Four Souls Added In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from the staff, students and our wonderful visiting lecturers who have been here with us contributing their parts for the training of men to preach the gospel.

As I write this mail to you brother Josh Austin, the coordinator of CBIW, left Cameroon safe and sound and will join a team in London for the holy land tour. Keep him in your prayers.

This past week, sister Celine Akama obeyed the gospel with her daughter the same day in the Wotutu congregation. The Lord continue to destroyed the kingdom of darkness and added souls into His kingdom. Please keep this work in your prayers.

Sister Mindako Lydia obeyed the gospel in Wotutu.Our week was hectic as all our students took their final exams in the book of Romans without much problems, except for one student brother, Nanje Shadrack Bea, who was involved in some problems, but everything is under control. Keep the students in your prayers as they are in 17 different villages for campaigns and one village (Makobe) is our target to fully establish a new congregation in that community. Pictures below will help identify some of the work that is seen in Cameroon. God has given the increase as the gospel is preached and souls are being added to the kingdom. The picture to the left shows brother Ballard baptizing Mindako Lydia.

To the right, brother David Ballard gave his finals in the book of Romans. He is still in Cameroon for a week to do evangelism and visit some congregations.

On the left, brother David used our PA system preaching every day at 4:45 am to the entire Wotutu community cutting across six different villages.

Some students with visual problems benefited from reading glasses from the visiting lecturer, brother Ballard, from the USA. These glasses will help make a difference for students in their studies and assignments.

One mother lives very close to the church hall and she has been benefiting from our morning radio program. Praise God she finally obeyed the gospel. Keep sister Joanna Mesue in your prayers as she walks with God. The radio program is reaching more and more in and around the Wotutu village. We are thankful to have such a valuable tool for preaching the gospel.

Yesterday we left Wotutu for Mambanda, which is 80 kilometers from Wotutu, where we meet the church during their Bible class and later on talk to some visitors that came for the Bible class and a sister obeyed the gospel bringing in 4 precious souls within this week. Keep them in your prayers.

The picture below and to the right shows our new sister who obeyed the gospel yesterday with smiles, leaving behind errors from denominational youth groups. Keep them in your prayers as we give them Bibles that they will read and keep growing.

Plans
1) All students are out now for one a week campaign.

2) We shall go for a campaign at the Muyuka congregation first week in July.

3) More demands for campaign and evangelism.

Appreciations
We praise God for helping us go through the second quarter of study in CBIW. Thanks to God for using you to be part of this work.God will not pass you by when He comes for His reward. The lecturers will finish class and jump out for house to house evangelism. They were in Mutengene sharing the gospel on house to house.Share this report with others who will love to be a part.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

The Value of 71 Souls...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

Our prayers are always with each of you as you labor with us here in Tanzania. God continues to do a mighty work through each of you through the Tanzania Mission effort. We are indeed a blessed people to be able to call upon our God and to be called His children.

We concluded our “official” Safari for Souls campaign season. In all campaigns were conducted at Babati, Kioga, Maji ya Chai, Kisongo, Kwa Mrombo and Arusha. With the help of our brothers and sisters from TN, OK, NC, AL, the local Christian family and with the help of God we say Amen! Question, what value might one put on the seventy-one souls that have already obeyed the Gospel?

We are so blessed to be able to meet and work with such wonderful, committed, and evangelistic Christians from so many places. To work hand in hand with others who are willing to sacrifice time, money and time away from family and friends, is a joy not to be taken for granted.

So many stories could be told, but let me mention two: While preaching and teaching at Maji ya Chai one young man came up and wanted to know more about God’s plan of Salvation. After a couple of long studies, he and an older man obeyed the Gospel. The younger of the two was a preacher for a Pentecostal congregation. The next day he went to Moshi to tell the “head quarters” he was no longer their preacher.

As part of our follow-up program, we sent Chuck Webster and Christopher Mwakabanje back to teach and preach God’s Word at the former congregation this man worked with. Four more souls said yes to the Gospel, putting Christ on in baptism.

Our brother Sid Aultman was asked to come and teach and pray for a lady that was sick. When he arrived he found himself among another group of Pentecostal believers just behind the home of Christopher and his family. This study continued throughout the week and ended with an invitation to return for further studies.

Open doors, doors of opportunity abound here in Tanzania. Our chief complaints from our visiting coworkers this year have been: “we need more workers” and “we need more time”. WE AGREE!

We thank God and we thank each and every one of you who have made this year’s campaign effort all they have been. The follow-up work begins and with your continued prayers much good is yet to come.

Please remember the group from Hoover and for Forrest and Teresa Rachel’s as they are to fly out tomorrow night. Our prayers are with you as you begin another week of serving in Him. A special prayer for all the godly Fathers on this special day!

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

The Wagner's Arrive In Chimala...

Greetings in the Name of the Lord.  I pray that the LORD will bless you and keep you at all times.  

"Mercy, peace, and love be multiplied to you." Jude 2 

After a very exhausting two days of flying from Dallas/Fort Worth to London to Dar es Salaam, we arrived at the airport. We had already paid and received resident permits for Tanzania, but the head immigration officer at the airport refused to allow us entry without visitor permits. Even though we had already paid the $850 for our resident permits, we were forced to pay an additional $700 for a useless visitor permit. That was a VERY unexpected $700 we had to pay that was intended for other uses.

Bill and Cyndi Stinson met us at the airport and took us to the place we would stay the night.  Bill, Cyndi, Anna (my oldest daughter) and myself then went to the service at one of the churches of Christ in Dar. It was Anna's first experience of an African worship service which she found very interesting.   

After meeting back up with the rest of the family, we stayed in Dar es Salaam for the day. We ate at the Waterfront restaurant (which sits right on the Indian Ocean) and Bill took us to some other places that I would need to be aware of as administrator. We went to a shopping center where we purchased a few items.

We didn't sleep that much but awoke early the next day and was ready to go when Bill and Cyndi came to the room. We quickly loaded the bus and was on our way before 5 AM. We drove almost 13 hours from Dar es Salaam to the Chimala Mission. Along the way, we saw zebra, elephants, giraffes, warthogs, baboons, etc.  It was quite an experience for the kids.  

We arrived at the Chimala Mission later that night and was shown to our new home. We will be staying in the Mays House which as 5 bedrooms and 2 baths. We will be getting the house painted next week inside and out so we are still living out of our suit cases currently until we get everything more settled.

The next day, Bill and Cyndi took us on a tour of the Chimala Mission. It is a big place!! The amount of activity on the mission and the people are really hard to grasp at this point (and a bit overwhelming, too!).  

This week, there is a large group of 17 people on a medical mission trip. Janice Bingham brought several nursing students from Harding University. Also, three doctors accompanied the Harding group: Dr. Frank Black, Dr. Stephen Snell, and Dr. Kent Brantly. They also brought the families as well which has been a treat. We also met Cherly Bode who has been here for about six weeks and will leave on Monday. She is a nurse looking to do medical mission work and she wants to come back here to Chimala to work later this year or early next year. The total medical mission group has done a marvelous job at the hospital. Rena was able to witness her first Africa C-section and natural birth (all with 2 hours of each other).  

I have preached at the Chimala Mission church on Wednesday evening and also today (Sunday) AM and PM service. I have also been involved with a meeting with the evangelism committee which is developing a plan to evangelize all of south-western Tanzania and to develop the existing congregations.

As I am taking over for Bill Stinson as the mission administrator, I have a steep learning curve to learn as much as I can in the next three weeks from Bill before he leaves to go home. It is a big job!

The family is doing well and adjusting as well as can be expected. I will have more information next Sunday on the work and the family. Please continue to pray for our safety, health, and endurance as we begin our work with the Chimala Mission.

Chad and Rena

A Double Dose From Cambodia...

Greetings coworkers of Christ! As always, it is a joy to bring glad tidings to those who have an interest in the His work in Cambodia. We have some wonderful news concerning His kingdom in the land of Cambodia in that another subject has been added under His reign! Peun, our school's cook and dear sister in Christ, wept with joy when she finally convinced her husband to become a Christian. She's had to endure so much the past few years since she's become a Christian herself, but can now relax a little and have a peace of mind that her husband supports who she is as a faithful, God fearing wife. She has lived out 1 Peter 3:1-2 and is a wonderful example to us all. 

On the flip side, this is why we encourage marriages between Christians so that they can avoid such obstacles and hardships. That is why I am so encouraged to see the staff of IBISR marrying Christian brides. Our new brother in Christ's name is Vannak. He has committed to enrolling in IBISR in the fall for our new batch of students. He will be the oldest we have thus far. I thank God for always providing for us in so many ways. We pray that He will give the increase to our new brother as he goes through the school here. 

We have 8 confirmed for the new school year that begins in September. Please continue to pray for God to send forth more laborers. Thank you for your support and love!

Phanat

To see the report with a picture of Vannak’s baptism, click here.

Report from Chann Lork

Dear all brethren,

I would love to take a moment to write you all about what's going on here in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The work of the church is growing through our evangelism to various places, especially to the villages around as the people in the city very busy to work.

Currently the church meeting in Siem Reap has from 40 to 50 people every Lord's day. Last night, we had a good fellowship meal with our brethren here that will help us grow and stay close to each other in love and peace and faith to our God.

And, we just had a new baptism recently for our new brother in Christ named Vannak, which is the husband of the cook for the International Bible Institute of Siem Reap. The cook is really happy to see her husband baptized for the remission of his sin as he used to be a gambler and destroyed lots of money in his family as I heard.

Now, instead of going to evangelize at Battambang, I brought our students to go visit the church at Leang Dai and Takam to encourage some members that are not faithful as well as teach and invite the people who live around to come to the church at it's area.

The result is we had many people come to worship and study the Bible with the local preacher in both areas, Leang Dai and Takam.

We just got a setup to a new village called Tropeang Svay, that is a way from Leang Dai Church of Christ by about 3 kilometers. We are going to teach them every Saturday as they are not a Christians yet. Please pray for the people in this village so that the word of God will work in their hearts through our preaching and teaching to them. 

The church in Svay Reing
The work there is doing well as we have brother Saran and his wife, Ussa, and Sophal working in that area trying to spread the gospel to their villagers around.

Sophal, one the preachers working in Svay Reing, just recently married one of our second year students, a girl named Kosal, and they are looking to start a new congregation in Kosal's home town at Mong Reusey. Please keep them in your prayers. 

All in all, we are doing fine. Please continue to pray for us as we are struggling to grow even though we are young in the physical, but we want to be mature in spiritual manner as the very word of God teaching us.

We love you all and we urge you to continue to pray for us, as we also keep you all in our prayer as well. Thanks for your support for the work in my country. Without your support we would really have a hard time. 

God bless you and we love you. 
Chann

FPTC - Preparing Future Preachers...

Future Preacher’s Training Camp (FPTC) is underway in Denver. This camp brings more than 40 young men, ages 13-18, to the Bear Valley Church of Christ in Denver. These young men will spend an intense week of learning about how to prepare and preach a sermon. They learn about how to study a text of scripture, use the resources of the library and then present their lessons to the elders and staff of the camp.

As well, they develop a spiritual bond that will last beyond the one week they are together. These young men, who come from all over the country, are preparing themselves early for vastly needed positions within the Lord’s church today. They may not be preachers, but with a better understanding of God’s word, they may serve as teachers, elders, or deacons. Around the world there is a great need for men who are willing and able to use God’s word accurately in building up the church and reaching out to the lost. Their efforts are going to make a difference for an eternity.

The Visakha Valley Bible College in Visakhapatnam, India and the BVBIU in Gorlovka, Ukraine is also involved in such an activity. They bring a number of young men together with the purpose of preparing them to learn how to preach the gospel in the same way. You can read more about their efforts in India in last week’s report from John Dean. The school affords the staff an opportunity to give these young men a foundation for what we pray will one day be involved in spreading the gospel throughout India and Ukraine. It is exciting to see that not only does Bear Valley have an influence in training men to preach the gospel, now the FPTC is helping change young men as well.

If you would like to know more about how the Future Preacher’s Training Camp operates, feel free to contact the Bear Valley Church of Christ or the Bear Valley Bible Institute. You can also click here to go to the website and learn more about FPTC.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Donnie Bates provided us with his monthly newsletter. To see the report, please check here.

Extension Reports 

Visiting Instructors In Cameroon: Josh Austin and David Ballard are in Wotutu, Cameroon teaching short courses for the students.

Recruiting Students In Ukraine: The staff is busy with recruiting students in Ukraine to be a part of the next class of students.

Gratitude From Uganda: In everything give thanks. This is the attitude demonstrated by those in Uganda.

Increase Is Given In Paraguay: The work continues to see people respond to the gospel in Asunción, Paraguay.

God Is Alive And Well In Arusha: God has blessed the laborers in the vineyard on the fields near Arusha, Tanzania.

Pre-campaign Results Are Fruitful: Several groups have seen success in reaching the people of Tanzania with the gospel. 

Final Thoughts
As Sheryl and I prepare to make a six week trip around the middle part of the country, we look forward to meeting with many of you about the work. It is always encouraging to share news about the work and project our future plans for the work of Extension Training. Each of you are the very lifeline for the program. Without you it would not succeed. God is working through you in powerful ways to see the gospel proclaimed around the world.

Thank you!

God bless
Bob

Pre-campaign Results Are Fruitful...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,

The past week has been so wonderful. The reason it has been is because dozens, maybe even hundreds, of people have heard the saving Gospel of Jesus Christ. There was a group of nine from Oklahoma working in Maji ya Chai with William Korio and the brethren there; and a group of six (Forrest and Theresa Rachels, Penny Cabler, and Gary, Rachel and Hannah Box, and Caitlyn Middleton) working with Charles Heberth and the brethren at Kwa Mrombo (in fact, two were baptized there this morning). In addition we had the Akin family (Christ, Beth and Steven) and Kevin Flowers working in Kisongo (you can see their summary-report below). The Oklahoma group has left and is on their way home. We thank God that 23 people were baptized as a result of their work and the pre-campaign work that was done several weeks ahead of time.

Finally, we had the Hoover group arrive on Friday evening. There are 20 great people willing and ready to go to work. They will be working at Kwa Mrombo and other areas. Much pre-campaign work has been done (by those mentioned above as well as others) and I believe we can expect greater things from this area as many plant and water the Gospel seed with God giving the increase.

We say goodbye to the Akin family and Kevin Flowers tomorrow morning. We have included a summary (written by Chris) of their work while here since May 13. It is amazing that it has been a month since they arrived, but, as you can tell from their report, they have not wasted any of their time. They have been good stewards of the month that God has given them here and the money that was contributed was, therefore, well spent. We know that they are thankful to those who helped them to come, some of you who also support us, but we would to express our thanks also for you helping to send them our way. Here is their report: 

Brethren,

How do we put into words the experience that we have had in Kisongo. It is humbling to think about GOD putting the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels. We are not worthy to share this much joy with others. The privilege that we have been given to be HIS children and to share 'The Truth' with others is indescribable. It is exciting to see people come to understand the word. Four short weeks ago we arrived in Tanzania and the time has slipped by. There is so much left to do that has been started and it pains us to leave. Please pray for those that have been studied with that they will continue in the Truth. By way of summary, this has been our involvement here:

-Fabian and Kevin studied with 22 people in 35 studies, had 2 baptisms, has preached multiple lessons.

-Ahimidiwe and Steven studied with 35 people in 40 studies, had 3 baptisms, has preached multiple lessons.

-Paulina and Beth studied with 12 ladies in 55 studies, had 3 baptisms, taught three ladies classes during the marriage seminar.

-Israel and Chris studied with 35 people, in numerous sessions, 5 were baptized, two men were restored, of the baptisms and restorations there were two couples (it is great to think of them having unity in their homes), studied with those that were baptized to continue "teaching them all things"; set up 8 more people to study with and have not had time to get to them yet, taught 8 lessons at the marriage seminar,  and 1 lesson on JESUS is GOD.

- Some of the studies would have numerous people coming and going and those are not listed. Each of the groups listed above, at times, would have several of our students in each study. It is difficult to describe the sessions without listing each person in each study. The local brethren are set to continue the studies and build up these new Christians. There was the opportunity to help the sick and the local work; we participated in all that we could. This letter is not to sing people's praises, but to let you rejoice with us in the work here, and to give an account for our time. May GOD bless the work here, and your interest in spreading the gospel.

Thank you for sending us.  

In Christian Love,
Kevin Flowers and the Akin's

We are so very appreciative for each of you as you make it possible for us to work here, and to work with such great people as are described above. May God bless you for the sacrifices you make for the sake of the Kingdom.  

In Christ,
Jimmy, Trina and family

P.S. Jimmy will be traveling tomorrow with the Akin family and Kevin. He will be back in the US for several weeks finishing up his schooling(?). Please pray for safe travels for him as well as the others. While Jimmy is gone we may, or may not, send the weekly report. So, don't be alarmed if you do not receive one. :)

God Is Alive And Well In Arusha...

Greeting Fellow Workers;

Our hope and prayer is that this note finds each of you blessed and in good health. Our God is truly an amazing God, able to do mighty things in the life of His faithful saints. On behalf of the TZ2000 mission team we say thank you, thank you for all you mean and do for God’s mission work here in Tanzania.

The campaign at Kisongo has ended and the best is yet to come. We are grateful for Jimmy’s sister, brother-in-law, nephew and others who have worked diligently for the past four weeks. They have been in the homes of countless, taught a week long seminar on marriage and the family and so much more. The result thus far has manifested in the conversion of 13 souls. Amen!

The campaign at Maji ya Chai has come to an end. Our good brothers and sisters from Elk City, OK, led by Brad Whinery and Rod Minor are on their way home. This is the fifth year they have come to teach the Good News of Christ to the lost and dying of East Africa. Through their commitment, diligent hard work, generosity, and good example, twenty-three souls have given their lives to the Lord.

So many things came together to make this campaign perfect in so many ways. The Church in OK made it possible for the congregation at Maji ya Chai to have a permanent meeting house. This along with two weeks of pre-campaign efforts, the printed page, many prayers and the blessings of God, proved to be a winning formula for success. We anticipate even more good news to come as we continue with the two weeks of follow-up efforts.

The pre-campaign efforts for the Kwa Mrombo have concluded and the campaign will begin Tuesday. Fours souls have obeyed during the pre-campaign efforts being conducted by the local congregation, Gary & Rachel Box, Caitlin Middleton, Forest and Teresa Rachels, Penny Cabler and now we have been blessed with the addition of our Church family from the Hoover, AL.

I received a note from our brother Yusuph Madaki reporting eleven souls being added to the Church at Ushirombo. A note from Innocent, evangelist for the Monduli congregation reported three souls being added to the Church this past week.

Yes, God is alive and well and His Word is having its’ way in Tanzania. Lives are being transformed daily and His Kingdom is growing day by day. We thank each of you for making all this possible. To His glory we say thank you and may your lives be blessed ever more. 

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie and Granny

Increase Is Given In Paraguay...

Furlough Travel and Reporting:

• Andrea and I are still home in the USA and traveling on furlough! It has been absolutely wonderful to see so many of our friends, family, and loved ones! The Lord has blessed us with safe travel and, as of this writing, we have now delivered our report to all of our supporters and friends. We will be returning to South America on June 10. Thank you so very much for all the encouragement and support that you have given us and for the much needed care packages! We humbly ask that you please continue to keep the work in Paraguay in your prayers.

Recent congregational developments and activities:

• The men of the congregation are considering various options for selling the church property that it now owns. The property has increased more than four times in value in the past few years and provides an opportunity to purchase a different property with enough extra capital to build a meeting facility in a manner more desirable to the church. We are praying that the men make wise decisions and ultimately a facility can be acquired that serves the congregation well. 
• We are starting a new “Learn English Using the Bible” campaign for the next few months while we have two interns working with us in Asuncion (more about them in the next newsletter). There has been a good response to the advertising. Please pray that these may turn into more Bible studies. 

Recent conversions / identifications / restorations: 

• Baptized! – Natalia Osorio. She is a close friend of our brother, Enrique Albera, who introduced her to the church a few months ago. After studying with various members and the missionaries, she decided to heed to the Gospel call of salvation. Praise God!

• Baptized! – Ivanna Ortiz. She is the daughter of Mabel Ortiz who came to us through our “Learn English Using the Bible” program last year. Mabel was baptized this past April. Ivanna wanted to start studying, so, Brittnea began working with her. Now, she is our sister in Christ!

Troy Spradlin

To see the full report with pictures and additional links, click here.

Gratitude From Uganda...

We are doing fine here in Uganda. The Lord is blessing us very much. Thank you for the support you are giving to us. Many good things are happening because of your support. Yesterday (Sunday June 3), myself, Margaret, Paul and Susan worshiped at  Nandwa Church of Christ.  Ema and Edith went Namungodi church of Christ. Two instructors; Raymond Mweru and  Peter Ambaka, with three students worshiped at Junge Church of Christ. Other students visited other congregations. I taught about the Garden of Eden as a type of the church of Christ. I will be sending you soon the Congo work report.

Yours 

Francis, Margaret, Paul, Susan and Edith Mawa Wechesa

Recruiting Students In Ukraine...

Dear brothers, families and churches.

Here came the end of the school year. Usually May is the last month of classes in Ukraine. Our country is getting ready for the EURO-2012 soccer championship, which will start on June 8. It has been raining in Ukraine, but we hope that this summer will be warm. 

There is an unchanging principle acting in the nature - you will reap what you sow. 2 year ago, we had 8 students entering the program at the Bible Institute who wanted to study Bible and serve in God's church. But not everyone was able to make it to the very end. Some of them dropped out because of low grades, others for not living up to the Christian standards. Yet there are others who persevered until the end. 

During this school year, Bear Valley Bible Institute in Ukraine trained and helped to graduate 5 students. These were an interesting and inspiring 2 years of their lives at the Institute. Some graduates continued studying at the Master's program; others returned to their hometowns where they will continue serving God. 

In May, the Institute held a one-day youth conference about dating and boundaries. Young people from different towns attended it. There were 45 people in attendance. The speakers for the conference were Jim Sherman and Steve Housley. There was some entertainment in the form of games and plays. In Ukraine as in any other country, young people are difficult to impress, but our task is to teach them to love God's Word and respect His authority.  

Howell and Mary Ferguson came in May, and they are always of a great help to me and to the Institute. In this short period of time we have already visited several churches in Donetsk and a church in Illovaysk. 

Gary and Sarah Fallis also arrived in May. Gary now is teaching at the Master's program. Sarah is teaching Bible classes for the ladies. The Master's program is an important part of the work both of the Institute and of the church. By training students at the Master's program, the Institute will be more independent in future, and there will be more teachers in Ukraine, and that will allow us all to save time and money.

Right now we are actively searching for students for the next school year. I hope and pray that we will have many of them and that their main goal would be serving God. People often ask me about what happens after graduation, whether they will have an opportunity to serve the Lord. I like that question, but it brings up a lot of issues. The Bible tells us that there is a lot of work to be done, but there are few workers. I can't promise every student that they will be employed.  But I'm sure that those who want to serve and are honest with God and people will always find a place to serve God. Right now I know of three congregations that want to have a good and honest minister who is willing to make personal sacrifices, leaving his comfortable home and moving to them. But it's actually the people who are asking these questions, who are not ready to make some sacrifices for the sake of serving the Lord. 

In June we plan on having a three-day Bible camp for young preachers. The approximate age of the teenagers that we expect to come varies from 13 to 17 years. The first two days will be dedicated to training future young leaders of the church. On the third day they will have to prepare a sermon and present it. It's the first time that we are holding such a camp, so I'm asking you to pray for us and for this work.   

We thank you for your prayers and financial support of our Institute and our work. You are making a huge investment into God's church in Ukraine. Maybe someday you will reap what you sow. Sometimes we are jokingly saying that brethren from the US support Christianity in Ukraine and that later we will help them. But who knows... 

Your brother and co-worker for God's cause,

Dennis Sopelnik

To see the report with pictures, click here.

Visiting Instructors In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this end. We thank you for all your prayers for the safe travel of our visiting lecturers brother Josh and later brother David Ballard. Their presence in our midst this day is an answer of many prayers.

The week was a busy one for the lecturer and the students of CBIW as they were busy with the short course Advance Hermeneutics. All the other activities which are part of the program of the school and our congregation went on well. We praise God for all He is doing to accomplished His will here.

Brother Josh Austin from Bear Valley gave his final in the Advance Hermeneutics course. He said all went well, so this week he will be busy grading the papers while brother David Ballard will start teaching the book of Romans tomorrow through Friday. Keep them in your prayers for good health until they leave Cameroon.

Brother David Ballard taught Bible class this morning in Wotutu congregation after a long flight from the USA. It was great as he taught the congregation on the topic “Get dressed for heaven.” It was great in the midst of 3 visitors. They benefited from it on how to put on Christ.

Today was also a great day in Wotutu as the Christians celebrated 6 years of existence as the congregation of Wotutu was established on the 4^th of June 2006 after I graduated from NCI school of preaching in Nigeria. From 4 persons that worshipped that day today 118 persons have been drawn very close to the gospel as the years are passing by. Keep this work in your prayers as we continue to think souls, continuing to rob from the strong man’s house so that we shall continue to depopulate hell and to make heaven populated.

Today was a day of activities, as we just finished our fellowship. 6 brethren from the Mile 14 Dibanda congregation came to Wotutu with food and bread to visit with the students of CBIW for the great work the students did in their congregation. Brother Josh Austin stood up in the capacity of the coordinator to appreciate the small struggling congregation who are less than 20 in number for such a great love shown to the school. Keep the work in your prayers so that many will love to come and give encouragement to these men who have forgone many things to study the Bible.

The family met outside the church hall for memories for good gestures like this. Keep this young congregation in your prayers.

Praise God for providing us with good food after serving during the day. We took lunch in a beautiful sea side hot spot restaurant in Limbe.

During our fellowship meal today, brother David Ballard was also busy with the children of our congregation making them laugh. He sat on the floor to do all that. It is great and we are blessed with the fine men that God is sending to serve here. May God bless them as they continue to enjoy their stay here.

Plans 
1) This Friday and Saturday respectively, our students will travel to 17 different congregations. Among those congregations one will be a virgin land to help in a particular locality to establish a congregation in Makobe village. Keep the plan in your prayers.

 2) Our plans for establishing a new congregation in Ebonimi will surely work out well in the first week of July when the students come back from vacation.

 3) We have finalized a nurturing trip to Muyuka congregation in July when the students return. That congregation came to our campus to make an appeal to come over to our place and help.

Appreciations
We praise God for using you and us to accomplish His purpose here in our area. Evangelism remains our priority because we have known Christ so we use all we have to make Him known to many. Thank you for your prayers and support, it is working well. Do your best to share this report with others who may love to be part of this soul saving team.

God bless and watch over you and your family.

Elangwe and family,
By His grace director CBIW

Growth In Challenging Conditions...

Believe it or not, summer has arrived across the United States. However, as I think about the warm temperatures ahead, it does not seem to compare to what I am reading from others who are enduring incredible temperatures around the world. As well, I am encouraged to read about the tremendous ways they are reaching out with the gospel in spite of the challenging conditions where they are working.

Now that graduation is behind us at Bear Valley, the activities of the Future Preacher’s Training Camp in Denver and a support raising trip are ahead for the summer. I love the opportunity of sharing the news about the Extension Program with others. There is a great sense of wonder and amazement when brethren are able to see the power of the gospel at work in the lives of great Christian brethren around the world.

I am appreciative of the reports received each week about the work occurring in the various schools Bear Valley is privileged to partner with in the Extension Program. These reports help keep every area of the work current so others are able to know the specifics of each location where men are being trained to preach the gospel.

This week’s report is especially loaded with great news about the graduation ceremonies at the BVBIU in Ukraine. There is also news about the outreach in several locations where souls are being added to the Lord’s kingdom. There is a little humor and so much more to encourage you and glorify our God.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Howell Ferguson is in Gorlovka, Ukraine as part of the graduation ceremonies for the BVBIU. If you would like to see the report with pictures of the class, click here.

Extension Reports 

Visiting Cameroon: Josh Austin is visiting Cameroon this week and the work continues to grow in this part of the world.

Challenges For Baptizing: Two students desire to be baptized in Chandigarh. However, the lack of water locally is creating a challenge for the immediacy of their obedience.

Local Christians Support Evangelism: The local congregation in Siem Reap, Cambodia has been financially supporting the evangelistic outreach.

Brother In Christ Goes Home: While the loss of a husband, father, brother and friend is difficult, it is exciting to see a brother in Christ go home to his heavenly reward.

The Work Is Bearing Fruit: The outreach from students with the Visakha Valley Bible College in India continues to see fruit as the gospel is preached.

Graduates Face Challenges: As the school in Tamale, Ghana seeks to establish contact with graduates about their work, they are learning of the challenges these men face.

A Double Dose: Two weeks of reports from the Gee family are found here and they are worth every word to read. The work is growing. 

Final Thoughts
If you took time to look through each report, you have been on an incredible journey around the world. It is impressive to know that at the touch of a button we can read about the activities of God’s people around the world. It is also encouraging to see their willingness to carry out the Lord’s work even in the difficult situations they endure.

All of this is possible because of wonderful and sacrificial people like you. Your vision for the kingdom, love for the Lord, His church, and the lost, along with your dedication all blend to make this the greatest work on earth.

Thank you!

God bless
Bob

Visiting Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Calvary greetings to you all in Jesus name. We wish you happy mother’s day over there even though it is a day that many Cameroonians don’t bother to even notice it when it comes around. I wish all you moms God’s richest blessings as you continue to care for your children. My mom is 65 years old now and today, because I went out to preach, I have not wished her anything, but I will do it even after the day she is a wonderful mother. She is 4 years old in the faith and she is growing.

Brother Josh Austin, CBIW coordinator, came in yesterday and today went to one of our newly established congregations in Mondoni village. He taught the congregation during Bible study to always search the scriptures. It was great and 32 souls were there to benefit from such timely teaching. Keep brother Josh in your prayers for good health till he returns after two weeks and his family that he left behind.

The program of CBIW went on well and the students finished their exams without any problems. I pray God blessed them with good health as they start their short course tomorrow and continue to the 15^th of June.

The Wotutu congregation and other congregations which we are working with are healthy. I and the students continue to propagate the teaching of using nonalcoholic juice as the Lord supper wine. Some congregations are switching over to the use of non-alcoholic wine on the Lord’s table during communion while others are still resisting. That small percentage of alcohol is not bad, keep the work here in Cameroon in your prayers.

We appreciate God for realizing the vision of organizing a preacher’s wives forum in Cameroon. Change continues to take place in Cameroon as preacher’s wives all over the country who heard about this gathering came for the very first edition with them. Preacher’s wives arise. For years, since the establishment of the Church in Cameroon above 50 years, the wives of preachers were relegated in the background. We are looking forward to a lot of other things that will empower them like adult literacy programs, as a hand full of them have never gone to school. How can they teach others the word if they themselves cannot read the word? Please pray for these sisters and see how you can do something to eradicate their present plight.

The preacher’s wives forum was also a moment of sharing and knowing one another and trying to know how the work is going in different areas and villages in Cameroon. Some told others about the going and how they are of help to their husbands as supporters to foster the work. Keep this vision in your prayers.

They love and appreciate the Wotutu congregation for coming up with a program like this. It was supposed to last 6 hours, but it went up to 10 hours. That made some sisters stay the night in our home and continue the journey the next day. The sisters decided that they will love the program to be an annual event and it will last for 3 days so that many responsibilities they need to know and do it will be discussed. Oh “change will be everywhere because of the coming of CBIW.” Someone prayed like that during the opening day of the school and today we are living witnesses to that prayer.

Even though the Mondoni congregation is young, they are growing well. The spirit of hospitality is part of their lives to always welcome a visitor, even the students of CBIW will always love to go there for weekend evangelism because of their eagerness to grow. Keep them in your prayers so that upon graduation a permanent preacher will go there and growth will be great according to His will.

Brother Josh took a family picture with the six month old congregation of Mondoni. It was great there as there was no translator when he was teaching because they could readily understand him with the American ascend which was just okay for them.

All other students returned safe from their weekend evangelism without any problem, except for brother Manfree who had an accident yesterday with his motor bike. I went to town to go and buy food with his wife who came to visit him, she also sustained some injuries. Please keep them all in your prayers.

Plans
1) We are still selecting from the so many demands for our students to come for mission work. Keep praying for the congregations in Cameroon who are eager for the word but the laborers are few. Many have suffered heresies and lack of someone to lead them for years.

2) Our mission to establish a congregation in Batoke is still pending as we keep studying the area.

Appreciation
Many thanks to God for His great care and work in our lives here as we continue to work to make Him known to many. We continue to rob from the strong man’s house. Thank you for allowing God to use you the way He has been using you to accomplish a lot in Cameroon, please continue to make known this work to others who may love to be part of this team for the glory of God.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director of CBIW

Challenges For Baptizing...

I have just come back after having a Bible study with some denominational friends. In fact, they had asked me to start with them the study at their place.

It is going well for the past several weeks. We meet every Friday after they come from their offices and this study goes for several hours (at least a couple of hours.) Then they offer supper and talk till late in the night about the Biblical topics. It is group of 4-5 people, but hopefully more people will be joining with the passing of time.

On Wednesday I started a study on FAITH, after finishing a long study of the book of Romans. Sunday morning I am preaching on the different topics of scripture.

Tomorrow, we may baptize 2 students who are ready to obey the Lord. They are first year students and want to obey as soon as possible. There is a big problem of water as the ponds or lakes are not in the nearby areas. We have one in the city, but bathing is not allowed there. We take folks about 7 kilometers out of the city. It costs us too much, but we don’t have the alternative.

We have one student who already has a M.Sc. in Micro-biology and is willing to serve the Lord.

Earnest

Local Christians Support Evangelism...

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ! I hope all is well on your end of the world and that you continue to look to God as the source of all things, as we do here in Cambodia. Just wanted to share some information with you concerning the work of Christ here in Siem Reap and Cambodia. 

As the marriages die down and our staff are back from their 'honeymoons,' we have regrouped and are focused on the work in spreading the good news to lost souls. The past couple of weeks, Chann and some of the leaders and students of IBISR have been doing campaigns in and around Takam area. The local church funded the operations and we were able to meet new people and set up some bible studies along the way. It is a good thing to branch out that area since we have tapped out in Takam. We will also be going to Bos Kralanh and Kampong Klaang in the upcoming weeks to try and make some contacts as we plan to evangelize that area in the very near future. We will send our graduates to those areas in August so we want to get a head start and prepare the way for them. It will always be a joint effort with the staff and students and graduates to continue to help and support one anther in any way that we can. 

We ask that you continue to keep us and the work here in your prayers! Thanks for keeping up with us and continuing to support us. God bless you all!

Phanat

Brother In Christ Goes Home...

Dear brethren,

I was not able to report on the Sunday, the19th of May, because where I was I could not have access to the internet service, and also on Sunday we did not have electricity in Busia. The Lord gave us safe travels from Busia to Nyahururu. Nyahururu town is where Thomson Falls is found in Kenya. It is a tourist town. The church was planted first in this area by brethren from Nyeri, a town near Mt. Kenya in 2004. But, in 2007 brother Thuku Simon was sent by the Koma Rock brethren from Nairobi to follow up with a man who had learned about the word of God through a Radio broadcast from U.S.A. Brother Thuku visited these man every Sunday for three years and later he decided to move there permanently when other people were converted. 

While there, we went door knocking on Saturday morning and many people heard the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ. In the afternoon I was given a chance to teach two lessons at the Hippo Church of Christ. The name Hippo was given to that area as there are many Hippos. The natives say that at night they come out of river and walk around the area. I talked about the Church’s responsibility to their preacher and  the importance of the Old Testament to Christians today. 

On Monday morning we left Nyahururu heading to Busia. While on the way brother Samson Omutele, a preacher of Babadogo church of Christ in Nairobi, informed us by phone that brother Barclay Hacket had died in the morning. 

We arrived at home safely on the 21st of May 2012. On 24th May I and Margaret left Busia to attend Brother Hacket’s memorial service in Nairobi at the Nairobi church of Christ. After the memorial service, his body was taken back to the mortuary for his family to decide what to do with that body, as it was announced to the people who were at the memorial service. Later we learned that he had written a will that his body should be cremated, which surprised many African brethren. 

We left Nairobi with a night bus back to Busia. We arrived at around six and went straight the school as we had arranged a door knocking campaign in Sirere village. Paul, Edith and brother Christopher Ouma had made every thing ready. We went there with all students and all school faculty members. Margaret prepared us rice and beans which we carried in the truck. After our door knocking we sat down and ate our lunch and after that, I taught about the importance of the Old Testament to Christians today. I drew my lesson from the garden of Eden and the building of the tabernacle. I showed them how the people brought materials to build the tabernacle until Moses was informed that things were more than needed. In this lesson I encouraged the brethren to be participating very much in the building of the spiritual body of Christ the church. Once the church is truly in the area, that church will be able take care of their own needs as it was in Acts 2:41-47 and Acts 4:32ff. 

We have been privileged to have Ronald Roack from Alabama at our school. He had visited the churches of Christ in Kasese, Western Uganda. Brother Raymond Bwambale, who is now one of our instructors, asked him to come and be with us here for three days from the 28th to 31st of May 2012. His lessons were mostly for preachers. Our students and other preachers from the nearby churches have attended.

We have planned to have our Campaigns for Christ two times in a month on Saturdays. Through the school these churches have been planted, we need to continue watering on these people and the Lord will give the increase. Continue praying for us so that God may help us in this good work of His. 

Yours
Francis and Margaret, Paul, Susan, Edith

The Work Is Bearing Fruit...

David Raju and his wife after baptismGreetings to you all from VVBC, India. I hope everything is going good with you. We are all doing okay. The hot weather has been very severe, because of which several older people are dying. By the grace of God we are all doing fine. The heat index is over 100 F on average for the last 3 weeks. It will continue for another couple of weeks. Days are going to be terrible for us. We sure need some rains, if not it will be the third consecutive no rain fall year.

God blessed us with some amazing results through our mission efforts in this part of Andhra Pradesh. Two students were instrumental in bringing these amazing results. Two new congregations established at two different places. We praise God as our graduates show lot of interest to participate in the evangelism programs conducted by our school. This truly shows the evangelistic nature of our students & graduates.

DVS Prakash praying for new brethrenCampaign week: We had our Evangelism campaign at two places during this month. The results of it are the establishment of the congregations. During these gospel campaigns we did door knocking, tract distribution, Bible study and gospel meetings. This program is specifically aimed to proved practical education to the students. This helps the students to learn some practical issue which they come across in their real time ministry.

Bible Classes: We are happy to see one of our students, Pydiraju, holding a gospel campaign in a village called ‘Kovvada’ in Vijayanagaram District. He wants to start preaching there. In order to do that he wanted to have a start, so with the help of the local friends he held Bible Classes for three days and two gospel meetings on two nights. We were blessed to be part of these classes to encourage this student in establishing a congregation there. Suresh, Rama Rao, two of our graduates, led us into the streets Tract received and readsinging and distributing the gospel tracts to the villagers. We had some Bible studies; one of them was with a denominational preacher. This man was so kind to offer a place to stay. He has very nice personality. Our study with him helped us to understand that he is not thoroughly educated in the Bible. We advised him to take some classes at our school; since he realized the need for him to study more to understand the word of God better/appropriately. Samuel Raju, Director of the School has taught the lesson plan of salvation and John Dean taught about the Holy Spirit. Classes were successful because we have 100% attention from the audience. In the middle of the class we noticed some who are without Bibles. We truly felt so happy to distribute 6 Bibles to those who do not have one.

Vamsee Bhushanam preachingGospel Meetings: Besides the regular gospel meetings in various places, we held two meetings, most of our faculty and students were present. David Raju’s village is totally with idol worshippers, some of them are his relatives. He desperately wanted his villagers to hear about the true living God and His plan of salvation from sin. So, he invited all the faculty to come and hold the gospel meeting. Brother Vamsee, Vijaya Kumar and Director, Samuel Raju, preached during the gospel meeting. We had good audience. In fact, with the help of the loud speakers, the message has been delivered to almost all the villagers. Some of them who were sitting in the porches and were listening to the gospel being preached. This is the first ever gospel meeting conducted by the Church. With this, one can imagine how many villages are still not reached with the true John Dean distributing Biblesgospel. Another Gospel meeting, in a place called Kovvada, has given us the opportunity to announce about the lord’s Church that will be gathering every Sunday. 

Conversion: 
“ Brethren, my heart's desire and my prayer to God for them is for their salvation.  For I testify about them that they have a zeal for God, but not in accordance with knowledge.” (Rom 10:1-3)

David Raju is one of our students. He is zealous about learning the Word of God. He loves his parents. He wanted them to be baptized into the Church, this happened when he learned that the way they were baptized was not according to the scripture and realized that they were not added to His church. So, his humble plead with his parents has lead them to be baptized into Christ for the remission of their sins, and the Lord added them to the Church.

Since the time his parents were converted, he focused on his wife and encouraged her to consider re-baptism. At first she wasn’t really in favor of him, but when he tried to explain her the scripture with the help of another preacher friend and conveyed his commitment to be re-baptism then she came forward. On the day they wanted to be baptized, they invited the school Director & faculty to come and hold Bible class & Gospel meetings for two days. Taking that as an opportunity, we spent time by knocking the door and distributing the gospel tracts and inviting the villagers to attend the gospel meetings. In fact David Raju wanted his villagers to hear the good news and believe in Jesus and accept Him as their Savior. We hear from David Raju regularly about the developments with the new congregation. We are excited to hear that they are meeting every Sunday regularly and some of David Raju’s (Preacher) family, and a couple of his family friends are attending the worship service.

Along with David Raju, his sister was also added to the Church. Moreover, brother Vijaya Kumar, who is also one of our students, wants to be baptized. David Raju & Vijaya Kumar believed that they were baptized according to the scripture, but they never realized the actuality until the time our faculty, including brother Chuck Ramseur, discussed the right way of baptism, process of it and the result of being added to the Church by the Lord. For sure this has opened of their eyes and compelled them to come forward to be baptized. We give honor to our Lord for saving these 4 precious souls.    

Prayer Request: 

1. Kindly pray for brother Rama Raju’s family, who lost his father in-law.

2. Kindly pray for the First Graduation Exercise of the Master’s Class, as 9 will be receiving their MBS Diplomas.

3. Pray for the weather. It has been very dry for the last 7 months. If it continues it will be the 3^rd dry year for us, and the cost of living would become very, very high.

4. Pray for our travels & mission activities that our labor would bring fruit.

“How then will they call on Him in whom they have not believed? How will they believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how will they hear without a preacher?  How will they preach unless they are sent? ” (Rom. 10:14-15) 

Equipping & Evangelism is our basic goal in running the Bible School. Equipping the men with the word of God and reaching out to the lost millions with the good news of our Savior. Indeed, this kind of approach is what required in this part of India. Since there are so many places where the gospel has not been carried out by the Church to these places. This situation shows the desperate need of a Preacher Training School like Visakha Valley Bible College, in Visakhapatnam. 

Work Report: 
Number of people baptized in this month through our ministry: 12
Denominational preachers restored: 1
Gospel meetings conducted – 6
Weekend Campaign – 2 in 3 villages
Gospel tracts distributed – 16,000
Doors Knocked - 430
Held the Bible Studies - 21
New Congregations Established - 2

We are looking forward to our first Master’s Class graduation on the 6th of July, according to brother Garry Fallis, brother Denton Landon will be coming with him. We are exited about this.

We thank you brethren for supporting the Bible School. We continue to do our very best. We thank our God for congregations like you who are backing the Lord's work in India. Your kindness helps us rescue some lost souls. As the preacher students go out and establish more congregations, many lost will be rescued. We are looking forward to see such a wonderful result from our combined efforts.

Please convey our salutations to the brethren at Strickland, especially to the Elders and the Preacher. Please continue your prayers for us as we also do for you. If you want to know more about our school or any questions kindly contact us. 

In Christ, 
John Dean M
For the Visakha Valley Bible College

A Double Dose...

May 27 2012 Report
Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: “Please don’t leave me alone. I don’t want to go back to the way I was.”---Job (new convert)

After his conversion, Job spoke these words to Chris because he wanted follow-up studies and knew he would need help to stay faithful. This past week has been a whirlwind of activities! The Akin crew (including Kevin Flowers) continued to study from morning 'til evening, with some studies continuing on Saturday. The First Annual Marriage Seminar (as Trina is calling it because she want it to be a yearly thing), which began last Sunday morning, continued three hours each weekday, and ended Sunday morning, has been a tremendous success because so many people heard so many Biblical principles. They were reminded of how to put certain principles into practice (the value of a godly wife, planning together as a couple, mutual respect and communication, biblical roles of husbands and wives, the importance of meeting needs, money problems, etc). There were always questions after each session, which included topics such as women yelling at men, how far the authority of the husband extends, punishing wives for their misbehavior, swapping cows for wives, and many more interesting topics especially concerning the Maasai Tribe. These questions lasted at least an hour each day.

There continues to be fruit from the Bible studies being conducted by the Akin Crew. So far these souls have been added to the Lord’s church: Asifiwe, Job, Datifa, Obadiah, Joyce, Hilda, Einoti, Violet and Neema. Four of the individuals above are husband and wife and have attended the marriage seminar. Others know someone (either a relative or neighbor) who is a member of the church. Einoti is the wife of David who was restored last week. Beth has a new study on Monday (Rehema, Teresia’s sister whom Lindsey and Abigail have studied with) to add to the other five daily studies. In the midst of all the busyness of transporting people to Bible studies and the Marriage Seminar going on, there has been sickness in the Akin family (Chris and Olivia), our family (Heather) and neighbors needing transportation to the Tanzania Christian Clinic. One such neighbor, little Stevin (son of recently restored member, David, mentioned above) fell backwards into a pot of boiling food, and was burned severely on his back, bottom and legs. It was Chris who saw the burns and advised that they go to the clinic immediately (the accident had occurred the night before). Stevin is recovering well thanks to Stephanie Stafford and the others at the clinic who have given him good care.

“GOD IS SO GOOD” was what Trina heard Elijah singing through a long black plastic pipe that he had stuck through the kitchen window. Although she appreciated that reminder, she had to interrupt his “piped in music” because she wasn’t sure for what that pipe had been used.

The church building was packed for not only Bible study but also worship today. This Marriage Seminar has really spiked the interest of many. The only “negative” comment made about the seminar was that it wasn’t long enough (it lasted EIGHT days!). When it comes to marriage (especially here in East Africa with different tribes and different beliefs and traditions) everyone is very interested in that topic.

Finally, the Oklahoma group has arrived! There are nine of them with four veterans returning and five "newbies" to Tanzania. It is always a joy to have them with us. They will be working in the Maji ya Chai (Tea Water) congregation starting on Tuesday and running through Sunday. The congregation, with the help of other Christians, has been doing pre-campaign work for the past two weeks. Over forty home Bible studies have already been established, so the work begins. Hannah Box also arrived safely this week. She will do great things in the kingdom also. And, please remember, Penny Cabler, Gary & Rachel Box, Forest & Teresa Rachels, and Caitlin Middleton who all will be arriving this week (Jimmy, along with Elly Martin, will go to Nairobi on Thursday, returning Friday, to pick up Caitlyn). Please pray that God grants safe travels for all.

Thanks for your interest in and support of this work! 

In Christian Love, 
The Jimmy Gee family 

June 3 2012 Report
Dear Supporters, Family, and Friends,

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  "Obstacles are the things we see when we take our eyes off our goals."---Zig Ziglar 

When visitors to TZ return to the states they are often asked what Tanzania, East Africa is like. I'm told that, although they do their best to explain, one of their normal answers is, "You just have to experience it." It's difficult to explain 1) how so many people are willing to listen to the Gospel, and 2) the obedience of many when they believe what they are hearing is the truth. It's difficult to explain how hospitable people are who live in a mud hut and may not be sure where the next meal is coming from. It's difficult to explain the problems with water, police corruption, electricity, young children running around the neighborhood unsupervised, and the traditions of many tribes. Our visitors return with many wonderful, heart-warming stories and many heart-breaking stories. 

We'll not even try to explain/report on Chris and Beth Akins' week (we couldn't remember half of it if we tried). We're hoping to attach their last two reports to this one today. All we know is they continue to study with people from morning until evening and more souls have been added to the kingdom. It's hard to keep up with. Steven, Kevin, Lindsey and Abigail also continue to study with our neighbors.

Today we worshipped with the Monduli congregation where Innocent Alfayo (ACSOP graduate) has preached for several years. Chris taught Bible Study (The Deity of Jesus) and Kevin Flowers preached to a full house about "The Great Invitation." Both lessons were excellent and much needed! Trina was introduced to Joyce who, along with her husband, recently became a Christian and she was very happy to see her "old" friend, Hilda (Innocent's wife). During services we had a slight distraction in that small caterpillars were occasionally falling from the ceiling beams and landing on people. But it was no problem for Beth who doesn't mind "creepy crawly" things. :) Our nephew, Steven Akin and our daughter, Abigail, worshipped with the Kisongo congregation where Steven taught Bible class and also preached.

The Oklahoma group, plus Penny Cabler, Gary, Hannah and Rachel Box (Alabama) and Forrest and Teresa Rachels (Tennessee) continue to work with the congregations in Maji ya Chai and Kwa Mrombo. Our appreciation goes out to these guests listed above (many who are "returning workers" many times over). Unfortunately, some of the guests were involved in an auto accident, but none of them were hurt. Involved also was a man on a motorcycle whose leg was broken. Please pray for his quick recovery and that a door may be open to teach him the gospel. Previous visitors know the dangers of the roads and how many drivers do not know the traffic laws and some don't obey if they know. One Tanzanian told of how he asked a policeman for a copy of the "Traffic Constitution" (rules of the road) so he would know what was permissible and the policeman said he didn't need to know the law.

Trina’s friend, Hilda (above) said her father and a couple of others were on a small bus (called a dala-dala) a few days ago and the driver said he could not take them all the way to the other bus station. Because it was already dark, her father and the others did not want to be let off on the side of the road. The driver and his "conductor" stopped the bus and beat her father and the others and then left them on the side of the road anyway.

On a better note...we are expecting the Hoover group this Friday night. Heavily involved in this mission work, this group normally concentrates their efforts on the Kwa Mrombo congregation (where they have not only opened up their hearts but their wallets to help in any way possible). These co-workers from Hoover, AL "take the ball and run with it!"

Today, Jimmy read the passage in 2 Cor. 8:1-5 before the prayer for the contribution. As he was reading, it reminded Trina of you, our supporters. If you don't know it by heart, look it up and read about saints who sacrificed for the cause of Christ. Please accept our deep gratitude for all you have done to help us in this mission work. When committed people work together toward a common goal, great things happen and success is inevitable. We continue to be thankful for the privilege of working here, teaching people who really desire to know and obey the Truth. 

In Christian Love,
Jimmy, Trina, Lindsey, Abigail, Heather, Candace, Stuart, David, Naomi, Elijah and Matthew

Graduates Face Challenges...

Tamale is enjoying heavy rains, therefore the environment which usually is dry is now green. We are also enjoying ultimate peace which alone to most Ghanaians has been a remarkable blessing. We thank God.

Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies is on holidays and therefore the campus is very quiet. All examinations ended on the 26th of April 2012 and as students were yelling to go home after a long stay on campus, they left on that same day. Some of the students were explaining that they needed to get home quickly because they wanted to prepare their farm lands.

The next quarter starts on the 9th of July, 2012. Instructors have also decided to use the holidays to edify the congregations where past students are preaching.

Brother Agyei Mensah, Dean of Students Affairs and an Instructor, has on several occasions traveled to Gotaani near Zabzugu. By the grace of the good Lord, (13) souls have since been baptized into the Lord. Brother Baah has been traveling to Bawku District where a number of conflicts among members have been solved. It is hoped that by this, all past students who are preaching in the various village would be visited and encouraged.

The Institute has also requested all past students who are currently preaching to report their activities to the Institute. The reports so far received indicate that many small congregations have been established, and also there has been a substantial increase in the number of membership in   their congregations.

The reports however indicated that their effort is being faced with some challenges. Among these challenges are:

•Means of transport to visit the new congregations.

•Need for support for widows and orphans in the church.

•Financial support for preachers to establish drug stores to enhance their health care activities in their communities.

Plans are far advanced to receive the two American Preachers who are expected to arrive in Tamale in July 2012 to assist with the evangelistic work in northern Ghana. It is our prayer that the Heavenly Father protects, cares and provides their needs to enable them enjoy their stay in Ghana.

Tamale, with its huge Muslim population, requires strong men of faith to support this herculean task. We are extremely happy to be joined by these devoted men to fight a good fight for Christ. We call on all who find it expedient to propagate effectively to draw the lost in such a Muslim dominated area to Christ to volunteer and be part of the team. Tamale welcomes every single individual and hopes your decision will bring about a change in the belief and worship of a lot of souls perishing.

Work has started on the Institute’s building with the making of window and door frames. This will be followed by fixing of frames and plastering. It is hoped that the next badge of students will be accommodated in the building next year.

Baah Okyere Joseph

Unending Opportunities...

Bear Valley graduates in Denver and in Gorlovka, Ukraine are now making their way into the ministry. Their efforts, along with many others who have completed their studies in Denver and around the world, will make a lasting difference. There is no greater work, privilege and honor than the partnership / fellowship shared in training men to preach the gospel of our Lord and Savior, Jesus.

Each week I am more humbled by the quantity and quality of the work of the greatest people on earth. I am encouraged by reading about their efforts and the sacrifices so willingly made to help others learn about the Savior of the world. They serve as an example for all of us to learn from, especially concerning the people who are our neighbors, those we work with each day, and others we meet everywhere we go. I pray God will give us a heart filled with evangelistic fervor. 

Over the next few months I will be reporting about a number of congregations I will visit this summer to share information regarding the work at Bear Valley and the Extension program. The opportunities to be involved in the Lord’s Kingdom are unending. As you read through the various reports this week, I believe you will see exactly what I mean.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Extension Reports 

The Church In Cameroon Grows: Spiritual and numerical grow continue to highlight the work of the church in Wotutu, Cameroon.

Classes, Graduation And Recruiting In Ghana: The West Coast School of Preaching is preparing for graduation and a new class of students.

Another Christian Wedding In Cambodia: The development of Christian homes will make a difference for the future work in Cambodia.

Witchdoctors, Graduate Studies and Evangelism: The culture brings interesting twists to the direction of the work in Chimala.

Difficulties With Location In India: Owners of the property where the school is meeting in Chandigarh are asking the school to vacate the property.

Another Student Obeys The Gospel In Togo: The students at CBS continue to learn and grow in their understanding of the word. 

Eight Precious Souls Added In Arusha: Several who are visiting the work in Arusha, Tanzania have been instrumental in sharing the gospel and God has blessed their efforts.

Powerful Report, Plus A Little Bonus: The work in Tanzania is wonderful and there is an added bonus with a report from one of the families visiting the work. 

Final Thoughts
The work of training men to preach the gospel is possible because of you. Your financial support, abilities, prayers, encouragement, teaching, and leadership is making a difference. It is such a joy to learn about the gratitude expressed by the beneficiaries of your assistance in the work.

I pray God will bless you richly, beyond measure, and that you will be an instrument in the hands of the Almighty so you might continue to be the blessing you are to all of us. Thank you from the depths of my heart.

God bless
Bob