God Gives The Increase Again in Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from CBIW to you and your family. I am thanking God for all his works in our lives. Both the staff and students are doing great. I do hope you are doing great in all that you do, mostly for those things entrusted in your hands to provoke growth of the church here on earth.

The lady was added into the body of Christ in Wotutu, as you can see David performing baptism to her. She is our sister whose husband was a leader in the full gospel church and was converted last month after attending the belief therapy workshop. Keep them in your prayers so that they continue to walk in newness of life. Beside the river, David told this lady, Mary, “this is some water, what hinders you from being baptized?”

This week was also very interesting in our campus and our community. The normal activities in CBIW went on well ranging from morning devotions, chapel, evening devotions, visiting and Bible studies in different congregations by our visiting minister, David Ballard.

David Ballard, before leaving Cameroon to teach two short courses made an appeal to me that he will love to invest much time in school teaching but will also love to move around the villages to preach and teach and by doing so, meeting the brethren. His 18 days stay with me in my house, he visited 13 congregations where he was given opportunity to teach. His visit was so encouraging every where we passed. 

As I write this mail to you, David is in the sky on his way back to the USA. Our prayers are that he arrives safe and sound as he left us safe and sound.

On the left is my house where brother David stayed for 18 days. You can see him watering the seeds there as we wait for God to give the increase. He was so active with reaching out in the word as he had any opportunity. Our motto suited him, EVANGELISM IS OUR MISSION AND OUR MISSION IS EVANGELISM.

This picture shows David in the pulpit in Wotutu, this morning preaching on the topic “keep the faith.” The preaching was a balance diet for our people who understood him so well this was just a cross section of our membership.

After the two short courses taught by David, The New Testament Church and the Godhead, the director of CBIW, David and the 21 students of CBIW posed for a family picture. The lecturer appreciated the CBIW students for their readiness to learn and zeal to preach the gospel.

Today was another great day in the life of the church in Wotutu, as two of our sisters who were pregnant gave birth to their new born babies without any problem and complication. So they brought their children to the worship assembly today to thank God and for the church to pray for the children. David led this prayer in our congregation today.

Today marked our congregation in this new building, five years existence. So, the Wotutu congregation decided to organize a fellowship meal to mark that event and also to commune with our brother in our special way, as he was dressed in our traditional regalia.

Whenever we get to this day of anniversary we are thankful to God for sister Margie and the husband for their sacrifice and love over us to erect the church facility for us which is also used today as the lecture hall to train these men to preach. God alone will bless them and give them long life.

APPRECIATION
I am so thankful to God for you who is standing by us in your prayers and physical support to see our vision to keep moving. My prayers to God for you is that you continue as the Lord open more ways in your heart to do more because there is nothing that you do for the Lord which is in vain (1 Cor. 15:58).

Please do your best to share this report with others. Maybe God can use them do something in our vision. Thank you very much for all that you do.

I sent the students today, after the intensive studying during the two short courses, to go for a mid term break of one week. We continue to pray from today for the one that will come over to CBIW in September for another two short courses.

Keep the faith and be strong in the Lord 

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director of CBIW

Long Term Plans In Cambodia...

Greetings brethren,

I thank God for the opportunity to report of the work of Christ in Cambodia for the month of May and June. It truly has been a transitional time for my family and I the past couple of months, due to our recent commitment of doing God’s will here in Cambodia for the next decade or so. We had to prepare and adjust to a few things in order to accommodate for our goals and plan for the future of the church here as well as my family. Before I get into the details, I would like to share some good news about the children of Hannah’s Hope. Two more of our orphans have decided to follow after Christ and put Him on in baptism. So far, we have 7 out of 16 who understood that they are sinners and needed salvation that can only be found in Christ. Hout, Sophen, Piseth, Saray, and Pisey are doing such a wonderful job in instilling God’s word into the children that it shows in their mannerism. They are often complimented by our visitors as to how well behaved they are when the church meets. Although they have no mother and father, they’ve become mother and father to each other and look after one another with tender love. This is all due to our Christian staff in bringing them up in the admonition of the Lord. 

I can’t say enough about the good work Hannah’s Hope Children’s Home is doing for the future of the church in Siem Reap. It is such a blessing to see the church grow from the root up and to be a part of it. If any of you were to come meet with us on Sunday morning to worship the Lord, you would see five infants, two toddlers, six children 10 years or younger, six teenagers, about fifteen young adults, five married couple, and a seventy year old grandmother. As you can see, we are a very young and small congregation, but what excites me is that in twenty years, we would have a strong core group of faithful Christians to build off of to serve God in Cambodia! Especially, when we have teachers like Gary Fallis, who’s willing to sacrifice two weeks of his time to come and further our knowledge of God’s word at IBISR. Not only did the students benefit, but the staff learned a great deal as well. We appreciate Gary and his wife Sarah and teachers from abroad like them who come to teach and be a part of the work of Christ here in Cambodia. They truly play an important role in growing the local church spiritually. 

In order to accommodate the anticipated growth in accordance to God’s word, my family and I had to make a few adjustments, not only emotionally, but financially and spiritually as well. For us to fulfill our goal of having an autonomous church, we have to first be financially independent, meaning the local brethren supporting the local work. It has to come from the church fund that the members give on a weekly basis instead of a work fund from abroad. The challenge is (as in many foreign works) after the local leaders understand the stewardship aspect of biblical teachings, they need to generate income outside of foreign support. Since my family made the commitment to be here long term, we will also need to find a way to generate income outside of my support from abroad. We want to be the example in this area. I have borrowed some money from my family in America to start up a small business in selling school and office supplies to the nationals. This will be our outside source of income and Lord willing if the business does well, we will not only be able to increase our weekly givings but also provide employment for members of the church so that they can have an outside source of income as well to help with our goals and plans for the autonomy of the church. My family prepared for this plan spiritually through much prayer and bible study. We understand James 4:13-16 very well. We understand that if we are not careful, this could be a stumbling block and hinder our spiritual growth. We seek your prayers concerning this particular issue and pray that what we do brings glory to God. 

Again, this will not happen in a year or two. It will literally take ten to twenty years for everything to fall into place. I hope all my supporters can see the vision and have the patience for this work to grow into fruition. I know that the elders who oversee this work (Bear Valley) have the same goals and vision for the work here in Cambodia and that’s why I am confident that our goals will be accomplished because ultimately, this is the vision of our Lord Jesus Christ when He commissioned the apostles to go into all nations baptizing and teaching all that He taught them including what He just taught in commanding them to go to all nations! We have the obligation and duty to teach and continue to teach them of what our Lord taught us. I pray that you will this take commandment seriously and impact your part of the world for Christ!

Phanat

Studies / Campaign Organized And Planned...

Dear Co-Laborers,

Jimmy continued teaching the Gospel of John in the Men's Bible class and preached the second half of the sermon on Galatians 5 and 6 to a fully packed auditorium. Trina was scheduled to teach the Children's class ("The Ten Commandments") with about 20 in attendance (all ages) while Paulina taught the Ladies' class.

Yesterday, the "once-a-month" Child-Training class (scheduled for two hours) lasted four hours. The women really enjoyed it, asked questions, expressed their thankfulness to be learning so much and were amazed at the numerous verses in Proverbs concerning child-rearing. It is Trina’s intention for this class to last through the month of December and to have a "graduation" ceremony and dinner for the ladies.

On Monday, Trina went to study with Joyce (Janet's sister) without a translator because, in Janet's view, Joyce knew English well. Sadly, this was not the case. Trina would speak slowly and simply to Joyce and she would look at Janet who would then try to "translate" the English to her!

Since there are so many non-Christians (about 8 people, including Joyce) who need Bible studies, we scheduled a group Bible study at the church building on Saturday after the Child-Training class. Sadly, and surprisingly, none of the people invited showed up. So, perhaps they are just uncomfortable coming to the church building at this point. When we have an available translator, we will schedule individual studies. Also, Trina is going to ask some of the ladies who took the Personal Evangelism class (taught by Hannah Box) to conduct some of the studies.

There are so many here who want to study or who would gladly study the Bible if asked. We know this is rarely the case in America, but don't lose heart! The good news is that Stan Crowley, one of our recent visitors, has some EXCELLENT DVD's available for people (both the Christian and non-Christian) who feel threatened by a one-on-one Bible study. The DVD's are all wonderful tools to teach the truth to your non-Christian friends, family members, church visitors, etc. They are all audio but have the Scriptures and pertinent information typed out (and are "user-friendly"...the simple truth told in love and kindness). A person can listen to them at their convenience and review. Your work would be in the follow-up asking if they understood or wanted more study. It won't cost you a thing because Mr. Crowley will send them free of charge to anyone! You can do as we did and send him a list of addresses. His email is sjctexas@juno.com. One person to whom we sent the DVD's was baptized!

Our new Christian sister, Helen, has been too weak to attend services. Her cancer is in stage 2B. The news she received from the doctors (3) in Dar es Salaam is that she would not survive an operation or radiation. All three have advised an herbal treatment, although we were told by American doctors here that there is no known herbal cure for cancer and that the treatment may only help her feel better. Please continue to remember Helen in your prayers.

The Kisongo congregation has organized and planned their own campaign beginning July 19-24. Their plan is to knock on doors and set up Bible studies in the morning and have preaching in the evening. Trina’s translator and her were asked to help conduct a children's Bible class on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evening as the week comes to a close.

Our sincere gratitude is extended towards those who sent some extra funds! The power outages are now seemingly constant (lasting 12-14 hours) with the electricity off more than it is on! In order to run our washing machine, refrigerator, water pump, and have fans at night (to keep mosquitoes off) and have internet we must spend between $30 to $50 per day buying petrol (gas) for the generator. Plus our water filter expired and we've had to buy drinking water the past few months. Thankfully our visitors brought us a new one! Again, we are extremely grateful for your financial support, care, concern and prayers. Thank you for coming through in our time of need. 

In Christ,
The Gee's

True Heart Of The Tanzania People...A Must Read

Greetings Fellow Workers: 

The Heart of the Tanzanian People!

Today our Safari for Souls campaign ended (but not the work of the Lord) at Manyire. After a wonderful Bible class, worship, and sermon several responded to God’s invitation, one obeying God in obedience to the Gospel being baptized into Christ. Through the pre-campaign efforts, the efforts of the past week, ten souls have been added to the Church of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

We are truly humbled by the sacrifice of our brothers and sisters from Elk City, Hooker, OK and TN. We thank God for the participation of all our Tanzanian Christian family for their planning, support and great leadership.

Today Dr. Smelser told Stephanie a story that exemplifies the true heart of the people we are privileged to live and work with. A man came up to the Smelser’s home and asked if they could baptize him into Christ that he might have salvation and be a part of the Body of Christ. After some discussion it was discovered he had walked eight hours to make this a reality. After his New Birth they gave him a ride back to the junction where he was able to get a ride home.

Yusuph Madaki, ACSOP graduate preaching for the Ushirombo congregation; reported three more souls obeying the Gospel.

We ended our day with the Gee family and our twenty-one short term co-workers over for a singing and short devotional lesson. It is such a joy to be a part of God’s family, having all in common and with the hope of Heaven. We close with thanksgiving in our hearts for all your support and prayers. We love and pray for you all often, knowing our God is able and that He continues to bless your efforts through His mission effort here in Tanzania. Thank you!

In Him, Cy, Stephnaie & Granny

Progress And Development in Uganda...

The following two reports in this section cover the past two weeks. Brother Wechesa’s reports are encouraging concerning the work of the Uganda School of Evangelism and development of the congregations near Busia, Uganda.

June 27th report:

Dear brethren,

The week ended well on Saturday. On Sunday I worshiped at Bukalikha/Buhatuba Church of Christ. We arrived there when they were waiting for us. They grass roof  had a very big hole in it. They were very sorry about what happened when brother Donnie visited them as the rotten grass with maggots fell on him. We are very sorry. Those are the things we go through here in Africa. We have helped them with 50,000/= for some new grass and someone put it on. They are very much preparing the clay for the bricks. Next week they will be through with the clay. As they don't have someone who knows how make bricks. I will pay someone to the job for they will be only taking care of the unbaked bricks until they will be ready for the burning. 

Uganda School of Evangelism started today, 27th June, with a class in each. I hope that by tomorrow they will be all in Class. This quarter we are going to have five instructors for both English and Kiswahili classes. Brother Manyuru, Christopher, Omutele, and Morris will teach in both Kiswahili and English. brother Elias Omollo will be teaching two subjects in English class. The subjects to be taught this quarter are: Marriage and Family, Church growth, the book of John, Ezekiel, Daniel and Minor prophets from Micah to Malachi. Margaret has prepared Mandazi for the students for this week. The students like them very much. Our turkey has started laying eggs. The funny thing with turkeys is that they don't want to be seen when they lay their eggs. So what Paul does, he opens the gate and lets it go where it can hide. The guineafowl is also laying eggs. 

Next week Paul will be teaching our students about drip irrigation and why we need to dig trenches before we plant our vegetables. The stable for our cattle fell down due to termites. We plan to erect a new one with bricks and iron sheets. We plan also to make a new house for the goats and pigs with bricks. The 46 iron sheets for all these structures will cost us 1,104,000/= $$480 dollars. We would need five thousand bricks at 100/= per brick totaling to Ugx 500,000/=  $210. We would need about 15 bags of cement at 28,000/= per bag that 450,000/= $180 dollars. Timber the will cost 430,000/= Labour for the whole work will cost Ugx 745,200/= $315 dollars. Brethren if there is any way to help with this we would appreciate it. We need our animal place to look nice and also not to be eaten by termites. The grandmother of our instructor, brother Samson Omutele, passed away on Saturday. The burial will take place on Thursday this week. Pray for that family.

July 4th report

Dear brethren,

We thank the Lord very much for the blessings He is giving to us here in Uganda. The weather is fairly warm here in Busia Uganda. All students of Uganda School of Evangelism are now back  except two who went to Congo for registration. Today, 3rd July, we worshiped in Buwere church of Christ 10 kilometers from Busia town. With a warm weather the worship was good under the shades of the trees in their garden. They are still appealing for help with 40 iron sheets and some bags of cement. 

30th June we went for a burial of Samson Omutele's grandmother in Western part of Kenya. Omutele is going to be one of our instructors this quarter at the school. We went together with brother Elias Omolo a preacher of Lieta Church of Christ in South Nyanza province of Kenya. Elias is a graduate of Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Arusha Tanzania. He has also completed the advanced course in the same school. Akili Mali from Uvira Congo is still in Congo. He went for registration as a Congolee. Brother Munganga from Thako North Kivu also went but came back yesterday. We borrowed $250 dollars for their transport. If there a way these funds can be raised, we would appreciate. The plan for the school is to pay for them once in a year, but this was an emergency as the registration was to end on 30th June 2011. May the Lord bless you all as you serve Him. 

Yours
Francis and Margaret Wechesa

Triumph And Tragedy In Tamale, Ghana...

One of the students at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Tony Johnson, continues his work with the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies. His most recent report about the work is posted below. If you would like to see more of Tony’s posts with pictures, you can visit his blog site.

There is a phrase that I have heard often in the past couple of weeks. Anytime something doesn’t work quite right, or something unusual happens it is likely someone will say “T.I.A.” – short for “this is Africa.” After being here for a short time you understand that it means take nothing for granted and don’t assume anything. Everything may seem to be going as planned one minute, and the next minute you are wondering what happened as things you never imagined occur on a regular basis. When you try to make sense of it, sometimes the only answer is T.I.A. Sometimes the result is good, many times it is bad, but T.I.A.

This has been a T.I.A. week. The week started out with preparing for the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies lectureship, which ran Friday thru Sunday. The high point was Saturday and the graduation of fifteen men who made up the first class at the school. Bob Turner from Bear Valley came to the graduation as he was visiting the extension schools in West Africa and wrote about the graduation and awards at the Bear Valley Extension School site. I was invited to speak on the need for a commitment to the great commission as part of the lectureship on Sunday morning. It was an exciting time for the graduates and the 200+ who attended. It was certainly a triumphant day for the school here to see their dreams of teaching men the Bible in their own country come to fruition. We had our T.I.A. moments, such as the power failing every night, the cooks losing track of time which resulted in lunch being 2 hours late on day, and rainy nights which eliminated a few planned activities, but we were happy with the way the weekend turned out.

Another triumph happened Monday afternoon when a young man who came to the lectureship asked to be baptized. He had been studying with one of the current students, who invited him to the lectureship. After meeting with the young man to see if he knew why he needed to be baptized off we went to find some water! It was great to see a new brother added to the kingdom.

After being baptized we each offered words of encouragement to our new brother K. John (I can’t pronounce his Konkumba name, let alone spell it). One of the other instructors at the school offered some great words about the road ahead, the struggles that come with the name, and the need to continue to grow. He mentioned the need to be committed to Christ every day, because we never know what might happen, because after all, T.I.A.

That lesson became painfully clear later that evening when a person we work with here at the school was electrocuted while taking a shower. It was not caused by anything they did wrong, just a faulty wire connected to a hand held water heater they were using. The wire was probably damaged through the inconsistent electrical current here and the power surges and failures that are a daily part of life. We look for answers, but in the end, T.I.A. There is no 911 to call, or paramedics to come help, or even an ambulance. We did the best we could to get them to the hospital, but it was to late. It can be a hard country at times, and it is a constant reminder of the need to be ready for eternity.

As hard as it can sometimes be, we carry on as best we know how. On Tuesday I covered for another teacher, and today I taught my final New Testament survey class before the final test tomorrow. The students have done well so far in this class so I am looking forward to seeing how they do on the final, which includes listing all the books in the Bible (in the proper order and spelled correctly) and a number of memory verses in addition to 35 fill in the blank questions. If any of you would like to take it I will be glad to send you a copy!

I look forward to returning to the USA in a couple of weeks, but I have decided to come back on a more permanent basis next year. I already have my class assignments, Life of Christ 4, The Gospel of John, 1^st 2^nd & 3^rd John, and Foundations for Missions. I have lots to do between now and then!

Thank you for your prayers. Hope to see many of you in July and August!

Tony

Building Registration, Baptisms And Prospective Students...

Dear brothers, churches and families.

I want to share with you some information and the latest news about the life of the church and institute in Ukraine.

The biggest news, to my mind, is the process of changing the registration of the building where the Bible Institute is situated at the moment. The ownership will go from English Language University to the Central Church of Christ. In order to clarify this situation, I will have to briefly explain everything from the very beginning. About 15 years ago, brothers from the USA bought the building. They didn’t register it on the religious organization, but the owner was registered as non-government organization (University of English Language). In 2007, Bear Valley Bible Institute in Ukraine moved from Kramatorsk to Gorlovka, and we started using that building. Yet the building still was owned by non-government organization, University of English Language. Since this organization is registered as non-government, the fees for the utilities are very high, and we are not applicable to benefits that a church can have. The benefits allow paying a lot less for electricity, water and land. Why do we want to register the building on the church and not on the Institute? By Ukrainian laws these benefits are applicable only to churches. Other religious organizations (like institutes, colleges and schools) can’t make use of these benefits. We want the church to be the owner of this building, and only a few members of the church could make legal decisions about the building. Among these people will be several Americans, including some elders and teachers of Bear Valley, and several Ukrainians (Ukrainian teachers in BVBIU).

Right now we are in the middle of the process. Some of the paperwork is done, and some papers we’ll receive in July. If we are able to finish the process, we will receive great results. First, this building will be under the control of elders and teacher of Bear Valley. Second, we will have lower fees on utilities.

We are also getting ready to the upcoming school year. At the beginning of the month, Oksana has put the library in order. We have ordered filing cabinet for the office and started painting the windows on the outside.

Our family participated in two VBSs this month, both in Gorlovka and in Kramatorsk. There were many kids who learned more about God. During VBS in Kramatorsk, there were 7 baptisms. But the statistics show that not many of them continue in coming to church, so please pray for them.

At the moment, 9 potential students have called me who want to start studying in our school in September. 3 of them are from Gorlovka, 4 from Kramatorsk, 1 from Slavyansk, 1 from Konstantinovka. Please pray for them.

If you have any questions or suggestions, please write to me. Thank you for your support and constant prayers. God bless your work for His cause.  

Your brother,
Dennis.

Fruitful Labor In Nepal...

Respected brothers in Christ,

Namaste and good morning to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May God bless you richly in His kingdom.

I am sorry for reporting late on our school activities.

We are glad to share our good news to you all from our heart. Our regular classes and other surrounding spiritual activities are smoothly going on. Beside our students, all Kathmandu Valley congregations are being encouraged and nourished by the monthly Bible classes with women, gents, youth teenagers, and small children. We are trying to do our best effort for the Lord in His kingdom.

We had a good and fruitful month in June. We had gone out of Kathmandu Valley for a week gospel campaign trip on June 10th - 16th at Rasuwa district of Bagmati zone, which is in Langtang National Park. We had opportunity to visit and had Bible studies with four different local congregations. Some congregations are two hours walking distance and others are six hours. These congregations are nearly touched with big mountains and Himal. Our students had presented their lessons based on our theme 2 Peter 3:18 “grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.” All local congregations got different experience and encouragement from our visit and fellowship.

One week later from our gospel trip, we had a spiritually strong man of God from California, brother Steve Smith. He arrived at Kathmandu on 23rd June and returned back on 30th June. He taught us from the word of God. He taught us the “Sermon on the Mount.” He dug out amazing lessons from there. May God bless him abundantly in His service.

Soon after his departure, we are waiting for our guest teacher, brother Don Prather, Jenie and Art Gibson from Shepherd and Chrono congregations for special classes on “Work of an Evangelist,” “Personal Work of an Evangelist” and “How to Study the Bible.” He will be arriving at Kathmandu, Nepal on July 2nd and have special classes for our students on July 4th - 8th. Then we will have classes with our students, visiting preachers, probably some future students with us in 2nd week of the Bible study. Please kindly remember us in your personal and congregational prayers.

We do always need your prayer and guidance to go further. Thanks for your all encouraging words and help toward our school in Nepal. 

Servant of Christ...........................Gajendra Deshar

Nepal Center for Biblical Studies
Kathmandu, Nepal

First Graduation Of TIBS (Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies)

“It is not enough just to belong to a church. Let us again proclaim from the housetops the message of the restoration, and lead a crusade of believers back to Christ and to the church of which He is the Builder, Foundation, Head Purchaser and Savior.” These are the words of Daniel Ampidu Asiamah, Director of the West Coast School of Preaching. Brother Asiamah was a keynote speaker in the 2nd Annual Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies Lectureship. His lesson was a look at the past and the need for us to return to the paths that made the church what Christ intended.

The lectureship was just the first day of a weekend full of wonderful activities. Saturday was a day of celebration as the first class in the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies was honored with a graduation ceremony. Fifteen men completed their work over the last two years to reach this special occasion and people from the northern, eastern, western and southern regions of Ghana all came together to honor these men.

The Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies began under the direction of the Tamale East and Tamale West congregations, along with Steven Ashcraft, who has served as a missionary / evangelist for the past 6 years in Ghana. Steven now serves as the coordinator for the school in Tamale, as well as, the West Coast School of Preaching in Takoradi, Ghana. Three men serve as full-time instructors for the school, as well as, the administration for the program. Joseph Okyere Baah serves as the Director of TIBS, Daniel Adjei Mensah serves as the Dean of Students, and Ndakar Jaminja serves as an instructor. These men, along with several short course instructors, have done a great work in training these men for the past two years. 

Four of the students were honored with a special gift for outstanding achievement in specific areas over the last two years. The first was Stephen Abugbilla who received the “Best Servant” award. This award was a special award to the student who demonstrated the most servant like character during his time in school. What a great honor to be recognized for such a Christlike attitude and example to his fellow students.

Stephen Abugbilla also received the “Most Enterprising” award. It was encouraging to listen to the explanation of this award. Stephen came into the program without the greatest skills needed to complete the program. His reading level and skill set were not at the same level as the other students. However, he demonstrated his desire to grow and be a part of this class, even if it meant learning to study in the most “private” of places. This brother finished ahead of several other students because of his enterprising spirit.

Christian Somiretey received the “Best Behaved” award. This award was also a special award for the student who demonstrated the type of behavior that excelled above the other students in this class. To receive such an award speaks highly of the consistency of character recognized by the staff over two years of leaving in the same complex with 14 other men studying together. 

Godfrey Nathan Cann received the “Most Determined” award. Brother Cann was the oldest student in the class. It was noted how he was able to get along so well with the younger students and has always demonstrated the proper respect for the older generation in Ghana. Brother Cann entered the school at an age most would consider too old to be able to carry the work load required and brother Baah stated his concern when brother Cann first applied to the school. He was not sure if he would be able to keep up with the class load. However, he has exemplified the kind of personality and strength of character determined to achieve the goal. His work ethic and persistence paid off. 

Adjei Jacob Yeboah received the “Best Student” award. Jacob was the Prefect (valedictorian) of the class because of his academic achievement over the last two years. He stood out above the other students as a result of his academic level. Jacob was one of the younger students in the class and he was kidded as being single and the women present were told they could apply at the office. All joking aside, this good brother excelled in many ways during the last two years. His academic achievement was just one of those areas. 

Fifteen men who are prepared to enter into the work of the Lord’s kingdom will now begin their efforts to help the church grow. Their diligence and hard work for the last two years is only the beginning. We ask each of you to be praying for these men as they embark upon the task of preaching the gospel in the Northern Region of Ghana. They will face many challenges and will need encouragement and strength from the Lord. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

Sunday was also a special day as the congregations in Tamale and all who had traveled for the lectureship and graduation came together for a united worship of God. It was a time where God was honored and praised. It was also a day of great thanksgiving. More than 200 Christians came together for this time of fellowship and worship. I was honored and privileged to share in this special occasion and look forward to the growth and development of the work in Tamale, as well as, throughout Ghana.

The future of the school looks just as promising. The picture to the right is part of the next group of students entering the program in Tamale. In this picture is Steven Ashcraft (coordinator) and Tony Johnson who has been in Ghana since May 23rd. Tony is teaching a short course this summer for the school and planning to return here next year to work full-time with TIBS. As well, 10 of the 14 students presently enrolled are pictured here.

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

Extension Reports 

David Ballard Visits Cameroon: David Ballard has been in Cameroon teaching two short courses for the Bible Institute. Brother Elangwe shares the news and pictures of David’s visit.

Malaria...Reality In The Mission Field: Tony Johnson’s report talks about the realities of dealing with malaria in Tamale. He also shares more of the great work in Ghana.

More Arrive In Arusha And The Work Grows: The Gee Report shares more the great news about the work of those who arrive and participate in the Safari For Souls campaign in Arusha, Tanzania. 

Final Thoughts
Most of you will receive this as I am flying back to the United States. The past few weeks have been exciting and profitable in continuing to make the necessary adjustments in several locations for future growth.

I am constantly amazed at the sacrifices men around the world are willing to make to prepare themselves for preaching the gospel. I am also encouraged by the administration and staff in each location as they also make great sacrifices to prepare these men. They work diligently and the fruit of their labor is being seen with each class entering the work.

As each of you read the report, I pray you are encouraged and edified by the results of this work. Thank you for your willingness to provide what is necessary to make the extension program successful. In the months ahead I will be writing more about various needs to help upgrade a number of areas within the program. Thank you again.

God bless
Bob

More Arrive In Arusha And The Work Grows...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,

Hello! It's a beautiful day with just a little nip in the air. Terra Gobble, from Cleveland, TN arrived last night and will stay almost two weeks working in the Manyire area. Seventeen folks from Elk City, OK arrived today to work in that same area. We know a lot of good will be done there to help the local church grow.

When visitors come, much teaching is done and we report the studies and baptisms. However, there are always results that linger after the visitor has left. For instance, Alexander (with whom Steven, Jimmy's nephew, studied but did not baptize) called Jimmy this morning wanting to attend church in Kisongo. We were thrilled to have him and everyone was very friendly to him. What seems to be holding Alexander back from being baptized is that his job requires him to serve alcohol. Jobs are not easy to obtain and he is struggling with this decision. Jimmy taught the Bible lesson on John 4 and had a wonderful sermon on Galatians 5 and 6. Trina’s ladies class joined the adult men because she still has a hacking cough.

Then, yesterday, after asking our neighbors where we lived, a man named Salim came to our gate and talked with Abigail. About 2 weeks ago, Salim saw Trina at the recreation place with her Bible and asked if she was a "teacher of the Bible." He was very interested in learning so Trina set up a study with Steven. However, when Salim did not show up for the study, we felt that there had to be a good reason (because he was the one who requested the study!) Yesterday we were happy to learn the reason. Salim's neighbor had died the day of the study. In Africa, when a neighbor dies, nearly everyone in the village or neighborhood is expected to help (preparing the body, digging the grave, mourning and helping cook for days).  Salim took the time to track us down and let us know he still wanted to study God's Word.

Immediately after services Trina’s friend, Janet, said her sister (Joyce) wanted to study the Bible. At first, Trina said she couldn't study this week because the translator was going with the visitors this week. Then, Janet informed me that Joyce speaks and understands English well so we set the time for 2:30 tomorrow!

In our last report we spoke about the Personal Evangelism class to be taught by Hannah Box. Approximately 15 ladies attended and were eager to learn to teach others. A big thanks to Hannah for her effort and time that made this class a success! We KNOW it will pay off and this class will help the church at Kisongo to grow. Lindsey and Abigail volunteered their time to entertain the children while their mothers learned.

Last Tuesday, both Candace and Stuart, were diagnosed with the mumps. While they have had some discomfort and pain (especially when chewing), both are doing better now and much of the swelling has gone down. They wouldn't allow us to get pictures of their chipmunk cheeks, though! 

Expect to hear about all the good things that will happen this week in next weeks' report. We appreciate every one who makes this work possible. It's almost too easy when you have people approaching you asking for a Bible study. "The fields are white unto harvest." There's more to tell, but our page is complete.

To God Be the Glory,
Jimmy, Trina, Lindsey, Abigail, Heather, Candace, Stuart, David, Naomi, Elijah and Matthew Gee

Malaria...Reality In The Mission Field

One of the students at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Tony Johnson, continues his work with the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies. His most recent report about the work is posted below. If you would like to see more of Tony’s posts with pictures, you can visit his blog site.

It has been an eventful period since last Wednesday’s update. It started out normal, with class on Thursday and Friday covering the books of Acts and Romans in the New Testament Survey class. I was encouraged that the test scores have been getting better as the students learn how to take better notes. It is also helpful that they have become more comfortable in asking questions and telling me when they do not understand what I am trying to say.

Friday evening things started to go a little sideways though as I got sick for the first time since being here. I figured it was just something I ate and a couple of Pepto-Bismol tablets would take care of the problem. Not so much. For the next couple of days I would start to feel a little better, and then would get a little sicker than the last time. By Monday evening I had developed a fever followed by chills, which was enough for even me to realize I needed to go find some help.

Adjei Mensah, who is an instructor and Dean of Students at the school here loaded me up on his motorbike and off we headed to the Tamale Teaching Hospital, one of three hospitals in the city. Teaching Hospital is reportedly far better than the others, so I was grateful that Brother Adjei knew a doctor there who is a member of the Tamale East congregation.

As you might imagine, the hospital is quite different from what you would find in most places in the U.S. A security guard keeps people from entering into the area where the doctor’s offices are, so we had to call when we arrived so he could come to meet us. Although it was late in the evening there were a great number of people sitting or sleeping on the benches in the area outside of the admissions window, all of which is outside. Since there was no one working in admissions I believe these were mostly family members of patients, who will stay here for the night. Visiting hours are very narrow, 1½ hours in the morning and 1½ hours in the evening, and are apparently strictly enforced.

After the doctor arrived we then had to find a room for the examination, which is done by walking around a courtyard that is surrounded by offices and sticking your head in to see if it is in use. Fortunately we found a room very quickly (although I was not too happy to note the sign on the door said “Injection Room”), and the doctor was able to discover pretty quickly that I had Africa’s most common disease, malaria. He wrote a couple of prescriptions and walked us over to the pharmacy, where he thankfully took care of getting it filled, as part of the medicine was in one pharmacy and part in another, and then they wanted someone else’s approval before they would fill it! What would have probably taken us many hours to accomplish he was able to take care of in 45 minutes. Once we were all done I tried to pay him for his service but he refused to take anything, even for the prescriptions which I saw him pay for out of his own pocket. He just thanked me for coming to help the church!

So anyway, I am two-thirds of the way through my anti-malaria medicine and feeling much better. I was even able to teach my scheduled classes, so we have finished Paul’s letters as well as Hebrews. I have 4 more class periods next week, so we are on schedule to finish a day early thanks to the extra evening classes that we held. I gave the students the choice of what they wanted to talk about in the last class period and they were unanimous in selecting one of my least favorite subjects to talk about, marriage, divorce, and remarriage. Thankfully I brought my Denny Petrillo notes with me so I will do the best I can.

Friday begins the annual lectureship here, with graduation exercises set for Saturday, and the lectureship concluding on Sunday. Bob Turner, the Director of the extension school program at Bear Valley has arrived to be part of the graduation program and will kick of the lectureship on Friday. I am scheduled to speak on Sunday morning on the subject of the Great Commission. This is the first lectureship I have been invited to speak at and I am looking forward to the opportunity.

Thank you for all you do to make this work possible. Thank you especially for your prayers this past week, I know they were instrumental in my quick recovery.

Tony

David Ballard Visits Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from CBIW. I am excited to share with you our newsletter for this week. It is amazing that God is using minister David Ballard in a wonderful way to serve our God. Brother David’s presence in CBIW will go a long way to impact our students and others.

His short courses that brought him went on well, as he finished the New Testament Church. The course was wonderful as the students keep enjoying their lectures with him as he exposed a lot of insight about the church.

The lecturer does not only pay attention in teaching in CBIW, he spent off class time to visit congregations and teach mid week Bible studies and Sunday worship for nurturing.

The students of CBIW posed for a family picture with their lecturer raising their right thumb that depicts “WE ARE NOT ALONE.” This picture was taken after they finished the New Testament Church course.

This picture shows brother Ballard still lecturing in the night, because 6 hours was good but the students demanded for more time to study, so the humble lecturer allocated more time for them to learn. He said, “I CAME HERE TO TEACH, SO LET ME USE ANY OPPORTUNITY TO TRANSFER KNOWLEDGE.”

This morning brother David and I traveled 100 kilometers to preach and teach in KWA KWA CHURCH OF CHRIST. His lessons during teaching and the sermon were so encouraging to the congregation. The time was not enough for him to answer all the hands which were raised to ask questions during the Bible study class. After worship more came closer to him to learn more, as you can see brother Verand in Kwa-Kwa Church of Christ asking and learning with others after service.

The host of my wife’s family in Kwa-Kwa congregation organized a fellowship to welcome brother David and the director. More people are excited about CBIW and continue to pray for the growth of the school which will drastically help the growth of the church in Cameroon. 

APPRECIATION
I am thanking you on behalf of the Wotutu congregation and the entire student body for all you are doing to train men to preach. We are thankful to brother David who came with a projection device that he will donate to the school which will be used in our evangelism.

VISIONS
1. More villages have been mapped out to plan new congregations this quarter. We pray for means of transportation to these areas.
2. Public address system really is in need now.
3. Pray for us.
4. Pray for brother David as he starts lecturing on The Godhead this week and returns home immediately after that course on Sunday.

Do your best to share this report with others who may be of help to some of our visions. Thank you for being there for us. God bless you all for all that you do for the cause of Christ.

Elangwe and Family.
By His grace, Director CBIW

One Great Graduation In Togo

The weekend held one special event as the second class of the Center for Biblical Studies in Kpalime, Togo held their commencement exercises. The class originally began with twelve men, but due to the lack of initial funding, several had to leave. The class of eight men were able to complete the program of study and were honored on Saturday.

Over 400 people assembled, including a number of local officials to share in the excitement of this day. The singing was incredible, the commencement lesson (at least what I could understand from the translation) was inspiring, and the encouragement given from those families who had traveled so far to share in this day made the event exceptional.

I was privileged to hand out the certificates to these eight men who have endured many challenges, worked diligently, and overcome a number of obstacles to complete the courses of the past two years. It was an honor to hand the certificate to David Wama. Brother Wama was converted from a denomination where he was preaching. He was able to convert about half of the congregation where he served previously before the denomination stepped in and evicted him from his home, sued him for past salary and put him in jail until it could be paid. This man is a great example of the dedication to the Lord demonstrated in Togo.

It was interested to be asked why I was doing this work, traveling through the rough / brush area (where were traveling at the time) to Togo when I could be back home in the U.S. All I could think to say was “I just keep thinking about David Wama." After his experience to prepare himself to preach the gospel, how could I not make the journey to share this special day of achievement with him. It was worth the trip!

The picture on the right is one of the students being surrounding by over 20 local preachers in Togo (many who traveled great distances). We were led in prayer by one of these men on behalf of these graduates and the work they were about to begin for the Lord. The excitement of eight new men entering the work of preaching the gospel will have a great impact for the Kingdom.

The school was established by Willie Gley, who actually lives in Accra, Ghana. Willie was instrumental in helping this school get started and grow to where it is today. CBS is under the direction of Cephas Nyemanta. Cephas has been an incredible instrument in the hands of God to convert all eight of these men and assisted four of them in reaching a number of souls who were a part of a denomination in this area. 

Bear Valley was asked to get involved with the work in Togo last year. After visiting the work and seeing what had been accomplished and the plans for the future we were excited and thankful to be involved. The work is under the oversight of the Gabriel Oaks Church of Christ and they have done a wonderful job in helping with the great financial need, as well as, direction for the program.

I am excited to know the future of the school is in very capable hands as the future class (beginning in September) is looking to host 20 students. I ask you to pray about this work and the future of training men to preach the gospel in Togo.

The reports from other locations in the Extension Program are listed below. The news continues to shine as men are being trained, the gospel is being preached, and souls are being saved around the world.

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

Please pray for Gary and Sarah Fallis while they are in Cambodia to work with the school and local congregations. 

Extension Reports 

Campaign To 14+ Villages Produces Fruit: The recent news from Cameroon continues to demonstrate the great work of these students in reaching souls for Christ.

Diary Of The Work In Tamale: Tony Johnson demonstrates his growth and the development of the work in Tamale as he continues to teach and serve in Tamale, Ghana.

Thieves In Uganda: While the Wechesa family was at worship Sunday, thieves broke into their home. Francis tells about the situation in Uganda.

Grand-Slam Week In Arusha Safari For Souls: The work in Arusha is incredible. Not only is God giving the increase, there is a little extra news near the end. Take time to read Cy’s report.

Impressive Work Of A 17 Year Old Preacher: The Gee report gives information about the work of a 17 year old young man who is doing a great work for the Lord. 

Final Thoughts

I think you would agree the material in this week’s report continues to be uplifting as the work grows. Everything we do is possible because of you. In all the ways you support this work, it keeps us moving forward and we thank you.

I will have more to report next week about the graduation in Tamale, Ghana, as the first class to complete the program will be honored.

Thank you all for all you do to help.

God bless
Bob

Impressive Work Of A 17 Year Old Preacher...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends, 

Please excuse the delay in sending today's report. Immediately after services, we took Matthew to a physical therapy appointment at 1 pm. Trina is also to receive some therapy (on her arm...hurt it several weeks ago). After therapy, we enjoyed Chinese food and then on to the "Play Place" for the children to play about an hour before J.W. and Steven left with Jimmy, Abigail and Candace headed to the airport. The rest of the children and Trina just arrived home (5pm).  We will quickly write this report before going to a devotional at the Stafford's at 6:30.

On this Lord's Day, Jimmy continued his series of lessons on the Gospel of John in the adult Bible class. After studying chapter 3, some good questions arose concerning John's baptism. The ladies and Trina studied Genesis 13 concerning the separation of Abram and Lot due to the strife between their herdsmen. Topics discussed were (1) Pursuing Peace and (2) Praying About Decisions and Changes in our Lives. Abigail taught the children's class concerning the prophet Jonah.

Our nephew, Steven, preached a great sermon on the Church emphasizing that Christ did not want division (denominations) but established one church. Steven has done a LOT of good for the month he has been in Tanzania. He has had 28 studies (multiple studies with some) and baptized 7. This 17-year-old probably studied with more people (in four short weeks) than most Christians do in a LIFETIME. How? He first was rooted and grounded in the Truth at home and has participated in many preacher-training camps, etc. Secondly, he decided that he would take advantage of a great opportunity here in Tanzania where most people believe in God and are willing to listen and learn. We are especially glad that one particular man (Hendrick) obeyed the Gospel. Hendrick and Trina have discussed the Bible on occasion and she was excited that he gladly agreed to study with Steven. Steven had several studies with Hendrick (before and after his baptism). Jimmy will continue studying with him to help give him a good foundation to begin his Christian walk.

Our five visitors from Northport, AL and one from Hattiesburg, MS are staying busy evangelizing in Kwa Mrombo and Karatu. The Kisongo ladies are looking forward to a Personal Evangelism class on Thursday morning to be taught by Hannah Box. She will teach them how to conduct a Bible study using some great material compiled by George Jensen. It is my hope that several will gain the knowledge and confidence to teach others God's Word.

Our new sister, Helen, is still in Dar es Salaam, awaiting test results. Recently, she contracted malaria but is better now. Please continue to pray. Happy Father's Day to all the dads out there! Thanks to all who support this work, pray and encourage us. Never forget that YOU are a vital part of this mission work. 

In His Service,
The Jimmy Gee family

Grand-slam Week In Arusha Safari For Souls...

Greetings Fellow Workers;

We greet you, we thank you and we continue to pray for you. We thank God for your participation in His work here in Tanzania. He continues to bless us with good friends, co-workers, spiritual and physical growth and the list goes on. This week has brought us a “grand-slam” so to speak.

First of all our friends and fellow workers arrived safely (from Northport, AL) and have had a great week of work. Through their follow-up efforts, fours souls have been added to the Church at Kwa Mrombo. Gary has also worked at Karatu for three days with our bother Clement. Daniel, Jeremy and Rachael have spent some time at the Tanzania Christian Clinic. The group spent some time yesterday visiting a couple of orphanages. A busy group to be sure and a blessing to God’s efforts here in East Africa.

Secondly, Jay Savage and his family had a successful climb, making the summit of Mt. Kilimanjaro. They are such wonderful examples of God’s children living their faith. Before they made the climb they spent time and effort with three different orphanages. They always include some kind of outreach with every family vacation they take. An example we can all learn from. They left for home yesterday and should arrive back in Dallas sometime today, please remember them in your prayers.

Third; Yusuph Madaki, evangelist from Ushirombo, wrote a message reporting five new souls being added to the Church by our Lord yesterday (Sat. June 18th). The Lord continues to do mighty works through His faithful servants in that area. We currently have two men from Ushirombo at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, one in each stream. No doubt these men were of help as they are home on break at this time. Charles Ogutu (ACSOP graduate) reported: “We give glory to God for four more souls that obeyed the Gospel this week.”

And we end with number four; the Hochdorf family are coming home (back to Tanzania). Sean and family are now full-time fund raising and looking for a good Sponsor. They are targeting the first week in Jan. 2012 as their arrival date. Please take a moment, pray for this family, drop them a note of encouragement, give them a call, send them some names of those who might care enough to make a difference by supporting and or sponsoring this great family.

Prayer request: Francis Wechesa sent a note saying thieves broke in their home, stole a lost of things while they were at worship. Our brother Paul Ndwani’s son was hit by a car on his way home from school, in the hospital for a week with a major concussion, but has been released and is doing some better. The Kensington Woods congregation is holding a city wide campaign this week. Our brothers and sisters from Second and Adams, OK will arrive on Sunday, Jimmy’s dad and nephew are flying out tonight. 

Happy Father’s Day! 

May our God be with you, bless you and keep you.
In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Thieves In Uganda...

Dear brethren,

We are very thankful for what the Lord is doing with us here in Uganda. The churches of Christ in Samia area are doing fine. Most students of Uganda School of Evangelism have gone to their homes. We are only remaining with four students from Congo. They did not go home as there was no funds to give them go. The four have visited four congregations around the school. Samuel have visited Budecho village, Kambare have visited Nahayaka, Munganga have visited Bulangi, and Leebu have visited Nandwa. The Ugandan students visited congregations which were assigned to them. Brethen, keep this congregations and others in your prayers. We have 15 congregation which was planted by our students and staff. All of these have no place of worship. Each of them need some thing like plots and funds to build tin buildings. They can make bricks for themselves. They can not afford money for iron sheets, nails, timber, and cement. I would also like to inform you that today while at the church worship, the thieves broke into our house and stole my laptop, DVD player, Hoover amplifier, and antenna booster. They overturned every thing the house. It seems they were looking for money which we did have in the house. Could they have gone far, they would have carried more things, because they had packed the TV and  other things ready to go. Pray for us so that they don’t plan to come at night for more things. Today we worshiped at Buwero Namungodi, the congregation which is ten kilometers from Busia.  

Yours
Francis Wechesa

Diary Of The Work In Tamale...

One of the students at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Tony Johnson, continues his work with the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies. His most recent report about the work is posted below. If you would like to see more of Tony’s posts with pictures, you can visit his blog site.

Another week has come and gone, here are a few of the highlights…

Thursday – June 9

Today was my all day teaching day, first class from 8 to 12 in the morning, and the second from 1 to 5 in the afternoon. Since we were doing a review for the Old Testament Survey final in the afternoon I let them go early, which I’m sure they appreciated.  I don’t even like to listen to me for 8 hours so I am sure they were tired of it.  We covered everything I planned on, and I pretty much told them what was going to be on the test, so now it is up to them to go over their notes.  We will see how this all works out tomorrow.

This evening I made another attempt with the local food.  I didn’t care too much for the ground nut soup (tasted like peanut better soup with chicken) the last time, so I tried okra stew and banku tonight.  It was much better.  Most Ghanian food is eaten with your fingers, so you use the banku, which is made from milled fermented corn dough, to soak up some of the stew and then pop it in your mouth.  The custom is not to chew your banku, just let it slide down your throat, which was different.   If you want to make your own, here’s a recipe.  It’s not Morton’s Steakhouse, but it was pretty good.

Friday – June 10

Final test day for O.T. Survey.  The test involved writing all the Old Testament books in the proper order along with 66 questions and took almost 3 ½ hours for everyone to complete.  I’ll start grading later tonight and hopefully finish up by tomorrow.

While eating dinner tonight at a local restaurant I kept hearing something that sounded like a squeaky wheel going round and round.  I figured it was just some local birds that were really annoying.  I asked about it just before we left and was told that the sound was bats that make the tree next to the restaurant home!  I am told that in the daytime you can see them just hanging from the branches, so next time I eat there I’m bringing my camera for a picture.

Saturday – June 11

Finished grading the tests, and for the most part I am pretty happy with the results. There was one 100 and two others who scored in the 90’s, 5 in the 80’s, and 3 in the 70’s.  Two of the new students are struggling a little to catch up so I will have to find a way to work with them some more.  This evening we are headed to one of the villages to show a movie about Jesus and do some street preaching.  We have to go a little early in order to visit the local chief.  While it is not really necessary to get permission to preach, it is a good idea to show him some respect (and give him a few cedis for his trouble) so that he will watch over us should anyone get upset at our preaching. Should be interesting!

Sunday – June 12

At last night’s showing of the movie based on the gospel of Luke we had somewhere close to 400 people show up!  There is no telling how many more where watching from a distance because it gets really dark out there.  Alhassan did the preaching and I did the invitation.  Since this was a Muslim village the invitation is a to let them know that if they have any questions or what to know more about the church that we will be glad to talk with anyone afterwards and to let them know and invite anyone who is interested to where the church meets on Sunday morning.  The crowd stayed for the preaching but no responses, which was disappointing to the leader of the local congregation who had asked us to come and show the movie.  It is very difficult to get responses in the Muslim villages, but we still must go and make every effort.  In the morning Alhassan and I went back to the village for services, where we had a total of 5 children and 2 men in attendance.  A couple of the members were missing so we went to look for them before starting since I had seen them at the movie last night, but they had apparently gone to the bush to collect shae nuts (used to make shae butter), one of the ways they support their families.  I am quickly learning that when preaching in the village it is better to speak about what is happening right then than to deliver a prepared sermon, so I decided to speak about forsaking the assembly from Hebrews 10:25-26.  We talked about the need to encourage one another everyday regarding the privilege we have to assemble together, and the need to continue doing the things God has commanded regardless of the number of people who show up.  We also were able to give out most of the “pillowcase dresses” and shorts that the church in Sylvan Hills Arkansas sent in a couple of the villages.  The children really loved them, putting them on over the clothes they were already wearing!

Monday – June 13

Today we began the New Testament portion of the survey course.  I’ll be teaching some double shifts in order to get it in before the students break to go home and get their planting done, teaching from 8 to 12 in the morning and then from 7 to 9 each night.  It is humbling to consider what these men give up in order to be here, leaving wives and children at home in the village, living on very little support, and using their breaks to first plant their crops and then harvest them.  It has rained again which really makes them anxious to be farming so they can provide for their family.

About that rain, we have had no electricity for the past day so my plan to buy a box of frozen chickens to last me while I am here didn’t work out.  The students are having a big chicken roast tonight though, so all is well.

Tuesday – June 14

We had a very interesting discussion in class about the “rapture” today.  Apparently no-one has ever presented the idea to most of these men that the rapture is a man-made doctrine with no Biblical support.  I am very thankful for the great notes from Wayne Burger’s Denominational Doctrines class and Bob Turner’s Major Biblical Doctrines classes!  My biggest concern is that the men who believed in the rapture couldn’t tell me why, other than someone told them that it was going to happen. After our discussion (and the three pages of notes and scripture references they received courtesy of Wayne and Bob) I went into preaching mode regarding the need to study for ourselves and not take the word of any man when it comes to what the Bible teaches.  I hope I made my point because it is a lesson I believe we all need to take to heart when it comes to God’s word.

We are having a major storm blow through here this evening and the electricity is gone again, but I am very thankful for the roof over my head tonight shielding me from the wind, lightning and rain. It makes me wonder how difficult it is tonight for those in mud huts with thatch roofs/

Wednesday – June 15

Another schedule change so I had no classes to teach today.  Instead I ventured into town to get a phone.  I figured it might be a good idea before I go wandering around the country after my teaching duties are completed.  If anyone wants to talk, the numbers 0249019665  There is a church of Christ well drilling project in Yendi I would like to visit.

I am not sure what occasion it is but there has been a group of people marching up and down the street beating on drums and chanting for the past couple of hours.  Very interesting.  Tomorrow we will be studying the life of the Apostle Paul as we finish up with the survey on Acts, then jump into Romans.  I’m looking forward to it!

Thanks again for your support and your prayers that allow me to do this work!  I greatly appreciate hearing from each one of you who have taken the time to send a note or leave a comment.  Your love is appreciated more than I can express.  God bless, and to Him be the glory.

Tony

Campaign To 14+ Villages Produces Fruit...

Dearest in Christ,

It is amazing to say hello again after a period of time where our students went for campaign in 14 different congregations. I am excited to report to you all what happened during the campaign.

I appreciate God for taking the students off from Wotutu and as of now 20 of them have returned on campus safe and sound, ready for the short courses that will begin on Monday, 20th of June 2011 by minister David Ballard from Pattonville church of Christ in Texas. He arrived right on time on Wednesday 15th June. I was at the airport with my wife, my son and a brother in Wotutu congregation to welcome our August guest and usher him into our lovely and peaceful country.

As of now all is well with him as we are doing a lot of visiting both in Wotutu and out of Wotutu. He has already visited three congregations and will do more as he teaches in the school. He has come to teach two courses: New Testament Church and the Godhead.

The students came back with a great result concerning their relationship with the congregations and the church community.

Their goal was to evangelize and also to nurture congregations where they will be serving during the campaign. They left Wotutu with the 4 G’s in mind. The 4 G’s stand for GAINING, GROUNDING, GROWING, and GLORIFYING God.

God used the students to achieve this in many ways to His glory as many souls were touched. They had a total of 31 souls baptized into the vineyard and 24 souls were restored into the fold again. Please do your best to pray for these souls to remain faithful as they walk with God.

Even though the students were assigned initially to 14 congregations, some of them saw the need to visit nearby villages to go on their own to strengthen weaker congregations and one new congregation in the village of Ahole in Kupe Maneguba division was established. We see the needs as Jesus said, “the harvest is ripe, but the laborers are few. Pray for the Lord of the harvest to send more laborers.” Many congregations are demanding the presence of our students to come and help them on weekend evangelism. We are ready and the students are also ready, but there are no funds to send them to this great commission. I strongly solicit your kindness to this work to make a difference because we are different. 

APPRECIATIONS
I am thankful to God for using sister Tamu Blakeney who came to visit Cameroon and decided to support the students with their part transportation on this campaign. 

Thanks also to the Bear Valley family and not leaving out you who stood by us and by so doing the students left and for the campaign without any problems with transportation. I pray God will bless you and keep you as you continue to pray and see how you can be part of this work.

Do your best to share this report with someone who may love to be part of this work. 

Elangwe and family
By His grace, Director CBIW

One Special Day In Uganda...

Today was one special day in Uganda. I had opportunity today (Uganda time) to meet up with one of the graduates from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Arusha, Tanzania. Mwero Raymond who is working in the Congo and Uganda made the trip to Busia, Uganda to visit with me about his work. I was encouraged with Raymond when I had opportunity to teach him at the ACSOP in November 2009. Since that time we have visited by e-mail on numerous occasions. It was such a great privilege to visit with him today. I learned he has been instrumental in converting an entire Pentcostal congregation. Now the Lord’s church, this group of Christians is growing. This is one of several stories Raymond shared about the work he is doing. I urge you to be praying for this strong young man and his family as they are evangelizing for the Lord.

As you have probably determined, I am writing this report while visiting the work in Busia, Uganda for the first time. The Uganda School of Evangelism operates under the oversight of the Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. Francis Wechesa is the director of the school and has done a wonderful job in training men to teach the gospel. Presently, there are 20 men who are enrolled in the program of study. This is the second class to prepare themselves to evangelize various parts of Uganda and neighboring Kenya.

Later this week I will travel to Togo for graduation. This will be the first graduation Bear Valley is privileged to share in with the Center for Biblical Studies in Kpalime, Togo. The school is under the oversight of the Gabriel Oaks Church of Christ. Willie Gley works as the director, along with Cephas Essotena Nyemanta. This is the second class to complete their studies at CBS. Eight men will receive their certificate this week and will continue to work in various areas they have already been serving the Lord in Togo.

Next week I will travel to Ghana to participate in the first graduation ceremony for the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies. The first class to complete their studies consists of 15 men. Their efforts to complete the studies at TIBS will be rewarded next week. The work of TIBS is part of the mission work of the Mountain Home Church of Christ. Steven Ashcraft was instrumental in establishing this school and has helped develop the work over the past two years. Steven is now working as the coordinator for both the school in Tamale and the West Coast School of Preaching in Takoradi. Joseph Baah serves as the school’s director in Tamale.

The next few weeks will be full of great activities. I will have more to report about the two graduation ceremonies in the reports to come. The growth of the work of Extension Training continues to shine in various parts of the world where we are privileged to share in this effort. The reports are listed below.

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

Howell and Mary Ferguson recently returned from a three month trip to work with the BVBIU in Gorlovka, Ukraine. Howell’s latest report speaks of the success of the recent class graduating from the school.

Please pray for Gary and Sarah Fallis while they are in Cambodia to work with the school and local congregations. 

Extension Reports
Challenges In Nepal: As the work continues to grow, Jerry Gophenee explains some of the leadership challenges facing the school.

Rainy Season Causes Great Damage At WCSOP: The school in Takoradi, Ghana has received great damage due to the seasonal weather, from the heat to rain. 

CSMT Reaches Another Great Step: The second graduation at CSMT brings a step of independence in the work of Nigeria.

A New Week In Tamale, Ghana: Again this week, Tony Johnson provides a report about his work in the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies.

Nepal Could Criminalize Conversion To Christianity: Several changes in the government bring the possible threat of persecution. Jerry Gophenee shares the latest information in this report.

News On Graduates Of BVBIU: Howell Ferguson shares a report about the plans for the recent graduates in Gorlovka, Ukraine. 

More Souls Added In Tanzania: Cy Stafford continues to share the great news coming out of the Safari For Souls Campaign in Arusha. 

One Exciting Report From The Gee Family: Jimmy and Trina Gee report on one powerful conversion and the timing is awesome.

Final Thoughts
Thank you for allowing me the opportunity to work in this program. The men who make up the staff of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver and the Extension Program are dedicated men who are diligent in preparing men to preach the gospel. I know of no finer men.

It is exciting to serve side by side with these men and I look forward to the future development of this work. Entering into my third full year in the Extension Program will bring many opportunities. The next six months should allow us to tie up some of the loose ends and begin to focus on developing new areas of the world.

We are praying 2012 will allow us opportunity to look at a couple of areas where schools can develop to train men to preach the gospel. We invite you to pray with us as we move ahead. Let me thank each of you for your support of this great work. Your vision for reaching the lost through training men to preach the gospel is the backbone of this work. We could not do this without you. Thank you!

God bless

Bob

Challenges In Nepal...

Dear brothers in Christ, fellow workers in the Lord’s kingdom, and members of the Nepal Center for Biblical Studies Advisory Board:

This letter will provide you with some information and also request your suggestions for the future.  

The present group of students will complete their training in about 10 weeks. Over these many months they have had nine American visiting teachers. This has resulted in twelve weeks of teaching and training by Christians from outside of Nepal.  These twelve weeks have been a tremendous asset for the school, for which we are very thankful. One preacher, Don Prather, will be here again in early July for two more weeks. That will mean a total of four weeks for Don.  

One goal of the school, which has been echoed by many Nepali brothers, is to have the school become more and more a “Nepali School”. I need to be working myself out of a position of leadership. That means we have to have qualified Nepali teachers and leaders who desire to serve the Lord in this capacity. This Thursday Parsuram will teach his second lesson of a series of lesson on “Christian Home and Family”. He will also teach a series of classes on “Work of an Evangelist” in the near future. We are most thankful for his ability and the desire to use that ability in training more Christian leaders and preachers in Nepal.  

My request is that you members of the Advisory Board begin to communicate with one another, and also with Gajendra and myself, to identify those Nepali preachers who are qualified to be teachers. This would include a high level of Bible knowledge and understanding, plus the ability to teach, lead, and motivate others.  

About two weeks ago Parsuram expressed his observation and opinion in a letter to the school. He wrote, “I think that school is in need of more mature and laborious teachers who spends more time in word of God before coming to the class and encourage class to participate in interactive study of the word of God.” He is exactly right to recognize the need for more teachers with this ability and desire.

Let us work together to recognize those Nepali Christian leaders who are qualified to serve the Lord in this way. Once we know and agree on these men and their ability, we can contact them and discuss their active involvement with the school. Step number one is to know who they are. You know the Nepali leaders better than I do and your suggestions will be most valuable. Please consider the needs of the church, pray about them, and send your suggestions and the names of future teachers to Gajendra and me. 2 Timothy 2:1-2

This Friday Gajendra, Kirish, and our six students will travel to Rashuwa for one week of Bible classes in four villages. This will be an “All Nepali” campaign. I’m happy to say that they are ready and able to fulfill these Christian responsibilities. Their progress continues to be most encouraging. 

In Christian service and fellowship of love …………. Jerry