Bates Newsletter - May 6, 2013

Greetings, brethren.  It is my prayer that this newsletter finds you well and faithfully involved in the vineyard of the Lord.

I want to repeat how much I appreciate the support and encouragement you give us in our work by your continued support, whether financial, moral or prayerful.  You are a very important part of this work.

In the month of April I was privileged to give a report to the brethren of the Blossom church of Christ in Blossom, Texas.  It is always a blessing to visit with that good congregation.  I was not able to schedule another report on that particular trip, but am planning to be in the area where many of our supporters are in June and look forward to being with as many as possible then.

Also in April I got to attend the 19th Annual Workshop in the Word, near Durango, Colorado.  I had not been able to attend this workshop in 13 years.  It was good seeing many old friends there.  A number of our students here in Denver were able to attend, as well as, brethren Denny Petrillo (who taught half of the sessions) and Wayne Burger, another instructor here.  I also spent time with some dear friends from the Bayfield church of Christ and worshipped with them on Wednesday evening of that week.

Presently, I am preparing for a trip to Asunción, Paraguay to teach Bible Geography in the first short course of the Asuncion Bible Academy.  I will leave Denver the evening of May 19.  Speaking of May 19, that is Graduation Day for the students here in Denver.  I return from Paraguay on May 25 and then travel to Honduras on May 30 to be there for graduation on the 31st.  This is a busy time, but that just means a lot is happening in the kingdom.  

Thank you again for your part in all of this.  To our financial supporters we offer this reminder, please send your checks to the Institute here at the address listed below and please make your checks out to BVBID, not to me.  Thank you!

School Contact Information: 

Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver 
2707 S. Lamar
Denver, CO 80227 
(303) 986-5800 
(800) 766-4641
Fax:  (303) 986-8003
Email:  info@bvbid.org 
Web:  www.WeTrainPreachers.com

My Contact Information:

Donnie Bates
4801 S. Wadsworth #3-105
Littleton, CO 80123 
(303) 718-7040 
Email:  dbates@bvbid.org 

God bless,

Donnie Bates

Bates Newsletter - March 31, 2013

March 31, 2013

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!  I hope this newsletter finds you well.  It has been a busy month for us here.  

The third quarter of the school year ended on March 1, with a final exam in the Advanced Homiletics class.  All the students did well on their finals and their overall grades.  I must say I thoroughly enjoyed teaching that class and hope to have opportunity to teach it again.

On March 8, Bob Turner, Director of Extensions, and I left for Asunción, Paraguay, arriving Saturday evening, March 9.  On Sunday afternoon, after a great worship service with a capacity crowd and a delicious meal together, we got to participate in the exciting inauguration ceremony of the Asunción Bible Academy.  There are two sister congregations in Asunción (the only two in the country), and both were represented at the worship and ceremony.  Also students and faculty come from both congregations.  Bob and I began our journey home on Tuesday, March 12, around midday arriving in Denver Wednesday afternoon, March 13.

On Wednesday, March 20 Bob and I again headed to the airport, this time bound for Guatemala for the graduation of the Beta Class at ITL, as well as, the 4th Annual ITL Lectureship.  In addition, ITL celebrated its 5th anniversary.  There was a lot of ceremony, good fellowship and outstanding gospel preaching!  Approximately 450-500 people came together on Sunday morning for worship.  The logistical problems of finding room for so many people were great, but what a great problem to have!  Our hats are off to missionaries Hawatthia Jones and Byron Benitez, as well as, the rest of the ITL staff (Aníbal Ramirez and Darvin Alvarez) and the members of the Linda Vista congregation who hosted the event.  Bob and I returned home late Monday night, March 25.  

April will begin with a rapid pace, as well.  Beginning today and through tomorrow morning, the extension staff from all over the world will begin arriving for our annual extension meeting Monday and Tuesday.  It will be a good meeting as we make plans to improve our efforts to train preachers all over the world.

Thank you all so much for your interest, participation and support of this work.  The following paragraph is a partial repeat from last month.

I want to thank our supporters, first of all, for the ability you give us to do the work we do.  Secondly, I want to thank you for making the change to send your support to the school here.  When we announced this change, we expected there would be an adjustment period, but most have adjusted just fine.  Just by way of reminder, please send your checks to the Institute here at the address listed below and please make your checks out to BVBID, not to me.  Thank you!

School Contact Information: My Contact Information:

Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver 
2707 S. Lamar
Denver, CO 80227 
(303) 986-5800 
(800) 766-4641
Fax:  (303) 986-8003
Email:  info@bvbid.org 
Web:  www.WeTrainPreachers.com

Donnie Bates
4801 S. Wadsworth #3-105
Littleton, CO 80123 
(303) 718-7040 
Email:  dbates@bvbid.org 

May God bless you richly!

Donnie Bates

Bates Newsletter - February 26, 2013

Greetings, brethren, in the name of our precious Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!  It is hard to believe that February is already coming to a speedy conclusion.  Along with the end of the month comes the end of the third quarter of the school year here at the Denver campus of BVBID.  The Final Exam for the Advanced Homiletics class will be on Friday, March 1.  It has been a great experience for me to be able to teach this class and I am grateful for the opportunity.

A week later, on March 8, Bob Turner and I will be leaving for Paraguay to be present for the first day of classes in Asunción, Paraguay.  Our plan is to be there on Monday, March 11, for the first class and begin our return trip on Tuesday, arriving back in Denver on Wednesday morning.

On Thursday, March 21, just over a week later, Bob and I will be traveling to Guatemala for the 4th Annual ITL Lectures and the graduation of the Beta Class.  It’s hard to believe that two years have passed in the education of these students.  We are very proud of the work they have done and the progress they have made.  We have great confidence in the work they will do for the cause of Christ.

I want to thank our supporters, first of all, for the ability you give us to do the work we do.  Secondly, I want to thank you for making the change to send your support to the school here.  When we announced this change, we expected there would be an adjustment period, but most have adjusted just fine.  Just by way of reminder, please send your checks to the Institute here at the address listed below and make your checks out to BVBID, not to me.  Thank you so much for your interest in and support of our work.

School Contact Information: 

Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver
2707 S. Lamar
Denver, CO 80227
(303) 986-5800
(800) 766-4641
Fax:  (303) 986-8003
Email:  info@bvbid.org 

Web:  WeTrainPreachers.com

My Contact Information:

Donnie Bates
4801 S. Wadsworth #3-105
Littleton, CO 80123
(303) 718-7040 
Email:  dbates@bvbid.org

God bless you richly!

Donnie Bates

January Report from Paraguay Mission Team

To view report, please click here.

Bates Newsletter - January 17, 2013

Greetings, dear friends and brethren.  I am getting this newsletter out a little later in the month than I would have liked, and for that I apologize.  Things are going well with Noma and me.  In December we were finally able to sell our house in Edmond, OK and that was a huge relief.  Our daughter Jessica got to spend about three weeks with us over the holidays and we certainly enjoyed that.  We are looking forward to her moving here at the end of the school year.

I am very excited to have been asked to teach this quarter on the Denver campus.  I am teaching Advanced Homiletics (“the Science and Art of Sermon Preparation and Delivery”) to the Juniors and Seniors.  It’s proving to be a challenging assignment, but I am really enjoying the opportunity.

We are currently moving ahead with our plans for some big changes in our Latin American extensions this year.  We are still planning to consolidate our schools in Central America.  After the graduation of the Beta Class at the end of May, we will no longer be conducting classes at the Danlí, Honduras campus.  All future classes in the full-time program will be conducted at the Guatemala City campus.  We continue to keep plans for the Danlí area in mind in the way of campaigns, special seminars, etc.  We’re also still very excited as the time grows closer and closer for the beginning of classes in Asunción, Paraguay.  On March 11, Bob Turner (BV Director of Extensions) and I will be on hand for the first day of classes.

Speaking of the Guatemala City extension (ITL - Latin American Theological Institute), the second class (Beta Class) will be graduating on Sunday, March 24.  The graduation will be preceded that weekend, as is the custom there, by the Fourth Annual ITL Lectureship.  An invitation is extended to any who would like to come and see the program (all that ITL does) firsthand.  If you have an interest in attending, please let me know and I will get you all the information you need.  I promise, you will not be disappointed!

I want to also remind everyone who is a financial supporter of ours that beginning this month, we are asking our supporters to send their checks to the school here in Denver, with a notation with my name on the memo line.  Please make checks payable to:  BVBID and send to the school at this address:

School Contact Information: 

Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver
2707 S. Lamar
Denver, CO 80227 
(303) 986-5800
(800) 766-4641
Fax:  (303) 986-8003
Email:  info@bvbid.org
Web:  WeTrainPreachers.com

My Contact Information:

4801 S. Wadsworth #3-105
Littleton, CO 80123
(303) 718-7040
Email:  dbates@bvbid.org 

Thank you for your interest and support of our work.  God bless,

Donnie Bates