Pray For The Loss In Chimala...

Student Killed by Motorcycle 

2nd Grade Chimala Mission Primary School Student

Prayers needed for family and school,

On Friday, May 10, one of our 2nd grade students at the Chimala Mission Primary School was walking with her class to a sports match at a neighboring school. She was struck by a motorcycle and killed on the side of the road. By the time help arrived to the scene, it was too late for the girl.  

We ask for prayers for the family of the student. Also, we ask that you pray for the teachers and staff of the primary school due to this tragedy. We have escorted the body, along with family and teachers, to the funeral site.

Life is always full of unexpected twists and turns. Life is not always what we expect. However, our faith in our holy God must remain steady and true even when the unthinkable happens.

Chad Wagner

Giant Simbas And Teaching Ministry...

We just returned from Chimala Bible Institute with a warm heart about the program of training preachers in this African country. I am constantly amazed at the amount of work that goes into running a competent Bear Valley Bible Institute school. We were sent off with many well wishes from Christians in Georgia, Kentucky, Arkansas and Indiana. We picked up support from two new sources to help us as the coordinator of the Chimala Bible Institute.

We landed in Dar and then the next afternoon in Mbeya. I was with Dr. Robert Curry, whose congregation generously allowed him to come and teach two intense short courses on the General Epistles and the Godhead. Then we met brother Rueben, a preacher and school administrator in Nigeria. As you can imagine these two godly, dedicated men were able to give a wealth of knowledge, experience and ministry teaching to our students. They both spoke in chapel, mentored students and brought material that the students will be able to use for the rest of their ministry. Personally, it is also energizing to me to be around these men who have a tremendous heart for training men for the work of the Kingdom.

I was very happy to teach the two graduate classes on Christian education and Church Planning and Growth. There are some amazing men in this class. These dedicated evangelists already have many years of ministry experience. We have all of our CBI faculty as well as local preachers, including men from Malawi, who are both preaching and teaching in the school in Msusu. The material we covered was appreciated and we had many hours of classroom discussion on the work of the church in education and church planting. One of the activities these godly men are already involved with include a jail ministry in Malawi in which 34 men have been baptized. Another activity was the planting of five churches in a region where Christianity had not existed before. Another master’s student has started a Bible teaching program in four local secular schools in which many young men and women have been taught New Testament Christianity. During our two weeks together all 14 men had 30 hours of lecture and all wrote a 12-page paper in which they discussed an aspect of the class subject. We left them exhausted, and elated at the amazing amount of work they have put into their studies. This is being done while they also have been involved in the greatest work in the world; the preaching of the Gospel. 

On the last day of school for the summer some amazing young people from Oklahoma joined us. They attended chapel and the singing and fellowship was as close to what I imagine heaven must be like. They are working at the hospital and schools during the morning and having a VBS in the afternoon. The students and staff were well rewarded by their attendance and enthusiasm. Speaking of that, we have also been able to make friends and fellowship and teach “the way of the Lord more perfectly” to two amazing young Doctors from Hong Kong. Tony and Grace came this time to the mission looking for a Christian hospital to work with. One evening I was able to have a Bible study with these amazing young people and we have promised to keep in touch and continue to study together. 

Both Lord’s days we went with Robert Curry, Ezekiel Harrison and some of our students to Uturo. We bounced along the dirt road to the building and both services were so rewarding. Israel, one of our graduates of last November, has moved there to build the church. When we arrived we saw they were having a ladies class in one house and the men’s class in the building. Israel had taught the teachers, who are members of the church, to teach those classes. Last year we were having around 12 in attendance. Both Sundays we were there they had over 30. The work is going well because of the training and dedication of this one young man that CBI was able to provide. 

The last weekend we traveled to check on some churches and drove through a nearby game reserve. Just about dark we rounded the dirt road and came upon what I thought, at first, was a large pony, but no, it was the largest lion I have ever seen. We followed him for over mile until he went down to the river to drink and prepare for his nightly hunt. Of course I was remained of the “devil as a roaring lion seeking whom he might devour.” I also was reminded of the dedicated supporters, teachers and students of the Chimala Bible Institute that are working hard to prevent this as we train workers for Christ (2 Timothy 2:2). 

Garry L. Hill
Coordinator Chimala Bible Institute

Life Is Always Good On The Mission...

Life is always good here on the mission. There are so many things to do and see here that we always have something to do. We have to be careful, however, because the ants have been quite busy of late. When you get into ants here in Chimala, you know it quickly! Jonah was looking at some ants a few weeks ago. While he was away from the 'line' of ants, he didn't see the other ants in the grass. It took all of us and one of our guards to get all the ants off of him!  

The kids are almost finished with home school for this school year. Rena has been keeping them very busy about every day to get finished. They started late, in October, and they have been playing 'catch up' ever since. Jonah will be starting with kindergarten this year and is very excited. We have already ordered our home school material for next year and we are working on getting it shipped over to us.

Rena, Anna, and Cheryl Bode (another missionary) have been doing mobile clinics in the area. They go to a Masai village and another closby village of Mfumbi. Rena has been doing well-baby checks and giving immunizations.  

We recently hosted lunch for all of the missionaries and guests on the mission to a spagetti lunch with homemade bread! It was quite good.

The weather is changing here in Chimala. We are coming out of the rainy season and into the dry season. That means low humity and cool weather. Nice. However, as you know how it goes with weather changes, a few of the girls are suffering from allergies and/or colds from the weather change.

We are going to go on our furlough in October. We have already raised $300 but we need about $12,000 just for plane tickets. We need your help. We would love to come and visit with you, when we are home, about our work here in Chimala. We are prayerfully asking for your assistance with this trip.

Also, we have revived the mission garden. It is in full bloom! It is producing tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelon, and so much more. First, we provide all of the vegetables that the schools need to operate. Afterwards, the missionaries share what is left. The ground is fertile! 

Chimala Mission Update
You can check out the latest Chimala Mission newsletter here.

The Chimala Bible Institute is our 2-year Preacher Training program associated with the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver, CO.  We are very proud of the progress the school has made over the last few years. It is currently one of the largest schools of preaching in the world associated with churches of Christ. They will be finishing up short courses in a few weeks and then head home to be with their families until July -- when they will start up again. We are enjoying the visiting teachers we have with us. Reuben Egwu is a preacher and evangelist from Nigeria. He is also a director of a school of preaching in that country. He is here teaching for two weeks. He has spoken several times at the Chimala B (Mission) church of Christ and has been well received every time. We also have Robert Curry here teaching at CBI. Robert is an old friend of Garry Hill (CBI Dean/BV Coordinator). Robert has a Doctor of Ministry from Harding University and we are quite happy to have him here.

Speaking of preacher training, our 2-year residential program is not the only option for preaching training. In fact, we are looking at branching out into local churches strategically placed in commercial centers of SW Tanzania with our Bible School program. This program will train church leaders in their own community to be effective leaders in their own churches. We would be able to train the educated and employed members of the church who cannot come to a 2 year residential program but would love to be trained more. We are excited about this opportunity to train more men and be effective leaders of our churches.

Anna, my oldest daughter, has been busy whipping the CBI library into shape and preparing it for the books coming on the next container. However, with all of these books, we are in need of shelves. One shelf for our library costs $80 each. We are in need of at least 6 -- maybe more -- to fit all of the current books we have and also the books coming.  

The Chimala Mission Hospital has recently been to the brink of closure and (thanks be to God) we are able to keep it open! The Tanzanian government has a program of free obstetrics care for expectant mothers. They strongly suggested that we come into that program last year. Since that time, the number of mothers giving birth have surged. The life-expectancy of mothers are higher with better care than having their child at home. Meanwhile, the TZ government had agreed to cover the expenses of these mothers but has not even come close to fulfilling their end of the bargain. While we were happy to participate, we could no longer afford to be giving away free medical care, supplies, and medicine. We have had to stop the program a few weeks ago. Since then, the LORD has blessed us! Even though we are now charging for our services again, the number of patients has not stayed the same, but increased! We are now in a much better position financially than we were just one month before. The LORD always knows what is best.

We also have two visitors who are volunteering at CMH for the next few weeks. They are Tony Tsang and Grace Tang. They are fourth year med students from Hong Kong, China. They have been working well at the hospital and enlightened by their experiences at CMH.

The Herring Christian Secondary School is going to be doing mock Form 4 exams this next week preparing for the big test in October. As you may know, HCSS is only 3 years old, so this is our first Form 4 year and exam. There is much that is depending upon the outcome of this exam. We are confident that our students will perform well. We would appreciate your prayers, however, since so much depends upon this exam.

One of the projects we are trying to get started is a fish farm. Tilapia is a popular fish and easy to grow. We are wanting to grow Tilapia here on the mission for several reasons. First, it will provide low-cost, healthy protein for the school children. Second, it will reduce costs for school operation as food (especially meat) is quite expensive. Third, we want to train our preacher students and secondary school students to be able to do this in their own place so that can earn a living.  

The Ailsa Farm project is really setting off at this time. We are preparing to begin a seed nursery on the mountain at Ailsa to start planting trees there in January. We will also plant apple trees as well as avocado trees. This will enable the mission to not only keep the land, but to make it productive and useful again to the mission. We are also looking at regaining our mission presence on the mountain. This is a vital first step. We went up for a land survey last week. On the way up, there were only a few clouds. However, by the time we were ready to come down, the rain was heavy and we slide down almost sideways! It's always an adventure in Chimala.

Our sponsoring church is planning on sending a container to us at this time, however, due to the financial assistance we have been giving the hospital, we are unable at this time to send it. If you could help us out with container expenses, that would be wonderful. On the container, we have personal items, mission supplies, books for CBI, and so much more.  

As the mission is a huge place with so much going on all of the time, we are trying to refocus on the spiritual formation of our employees, students, and missionaries. It is important that we all keep in mind that we are working for the LORD, but we still must maintain a personal relationship with Him. The first step in helping the spiritual formation of our mission family is by encouraging chapel attendance and varying speakers. On the mission, there are 5 chapels that go on each day. We want to encourage spiritual growth by giving a variety of speakers at the chapels around the mission.   

Preaching the Gospel
We visit several congregations in the area. We have been working with one congregation more closely -- the Majombe church of Christ. When we visited there one Sunday morning, there was not a Christian meeting there. We investigated to find that another congregation had been started just down the road due to some of the older members. Since we have been working them, we have had 1 baptism and a few restorations. Also, the church is again meeting on a regular basis. Praise be to God for His good help in that effort. We will continue to work occasionally with them to see that they continue 'spurring one another on in love and good works.'

We are looking at several groups coming to work at the Chimala Mision over the course of the next few months. Oklahoma Christian University will be arriving next Saturday on the mission with plans for VBS and service work around the mission. We are also looking at a group from Harding University Nurses coming in mid-May; Tony Hopper and John Rogers in July; and a campaign group in September from Kentucky. We could use you as well in the work here on the mission if you can come. What benefit is there for short-term mission trips? First, they encourage the local Christians. It is helpful to know that there are other Christians out there besides the ones in your local area. Second, they encourage the full-time missionaries to keep working on the field full-time. Third, they encourage Christians in the states to see the wonderful works that God is doing throughout the world. Fourth, it opens the mind of the short-term missionary to new cultures and experiences that they might not get otherwise. Fifth, they can participate in the Great Commission by helping with evangelism. All in all, it is important for full-time missionaries to maintain the work, but also it is important for short-term missionaries to come and encourage the work with their presence and assistance.

Chad Wagner and family

To see Chad’s report with pictures, please click here.

Along Chimala Trails...

The Chimala Mission has welcomed a new missionary -- Cheryl Bode! She is a nurse from Oklahoma who is going to work with the hospital to raise the standard of care, educate staff and also do mobile clinics in small, rural African villages. She is fitting in well on the mission and we are very happy to have her here.

The Chimala Bible Institute has many new students. One of the new students is a student from Malawi named Alec Billiat. He has been preaching for 19 years and has decided to come to CBI to get some additional training so that he can serve the churches he works with better. In class, he is quite knowledgeable in the scriptures and also a good leader among the students. He is in my NT Greek class and he is doing well.

At the Chimala Mission Hospital, we had a veteran employee retire at a Shirehe (party). He has been cleaning for many years at CMH. He had quite a big day.

We also are going to have a big day on March 19 as the entire Mbeya region will celebrate National Nurse's Day at the Chimala Mission Hospital. Preparations are in full swing as we are expecting a large number of visitors and guests at the hospital. My daughter Anna has been busy painting poles at the hospital and Cheryl and my wife have been cleaning up several areas of the hospital. We have also tore down the old wooden bridge between the hospital and the church building and are replacing it with a new metal bridge.

Also, through the generosity of good Christians in the USA, we were able to purchase 40 new mattresses to replace the old and torn mattresses at the hospital. Thank you very much!

We have several groups coming onto the mission this year. We have three doctors from China coming in mid-April. In May, we have a group from Oklahoma Christian University coming to do VBS's in local villages and also some work around the mission. Also in May, we have a group of nursing students from Harding University who will be working at the hospital. In July, we have Tony Hopper coming to teach on the Beatitudes at the mission and the surrounding area. In August, we will host the Gospel Chariot to do evangelism work area the Chimala area.  

There is some news for those of you who know the history of the Chimala Mission. We are in the process of re-establishing a presence on the Ailsa Farm (just south of the mission on top of the mountain). We will be planting trees and making a new presence where we have not been in quite a while. We will also be rebuilding some of the buildings and cleaning up the area to enable people to live there again. If you have questions, let us know!

Along Chimala Trails
During the pioneer days of the mission here in Chimala, like Guy Caskey and Eldred Echols, they had several young men come from the USA to do the first 'safari for souls' campaigns. Several men worked long and hard to help build several of buildings here on the mission, plant churches, and many other activities here in the Chimala area. In the spirit of those pioneer missionaries, we would like to invite like-minded Christians to come and work with struggling churches, preach and teach, work diligently in personal and public evangelism, help train preachers and teachers, and equip the local leaders with the needed skills to push the churches to the next level in leadership.  

We often have several groups to come to the mission in May and June. However, we would like for you to consider July 2013 for the 2013 Safari for Souls in Chimala. If you are hearing the call, answer it! Let us know if you would like more information on campaign work at the Chimala Mission. Email us at wagner.chada@gmail.com.  

Wagner Family Furlough
The Wagner family is going to go back to the states for a furlough beginning in late October. We will be visiting churches to make reports, raising support, and also visiting family and friends. The cost of plane tickets will be around $12,000 for round trip tickets. We need your assistance to make this trip happen. If you can consider giving as an individual or by encouraging the congregation, you will be helping our family make this necessary trip. If you would like to contribute, let us know!

Chad Wagner

To see Chad’s report with pictures, please click here.

A Great Day In The Wagner Family...

It is a great day in the Wagner family because our 16 year-old daughter Laura decided to put Christ on in baptism. We went down to the Chimala River, climbed into the rushing water, and helped her begin her new life in Christ. Since it is the rainy season, the water in the river was really flowing! We braved the river, however, to have a very memorable day.

Chimala Mission Update
There has been a lot of activity going on at the mission lately. We have welcomed a new missionary named Cheryl Bode. She is a RN from Oklahoma. She is going to be doing mobile clinics and much more. We are very excited about her plan and her dedication. Cheryl is located the second from the right in our updated Chimala team picture. Cheryl has a blog at cherylinchimala.blogspot.com/

We have started a new evangelism plan at the mission using our preacher school students. Our students rotate between hospital evangelism, door-to-door evangelism, market evangelism, school evangelism, etc. Here is a report on their evangelism efforts:

Hello brethren 

Greetings in Christ, 

Its our hope that you are all doing great. We are also fine and the Lord is blessing us daily. Here is our weekly evangelism report done on 15 February 2013.  

On Feb. 15/2013, our evangelism was done in three areas which are as follows.

Mbozi
Mbeya
And Kitekelo

In this work the Lord blessed us with 3 Baptisms and 9 Restorations.

We are very proud of our school because in this evangelistic work, our students are effectively involved. And we have our new programme introduced by Chad.

Every weekend we have 4 students evangelizing the Mbeya City with brother Peter Kamatula.  

Let us keep one another in our daily prayers as we continue to serve the LORD!!!!!

Preaching the Gospel
We visited several congregations lately. We visited the Matebete church of Christ today. It is a primarily Masai congregation in a beautiful location. Following the service, we were treated to a traditional Masai dance group! 

We also visited recently the Majombe church of Christ. When we first visited them, they were not meeting. After looking up the preacher and some of the members, we have been able to get the congregation meeting again. We are sending evangelism teams to Majombe on a regular basis.

Chad Wagner

To see Chad’s report with pictures, please click here.