Alexandrian born intellect, proves that it doesn’t matter what our background is. If we have the truth, we should have no fear in correcting and teaching the one in error. Apollos then set out for Corinth, where he encouraged fellow believers and soon became as popular as Paul and Peter; parties loyal to each began to threaten church unity. Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians addresses the threat, “every one of you saith, I am of Paul; and I of Apollos; and I of Cephas; and I of Christ” (1Cor 1:12). Far from blaming Apollos for the divisions, Paul credits his work and appeals to the true basis for fellowship when he writes, “I have planted, Apollos watered, and God gave the increase” (1 Cor 3:6).

Further indication that Paul and Apollos were not rivals is found in Paul’s urging Apollos to revisit the church in Corinth and in his requesting Titus to “bring Zenas the lawyer and Apollos on their journey diligently, that nothing be wanting unto them” (1 Cor 16:12, Tit 3:13).

What we want to do at IBISR is cultivate this mindset in all of our evangelists. We want to be biblically sound yet humble and confident in winning allies and souls for God. It doesn’t matter if the person is older, or more educated, or wealthier, or is from a more powerful nation, or is more eloquent in speech, or better looking, etc. If they are in error, we should not judge according to appearance and automatically marking them as a false teacher. We should be humble yet confident and sit down with them and ask them to explain why they taught what they taught and reason from the scripture to come to the truth (1 Cor 4:6).

We know that the word of God is the ultimate authority and if both parties submit to it then there should not be any problem resolving the issue at hand. These attributes, soundness, humility, and confidence, are what we want our students to have when teaching the gospel to others. I truly believe that we have men with such traits serving God in this part of the world. I want to thank you for supporting such a great work that’s producing such men and women.

One of our sound, humble, and confident brother in Christ, Choeuy translating for our other sound, humble, and confident brother from Tennessee, brother Jeffery Bell who will also teach in Tanzania with the BV extension school there. Brother Bell and brother Daniel Hamm did mission work in Thailand and Burma before coming to Cambodia to be with us. It’s always good for our students and teachers to be exposed to sound preachers as much as they can so that they can learn from them and their experience. It’s amazing how there are so many unsung heroes in God’s kingdom and these two are truly them. If you get to know these individual as we’ve gotten to know them, you will truly be blessed and be inspired to do more for Christ and His kingdom. Especially brother Hamm’s story.

Our family business of selling school and office supplies is starting to pick up. It’s a low profit business but at least we have an outside source of income. We pray that business will pick up so that we can pay back our loan and in time do more for the Lord and His kingdom. Please keep us and the work in your prayers.

My daughter Katesana is now 13 months old. She’s grown up so fast. She may be born in Siem Reap, Cambodia but she’s a Texan at heart!

Phanat

IBISR: Siem Reap, Cambodia
Dear brethren,

Hope this email email will find you are fine with the work that you are doing for our dear Lord.

We are very honored to have the Christian brethren around the world and to know that they are very dedicated in their time, strength, money and themselves because of God’s work.

That’s really encouraging to all of us who are younger Christians. I am really grateful to you all who involved with the work of our God as some are good preacher, good teacher, some are faithful to give, faithful to do benevolence work for the work that He commanded us to do.

We are very grateful to the brethren who love His work and continue to pray for us and help us financially. Your great love to us we know that because of Jesus teaches us to do so. You are doing a great example to all of us. We pray that in the future, the church in Cambodia will try to get up and work hard to be a self supporting and Lord’s willing we will send to help the brethren at various places who are working for our Lord too.

I have some news want to share with you all about the work which has been done Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Last year and this year we are also blessed to get to know brother John Rice from Alabama State, who is working as a missionary for the camp. This year which is from 03-05.09.2011, the camp had been done smoothly for three congregations in Siem Reap. One is called Takam, Leang Dai and in the town. We had 220 people joined the camp at Takam, 110 at Leang Dai, 50 in the town. The result we had three baptism at Takam village. We are very blessed to have brother Cheouy who is preaching for the congregation there at Takam and he has done a great job.

Once again, on behalf of the work in Siem Reap I truly appreciate you all very much for helping us and the work in Cambodia. May our mighty God bless you with strength both physical and spiritual.

In His service
Chann

Visakha Valley Bible College: Visakhapatnam, India
Greetings from Visakha Valley Bible College to you all at Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. Hope all is well with you, we are all doing okay.

We had a memorable time during the one week of Preachers’ Seminar. We thoroughly enjoyed the fellowship of 85 preachers who attended for that seminar. Among the 85 who attended for that seminar are some of our old students, current batch students and the students from Skinner’s Garden. On an average we had 65 attending for the Seminar all the 5 days. Actually, on the second we had only 48 present, but from the third day onwards we had an increase of attendance since the teaching done during the last two days remarked highly brethren attended there by the number of preachers attending was increased. We are thrilled to see those many preachers attending this seminar, especially to sit for 6 hours each day to learn from the book ‘The Church’ written by Roy Lanier Sr. This seminar is funded for only 50 preachers by our brother John O’Neal, a missionary from Bridgeport Church of Christ in Alabama.

It was a momentous occasion to end the seminar by thanking brother John O’Neal for his kind consideration to hold the Preachers’ Seminar at Viskaha Valley Bible College. Brother Russell G. Bell, who has been visiting India for over 50 times, was part of this successful Preachers’ Seminar. Being a graduate of Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver and having been learned under Roy Lanier about this subject, ‘The Church,’ he added a lot of cream to the subject taught during this Seminar, so that the preachers and the students pay lot of attention to the topics taught. So, totally we had 5 days 6 lessons each day, about 50 mins each lesson. It was a time of extensive study on the subject as well as a great time of learning.

We have planned this for a long time. By the grace of God we had it in the second week of August. There are several interesting things we can talk about this Seminar; one of them is the theme of the seminar that is ‘The Church.’ We are using the book written by Roy Linear Sr. ‘The Church,’ as a text book. We distributed this book (Telugu version) to the preachers attending. We know brother Roy Lanier Sr. was instrumental in establishing BVBID. It is very ironic that the Bear Valley book is being taught at Visakha Valley. Second thing, this is part of the curriculum for our fresh batch of students who would be attending the Seminar. We were delighted to invite our previous batch graduates, also all our Master Class students to be there. This seminar is also a requirement for the preaching students at Skinner’s Garden Bible School to complete their 2 year training program.  Also, this is the first time in this area to hold this 5 day Seminar.

Good News:
We are delighted to hear that most of our graduates are doing a great job of preaching Christ in their communities. We all know this is our whole mission, training men of their community to reach them with Christ and bring them to the Church. We are grateful to our Lord for giving these preachers kind hearts to strive for rescuing the lost souls.

Brother David, one of our graduates, is working in a village called Sankaram which is 40 kms from Viskhapatnam. He reports that 4 souls have been added to the Church last month. In fact, he is in need of 4 Bibles to present them to the newly added members of the Church. Bibles are a great need.

DVS Prakash is another graduate; he reports that he is holding regular studies and discussion with a denominational congregation. This congregation is very close to accepting Jesus Christ as the head of the Church there by coming forward to be baptized and added to the New Testament Church, that is Church of Christ. Last week one of our faculty, P. Malleswarao, went to Praksh’s  place to help him in the defense of the sound doctrine. Right now things are favorable for the whole congregation to obey the New Testament doctrine, we pray that this will happen soon.

Another graduate, brother Satyanandam, also reported an addition of two souls to the Lord’s Church. He has introduced one young man who is interested to learn Bible. We met with him and had spent couple of hours explaining the doctrine of the New Testament Church. He is interested in coming and auditing the classes at his convenience. He was present when Chuck was teaching ‘Christian Evidences.’  This young man is coming to school now and will be there for the short classes in the second week of September.

Y. Ratna Raju, who is also one of our graduates, is now working as a fill-in preacher at their local congregation, besides his everyday Bible studies in community. We are very happy to see these graduates working variously in their local communities. Lot of good is going to come in the future through their efforts. Kindly continue to remember them in your prayers.

Short & Master Classes:
We have been in regular contact with brother Jerry Bates who shall be visiting us with another brother Greg to teach two weeks at Viskaha. Jerry will be teaching two subject to the Master Class students, they are, Advanced Homiletics and Humanism & cults. Brother Greg will be teaching, The Scheme of Redemption & The Book of Acts.

We thank you very much for all your concern towards the School in Visakha. Please convey our greetings to the brethren at Bear Valley as well as the brethren at Lake Houston Church of Christ.

In Christ,
John Dean & Samuel Raju Muppidi

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers;

It is our continued hope and prayer that God blesses each of you in your faithful service to Him and to our fellow man. We continue to remember you in our prayers, that our God be with you, that He blesses you and that our fellowship in the Gospel might prosper to His glory and to the saving of many lost souls.

There are so many joys in this work! Time or space will simply not allow us to mention them all, but may we list but a few that your soul might be lifted. We are indeed a blessed people, the people of God.

I received a text from our brother David Bayi this morning reporting on the good God is doing through him (David) and his fellow Christians that meet and work at Kioga. In his brief report he mentioned the saving of one new soul yesterday. What joy there is in the fellowship of the Gospel, its purpose, its preaching and its power!

Yesterday (Saturday) I received a message from Isaac Kusupa. He had called earlier in the day asking for some help with a study he was engaged in with fifteen lost souls. I gave him some scriptures to use in his study. The text read; “we rejoice in the Lord in the saving of fifteen new souls who have put Christ on in baptism.” These contacts came from our brother Yusuph Madeaki (graduate of the ACSOP and current evangelist for the Ushirombo congregation). Though I do not know all the details, we have great joy in this wonderful news!

Today during worship a good brother in Christ stood before the congregation and confessed sin in his life. He had gotten caught up in a business deal with his brother (in the flesh), the deal “went south” leaving our brother (in the Spirit) “holding the bag”. In the end it was his brothers in the Spirit that stood by him, helping him through his troubles. He then preached a powerful lesson on “How we are to suffer persecution”.  The whole congregation had great joy today with our brother!

We are privileged month after month in that we get to meet, fellowship, work with brothers and sisters in Christ who sacrifice their time, talents and financial resources. There are many who come to lift our spirits and save the lost of this good country. Many are not mentioned in our writings, though they are appreciated and prayed for often. One such person is Penny Cabler! She has been coming to Africa for many years, first to South Africa and for the past several years, Tanzania. She is a perfect example of one who gives sacrificially! We thank her and all who come our way, bringing us such joy!

We thank God for the joy of salvation, the joy of the hope of heaven and we thank God for the privilege of service! We thank you for the joy you bring into our lives and for the joy we see on the faces of countless souls here in East Africa because YOU care enough to share.

May we all, with the Apostle Paul, remember to; “Rejoice in the Lord always, and again I say, rejoice”. (Philippians 4.4). Amen!

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Arusha, Tanzania: Jimmy Gee Report
Dear Supporters, Family and Friends

ALWAYS. Everyone is familiar with the Wal-Mart slogan, “Low prices. Always.” While in church services, We were thinking of the constant opportunities that abound JUST in the small village of Kisongo (not to mention the entire country of Tanzania or the entire continent of Africa). There are ALWAYS non-Christians who need teaching. Most of these people are not “cold calls” (to use salesman language). Most (like Lucy who visited this morning) are relatives of members and would welcome a Bible study. There are ALWAYS new converts who need additional teaching and encouraging. There are ALWAYS weak and unfaithful members who need the stronger members of the church to visit them. We know there is similar work to be done in America but here, especially with non-Christians and new Christians, much teaching is always needed and is welcomed by these people. ALWAYS.

SPEAKING OF THE ABOVE, in our last report we mentioned that the work permit has gone up to $550. As a part of the law, our children (listed as dependants on Jimmy’s work permit) are not allowed to teach any classes at church, conduct any Bible studies or attend any classes at the Andrew Connelly School of Preaching unless they have their own work permit. Our oldest girls, Lindsey and Abigail (16 years old), would like to conduct personal Bible studies and continue taking occasional classes at the ACSOP. Abigail, Heather and Candace would like to teach children’s classes at the church. They love being involved in this work. If you (as a congregation or an individual) would like to contribute to their work permits ($1100 total), we would be grateful. Simply earmark your check: “Lindsey and Abigail’s work permit” and mail it to East Side as normal.

THE GOSPEL CHARIOT.  “If a brother’s in the road, we will stop and pick him up…” remember this children’s song? That’s what we now call our van because we make the rounds in our neighborhood, picking up mainly women with babies and young children for church services so they don’t have to walk. This morning there was “standing room only” with babies in laps and everyone else “squashed,” but we made it safely.

THE MONTHLY CHILD-TRAINING CLASS was conducted yesterday. Previous material was reviewed. Then we discussed such questions as “Is it a small thing when your child disobeys you?” We discussed the importance of beginning training early when they are “soft clay.” It was made clear that when parents fail to train their children to obey that the parents are disobeying God’s command.

The students of the ACSOP go out each week and do evangelism in various parts of the country. Matthew Laizer goes to Longido where he has helped plant a congregation. Vincent usually goes with Jimmy on his studies with Lembris, Rosemary, Isaac and Usta. And Desderry Massawe takes some students to Arusha. Others go out with other instructors. Much good is being done and many are being taught. Thank you for your continued support which makes it all possible.

In Christ,
The Gee’s

Final Thoughts
I want to close with a thought of thanks to all the men and their spouses who traveled to Denver to be part of this powerful weekend. While we enjoyed the time of fellowship together, we were also able to accomplish another step to improve the work of training men to preach the gospel.

I also want to thank each of you who read the reports for your continual prayers for us and the work of Extension Training. Our gratitude is also extended to all who provide the financial support involved in keeping this work moving forward. We know your generosity sustains everyone involved in this work around the world. Thank you!

Most of all I am thankful to the Lord. He continues to work in so many ways to reassure and strengthen us in our efforts. All we do is to His glory.

God bless
Bob

The Joy Of Extension Training…

Reading about the impact of the Extension Schools around the world brings such joy to my heart. According to the e-mail I receive from many of you reading the reports, the feelings are mutual. I love reading about the lives being changed because of the gospel taught throughout the world. This week’s report continues to emphasize more of the same growth.

I appreciate the effort put forth to communicate the development of the work in these locations. Their effort to provide reports about the activities within the school and the outreach of the students keeps us all informed. These men are extremely busy and the time they set aside to communicate about the work shows the love they have for the Lord. It also shows their understanding of how much others benefit from reading about the work. They want others to share in the same joy they experience. It further expresses their gratitude. They know your prayers and support keep this work moving forward.

I have enjoyed the opportunity of sharing the work with individuals and congregations around the country through e-mail and personal reports. I had the joy of sharing information about the work of Bear Valley and the Extension Program with the Mt. Juliet congregation near Nashville, Tennessee this past Sunday. It was so uplifting to share in our time of worship together. Ray Birchett, who is from the Mt. Juliet congregation, recently moved to Denver to begin his studies at the Bear Valley Bible Institute. It was a great privilege to be with the congregation and I am thankful they are part of this work.

We are constantly looking for others to be involved in the work of training men to preach the gospel. The need is evident in this country and in every country around the world. Please share the report with others and let us know if there is anyone we can visit with about the work. We want to provide a greater awareness of this work to everyone.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Chad Wagner recently sent his report for August.

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

I bring greetings on behalf of the students of CBIW, staff and members of the Wotutu congregation to you. I do hope this report will meet you all in good health and a sound faith in the services of the Lord.

We thank God for all He is doing for us hear and we do hope He is doing the same to you and the entire family of God’s people around you.

God is always there for us. In CBIW all our programs for these last two weeks for this quarter are going on smoothly. The students are enjoying the insight of the short courses which are 1 Corinthians and the prison epistles made up of Ephesians, Colossians, Philippians, and Philemon. Please keep them in your prayers.

This Friday, 2nd September, all students will leave the campus to more than 15 different villages for evangelism. They have been shared in twos and some will go to areas alone. The demands for students to come over and help congregations was more than we could hold. Please keep them in your prayers as they travel through bad roads. The roads are really bad now as rains are still on. I left last week for a mission to sensitize some congregations over what we are doing. So, I snapped the road on a motor bike.

Some of our students were involved in sharing the gospel with a Jehovah Witness preacher who came right into the net of the truth in the student’s residential area. The students exposed him to the truth about the kingdom of God and he escaped. The same thing happened to a denominational pastor who was a neighbor to the students. He escaped out of the compound because he could not contend with the truth. Many blessings are coming to the inhabitants that live close to the Wotutu church as they are close to the students and they keep getting the truth. When we shall finally have our public address system, it will serve as a broad band because from our hall we shall preach early in the morning and many people in their home will hear the truth as if they are listening to a radio.

Our student preacher Ititi Benedict baptzied Rose Mankume into Christ in the Wotutu congregation after Wednesday Bible class. Please keep her in your prayers to work according to the purpose of her calling, so that most of her family will emulate her example and come also to the body to learn more.

Brother Ititi Benedict taught the Bible class this morning on the topic, “The Importance of Suffering in the Life of a Christian” (2 Cor. 12:7-10). He encouraged both the students on the assiignment they will face shortly on the mission field and Christians to know that suffering is a preparation for a testimony about God’s faithfulness.

The Wotutu congregation worshipped this morning. During the sermon, which was a part of a wonderful worship service, even though there was a torrential down pour of rain, God still opened the way for some of our Christians who live outside Wotut to still manage and come to worship. We had 6 first time visitors today. Please keep CBIW and the Wotutu congregation in your prayers and many other congregations we are working hard to nurture.

Next week schools will resume in Cameroon, so now it is not easy for parents and guardians to help their children go back to school. My married students are facing hard times now, on how they will do to get back to school. It is a million dollar question with a simple answer; God will provide. Please keep them in your prayers, as it is not easy now in our country.

Keep me in your prayers and some students who are still sick. I am still having a running nose due to the climate now and more work outside of Wotutu for mission. God still sits on the throne.

APPEAL
1. Please keep our students in your prayers as they will travel on Friday. Some will to go villages where there are no congregations to see how they can start one. Some will go to areas where the church has been dead many years ago and try to revive it. Some will go to weak existing congregations to help nurture it.

2. We are moving gradually toward the season and by so doing we shall invest in more time to evangelize. There are some things we need to put in place like the public address system, van, more tracks and Bibles for young converts.

APPRECIATION
I am thankful to God for you, for all you are doing for us here. The students are overwhelmed with your love and deep concern for them. Please continue this good work to train men to preach for the field is ripe, but laborers are few. You are a pillar in our ministry. God will continue to bless you for this work is bearing fruit because you are a part. Tell others to come and be a part. The one that saves souls is wise. Keep thinking souls. We shall continue to rob from the strong man’s house. Perishing souls are crying for the gospel. Keep this mission work for our students in your prayers so that the Lord will work in their lives so that they shall set the captives in sin free and the free gospel.

God bless you and all the sacrifices you are putting for the work in Cameroon. You will never be forgotten. God alone will bless you richly in all His riches in glory.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director CBIW

Center For Biblical Studies: Kpalime, Togo
Students and staff of CBS conducted a two day door knocking exercise at Kpadape near Kpalime. There were 11 preachers who participated in this outreach program. Several tracts were distributed and many contacts made. As a result of the exercise a family is visiting and engaged in studies. David is making all efforts to reach out to all the contacts in Kpadape. The future of the church looks very bright. All they need is permanent place of worship. Two men baptized recently.

Brethren are considering starting a new work in a village called Atiyi. Initial contact has been made and the village chief has offered a place for the church to build a meeting place.

The Nyiveme church now has a membership of 43. The congregation is involved in home bible studies with a couple of prospects.

The radio program has continued with Cephas and Jean doing the preaching.  Several continue to make contact and extend invitation to Church of Christ to plant a congregation in their villages. Truly, the brethren have more than they can handle now. God is using the radio program to reach many.

CBS Interview
The interview date was on the 17^th August. I arrived in Kpalime at about 10 pm on Tuesday the 16^th.  The interview started at 9 am with entrance exam in French language and later a couple of Bible questions were presented to test their bible Knowledge.

There were 22 persons present but only 17 passed the exam and interview. Three brethren will be added later to bring the number to 20.

Out of the 20 who will start classes in September, eight (8) are from the church of Christ and 12 are denominational “pastors” and leaders.If we can’t get them to sit and listen to the truth preached to them, we have devised this strategy to teach them in our classroom.  We are using CBS as evangelism too. Our track record shows that this has worked twice. Our goal is to convert all of them by the end of the first year. The interview ended at about 6:30 pm

Beme campaign for Christ
Seventeen (17) left Kpalime on Friday morning at 9:30 am for Kpele Beme. The campaign was scheduled to begin on the 19^th August and end on the 21^st . We used my car to convey the P.A system and some of the preachers and the preachers who had bikes used them to convey other preachers. We arrived there in about an hour, and quickly had to visit one of the elderly men in the Beme congregation, who led us to greet the chief. After that, we paired and went into the town to conduct Bible studies.

There were 154 contacts during the two days personal work from house to house and in the market places. There was public preaching each night. During worship on Sunday, there were a few visitors among whom one baptized. The church now has several prospects to keep the preacher and members busy till the end of the year.

I did the preaching that morning using Rom. 8:28 to encourage both Christians and visitors.  Since the Beme congregation does not have a meeting place and were using someone’s living room, we decided to rent this canopy.

Provision was made to provide two meals each day during the campaign.

CBS re-opens on 12^th September
We have decided to start 2011-2012 academic years on the 12 of September. We are grateful to the Gabriel Oaks Church of Christ for their commitment to the process of training these men to preach the gospel of Christ. In spite of the financial crisis worldwide, they have remained committed, and for these we are thankful.

Willie Gley

Uganda School of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

We thank God always for brethren. Through your support a lot is being done here in Uganda. We have just finished our one week East Africa gospel meeting. Thank you for your prayers. 250 Christians attended the meeting. These came from over 30  congregation of East Africa.

Over one hundred homes were reached by the gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ. 5 people were baptized and many believed and promised to be baptized. We are ending our second quarter on 1st September and start our short course after one week rest. May the Lord bless you as you serve Him.

As it always happens, yesterday I could not write to you because of power. But all the same we thank God very much for all what he is doing for us. We are still doing well. Uganda School of Evangelism students have one week break as from 26th August 2011. On 6th I will start teaching a short course. This time we did not get any short course teacher from U.S.A. I will be teaching about church planting (world Evangelism). On 6th I will start with English class students and finish with them on 10th September 2011. The Kiswahili class will start on 12th September up to 16th September 2011.

On the side of the churches we have planted where graduates are helping as preachers, we have got a very big problem. Most of them have brought a wrong doctrine from the anti brethren. A brother from Tanzania who used to work with Tanzania 2000 mission in Arusha by the name Boaz Auma has come with one missionary from America teaching that those who use many cups in the Lord’s supper are sinning. They are promising to start giving them monthly support and buy them plots and build church buildings for them. Because of the need they have of support they are with them. I am still waiting things to cool and then I will start visiting those congregations and see what members are saying. But for now we need your prayers.

Yours
Wechesa  Francis

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers:

We greet you all in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Through your prayers He continues to bless His efforts here in East Africa in a grand way. We are the blessed recipients of your love, generosity and kindness each and every day.

We are in full swing and in the middle of four classes at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. The Arusha Bible School and the Moshi Bible School are also fully engaged in their studies. Our current enrollment in all three schools is 55. The good being done through this one approach is amazing.

The East African Gospel meeting that just concluded was an indicator of just how effective these schools are. Of the twelve evangelist who were ask to speak, six were men directly associated with the Tanzania 2000 mission efforts and Her schools.

Below are three short reports showing just what I am saying:

“We are all fine doing well….thank you very much for your encouragement to me to do God work here in Mwanza…also I appreciate the Elmore Church of Christ for their love and goodness in working with us in Mwanza…Attendance: Before I came back to Mwanza, eight to twelve people met every Sunday.  Now twenty two to twenty eight people meet on Sunday. We thank God for HIs work and the changes…Everyday I teach three to five classes….Eight people have been baptized since I have been here. We ask your prayers for them…Challenges: We do not have working tools such as tracts, Bible lessons, Bibles, etc. We ask you to help us so we may have a good place for worship. If we get Iron sheets it will help…Yours in His Service, Isaac & Mkunde Kusupa.”

We also received reports from three of our graduates, David Wasonga, Charles Ogutu & Jacob Omolo who preached a meeting in the southwest part of Kenya, twenty three souls being added to the Church! 

Yusuph Madaki reported thee souls being added to the Church two weeks ago. 

We solicit you prayers as we finalize our plans for the Tanzania Leadership Conference. Buddy Fry and Steve Wiseman will be our guest speakers as well as many from Tanzania. The conference will center around congregational responsibility as to outreach.

We thank you all for your continued prayers and support of God’s work here in Tanzania. We hope and pray God’s richest blessing upon each of you in the week to come as you serve Him faithfully.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Arusha, Tanzania: Jimmy Gee Report
To Our Co-Workers,

It’s been two weeks since our last report (due to Jimmy’s trip to Uganda) and we have lots to write about. First of all, many will remember a Christian named Rubin who (sadly) committed suicide a couple of years ago. Several months ago his parents wanted to learn more about the church due to all the love expressed to them from the Kisongo church members. Last Sunday, it was announced that they both were baptized (after much study). I wish I could have videoed the excitement and joy shown on their faces when they stood up. Rubin’s father is planning a celebration at his house soon and will invite all of the church so that (in his words) “all the neighbors will know that I am in Christ.” Do people in America get that excited about becoming a Christian? He says that he believes his whole family will soon become Christians. It’s great that many families here live close together and that helps the Gospel spread throughout families.

More great news:  Recently baptized was a woman named Adella who, along with her husband and son, has been visiting for some time and has been attending the New Converts’ Class (although she was not a Christian at the time). For the last two weeks we have had a family visiting the church that live in the Braeburn International School compound (the husband is an instructor there).

Jimmy taught the Men’s class, continuing the series on the Gospel of John. Paulina (member at Kisongo) taught the Ladies’ class and Trina taught the Children’s class (more than 25) concerning the Prodigal Son. Since the weather has been very cool, the church is trying to quickly get the classrooms at the back finished. The roof is on but no door or windows yet. It is still warmer than meeting outside.

Jimmy’s aunt (Edith Kincaid) and Trina’s mother (Rita Ward) are planning to visit us near the end of September. Trina has been busy planning a Personal Evangelism Seminar for the ladies and a ladies seminar on the book of Galatians that will take place during their time here. Edith has been busy with preparing her lessons (she will teach all lessons of the PE seminar and two lessons for the Galatians seminar). Trina’s mother wanted to teach some classes but decided that the work permit (recently raised to $550) was too expensive. We are very happy that both will be visiting.

The third quarter has begun at the ACSOP so the students have returned. Cy Stafford is teaching the book of Acts and Ahimidiwe Kimaro is teaching Samuel, Kings and Chronicles. Emmanuel Peter taught the book of Luke and Jimmy will teach a short course on the Church. Buddy Fry is also planning to be here to teach a short course on Exegesis.

Before Jimmy went to Uganda he spoke about his planned meeting with Stone. The study took place over a two hour period and many things concerning the Truth were acknowledged by Stone. He knows what he needs to do but has said he wants to think about it. We left study material and four people to follow up with him. Cy Stafford was also a part of the study and typed a transcript that he promised to e-mail back to Stone. Jimmy has also e-mailed him encouraging him to study more. Please pray for him that God will give him time to obey.

In addition to the study with Stone, the other reason Jimmy and Cy went to Uganda was to participate in the East Africa Gospel Meeting. A few days before they left, Francis Wechesa asked Jimmy to preach the meeting. Since there was so little time to prepare he simply took the sermons with him that he preached at the same meeting in Nairobi in 2005. Because of the trip to Kampala to study with Stone he was able to preach only three of the lessons. Francis covered the other two lessons. In addition to preaching, the brethren planned times in the afternoon each day of the week to bring lessons to strengthen the brethren. Jimmy was asked to speak on Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage and Cy was asked to preach on The Power of the Cross. Both lessons were well received. Further, Jimmy and Cy also participated in the evangelistic efforts that took place. The local brethren were left to follow up with those studies. No public conversions took place but we know that the word of God will not return to Him without having the effect which He intended (Isa. 55:11). Thanks for all you do to make our work possible.

In Christ, The Gees

Final Thoughts
There are never adequate words to express appreciation for the way your support of this work is bearing such fruit. The Lord has been very good to us in the work we are doing together to take the gospel around the world.

Training men to preach the gospel in their own country is effecting the lives of people everywhere. It is powerful to read and learn about the difference being made through the Extension program at Bear Valley.

Thank you for making it possible.

God bless
Bob

Second Greatest Work On Earth…

Training men to preach the gospel has to be the second greatest work on earth, second only to the actual preaching of the gospel. For the past two years I have been privileged to see the growth and development of the work in Extension Training. As students are being trained in the sound doctrine of the faith, they are extending the gospel to various villages and cities around the world. Souls are saved, wayward brethren restored, congregations edified, Christians around the world are encouraged, and God is glorified through the work.

The work involves many levels and faces numerous challenges. With each passing day, we continue to resolve various issues to help make the overall operation of the program better. In a few weeks the stateside staff of the Extension Program will meet to discuss ways we can help the program become more effective in training men to preach. I ask you to pray for us as we discuss these matters.

The reports this week continue to demonstrate the growth and success of the program. God is blessing our efforts and we give thanks. As the program develops in the years ahead we are going to face a number of challenges. This is where you come in. Please share the report each week with others. Send me their e-mail address and I will add them to the list to receive the report.

Be praying about the need for overseeing congregations to get involved with additional schools. Please pray for the economy of our country so additional funds are available to develop the work in these new locations. If you would like to know more about these areas, please drop me an e-mail at bturner@bvbid.org.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Donnie Bates recently returned from both Guatemala and Honduras. His report explains the details of these trips.

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

Accept greetings from the staff, students and members of the Wotutu congregation. We are happy to share our reports with you about what happened here on our campus. I do hope you and your entire family and the church are just doing fine in health and sound faith. Our prayers go up to God for you daily.

Last week in CBIW all went on well, but very busy as usual. This week was characterized with our students busy writing their third quarter exams. Oh how time flies. You can’t imagine that we shall soon get into the last quarter for this year and later on next year we shall finish our two years of intensive study of the word of God. Thereafter, by His grace, many pulpits in Cameroon will have the right persons to divide the truth rightly. Many other communities in our land will come into the limelight of the gospel that will shine in their lives and they shall see the path to heaven clearly. That is our humble prayer and we are doing all we can as humans to see it a reality according to God’s will.

The students of CBIW were recently dressed in white sweaters because of the cool climate now in Wotutu. They were busy writing their exams for the third quarter. Please keep them in your prayers for them to maintain growth in their studies.

The students stood with a nurse sent to the Wotutu village by the government of Cameroon to give free drugs to fight against Filaria and worms. I met with the authorities so that our students could benefit from it. The students were very happy for such care and raised the thumb, our normal sign in CBIW that stipulates that they are not alone, with their new school T-shirts which will be used for vocational training soon, if means be.

One of our students, Tobias Sakwe, went out for weekend evangelism in Tole sharing the gospel from house to house. Brother Ashu Evaristus did the same with the church of Christ in Lobe village. If we continue like this, many congregations will be empowered to defend the doctrine of Christ in their localities. Who can still continue?

Tobias taught in Tole congregation this morning. Tole is a struggling congregation with the topic, Giving is a Command. He said if you don’t give the right way you are sinning against God. He brought out a very good illustration about their relationship with God in the aspect of giving with this question. Who is God to you? God or dog. He further explains that many Christians have made God to be dog in their lives because they give all rejecting things to God, just as a poor man will give bones and expired things to his dog.

Brother Norbert baptized John Atakan into Christ in one of the newly established congregations in Atongeh. The report reaching us is not good because there are no strong brothers that can be helping the congregation, if a student is not sent there. A student cannot go there every week because it is not easy with us financially.

Please keep us in your prayers for the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. Every week I receive calls and demands for our students to come over to different congregations to help nurture and evangelize the area but we are not able to meet up with all of this demand. Please keep us in your prayer for more laborers to come and join us to do more for the Lord.

APPEAL
1) We still lament over transportation problems to meet up with our calling.

2) We still lament about a public address system to reach out to many communities.

3) Our students need to travel to virgin lands and communities where the Lord’s church is dying for evangelistic campaigns come the 2nd of September. Please come and help us meet up with these challenges.

APPRECIATIONS
We are thankful to God for using you, your congregation and your family to help get to this level. Please, we lack words to appreciate your wonderful gestures to His work here in Wotutu, Cameroon, but only God will reward you in due season.

Continue to keep us in your prayers as we pray for you. The weather conditions now are the best for our health and the work. Some students are still sick and I am also sick from catarrh, since last week when I returned for a weekend mission in some congregations.

SAD NEWS
One of our students, Awatt Manfree, lost his father and I was there yesterday with some few students for the burial. Please remember the young brother in your prayers, for it is not easy, as the first son in our culture to carry over all the fatherly responsibilities. But, we are satisfied with our Lord’s promises, “I will be a Father to the fatherless and the husband to the widows.”

Stay strong and do your best to share this report with others around and far from you.

God bless you in all your endeavors.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, director CBIW

Honduras Bible Institute: Danli, Honduras
The report below is the most recent from Nery Irias about the new class of students with the Honduras Bible Institute in Danli.

The Beta class at the moment is maintaining their excitement. Each one of the brethren is motivated in continuing to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Each one of them strives to complete the demands of the teachers, up to this moment all goes very well.

We are taking advantage today, in the morning we head out to evangelize and this afternoon we are going to give out the Manna Rice (food supplies) to the poor people of the community. Each student will be involved in this effort, giving out a bag of food and also giving literature from the church of Christ. Brother Luis David spoke with sister Yorleny about the class on Spanish. She has agreed to give 2 hours of Spanish and 2 hours of English to the students, but she needs $90 monthly for expenses and food. If you are in agreement we can tell the sister if she can begin to give these classes next Friday. I will be awaiting your answer. We hope that you are well together with your wife.

Nery Irias

Center For Biblical Studies: Kpalime, Togo
Hello! My dear brethren

In the beginning of July we continued our Evangelism program. We (preachers) went all at KPELE-BEME for public preaching on 15^th but we have not succeeded because there was a big raining all the day. We postpone it on 19^th-21^st August.

I went to ATIYI with KODJO of AVETONOU area to work for start the church. We met the chief to talk with him to mobilize youth for preparing the place for shed. On 21^st they started preparing the place. The Center Biblical Studies bought a football for their youth. That football was given to the youth’s leader. They started playing that football and they were happy and working so hard to make temporal shed.

KPELE-BEME – CHURCH.
The evangelist Kossi GIDIGIDI want be the preacher their, I spend that when we shall do the public preaching on 19^th to 21^st, he will be their with he family. We need fifteen (15) benches and on table, and altar for church.

KPADAPE (New congregation, denomination change to Church of Christ).
The attendance was 21 to 22.

After KELE-BEME, 13 preachers and 4 members of KPADAPE church join us. We went to knock doors with gospel (house to house) two by two. At 3 pm we have a rest and take food before going back. All preachers were present and I encouraged them at the end with 1 Cor. 15:58.

Two men were baptized on the 3^rd after worship. The men pass 08 to 10 and on the 24^th six young boys visited and started studies with evangelist. Preachers were in KPADAPE on 26^th Junefor public evangelism program organized by the Centre Biblical Studies (CBS). The last report I notice that people visited the church.

World Bible School (WBS) and Radio Program and Center Biblical Study:
One group of six started studies with Evangelist Yawovi AMEGANDJIN at KOUSOUNTOU and I plan the public evangelism there in September 23^rd to 25^th.

Our radio program continues with force. 28^th September evangelist Selom ASSOKLOU, my interpreter, talks about “things sins can do with sinners” and we notice that many people were interested and our listeners request Bibles, tracts and we make program of personal study with them. One woman and her husband started coming in church now. Evangelist Selom has on Tuesday and Wednesday afternoon studies with that family.

The Center for Biblical Studies (CBS) teachers met on 25^th at Lome: Cephas NYEMANTA, ESPERANCE Akovi and Kodjo KPODENOU to discuss the program of school. The interview day will be 17^th and 18^th August 2011 and 5 September will be the beginning of the new school year. I enrolled 27 candidates and on 17 to 18^th we have to choose 20 twenty best to be students at CBS.

God bless you all,
Your brother in Christ
Cephas Essotena NYEMANTA

Uganda School of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

We thank you very much for all that you are doing for the Lord. We are fine here in Uganda. As from 15th August, the East Africa Gospel meeting started in Busia District at Buyimini Church of Christ. We thank God who has enabled the brethren from Tanzania, Kenya and many parts of Uganda to come to this wonderful meeting. We have started teaching people house to house and preaching in class rooms after lunch and at four we all go in the market place near their church building to preach and teach Christ to the people in the market. Brother Jimmy Gee, the Director of Andrew Connally School of Preaching from Arusha, is the one who has taught from Tuesday and Wednesday. Tomorrow they will be traveling to Kampala to teach a certain man there who has called them. I will be filling in for him tomorrow and Friday teaching in the market place for those who come in the market and pass by people. We are using public address system which helps us very much to reach many people who are even in their homes seated. If they do not want to come where we are, they can still hear what we are teaching. We still have electricity problems in Uganda. Right now I have just managed writing this email because of the help of a generator. May the Lord be with you all. Pray for us in this meeting.

Yours
Francis Wechesa

Final Thoughts
There are only a few months left in the year, or so it would seem. As quickly as the first eight months of the year have flown by, I know the remaining four months will go even more quickly. Nearing the end of the year will bring planning for the year ahead.

I pray you all know how vital you are to this work. You are needed. Thank you for being so supportive of our efforts. Thank you for being involved in training men to preach.

God bless
Bob

Weekend In New England…

Over the past weekend I had opportunity to speak in a lectureship at the Northern Valley Church of Christ in Lancaster, New Hampshire. The lectureship was a great experience and success. I was encouraged with the organization and participation of all involved with this event. It was a true honor to share in this event. The church in the Northeast part of the country greatly needs sound men who are willing to work in teaching the gospel.

The development of men throughout the Extension Program has been successful in spreading the news of Jesus in many countries around the world. Our efforts are desperately needed within the U.S. also. There are parts of this country with the same need for sound doctrine. The New England states certainly fall into this category.

I ask you to be praying with me for the needs of men to preach the gospel in this country, as well as, the countries where we are preparing men to preach. The reports this week relate the need for men to go with the gospel to places throughout their countries where people need to hear the message.

As the population of the world approaches seven billion people, the need will continue to grow. The time is now for us to step up to answer the commission of the Lord to go into all the world with the gospel. The need is great! Jesus said the laborers are few. His words are just as true today. You are needed to help meet the task at hand. If you would like to know more about how you can help meet the need, please contact me at bturner@bvbid.org.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Josh Austin sent his report recently about the work in Cameroon and his efforts. The report is below:

Two-thirds of this month we were on the road trying to raise support. The Lord was good to us. We had safe travels and met friends, family and great brethren. The only real difficulty we had was the kids getting food poisoning for several days. Aaliyah also had a foot injury while playing with one of the kids we were staying with. That has been bruised and swollen for about a week, but thankfully a brother in Christ, who is a doctor, took some x-rays and said that there were no breaks. The children did great considering how long we were on the road and how many different places we stayed.

We went from Denver to Wichita, KS and stayed with my brother and his family. I was able to meet with two new congregations there. Then we went to Tulsa, OK and stayed with the Clayton family who has faithfully supported us for years. We were able to meet with the congregation they attend. While in Tulsa, the Comers, who are some good friends of ours from school, came from Arkansas to meet us. We then went to Oklahoma City to meet up with the Schinnerer’s, who are also good friends from school.

For the next two days we were in Stratford, OK. This is where I have a lot of family members. It was good to have time with them. The next leg took us to Dallas, TX. We worshipped with the Cold Springs congregation in the morning and the Waxahachie congregation in the evening. It was so good to see these familiar faces and then meet some new ones. The Dobson’s housed us on Sunday night and then we drove to Waco, TX to meet some generous brethren that have known us from the days of the Rez, but we really didn’t know them. Getting to know the Donaho family and sister Corley was such and encouragement to us.

Tuesday we made our way to Hico, TX. These brethren have supported us since Bear Valley. They had a special dinner where nearly 40 people were in attendance to have fellowship with our family. That really showed a lot of love; and once again we were encouraged.

Wednesday night we met with a new congregation in Lancaster, which showed a lot of love and generosity towards our family and the work we are now involved in. Thursday was wonderful as we spent the night with the Craytons. We met them at Polishing the Pulpit about 5 years ago. They are always uplifting to be with.

The next three days we stayed with the Stephens family. It was so good to get to know this family better and to see the good works they are doing in the Lord’s kingdom. It was a nice break before our long trip back home. Sunday we worshipped with the Decatur church and then on to Weatherford to worship with the North Main church. This is a very mission minded church. We appreciate all the McKay’s did to help us meet this church. We are thankful for their hospitality and generosity.

Monday we drove about 6 hours to visit some good friends from Bear Valley. The Roach’s are doing a good work near Farwell, TX. We valued our time there. Lots of catching up as our families continue to grow. The next day we drove long and hard to finally make it back to Denver.

The Lord blessed us richly on this trip. Relationships were renewed with so many loved ones and so many new relationships were forged. We praise God for this great opportunity. It was not the easiest trip, but it was a trip filled with so much giving, encouragement and love.

We want all of you who housed us, fed us, gave to us, taught us, prayed for us, encouraged us and loved us to know that you are in our prayers and we are putting these experiences on paper so we do not forget how the Lord works through His body the church.

As most of these congregations must meet with mission committees and elderships to decide budgets, we will not know the outcome of our support until the end of the year. We pray that we are able to become a part of these congregations. Our prayer is that God will place the right congregations together with us in this work of training preachers in their own countries to go into all the world.

PLEASE GO TO THE BEAR VALLEY WEBSITE AND READ MORE ABOUT TRAINING PREACHERS THROUGH EXTENSION SCHOOLS: http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension- news/tag/cameroon

You will also be able to read all of the past reports from Cameroon and any other school connected with Bear Valley.

Josh

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

Amazing grace is what I wish you all this hour in Jesus name. I am sure all is going well with you and your family. Accept greetings from this end and I am happy to inform you that God still sits on the throne so all is going on well.

Our weekly program went on well no matter the rains. All our lecturers came to school as usual with the zeal to train soldiers of the cross. Their zeal is always appreciated by me for their effort toward this work. It is priceless.

Our students are seeing our sacrifice as we are all living examples to what we preach and what we teach in the school. Chapel topic for this week was “My Focal Point.” This was aimed to help both the students, visitors to the school and staff, because we know in life all must have a focal point, but our emphasis was for us to focus on Christ who is able to do more than what we expected (Eph. 3:19-20).

I left the campus on Thursday night for personal missions to some congregations about 200 kilometers away from Wotutu. All the churches along the road I took to get to the main congregation in which I was assigned to preach welcomed me well. This visit also sets an eye opener for other young men who are on holidays now and desire coming to CBIW to be trained in the future.

All the congregations are struggling with only two having trained preachers who can divide the truth rightly. The demand for our students to come and help in different congregations is on a regular basis. It has become like the Macedonian call. We love to do this, but the time has not come. The field is really ripe, but the laborers are few. Please help us in your prayers that these brothers, after their training, will become useful in God’s hands.

The population of Ngusi congregation this morning worshipped their King. I have been sending students to this congregation to help. The leaders today applauded CBIW and those concerned in this school that they should not relent their efforts for it is bearing fruit in their community.

Brother Frederick Epie was added this afternoon after worship and 8 souls were restored after spending time with the minister on Saturday visiting backsliders. Among them was brother David Epulle who stayed for 8 years away from Christ. I restored him this morning back to his first love. Please pray for this congregation and the nearby villages. By the grace of God, most of our students will go to this area because they have seen that it is a fertile land for the gospel to grow.

Carl Doibe, minister in Ngusi, has been preaching since 1976 and really prayed for the students to graduate and come to that area. His son, Nsong Nelson, is in CBIW now training and he is doing well with his studies. His presence in CBIW gives us hope for the future in the Ngusi area as a young man.

This quarter’s campaign is tilted toward nurturing and planting new congregations, if all that is planned remains the same. Please continue to help us in your prayers.

PLANS
We are still praying for all of our evangelistic tool to be put in place. Let us break grounds for the gospel in Cameroon. The staff and students are ready, but there are things still pending: public address system, van and tracts.

Keep us in your prayers and stay strong. Please come and join this team to save souls. Keep thinking souls so that we shall continue to rob from the strong man’s house and by so doing we shall depopluate hell populate heaven to the glory of our King.

Thank you for helping us in all that you are doing. Your labor will never be in vain. God bless you to do your best to share this report with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director CBIW

CSMT School of Biblical Studies: Abakaliki, Nigeria
Beloved Brethren,

It was great even to announce that the 2nd convocation ceremony of our dear ministerial students was very fantastic. Brother Chad Wagner represented the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver very well in the ceremony and has arrived back home safely. The graduates were highly honored and they were wished well into the fields for soul-wining. All we need to do for them was done including transport fares to go home.

During brother Wagner’s stay with us after the convocation, we had two baptisms after worship at Afikpo and one more baptism yesterday. That was great and wonderful. Please pray for the new converts.

The Governing board of CSMT School of Biblical Studies is still meeting to know when and how the program will continue. The 2nd meeting for that will be held on 20th August 2011. Any development in the program, you will be dully informed.

Reuben in His Service

West Coast School of Preaching: Takoradi, Ghana
The campus is now quiet with all students gone for the holidays. While school is out instructors will be engaged with working on their assignments from their classes last month, working with churches that have requested their services and getting materials for the new school year that begin early September.

The fiftieth anniversary of the death of John Oppon Gaidoo, the first Ghanaian evangelist of the Church of Christ was held on July 24, 2011 at Nkum his hometown, and where he had the first congregation of the church. This was organized by his family and several brethren from around the country were invited. I was privileged to preach the sermon at the service. His tomb which was renovated with funds from the Bomso church in Kumasi was unveiled that day. There was fundraising to build a meeting place to replace the shed now used for services. A target of 50,000 Ghana Cedis (about $ 34,000) has been set. 3,750 Ghana cedis of that amount were raised at the service. A request has been made to the family to preserve the room where the first converts of the church in Ghana held their meeting. It will require the strengthening of that portion of the building of which the meeting place is part.

One of our students, Augustine Assoro, the oldest, shown in an earlier report, has opted to go to the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies to complete his training. He was part of the team that went from West Coast to the Tamale graduation. He is now past 70 years and wants to be closer to his home town in the Upper East Region.

My senior brother who lived and worked in Belgium has returned home in his retirement years. He is down with Parkinson’s disease. The cost of medication is very high. My understanding is that there is not a cure for the disease yet. All the medication is to help manage the situation. What I am seeking help for is how to care for him. It is mostly my responsibility and that of his two children to look after him. There are times he gets tremors and pains and we do not know what to do. If anyone knows about this disease and can give us information on it, and especially how to provide proper care for him as he is confined to the house and cannot walk by himself. It is not easy helping to care for him when I have no idea what it is all about.

Brethren, pray for us.
Daniel k Ampadu-Asiamah

Uganda School of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

It seems now that every Sunday we don’t have power in Busia the whole day and Night. But thanks be to God today we have it and I am sharing with you my day and week. It has been a busy week at school and in my private work. Brother Elias Omollo has gone back to Kenya to prepare for the gospel meeting which is starting on Wednesday at his home congregation Lieta church of Christ in South Nyanza. This meeting ends on 13th August 2011. He is going to miss the East African Gospel meeting which starts on 15th August 2011.

Sunday we worshiped at Nabyunyu church of Christ 40 km from Busia towards Kampala. This is the congregation where one of our students, brother Sande Joseph, comes from and he is currently the preacher. When we preached the gospel the first time in this village in 2009 someone who was not a member of the church gave us a place where we erected a shelter where the church meets every Sunday. Due to the inflation in the country right now, the owner wants to sell it out to whoever may give him money. Pray for these brethren so that they do not miss this plot.

Many congregations are planning to attend the East Africa Gospel meeting. Pray for them as they plan so that they are able to attend. May our God bless you richly.

Yours
Francis Wechesa

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers,

We thank you for your continued fellowship in the Gospel. God continues to bless His efforts through you and through His Church here in Tanzania. We are indeed the most blessed people in all the world and it is through the preaching of the Gospel that others might know our God as we do.

Through the good example of “Safari for Souls” campaigns, our good brothers and sisters in Christ are now living by example. They too are doing as God would have any of His faithful, by conducting what they call; the “East African Gospel” meeting. Each year they come together, rotating between Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, holding a Gospel meeting.

This year they have chosen the Southeast part of Uganda, just outside the border town of Busia for their meeting. Jimmy Gee, Charles Heberth, Ahimidiwe Kimaro and myself will join them in this evangelistic efforts. We leave today, after Bible class and worship, heading for Uganda. We will overnight in Nairobi, Kenya and make our way to Busia on Monday.

We ask you to join us in praying for this effort everyday this week. The meeting will conclude next Sunday, August 21st. Please pray that God will be glorified, souls will be saved and all participants and their families will be safe. We thank you and we pray for you as well.

Until all have heard!

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Final Thoughts
My final thoughts express the words of Paul. I give thanks upon my every remembrance of you. My heart is filled with joy when I consider all the ways each of you have chosen to be involved in this work. There will always be work ahead for us to do. I am thankful to know we are working together to accomplish this task.

I pray for you and ask you to pray with me for the future of the work in Extension Training. I know God will continue to bless our efforts to His glory.

Thank you for the kind and encouraging words, your prayers, financial support, and the sacrifices you make to keep the work progressing.

God bless
Bob

What I Love About The Weekly Report…

Classes began today at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. It is exciting to share in the opening chapel celebration as new students enter the program. Over the next few weeks several schools around the world will also begin the next class of students preparing themselves for the greatest work on earth, preaching the gospel of Jesus Christ.

There are several updates this week. A few are specifically from coordinators and the others are from the men who are serving on the ground in various locations. I know I have said it before, but it encourages and excites me to read about the work so many are involved with in the Lord’s kingdom.

I love reading about the work of students who are evangelizing the various villages and communities near the school.

I love reading about the commitment and dedication of Christian men and women who work hard to share the gospel with others.

I love reading about the future plans for growth and development of new congregations where the students will be laboring.

I love reading about the cooperative efforts of Christians in the U.S. and in Africa who are able through e-mail to connect to strengthen the hands of others in fulfilling the Lord’s work.

I love reading about the efforts made to overcome a variety of challenges met on a week to week basis in the Extension Program.

I love reading about the grateful hearts of fellow-laborers who know the value of the sacrifices made by many of you to help make the work fruitful.

I love knowing we are working together with congregations throughout the U.S. and around the world in lifting up the hands of faithful men who will teach others the gospel.

I love sharing the reports with you and I believe you will love reading about this information and much more in this week’s report.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Donnie Bates sent his monthly report about the work he has been doing with the school in Danli, Honduras.

July 29, 2011 – We left home around 3:00 p.m.  I say “we” because my wife Noma got to accompany me on this trip for her first visit to Honduras. On this trip it was cheaper for us to break up our journey by spending a night in Houston on the way down and also on the way back.  So, as I was saying, we left home around 3:00 p.m. Our flight out of OKC was scheduled to leave at 5:53. It was no surprise that the plane was delayed. That seems to be a regular occurrence for me lately. This time, however, it was understandable; weather in Houston from tropical storm Don caused Continental to delay flights headed in. We left approximately 40 minutes late. It occurred to me that this was another reason for breaking the flight up so that I had more than an hour to make my connection. We finally made it to our hotel in Houston around 9:30. We didn’t stay up too late; we have an early day tomorrow. By the way, the temperature in Houston was about 10 degrees cooler than OKC, but the humidity was really high with the rainy weather.

July 30, 2011 – Up at 4:50 in order to get to the airport in plenty of time. Our flight leaves at 9:05 a.m. and that may sound like overkill, but the Houston Intercontinental Airport was extremely busy all the time, so we had good reason. Everything went well and our flight left on time. We were very happy to receive a last minute upgrade to first class at the gate, so the three hour flight was made more comfortable than it would have been. When we arrived in Tegucigalpa (around 11:05 a.m., local time), for some reason the jetway was not extended and we had to walk from the tarmac some distance into the building. I will tell you though, it was an enjoyable walk. The temperature in Tegucigalpa when we landed was 73℉; that’s approximately 30 degrees cooler than what it was in OKC when we left yesterday. Nice!

We were met at the airport by three of our brethren, Luis David Argeñal, Jairo Irías and another brother I had never met before and I am sorry I did not catch his name. Jairo and the other brother are both new students so I’m sure I will have it in this report later.

We arrived at the Hotel Granada in Danlí around 2:15 p.m. We checked in and spent the next few hours relaxing. Worship is at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday’s at the El Zarzal congregation. This evening brother Jairo Irías preached. As I stated above, he is one of our new students. He is also the brother of our director, Nery Irías. Brother Jairo did an outstanding job. The whole congregation made us feel very welcome. They always make me feel like one of the family, but I was very appreciative of the way Noma was welcomed. They were extremely glad she was there. After worship we returned to the hotel for a late supper and then to the room. Tomorrow we meet for worship and Bible class. It has been a good day.

July 31, 2011 – And the band played on! In the large conference room that we used for the graduation for IBH last February, there was a party last night. Our hotel room is right across the way. The music was loud enough to make conversation and television watching difficult in our room. Finally, however, the music died down and the party ended and we were able to get some sleep…..at 2:00 a.m.! Well, we didn’t have to get up early, so it wasn’t as bad is we might have thought it would be. We did not have worship until 10:00 a.m., so we were fine. The afternoon was free for us, and basically we got to enjoy watching the rain outside. Tomorrow, classes begin!

August 1, 2011 – Chapel began at 7:30 this morning; actually, Noma and I arrived a few minutes early and the students were already in their seats and brother Nery Irías was going over some of the orientation material. After everyone having a chance to introduce themselves, including the teachers, I gave the “first chapel” address. We have nine students beginning our two-year program. Three of these men are married and six are single; they come from various parts of Honduras. All students and all the teachers were present today.

After chapel and a break, we took some pictures of everyone and then Noma and I left to do some sightseeing around town. We walked to several places and she got to see some of the beauty of the city.

In the evening, three of the teachers and their families joined us for dinner at our traditional Monday evening spot, the restaurant Ovi & Ser, for some good food and fellowship. Afterward, we returned to the hotel for one last night before heading home.

August 2, 2011 – Jesús Paguaga picked us up at the hotel a little before 8:00 a.m. and we started the two-hour drive into Tegucigalpa. It has been much cooler here in Honduras than in the central U.S. In fact, as we crossed over one mountain pass, I noticed the dashboard thermometer drop to 19℃, which works out to about 56℉ (nice).

We had a good (uneventful) flight to Houston, where we spent the night at our hotel, just one flight leg away from home.

August 3, 2011 – The last leg of our journey took just a little over an hour once we were airborne.  We arrived home around 2:00 p.m., safe and sound. We want to thank everyone for their faithful and thoughtful prayers.

God bless,
Donnie Bates

Howell Ferguson reports on the work he has been involved with over the last month. His article is posted below, or you can read the article by clicking here.

Sizzling Service
Whew, it’s hot! Now, that may sound a little bit like a complaint, but that’s just how things have been here in the sultry mid-south. As I look at the five-day weather forecast for Jackson, the high for the next three days is 99 degrees! (It made it to 104!) Factor in 58% humidity, and I think you can fry bacon in direct sunlight without a stove. And if your occupation is primarily outdoors or if you’re doing yard work, you know how quickly your clothes can become drenched in sweat in the sizzling sun. I’m reminded of God’s words to Adam of cursing the earth following his transgression in the Garden of Eden: “Both thorns and thistles it shall bring forth for you, And you shall eat the herb of the field. In the sweat of your face you shall eat bread” (Gen. 3:18, 19). Difficult labor and service would become man’s future lot in life.

Today, service-oriented occupations continue to be the primary way we interact with one another to maintain our livelihoods. Most of us provide services of some type or are involved in some form of trade. Combining services with the marketplace—and you have the basics for most societies. Without going into economics, we trade goods and services and hope for an equitable exchange (cf. 2 Thess. 3:10). But we don’t always get a fair trade. Frequently, we pay for the services of others only to receive a poor return.

Based upon experience and observation, I have noticed that if you want something done either do it yourself or give it to someone who is very busy. First of all, very few people will handle your business with better care than you will. And secondly, a very busy person is accustomed to getting things done and knows how to make things happen. That’s what I call sizzling service. They’re what you might call “second-milers” (cf. Matt. 5:41).

I have had some personal experiences lately that have made me more keenly aware of the importance of offering prompt and efficient service. Taking the risk of sounding like sour grapes, I’ve realized just recently—but by no means for the first time—how frustrating it can be to pay faithfully for service but to receive lousy or no service at all. However, there are some things that I’ve learned from this. Maybe these simple insights can be helpful to you as well.

First of all, people will be extremely patient with you if they know you are doing your best and that you communicate your due-diligence with them. I know that is true with me, and I believe it would be true of you too. I’ve often been left-in-the-dark by people who later I learned had been working attentively but I never knew anything about it. And I will tell you—there is nothing worse than dead silence when important decisions are hanging in the balance. Communication would have made things much, much better. A simple letter, email or phone call can do wonders.

Secondly, diligent servants are much more successful than slackers. Everyone remembers the old story of the ant and grasshopper. The ant worked diligently in the summer in preparation for the winter; the grasshopper just had fun. But when the harsh cold winter came, the ant had plenty; whereas the grasshopper was in a dreadful state. In the Bible, Joseph was given unprecedented authority over the nation of Egypt to save them from severe famine. His own efficient service practices did not go unnoticed by Pharaoh who chose Joseph because he perceived much wisdom in this Hebrew slave.

Lastly, you never forget those who have served you well. I can remember by name people who have helped me at crucial times in my life. It wasn’t their intelligence or brilliance, it was that they cared about me and proved their care by what they did. I can only hope that I’ve been that same kind of servant and friend to others. They are seldom lonely, and are loved by many.

As a fellow-laborer in the kingdom of God I must always be conscious of my own service practices and how they are perceived by those whom I have the pleasure to serve. I know the frustrations I have felt and definitely do not want my own service to be perceived in the same way.  But there is also a bonus to all of this. As we develop a greater sensitivity to the importance of efficient service and implement what we learn, we should not be surprised when God opens unto us the doors for greater areas of responsibility and service. “For to everyone who has, more will be given, and he will have abundance; but from him who does not have, even what he has will be taken away” (Matt. 25:29). May we be zealous and sizzling servants of the Lord and of one another! Howell

My Own Things
I don’t normally write much about my own personal activities and family, so here are a few lines for those who may want to know what’s happening at the Ferguson home. The big news is we are in the process of moving to another house. We already have our house under contract and are scheduled to close the 7^th of September. Many people have remarked at how “lucky” we were to sell our house due to the sluggish housing market. I’m not so sure about luck—but I do believe in providence, which is a subject for another time. However, as I’m writing this article we have not yet put a house under contract. We have a terrific realtor who is also a great servant of the Lord in every way. We feel confident we will meet our Sept. 7^th deadline. If not, the Lord will open another door.

Sarah and Jeremy are continuing both their Masters’ degrees and their work at FHU. The Master’s in education Sarah is pursuing is in curriculum and instruction. Jeremy’s Masters is in New Testament studies. Sarah works in the office of disability services and international student advising while Jeremy works in the office of academic success as retention coordinator. They both stay very busy but still have time to visit on weekends.

Seth continues to work with the Westside church in Brownsville, TN as the associate minister. He is getting a lot of practical experience in various aspects of ministry working with a congregation that has known him since he was just a baby, and also with an eldership and an experienced preacher.

Nathan is beginning his third year working part-time as the youth minister for the Nance congregation. He began working with this church beginning his freshman year at FHU. Like his older brother Seth, Nathan is getting valuable, practical experience working alongside an eldership and an experienced preacher, giving particular emphasis to working with young people. In just a few days Nathan will be returning to FHU as a junior. He is pursuing a Bachelor’s in Bible with emphasis in Missions. All three of our kids have pursued a major in missions. Whatever their futures may be, I pray that their education and own personal experiences as missionary kids will be beneficial to the kingdom of God.

When I’m not traveling and reporting to supporting churches, trying to raise more support for our extension schools, browsing through house listings, previewing houses or making repairs, I’m filling-in preaching, writing articles and preparing for my next overseas mission trips. During the Labor Day weekend, Mary and I will be in Denver for the yearly BVBID extension retreat. Because of travel conflicts, we didn’t go last year, but we’re looking forward to seeing all the extension staff this time around and hearing the exciting reports of God’s works from around the world!

Howell

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

Calvary greetings to you and your family. I pray that this report finds you in good health and a sound faith. We are doing great as our programs in the school and the congregations are going. But for the health of many students that we reported last week that they were sick, we praise God as many of them are responding to treatment. I could not take any of them to the hospital, but I met a doctor who prescribed essential drugs for all the students because to take above 10 persons to see the doctor for medical attention is not easy financially.

The students are happy because of the availability of drugs now in the school. I bought a quantity that can take us for a month because the climate makes people sick often, not only the students. We are praying for the months to pass by fast so that we shall enter into a favorable weather conditions.

The weather this week was so horrible that it made me stop the students from going out for evangelism. All our scheduled evangelism was disturbed because of bad weather conditions.

Our daily program went on well, just for the fact that lecturers from outside came to lecture late of one hour because of rains, because they must use a motor bike to make it to the school. but they stayed above normal closing hour to make up the lost hour. I commend these ministers who are teaching in the school for their marvelous sacrifice to make things happen.

Our chapel topic for the week was “My Life As A Mirror” (Prov. 27:19). This was to help not only the students, but others who will pass around to be part of our chapel services. Because of how rich the topic was, some members and some leaders of the Wotutu congregation requested it to be taught in our Sunday Bible class so that a larger part of the population will benefit from it. One of our students this morning, Etongwe Nicholoas E was taching at the church in Wotutu. It was really good.

Elangwe, taught a sermon this morning on the topic “God Sees (Prov. 15:3). We have four first time visitors in the church. It was great to commune with one another and the food was a balanced diet to help us grow in the Lord.

Our congregation in Wotutu is appreciative of God for CBIW and all you are doing to sustain this vision of the school. The school is doing and will continue to do great things for the Lord’s glory.

PLANS
1) We are still praying and looking forward to favorable weather conditions for us to move to Batoke village to establish a congregation. The means for a public address system is still keeping us from moving ahead, along with the weather.

2) Next campaign will be in September and there is a village that one sister came to the school by herself pleading for the school to help send students to establish a congregation because that is her village. To get to the village you need to travel by land and then finish it by a boat for four hours in a creek. Please pray for us to have the means to go to this village and save souls for the Lord. There are similar demands like that in my office.

3) Transportation is a problem and a stumbling block to our work, because if we use a motor bike it is more risky to make our trip with this kind of weather conditions. Thanks be to God for our area is not characterized with flooding, no matter the intensity of rainfall.

APPRECIATION
I am very happy for all that you are doing to see that this work is in progress. God will never pass you by when the time of reward will come. Please be confident that your prayers and support are not and will never be in vain.

God continue to bless your efforts.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director CBIW

Chimala Bible Institute: Chimala, Tanzania
We used to sing the song “Roll the Gospel Chariot” in VBS. I was able to preach on the Gospel Chariot this last Saturday.  It is a huge truck that travels around to villages so we can spread the gospel.  It was at the small village of Nsonyaga. The lesson we preached was from our first combined Church History class last quarter at CBI.  It emphasized the Restoration plea to be Bible Christians only. There was a large crowd, and Kara Wells, who was taping the service, said there were at least 50 “children in attendance. We always take the opportunity to speak where we can and emphasize the training of preachers at CBI.

Classes are going well and since we are here only four weeks in this quarter, we are using Wednesday as the catch up day to get the necessary hours taught. The classes we are teaching are Kings, Chronicles, Numbers and Deuteronomy.  We are all excited about Remmy, one of our long time Swahili teachers, because he is teaching his first English class on the Minor Prophets. We want all of our teachers to be able to teach in both departments. Therefore, they are all enrolled in the BVBID Master’s program here at Chimala.

Silence, our only absent student, returned this week. He had major surgery over the summer. Returning, he reported 10 baptisms at the congregation in which he has worked. This week, four of our teachers are with the Gospel Chariot. This fall our students will be involved in many weekend campaigns giving them practical experience in preaching and evangelism.

This Sunday I went to preach at Itamboleo with Menard, Don and Sue Laugston. Don is here at the mission and will be teaching our students better ways to grow crops and raise livestock. This will allow them to better support themselves when they return home. Itamboleo is one of the many small churches in the region that needs help, and I go there to represent CBI and see about the feasibility of our students going there to help.

We have at the mission several Irish medical students. We have been spending some time with them to hopefully plant the seeds of the gospel. Their love for people was evident when we returned from Mbeya last Thursday. There was a large crowd outside the hospital and we asked what was happening. There had been a terrible bus wreck. When the students heard this, they immediately jumped out of the Land Cruiser and ran into the hospital to help. About 10 pm that evening two came by to report on the injured. We desire and encourage these Irish students to interact with our students so they can learn of the work of CBI.

Speaking of evangelism opportunities, Kara Wells has been spending time at the Primary and Secondary schools. There are numerous baptisms here because many of the students are not from Christian homes. Ezekiel Harrison, one of our CBI instructors, is teaching “Bible Knowledge” every day for the children. Also, our students at CBI study with the primary and secondary students. They teach the children the gospel on a weekly basis.

Please remember our work in your prayers. We will be traveling to the States for the Denver faculty retreat, and then we will come back to teach for the final quarter in September. Upon our return, we will spend the weekends traveling to recruit students in Dar-es Salem Dudoma, Milawili and Mbeya. We have many who have already shown interest in enrolling in school here. We need your help in supporting these students.

Garry L. Hill: Director
Chimala Bible Institute

Tamale Institute Of Biblical Studies: Tamale, Ghana
Greetings, once again, to all of our brothers and sisters throughout the world. We thank God for your faithfulness and your desire to see the gospel spread in West Africa. We pray that God is continuing to bless you and those close to you as we labor towards that day when Jesus will return. With your help, the work in West Africa is moving forward, and a lot has happened since our last report. We are continuing to train leaders and preachers who are going out to build up and expand our Lord’s church. Graduation ceremonies were held at the schools of preaching in Tamale in northern Ghana, and Kpalime in southern Togo. Time was spent meeting with the board, staff and students of the various Bible schools discussing problems, needs, improvements, and the way forward. Plans were made for evangelistic efforts over the next few months in both Ghana and Togo. A new class of students began in Tamale, and significant progress was made towards the completion of the building for the school in that city. This newsletter will attempt to briefly outline and describe some of these efforts and events. For those of you who receive this report by email, you will be able to see a photo journal of many of these happenings.

Thank You for your Prayers
We have told you often about our strong belief in the power of prayer. Some of you may have heard that I recently had another battle with malaria. We thank God that I have completely recovered! Unfortunately, malaria is a problem that many Ghanaians and some Americans in West Africa must deal with on a regular basis. We continue to need and appreciate your prayers!

Graduations

Kpalime, Togo
During the month of June, we were blessed to see many future leaders and preachers graduate from two of our Bible colleges in West Africa. On June 18th, eight students graduated from the two year program located in the city of Kpalime in southern Togo. The graduation was attended by many in the community, and was very edifying to the local congregations. Please keep these men in your prayers as they move out into the field spreading the gospel of Christ in the country of Togo.

Tamale, Ghana
On June 25th, we had fifteen men graduate from the school of preaching located in Tamale in northern Ghana. This was our first graduating class! The graduation was part of a three day program that included a seminar based upon the subject, “What the Church Needs.” There were visitors from all over Ghana, and the USA who attended this event. We thank God for your support, and for giving us the strength to make it to this point.

In May 2011, a new class of ten students began at the school in Tamale. We are expecting more students to be added to this number over the next few months. During their first five weeks of classes, the subjects related to the Life of Christ, the basics of Christianity, surveys of the Old and New Testaments, and English writing skills were taught. Tony Johnson, a missionary from the U.S., was able to spend one month in Tamale teaching this new class a survey of the Bible. It is our prayer that brother Johnson will be able to return to Tamale next year to work full time with this school. With your help, we continue to train men to become more effective church leaders in northern Ghana.

Northern Togo
The work is continuing to progress in northern Togo. During May and June, we held numerous meetings to discuss our plans for the future. A new congregation was planted earlier this year in the town of Kande by the congregation in Kara. This city is about fifty miles north of Kara. We are also in the process of planting another congregation of the Lord’s church even farther north in Togo this year. During the month of June, we moved a preacher and his family to the town of Dapoang with the intent of establishing a new congregation there. With your help, we are bringing the gospel to the people of northern Togo!

Special Needs

Used Laptops – We are currently attempting to locate and refurbish older laptops to be given to our preacher students. Do you have an old laptop that we may be able to use in Ghana?

Library Books – We are attempting to build up libraries in all of our schools of preaching. We are in the process of putting together a list of needed books. Can you help buy a book or two or more?

Buildings - We continue to have facility needs in our schools of preaching in West Africa. We are attempting to put the finishing touches on the building in Tamale, and the school in Takoradi is in need of repairs and expansion.

Personal Support – With the change in my personal situation, I am attempting to raise additional funds for the support of myself and my family. If you or someone you know can help with this, please let me know.

Reporting in the USA
Over the next month, I will be calling you to set up times that I can visit your congregation to show you all of the wonderful works that are taking place in West Africa. I will be returning from Ghana in October, and will be setting up times to report through the end of the year. If you know of a sister congregation, or anyone else that may be able to help us spread the gospel in Africa, please let me know. I will be happy to speak with them!

Bear Valley Bible Institute Website
I would like to remind you that more frequent reports for the schools of preaching where I am working are now being posted to the Bear Valley website. You can see these reports at this web address: http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

If you go to this web address, you will find links on the right side of the page for the schools in Tamale, Takoradi, and Togo in West Africa. You will also find specific links for each school on the left side of the page along with a link for my previous reports.

Financial Support
We want to thank all of the supporters for their contributions to this exciting work in West Africa. Without you, this effort would not be possible.

All checks need to be made out to: Mountain Home church of Christ
For: West Africa Mission

And mailed to:

Mountain Home church of Christ 380 North College Street Mountain Home, AR 72653
Any questions can be directed to the church office at 870-425-4330.

Or you can contact Steven Ashcraft at:
Email: samtnhome@yahoo.com U.S. Cell Phone: 971-270-8535 U.S. Message Phone: 870-425-4330 Ghana Cell Phone: 233-24-614-6022

Please email Steven if you would like to receive this newsletter with photos by email.

Thanks So Much, With Christian Love
Steven Ashcraft

Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies:  Part 2
The Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies has started with a second batch of students training. Out of the twenty-four short-listed applicants, twelve reported for the commencement of the program. The other twelve applicants are being contacted to ascertain their reasons for not reporting. Reasons given so far indicate that the reporting date, as per the Institute’s calendar, coincides with the peak period for farming. Efforts are being made to admit more students to make up the desired number of twenty-four.

The graduation of the first batch of 15 students which was tied to the Institutes annual seminar took place from June 23-26, 2011, as scheduled.

In all, participants of the seminar which preceded the graduation were entreated to a call to the great commission. Speaker after speaker, the message let us revive that spirit to evangelism as it was in the beginning of Christianity.

The director of the Institute, brother Baah Joseph Okyere in his welcome address, thanked the Bear Valley Bible Institute and all sponsors for their support. He said this appreciable intervention by brother Steven Ashcraft has brought about a great relief to students and an undeniable hope for the growth of the congregations in the northern sector of Ghana. He called on preachers and leaders of the congregations to make maximum use of the facility.

Brother Bob Turner, who represented Bear Valley Bible Institute, in his presentation spoke of the Institute’s mission to train men for preaching of the gospel around the globe. He expressed appreciation for the efforts the Tamale Congregations are making and urged them to continue with the work. He further called on congregations in general and individual Christians in particular to consider the need for training for the dissemination of the gospel.

In another impressive talk delivered by brother Tony Johnson, participants were brought to an understanding that no excuse can be given for not obeying the call in the ‘Great Commission’. With several references from the scripture, the great speaker aroused the commitment of participants to go and preach the gospel.

Speaking on the topic ‘Set for the Defense of the gospel,’ Brother Francis Ayine reminded participants of the protection, guidance and providence of God and said as faithfuls, all should be bold in their evangelistic work.

In the same vein, Brother Roger Ayillah cautioned participants of the need to couple their zeal to spread the gospel with the true knowledge of God and added that all should avoid speeches which have no bearing to the doctrine of Christ.

Participants were also asked to continue to appreciate the past since that would enable us know the way forward. Brother Ampadu Asiamah, the director of the West Coast School of Preaching outlined the zealousness that those who were baptized in 1970s showed toward preaching, and assured participants of a remarkable growth of the Lord’s if all take up the evangelism activities in the various congregations seriously.

The graduation which took place the next day was chaired by Brother Ampadu Asiamah. The function was attended by the representatives of Bear Valley Bible Institute, staff of West Coast Bible Institute, the medical team from Bomso Clinic, members of the Tamale Congregations, friends and family members of the graduates and some invited guests.

It was a short but very colorful gathering. The main activity was the presentation of certificates to the graduating students. The students were commissioned with prayers led by brother Bob Turner. Another significant activity was presentation of special awards to outstanding students. Jacob Adjei Yeboah received best academic performance award, Stephen Abugbilla received both the best servant award and the most enterprising award, and Christian Someritey received the most disciplined student award whilst the most determined student award went to Godfrey Nathaniel Cann.

God bless
Baah Joseph Okyere

Uganda School of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

I did not write this short report on Sunday because in Uganda we have power rationing. They give power on certain days and hours. We thank God that He is blessing us greatly with good hearth. On Sunday, we worshiped at a congregation  called Bulukuyi this is one the congregations where two of students go preach on Fridays and Sundays.

Brother Peter Otieno from Migori Kenya and Brother Maloba Fedrick from Bugati congregation are working. I was a companed with Ema Mawa who was given a chance to preach during service. Brother Peter Otien taught the class. For me I taught the congregation some new songs in our native language Lusamia. After the service four people were ready to be baptized. I took them in the Lake which was about 18 km from Bulukuyi village. Those who were baptized were  Olengo James, Rose Awino, Auma Henderika and  Auma Vivian. Pray for them. The Bulukuyi

church is among those churches which are in need of Land and Building. They are ready start putting  a grass house so that they can save the money used on rent a very month. Pray for this congregation. God bless you all.

Yours
Francis Wechesa

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers:

We rejoice in the Lord for all you do and mean to His work here in Tanzania and throughout East Africa. We thank God for His blessings and for His love for all man. Recently Robert Turner received an e-mail from Pat Porter (see below). I have included this to illustrate the good being done through the Tanzania 2000 mission effort with Her efforts through the Andrew Connally School of preaching with the help of the Bear Valley Bible Institute under the leadership of brother Turner:

[“Lynn Porter (Lake Houston church of Christ), has over 500 WBS students in Kasula, Kigoma, Tanzania.  One of her students has been baptized and has started a church there in one of the camps there. {She is helping him with his support to go to school in Dar es Salaam.} Other students have also been baptized there, but they can no longer go to the river to do the baptizing.

He recently asked her if there is any way those in the camp could have contact with Christians to teach them more about the Bible and how to become Christians.

Most of these refugees speak only their native tongue and French, with just a little English.

The student, who does speak some English, Makyambe Mwindee, may be reached at Nyarugusu church of Christ, P.O. Box 347, Kasulu, Kigoma, Tanzania. Lynn also has students in the Mtabila I & II camps in the same town.

Makyambe has asked if we could supply a portable baptistry and shelter for the church.

My question is to Theron, is would it be possible for you or some of your contacts to go to the camps/church there in Kasulu and meet with the them?  Also, do you know how to obtain a portable baptistry/shelter for them if the money was supplied, and how much would it cost to obtain these there?

Bob, is this an opportunity for some of your preaching students, any that might speak French, to use as an intern/field trip/or something like a training session to do?”]

Yes indeed, we can and will help with this need and wonderful evangelistic need and opportunity. I have spoken with Elly Martin and he has agreed to build the portable baptistry. I have met with Yusuph Madaki, currently here taking two of our Master’s level courses, and he has agreed to take the baptistry to the refugee camp, preach, teach and do what ever he can to help the Lord’s Church currently meeting at this location.

Thank you Bob and Lynn for your efforts in teaching the Gospel to the lost of this world. Thank you Robert Turner (and team) for your efforts in teaching Gospel preachers the Truths of God’s Word in their own country, in their own culture, in their own language that they might be better equipped to take the Good News of Jesus Christ to their own people. Thank you KW Elders and all our faithful supporters for making all this possible.

To God be the glory, great things He is doing through His faithful.

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Arusha, Tanzania… The Gee Report
Dear Co-Workers,

On this warm, sunny day guest Ken Chambers preached to a packed auditorium in Kisongo. His powerful lesson was scripture-filled and revealed three reasons from I Peter 4:1-6 why one should become a Christian. As usual, we had visitors present, including a lady named Prisca, who lives near Usa River. Because she is a new-comer to Arusha, she sent an email through a mailing that we are a part of, asking about “a messianic fellowship.” Jimmy responded, inviting her to services this morning. Today, Mrutu began teaching a new converts’ class for our many new Christians. They will be a part of this class for one year. Jimmy continued teaching the men on the Gospel of John.

Erica, member at Kisongo, Arusha Bible school graduate and an employee of the ACSOP, taught a wonderful lesson to the ladies on the subject of “Prayer.” It is so refreshing and encouraging to know one of the Tanzanian ladies can teach such an excellent lesson. Hearing her lesson gave Trina even more hope and confidence that the church at Kisongo will carry on long after the Americans leave. Our other visiting teacher, Sellers Crane, preached at Kwa Mrombo.

Today, we have planned a home worship service for our sister, Helen, who has cancer. She continues to be sick and weak and we wanted her to be able to worship even when she couldn’t get out. Two ACSOP students will conduct the service for her and bring the Lord’s Supper.

Next Sunday Jimmy, Cy Stafford, Elly Martin, Ahimidiwe Kimaro and Charles Heberth will leave after worship for Uganda. As we said last week they will be attending the East African Gospel Meeting where they Jimmy and Cy will teach some lessons and take part in the evangelistic efforts. However, there is another reason Jimmy is making this trip.

Jimmy has always been a fan of anything written by Stephen Covey. You may be familiar with his most popular book “The Seven Habits of Highly Effective People.” Well, several years ago Mr. Covey wrote, “The Eighth Habit.” With that book he included a DVD which had several short documentaries about people and places which had taken some of the principles in the book to heart. One of the people was named Stone. He was a soccer player who played professionally in East Africa and was so good he was picked to play for the national Ugandan team. This was an opportunity to play in Europe and be seen by the scouts for the BIG professional teams. But, just before he was to begin this journey, another player on an opposing team deliberately injured him in such a way that he would never play soccer professionally again. Stone immediately forgave the man and moved on with his life.

Stone has since been working with young men who were unemployed, sometimes involved in crime and had been written off by their family and their society. He coaches them in soccer and teaches them a trade where they can support themselves and be responsible. To make a long story short, Jimmy asked one of the preaching students to go and see Stone in Kampala. Jimmy thought that if Stone was respected and influential in his current state, how much more could he do as a Christian and as a servant within the Church? He was visited and at first rejected what he heard because, as he said, “If God is not with me, how can I be doing so much good?” Jimmy sent the student back several times and Stone was impressed by that persistence. He now wants to meet Jimmy. Jimmy will go and study with him some more. Please pray for their safe travel and for Stone, as he hears the Gospel one more time.

Due to the trip there will be no report for the next two weeks. Thanks so much for your support of the Gospel here in East Africa. May God bless you for all your sacrifices.

In Christ, The Gees

Final Thoughts
These are exciting times with the beginning of a new school year. It is hard to believe how quickly time passes before us. I am so thankful to be involved in this great work and I appreciate the efforts of all who make it possible.

I know I am very repetitive when it comes to expressing my gratitude. I hope you know this is more than just words on a monitor screen. With all of my heart I thank you.

Thank you for your love for the Lord, the gospel, His church, the lost and for those who are willing to work diligently to most effectively carry out what God has instructed us to do through His word.

There will always be more to follow. I love you with the love of the Lord.

God bless
Bob

 

Meanwhile, back at home…  Sheryl and I are back in Denver for the start of the 46th year of training men to preach at the Bear Valley Bible Institute. A strong class of men are preparing themselves for a two year journey to equip them for the work of preaching the gospel. With the beginning of the new year in Denver, the Extension Program is also preparing for new classes of incoming students.

With each incoming class of students, I am reminded of the graduates who are working in various locations around the world preaching the gospel. Cy Stafford’s report this week references the fact that more than 90 men have graduated from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Arusha, Tanzania. Think about the difference being made in just one school.

If the efforts are then multiplied by 15 schools over the years ahead, we are talking 1,350 men preaching the gospel. The exciting part for me is the fact we are growing. We are working to see that more schools are added to the program in the years ahead. Our goal is 75 schools over 50 years. Do the math!

Extension Training is making a difference. As we continue to grow, more souls are being added to the kingdom. The reports below will demonstrate the effectiveness being seen by the men who are still enrolled in school. Our prayer and goal for the future is to maintain records on the work being done by those who graduate from the program and serve in the Lord’s kingdom.

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

Extension Reports 

Cameroon Bible Institute Of Wotutu, Cameroon
Dearest in Christ,

It is amazing for me and the entire student body and staff of CBIW to say hello. May God richly bless you all for your kindness toward us, and your prayers toward the work here in Cameroon.

I do hope you are all doing great in all that you do. Our prayers for you are that God keep watch over you and bless all your endeavors.

I come before you today appealing for you to join me to thank our God for adding one more year in my life today. Today is my birthday, as we had some special prayer session after worship today for me, my family and all the work entrusted to my hands. I am 34 years old now, my blessings are many. Above all I was called by God to serve Him in the capacity of an evangelist. I am excited about my calling and I pray He use me in many levels to fulfill His words through me.

Some students, three of them, went to Tole over the weekend for weekend evangelism. God blessed their effort with three souls as they were added into the small struggling Tole congregation. Please keep them in your prayers.

All our programs in CBIW went on well. Our devotionals and our chapel periods were wonderful. Thanks to God for using both the students assigned to speak in Chapel to do it with happiness. I am excited about them because I can see daily growth in their lives.

This week was also a memorable one as the second quarter results were released with great improvement from our students. Please keep these soldiers who are being trained to enter into the warfront in the near future well-armed to defend the gospel of Christ.

Brother Eddie Samuel baptized Christian Ndiko in the Wotutu congregation in the cause of this week. Remember him in your prayers to walk worthy of his calling.

Brother Muofo Bernard baptized Ambe Rene over the weekend in Tole as they were busy during their weekend evangelism. Pray for the brother to keep the faith.

Brother Ambe Rene also told the news of his baptism to his sister who is a nursing mother, the students went into their home and shared the gospel and Maureen Ambe also accepted the truth and put on Christ. Please remember them in your prayers that they should be an eye opener to the rest of the family who are staunch denominational followers (Presbyterian).

This afternoon was another moment of joy in the life of the church in Wotutu, as the church came together to watch videos from WVBS in church with invites as part of the celebration of my birthday. The church used the projector device donated by brother David Ballard to project the lessons from WVBS and also the matriculation ceremony of the CBIW students. It was wonderful. Over 120 people were in attendance. The church has decided to put projection of DVD from WVBS as part of their weekly program where visitors will watch touching lessons like that of John Moore and others.

During my birthday celebration, it was also time to have fellowship with one another, as brethren spend time to sing praises to God and to pray for many more and fruitful years for me to serve in the vineyard of the Lord.

We shall be moving with the students to Batoke village to plant a church. Please remember us in your prayers for us to have the means to go, so that we shall lay the ground work. We shall continue the work when we have all that it takes to perfect the evangelistic effort of the village. We still need a lot of other things.

APPEAL
1. The school needs a digital public address system which will help in evangelizing Wotutu village and other villages that we shall go for outreach.

2. The problem of a van is still serious with us as it hinders our movement. Students who travel to Tole this weekend did that under the rain to make it to Tole. We give thanks to God for using the students and three souls were added to the church there. Rains and mud could not stop us because the gospel is for all. Please do your best to share our troubles.

APPRECIATIONS
We thank you for all your prayers, concern and support for the smooth running of our program. I pray that God bless you and replenish all you are doing for us.

Do your best to share this report with others who may be of help to us. Thanks for your love and care. Stay safe in Christ, as you continue to think souls.

Elangwe and family
By His grace, director

Nepali Center For Biblical Studies: Kathmandu, Nepal
The last two months have been very fruitful for the Lord in many ways. The continued progress of our six students is a source of encouragement and light that shines throughout the whole country. It shined when they returned to their home congregations, often in small villages, during the Nepal New Year holiday in April. They also went on a campaign and visited four congregations high in the mountains in June. The light shines daily / weekly here in Kathmandu. The school has an areawide fellowship the last Saturday of each month with classes for children, the youth, ladies, and men. The students are active with these classes as well as showing servant leadership by serving lunch, something seldom found in the old style leadership that the members have seen in the past.

July began with a visiting teacher, Bro. Steve Smith from Mission Viejo, Calif. Steve became a student before he came as a teacher. He inquired about specific ways that he should approach his responsibility as a teacher in a poor country with a low literacy level. He began to get to know his audience months before he landed at the airport. His lessons on the Sermon on the Mount were terrific. He related everything to a change that begins on the inside [heart and mind] before it can become a part of our behavior, speech, and Christian fellowship.

We were blessed by the return of Bro. Don Prather to the school for the second and third weeks of July. Don was our first visiting teacher in July of last year. He was accompanied by his wife Janie [last year also] and by Bro. Art Gibbs [first time]. The first week Don taught the students about the Life and Work of an Evangelist. The second week we had 30 Christian leader guests from outside the Kathmandu Valley attend. In June they were given reading assignments to study, take notes, and prepare questions in order that they could come to the class for some deep discussion and learning. The theme for the week was How To Use The Bible To Understand God’s Message. The class participation and enthusiasm was contagious.

Some of the comments by the visitors were along this line ……………

** Coming prepared, having discussions, and coming with questions and leaving with      answers was much better than having a preacher talk and the audience sit and listen.

** They were impressed with the attitude and fellowship between all those attending,      whether teacher, school staff or students, and all the guests.

** The words “fellowship” and “family” were frequently heard.

** They would like to have these type of classes every 2-3 months.

Note: We will begin to work on raising the money needed for their transportation, food, and lodging. It is a much desired and greatly needed project that will touch the church all over Nepal.

We also had a guest preacher for three days during the third week of July. Bro. Mike Brooks has been coming to Nepal for 16 years, averaging two trips of about two weeks each. His three days of classes was also attended by over 30 Nepali preachers, many of whom attended at the school the week before. His lessons on Basic Bible Beliefs were well received, needed by the church everywhere, and also gave our students another view of teaching method and style.

In addition to our guest speakers, we have been blessed with more active teaching participation by three Nepali preachers. Brother Parsuram Sunchuri taught a class on The Christian Family in June and will teach a class on Fruitful Methods of Evangelism and Church Maturing in Nepal beginning in August. Bro. Pramod Dhakal will also teach a class in August. He has become more active with the school and this will be his first teaching responsibility. Bro. Kirish Maharjan has been active about one day per week for over a year and has expressed a desire to increase that time at the school plus visit our soon to graduate students with special assistance in their ministry in their home congregations. We are very blessed and pleased with this increased Nepali leadership activity.

Our first group of six students will graduate on September 21. The first two years at any school have to be full of frustrations, joys, ups, downs, and so many first experiences for so many Christians. This has been true for our students, Gajendra as the Director, our teachers, and those who have been knowledgeable of the school’s progress.

All of us wish to thank Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, the congregations in east Texas that supply the monthly funds to run the school, the members at Mission Viejo, CA, Lakewood, CA, and Reno, NV for their support,  the visiting teachers, and for the prayers of our American brothers and sisters, who are our unseen, but loved and appreciated, spiritual fellow-workers in the kingdom of God’s dear Son.

Jerry Golphenee

Chimala Bible Institute: Chimala, Tanzania
We returned to the Chimala Bible Institute, after time in the states raising funds, to greet the students for the beginning of the Fall quarter. The two day trip seems routine now and we were greeted with Manard, one of our instructors, at the airport. The eleven hour trip through the heart of Tanzania was shared with Kara Wells of the Horton Chapel Church of Christ in Kentucky. She is visiting the mission to see about future work in the education program. She is also a photographer documenting life on the mission for us.

The first day at chapel was spent hearing student reports of what they had done during the summer break. Where Blessings preaches 15 were baptized, and Navie had 6 baptisms. Lyton reported that there were 15 restorations as well as Bright who explained at the congregation he worked that “many” were restored. Israel noted he spent his time “encouraging the brethren” and they had 1 baptism.

William said he “preached house to house” in his village and worked with the “backslidden” who were restored. Atupakessee reported they had chosen elders at his congregation, and we all rejoiced because many congregations do not have elders. Brother, mission administrator and elder, has been teaching many lessons on our need for these elders.

Other students reported “working with youth,” “going to the prisons” and “teaching the men to prepare sermons.” In their summer work, all of the dedicated students remind us of the great work that is taking place to train faithful servants of the Lord in Tanzania and Malawi. Our students need your continued support, for the sacrifices they make to become faithful teachers and preachers are numerous. When Felix was leaving the Tanzania, Malawian border, he was taken off in handcuffs and tears by the border guards. This was before the other students could collect money to give the guard in order to free their fellow student. He was retained because he was traveling to study the Bible at CBI. These brave men still come, and we could have many more if we get the support. For 100 dollars a month, we can support a student here at CBI.

On a personal note, one of the Malawian’s students brought me a flag from his country today. I proudly put it on my desk with the Tanzanian flag I have. These flags remind me every day how blessed I am to be here at Chimala as an instructor and assistant coordinator for Bear Valley Bible Institute and the director of the school. Please remember us in your prayers as we work hard in training these dedicated and deserving students.

Garry L. Hill,
Director: Chimala Bible Institute

Uganda School of Evangelism: Busia, Uganda
Dear brethren,

I am sorry to have not written this short report. It was due to lack of power the whole of yesterday. God is blessing us richly. Students and staff of Uganda School of Evangelism are doing fine. The students are enjoying their studies this quarter.

Yesterday (July 24) I and Margaret went to Bukalikha church of Christ for our worship.on a motor bike. We thank God that we came back safely. The Bukalikha church  have now repaired their grass roof now they are safe from rain and maggots falling from the rotten grass. They are seriously making their bricks for a more stronger building.

Paul Odaka is teaching our students how to properly plant vegetables in raised beds. Last Friday he started teaching them in class for two and three hours in the garden. They are learning how to use small land and get more product, more than those with large land but they do not know how to properly feed the soil with manure.

Last Friday they prepared a compost manure heap. With our cows, goats, chicken and pigs we do have enough manure to use in our compost. The only problem is that we are not keeping them in good shelters due to a lack of modern shelters  for our animals and birds. But we believe that at the right time God will provide. Continue praying for us in this effort.

We remain your fellow workers in the kingdom.
Francis and Margaret Wechesa

Bear Valley Bible Institute In Ukraine: Gorlovka, Ukraine
Dear brothers, churches and families.

The summer break for the institute is almost over. I think that we achieved with God’s help what we had planned at the beginning of this summer.

At the end of the July, we managed to complete the process of legally giving the building of the English Language Institute to the church.  Now the future of this building is more stable and secure. The building, where the Bear Valley institute is working and the church is gathering, now is owned by a religious organization (i.e. the church). We want some of the Bear Valley instructors to be included in the paperwork and become the co-owners of the building.

Since we took the financial responsibility for closing the English Language Institute (the previous owner of the building), we need 3 months for the city government organizations (like tax administration, pension fund, city water and electricity providers) to audit the institute activities. This procedure will require additional time and expenses. But the main thing is already completed.

Right now we are gathering the papers needed for the church to make new contracts with the companies providing us with water and electricity, etc.

Last Sunday I preached at the church in Krasnoarmeysk where the graduate of our school, Alexander Rodnayev, is usually preaching, and we may possibly have another student from that town.

A young man from Nikolayev contacted me, and he was very interested in getting into our program. I’m gathering information about him, and I want to meet with him in person.

During this month, my wife and I visited yet another VBS that took place near Poltava. It was a wonderful time. We have also got to meet some of our friends we haven’t seen for a long time and thanked them for their work.

We have already got the schedule for the next school year, yet we still experience shortage of teachers. If some of our American brothers are willing to help us and participate in this ministry, we would be very happy.

If you have any question or comments, please write to me.

Thank you for your care and support. Our students and churches in Ukraine send you their greetings and love.

May God be our Lord to the end of our life.
Your coworker,
Dennis.

International Bible Institute of Siem Reap: Cambodia  Part 1
Welcome brothers and sisters to this month’s report of the work of Christ in Siem Reap, Cambodia. This month is a much needed month for not only myself but the staff and students of IBISR. As we completed our first school year, the students were sent home and the staff got a chance to visit family and take a break from teaching. We also had the opportunity to regroup and focus on the next school year. It is a blessing to be able to work with individuals who are excited about doing God’s will and teaching his pure gospel to sincere souls. It is more of a blessing to have fellow workers of Christ like yourselves who read and support this work on a consistent basis. We know that our goal is to be self sufficient but we also know that we need your support until that day comes. It’s like a teenage orphan who knows that he has the responsibility to take care of his younger brothers and sisters but he doesn’t refuse help from kind and generous individuals who show compassion on him and his family until he is able to grow up to be an adult and take care of them himself. That is why we appreciate your love and sacrifice in sending your hard earn money to support this work.

As some of you might know, I was planning on taking my wife and daughter with me to America to visit with all of you and report of the work for the past 4 years that I’ve been here. For me and my daughter it’s not a problem because we are U.S. citizens but my wife is not a citizen of the United States yet, so we had to apply for a tourist Visa for her. To make a long story short, her Visa was denied because the embassy doesn’t think that she will return to Cambodia if she gets approved. Anyway, if I do go back to America, I’ll probably just bring my daughter and leave my wife at home, which I really do not want to do. I told her that I will not return to America without her. But my wife understands the situation and how important it is for me to go back and report of all the good things that’s happening here with all of you face to face. She knows it’s part of my work as a missionary and is willing to sacrifice a month’s time away from me and my daughter so that we can continue to get financial support for this wonderful work. I would ask that you all pray for my family and I as we make this difficult decision. Thank you in advance.

As for the news concerning the work of the church, we were able to successfully conduct a VBS for 150 children combined in Takam and Siem Reap. The theme for this year’s VBS was ”Jesus loves the children.” Chann, our local preacher did all of the organizing and preparation along with Darat, Choeuy, Savay, Hout, Piseth, Ravy, Sokchea and many other local leaders. I just sat back and watched everything. It was truly a local’s work and they did an amazing job! It’s just another testament to the work of IBISR in developing such wonderful  and mature leaders. More importantly it’s a testament to the power of God’s word to transform lives. Not only did they prepare the lessons and activities themselves, but the local church provided finanically for the food and costs of materials. We are starting to take little steps to reaching our goal in becoming autonomous. We are also studying with new prospects and when God opens their hearts and they obey the gospel, we will report and rejoice with all of you. Please continue to pray for this work to grow and thrive in the land of the Buddhas.

-Phanat

International Bible Institute of Siem Reap: Cambodia  Part 2
There were some activities taking place recently in Siem Reap Cambodia. We just had our VBS for the year 2011 that was done a few days ago in two places: one was at Takam and another one was in Siem Reap.

We had 121 people joining the VBS at Takam village which is located north of Siem Reap about 25 kilometers from the city. We had children much more than adults to participate with us. On the way there it was a little bit difficult to drive as it is a rainy season in our country so we had to drive through the muddy road. But, thank God that we made it without any serious problem.

We had the number of people who came to join our VBS in Siem Reap. 75 people, there were more children than adults the same one to Takam, and our Theme for VBS this year is God loves children, Mat 19:13-15.

We had two lessons for each place and included the show to illustrate the lesson that we taught. People really liked the show which were shown by our staff and students, also visitors. We all laughed together and enjoyed to study the word of God together. Through the lesson we make the children feel more and more comfortable to come to the church as they learn that they are not excluded at all but they are welcome by our Lord Jesus. Also, after lessons for both places we had a meal together as a fellowship which were cooked by our brothers and sisters in Christ.

I have some pictures and video clip that will try to attach but don’t know how much it will allow me to attach, you will see some in attach.

Thanks for your support and your pray for the work in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

God bless you all in His work
Chann

Andrew Connally School Of Preaching: Arusha, Tanzania
Greetings Fellow Workers:

What a joy it is to be a part of God’s family. Over the past three months we have hosted a number of faithful campaigners. They have come with helping hands and healing hearts. They have shown, in a most powerful way, what it means to love God, love his work, and love for the lost souls of the world. We say thank you to everyone who came and to everyone who made it possible for them to come and serve.

We now “shift gears” and begin our work for the second half of this year, if the Lord wills. Some of our graduates are back and will be taking Master’s class for the next two weeks. Then our undergrads return for their classes.

The Andrew Connally School of Preaching, in cooperation and with the support of the Bear Valley team; continues to bless the souls of East Africa in a grand way. With our November 2011 graduating class, we will have trained and sent out over 90 Gospel preachers. These men continue in the work of the Lord, seeking and saving the lost in ways we as “visiting Americans” could never do in ten life times. Let me illustrate:

A great need arose when our brother Paschal died at the young age of 30. Paschal in his short two year Christian life had a tremendous impact on the Lord’s Church here in TZ in the planting of four congregations through the conversion of more than 200 souls. There have been any number of situations much like this one where there was a great need for a trained evangelist.

Yusuph Madaki having just graduated stepped up and said; “here I am, send me”, and that we did. Let me quote but a small portion of his latest report to show the good God is doing through this man of God:

In the last three months 18 souls have been added to the Church. Our Saturday Bible training class now has 25 students. The Kazibizyo congregation is struggling due to not having a building, as is the Ibambula congregation.

The Mtinga congregation is having a hard time due to false teachers in other churches. We plan to plant two new congregations one at Kahma town, I have a big class with one man and his family, he is a business man. Also, one at Katoro, the problem here is a place to worship. “I know the difficult work facing me now is because of many congregations but I am obligated to open many more congregations because many people need the Gospel and they cry as the people of Macedonia.”

I continue to give thanks to my supporters for the wonderful work of supporting my family. God bless all in this good work. Lastly I urge every Christian who will read this report to have much prayer for the work of Ushirombo and my family in order to accomplish this work.

There are currently two brother in the ACSOP, one to graduate in November of this year and the other next year. They will be a great help, but more are needed for sure. A special thank you to everyone who supports the students, ACSOP, and some of our graduates. You are making a difference in the lives of countless thousands. To God be the glory, great things He continues to do though His faithful.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Arusha, Tanzania… The Gee Report
Dear Co-laborers,

We welcomed Ken Chambers and Sellers Crain to Tanzania today. They are here to teach in the Master’s Program. Ken will teach New Testament Theology and Sellers will teach Advanced Homiletics. Ken is from Hixson, TN and attends the Mt. Creek congregation. Sellers is from Nashville and is an elder as well as the preacher at the Rivergate congregation. We are happy to have them with us and appreciate their efforts.

On the way to the airport today Jimmy attended the Usa River congregation where Fariji Paul is the preacher. He is doing a great work there. I did not get an official count but the “preacher’s count” is between 40 and 50 in attendance. It was a joy to be with them. Fariji asked Jimmy to teach Bible study and preach. He preached on Luke 11:1-4 and the model prayer. We sometimes skip the first verse and go straight to the model prayer, but there is something there in verse one that is very interesting. One of the disciples asked Jesus to teach them to pray. Why did he not ask him to teach them to preach, or evangelize? Evidently they saw something in the prayer life of Jesus that caused them to want to do things the way Jesus did them. May we learn the same lesson.

While at Usa River, Trina was at Kisongo and taught the ladies class on Genesis 15. Candace also taught the children’s class. Trina said they had several visitors at Kisongo. And, speaking of Kisongo, the campaign that ended last Sunday resulted in 18 baptisms. What is so impressive about this is that Ahimidiwe Kimaro, the preacher at Kisongo, has already made up a list of the new converts and assigned certain ones to different Christians. Trina and Paulina will be helping three ladies and Jimmy is responsible for working with a husband and wife which are Lembris’ brother and sister-in-law. We think it is a sign of great maturity on the part of our African brethren that they would make such plans. It will not be long before the brethren here are ready to handle the total responsibility of this work and we believe they will be more than ready for the task.

In two weeks time Cy Stafford and Jimmy will leave for Uganda to attend and speak at the East African Gospel Meeting. Jimmy preached this meeting when it was held in Nairobi in 2005. Each year it is held in a different African city. What you may not remember from that event was that we told you this event was planned and has been executed each year totally by our African brethren. The thought for it was born from the Safari for Souls campaigns that have been going on for many years. The brethren here saw that each year and said “Hey, we can do that!” Yes, they have asked us to help with the preaching and teaching from time to time but they are the ones who took the lead and have made these meetings a success. Tune in next week and we will tell you of another reason we are going to this particular series of meetings. Thanks for all you do and sacrifice to make this work possible!

In Christ,
The Gees

Final Thoughts
As we move through another week, I search for adequate words to thank you for your support of the Extension Training effort. Without each of you being involved in the specific roles needed, this work would not be fruitful.

I hope you know how much your involvement is appreciated by all. Thank you for your love for the Lord, the lost souls around the world, and your desire to see the church of our Lord and Savior grow. I pray God will richly bless you in your service.

God bless
Bob