First Time Visit To Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sister here. We are pleased to know that you are doing great and we are here to relate information about what is making news here in the work in Cameroon.

Brother Randy Martin stood on our pulpit this day to teach a Bible class. He taught on the topic Imagery in Scriptures. It was great and many asked questions to help their understanding. It was powerful.

The weather is still poor as many are still sick because of weather conditions. Keep us in your prayers.

Keep our children in your prayers, as our children will start another academic year tomorrow. We prayed for them and we wished them a great school year.

CBIW is moving on well. The students finished their long course exams for the third quarter. Tomorrow morning they will start a short course in the book of 1st Corinthians. Brother Randy Martin is already here and we praise God for the safe travel. This is his very first time to Cameroon.

Last week the CBIW students wrote their exams for the third quarter. The exams went on without any problem.

The work in Ediki continues to grow. The Lord added one soul there, and the Lord added two souls in the Wotutu congregation this week, brother Richard Buya and brother John Leke.

The young congregation in Batoke also is witnessing growth, from 6 worshippers last week to 16 that worshiped today. We praise God for His great work being accomplished here in Cameroon. Minister Opel needs to move there and we shall be sending CBIW students on the weekend to help.

Plans
All our students will soon leave Wotutu to other villages for mission work. We may not send our students to some areas now, because of the rains. It will not be easy for them to penetrate those areas during this season. Keep them in your prayers.

Appreciations
Many thanks to you for allowing God to use you help the work here. God will bless you and reward you. Share our work with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

The Mission Of God...

The week ahead is always a highlight in the year for the staff of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver and the Extension staff. Beginning this Friday morning we will share in a time of retreat at the Eternal Purpose Retreat Center near Denver. The staff all come together to spend a weekend of sharing news about the work in each area of their ministries. During this time we will also examine areas where we can grow and improve our approach to the work for the future.

This time together also serves the purpose of helping build up and encourage each other as we begin another school year in Denver and learn about God’s work throughout the world. The theme of this year’s retreat is “The Mission of God,” based on the text of Genesis 12:1-3. We will learn from each other about God’s mission as it was promised to Abraham, fulfilled in Christ, and applied to us today. I look forward to reporting about the success of our time together.

This week also brings reports from the various extension schools concerning ways God is blessing the efforts of staff and students around the world. There is also encouragement found in learning how God is giving the increase to the preaching and teaching of the gospel. The dedication of these students to learn and then practice what they are learning helps us all witness how mighty our God is and how true He is to His word.

The news will provide a positive light in the midst of a dark and negative world. Thank you for taking time to read through the reports that have been provided. You will be grateful for the time invested in learning about these special works.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Extension Reports 

Growing And Planning For More Growth: As the church continues to experience growth in Cameroon, staff and students are planning to reach more with the gospel.

Campaign Brings Souls To Christ In Nepal: A recent campaign to visit graduates in Nepal witnessed four souls added to the Lord’s kingdom.

Project Safe Water: Amidst the many avenues of outreach in Cambodia, providing safe drinking water is one way to open doors to share the message of the gospel.

17 Men Are Prepared To Begin Studies In Togo: In unique fashion, CBS is planning to begin classes with several denominational leaders in hopes of bringing them to the Lord.

The Word Produces Restoration: A brother in Christ who left the faith was restored through the power of God’s word preached near Arusha, Tanzania. 

Final Thoughts
Please be praying for the staff who will be traveling to Denver this week for the retreat. Thank you for all you do to help this work continue to enjoy success. We are all aware of how much this work depends on God working through you to bless its development. Our prayer is that God will bless you richly for your efforts in the kingdom. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

The Word Produces Restoration...

Greetings Fellow Servants,

We greet you with thanksgiving and joy in knowing we are working together for the purpose of saving lost souls. We are always mindful that we are here because God’s cares and because you care enough to prayerfully support this amazing work of God. Our brother Josephat Massawe, graduate of the Andrew Connally School, Director of the Moshi Bible School, Evangelist for the Kilimanjaro congregation, Instructor at the ACSOP, Servant of God reports the following; 

...“For the  word of God is living and active and sharper than any two- edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart (Hebr 4:12).” Christian Soka was baptized in 2006 into the Lord’s church and since then he has occasionally been attending church service.

Last Sunday I was scheduled to preach, and my message was entitled “A sin of silence.”  When I concluded my sermon after invitation song Christian remained standing and said that he had something to confess before the congregation. He sorrowfully apologized for not being able to regularly attend services as well as for witchcraft  and magic satchel that was handed over to him as reward by a German occultist after passing an onerous and horrible test. He said the satchel comprised of various  magic amulets for different purposes.

He said he could use magic herbs and other superstitious staffs, for manipulation of supernormal forces through the use of spells and the invoking of spirits. Christian now acknowledges that there is a being above the supernormal being and the power above the supernormal forces. He said he lived in wretchedness and his heart couldn’t withstand the power of the word of the true God the creator of heaven and earth.

He is now experiencing the blessing instead of the magic good fortune amulets that gave him unfulfilled future hope success. The members at Kilimanjaro were rejoicing with angels in heaven while witnessing Christian showing the true and penitent confessing attitude by destroying and burning all superstitious and witchcraft charms after Sunday worship service.”

The power of the Gospel in the hands of a faithful servant of God is really an amazing combination. Our brother Isaac Kusupa was blessed during the Safari for Souls campaign when his 80 year old father obeyed the Gospel. His father went back home and began teaching others. He called Isaac this past week to say he had taught 12 others who wanted to worship God in Truth and in Spirit. Isaac instructed his father how to conduct worship and that they did. Isaac will travel to his father’s home in order to teach the 12, please pray for him and his efforts this week.  

We thank all who have committed and are helping us with God’s work by supporting students at the ACSOP. We needed 15 commitments, we have 11 confirmed with two possibles, leaving us with a need of only two more. We trust our God and we trust our Christian family that in the end we will have what need. 

Update: I personally thank everyone who has sacrificially given that I might come to the States in October to report on the good work God is doing here in East Africa. I now have enough raised to get me to Detroit! :) 

We close with a huge thank you and a reminder, I still have a couple of openings if you are interested in hearing the Good News of the Gospel’s affect in East Africa in October.

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie, and Granny

17 Men Are Prepared To Begin Studies In Togo...

17 men have applied to CBS
These prospective students are from the Church of Christ and the following denominations: NewApostolic, Presbyterian, Redeem Church, ChinHai, Micsa, New Covenant Baptist, Church of Pentecost, SDA, House of Holy Spirit and Fire.

Catholic Priest to attend CBS
Barry Baggot informed CBS that he has a prospect in Burundi who has expressed the desire to attend CBS. This man, as I understand, is a Catholic Priest and a lecturer in one of the Universities.

Students prepare for final exams
CBS students have been seriously preparing for their final exams in August.

Good News
I am glad to inform you that all the 15 CBS students are now baptized. When we started this class in September of 2011, only four members of the Church of Christ were present.

However, we feel fulfilled because our mission is accomplished. We find our strategy working as we have planned enrolling denominational “Pastors” and leaders and converting them to Church of Christ within a period of two years, not only converting them, but training them to renounce denominationalism and accepting New Testament pattern of Christianity, above all becoming Church of Christ preachers. You can partner with CBS by deciding to support a preacher with a $100.00 or more each month. Contact me if you can help. Let us encourage them to preach the WORD.

Nyiveme Church Christ organized a 3 day seminar on Marriage and the Christian Home.
Some of the topics discussed during the seminar included: preparation for marriage, responsibilities of husbands and wives, who is the head of the home, dealing with in-laws and step children, and resolving marital conflict.

The 11 resource persons included: Nine students, one instructor and one former student.
There were about 80 in attendance during each session.

Baptism
Mr. Aluka, until recently was a member of the Jehovah Witnesses and the director of a college in Hanyigba near Kpalime.

Brother Aluka has been using his influence as the director of the college to lead other teachers and students to study with the Church of Christ. He has been able to convince 13 of his friends from the Jehovah Witness to start a regular class with the principal of CBS-Cephas. It is our prayer that God will touch their hearts to respond to the gospel soon.

What God is doing with our Former Students
Location / Preacher / Baptism 

Noepe  /  Selorm   /  6
Akepe  /  Yaovi  /  7
Keve   /  Foli  /  5

Sanguera Gidigidi has a congregation of 44 members.

Meeting with students
During my recent visit to Kpalime, I was informed that the students would like to meet with me. I knew what their concerns were prior to the meeting. When the time finally came and I walked into the classroom, I saw some signs of mixed feelings written all over their faces. They were happy to be completing their two years of study, but afraid of what the future holds for them. I remembered the disciples asking Christ “we have given up everything to follow you, but now what is in it for us?”

One student said when he informed the wife that his support ends after the graduation, she quickly took the kids and left for her parents. I had to encourage them to ‘hang in there’ until such a time that God responds to their impending plight. Brethren, it is not easy looking into the faces of these men and telling them that I don’t know how they will survive with their wives and kids. Some have left the denomination, their jobs and their sources of income to spend two years to prepare to preach. However, I informed them that we shall assist them in any church planting exercise if they call on CBS to do so.

Willie Gley

Project Safe Water...

Brethren,

Hopefully, this letter will find you well and staying healthy to serve our God. I would like to thank God first of all. Then, I would like to thank you all for the work you are doing for Him.

Sorry for not writing to you for a period as my previous email got some messed up, something which I don't know what's wrong with it. I lost all the email addresses but thank to brother Wes that he could sent me some of your email addresses.

I just want to share with you about the work of the church in Siem reap. Recently our church has been doing some good things with benevolence. We have helped the camp for the school to the beach, support some funds to two new families that planned to move to a new house which is still in Siem Reap.

We also support to the project of The Safe Water, by helping with some funds to buy some safety jackets for children who live along the lake.

Tomorrow, which is Friday, we will have a camp for our church in Siem Reap. Please pray for us as we are also looking to do the camp at Leang Dai on Saturday and Sunday. We pray that through the camp we will convert some people to Christ.

Please continue to pray for Cambodia as recently we just voted for a new prime minister, but we still don't know the results yet as they are still debating for their advantage. Otherwise, our government is trying to gather the police and army in Phnom Penh while the protest party informed everyone they will have a political demonstration. Many people are concerned that the violence can happen if the demonstrations rise up.

Concerning our permit for the building, because of the election, now we don't know what is going on, so we just wait to see if they have any change of their political agendas so that we can get our permit easily. 

All in all we are doing alright and we are looking forward to report to you more later. 

In Christ service
Chann

Campaign Brings Souls To Christ In Nepal...

Respected brothers and sisters in Christ.

Namaste and greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. I do hope that you all are doing fine with your family members. 

Campaign week:
We made final camp last week. We spent time with Ramesh Majhi, Ezekiel, Abraham, and Chandra Prakash's home congregations. The climate is so hot. The normal heat temperatures were 37 degrees Celsius. We could not conduct class for the whole day. After class we had to go for a natural river bath to cool. But, we also did our best. We had time to talk with our graduate students at Makwanpur. We talked about our graduation program, new students' selections, youth program, and new class beginning. Wherever we went present students taught the class. I was observing and evaluating their teaching and preaching skills. They are improving much more than before. Four souls were baptized at Kakiktar, Tanahu district. Three of them were sons and daughters of Chandra. Brother Chandra Prakash is the leader of that local congregation.

We will begin our regular class from Tuesday. We are a little tired from our journey. 

Thank you all of your prayer and love.
Servant of Christ….Gajendra Deshar

See a series of pictures below:

Growing And Planning For More Growth...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon. Your brothers and sisters are better in health. We praise God and we thank you for your prayers.

In Ediki this week, the Lord added brother Daniel Tekwe. Please keep him in your prayers to grow and also help in many ways in the development of the church.

The week went on well at CBIW. Rain is still in its peak here as rain falls all day long; day after days. We do hope you are doing great over there with your family and the church.

This weekend we went out again to Ediki, as we continue to nurture the young revived congregation. Some students went to Batoke Village for the establishment of the church of Christ in that west coast community. By the grace of God the new congregation was established. We don’t have pictures to that event because there was no camera there.

The new congregation started worshiping today with 6 members. One of our graduates from the alpha batch, evangelist Opel, was part of it. We remain there and continue to serve as he moves from his previous location because of ill health. Keep this work in your prayers as we shall continue to send our students there weekly for weekend evangelism to help the congregation grow.

Some CBIW students traveled to Ediki Village involved in evangelism. The work in Wotutu continues to grow and more brethren, who had fallen away, are coming back to the Lord with happiness because there are people who can preach to them. Above 40 worship, and as we move house to house we continue to discover many who were members and are willing to come back. Keep praying.

My wife and I, along with some members of our congregation, went to the Buea congregation for a seminar for married people. It was good for two days.

Plans
1) Our students will commence their long course exams tomorrow. Please keep them in your prayers.

2) After the short courses, our students will travel to many locations again for campaign.

3) Students will have short courses and elder Randy Martin will be in Cameroon, by His grace, to teach from the book of 1 Corinthians. Keep him in your prayers.

Appreciations
God bless you for all that you are doing for the work here. Only God will reward you for all that you do. We thank you and you are in our prayers.

Please do your best to share this report with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Guiding And Blessing Growth In The Kingdom...

How mighty and how awesome is our God. He has provided our physical blessings so abundantly, it can often become difficult to see the spiritual blessings that have and continue to be given through Jesus Christ our Lord. Each week provides a continual reminder of the power of God as it works through His people around the world. Through the message being preached souls are being saved and Christians are encouraged. Nothing compares to the opportunity of being involved in the greatest work on earth.

The new class in Denver is growing in knowledge and wisdom from the classes they are studying. However, most encouraging is the fact that all the classes in Denver bring an great amount of knowledge and wisdom they already possessed before coming to school. Their experience and previous study in the word of God brings a great richness to the development of the class. It makes it exciting to be in the classroom as we learn together.

Also, the same wealth of knowledge and wisdom is being demonstrated by students around the world who are involved in the same work. A number of short course instructors are traveling to teach in some of the various schools we are privilege to partner with in training men to preach the gospel. There is a great joy that comes from hearing about the students in the extension program who are using their knowledge and wisdom to lead in the church.

So, if you enjoy learning about how God is working through His people, then sit back for a few minutes and read the wonderful news of God’s hand guiding and blessing the growth of the kingdom around the world.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Donnie Bates can be read here.

Extension Reports 

The Church Continues To Grow In Cameroon: Students continue to be used by the Lord to evangelize each weekend and, as a result, the church is growing.

Mobile Clinics In Chimala - The Wagner Report: From mobile clinics to preaching the gospel; the work in Chimala continues to influence others.

North India Preachers’ Lectureship Is Fruitful: In the midst of the personal health challenges facing the Gill family, a recent lectureship proved to be fruitful.

14 Souls Added In Ghana: A recent campaign conducted by staff from the West Coast School of Preaching witnessed God giving the increase.

“The Christian Home” Lectureship In Nigeria: The 13th annual lectureship in Nigeria is laying the foundation for the future of the home.

Seeking And Saving The Lost In East Africa: The reports out of Arusha continue to be astounding. The power of God’s word is incredible to read about. 

Final Thoughts
What is truly amazing about how God is working around the world is the fact He is working through each of you to help this work continue to grow. You are such a blessing to everything that is being done. The sacrifices you make to be involved, no matter what the level, is making a difference in the world. Thank you! Until next week...

God bless
Bob

North India Preachers' Lectureship Is Fruitful...

Dear Brothers and sisters, 

I apologize for being so late in writing, but you are always a part of our ministerial work as well. 

After hosting the North India Preachers’ Lectureship in Chandigarh, things have been very busy. In March we were expecting our Pakistani relatives, who were coming after 66 years of the partition. We were very excited to see them, but somehow they could only manage to come at the end of March. After they left, Brother Jerry and Paula came. During their stay, Benu had some doubt about a lump a in her breast. She was very much concerned about that and it concerned us all. We were looking for a right person to tell us what to do. We went to a Gynecologist and she advised Benu to go to see a surgeon who could guide in a better way. He took a small piece of the lump and sent it to a laboratory for further investigation. After the doubtful report, the next couple of months kept us busy and tense till she had the mastectomy (MRM). After the mastectomy, the hospital frightened us by saying that the slides were to be sent for further investigation as the doctors were not sure about the report they received. 

It took a long while and in between they started chemotherapy as they did not want to take risk and further delay in chemo, but after knowing that the fish report is 2.8 (i.e., Her2 positive), the doctor suggested that this cancer is more aggressive and needs extra treatment. Even though he says that the size of the post operated tumor was very small this type of cancer is dangerous. 

Now the picture is entirely changed. Earlier the oncologist was saying only 4 cycles of chemo may be given, but after the report came he concluded that now Benu will be having 6 cycles of chemo (2nd already done this Thursday) with the additional 17 doses (approximately 1 year) of the medicine to block Her2 cell after every 21 days. 

Since this was the double dose, as she missed it in first cycle, it cost us $2,650. Otherwise the next 4 doses will be of $2,000 each. After that it will be cheaper by about $500 a cycle. Since next month there will be 2 cycles (September 5 and 26), we will need to pay the medical bills of about $4,000. This is a year long process in which we will need a total of about $25,000 during the year. I think if you are contributing some, please send it to the bank in the name of the CHURCH OF CHRIST so that it can be used in time. If it is wired, it takes hardly 3 days to transfer into our account. If you would like to have this information, please write an e-mail to Bob Turner at bturner@bvbid.org. If you can use this, it could be of great help.

Our efforts in spreading the Gospel have not affected with that. A brief report of our activities can tell a lot. 

Every first Wednesday we have a gospel meeting in Chandigarh. We hire a hall and invite people to come. Dinner is provided to those who attend. Sometimes the dinner is from us and sometimes someone else provides that. It is being done for the past 2 years. Sometimes, new people come and sometime regular, but it has become our routine to continue, come what may. Our next meeting comes on September 4, just a day before we have to go for the chemo. 

We have students from Punjab, Orissa, Chhattisgarh, Sikkim, Andaman and Bihar. I was expecting from Pune, Maharashtra as well, but we are still waiting for them as they have their own family problems.  

16 people obeyed the Lord at different places. 

187 complete Bibles were distributed apart from the regular 2,500 TfT books each month.

340 Song books 

5,000 Truth for today books (Seeking a Better life, Hindi, that includes NT) distributed in India.

Printed and distributed Vol. 3, 4 of the Voice of Truth (Hindi). We print 5,000 copies at a time. 

Small tracts and booklets in Hindi and Punjabi languages are sent to the preachers of India.

Printing Bible correspondence course (27 Chapters with 262 pages of course and questions) in Hindi for the Hindi speaking people. We have printed 2 chapters already and working on the print the 3rd and 4th chapters as well. We may start online courses also. 

Thank you and God Bless

In Christ 
Earnest 

Seeking And Saving The Lost In East Africa...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

We pray our God is working in your personal and collective lives both in and out of the church. We thank you for your prayers. He is answering in a most powerful way here in East Africa. 

What a joy it is to see the hand of God working through His dedicated and faithful workers. August is proving to be a very busy time for the Gospel in East Africa. Our brother Isaac Kusupa (one of our graduates) along with others conducted a Gospel campaign in Mwanza two weeks ago. The churches of East Africa gathered together in central Kenya for the annual East Africa Gospel Meeting. Through these efforts, God was glorified, the Gospel preached and God has given the increase with several obeying the Truth of His Word. 

When I think of the servant Paul, the good God was able to do through him in the first century, I stand in awe of God’s power to transform lives to the furtherance of the Gospel. I could not help but think of Paul, his life and his work in the Kingdom, when I met with our dear brother Yusuph Mdaki this week.

He reports: “The works of God continue to grow in number and spiritually. The Ushirombo congregation along with eight others are doing well, blessed by our Lord. We thank the Lord for four new congregations that have begun this year at; Katoro, Nyamigota, Mganza and Nsumve. In total 14 souls have obeyed the Gospel. 

Our biggest challenge is two fold; 1) our brothers and sisters are in desperate need of a place to meet, learn God’s Word and to worship Him in Truth and in Spirit. Because these locations are not in big cities, they could have a proper place of worship for as little 15,000/- ($10) per month. 2) Our second biggest challenge is trained evangelist to work with these new babies in Christ. 

We have two who will graduate this year, this will be a big help for me who am working with 12 congregations personally. We also have four men willing and able to join the Andrew Connally School of Preaching if the sponsorship is there for them to do so. Our dear brother Amos is doing a great work at Lulembela. They now have 45 believers worshiping in the very young church of our Lord. We thank you at the ACSOP for his training and for the man of God he is becoming. The congregation has made and burnt all the bricks they need for a proper worship hall, now they need help with a roof, please help this brother and the Lord’s church. God May Bless All In Christ, Yusuph.”

Being part of God’s family is such a blessing. Can we help these brothers and sisters be the family of God they desire to be? Please prayerfully consider there “Selfless” request.

Good News; I now have enough promised for my travel expenses needed in October to get me to Ethiopia! :) I realize there are many financial challenges facing many in the Church, many opportunities to serve, but I do plead with you to help that I might continue sharing the good being done in the Church in East Africa with others, that they in turn might have an opportunity to support and join a team of workers with a desire to Seek and Save the Lost! 

Thank you all and may our God continue to be with you, bless you and challenge you to go the “second mile” in His service. I am booking appointments for October, but still have a few openings, please let me know if your congregation, elders, or mission committees, might be interested in a report on the Tanzania 2000 mission effort. 

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

"The Christian Home" Lectureship In Nigeria...

Dear fellow soldiers of Christ,

Greetings from Nigeria! The SWSE students, board and foundation members were well represented in the 13th annual Bible lectureship held from August 6-9 centered on “The Christian Home.” The four day program was attended by over 1,000 brethren and friends from all part of our great country-Nigeria. That four day program cost the WNCC over N2,000,000= ($13,000) for feeding the participants, rent of chairs and so on.

On Saturday of August 10, I was one of the panel of justice at a day Bible Discussion organized by church of Christ, Kemta Idi-Aba in Abeokuta Ogun State where we have a Bible discussion with over fifteen denominational pastors on The Old Path!

On Sunday of August 11, I taught the lesson - 8 on EFFORT (Lk.5:1-7) in continuation of our Internal Bible Lectureship which centered on Walking With God while brother Samuel Olawale Oladokun, one of the year 2 students of SWSE Ibadan admonished the church on “What is Your Culture? Attendance was 52 with total collection of N2,900=

On Sunday evening at Oro in Kwara State, I and brother David Akinola followed up on some WBS students of Sister Faye Bach and West Olive congregation, Peoria, AZ between 7:00 am to 9:00 pm at Iludun-Oro.

Brethren, the Southwest School of Evangelism, Ibadan begins first semester classes today with 22 students in Year 1 and 10 in year 2. We hope to reduce the number of the students by October  ending after the 1st semester examination to 22 in Ibadan main campus in line with our 2013 / 2014 budget.

The Southwest School of Evangelism, Ibadan began a computer training program for ten of our year 1students at the  main campus on Thursday, August 15, 2013 from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm. The instructor will be working part time with the school every Thursday and Friday of the week.

Brethren, the SWSE-Ibadan campus will began the campus church this past Lord's day, the 18th of August, 2013 and brother Abraham Idu Yeje, one of the year 2 students of the school will be serving as the campus minister.

All is now set for the inauguration of Master's program at SWSE-Ibadan by Bear Valley Bible Institutes of Denver, Colorado, USA and our August visitor, brother Gary Allen Fallis, who is the director of the Bear Valley Extension Master’s program will be teaching the eight SWSE instructors and some of the students with BSC holder and Advance Diploma certificate in Biblical Studies from any of the Bible Schools organized by members of the churches of Christ and with at least five years experience as a gospel minister. The Book of Hebrews and Scheme of Redemption will be taught from August 19 to 30, 2013, Lord's willing.

Beloved, we appreciate your great contribution toward the speed of the sound doctrine in Africa and the world as a whole! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint efforts in Christ name, Amen.

I remain yours in His grace as a servant,

Makinde E.Olufemi (Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos satellite campus, Nigeria

14 Souls Added In Ghana...

Dear Brethren,

We set off for another gospel campaign last week Monday for a town called Yeji in the Northern part of Ghana. We were 9 gospel preachers. We tried all efforts to see if somebody would give us his car to go for this mission, but to no avail, and due to that we had a lot of difficulties regarding our transportation to and fro.  We decided to go for a commercial vehicle, that is, to join other passengers who were travelling along our destination. In fact, it was a very long trip we have ever made as long as our evangelistic campaigns are concerned.

The car took off around 7:00am on Monday and we reached our destination at 8:30pm. Although, we were supposed to start the preaching that night but due to some circumstances beyond control, we could not. The following morning, we went into houses and taught the gospel, and then in the night, we went to their car station where we could get people in their numbers to preach to them the gospel. We assembled our public address system and preached on God’s plan of salvation. That was preached by Brother Daniel Arthur. We were supposed to go with our own public address system but since we did not have our own car for the trip and considering the distance involved, we left the preaching equipments behind, and this indeed did cost us so much. That is, the local church that we visited did not have these machines, and so we had to go and hire some. They too did not have lights, and so we had to preach in darkness throughout the entire program. The only light we could get was a torch light that we could used to read the Bible. Even if we could buy electrical bulbs, there was no money to buy electrical cables.

The following morning, we continued with our house to house teaching. In the night too, we went to continue with the night preaching. And the topic we preached about was “The New Testament Church, which was preached by Brother Philip Nyan.

On Thursday morning, a certain denominational (Church of God )member living in the house where we were lodging handed to us tracts entitled, “Is the Sabbath only for Jews?” And “Did Christ break the Sabbath?” In fact, these tracts were in short, arguing in favor of the keeping of the Sabbath today by Christians. So we decided that this gentleman should go and call us his pastor to come and explain things to us. And for that matter, we decided to abandon the house to house preaching that day and spend all our time on the man. The man came, and he did not know we are members of the Church of Christ. Neither did his member also disclose our identity to him, for the fact that, if he had known us to be members of the Lord’s Church, he would not even come let alone to study with us. We gave him the opportunity to teach us. And the first point he established was that according to Gen. 2: 2,3 and Mark 2:27-28, the Sabbath was given to mankind to observe it, and so it has been kept since the time of Adam and Eve until our time. After this point was made, he allowed us to ask questions. And I quoted two scriptures (Psa. 147: 19-20; Deut. 5: 1-3) for him to explain to us in relation to his point. And after pinning him with questions we spent about two hours on only Ps. 147: 19-20 including a reference to Amos 3: 1-2, he finally admitted that although, there were many nations on earth, but the Ten Commandments including the Sabbath were given only to the Israelites. Praise be to God!

In fact, due to that, there was no need to read Deut. 5: 1-3. But also made a second point that when Christ came He observed the Ten Commandments and by so doing expected Christians to observe them. Based on that he insisted we leave the Old Testament pages and go into New Testament for proofs. In fact, that was very disaster for him. I quoted 2Cor. 3: 6-18, and this time, I did not allow him to do any explanation. But after reading and explaining only verses 6 and 7 in connection with Exod. 34, this man admitted again that the Ten Commandments that were given through Moses is no more binding on Christians, but now we have a New Ten Commandments written on our hearts. Based on that conclusion, I started teaching him on the gospel of Christ, but all of a sudden this man got up from his seat and started hitting a Bible that belongs to one of my colleagues on a table, saying that, he will continue to keep the Ten Commandments and if at the coming of Christ, He condemns him to hell, he will go! What? This actually told us, the truth was indeed getting into the pastor but there was a struggle within the heart between the truth and the false doctrine he had believed all these years.

From there, we went out and fortunately for us another sabbatarian pastor fell into our hands (Seventh-Day Adventist). We started a conversation with him, and by so doing, I pinned him between Exod. 20: 8-11 and Lev. 16:29-31. My first question was, “Why is it that the Bible mentions three types of Sabbath, but the Adventists have chosen only one and left the others?” He told me there was only one Sabbath that God speaks of in the Bible, which is, “The Seventh Day Sabbath” (Exod. 20: 8-11). I proved to him, that was false and quoted Lev. 16: 29-31 and Lev. 25:1-7). Based on that, I asked my second question, “Why is it that God uses “forever” for both Exod. 20: 8-11 and Lev. 16: 29-31, but all that the Sabattarians talk about is that of Exod. 20: 8-11?” In fact, in trying to explain himself, he disgraced himself in the presence of his member that was there, but time will not permit me to say everything.

In short, what we did that day with these pastors converted two members from the Church of God.On Thursday evening, brother Daniel Duah-Danquah was supposed to preach on the “New Testament Worship,” but he was sick due to a lot of mosquito bites. Therefore, Brother Patrice Blay preached. Concerning our accommodation, it was very poor that we were exposed to a lot of mosquitoes.

On Friday morning, Brother Duah Danquah had to return home for a malaria treatment, because his health condition was very bad. The rest of us continued with the house to house preaching, and in the night, we continued at the station. I preached the topic, “On which day should Christians worship—Saturday or Sunday?

We left the town early the following morning. Although we had much difficulties concerning the cars we took back home, but by God’s grace, we got home safely.

While I was away, I called back home to find out how my family was doing, and my wife told me two of my kids were sick and were taken to the hospital. When I got home, I was told that my mother had been admitted at the hospital. She was discharged yesterday afternoon, but still not well, so please, remember her for me in your prayers.

God glorified Himself and blessed our campaign trip with 14 souls. I have attached sample of photos of the baptisms we had.

Joshua

Mobile Clinics In Chimala - Wagner Report...

One of the many ways that the Wagner family works at Chimala includes doing mobile clinics. Rena (a OB Registered Nurse) and Cheryl Bode (also a RN) team up to go into rural villages to do vaccinations, education, and check ups. Rena does pregnancy checks for women who live too far out to go to the doctor for a proper check up. Our cook, Mama Betti, goes with her to translate. Just today, Rena did a check-up on 9 pregnant Massai women. Cheryl did vaccinations and taught the women about burns and 'stop, drop, and roll.' Anna and Laura (our oldest two daughters) go along as well and help with the paperwork and weighing babies. It truly is a great experience!

Preaching and Teaching
One of the aspects of mission work here is the ability to preach in many different congregations. I recently traveled to Dar es Salaam. I preached at the Mbagala church of Christ. They are in the process of appointing Scriptural leadership, but have recently had some set backs. I went to encourage them to continue the process. I also preached at the Temeke church of Christ. They have a Bible School in their church building which is doing some good work in the local community.

I also preached recently at the Luhovelo church of Christ. I was quite surprised as there were several local secondary school students present and active during the worship service. What a blessing! The congregation blessed the missionary that Sunday!

I am looking forward to starting teaching again at the Chimala Bible Institute. I will be teaching 1st and 2nd Thessalonians to our English students. It is always a positive experience to help train preachers!

Furlough 2013
We are going to be going back to the US for a visit later this fall. We are going to be doing some continuing education classes, renewing driver's license, seeing family and friends, and making reports to supporting congregations. We have raise over $8,000 toward our trip home. Thank you very much! However, we are needing an additional $3,000 to be able to purchase tickets. We need to go ahead and purchase them because the price continues to rise. If you can help us get home for a much needed visit, please let us know.

The Wagner Family Tidbits
We recently took a trip to God's Bridge -- a natural formation south of Mbeya. We enjoyed the trip off the mission to see God's beautiful creation.

One of the many things we really enjoy is going to the Massai villages. We were recently invited to special occassion at Matebete where groups from many different areas of Southern Tanzania came to do a Massai dance competition. We had beef, rice, and a whole lot of fun!

Thank you for the prayers and the support that you give to this mission and our family. Please continue to pray as we work to make a difference in the lives of many in SW Tanzania.

Chad Wagner

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

The Church Continues To Grow In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Cameroon. It is great for us to say hello to you all and your family. We do hope you are doing fine. We are going on even though with many they are still sick because of the climate. Rain continues to fall and by so doing the weather condition continues to disturb many with health.

The Lord added another soul in Ediki this week. Sister Emilia Akale, old in age, accepted the gospel. She came with her grandchildren for worship  while 6 backsliders came back during this week. Last week we worshiped with 31, and this week we worshiped with 39 souls. It is growing and we shall continue to send students on weekend evangelism until our campaign in September.

Last week in the CBIW family everything went on well, except for those health issues. The students are committed and concentrating on their studies. Instructors will struggle with the rain to make it to Wotutu.

The Ediki work is going on well. This week again we sent out some students for weekend evangelism and they returned with great news. Brother Mokwe shared the gospel on the road side market square. The same place where we stopped by in June to buy food, the lady who told us about the dead congregation in this village, we are now studying with her as she claimed to be an elder in the Presbyterian denomination. She came for a visit today and saw the New Testament worship. Keep her in your prayers, as she is very kind. If she becomes a Christian, she will make great influence in the community.

A physically disabled husband and wife came to worship with us and decided to obey the gospel here in Wotutu. They have been with us for a week now and they love the amount of love they are seeing in the church of Christ because many deserted them because of their disability. Their children can play with our children. Life is making meaning to them now. Please keep them in your prayers as they need more of our love, mostly for their two children who have never gone to school because they cannot afford it.

Sister Seraphine went into the water pool of baptism. It was not easy to get her into the water for baptism as the baptizer, brother Mbappe, struggled to get her crutches. They are happy to be in this family.

Sister Seraphine is very happy because, since she was born she has never worshiped even in a denomination. Keep her in your prayers that she will grow with the word and she will help others to know Jesus and make Him known.

Plans
1) We shall continue with Ediki work weekly.

2) We shall also continue with the Batoke work weekly. We shall establish a new congregation if it is the Lord’s will.

3) We shall send our students to new communities during our next campaign.

Appreciations
God bless you and keep you all. Thank you for being with us in this great work. God alone will reward you all. Do your best to share our report with others.

Pray for us as we plan to send children back to school. It is not easy financially for many parents to get their children back to school come September 3rd. Orphans and underprivileged children are looking up for help.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Summarizing The Work Around The World...

The first week of classes has been completed as a new group of students works to equip themselves in the word of God. These men, and their families, will study for the next two years and enter into the ministry ready to help the church grow. Bear Valley is thrilled to have the opportunity to work with these students and help them on this journey to serve in the Lord’s kingdom.

The work around the world also continues to demonstrate progress in the lives of students who are studying just like the men in Denver. The staff in Gorlovka, Ukraine prepare for a new class of students as they reach the end of their summer break that has been filled with fruitful activity in the Lord’s church.

In West Africa, a recent graduation at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies has men now serving throughout the Northern region of Ghana. As well, a new class of students has just started their studies in preparation for the same work. Sixteen men are going through the initial preparations for a two journey where they will learn how to grow the Lord’s kingdom.

Senior students are completing their studies at the West Coast School of Preaching in Takoradi, Ghana. The staff are involved in lessons to strengthen the avenue of prayer in Nigeria.

Students in Cameroon are growing in their outreach as well. Enduring the rainy season has not dampened their spirit of evangelism as they continue to reach out with the gospel. Their studies each week provide them with the knowledge and the heart of God’s mission. 

The work in East Africa continues to grow as well. Plans are being implemented to grow the next class in Arusha, Tanzania to thirty (30) students beginning their studies in January. Between the Swahili and English program at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, this could be one of the largest intakes in the extension work. 

Ukraine and Nepal are busy recruiting and preparing for a new group of students for the upcoming class.

These are a few of the works featured in this week’s report. The news of Extension Training is changing the world.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Gary Fallis can be viewed by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

Mission In Cameroon Brings Souls To Christ: CBIW was able to see a new location for the development of the church. Four souls were added to the kingdom.

Student Recruitment Campaign In Nepal: The administration at the Nepal Center for Biblical Studies will spend another week to work on recruiting new students.

Academic Year Approaches Completion At WCSOP: One week of classes is all that is left for seniors to complete their studies. New students prepare for September.

BVBIU Prepares For A New Class: Although the numbers may not be large, a number of students continue to train the school in Gorlovka, Ukraine.

New Class Begins At TIBS: After graduation, the school in Tamale, Ghana began a new class of students preparing to preach the gospel.

Walking With God Through Prayer In Nigeria: Staff at the Southwest School of Evangelism have been involved in teaching lessons on prayer.

A Step Of Faith And God Answered: The school in Arusha stepped out on faith to recruit more students and God has answered in great ways. 

Final Thoughts
Thank you for reading this week’s report. The work is growing strong. Plans are being made for new locations to partner in the work of training preachers / leaders in the Lord’s church. This is all possible because of the great vision and sacrifice made by so many of you. We want to thank you for being involved in this wonderful work. We also want to thank the brethren around the world who allow us to partner with them in training others in the word of God. May our God always be glorified.

God bless
Bob

A Step Of Faith, And God Answered...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

We thank you and we thank God for you, your prayers, love and passion for winning souls to Christ. God continues to have His way here in Tanzania and throughout East Africa. The Gospel of Christ is being preached to a people truly desiring to know His Will. The Lord’s Church continues to grow as God would have it.

Update: Last week we shared with you, our friends and partners in the Gospel, our “stepping out in faith” challenge, as we strive to enroll an additional 15 new students for a total intake of 30 in our upcoming Ki-Swahili stream. You have answered our prayers and God’s desire. We have commitments for 10 of the 15 needed already. Now we need to maintain our current supporters and find funding for 5 more.

Highlight of the week: This has been a busy week within the TZ2000 mission effort. Jerry Bates concluded his Masters classes. The Arusha area wide evangelist met to plan and execute our 20/20 mission plan for the church in Arusha (five new church plants by 2020 (with White Rose being the first this year). Preparations for the classes to begin Monday for the undergraduates are underway. Follow-up evangelism at the four areas where we conducted Safari for Souls campaigns continues with many obeying the Gospel this week. My personal Highlight was standing before 19 (mostly new converts and others still studying God’s Word, not yet in Christ), and teaching them what it means to be a faithful New Testament Christian. When the class ended, two sweet ladies obeyed the saving message of God’s Word and put Christ on in baptism.

Coming to America! It is always a blessing when I have the opportunity to share God’s wonderful mission work here in Tanzania with others. If the Lord wills, I plan on being in the States the whole month of October for the purposes of reporting and sharing the Tanzania 2000 Mission Effort (a work of the Bear Valley church of Christ & the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver) and all of our friends and supporters, with as many congregations, Elders, mission committees, and individual Christians as possible.

I will be traveling alone this trip, Stephanie and Granny will remain in Tanzania. I have begun making appointments and need your help. We have much to do and with your co-operation, prayers and continued support the Gospel will be heard throughout all of East Africa and yes, into all the world. If you would like an update, please let me know.

My immediate need is to raise the travel funds needed. This initial need for air fare and travel to the States is $3,000. If you, your congregation or anyone you might know can help, it would be greatly appreciated. During the month in the States I will also need an additional $2,500 for travel, lodging, meals, etc. The more we can raise for this need, the less of a negative impact it will have on the over all mission budget. 

Thank you all for your prayers and support. We hope and pray your week in His service is productive to the saving of some lost soul. 

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie and Granny

Walking With God Through Prayer In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from staff and students of the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan and my co-WBS follow-up workers in Oyo and Oshun state of Nigeria.

Here is the summary of our activities of August 3 & 4,2013:

We (myself, brother Kayode Eniafe, brother Dele Shotola and two of SWSE year 1 students named Samuel Olorode and Shotola Segun) worked with Egbeda congregation, Ibadan to evangelize their city and environ from 9:00 am through 4:00 pm.

On Sunday of August 4, brother Okon Sunday Udoh, one of SWSE instructors, taught on “Walking with God through Prayer” at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan while my first son, Makinde Emmanuel, who is also a SWSE -DLP student, admonished the church on “Working with God” from 1 Cor. 3:9. We are 56 in attendance with total collection of N1,800=

In the afternoon, brother Kayode Eniafe informed me about the conversion of two of our prospects named Tosin Oladunmoye and Latifat Busari at Egbeda congregation, Ona-Ara Local Government on August 4, 2013.

Brethren, Lord's willing, I will be traveling to WNCC on Tuesday for this year’s annual Bible Lectureship from 6-9 of August 2013 which centered on The Christian Home. And I hope to return on Wednesday to travel on Thursday to Oro in Kwara State for another assignment.

Thanks so much for your partnership! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint efforts in Christ Jesus, Amen. 

Sincerely in Christ,

Makinde E.Olufemi (Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan-Nigeria

New Class Begins At TIBS...

On Saturday, July 13, 2013 Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies held its second Graduation ceremony, recognizing thirteen men who had qualified for one of the three certificates offered by the Institute. The graduation ceremony was the highlight of a week long program for students, alumni, and local area congregations.

Receiving a Certificate Of Biblical Studies, the highest certificate presented by the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies, which indicates that the student successfully completed 2 years of intensive classroom training on the Bible and related ministry topics, were: Abraham Dilegm, Godwin Bentikme, Jacob Nichema, Johnson Tilinyi, Joseph Molsak, Kwame Nkumuye Lot, Lot Nlakidi, Matthew Donkor Chakpuju, Philip Bilam, Solomon Lanyan, and Timothy Niligrini. Receiving a Certificate of Leadership was Augustine Assoro, and receiving a Certificate Of Attendance was Bijine Nnurubi Amos. A special award of a laptop computer was given to Timothy Niligrini as the Best Student based upon cumulative grade point average. Additional awards of a Strong’s Concordance were given to Lot Nlakidi for Best Servant, Joseph Molsak for Most Determined Student, and Godwin Bentikme for Most Promising Student.

New Class Begins at TIBS
Sixteen new students have arrived at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies campus and have begun their two year course of studies. This group of men comes from 14 different cities and villages in northern Ghana, representing the Konkomba, Kasasi, Frafra and Dagumba tribes.

The beginning of a new class has a number of challenges, everything from helping the students get moved into the dormitories, going over rules and expectations, teaching them how to use the library, and helping them adapt to their new environment. In many of the northern tribes men do not perform tasks such as carrying water and cooking once they are married, so it is a change for them to take on these tasks while at the school.

Another change for most of the students is seen in their return to the classroom, and the requirements of homework, reading assignments, and tests. During their first of ten terms of classes the students will be studying How to be a Faithful Christian, Life of Christ 1, Writing Skills 1, Old Testament Survey and New Testament Survey.

TIBS is thankful to have Joe Wilkie as a guest teacher during the first quarter. Joe, who is a 2012 graduate of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver and a 2013 graduate of Amridge University’s Bible program, will be teaching both Old Testament Survey and New Testament Survey. The students are enjoying Joe’s classes thus far and will be greatly benefited by his knowledge and willingness to teach.

We are looking forward to a great year and will be excited to see what these men will do for the kingdom!

Thank You Supporters!
There are so many to thank from my recent trip back to the US. A big thank you to the Greenbrier congregation for once again supplying Bibles for the entire student body. Enough money was given that we will also be able to buy Bibles for some of the students that will be attending the new school scheduled to open in 2014 in the Accra area. Thanks also to Connie Barden, Sue Shumate, Mildred Priest and Linda Ray for providing money that was used to purchase shirts, trousers, and shoes for new students who could not afford to bring them when classes began. Thanks to Travis White, Virginia Hielen, and Lieper’s Fork church of Christ for their gifts that are being used to help the Bawku congregation put a roof on their building. A big thank you to Susan Mullen who provided the funds to build the next classroom at the Kingdom of Hope Orphan’s School, which will be dedicated in honor of Jack Wilson. A special thank you to the Broadway church of Christ in Paducah, Kentucky for providing the necessary funds to purchase all the remaining desks and books for the new P3 (3rd grade) class, and many of the other needs of the school. Broadway also provided Bible lessons and teaching aids for the English classes, and a great number of school supplies. I would also like to thank Edie Singleton whose gift will be used to help the school’s program to grow their own food, and Gary and Elaine Heath for sending funds for additional supplies. Thanks to Rod and Cindy Wilson, Jim and Martha Bell, Jackie and Lynda Horton, David and Beverly Woody, Janet Banks, Baily and Marilyn Watson, Phillip and Dana Short, Ann Furr and Sylvia Curd for their gifts this month.

Most important, thanks to those who provide the monthly support that makes it possible for me to be here. None of this is possible without the Greenbrier church of Christ, Colony church of Christ, Bobby and Jackie Sims, Sue Shumate, Aubrey and Donna Allensworth, Chris and Shirley Brill, Linda Ray, Gene and Sandra Blair, and Mary Mix.

Please send all contributions to my overseeing congregation:

Greenbrier church of Christ
Attn: African Missions
12 Wilson Farm Rd.
Greenbrier, AR 72058

Be sure to send me a note if you want your gift to be used for a specific purpose.

Additional information about the work at Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies is available through the Bear Valley Extension School website at /extension- news/tag/tamale

If you want more information about what is happening in Ghana check out my blog at http://thinkingsouls.wordpress.com/.

Kingdom of Hope Update
A new school year will begin next week at the Kingdom of Hope Orphan’s School and there is a lot of excitement. This year the school will be offering an addition class, P3 (3rd grade), bringing the number of classes to four. We will also be able to begin the year with one of the classes meeting in the new classroom and with many of the students sitting in the new desks. We ended last year with 82 students (40 orphans and 42 from the village) and are planning for as many as 25 new students this year, although the actual total will not be known until classes actually begin.

In addition to classes beginning there is also construction work being done on the next classroom with the foundation being completed last week. I will be travelling to Kuka this weekend to check on the work and make arrangement for purchasing cement to build the blocks and set the support pillars. We will also make arrangements for the construction of the remaining desks, and deliver the textbooks for the P3 classes and supplies for all classes for the coming year.

If time permits we will also meet with the local congregation about the feeding program for the school. We have been looking for a way for the school to be able to do a better job of being self-supporting in providing the daily meals for the children. Land has been given to the school so we can plant a mango orchard with the produce being sold or traded to provide the necessary food staples. I am hoping that we will have the first trees planted this month, with an expected first crop date in two years. Until then we will continue to rely on the congregation to provide daily lunches at the school, and to help with the necessary supplies for other meals for the orphans that live at the school. As the school continues to grow developing the resources to make them self-sufficient will be an important task.

Finally, I am happy to report that since we began construction on the first classroom that the Kuka church of Christ has baptized 17 of their village neighbors. While we knew the school would be a great way to teach the

children about Jesus, it has also opened doors to teach the parents of the village children attending the school, as well as those who have stopped by to see what was being built. Considering that we have not baptized any of the children at the school as they are all quite young, this number is quite encouraging, and we give God all the glory for what He is accomplishing here!

Evangelism Update
Now that school is back in session and I have settled back in to the flow of life here in Tamale, it is time to get back into the field with our evangelism campaigns. I will be working with the Tamale East campaign in Yapei in August. In September I will be working with Steven Ashcraft on a campaign in Togo, and then a campaign to help strengthen the church in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso, before returning to teach in Tamale. Our first Student campaign will be in November as we take the students to Zabzugu and surrounding villages to help recent graduate Philip Bilam in his efforts there.

The church in Kulungungu, which began meeting during a campaign this past spring, reported three baptisms since then, bringing their membership up to seven. Due to some issues finding a place to meet in this Muslim town, the congregation has decided to move their meeting place a half mile away to the nearby village of Kanyeri, which is in Burkina Faso. Burkina Faso is a French speaking country, but both villages speak the same tribal language which makes this arrangement possible. I will be visiting with members of the congregation and delivering French language tracts next week to help them with their evangelism efforts.

TIBS graduate Stephen Abugbilla, preacher for the Atuba congregation, has recently been working to re-establish the church in the neighboring village of Kaadi, which has been dormant for about ten years. The church began meeting again the last Sunday in April, and now has 26 meeting each week, most of whom are restored former members. In addition to his efforts in Kaadi, Stephen also reports three baptisms at Atuba.

As we continue to reach out into new areas we have a great need for local language Bibles. If you would like to help in this effort you can send your contribution to the Greenbrier church of Christ. Please make sure you attach a note letting them know that the contribution is for African Missions Foreign Language Bibles, or send me an e-mail, so that the funds can be allocated properly.

Tony Johnson

Contact Information

Mailing Address:
Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies P.O. Box TL 925
Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana

Ghana Phone - 011-233-0248216622 E-Mail - anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

To see Tony’s report with pictures of the work, please click here.

BVBIU Prepares For A New Class...

Dear brothers, families and churches.

Time flies by quickly. A new school year will start soon. Right now it’s a period of summer camps and vacations in Ukraine. Many churches try to combine pleasant and useful activities and have VBS for kids. Young people are our future. American brethren help us a lot in this process, and we are grateful for their help. In Dzerzhisk, Kharkov, Svyatogorsk and other cities, a wonderful work with children was done; many of them saw the Bible for the first time and heard their first lessons about Jesus Christ. Our students worked in these camps and were actively working in the local congregations. For almost 3 weeks, Oksana Heohdzhayeva (BVBIU secretary), Vlad Borisenko and others were working at the Christian camp in Dzerzhisk. We believe that the seed that was sown and the following work with those children will bring forth good results.

In August, we plan to have similar camp at the Central Church of Christ in Gorlovka (in the building of the BVBIU). It will be an interesting event for both the kids and their parents. For the purposes of work with the children we have already started Christian school for kids “The Gifted Child,” and many of the kids who came from the streets got attached to us and learned about the Lord. We ask you to pray for this work. In Ukraine there are no generational Christians; many of us belong to the first generation of Christians; therefore, every new child or adult who comes to the church is perceived as a huge blessing. We are fighting for every soul. My wife and I plan to work at the VBS in Kharkov. We hope that are help will be needed and useful.

At the moment, we are actively looking for the new students. Right now there are 6 people ready to start the program, and there are 9 second-year students. As you can see, the program is not big, but we try to admit only those people who are really willing to be a minister for the Lord. The church in Ukraine is going through a difficult period, but if we want to grow and continue serving the Lord, we need to strengthen our basis, keep what we have and try to preach the gospel actively. We are training evangelists at the Institute, so that they would help the churches where they minister.

In June I visited churches of Christ in Mariupol and Kramatorsk. Telling about the Institute and our program of training ministers, I see how Christians get encouraged and become more willing to participate in this work.

In September, one of our graduates, Eugene Tebel, with his family will start working with young people at the Kramatorsk church of Christ. That’s yet another sign that Ukraine is need of the sound ministers of the word. It’s a wonderful family, and I think that many souls will come to the Lord because of them. 

One of the problems that we face in Ukraine is that we stopped spreading the church. For 5 years we haven’t planted new churches and are only trying to support those that exist. After the fall of the Soviet Union, thousands of people came to hear the gospel, and they wanted to read the Bible, but with every year Ukraine is becoming more European. Many people have the spiritual values shift to have lesser priority. Now it’s more difficult to spread the gospel; materialistic mindset makes Ukrainian nation hardhearted to Christ. Expensive cars and apartments lead people away from God. I think that in every corner of our world God’s servants face similar problems, but we continue believing in our Almighty God.

Our family and the students of BVBIU send you their greetings and the gratitude for your kind and open hearts. Your help is visible here. God’s work keeps being done.

Your brother and co-worker for the Lord’s cause,
Dennis Sopelnik

To see Dennis’ report with pictures, please click here.

Academic Year Approaches Completion At WCSOP...

Brethren,

I bring you greetings from Takoradi and hope and pray that you and all of yours are faring well. I am feeling better and that has been the case for the past couple of weeks though I am not as strong as I used to be. Thank you all for your prayers.

We have one more week of school to end the academic year. The seniors will not be returning when school reopens in September and we shall only have one class (the juniors). We have five men who want to come to school now. We are considering the possibility of giving them foundation courses to see if they can join the class. Most of the courses are self-contained they can take and make up for what will be lacking in the first year when a new class begins one year hence. We have four students who will lack the first term’s work after next school year. There are two alternatives to consider for the five men; send them to the school at Tamale or let them wait to enroll in 2014. The problem with the first is students come from congregations they are working with which they visit at the weekends. This will not be possible when they go to Tamale. We may lose them like we have on a number of occasions if we ask them to wait one more year. Besides we have space to replace the five who complete their courses next week.

One of the seniors completing next week is Solomon Kweku Paintsil, 63 years old. He has set up a church at a village called Obra Ye Bona some three kilometers from Mporhor the district capital of the Wassa Mpohor district of the Western Region. Brethren from Dominasi and Adum Banso assisted him with the initial preaching and teaching. He plans to work with this new church after school. The immediate needs of this new work according to Solomon is some support for the preacher and money to purchase land for a structure for worship. People take churches seriously and choose to belong when they have a meeting place of some sort constructed. Solomon does not have a postal address at Obra Ye Bona. He uses the school address for his mails (P O Box AX 1501, Takoradi) and can be reached on 233206410028.

Last month we had two former students of the BVBID masters class at the school. They came to Takoradi to visit me July 7 and stayed till the morning of July 11 when they left. They spent Monday to Wednesday at the school visiting students and the teachers who were their course mates in the masters’ program. Gyan Mante preaches for the Ada Road Church in Koforidua, and Maxwell Ansah preaches for the Suhum church all in the Eastern Region. They really lifted my spirit with their great sense of humor and helped Ruth care for me during their stay.

We want to use the men who took the master’s program to help teach at the school. We shall begin by inviting them to teach some of the short courses scheduled for the next school year. We want to help prepare them to teach full time when we need them. And this is in the light of some teachers who have indicated they would want to retire in the next couple of years.

We are managing the use of our access road. The students did some mending and that has made brother Charles and I able to drive up to the school all week. It has been cloudy with occasional light showers this week and that is what has made the student’s repair work last. The previous week when it rained a lot, none of us could drive up. Brother Charles was able to walk up the hill, but I could not, and so I missed three days of classes.

The local weather has been cloudy with intermittent rain falls and very cold for most of us used to the relatively sunny weather. It makes going to bed easy but getting up in the morning difficult. Many report sick in such weather, but we thank God for cooling our land and watering our crops.  

May I take this opportunity to remind you of the needs of our Liberian brother, Jerome Torh which was posted in my June report. There is no light at the end of the tunnel for him yet. He yearns to go home. Please, pray for him and his children and help him as you are able.

Thank you, for your partnership with us and bye for now.

Your servant for Jesus’ sake.
Daniel K Ampadu-Asiamah