African Catfish and 4-Inch Cockroaches...

Greetings everyone!

I hope your week has started on the right foot with a good time of Bible study and worship of our God and Father in heaven. It has been an eventful last two weeks for us here at the Chimala Mission. As we anticipated, the Chimala Bible Institute (CBI) began with very few problems and is well on its way for this first six-week quarter. We started with 10 English students and 11 Swahili students, but have added another English student, and expect one more student (from Malawi) to join us very soon. Also, two more young men have enrolled in the Swahili program—one of them from the mountain behind us at the old mission who was baptized just last week! So we have reached our current capacity of 25 total students. We give thanks to God for blessing us with such a great beginning of the year. Here in Tanzania because of the distance and difficulty of travel and communication, it is not unusual for some of our students to arrive a few days late. Welcome to Africa!

While you are experiencing the cold winter month of January in the northern hemisphere, the Tanzanians are having their summer time south of the Equator. Everything is plush and green here as the rains have turned the otherwise dry dusty bush country into a tropical paradise. The farmers have planted their “mashamba” (farms) and are very dependent upon more rains for any hopes of a good harvest. Lately, however, it seems that the rains have slacked quite a bit and are giving some of the famers in the lower warmer elevations some reason for concern. It only takes a couple of days without rains to turn mud into dust. I know the people here would appreciate your prayers for more rain.

As you know, we have enjoyed having our son Seth with us for the first couple of weeks. Also, Jan Tate has been with us working diligently with the laboratory at the Chimala Mission Hospital. She spent many hours trying to get some of the donated lab equipment operational. In addition, she has created and updated a host of laboratory reports and forms—not to mention, she even painted the laboratory waiting room! I don’t believe she anticipated the outdated conditions here, but I know the hospital staff has greatly appreciated her knowledge and expertise. It is amazing to me how the Tanzanians can do so much with so little.

It seems Seth has become the Chimala resident computer specialist as Bill Stinson has sent him all over the mission—from the hospital to the primary and secondary schools—helping to diagnose and update computers, and remove viruses from old and ailing computers. In his ‘spare’ time Seth has also preached, spoken in CBI chapel, lead singing in both Swahili and English, and helped in many other areas. He became very popular around the mission with the CBI students, teaching staff, and kids of the schools.

Today was also a little sad for us as Seth and Jan’s time was up. Saturday night they packed their bags ready for this morning’s long road trip to Dar-es-Salaam. Normally, visitors to Chimala don’t travel on Sundays, but due to scheduling issues it was necessary. We were all up at 5:00 a.m. and met around our dining table with Bill & Cyndi Stinson and Menard Swilla for a brief 5:30 worship. Before daylight, we hugged and said our good-byes praying that they have a safe journey to Dar. Seth and Jan’s Swiss flight is late Monday night with an expected arrival Tuesday evening. Bill, Cyndi and Menard have business to conduct in Dar and should be back at the mission Tuesday evening. Again, your prayers would be greatly appreciated for the many miles of everyone’s travels. It is a little more lonely around here (even with 500 primary students, and over 200 secondary students and 200 staff workers!) without having Seth and Jan around. If all goes well, Seth will be coming back to work full-time at Chimala sometime this summer.

Mary has had a little stomach bug, but is on the mend. She met with us during our little worship early this morning but didn’t make it to the morning service at the big Chimala congregation. Garry Hill preached this morning, and I will be preaching late this afternoon. Mary is staying busy making and delivering gift packets for the new mothers at the Chimala Hospital. These packets include a handmade baby blanket, little diaper shirt, and usually several bottles of shampoo, lotions, toothpaste, etc. She and Cyndi have spent a lot of time also putting together and delivering gift bags for the primary and secondary students (over 700 bags!), and for the students and instructors of CBI. Most of these bags were handmade by ladies from many churches and, depending upon the age group, contain such things as a notebook, pencils, pens, erasure, crayons, glue, hard candy, toothpaste, toothbrush, etc. In addition, Mary and Jan have taught several children’s classes at some of the local Chimala congregations.

My primary work has been teaching and helping to run CBI. With double the student capacity, there are a few more challenges. However, we have not only combined the English and Swahili program but we have also consolidated our teaching staff. A number of our Swahili teachers are former CBC graduates who are now working on their Master’s degree. This is greatly increasing their knowledge and skill as capable instructors for CBI. My classes have included the book of Acts and the book of Job in the English program. Garry Hill, Joshua Mwakyasima, Peter Kamatula, and Bernard Kulanga are also teaching classes. Classes meet Mon – Thurs from 7:30 chapel till 4:00 in the afternoon. Friday is library day and our evangelism committee meeting. We are in the process of organizing our evangelism teams; and I gave an evangelism proposal this past Friday that we hope to put into effect right away.

Well, I didn’t mean to write a book, and I apologize if this report seems somewhat disjointed, but I need to prepare for this afternoon’s lesson. If I have the time to write more details, I’ll try to put together more of happenings here on the mission—you know, things like monkeys, African catfish, 4-inch cockroaches, etc.

Have a great Sunday! 

In His service,
Howell

Arrival In Chimala...

Hello everyone!

I hope this email finds all of you doing well and in good health. Finally after four days, I’m just now able to get on-line to write an email. I just wanted to write a brief note letting you know that Mary, Seth, Jan, Bill and Cyndi, Charlene, Gary, Menard, James, and I all made it safely from Dar-es-Salaam to Chimala. Mary, Seth, Jan, Bill and Cyndi, Charlene, and I landed in Dar Friday night a few hours ahead of Garry; and all of us were met at the airport by Menard and our driver, James. As usual, we spent the night at PCAT and were on the road a little past 5:00 a.m. the next morning. After the long 13 ½-hour road trip, we were most happy to see the Chimala Mission. The mission almost glowed from the vibrant green resulting from the rains. Most of my trips to Chimala have been in the dry seasons; but this was the first time I’ve made the trip in January. While Chimala always has a certain scenic beauty, being here this time is such a contrast to the usual hot and powdery-dry conditions that I’ve seen before. All of us were pretty beat that evening but still enjoyed a meal of chicken-curry and rice at Bill and Cyndi’s house before getting some sleep.

Since this was Jan’s first time to visit the mission and Seth’s first trip back to Tanzania since 2003, all of us decided to worship Sunday morning at the Chimala Mission congregation. Bernard Kulanga preached to a packed house including many of the students of the Chimala Primary School, while I was asked to preach that evening. As of today, Mary, Seth and I are struggling from jet-lag to stay up much past 9:00 p.m. Consequently, we’ve been waking up usually at midnight and ready to get up by 3:00 a.m. Apparently, jet-lag isn’t affecting Jan the same way as she’s been staying up till midnight reading lab machine manuals.

Monday began with the process of finalizing our students for orientation and the beginning of the new year at the Chimala Bible Institute. So far, we have 21 students with a total capacity of 25 students allowed with our current finances. Wednesday starts the first day of class. The classes I’ll be teaching are scheduled on Tuesdays and Thursdays. We’ve had a number of good meetings with the teaching staff. All of them have specific duties involved with CBI besides their normal teaching duties. From all indications so far, they are all doing a great job and seem eager to fulfill their roles. Having Garry here has been a blessing to CBI especially since we’ve combined the former two programs (Chimala Bible College and Chimala School of Preaching) into one program.

Also, having Mary and Seth with me is a great blessing to me personally. Mary has been preparing materials for children’s classes as well as making up gift packets for the new mothers at the Chimala Mission Hospital. Seth is here surveying the mission for possible future mission work. This is a large mission—the lower part of the mission consists of 400 acres with another 350 acres behind the mission on top of the mountains. And there is a lot going on here; so there is a lot to absorb. Bill gave Jan and Seth the grand tour Sunday afternoon—which takes quite a while.

We are just getting started here so I hope to have more to write about at a later time. To some of you I may have written too much, to others not enough. But the main thing was to let you know we have arrived safely, are all doing well, and so glad to be here having the opportunity to serve our Lord and the people of Tanzania in this capacity. We would be glad to hear from any of you and especially ask for your prayers while we’re here as you are in ours. God bless! 

In His service,
Howell Ferguson

Ferguson Report - December 2011

Beginning 2012 with Chimala

(Please note: This month’s report will be the last mailed edition until the end of March. Please contact me if you wish to receive this report by email. Thanks!)

         Yes, I’m saying it again: Another year has flown by so quickly! I just bought another “At-A-Glance” yearly planner to pin on my office wall. I’ll roll-up the 2011 planner and store it with the rest of the old laminated calendars (I keep them for records, etc. – I know, I’m just sentimental).

         The beginning of 2012, however, will be a little different; for the first time since I’ve been working with the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (BVBID) foreign extension preacher-training program, my plans are to go to Chimala for the beginning of the new school year of the Chimala Bible Institute (CBI). 2011 was the first year since 2000, when Mary and I and our three kids moved to Arusha, that I failed to make at least one trip to Tanzania. This time there were circumstances—one of which was we moved—that prevented me from going to Tanzania in 2011; so I’ve decided to give Chimala the first part of the New Year. While it will be the dead of winter here in the states, it will be the middle of Tanzania’s summer.

         Our plans are to leave the States the 12^th of January and return the 13^th of March. Mary will be with me on this trip as she has in most of my recent visits to both Tanzania and Ukraine. Having her with me is a great encouragement and help to me especially for the longer two- or three-month trips that I make overseas. Some people might be wondering, “How do you justify the expense of both of you making these trips?” My response is, “Mary’s my wife.” End of discussion. But I can also add that Mary is a first-rate missionary in her own right: she teaches ladies’ classes, children’s classes, designs her own teaching materials, assists me with administrative duties and records, and does all the other duties that help make places overseas seem more like home. Only if home circumstances or lack of funds otherwise prohibit, I encourage her to go with me on these mission efforts.

            Also traveling with us to Tanzania in January will be a good friend of ours from Troutville, VA: Jan Tate. Jan and her husband, Joe have been great friends of ours and loyal supporters of us as missionaries since 2000. Jan is a Medical Technologist in microbiology and plans to work in the Chimala Mission Hospital as well as participate in evangelism as time permits during her two-week stay. Although I have made multiple pleas over the past several years for people to visit Chimala, Jan will be the first supporter to accompany us on an actual trip to Tanzania.

         Since it is usually more economical to travel in groups to Chimala from Dar es Salaam, there will be a few other people making this same journey to Chimala. Besides Jan, Mary and me, Bill and Cyndi Stinson, Chimala stateside coordinator, will be taking the same flights from Newark, N.J. to Dar. Garry Hill will also be headed for the same destination but on a different air carrier. However, all six of us will arrive in Dar about the same time, and will be making the long road trip together thereby dividing travel expenses. Lord willing, we should arrive at Chimala sometime late Saturday afternoon (14^th). 

         Orientation and the first classes at CBI begin the week of January 16^th. I haven’t received the final numbers yet, but estimates indicate that we will probably have our largest total number of students since CBI’s beginning in 2005. In the recent past, a number of our students came from Malawi; however, now most of the recruiting is being done in Tanzania.

         Classes I am scheduled to teach will include Acts and Job during the first quarter; and during the short courses I will be teaching 1 & 2 Timothy, Titus, and Christian Ethics. In addition to these duties, the evangelism program has been reorganized providing our students with more opportunities to conduct Bible studies in the Chimala and nearby surrounding villages. Each Friday, we will have an opportunity to assist our students in presenting the gospel to people from house-to-house. They will have opportunities weekly to put into practice what they have been learning in the classroom. And, of course, we will have opportunities on Sundays and Wednesdays to visit and preach at local churches.

         Let me take this opportunity to say “thank you” to everyone—churches and individuals—who make these extension schools possible. God has blessed the Chimala Mission for many years. Many souls have been saved and blessed due to the dedication of so many people. You are a blessing! --Howell

Where God Guides God Provides

          I never cease to be amazed at the timeliness and power of God. One of the patterns I have seen in the work of recruiting and maintaining missions funding and resources is the tendency to lose and gain supporters toward the end of the year. This is naturally to be expected as church attendance primarily defines the direction and extent of church budgets. Elders or church leaders do their best to anticipate the future based upon a number of mostly-local social and economic factors and trends.

         The lesson I am in a constant state of learning is that where God guides God provides. As a mere man, however, observing and trying to manage a semblance of financial stability in mission work is like watching a Chinese Ping-Pong match. What appears to me sometimes as fast and furious, cutting, and on the edge is completely and calmly in control before the countenance of God.

            One more time, God through His church has prevented another near-financial collapse of one of His Bear Valley extension schools—the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Ukraine (BVBIU). We now welcome several new supporters to the extension program, some of them monthly supporters and others one-time supporters. I owe a great debt of gratitude to many good and faithful fellow-preachers who have agreed to intercede in behalf of the extension program. In one correspondence to a preacher in a small church who said his congregation was too small to assist in mission work, I kindly reminded him, “Never underestimate your brethren”. I have found that most churches want to help and will help if they truly understand the nature and value of a particular mission effort.

         Yes, whenever we are faithfully adhering to His divine and revealed Word, we will find that God is guiding. Our faith/my faith sometimes becomes a little unsettled when man-made institutions all around us are shaking and in danger of collapsing and God’s works appear at times to be reeling in the same manner. Like you, part of me is flesh and bones and susceptible to the social and economic news of our times. I understand that God sends the sunshine and the rain on the just and on the unjust. Being Christians and conducting Christian endeavors does not guarantee us protection against insolvency. But what God does guarantee us is the ability to overcome and fulfill His will in spite of the crashes and burnings around us through Christ Jesus who overcame every obstacle including death!

          God is not glorified when you and I easily maintain control of all things in our lives. He is glorified when—against all odds and when all my efforts just don’t seem to be enough—God brings fruit in the midst of uncertainty (Phil. 4:19). --Howell

Ferguson Report - November 2011

“What is that in your hand?”

A little boy grew up among royalty with the proverbial “silver spoon in his mouth”. Taught all the splendor and greatness of the Egyptian royalty, he never knew his little Hebrew male birth friends; for they were all thrown to the crocs of the Nile. It was but a few years and the providence of God, however, that this Egyptian prince became a humble Midian shepherd. You know his name: Moses.

Forty years later, God appeared to Moses in a burning bush and gave him the challenge of a lifetime: deliver the Hebrew slaves from Pharaoh’s bondage. After making every excuse in the book, Moses finally argues, “But suppose they will not believe me or listen to my voice; suppose they say, ‘The Lord has not appeared to you’”? That sounds like a reasonable concern, doesn’t it? Some dirty peasant shepherd walks straight through the front doors of Pharaoh’s exquisite palace and demands the release of half of the land’s occupants! That’s quite a bold enterprise. Some kind of an official letter or sealed document—anything proving that Moses is legit would be a nice thing to have with him.

God sends Michael, His mighty angel down to earth and places upon Moses’ shoulders a vibrant mantel that shines like the noon-day sun, a flaming sword of pure gold, and a chariot of fire pulled by two seven-headed fire-snorting horses with angel’s wings. Isn’t that how the story goes? Not quite. Here’s what the Lord says to Moses, “What is that in your hand?” Moses replies simply, “A rod.” (Exo. 4:2)

Nothing fancy, nothing noteworthy, and nothing expensive; only a simple shepherd’s stick. With this rod, however, Moses will present himself before the most powerful man on the planet. Of course, we know how God makes the rod turn into a snake, and we know how Aaron becomes Moses’ speaker. But here is the point with the rod: God wasn’t asking Moses to trust in a wooden shepherd’s staff or anything else of this material world. He wanted Moses’ faith to rest solely in God.

It is not by sword, by might, by wealth or by man’s wisdom that God accomplishes His will. It is by His sovereign resolve and us willingly giving our lives—our all to His eternal purpose. Moses did just that; and by doing so, the power of Almighty God was demonstrated before Pharaoh, the Hebrews, and the whole land of Egypt.

Obviously, I want to try to make application of this story to our lives today. What do we have in our hands? What tools of blessings have God placed in our hands? We live in a depressed economy. Many may have lost jobs and been forced to take jobs making less money. Everything is more expensive and money is worth less.

But let’s be objective. How many of us have been driven from the palace court to herding sheep? None of us have ever experienced the dip in life as that experienced by Moses. We still live in nice homes, drive nice cars, and enjoy our favorite sports and past-times. We don’t seem to be too worried about life. In comparison to what he had in Egypt, Moses had lost it all! (cf. Heb. 11:24-26) Yet, look at the responsibility God placed upon this man’s shoulders. Moses only had a shepherd’s staff. Was that all? Not by a long stretch: Moses had God (cf. Heb. 11:27-30). And through Moses’ faith in God’s power, he overcame obstacles and did things never-before dreamed possible.

What could God accomplish with the “rods” found in our hands? A lot, you think? Maybe not; you see, it’s not the amount or the type of things that really matter. It’s the faith we have in God and our willingness to allow those “rods” to be used mightily to the glory of God.

Our predicament is we all possess many “rods” that are lying idly by while the enslaved world suffers and cries out for deliverance from its taskmaster—Satan! God asks each of us, “What is that in your hand?” and we sheepishly answer, “Oh, that’s mine.” Really? God took everything away from Moses and gave him a measly shepherd’s rod. And then He challenged him to do something great with it. God knew He could accomplish more through Moses as a pauper than as a prince—when Moses knew who really was running the show.

Are we waiting for God to take away all that we have before we realize the purpose of our possessions? “For whoever has, to him more will be given; but whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him” (Mark 4:25). Jesus is obviously speaking of the stewardship of spiritual things, but the principle also applies toward physical things: “He who gathered much had nothing left over, and he who gathered little had no lack” (2 Cor. 8:15). Charles Hodge wrote, “Property is like manna, it will not bear hording”. Remember, God provides the seed for the sower; but He can also take it away (cf. 2 Cor. 9:10).

There have always been many voices in the area of evangelistic missions. For many years I have read and been touched by many pleas for help. I can’t speak for anybody but myself, but it always breaks my heart when I learn that most of these pleas go unheeded. But don’t misunderstand me; my feelings are not for the ones making the pleas, but those for whom the pleas are made.

These are the mission places where the inequity of dollars and personnel-per-person is so striking. Like all American Christians, I enjoy worshipping in nice, warm/cool comfortable buildings. I love having many preachers, elders and faithful Christians living around me. I’m happy for the prosperity and gladness of brothers and sisters in Christ. But I’m troubled because I also know there are people—just as precious and loved in God’s sight—that are forgotten.

I’m not a prophet or the son of a prophet, but I would question the permanency of our current contentment to which we have for so long become accustomed. “Will God continue to bless America?” is a question worth our utmost attention. I’m not trying to create “class-envy”; but if we who have of this world’s abundance are unwilling to fulfill the spiritual pleadings of a spiritually-depraved world, we should not be surprised to find ourselves one day holding nothing more than a stick in our hands.

Must God bring us to such an economic state before we finally wake-up to the reality of His commission: “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to every creature”?

In behalf of our students at BVBIU in Gorlovka, Ukraine, I continue to be one of those missionaries that make a plea for help. As long as there is the need, I will continue to be their voice; because there is no one else representing them. If you complain and become weary of my plea, I will absorb it, but I will not cease to be their voice. If you are ready to use the “rod” that is in your hand, please contact me. --Howell

Ferguson Report - October 2011

Training While We Can

This morning I was thinking about the work of the BVBID extension program and took a few minutes to look at a large map of the world I have on my office wall. As I glanced at the various locations of our 16 extension schools, I couldn’t help but notice the strategic location of our extension school in Gorlovka, Ukraine (BVBIU). It is right in the middle of two of the most influential regions of the world—Europe and Russia! In fact, culturally and politically Ukraine is in a tug-of-war between the opposing forces of two of the most powerful influences on this earth. And right there in the mix is the Lord’s church.

Ukraine – a strategic location for the spread of the gospel of Christ into Europe and Russia.

In the Oct. 31^st, 2011 issue of STRATFOR entitled: “Russia: Rebuilding an Empire While it Can”, Lauren Goodrich observes that expansion of its borders (empire-building) has historically been Russia’s means of securing itself due to a lack of natural borders like that of other major world powers. Goodrich further states that the recent actions of Prime Minister Vladimir Putin to seek a return to the presidency in 2012 are intended to “formalize [Russia’s] relationship with former Soviet states by creating a Eurasia Union (EuU)”. 

Political jockeying between the United States and Russia will come to a showdown in 2015 when the Kremlin plans to have the EuU fully formed, according to Goodrich. Combining a new version of the Russian empire with undistracted U.S. influence with former Soviet states, he believes, will lead to a new version of the Cold War—but short-lived. This explains another reason for Putin’s actions. Goodrich cites deteriorating demographics for Putin’s push for re-establishing a Russian empire. With a much higher death-rate than birth-rate and a losing battle against drugs (Russia is the world’s leading consumer of heroine, with 2.5 million drug addicts, according to the Russian Health Ministry), Putin is trying to strengthen and secure Russia before its demographics weaken it; since, as Goodrich says, “no country can be a global power without people”.

While there are obvious differences in the two countries, there are also many similarities between what is happening in Russia and in Ukraine—especially eastern Ukraine. In a previous issue of the Ferguson Report, I stated my concern of young people leaving Ukraine by the droves for the “greener pastures” of the west because of deplorable social and economic conditions. While one cannot necessarily blame them, this only exacerbates the demographic troubles shared also by Russia. Drug addiction, alcoholism, and a general break-down of the family are also a very common reality in Ukraine. In addition, with the last Ukrainian presidential election in 2010, a pro-Russian president, Viktor Yanukovych (from the eastern oblast of Donetsk), was sworn into office.

If I can move from my political analysis to a more spiritual analysis of the situation; I would have to make this conclusion: whatever happens in the next generation to Russia will greatly affect Ukraine. For the last few years, American teachers we have sent to teach in BVBIU have experienced practically no difficulty at all entering and working in Ukraine. I have heard the horror stories of those who came previously, but those days are past. At the present time, we are teaching students with no restrictions as to the content of our curriculum. New Testament Christianity is for-all-practical-purposes unshackled in the places we go to teach and preach. But I think we are naïve to think that it will always be so.  

Those old enough to remember only have to think back at the time when it was illegal to own a Bible in the former Soviet Union. We may never know the suffering people experienced who were found to own a copy, or to dare profess faith in Jesus Christ. When the USSR dissolved, the people were starving to get their hands on God’s Book—formerly considered contraband. When news got out that the “iron curtain” had fallen, there was rejoicing that finally God’s word was no longer barred in those countries. Christian individuals and even families made decisions to become missionaries to these countries. Hundreds were baptized, and churches were established.

But as the newness of God’s “good news” became more common and easier to access, the reception also became less frequent. It is at this point that I am the most concerned. First, I am concerned that fewer people have the healthy spiritual hunger and thirst of former days. But secondly, I am concerned that some of my own brethren who are too-often geared toward “visual results” will be too short-sighted to see the benefit of long-term mission efforts. Throwing-in-the-towel at such a critical period of Euro-Russian history would be, in my opinion, nothing short of spiritual negligence. Whatever direction Ukraine goes (nobody really knows), there is one thing for sure: the churches of Christ can survive regardless of what political direction the country goes. BVBIU simply must continue to exert its influence of sound Biblical teaching and training to faithful men and women (2 Tim. 2:2).

As I look toward the map on my wall, I see the only preacher-training school we of the Bear Valley Bible Institute have in Europe or in any other place in that part of the world. Two of the greatest influences in the world—Europe and Russia—teetering on what may very well become an earth-shaking event of seismic proportions—and BVBIU is poised smack dab in the middle! If we don’t hear God knocking on our door loudly, I don’t know how else He could get our attention. “‘These things says He who is holy, He who is true, “He who has the key of David, He who opens and no one shuts, and shuts and no one opens: I know your works. See, I have set before you an open door, and no one can shut it; for you have a little strength, have kept My word, and have not denied My name’” (Rev. 3:7-8).

Undoubtedly, Satan has attacked our efforts with indifference in receptivity. That is to be expected (cf. 1 Cor. 1:26-31). But the door is open—God has opened it; we have a little strength. May we not lose faith in our purpose to keep teaching as He rules in the shakable kingdoms of men (cf. Heb. 12:25-29).

In last month’s report, I indicated that BVBIU had lost some of its financial support. I have been diligently trying to re-coop that lost amount by recruiting new supporters and encouraging existing supporters. It is my conviction that to a very large degree, the future spiritual direction of Ukraine as well as much of Europe and Russia rests in the hands of those of us who support BVBIU. Brethren, no one else is doing what we do best! Can you help?   Howell