In The Midst Of Discouragement, There Is Hope...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,

We have watched with amazement the damage being done by the flooding of the Mississippi River and very sorry for all the losses. It seems that the destruction continues throughout the southeast. But, "we know Whom we have believed and we are convinced that He is able to guard what we have entrusted to Him until that day." May God comfort and help those who have lost so much.

Jimmy continues his Bible study class on the Gospel of John and Trina teaches the Ladies class (continuing with Genesis). Our last two classes were cancelled due to the rain (the classroom is almost finished but still lacking a roof). It is Trina’s intention to encourage a few of the ladies to begin teaching short lessons within hers’ until they are comfortable doing the entire lesson. It is time that some (who have been in the church for 3-7 years) become teachers.

There has been disappointment in that many things have prevented Agatha and Trina from studying this past week. Lord willing, our next study will be on Thursday to continue reading scriptures on the church. Katherine, who was baptized about 3 months ago, has been discouraged lately (due to economic reasons I believe). Please pray for both her and Agatha. Agness and her baby are doing fine. However, the culture here says that a mother should stay home about 3 months before getting out with her newborn. While that may be difficult for us to understand, most people here walk to church or take a crowded dala-dalas (public transportation). We are assuming that maybe the doctors here have advised them not to get the baby out to reduce the chance of germs, sickness, etc. Of course, in our minds, three months is too long to miss worship.

On Saturday, the unmarried girls (ages 12-25) enjoyed a full-day seminar at Stephanie Stafford's house, listening to four different speakers which included visitor Jessica Galloway. We are very thankful that she has traveled such a long way to help spread the good news of Jesus and look forward to getting to know her better.

The Kisongo congregation is gearing up for the up-coming campaign this summer. A group from Hoover, AL will be here in June. Then a group from Elk City, OK will be here in July. Several others will come as individuals or two or three. This would include Jimmy's father, James W. Gee, as well as Jimmy's nephew, Steven Akin. Lord willing they will arrive this Friday, May 20. We are eagerly awaiting their arrival. They will be staying a whole month. Please pray for their safe travel. 

Thank you for your continuing support, prayers and concern for this work and for us. We are truly grateful and thank God for you. 

In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family

Moses Sent Us Down From The Mountain...

The title of this report may seem a bit strange until you read two specific reports from Tanzania. Cy Stafford’s report, along with Jimmy Gee’s report, focus on a very special man who made a powerful impact in the Lord’s kingdom in and around Arusha. 

I urge you to read both reports, even though both are focused on the same man. The perspective of both reports have minor differences, but a wonderful picture of how a man named Moses was able to come to Christ and bring others to our Lord. Moses passed away last week and his funeral service was Sunday afternoon.

Both reports share a story relating to the title of this week’s report. Two men who were taught by brother Moses and when they came down from Mt. Meru to Arusha, they said, “Moses has sent us down from the mountain to be baptized.” I love it and you will to when you read these reports.

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

Howell and Mary Ferguson continue to work in Gorlovka, Ukraine. They are working with the local congregations and Howell teaches in the Bible Institute. Take time to read his April report here.

Extension Reports

Preparing To Nurture 14 Congregations: The efforts of the Cameroon Bible Institute of Wotutu involve plans to reach out to help 14 congregations in the area to strengthen and encourage their faithfulness.

Here We Grow Again... Guatemala: The news at the Linda Vista congregation in Guatemala City continues to see growth. Exiting news to read.

Bear Valley Students Visit ITL, Guatemala: On the last campaign out of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, several students traveled to Guatemala to assist in the work.

A Spiritual Father Visits His Son In Guatemala: This is one of those stories that is touching and powerful. Take time to read about this spiritual reunion.

A Growing Body Of Students: Word from the Chimala Bible Institute shares the news of growth in the number of men who prepare themselves to serve.

Good And Sad News... Reality In Ukraine: I always appreciate the balance of realizing the good, but also the sadness in the work. Dennis Sopinik shares the latest information about the work in Ukraine.

Preparing For A New Class At Visakha Valley: With graduation behind them, interviews are taking place to get the next class of students together in Visakhapatnam, India.

A Spiritual Giant, Moses Of Kiogo, Goes To His Reward: Cy Stafford shares the sadness of losing a great man in the work of the Lord, but also the celebration of knowing he has gone to a great reward.

The Story And Impact Of Blind Man Moses: Jimmy Gee provides information about this great man, his story and impact on the work in Arusha.

Final Thoughts
I am always humbled to read the reports of those who are laboring so diligently around the world to take the gospel to others. I am so thankful to our God for making this work possible and granting me the opportunity to share in it.

I thank each of you for your part in this work. Without your continued prayers, work and financial help we would not be able to read reports like these. You are all greatly appreciated and I pray God will continue to work through you to His glory in training men to preach.

God bless
Bob

Preparing To Nurture 14 Congregations...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this end. Your brothers and sisters in Wotutu send their love to you. The students of CBIW send their love as well and we continue to pray for your safety in all that you do. Please always remember us in your prayers.

I am here to feed you with what happened in your family here so that we shall all join together to give glory to God. The fruits of every Saturday evangelism in Wotutu is seen. Yesterday sister Anette Boyaki accepted Jesus and was baptized by student preacher Ngoe Nelson with the witness of some sisters in Wotutu congregation watching and jubilating for the soul that repented to escape damnation as you can see them off the river bank. Please pray for this sister to remain with the Lord and serve Him all the days of her life.

Sunday in our worship we had a special prayer offered to mothers in our congregation and mothers all over the world, for today is mother’s day, even though the day is not really having a strong significant in our country but we are aware of its existence and we turn to use it to appreciate our mothers verbally for what they have done to us children. We pray mothers all over the world have done great things, because till today some are active in the support of preachers, some others have produced ministers of the gospel, elders, deacons etc. So I emphasize on their importance which is neglected in our society to start seeing the need to do so.

This week was cool in CBIW as all our programs went on well. Our normal outing to Tole congregation on Tuesday and our theoretical Vocational training on Friday the use of computer was a success. Most of the long course lecturers have gone far with their notes and they will  start  doing revisions with the students before our second semester exams on the 23^rd of May.

Immediately after our exams on the 26^th, students will travel by the grace of God to 14 different villages to nurture existing congregations. Those congregations are dying so we are going for total revival, we are paying attention to these areas now because people there still involve themselves to paganism. It is our cry to help them come out from such practices. Please we solicit your support to achieve this goal.

    Let me share some pics with you about the happening of this week.

You can see food being shared by one student. This food came through a sister all the way from Kumba 75 kilometers from Wotutu. She came in appreciation for the last campaign that the students did in their congregation. ”Silver and gold we don’t have “ she said that but garri and fresh vegetable soup she gave to the students. She also appeal to the director to send two more students to come again to their village to help the church. I appreciated the gesture and pray God open doors for us to touch the lives of many.

The leaders in Wotutu again this Sunday assigned students from CBIW to officiate on items in Wotutu congregation. This morning, young brother Manfree Awatt taught on the topic A GIVING THAT COST ME (2 Sam 24:24). This was really thrilling to help the church improve on their giving situation and to continuously be of help to the student preachers as they are helping not financially, but with food and other moral support.

This is the cross section of our worship this morning. We are appreciating every one who is doing something for CBIW because it is helping the growth of congregations in this country. Christians in Cameroon are seeing great changes on how to increase their relationship with Christ and the Church as these young ambassadors of Christ moves around both to unbelievers to help them from this corrupt generation. Wotutu congregation is gaining in this so much as we have 3 first time visitors in our worship who asked questions about the New Testament church.

We are planning to travel to Batoke village to plant a congregation. The plans are still on. We are looking for a possible means to carry it out.

Appeals

1) Please we are also soliciting for Bibles before the students travel for campaign, because I am sending some students to our young established congregation in the hills of Lebialem. After this we shall be sending students on weekends to help nurture the young congregation. It is not near to Wotutu, but the Lord will open doors for His will to be done. That is our cry.

2) Please do your best to help us have some tools for evangelism, like the public address system, Projector and a generator for our village evangelism.

Appreciations

I thank God for you and those you are discussing about the work in Wotutu, Cameroon. Thank you for standing by us. I am assuring you that your efforts will never be in vain. God is blessing the work and He will continue to use us and the students to accomplished a lot in this country. Please tell others or plan to visit first hand yourself. You will be highly welcome in our loving country and you will enjoy you did. Stay blessed and say hello to your family. You are always in our prayers. My family sends their love hoping to meet with you one day.

Elangwe and family serving in Wotutu in particular, and Cameroon at large.
By His grace Director CBIW

The Story And Impact Of Blind Man Moses...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends, 

It has been a sad but victorious week here in Tanzania. On May 4, the people of God lost a valiant soldier of the cross. He was known to us as Blind Man Moses. He gradually went blind in the mid-1980's, probably due to diabetes. Then, in 1998 he was taught the Gospel and obeyed it. Moses began attending the services of the Church in Arusha. But that meant riding each Lord's day down off the mountain on the back of a motorcycle that belonged to Francis Wechesa. He also, even though blind, began teaching people the Gospel. 

Sometime after this, two young men by the name of Iyubu and William showed up at the Arusha building and said "Moses has sent us down from the mountain to be baptized" (Not Mt. Sinai, but Mt. Meru! Ha ha) Both are still faithful and strong Christians. In fact, William went on to attend and graduate from the ACSOP and is now the preacher for the Maji ya Chai congregation. In addition, he taught his older brother and he, along with his wife, are now Christians. Thus, Moses, being dead, yet speaks through his labors. 

But, I am getting ahead of myself. Those motorcycle trips down the mountain were not without accident. In the words of Cy Stafford, there were some Sunday mornings when both Francis and Moses would arrive at the Arusha building muddy and skinned up from having taken a fall. It did not take long for them to figure out that a congregation needed to be established on the side of the mountain. It started out small; so small they could all fit inside a room in Moses' house which also housed the goats and cows when worship and Bible study were not taking place. I sat inside that goat pen a few times myself and preached sitting down with the smell of "the farm" wafting through the breeze (In truth, it brought back memories of my early years of being on the farm which are still very fond to me). But, eventually the congregation grew, through the efforts of many, but also from the very strong and faithful dedication of Moses. They outgrew that goat shed and now have a very nice block building with a tin roof (In fact, Moses donated the land). The building is a testimony to many who contributed their time and their money, but most of all it is a testimony to the life of a man who, though blind, "saw" the truly important things in this life and lived his life accordingly.

I began by saying that it has been a sad but victorious week. It has been sad because we have lost a friend and brother. It has been victorious because a saint has gone to be with Abraham and Lazarus. And, now that he is in that perfect place, he is no longer blind and he no longer suffers from diabetes.

I was privileged to be asked to lead the closing prayer at the funeral. In that prayer I said "We do not say 'Goodbye' to Moses today, we say 'We will see you later.'" May we live in such a way as to make those words come true.

Moses, until next time.... 

In Christ,
The Gees

Good and Sad News... Reality In Ukraine

Dear brothers and families. 

We thank God that spring came to Ukraine without any catastrophes and changes in climate. We saw on TV and read the news on internet about tornados and storms hitting America. We pray for those who suffered from them. Moreover, we pray for those who are still spiritually lost.  

For our institute the month of April was full of different events, some of them were good and some were sad. 

Life of the institute
At the beginning of April, Denton Landon came to teach a two-week course on Jeremiah and Lamentation. Our Institute is always glad when brothers, who can share their wisdom and experience of serving God, visit us.  

At the moment, Albert Bagdasaryan and I teach Daniel and Luke to the first-year students, and Howell Ferguson and Victor Semikoz teach James and Revelation to the second-year students.

On April 23, we had a youth conference at the building of our Institute. It was aimed at young people from local churches of Christ. Its topic was “Pass a test for eternity”. Bible classes were taught by Howell Ferguson and me. We had some good time together, enjoying games and friendly atmosphere. 

During this year and until now, we are trying to visit different congregations and look for new students. We receive a great deal of help from Howell. At the moment, we have 7-8 prospective students who want to enter the Bible program at the Institute. Please pray that we would find some more students and that they would make the right choice that will influence their life. 

We have some sad news: our second-year student, Roman Demchenko, decided to take an academic leave. He wants to finish his studies next year. He didn’t pass several courses, and he became less zealous in studying and serving God. Maybe after some time he will understand that studying and contemplating about the Word of God is the most pleasant activity. Please pray for him and his ministry. 

Life of the church in Ukraine
On April 24, there was a joint worship service of churches of Christ held in Kramatorsk. Our group which consisted of 12 people attended the service. Vitaliy Rodichev had a sermon that day. The aim of such services is to encourage brothers and sisters and show them that we are not alone in our decision to follow Christ. There were representatives from Slavyansk, Druzhkovka, Konstantinovka and Zugres. 

As for the Central church of Christ in Gorlovka, it’s been doing quite well. They have very interesting youth group meetings. Andrew takes a good care of the church. An average attendance of the Sunday service is about 33-38 people. 

Maintenance questions and their solutions 
First, we could fix our heating system and started it for a check-up. As a result, it worked well. I hope that we can change some paperwork on the building during this year. That would reduce the bills on heating in winter period.    

Second, after the winter and spring thaw, the ground water came up, and we had a lot of water at the basement of the building. So we bought the pump to take out the water. Right now we are thinking about the ways to solve this problem. 

We are looking forward to seeing brother Terry Harmon and his family and also Jim Sherman. They’ve done a lot of work to establish and develop the churches of Christ in Ukraine. We respect them deeply and pray for their safe flight. 

We are grateful for your prayers and support. Even though there is a big distance between us, we are always with you in the spirit. 

Best regards, 
Dennis.

Preparing For A New Class At Visakha Valley...

Greetings to you in HIS precious name. We are all doing fine. The hot weather is picking up. The last couple of days it was 110F, especially in Visakhapatnam due to the industries we feel like it is more than the actual temperature. However, the cold breeze in the evenings makes the environment cool, since we are on the eastern coast.

Hope you have received the pictures of the Graduation exercises.

Interviews:
Right now interviews for the new students are going on. We are looking for very interested students who would continue their school for 2 years without any interruption. We are thinking about having same number of students to run the school program without any financial problems. We shall have the fresh batch taking regular classes from the last week of this month. After the graduation ceremony several preachers came forward and enquired about the Master Classes. Looks like we have to have another Master Class batch after this current batch finishes school.

Besides that, we are having special meetings with our staff members to discuss several things about the upcoming batch. There are certain things we would like to do in a different way. We need the cooperation of the staff in order to accomplish this. Actually we had a meeting on the 3rd, that is last week. It went well. We shall be sitting for a final meeting on the 10th to make some resolutions about our activities and responsibilities. Since one batch of students are gone into the field our responsibility is grown to the extent of encouraging them to keep on doing the Lord's work without ceasing.

Gospel Meetings:
One of our graduates is holding gospel meetings on the 27,28,29 of this month. He is planning them as a Big event. We are excited about that. The director and one of our faculty members, brother Vamsee, along with other invited preachers will be preaching during those days. It is going to be a great opportunity to spread the word and also to advertise our school. We really had a good recognition in the local churches after the 1st Graduation Ceremony. During those three days, our students, faculty and staff had planned to reach every door in that area with gospel tracts. We praise God for giving us the opportunity to reach several thousands of homes with good news. On the last week of April on the 23rd we had a gospel campaign at one our local brother's congregations. We had the opportunity to preach the good news at every center of the street and distribute gospel tracts to thousands of people.

Please convey our greetings to your families and to the brethren at Bear Valley & Lake Houston Church of Christ. Our prayers continue for the victims of the recent tornado havoc in the Southern USA. If you meet with any of the victims please tell them around 274 congregations are praying for them. God is going to bless them.

in Christ,
John Dean & Samuel Raju Muppidi

A Spiritual Giant, Moses From Kiogo, Goes To His Reward...

Greetings Fellow Workers;

We greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Our hearts and our prayers are being offered up to our Lord for all those suffering the recent losses caused by the severe weather in the Southeast. As most of you know, we too recently suffered a loss. Our dear brother and servant of God, Moses from Kioga has passed from this life to the next.

We first came to know Moses when Aubu and William came down Mt. Meru, meeting Francis Wechesa saying; “Moses has sent us down from the mountain to be baptized” (just sounds so Biblical). These two young men informed Francis who was, at that time, new to the Arusha area, that Moses had taught them the Gospel. Upon future investigation it was learned that Moses had gone blind (most likely due to his diabetes) and was not able to make the three mile journey down the mountain for worship.

After some time it was decided that it would be best to start a new congregation at Kiogo so our brother would not have to ride on the back of Francis’s motor cycle each week, up and down the mountain. The Church began meeting in Moses’s goat shed, a space six feet wide, seven feet long. Each Sunday morning, brother Moses would sweep out the small mud and stick building. After several months the congregation began to grow and the last time I personally worshipped there we had twenty three people in that very small room.

Men like Cotton Box, Gene Davis and Dupree Galloway working with Moses and David Bayi (one of our ACSOP graduates) and with the monthly support from the West Side Church of Christ, Salem, VA and so many others, the congregation now numbers in the eighties. Because the Church cared, the Kisonga congregation has a meeting house.

Last year our brother Moses asked if we could help him by building three small rooms so his family would have a place to live. He knew his health was not good and was concerned about his wife and four small children. Through the wonderful generosity of the Lord's Saints in America and through the efforts of the men who can and constructed the rooms, his widow and children have a place to live.

Stephanie and I have been blessed in many ways as missionaries here in TZ. One of the greatest blessings was the privilege of knowing and working with this spiritual giant. His humble spirit has inspired many. His zeal for teaching the lost, preaching the Gospel and his commitment to the truth of God’s Word will forever stand as a living testimony as to what Christianity is really all about. Moses was blind, but now he sees. He sees what God has promised all who obey! Thanks be to God!

Tomorrow (Sunday May 8th) will be a long day. We will begin by worshiping with our Church family at Kioga. The funeral will follow in the afternoon, at 2:00. We solicit your prayers on behalf of all the family and friends who will mourn this great loss. A special thank you to everyone who made it possible for Moses and so many others to be blessed by the Good News, the Family of God and the Hope (and now reality for Moses) of Heaven.

In Him,

Cy, Stephanie & Exel

April News For BVBIU

Another month has passed very quickly for us here in Ukraine as we continue to work with the BVBIU. During the month of April I had occasions to visit several churches including Krasny Luch, Konstantinovka, and Kramatorsk. When we’re not out of town visiting, we worship with the Central congregation and enjoy the fellowship of the brethren who meet together at the BVBIU facility. Andrew Zhuravlev continues to deliver consistently sound and encouraging gospel lessons. On Thursday mornings we meet together at the BVBIU facility for Bible study which would be the equivalent of our Wednesday night Bible study time in the States.

Admittedly, the work in Ukraine is slow and difficult and requires a great deal of patience. The influence of western and European culture has significantly slowed-down the receptiveness of the people and their interest in the gospel of Christ. I wouldn’t say that it is the same as the rest of Europe and the U.S, but it is undoubtedly leaning in that direction. Generally speaking, however, the BVBIU students are remaining positive about the future of the church and their involvement in helping God’s kingdom grow and spread.

The Russian language classes Mary and I were taking two days per week have come to an end after five weeks. At this point it’s hard for me to say we made a lot of progress. We were exposed to a lot of material, but we need a little “soak” time to fit the pieces of the puzzle together. Learning a language is a slow and tedious process. Besides, I needed to stop the lessons in order to focus attention on teaching the book of James to the second-year BVBIU students.

There are several new events here in our last month in Ukraine. Terry and Marina Harmon arrived back to Ukraine May 3^rd to spend about three and a half weeks visiting family, taking care of some unfinished business, and he will teach a Greek class to our first-year students. We haven’t seen Marina yet, but Terry and the boys looked great. Andrew, who you may remember had been treated for Histiocytosis, seems to have made a full recovery and was his usual energetic self. And Timothy is growing up and to me looked like he has grown about a foot taller! It is good to see Terry’s face again here at BVBIU even if it will only be for a few weeks.

There is also graduation coming up on Saturday, the 28^th of May for our second-year students. We will have five students receiving their BA degree in Biblical Studies. Most of these graduates also want to begin the Master’s program which will resume this fall. Denton Landon, who was here a few weeks ago to teach Jeremiah and Lamentations, will return at that time to start the Master’s program. Until then, the preacher students will be seeking out places to begin preaching and teaching. Because of the weak financial status of most Ukrainian churches, it is highly unlikely that the guys will be able to be supported by the local brethren. Any assistance would be much welcomed. However, finances are certainly not the only issue.

Every mission field has its own unique challenges, and the country of Ukraine surely has its own share of them. But from my own perception and from conversations I’ve had with both Ukrainians and missionaries who’ve worked in Ukraine, perhaps the most difficult and controversial subject is marriage. Ukrainians, like most everyone else in the world, recognize marriage as a positive and desirable social structure. The problem lies in understanding and accepting God’s boundaries for acceptable marriage. This can be divided into two parts: 1) Christians marrying non-Christians; and 2) unscripturally-divorced non-Christians who later become Christians and marry Christians.

I have addressed the issue of young Ukrainians leaving Ukraine for the “greener” pastures of the west in some of my past devotional articles. And nothing much anyone can say will stop this “exodus”. All of the reasons given for it can become somewhat complicated; but the conclusion is rather simple: the “carnal” (fleshly) mind (Rom. 8:5-9; 1 Cor. 3:1-3). The allurement of the west for either prosperity or excitement is simply too appealing to be resisted by many of the younger generation who place the flesh over the spirit (cf. Gal. 5:19-26).

The connection of marriage with fleeing young Ukrainians becomes obvious. Prosperous foreigners are sought-out for marriage partners; and unfortunately for the young Christian seeking marriage, a Christian mate is not the priority. This concerns me for two reasons: 1) all that I learned in marriage and counseling college classes consistently warned of the dangers of mixed-marriages; and 2) marrying non-Christians in a secular and materialistic world (such as much of Europe, U.S., etc.) is much like pitching your tent toward Sodom and Gomorrah (Gen. 13:12, 13). There are little chances that a godly soul can survive long in such an environment.

The second issue is really worse because it actually involves sin. Marrying a non-Christian is at-best unwise, if not downright foolish. But forming a marriage with an unscripturally-divorced person goes beyond foolishness, it is adultery. Let me give you the scenario. A non-Christian forms a marriage, assumedly scriptural, i.e. they are both single and eligible. For some reason (not adultery) the couple divorces. Later, however, one of the non-Christians learns the gospel and becomes a Christian. This new Christian meets another Christian (never-before married) and they marry. They may be married for a number of years and even have children.

What is their spiritual situation now between them and God? The popular view being advocated by many in Ukraine is that such marriages are sanctioned by God. And when the position is challenged by an appeal to Scripture, some will quickly reply, “But that position is too hard for Ukraine.”

Is any command of God “too hard”? God said “the way of transgressors is hard”, not the way of the righteous (Prov. 13:15). It is hard because of sin, not because of anything God said. And why did God put such a prohibition on marriage as is recorded in Matthew 19:9? “And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, committeth adultery: and he that marrieth her when she is put away committeth adultery.” Could it not be a strong warning to the liberally-minded world of the sanctity of marriage, and even to serve as a model of the relationship of Christ to His church? (cf. Eph. 5:22-27; Rev. 21:2, 9). Only God can authorize the “exception” given in marriage. To create another exception is to usurp God’s authority and place oneself upon His throne!

Pardon me for sounding a little “preachery” in a newsletter, but these are real issues that threaten not only the sanctity of marriage and the home but also the purity of the Lord’s church in Ukraine. That’s why I believe so strongly in the existence of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Ukraine. We are the minority voice on these issues, but a voice that desperately needs to be heard. I have found it to be the exception to find brethren who hold firmly to God’s precepts in these matters. As with many subjects, many people rely upon their emotions rather than upon a “thus said the Lord.” If we don’t hold firm to God’s law in matters of marriage, who will? --Howell

Here We Grow Again... Guatemala

The year 2011 is turning out to be a much better year than 2010. We are happy to report that we have been witnesses to another spiritual birth. This past Wednesday, April 27, 2011, after Bible class, Julissa Ordoñez expressed her desire to be baptized for the forgiveness of her sins because she wanted to become a Christian. Upon hearing these good news, those who were still standing around the building enjoying fellowship and conversations immediately assembled toward the front of the building. Francisco Ramos was already talking to Julissa after he was told that she wanted him to baptize her.  

Julissa is the second daughter of Carlos and Patricia Ordoñez. Her father first started bringing her and her older sister, Karla, since Julissa was about 2 years old, and even before Patricia became a Christian. Since then, her little sister Paola has been born, and her mother Patricia has become a Christian and has remained actively involved ever since. We are thankful that Carlos and Patricia are putting the Lord first in their family and we pray that all of them will continue to be tools of righteousness in God’s hands.  

Keep Julissa in your prayers and she grows in her faith and as she matures into a Christian young lady. Pray, too, for her family, that they might continue faithfully in their walk with the Lord.  

For the Master,   

Byron 
Hawatthia 

Bear Valley Students Visit Guatemala...

Greetings from the Land of Eternal Spring! 

A few weeks ago, we had the blessing of having four special visitors in Guatemala. They were David Malley, Jared Kyle, Jordan Wise, and Anthony Johnson, current students at Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver (BVBID). They were in Guatemala from Saturday, March 12 until Monday, the 21st. 

It is common for BVBID students to travel twice a year to different places on campaigns. This group of students accepted the challenge of coming to Guatemala for their campaign week. We are glad they did because it was a blessing to have them, and we believe that it was a very good experience for them, as well.  

These brothers arrived on a Saturday afternoon. Hi was out of town at the time, so Byron and Darvin Alvarez, the minister in Coban, picked them up at the airport. Together, they were to go to Coban to work for a few days with the church there. After a quick stop to see the facility for ITL’s Saturday program, they stopped briefly at the full-time campus to pick up some items. Shortly there after, they were on their way to Coban.  

The drive to Coban was pleasant. Byron found it interesting to see Guatemala from a first time visitor’s perspective. The visitor usually notices something that we take for granted after living here a while. Thankfully they arrived to Coban safely.  

On Sunday, they assembled with the church in Coban. David Malley delivered the sermon and Byron taught the Bible class. From Monday through Thursday, the four students went door knocking and visiting during the day in the neighborhood with Darvin and Byron. They divided into two teams. One team had David as their translator and the other had Byron. Darvin accompanied us each day as we went from house to house. Several good contacts were made. It was interesting to hear from Jared that there were more positive responses and opportunities to speak with people about Christ in one day than there usually is in one week of campaigning in New Zealand (Jared is from that country). Overall, people in Coban are very friendly and willing to listen to you.

On Monday night through Wednesday night, the students continued the topic that was started on Sunday, the “Armor of God” from Ephesians 6. Each of them spoke on a different aspect of God’s armor. They did a fine job! There were several visitors each night. Byron noticed on Tuesday night that of all the visitors and members present, without counting Darvin, Byron and the BV students, there was only one other male Christian. The rest of the Christians and all the visitors were women. Praise God for women of faith! Thank you ladies for your example! 

Probably the most productive visits were with those that Darvin knew. For example, we stopped in a small diner to visit a woman and her daughter, Martha and Betty. They treated us very kindly giving us something cool to drink and crackers with jelly. We had a pleasant conversation with them and saw them at the study that night. Another good visit occurred when we stopped by the store near Darvin’s son’s school. The lady, Minta de Villalobos, lost her son about a year ago and was very appreciative of our visit and prayers for her. While we walked up the hill to pick up Daniel, Darvin’s son, from his school, the BV students talked to a women, Enma Chiquin, and her daughter who were waiting for the woman’s younger daughter to get out of school. After a few minutes of talking and sharing the gospel with her, she asked if we were the group that did not use the instrument in our worship. We said yes, then, a smile came upon her face and she informed us that she was a member of the church of Christ, too. She had been in Coban about four years and had been baptized in the capital city. When she moved to Coban she was unable to find the church, so she had not been able to assemble. She was so happy to meet us. She and her daughters were at the study that night, and she responded to the invitation, asked to be restored and placed her membership with the church in Coban. It was great to see God’s providence work in this situation!

Thursday was a day of recreation for the students. Darvin took them to Semuc Champey, which means “sacred water” in the Mayan Kekchi language. It is a scenic place with natural freshwater pools. Byron did not go with the group so he could catch up on some work. The BV students enjoyed their visit to this beautiful place in Guatemala, one of many in this country. Because Byron did not go, we do not have pictures from our own camera, but we hope that the ones we found online will help you appreciate what the students saw. One funny thing that occurred while they were out and about with Darvin is that they had to get out to push the van out of a ditch. When Darvin found himself unable to move forward in a narrow road because of another vehicle, he tried to back down the hill, but did not notice there was a ditch. He apparently swerved too far to the right. The van got stuck. It took quite a bit of muscle and work to get the van out.

On Friday, Byron and the students returned to the capital city. The students got checked in to the hotel that evening. The next day, Hi took the students to do some shopping at the central market in the capital city, then to visit the city of Antigua. That evening, Byron met them in San Lucas, where they all enjoyed a great dinner in a “hole in the wall” type restaurant that we sometimes visit when we have guests. They serve great “flautas” and “longanizas.”  

On Sunday, the students were with the Linda Vista family. They enjoyed their visit with the brethren. That morning, Jordan preached the sermon. Jared taught the teens and Tony taught the adult Bible class. That night, David preached the sermon. All the students did a great job.  

We were so glad to have these students for the time that they were here. They worked very hard, were easy-going, maintained a good attitude about being in a foreign country, and were ready to serve at any moment. We pray that God will use these brothers greatly as they prepare themselves for the ministry, and especially once they enter it. 

Thank you, brothers, for coming to Guatemala to bless our lives and the lives of those in Coban and Linda Vista. Our hope is that this will only be the first of many such campaigns that Bear Valley students will have in Guatemala.   

For the Master,   

Byron E. Benitez
Hawatthia “Hi” Jones 

A Spiritual Father Visits His Son...

Greetings from the Land of Eternal Spring!  

We hope and pray that this message finds you enjoying good health.  

Paul often referred to those with whom he shared the gospel as his sons in the faith (1 Timothy 1:18; 1 Peter 5:13). There is special joy that one has when he sees those with whom he has shared the gospel prospering in their faith. This is exactly what took place a few days ago when Josh Allen from Pikeville, Kentucky, had the opportunity to visit with Darvin Alvarez here in Guatemala. 

Some of you might remember the story of Darvin. While illegally in the U.S., Darvin accepted an invitation from Jim Dempster to attend Bible class at the church of Christ in Morristown, Tennessee. Jim is an elder at that congregation. Once he visited, Darvin was offered the opportunity to study English and to study God’s word with Josh. At that time Josh served as the minister with the Lord’s church in Morristown (he currently serves the church in Pikeville, Kentucky). After some studies, Darvin realized his condition before God Almighty. He made the decision to have his sins washed away by being immersed into Christ there in Morristown. After making this decision, Darvin also realized that as a Christian he could not live day to day disobeying the laws of the land. With the help of the brethren Darvin returned to Guatemala.  

Thankfully, Darvin returned a changed man with a mission; there were two things he wanted to do. Darvin made his marital relationship with Lili a correct one in the sight of the Lord. He also began to share his new found faith with her. Since there was not a congregation in Coban, they and their children drove 4 hours to the capital city every weekend to worship God and to study his precious word with the church at Linda Vista. Linda Vista adopted this family helping them with their fuel expenses each week. As a result of their studies, Lili became a Christian.   

When looking for a contact for Darvin, Josh and the brethren at Morristown had heard about our work. What a blessing we received when they chose to send Darvin our way. He and his family became faithful members a Linda Vista. Then Darvin decided that it would be good to have the church located in Coban. And as things were getting into motion to plant a congregation there, he decided to really complicate things; he wanted to preach. :-) Seriously, we were amazed at the rapid growth that we were seeing in this brother and his family. But, at the time, we did not have ITL (our local preaching school). So, Darvin and his family decided to go to a school in Panama to receive his studies. Thankfully, the Morristown congregation became his supporters so that he could study God’s word.  

To make a long story short, here is the Darvin life story in a nutshell. Darvin was converted after studying with Josh Allen. He made his spiritual situation, his legal situation and his marital situation right with God. Before leaving for preaching school, Darvin gave the keys to his house in Coban to the congregation in Linda Vista to use to plant the church there; today there is a thriving work in Coban. After preaching school Darvin returned to serve as a full-time instructor at ITL. Now, not only does he serve as an instructor with ITL, he also serves as the full-time minister with the work in Coban. Now you can imagine how Josh felt coming to see “his son” and the work that he is doing.  

It was our privilege to have Josh Allen, one of his elders, Thaniel Thacker, and Jeff Holbrook, a brother from the congregation, here with us. During their short visit, they were able to preach and teach at Linda Vista. In addition, we traveled to Coban where they were able to see the work that God is blessing under Darvin’s leadership. We also took advantage of the time and went to see San Cristobal, a city about 30 minutes south of Coban where the ITL graduates will be starting a new church. And, we even found a few minutes for them to see a little of Guatemala City.   

It is our prayer that these brothers, along with others from Pikeville, will be able to return to Guatemala and share in the work once again with us. We believe that they left with a sense of pride after seeing first hand how Darvin is holding faithful to that which he has been taught from God’s word. We also look forward to the day when the brothers from the church at Morristown can visit us as these brothers did.  

We will close for now. We just wanted to share this story with you. Please keep Darvin and his family in your prayers as they continue to be God’s servants with ITL and in the city of Coban.    

Sharing the Good News,    

Hawatthia  
Byron 

A Growing Body Of Students...

Our week began with the bittersweet news of the death of Osama Bin Laden. Although his death brings a sort of closure to the tragic events of 9/11, we are sharply reminded of those millions of people worldwide lost in the false religion of Islam and that the only path to true peace lies in the preaching and teaching of the gospel of Christ. Tanzania is at least 30% Muslim and we are constantly appreciative of the daily opportunities we have to share the gospel in this country.

Towards that end, we are grateful for the amazing success of our new Masters program. We ended up with a total of 17 students. Last week Denton Landon taught Introduction to Graduate Research and teaches Apologetics this week. Yesterday I had the privilege of teaching the Apologetics of Archaeology in the graduate class.

Jonathan Jenkins, our short course teacher for the undergrad program, taught the first years on James, I & II Peter and Jude last week. This week, he is teaching the second years about the Godhead. I am teaching the first three historical books to the first years and the last three historical books to the second years during this short course period.

Many different students, both from the Bachelors and Masters programs, have thanked me for this great opportunity to study God’s word. As the Bear Valley motto teaches, our students are very grateful for the training they receive here at the Chimala Bible Institute so they can go teach others also (II Timothy 2:2). These young men and women are very excited about the opportunities for evangelism they will have as they go home for the summer.

There is an American doctor living on the mission for the next three months. He recently worked with Doctors Without Borders in China and travels frequently. When he is in the States, he works in New York in an AIDS clinic. He is not a Christian, but we have had some very interesting discussions. Please be prayerful of this opportunity to spread the word of the Lord.

This past weekend, we traveled to a congregation in Mbeya called Simike. Denton taught a class on the resurrection of Christ and Jonathan preached on the power of Christ as seen in Matthew 8 and 9. Rebecca taught her last children’s class with the help of her translator, Upendo. There were many kids present and they even sat through the service afterwards when Rebecca promised them more candy. There were not enough benches, so one of the sisters brought a mat for the many children and Rebecca to sit on during the service. To our great surprise and joy, the sisters in the congregation had prepared a wonderful fellowship meal of typical Tanzanian fare for us to enjoy afterwards. It was a wonderful way to spend our last Sunday here in Tanzania.

Our young men and women have, in these last two weeks, been studying Christian worldviews, the Godhead, and the great work of Bible characters such as Nehemiah and Joshua. Certainly we have been thrilled with Ezra’s admonition to seek, practice, and teach the word of the Lord (Ezra 7:10). We are looking forward to sharing the exciting work that is going on here at the Chimala Bible Institute as we travel the States this summer. Please keep us in your prayers and thoughts as we travel 9,000 miles this weekend to return to the States.

God bless, 

Garry L. Hill
Administrator

8th Minnesota Bible Lectureship

The best little lectureship in the mid-north. These are the words used to describe the 8th Annual Minnesota Bible Lectureship. Sheryl and I had the great pleasure of attending this year's lectureship at the South Twin Cities congregation. This one day lectureship is a power packed day of one speaker after another providing lessons that are sound and practical in application.

The opportunity to visit the lectureship was only a small part of the value of this past weekend. The STC congregation is one of the great lights for the Lord in Minnesota. The work being done in this area continues to be an encouragement. We hope to make this an active part of our spring travels each year.

In addition to being encouraged and edified in the time we were able to be with our brothers and sisters, this past week in the Extension Program is exciting. The work and the increase God is giving to the outreach of these students should motivate us all to follow their example. Think Souls, Our Mission Is Evangelism and Evangelism Is Our Mission, are two phrases that remind us of the need to be focused on the very purpose God has given us. May we all be faithful to our calling.

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

Donnie Bates's latest report shares news about his activities for the month of April. Read more here.

Extension Reports

Commitment Brings Greater Vision And Growth: Each outreach effort in Cameroon demonstrates the vision and growth in this work. 

Visakha Valley Bible College - 1st Graduation: The events of graduation provide great encouragement to the future of the work in India.

Old Class Shines And New Class Begins In Chandigarh: The work of the North India Bible College is making a difference in Chandigarh and a new class begins their training.

Committed To The Mission: Phanat's report this month ties in his commitment to the work along with note about a special wedding. 

Blessed Beyond Measure: I am constantly encouraged by the development of the work spreading out of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. Cy Stafford's report provides powerful reasons for this growth.

A New Study Begins: Jimmy Gee's report continues to show the growth of the work in Arusha, Tanzania.

Final Thoughts
A final note of thanks to all of you for your efforts to keep this work moving forward. Your love for the Lord and His church could not be more seen than through your willingness to support this work. Thank you for your prayers on our behalf. Thank you for your financial commitment to the work. Thank you for trusting Bear Valley to fulfill this great task of training men to preach the gospel.
I look forward to reporting more each week.

God bless
Bob

Committed To The Mission...

Greetings brothers and sisters,

It is truly a blessing and a privilege to be able to report of the work of Jesus Christ in this part of the world. I thank God on a consistent basis for giving me the opportunity to serve him here in Cambodia. Most of you have received an email from me recently announcing my commitment to Christ in this country for at least 20 more years. It wasn’t an easy decision as the head of my family but definitely a necessary one. In this month’s blog, I want to do something different. I want to share some thoughts with you that helped me be the missionary that I am today and the decisions that I‘ve made in my life. These thoughts did not originate with me, but by a brother in Christ who is a missionary in France. His name is Charles O. White and in his book, “The Missionary Myth--A Realistic Look at Mission Work” put out by J.C. Choate Publications, chapter five talks about the missionary’s spirituality. I recommend this book to all who wants to be a missionary and to all who wants to support missionaries. I will be quoting word for word an excerpt of chapter five.

“While no missionary would tell you that his original decision to do mission work was inspired primarily by his own spiritual depth, every missionary will tell you that the experience has indeed expanded his spiritual dimensions. The daily putting of his faith on the line, the repeated defending of his convictions against sizeable opposing forces, the constant emotional, social (and geographical) isolation from his committed supporters-- all of this in a foreign cultural setting-- leaves little choice: blossom or wilt. New missionaries discover quickly that they are not as mature as they thought before coming. Some find the going to rough. Most, however, when confronted by the hard reality of mission life, place their hearts in the Lord’s hands, lean full on him, and learn the hard lesson of humility and trust, often with spectacular results, both in their lives and in their work. Brethren tend to overdo the images they project of mission workers to the point of triteness. They see the missionary as a “soldier of the cross,” as an “embattled warrior” for the Lord; they consider him a tireless worker, a master thinker, often an accomplished orator, always a profoundly spiritual person, one whose every attitude is to be imitated, whose every word is to be weighed as rising from the depths of a heart steeped in wisdom. There is a certain amount of truth in all of this. But images, even those constructed on truth, can soon turn to caricature. The definite tendency is to idealize the missionary, to see him not as he really is, but as he is imagined. Is this because of the spiritual commitment that leads him to place his life in the hands of God for the expansion of his kingdom? Is it because of the financial sacrifice he bears in order to preach the gospel? Those who exhibit such qualities certainly deserve our respect and esteem. They do not deserve, nor do they want, to be idealized. For in truth every Christian is called to do the things I have just mentioned. The missionary is nothing more than a “normal” Christian doing what a normal Christian should do, with the exception that he does it in a foreign culture, with all of the challenges and dangers that such supposes. He could well do without the “image” he bears and the enormous public relations aspect the brethren have imposed on his work. If he could only get on the task of teaching the lost, without all of the fuss and bother, he would feel so much better about it all. Instead, he must advertise, convince, pitch, and sell in order to keep himself and his work afloat. The brethren seem to need all of this fanfare. Indeed they even require it. I suspect that underlying our idealizing of mission workers is an undercurrent, if not of shame, at least of disappointment at one’s not having directly participated in a mission effort of one kind or another. This shame/disappointment factor seems to play a role in the way brethren view those who actually do go. They often look at them with wonder and awe, even with envy. I have heard good people who need not feel guilty about not being foreign missionaries declare: “If only I could have been a missionary! Some day, I’ll come over there and join you on the field!” They know good and well they will never be able to do that; but they wish they had been able, and the impossibility of it all gnaws at them needlessly. And what is it they secretly seek? Probably to be admired as missionaries are admired. Let me say here, parenthetically, that this admiration of missionaries has another, less pleasant, side, for it is coupled with a dangerous and perplexing (for the missionary: the brethren do not seem to notice this) reluctance to commit funds to their work for any length of time, with the resulting paradox that admired, adulated workers are forced to beg and plead to find and keep adequate funding for their work. This is an interesting situation indeed. Could it be that real appreciation of the mission worker stems from a respect for his willingness to submit to financial sacrifice? Could this, then, be the reason why, when the missionary is obviously hurting financially, supporters remain strangely unmoved? “After all,” the thinking seems to be, “that’s part of being a missionary, isn’t it?” Let me put it another way: You who are reading this, could you still admire and appreciate a man who, while doing mission work, is not only not having to face financial deprivation but indeed is living well, financially (like most of his located colleagues in the States)? Think about it. On the basis of their lives and work, missionaries are indeed deserving of a special hearing from their brethren; they should be respected for the Lord who dwells in them and for the way they have allowed him to use them to his glory. But the image most brethren have of the missionary’s spirituality is a false one. Real missionary spiritual depth is not necessarily demonstrated by eloquent prayers, impressive preaching, or masterful money-raising, but is rather of a nature that no worker ever really expects to find, the kind that is in the end, more profound, more meaningful than he could ever have imagined before entering the field. At the same time, this deep growth toward God leads him along a road of suffering that few Christians experience.

“Could I have known the path ahead,
Could I have seen that I’d be led,
To mountains such as these,
Forgive me, Lord: I would have fled
Could I have known the weariness,
Could I have seen the tearful stress
Of climbing to this height…
Forgive me, Lord, my stubbornness.
But now I stand upon the crest,
And now I view the Holiest
To which, by pain, I’m led.
O thank you, Lord: your way is best.

I hope that you’ve gained a little insight of what real mission work entails just by reading the excerpt of brother White’s book. The whole book goes into further details of what real mission work is about. In my estimation, it's one of the best books I've read on mission work and would recommend it to anybody who has a serious interest in mission work. I am grateful for such books that help aid us in our ministry and if you have any good literature that you can recommend and share with me, I’d love to read them and expand my knowledge to the glory of God.

This month was very special for me personally in that I was able to perform my very first wedding ceremony as a gospel preacher. It was such a joyful occasian and I am truly blessed to be able to take part in bringing two faithful Christians together in Holy matrimony. I asked that you keep our brother Darat and sister Saray in your prayers and that they will continue to be faithful to God and to each other. This month, the school began it's last quarter for the first year. We are excited for the students in their accomplishing a very demanding first year of intensive Bible study. We ask that you continue to keep them and the work here in your prayers as well.

Phanat

Visakha Valley Bible College - 1st Graduation

Dear brethren at BVBID

We are so delighted to share news about the 1st graduation exercises at Visakha Valley Bible College. It is truly a blessing of our good Lord to successfully send a batch of 16 graduates from our school. We thank each one of you for your part in this accomplishment. There is a lot we can accomplish for the Lord in this pagan land. We are looking forward for the graduation of the Master Class students, which would be in the spring next year. We are excited about that.

You can view all of the pictures in the Graduation album.

Dear brethren, once again we are so thankful to each of you for your part in this accomplishment. We look forward to celebrate many more in the days to come. We are excited about seeing these graduates going out and proclaiming the word of God, may our Lord watch over and protect them and bless them in the Lord's ministry.

We are grateful to God and thankful the brethren at Bear Valley Church of Christ and also Lake Houston Church of Christ.

In Christ
Samuel Raju
John Dean Muppidi

A New Study Begins...

Dear Co-Laborers,

Our hearts and prayers go out to all who have suffered from the tornados and storm damage in the Southeast. We have read of homes and church buildings destroyed or damaged, but we have yet to hear of a single Christian killed. We pray that this reflects reality and we are thankful if that is indeed the case.

Jimmy began a 14-week series teaching the Gospel of John to the Sunday morning Bible class, giving an over-all introduction concerning all four Gospel accounts. An ACSOP student, Timothy Anthony, preached a sermon on "The Love of God." We have been thrilled to see some mothers putting into practice things learned in the child-training class. Our worship services are much quieter, most children are sitting with their parent(s) and there is less "traffic" coming and going.

Sunday most of our family and the Stafford family traveled to Monduli to eat lunch with Rick and Cynthia Nobels (visitors of Danny and Nancy Smelser, staying in their house helping out while the Smelsers are in the states). Cynthia has been teaching Heather and Candace to sew (along with several Tanzanian ladies) and is giving our girls a brand-new electric sewing machine that was donated to her project (several of the pedal-operated types were given to the Tanzanian ladies due to the fact that most do not have power in their homes). Heather and Candace have learned a lot, making two blouses and a dress.

The baby shower for Agness was a great success! Ten ladies attended and we had a hilarious time playing, of all things, musical chairs (a game easy to explain and play). Rehema (winner of the first game) asked if we could play again. After winning the second game, she requested to play a third time! Agness' gifts included: a baby blanket, baby clothes, a bag of rice, potatoes, a lot of soap (including dish washing soap and clothes washing soap), and a jar of jelly. The custom here is to sing a song about a "zawadi" (gift) as the gifts are brought to the guest of honor. However, when the woman receives her gift, she sets it aside immediately. Only upon Trina's humble request did they decide to open the gifts as they were received. But it wasn't Agness who opened her gifts...another lady did it for her! It appears that, as the guest of honor, she does nothing for herself (similar to the custom here in which a bride has people attending to her every need at the ceremony...including wiping the sweat off her brow.) This baby shower was a wonderful opportunity for Agness and the ladies to get better acquainted. As we ate refreshments, we listened to a DVD of lullabies. Our four older girls did most of the cake-baking, decorating and house-cleaning (thankfully!) and helped care for the young children who accompanied their mom's.

Every Bible study with Agatha (don't confuse with Agness, the new Christian above) just gets better. Our lesson last Thursday focused on requirements for membership in the Church, studying scripture on how one must understand what the Gospel is and what it means to "obey the Gospel." The rest of the study on the church will probably take 2 more lessons. With Agatha, Trina initially spent a lot of time answering her questions instead of following the lesson plan (maybe a mistake but we don't know if she would have kept up her interest if we had not).

Next week, we hope to report on the upcoming Teen Girls Seminar, the Arusha Youth Seminar, the new mentoring program, and a few details about a blog Trina intends to write. Our heart-felt gratitude goes out to you for your loyal support and interest.

In Christian Love,
Jimmy, Trina and children

Commitment Brings Greater Vision And Growth

Dearest in Christ,

I call heaven to pour peace and love to you over there fellow laborers for Christ. I am sure you are doing just fine with the work entrusted in your hands.

I am always happy to share with you what made news in CBIW and Wotutu congregation. As I am writing this mail to you, I just returned from mission work for four days with the students of CBIW.

We had a Macedonian call to church of Christ, Dibanda about 40 kilometers from Wotutu, to involve in house to house evangelism and revival to this dying congregation. We all returned on campus safe and sound with great successes from that campaign. You will see in the information I shall share with you.

The whole week ran on well except for our vocational training class on Friday. The use of computer was interrupted by our trip to Dibanda congregation for the campaign.

Through out the month of April our chapel theme was COMMITMENT. This went on well to help the students know the importance of their studies and to be committed to it and also to the staff to continue their great sacrifice to see the school keep moving from one stage to another.

This picture shows brother Ashu finally baptized brother Wilson to put on Christ. Today was his first worship with the saints’. Keep him in your prayers.

Brother Norbert baptized sister Florence about 10 pm on Thursday night after the public lecture by me on the topic WHAT DOES THE BIBLE SAY ABOUT SALVATION AND THE CHURCH? This topic helped the sister to embrace Jesus after hearing that salvation is for all.

Our French student Mbappe Guy baptized brother Lawrence after house to house evangelism the next day. Remember them all in your prayers for them to keep up with Christ, a total of seven souls were baptized in this village to escape the damnation of those who refused to believe the gospel when the Lord will come.

Shows brother Muofo Bernard teaching in an indoor class during the Bible lectureship. This shows that other congregations can testify to the fact that our students are growing, but they must only do that under the watchful eyes of me the director of the school, as you can see me listening keenly.

Fellow laborers of the Lord, CBIW is just four months and the Lord is using us to accomplish a lot. Please I am saying this that you should never forget us in your fervent prayers because this school will do a lot in this country if only we shall have you stand by us. Villages without congregations need us so that we shall preach the pure gospel to them and help many escape from paganism. We can only do this if the means to travel, feed students for four days in these virgin lands are available.

VISIONS
1) Please pray for the staff and students as we are on the last month now for long courses in our second semester. They shall begin writing exams on the the 23rd of May and the second semester campaign will start on the 26th in some 13 different village congregations. I am sending them to village congregations because that is where the greater need is found as those in the villages are still entangled with all kinds of ritualistic practices. Please support us in accomplishing this.

2) Plans are still on to establish our second congregation this month if all things are equal in Batoke village.

3) Bibles are needed as two students will travel to our first established congregation for nurturing during the next campaign.

APPRECIATION
I am thankful to you for all that you have done to see this school get to this level. Thanks for your prayers and your support to see us go places. Please continue, because your effort is not in vain. God will never pass you by when He comes to reward His servants.

I am extending the love of my family, Magdalene, my wife, Ray, my son, and two young girls that live with me, Loveling and Cheercy. We are in good health. We thank God. The Wotutu congregation is doing well. All the brothers and sisters send their greetings from this end we shall be blessed to have fellowship with you soon, physically.

Please, we shall continue to pray for you. Please do same for us. Do your best to tell someone about what is going on in Wotutu village here in Cameroon. Wotutu is just like Nazareth, but God has laid a foundation for His church here. Come and be a part of this team to see how far we can spread the gospel to help many come out from this corrupt generation before He returns.

Your brother, Elangwe and family. Happy slaves serving the King in Cameroon.
By His grace director CBIW

Blessed Beyond Measure...

Greetings Fellow Workers;

Our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the Southeast part of the U.S. during this time of grief, sorrow and loss. We pray God will grant all a measure of peace and understanding during these dark days. Our hope is that the Lord’s people will “step up” and be counted! That their good deeds might glorify our God and other might come to know Him through all this.

We are good here in Tanzania, truly blessed beyond measure. I would like to simply share two reports I received in the last few days, examples of the good being done through your prayers, the work of the over all Tanzania 2000 mission team, through two of our graduates, and by the grace of God:

First Report: “Four Baptisms and a new Church plant.” (April 28th, 2011)
“Dear Brethren, I am very happy to let you know that in the last week I together with two others, camped in Kisii town (Western Kenya) for five days teaching the gospel, and through God's grace four souls were baptized. Of interest was the baptism of one man who leads a denominational church, we look forward to having him teach his members on how to become Bible Christians. The challenge now is how to go back again and teach them on the Bible worship. We gave out tracts and english bibles but majority requested bibles in Kisii language, we could not provide this but we too agree it is necessary. May I take this opportunity to thank you all for your prayers, assistance and study materials which makes our going/work easier. God bless you!” Charles Ogutu:

Second Report: “We thank our God for adding seven new souls to His Church today (Sat. April 30).” (the very next day), “Thank your for your prayers, God has has blessed us with three more Christians today (Sun. May 1st, 2011). Yusuph Madaki, Ushirombo Church of Christ

To God be the glory, great is our God! May the Lord bless everyone with just what they/we need, to mold us to Who He would have us to be. May our God bless you all with the best week every.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Exel

Old Class Shines & New Class Begins In Chandigarh

Dear Brother, Greetings in Jesus’ holy name.

We are doing great and are encouraged to face challenges before us. We have started the new session and good reports from the old students thrill us. Brother Lakhwinder in Amritsar (Punjab) is working in Verka, a suburb of Amritsar city, the Jerusalem of Sikhs. Brother Sunil is doing tremendous job in Orissa state. He was a very bright student while he was here and I feel proud to produce such a student. He has started worship in his place and going to 3-4 villages nearby. The Bicycles given by Brother Russel Bell help them a lot. He has been raising funds for a young man suffering from cancer from the brethren here in India. That shows a spirit in him to work for Christ. I have had brothers sending him money to buy medicine.

While Brother Sunil was here he had some kind of infection in his mouth and initially he thought that it may be cancer and cannot be treated. But after I encouraged him to go to the Doctor and told him that we will try to do whatever we can, he had his proper treatment. He took medicine for a few months and was alright. May be that has put in his mind to serve people of God in every way we can.

The classes are on and we are still hunting for a place that can be used for God’s glory. The reason behind this is that we are not able to use the present premises because of the threat from the local police that people object to the commercial use of the housing unit allotted by the Chandigarh Administration. This naturally affects the input of the students, as the news goes out that we have the problem of space. We think to go out of the city, but again people don’t give here the house on rent to the Church. Majority of the people are non believers, not even the denominational, who own the property. We have to go to the Hindus or Sikhs. Sikhs are not that much opposed but Hindus are, because of the fundamentalists. Also, our present deed is only up to May. We ourselves also feel not satisfied with the arrangement at present. It is matter of great concern for me to have a place which we can use with free mind.

I have been trying to find such a place but when we see the price we feel helpless. But the next moment we think that our God is Living God and we must EXPECT GREAT THINGS FROM THE LORD. Last week somebody showed me a piece of land that is not yet developed and was going very cheap comparative to the present market price. I calculated that we cannot but that 1800 sq ft and construct that. I told brother Jerry who was here in South India. He said that the need is genuine and price as well, but presently it is not possible to pay this much. I could understand that and don’t know to whom I should talk as I am not asking 100%. At least 10-15% we can arrange here. If we don’t shift, we will have to pay about $750 as monthly rent. And if a little more is given as the EMI, even then the deal is not bad. Because purchasing power of money is decreasing day by day, but the value of the property in is increasing at very high rate.

I know you are praying for us and know our situation. I was reading a prayer from some one, that even we know God has his own answer, we should not quit praying. He will do, definitely in his own time.

Yours For the Cause of Christ

Earnest

Past, Present, and Future in Honduras...

I want to inform you what has happened with the graduates of IBH.  Brother Oscar moved Monday, April 11 to a place called El Empalme de Trojes, some 25 kilometers outside of Danli. He with his family is being supported by a congregation in the U.S. to preach full time. Hector is helping with the church of El Zarzal, especially with the youth. He is organizing and preparing for evangelism; he continues with his secular studies. Yoni Gonzalez is helping the El Carmen church and the La Union congregation, also helping with the evangelism Saturdays at El Zarzal. In the church at La Union he had his first baptism. Yesterday (Thursday, April 21) both Hector and Yoni were evangelizing in Danli having studies with a Catholic family.

With respect to the new prospects for students, we continue encouraging them to study, but not having an exact date of the beginning of classes makes things complicated since the economic situation of the country affects so much and some have to work to help their families. With brother Cesar we wish to visit these brothers to encourage them personally so that they see that things are serious, but the money we were going to use in these trips was spent in the graduation and for that reason we have not been able to visit the brethren. Brothers Enrique, Gustavo, Jairo and another brother from El Paraiso are disposed; I have also a brother of Marcala la Paz. His name is Santiago Asael Mejia; he has completed his secular education, is 18 years old. There are other prospects in Olancho.

With respect to the funds we continue to receive each month, there is a total of 49,850 Lempiras. We bought two books for the library that will be very useful for the future students. The cost was 800 Lempiras for both. Also sister Mirian was paid the last 15 days that she cooked; the amount was 1,400 Lempiras. The costs of lights, and the internet are monthly.

With respect to using the building of the congregations El Zarzal and Jacaleapa are willing; in the other buildings live the preachers. One brother offered brother Enrique and his family to live in a home in Cuyali, 15 kilometers from Danli. The only cost would be his transportation to travel to the institute, the same as from Jacaleapa. I, for the moment, am living in the building of El Zarzal to take care of the equipment and furnishings of the church. If I decide to live in the building, I will be happy to lend my home so that a brother could live in it.

With reference to the masters classes, I spoke with the congregation at El Zarzal. They are in agreement in providing me the passage so as to be able to receive the classes since that will benefit them also. I do not know if on the date June 13-23 there will be campaigns, but I will inform you with anticipation if we can go or not. I hope that all goes well and that the date does not continue to change for the masters classes so we can go if that is will of God.

Brother Jesus will send you some photos of the studies he is conducting with the book Searching for Truth.  I would send some but I have no digital camera.

I hope to hear more news from you.

Nery