Graduation And The Future In Cambodia...

Dear Brethren,

I am excited to inform you of our recent events happening in Siem Reap. We had our 2nd IBISR's Graduation for the class of 2010-2012, with our stateside coordinator Wes Autrey as our guest speaker for the event. It was a successful graduation and the students enjoyed the charged that they've received from brother Wes. 

We appreciate all the support from our brethren overseas in helping us to become autonomous. We thank God for your love and generosity and faith in us. Of the 8 graduates, 5 of our men will go out and serve God in their respective areas. Pheap and Hokly will work in the Tonle Sap area in the floating village, while Sam and Reaksa will go to Bos Krolanh village and start a new work there. Lon will head back to his home village of Takam and be the full time minister there. We look forward to seeing these graduates produce good fruits for the Lord in their labor. We ask that you keep them in your prayers as they embark on their journey ahead. 

The class of 2010-2012 is special in the sense that none of these men will receive support from overseas. We are implementing our plan of becoming self supportive as soon as possible and these will be the first ones. The local church here will help support these men along with their own hands finding other sources of income part time. Please remember them in your prayers as they will be faced with many temptations concerning their income and livelihood. 

Phanat

Please click here to see pictures of the graduation and students.

Campaigns Helping The Work Grow In Togo...

Steven and Willie left Accra on Saturday, the 11th of August and returned on Tuesday the 14th of August. The objective of the trip was to deliver a new copier to CBS, worship with the Nyiveme church of Christ and to discuss the needs of CBS. During our visit we had the opportunity to teach the Bible class and preach. 

Denominational Preacher forced to resign
Piere, a couple of weeks ago was preaching for a denominational church in Avetonu, near Kpalime. He heard of the teachings of the Church of Christ and decided to investigate. Upon visiting the church, he was handed a tract which addressed the issue of the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. After carefully studying the tract, he decided to teach his congregation, and this was the beginning of his predicament. He was accused of teaching a false doctrine and subsequently summoned to appear before the council of elders and the founder of the Church. As a result of the incident, he was asked stop preaching. On my recent trip, I met Piere when he came to worship with the Nyiveme congregation. Cephas is seriously teaching him the way more perfectly. Lets continue to pray for Piere Kanyika.

CBS News
Students and staff of CBS conducted a two day door knocking exercise at Kpadape near Kpalime. There were 11 preachers who participated in this outreach program. Several tracts were distributed and many contacts made. As a result of the exercise a family is visiting and engaged in studies. David is making all efforts to reach out to all the contacts in Kpadape. The future of the church looks very bright. All they need is permanent place of worship. Two men were baptized recently.

Brethren are considering starting a new work in s village called Atiyi. Initial contact has been made and the village chief has offered a place for the church to build a meeting place. 

The Nyiveme church now has a membership of 43. The congregation is involved in home bible studies with a couple of prospects. 

The radio program has continued with Cephas and Jean doing the preaching. Several continue to make contact and extend an invitation to the Church of Christ to plant a congregation in their villages. Truly, the brethren have more than they can handle now. God is using the radio program to reach many.

CBS Interview
The interview date was on the 17th of August. I arrived in Kpalime at about 10 pm on Tuesday the 16th.  The interview started at 9 am with entrance exams in the French language and later a couple of Bible questions were presented to test their Bible knowledge. 

There were 22 persons present but only 17 passed the exam and interview. Three brethren will be added later to bring the number to 20.  

Out of the 20 who will start classes in September eight (8) are from the church of Christ and 12 are denominational “pastors” and leaders. If we can’t get them to sit and listen to the truth preached to them, we have devised this strategy to teach them in our classroom.  We are using CBS as evangelism too. Our track record shows that this has worked twice. Our goal is to convert all of them by the end of the first year. The interview ended at about 6:30 pm.

Beme campaign for Christ
Seventeen (17) left Kpalime on Friday morning at 9:30 am for Kpele Beme. The campaign was scheduled to begin on the 19th of August and end on the 21st. We used my car to convey the PA system and some of the preachers. The preachers who had bikes used them to convey other preachers. We arrived there in about an hour, and quickly had to visit one of the elderly men in the Beme congregation, who led us to greet the chief. After that, we paired and went into the town to conduct Bible studies.  

There were 154 contacts during the two days of personal work from house to house and in the market places. There was public preaching each night. During worship on Sunday, there were a few visitors among whom one was baptized. The church now has several prospects to keep the preacher and members busy till the end of the year.

I did the preaching that morning using Romans 8:28 to encourage both Christians and visitors.  Since the Beme congregation does not have a meeting place and were using someone’s living room, we decided to rent a canopy. Provision was made to provide two meals each day during the campaign.

CBS re-opens on 12^th September
We have decided to start 2011-2012 academic years on the 12th of September. We are grateful to the Gabriel Oaks Church of Christ for their commitment to the process of training these men to preach the gospel of Christ. In spite of the financial crisis worldwide, they have remained committed, and for these we are thankful. 

Willie Gley

Student Involvement Produces Fruit In Honduras...

The following report is from Neri Irias. He shares news from each of the students who are preparing themselves for the work. 

Enrique Figueroa
I am collaborating in the church in Coyolar where the opportunity is afforded me to preach the days of assembly. Together, with the preacher, we are working hard in evangelism and have baptized this month five people, the names of whom are:

Edin Rafael Rodriguez

Felicia Danubia Vazques

Rixy Hernandez

Justa Rufina Chacon

Geferson Chacon

All these were baptized July 23. We are studying with nine people. We are teaching them about baptism now that they wish to know more about this theme so as to obey the Gospel. We ask your prayers for our new brethren and for the contacts that we have so that they can obey the truth. God bless.  

Jose Cruz Lopez
During this month I was assigned to work with the youth of the church together with brother Hector (Viera - djb). We are meeting every Friday. We invite the other youth to the youth meetings. Also I was assigned themes to preach. The themes are related to the church and its work. Also, I am going out to do evangelism each Saturday from 9:00 a.m. until 4:00 p.m. Sundays I participate in different things, whether it be leading singing, preaching, leading prayer, directing the communion service or collecting the offering.  The brethren keep me active in the work of the church. Also, together with a brother, we are visiting a sister that was baptized last month, but who has not attended the assemblies and this even though the church has visited her and other brethren, as well. The problem is that her mother exerts influence over her and does not permit her to go to the assemblies, but we are working on this. Sundays in the afternoon, together with brother Nery, or other brethren, we go to visit the brethren who are sick, for prayer and they also participate in the communion. 

Jose Antonio Caceres
God bless you all, brethren. I appreciate your help and the opportunity that you give me to be able to study at IBH. I am very happy with all that I have learned and am sharing with my brethren of the church. I am helping brother Oscar Morgan (IBH graduate - djb) in the place of Empalme de Trojes. There on Saturdays we go out to evangelize and we have many studies with people. We are following up on some studies, but so far we do not have baptisms since the people of this place are very hard of heart. Sunday I help the brother (Morgan) in the preaching and the songs. Also, we visit the brethren to encourage them and study with them in their homes. 

Gustavo Reyes
Greetings, dear brethren. The first Sunday in the congregation of Cuyalí the opportunity was given to me to direct the first prayer and serve the fruit of the vine. In the afternoon I went together with a brother to visit a sister who is sick to pray for her and encourage her and serve her communion.  

The second Sunday the opportunity was given to me to teach the Sunday class of the children.

The third Sunday I was assigned to lead singing, the first prayer and direct the Lord’s Supper. Later I went to the community of 24th of December of El Paraíso to help brother Porfirio where I preached the theme: Things that Cause Division.  

The next two Sundays I directed the communion and the songs. Also, I went to visit the sick brethren that could not assemble to pray and encourage them. The days of the week I cannot assemble since by night I go to school to receive classes. God bless.  

Porfirio Gonzales
I am helping the church (congregation) of El Carmen in the assignments that they have given me, collaborating in the preaching. On Sundays in the afternoon I go to the community of 24th of December where there are six brethren and we always have six visitors and five children; in total we assemble 17 on Sunday afternoons. Saturdays I go out to evangelize and have had several studies with people. 

Jairo Irias
May the Lord bless you, brethren. In the church at El Zarzal (where IBH is located - djb) where I am collaborating, we go out each Saturday to do the work of evangelism. I have had some studies with members of the denomination “United Pentecostal Church.” I am studying with a youth over the deity of Jesus and we have clarified certain wrong things that they believe about baptism and the gift of speaking in tongues. We go, also, to visit discouraged brethren with the youth of the church. I have preached some themes related to the church according to the schedule of preaching at the church at El Zarzal. I am visiting the brethren that live in Los Robles and I solicited the help of the congregation so as to be able to there whether on Wednesday or Friday, teaching the brethren and holding meetings in that place.

Neri

An Hour A Day...Keeps The Devil Away!

Dear Supporters, Family, and Friends:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Failure is only the opportunity to begin again more intelligently." -- Henry Ford

THE BEAUTY OF GOD'S CREATION: There are many beautiful things about Africa especially  the landscape and beautiful flowers. To us, beautiful scenery has both a calming and inspirational affect. 

EAST AFRICAN GOSPEL MEETING: Below is an excerpt from Cy Stafford (Director of TZ 2000): ". . . the Gospel is having its way here in East Africa. Sean and I were privileged to travel to Mwanza last week to take part in the East Africa Gospel meeting. On the way we stopped in the city of Babati to meet with eight of the local evangelists to promote the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, encourage them, and . . . challenge them to a greater zeal and work in the Kingdom. Our time at Mwanza was insightful, encouraging, and very edifying. With the presence of 60 evangelists from four different countries, preaching and teaching God’s Power, the results were amazing . . . 12 souls added to the Kingdom. Sean addressed the men of the good being done through the ACSOP (packets of information and applications were left there).  In the southwest part of Kenya... we met Mike Reese and his team who had come to work with the Ahono congregation (sponsoring a youth camp). The last word we received was that over 30 of the 200 plus youth had obeyed the Gospel."

HAPPINESS IS....thinking you have eaten the last jar of Welch's grape jelly (from the states) and finding two more!

ANOTHER BAPTISM . . . but of the canine sort. Abigail asked our guard, Deo, to dip her dog Oliver in some flea medicine. Deo didn't understand the word "dip" so half-jokingly we said "baptize" him because we wanted most of his body immersed. Later Stuart told us that Deo literally DID baptize Oliver, holding his mouth closed and quickly dunking him under (having applied flea medicine on other dogs before, we thought he knew not to get it in Oliver's eyes, nose, or ears.) Abigail is thankful her dog survived.

SERMON ON THE MOUNT: Abigail organized a girls' devotional on Saturday evening on top of a hill not far from our home. Caitlyn Middleton (has been working here for a few months) agreed to speak. Her topic, "Climbing the Hill of Christianity" was very appropriate and well presented to the nine teen-age girls attending. The girls played a couple of games and enjoyed Heather's chocolate oatmeal cookies!

WHY DID THE CHICKEN hide under the coffee table? We don't know but it startled Abigail when she walked in Grace's house for a Bible study last Sunday evening.

AN OUNCE OF PREVENTION is worth a pound of cure! I am seriously considering beginning a "Child Safety and Wellness" course due to the many people who come to us asking for transportation to the clinic for accidents/sickness regarding their children (and other relatives) and asking us to pay the bill. We want to help them (and are sympathetic for their situation) but much could be avoided if preventive care, proper supervision and proper teaching were practiced. 

A DAY IN THE LIFE! If you are not familiar with the phrase "domino effect" please come to Africa so you will understand completely. Awhile back we needed water for a vase of roses.   Since no water was coming from the faucet, we asked the guard to turn on the switch for the pump (so water could be pumped from the ground storage tanks up to the tower tank so water could flow into the house). However, the pump was not working and he did not know how to fix it. He called our main guard (at his house) on the phone. While talking, the phone minutes ran out, so we borrowed Lindsey’s phone. The main guard arrived about 30 minutes later, found the tools and repaired the water pump. In about 20 more minutes there is water coming from the faucets. All of this to simply put some water in a vase! This is a short "domino effect" . . . you may remember another report about the day(s) of the water truck breakdown right in the middle of our open gate, couldn't drive vehicles in or out, finally the water truck was repaired and the water was placed in the tanks. As the large truck was leaving, it struck a low-hanging electrical wire, severing the connection to everything including the water pump so we could not pump up and use the 10,000 liters just purchased and had been waiting on for two days. (ha/ha) We know the "domino effect" happens everywhere but, from experience, it seems to happen more here.

AMERICANS ASK QUESTIONS in a strange way (or maybe it's only us). We will frequently ask an English-speaking Tanzanian a question with a "negative" word in it. For example: Trina may say, "you're not attending school today?" To which they (if they are not attending school today) will answer correctly and say "yes" (meaning, it is true that they are not attending school today). However, we are expecting them to say "no" (meaning they are not attending school today). So around and around we go. Americans would say, "no" and then usually add, "I'm not attending school today" for clarification. If we remember to ask the question without the negative and just say, "Are you attending school today?" then the communication flows much better!

ACSOP NEWS: Sean Hochdorf was sick last week, so Jimmy used Sean's class hours to finish his course on Jeremiah and Lamentations. Therefore, Sean will begin his class on the Minor Prophets this week using Jimmy's class hours to finish his course before the term ends. Cy Stafford continues teaching Personal Evangelism to the second-year students. Each week they have instruction on one day and then, for their class-time the next day they go out and practice what they have learned. The second-year students are scheduled to graduate on November 24.

STUDENT SPOTLIGHT: Gerald Chuchuba, the oldest student in the second year class (67 years old), is a joy to know and is so enthusiastic! Anyone who visits the ACSOP remembers this tall, talkative and friendly man who never meets a stranger. Mr. Chuchuba was educated in Catholic seminaries and was previously employed as the head master of a school. Married, with nine children, he frequently requests prayers that his children will obey the Gospel. Pascal (one of the first two Christians in the Ushirombo area), Yusufu Mdaki and John Hall (former TZ missionary) taught him the Gospel. Mr. Chuchuba says "preaching and bringing lost souls to God has been my zeal since my youth." Having taught many the (true) Gospel, his favorite topic of study at the ACSOP is "evangelism" and he loves "collecting teaching and learning material" in order to build his library. Mr. Chuchuba plans to preach in Ushirombo, Bukombe District in the New Region of Geita, Tanzania after graduating with his BBS degree in November of this year. 

"WE'RE AMOEBA FREE!" With the same enthusiasm as Dave Ramsey's radio show listeners who call in and shout "We're Debt Free," we make this announcement (and hope to remain this way)!

"AN HOUR A DAY...keeps the devil away!" quipped Heather, after our discussion of how just one hour of daily Bible reading can help one build a strong spiritual foundation. The value of a day cannot be underestimated.

WE WELCOMED BACK Ahimidiwe (local preacher at Kisongo) after  three weeks of traveling.   All men and women joined Jimmy's New Convert's class (topic was "The Importance of Bible Reading) this morning because Ahimidiwe was too tired to teach the Men's Class and Paulina wasn't able to translate for the ladies class due to her asthma. Stuart counted 129 in our circle outside where we shake hands!

PRAYERS ANSWERED: Rosemary gave birth to a beautiful baby girl and both are doing fine!

KISONGO BIBLE SCHOOL begins their second quarter on September 3rd (designed for the "person in the pew.") Also, we are happy to report that the men of Kisongo "took the ball and ran" with Jimmy's suggestion that a "Reading and Writing" class be conducted for both members of the church and the community who are illiterate in their own language (Swahili). The aim is to enable church members to read their Bibles and serve as a community outreach program. The teacher is also willing to teach English to any who desire to learn. 

"THE LORD SAID TO MOSES, 'TAKE A CENSUS..." (Num. 4:1) Kisongo church members (including us foreigners) were encouraged to "cooperate with the government" and go home quickly in order to be counted when the "census takers" came. If you are not counted then you must report to the "Ten Cell" leader (man who is over ten houses in the neighborhood) similar to how the Israelite leadership was organized (Exodus 18:21).

LOVE AND APPRECIATION is extended toward every one of you for your dedication to the souls in East Africa. We will end this report with the same closing that Terra Gobble used recently in an encouraging email to us . . .  

Working for Him with You, 
Jimmy, Trina and Family

The Future Of Training Preachers Looks Great...

The new class of students at Bear Valley have completed their second week of studies and they all seem to be doing very well. The beginning of a new quarter with a new class of students is always an exciting time in Denver. I know the same measure of excitement exists in all the Extension Schools as well. There is just something special about training men to preach the gospel of Jesus.

With the start of a new quarter and class in Denver also comes the start of several classes of students around the world. The developments within the Extension Program continue to bring exciting news about the work of training men to preach. 

The Kenya School of Preaching in Kisumu, Kenya will soon begin their first class of 20 students in October. The Liberia Bible College in Monrovia, Liberia is set to begin a new class of 20 students in September. The Southwest School of Evangelism in Ibadan, Nigeria will be completing classes for the current class of students and will begin a new class of 25-30 students over the next month.

As Bear Valley is privileged to partner with these new locations, we are also excited about the continued development of each school where we have opportunity to share in the work of training preachers. With the addition of the new locations, and the prospective enrollment for the Theological Academy of Paraguay in March 2013, there will be close to 350 students around the world who are involved in preparing themselves for ministry in the Lord’s kingdom.

If we add the 30 students in Denver who are preparing themselves to preach the gospel, the future looks wonderful for reaching the lost with the gospel of Jesus Christ. For each of you who are involved in this program, I know it is as exciting for you as it is for me.

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 

Extending The Frontiers Of Missions: A recent trip to Zambia was focused on missions. Brother Elangwe is now back in Cameroon and the work continues to grow.

CBI Teacher Loses A Child: While the work grows in Tanzania, there is sadness as one of the instructors lost his young daughter to kidney failure.

Back In Africa: The Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies is busy about the work as Tony Johnson is now back in Ghana to work with the school.

12 Souls Added and God’s Saints Are Persecuted In Tanzania: The work is growing in Arusha, but one new Christians is being persecuted. Pray for this man.

Challenges Of Traditional Tanzanian Life: Life in Africa, while quite common in everyday occurrences to Tanzanians, would shock most Americans. 

Final Thoughts
On a final note, several of the extension staff will be traveling to Denver next week for our annual retreat / meeting. The few days we are together at this time each year provides a wonderful opportunity to discuss a number of significant areas concerning the program of work at Bear Valley. We also have opportunity to be encouraged by a number of great lessons, uplifted by reports on the current situation of various areas within the program, and share in some of the greatest fellowship I know....

Thank you for all you do to help in the development of training preachers. I am praying for you each day. May God bless you richly.

Bob

12 Souls Added And God's Saints Are Persecuted In Tanzania...

Greetings Fellow Workers,

Hard to imagine it has been three weeks since our last Short Report! Busy, would be an understatement. We pray all is well on your end and that you are having as many opportunities as we are to glorify our God and touch others with the saving message of the Gospel. God is good all the time!

I begin with a request for your prayers on behalf of our new brother Gaudence. He and his wife, along with four others obeyed the Gospel during the campaign at Maji ya Chai. He and one other older man (who also obeyed) were working with over 50 widows and orphans. Ever since he obeyed, leaders from his former faith have been persecuting him and his wife without mercies. This past week they went as far as trying to have him literally run out of town. William, the evangelist for the Lord’s Church that meets at Maji ya Chi, has spent hours and even days defending Gaudence and the Truth of God’s Word. This group of “so-called christians” are now in the village of Maji ya Chai spreading rumors and slandering William’s name as well as the name of the Church. When folks do not have the Truth, it sometimes comes down to this. Please pray for Gaudence, his family and the new Church plant that meets in the village of Ngurdoto.

On the “brighter side,” the Gospel is having It’s way here in East Africa. Sean and I were privileged to travel to Mwanza last week to take part in the East Africa Gospel meeting. On the way we stopped in the city of Babati to meet with eight of the local evangelists. Our purpose in meeting with them was to promote the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, encourage them, and hopefully in some small way, challenge them to a greater zeal and work in the Kingdom.

Our time at Mwanza was insightful, encouraging, and very edifying. With the presence of 60 evangelists from four different countries, preaching and teaching God’s Power, the results were amazing. I spoke with Isaac (the local evangelist) today and he gave me an update; two more souls obeyed today bringing the total to 12 souls being added to the Kingdom. Amen, yes, God is good all the time. Sean was given the opportunity to address the men of the good being done through the ACSOP. We handed out more packets of information and applications.

We then made our way to the southwest part of Kenya where we met Mike Reese and his team who had come to work with the Ahono congregation who were sponsoring a youth camp. The last word we received was that over 30 of the 200 plus youth had obeyed the Gospel. Amen, Amen, God is good all the time.

A long journey to be sure, but a most rewarding one. We thank our families who are always supportive in our absence and we thank you, our friends and supporters for your prayers, making all this possible.

The students are back. Jimmy, Christopher, Isaac, Sean and I are teaching and God continues to bless His work here in TZ. I close with much more to say, but I will close! We are praying God be with you all in your faithful service to Him and to all those He brings your way.

P.S. To all my friends, brothers, and sisters in Christ who are at the PTP lectureship, you are in our prayers and yes, I MISS NOT BEING THERE! :(

In Him, Cy, Stephanie, Granny and Caitlin

Extending The Frontiers Of Missions...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from the staff, students and members of the Wotutu congregation. We do hope you are doing fine in all that you do.

Some CBIW students, wore their new T shirts for house to house evangelism in Wotutu so as to follow up many questions that keep coming to us through the radio program of 4:30 am, though our waves do not pass through AM or FM signal. Keep this work in your prayers.

I am happy to make known to you what is making news in our work here in Wotutu, CBIW. I traveled, by His grace, to Zambia for the conference organized by the churches of Christ in Zambia with the theme EXTENDING THE FRONTIERS OF MISSIONS. Thanks very much for your prayers for my travels. I returned safe and sound.

The work here in Cameroon is moving on well and we do appreciate God for His great help.

I came back home to meet with brother Sakwe Mulango, one of our students having a new born baby, as the Lord blessed the wife, sister Jennet, with safe delivery of a bouncing baby boy, one of our lecturers, Itali Ignatius, was also blessed with a new born baby girl, and that is his first child. Keep them all in your prayers for the babies to grow healthy and to fear God and keep His commandments.

In Zambia I talked about the work in Cameroon to some participants off normal schedules. Right behind me was the banner with the theme.

The organizing committee made a program for all the representative nations to parade on the stage with their flags, one of which was the flag of our nation Cameroon.

A total of 22 nations of the world came to Zambia for the conference, 20 from Africa. Above 30 participants came from the USA because the highest number of missionaries in Africa are from the USA. A special prayer was offered to God for using the USA to expand the shores of His kingdom on earth. One person came from the St. Vincent Island and the Grenadines.

After the conference, we waited to catch our flight back home in Mapepe Bible college. We used that opportunity to share the gospel to those we met in that community and this young sister listened to my exhortation keenly while the baptistery was getting filled for her baptism directly behind us.

Sister Fortune, a Zambian, accepted baptism and was baptized to wash her sins away. Keep her in prayer to continue growing so that many in our Baptist background will also obey the gospel.

A young 13 year old, who has just passed entrance into the secondary school, followed our program and has been attending our children’s Bible class every Sunday. She obeyed the gospel yesterday in Wotutu. We pray she will be able to help those around her know and follow the truth. A total of 3 souls have been added to the church here in Wotutu, as I was away, and 6 souls added in different congregations as our students continue with weekend evangelism.

Appreciations
We join in giving thanks to God for you who avail yourself to the Lord to be part of our ministries. The CBIW is doing great work in our community. My wife and some other sisters in the congregation organized successful holiday classes, and because of that they are praying and looking into the possibilities for the nursery and primary school (elementary) to continue. That will be the first and only Christian school in our communities. Please keep it in your prayers for the Lord to do something.

Thanks for your prayers and support. Please share this with others. God bless you.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

CBI Teacher Loses A Child...

Dar es Salaam
We had two people from the LST (Let’s Start Talking) team that was scheduled to leave. So, we loaded up and drove for two days to Dar es Salaam on the Indian Ocean so that they could catch their flight. Well, the drive there was nice until two glow plugs decided to go bad on the engine. One began knocking very loudly and we pulled over. We didn't have another part so we made due with what we had. We started driving again and not even 5 kilometers down the road another glow plug went bad. We pulled over to repair that one as well.  

Where we were stopped had no cell phone service, but the view was fantastic! 

While we were there at Dar es Salaam, we attended Sunday morning worship at the Mbagala church of Christ in Dar. This is the second time I had worshipped there. The building was full of adults and children and the service was very encouraging. Also, while we were there, they had two baptisms. It took 2 hours to fill the baptistry but we stayed and visited with the brethren there.

While I was in Dar es Salaam, I took the opportunity to learn more about the city. It is a quite large city which is one of the fastest growing cities in the world. Since I have 5 girls back home, I wanted to find something that would be a taste of home for them. Well, I did at the Milmani City mall. It doesn't have all of the name stores we have in the states, but it does have shopping, eating, a cinema, etc. I'm going to bring the family to DAR soon so that they can visit this place and do some shopping.

Quick Updates

• The Hospital is undergoing some renovations. The central gazebo has a wooden pillar which supports the thatch roofing. The pillar was rotten and was about to fall. We are in the process of tearing down the old and putting up the new.
• We went to the Kibaoni church of Christ on Wednesday. The congregation was strong several years ago, but today it is very small. We attended the congregation to visit with them and encourage them. 

Funeral for a CBI Bible Teacher's Daughter
On Friday of this week, Xavery Ngullo's 2 1/2 year old daughter died of kidney failure. She was laid to rest today (Saturday). There were two car loads of people from the Chimala Mission to go to Xavery's home village for the funeral. The whole of the village as well as many others attended the funeral -- some 200-300 people.  

Residence Permits
While I am working on the resident permit for Cheryl Body, our new missionary, I received an email from the US embassy in Dar es Salaam. The Tanzanian government has cancelled all current resident permits. We have until December 31 to file for a new resident permit.  

When we arrived in Tanzania, we were forced to pay $700 for 'visitor's visa' to enter the country. We didn't need thembut were forced to pay them. That was a very unexpected expense. We had already paid $550 for our famiy's resident permit. Now, we will have to pay another $250 for another resident permit.  

While there are challenges to the work in Chimala, we are ready to meet those challenges with the Lord's help.

Chad, Rena, Anna, Laura, Micah, Chandra, and Jonah.

To see Chad’s full report, along with the pictures, click here.

Back In Africa...

On July 4 I made it back to Africa, landing at the Kotoka Airport in Accra, Ghana after a 23 hour journey. Joining me on the trip was Jack Dodgen, a student at Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver who is scheduled to graduate in December of this year. Jack, who is a member of the North MacArthur church of Christ in Oklahoma City, came for the month of July in order to teach two classes at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies. Upon arriving we were greeted by Steven Ashcraft, Bear Valley Coordinator for West Africa, who would be our ride and our guide until we reached Tamale.

Our first full day in Ghana was spent getting supplies, changing US dollars for Ghana cedis, and trying to set up a Ghana bank account. With the exception of the bank account, the day was successful. I found out I cannot get a bank account without having a local utility bill in my name, so I will have to figure out a different way to manage finances while I am here. Fortunately I brought enough cash that it will not be an issue for a while.

After a day in Accra we headed up the coast to visit with some of the preachers working in the Central and Western Regions, as we worked our way toward the West Coast School of Preaching in Takoradi. We also took the opportunity to teach classes and preach at local congregations on Sunday morning. After visiting with the staff and students in Takoradi we headed north to the city of Kumasi.

Our main purpose in Kumasi was to look for a vehicle for me, thanks to generous donations from the Wilkie family, Front Range church of Christ, H. & Betty Henderson Foundation, and many members of the Greenbrier church of Christ. After discussing the matter with Steven we made a deal, if he left his 4 wheel drive with me when he was out of the country (which is most of the time now) than I would use the money raised for a vehicle to buy a “mini-bus”, the local name for a 15 passenger van, that we could use at the school to transport students on campaigns and visiting teachers from Accra to Tamale. We spent a day in Kumasi checking all the car lots we could find, but failed to find an acceptable bus in our price range. Rather than buy something that was less than we needed we will continue to look for the right vehicle. It may take a couple of months, but it should not be an issue until Steven returns for a visit next January.

We finally arrived in Tamale on our sixth day in Ghana. It is good to be back at the school again and to get reacquainted with both the staff and students. There were some changes of course, as three of the students I remembered have left the school for various reasons, but the 12 returning students were excited to get started on their second year of studies. One additional student was expected, but the beginning of the term found him suffering from a very bad case of malaria. He attempted to come back during the third week of classes, only to have a relapse. It is our prayer that he will be able to rejoin his class during the next term in September.

Once arriving at the school, Jack and I began our teaching assignments. Normally an instructor will teach one four hour class two to three days a week. However, since Jack and I were going to be the only teachers for this term it meant we had to double up our workload. To further complicate matters, Jack had to be leave for Accra to catch his flight back to the U.S. in 16 days, giving him just 11 school days to teach over 80 hours of material. So, for nine of the 11 days Jack taught both morning and evening classes in order to get everything completed before he headed back to the U.S.

It was great to have Jack here, and his help was greatly appreciated. Once he left it was just me, so I got to experience teaching double classes every day for the remainder of the quarter. I can assure you that I will not take on teaching three classes in the same term again! Despite the workload, all is going well and I am looking forward to the end of the term this Friday, when the students will head home for a couple weeks and I will catch my breath!

Evangelism Report: During the break between terms Stephen Ashcraft will be returning to Tamale and will join me and two of our students for an evangelistic campaign in Sinkasse, Togo. The students, Joseph Molsak and Nichema Jacob, are from villages on the Ghana side of the border near Sinkasse, and belong to tribes that are closely related to those who live on the Togo side of the border. Since Togo is a French speaking country the campaign will also be relying on help from preachers in Togo, especially from a preacher named Fidele who is working in a recently planted congregation in the city of Dapaong. The goals for this campaign include bringing the church to Sinkasse with the planting of a congregation, and to encourage the cooperation between Christians in evangelistic work on both sides of the border.

A second campaign is being planned for October in the Bimbila area of Ghana. Two of our students are originally from this area, where there is no church of Christ. This campaign will be for the purpose of planting a congregation in the area, which the students will go to work at after their graduation.

Evangelism also happens at the school on a regular basis. I recently met a young man at the market, who after finding out I was teaching at a Bible school expressed an interest to learn more, and a study has been set up. Another young man has been studying with the school’s assistant, Jacob Yeboah, which resulted in his baptism this past Sunday. With your help we are making a difference in this part of the world. Please keep our efforts in your prayers.

Thank You!
Whatever I am able to do, it is only because of the many people who make it possible. While I am the one who gets to see the results of the work, it truly belongs to each and every one of the following congregations and individuals who have offered their support or encouragement for the work in Ghana during the past two months.

Greenbrier church of Christ (overseeing congregation); Colony church of Christ, Harding Street church of Christ, Sue Shumate, Bobby and Jackie Sims, Aubrey and Donna Allensworth; Mildred Priest; White Oak church of Christ; Front Range church of Christ; H. & Betty Henderson Foundation; Virginia Heilen; Brian and DeAnn Wilkie; Rachel Wilkie; Jack Wilkie, Anna Wilkie, Joe Wilkie, Glen and Colleen Elliott; Ron and Joann Boatwright; David and Beverly Woody; Wade and Gary Maverty; Verple Baker; Kevin, Amy, Cody and Cassidy Barley; Carol Shadell; Jim and Martha Bell; Ratis and Dorothy Yeager; Judy Williams; Herb and Dorothy Tatum; Mary Mix, Jimmy and Floyma Sutterfield; Larry and Linda Harness; Linda Ray; Rod and Cindy Wilson; Del and Love Hines. And special thanks to Foster for lending me his bed when I get to visit Greenbrier!

Did you know?
As a non-resident of Ghana I can only stay in the country for 60 days at a time? For this reason I will also be working in Togo and Burkina Faso until I can arrange for a resident alien permit (which allows a person to stay for one year at a time.)

That it is estimated that only 20% of the homes in Ghana have private toilet facilities? Fortunately, I am one of the 20%!

Contact Information

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

Ghana Phone - 011-233-0248216622 

E-Mail - anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

Tony Johnson

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

Challenges Of Traditional Tanzanian Life...

Dear Co-Laborers:

QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "Kind words can be short and easy to speak, but their echoes are truly endless." Mother Teresa  

SINCE THE LAST REPORT was written on Saturday, we didn't comment on last Sunday's happenings. While driving the "Gospel Chariot" (the old white van) to pick up neighborhood ladies for Sunday services, Trina noticed Lydia walking, all dressed up and carrying a Bible. Normally, this Kisongo member is very late for Bible Study and sometimes misses it, as well as worship, altogether. When we offered her a ride, she explained that she was "escorting" some other family members to the Lutheran church. Tradition has it that after the death of a family member (her deceased husband's grandfather recently died...) the entire family is to attend the church services where most of the family regularly goes. Although Lydia is a weak, 5-year-old Christian, we were still shocked that she would miss the services of the Lord's church to follow a tribal tradition (or perhaps simply family tradition). Happiness translated as we talked with Lydia asking why she was putting tradition before God.We discussed forsaking the assembly, loving the Lord above everyone and everything else, etc. But Lydia decided to go on to the denominational church services. Sadly, during worship, we noticed others in her extended family that were missing. The first 30-minutes of the Ladies class was spent discussing the "forsaking of the assembly" before reading the last part of Genesis 28. Today, the Ladies classed studied the topic of  "Giving" in accordance with the last verse of chapter 28. Last Sunday, Jimmy began a three-part series on the book of "Jonah. His first lesson centered on the subject of "Sin" and how, like Jonah, there is always a "fare" to be paid. Today he continued the series focusing on how a person's sin affects others. 

SPEAKING OF CHURCH MEMBERS, Rosemary is due to give birth any day. Please pray that she will have a safe delivery and that she and her Christian sister-in-law will quit quarreling and attend services more regularly. Pray for our new sister Hilda (taught by Beth Akin) and her baby boy named "Bless." Hilda is very sad because her husband is forcing her to get a job and is REQUIRING her to take their son to his mother who lives far away FOR A YEAR. Although we volunteered to keep Bless, who is less than one year old, so Hilda can still see him in the evenings, the husband is still refusing. Most people in America would be shocked by this common situation in Africa where many children are raised for several years by grandmothers, aunts, etc.  

SPEAKING OF CHILDREN, Paulina and Trina have visited three orphanages, giving away books brought by the Hoover, AL group. Across from the Kisongo market is a sign advertising an orphanage. It boasted that it was not JUST a Children's Home but an empowerment center, giving orphaned/abandoned children the advantages that would lead to success (nutrition, good physical care, education opportunities, opportunities to learn job skills, etc). Imagine our huge disappointment when we found 20 very dirty, barefoot children (12 years old and under) living in a very small house (two small bedrooms, a hall way, and an office) with not one toy or book to be found. There were 6 beds with a few other foam mattresses stacked on the floor. Thankfully, the house-parents were there and everyone was friendly but their sign was sadly misleading. We thought the center was seriously lacking but, because we have become used to seeing some of the "accepted Tanzanian ways," we try not to judge too quickly. However, Paulina, was of the same mind-set ...that this center was not a good one by any means, much less an "enpowerment center." The outside kitchen was not even covered and, if we remember correctly, there wasn't even a "choo"...an outdoor toliet (and no inside one). 

INTRODUCING...Richard Olwenyi, a second-year ACSOP student, scheduled to graduate this November! Richard, who grew up in a Catholic home, is married with 2 young children. A current ACSOP masters' student, Peter Were, taught Richard the Gospel, who, in turn, has taught about 35 more people. His home congregation in Hagulu (Uganda) consists of 16 faithful Christians. Richard says his favorite class was "Personal Evangelism" and that ACSOP has "capable, friendly and qualified instructors."    

ON THE HOME FRONT....our boys are immensely enjoying 2 buckets of Lego's from the states, spending hours building and creating new inventions. There are only two drawbacks to "boys and their attraction to Lego's." Number one is the "nature of Lego's" tend to be that they wander off... all over the house (in and under beds, couches, bathrooms, outside, in the car, etc). Secondly, we agree with comedian Tim Hawkins who says, "Next to giving birth, the most painful experience that can be endured is STEPPING BAREFOOT ON A LEGO!" Going on to other family members, Heather is keeping very busy in the kitchen because Lindsey and Abigail are very busy taking classes at the ACSOP every day plus trying to complete their "home-school" education. Matthew (five years old) is making some progress in speech therapy (made the "G" sound 3 times) and hugged Trina for the first time! Elijah is taking medication for a spider bite.

OLD AS THE HILLS! Conversation overheard: Stuart was pretending to interview David concerning skateboarding. Elijah stated that the competition would begin in 1819. Candace said, "Well, you are a little late!" To which Stuart added, "1819! That's when Dad was growing up!" 

GIVE CREDIT WHEN CREDIT IS DUE! Last week, we failed to mention that most of the photos in the last report were taken by our nephew, Steven Akin. We will probably be using many of his photos in the future because he is very talented with a camera and took many wonderful pictures while visiting here. 

THANK YOU....we are so glad you are interested in lost souls, this mission work and in us. We are interested in you. For those of you whom we do not know as well, write and tell us more about you and your family. We really want to know you better.  

In Christian Love, 
The Jimmy Gee family

God's Mission...

Studying the mission of God throughout the Old and New Testaments has been a very revealing study. I have enjoyed learning to look for the ways in which God works through His people to be a light to the nations of the world. Obviously, we know that Christians today have the responsibility of being this light. We are to reflect the light of Christ in our lives in ways to help others find the hope God provides through His Son.

What is the mission of God? In a word, we would understand it as salvation. From the promise made to Abraham to the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus, and until the return of our Lord, the thread of mission is seen in scripture and must be the heartbeat of our lives today. We could examine several areas that play a significant part of this mission, but one will suffice for this report.

Over and over in the Old Testament, God emphasizes that the greatness His power and name will be made known among the nations through His people. Nehemiah reported how the hand of his God had been favorable to him (Nehemiah 2:18). Considering the development of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver and the work of Extension Training around the world, it does not take long to see how the hand of our God has been favorable to us.

Reading through each of the reports on a weekly basis is a continual reminder of the greatness of God’s name and power. We do not have to look very far to see God’s hand at work in the lives of hundreds and thousands of souls, and how favorable His hand has been to us. It is a privilege and honor to work along side of these men and women and to share in God’s mission.

I urge you to take time to consider how God has worked in your life and why. God blesses us, not to make our path convenient or comfortable. He blesses us so that He might be glorified. We are to lift up His name and share with others how the power of God has worked in our lives to bless us, spiritually and physically. As you read the reports this week, notice how God’s mission is being fulfilled in some incredible ways around the world.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Donnie Bates’ latest report can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

L.S.T. and Gospel Chariot in Chimala: The work in Chimala continues to involve a number of areas for outreach. Chad Wagner’s report shares the news.

Summer Classes Come To An End: Tony Johnson shares news about the end of the quarter and outreach in Tamale, Ghana.

Evangelism, Edification And Edifice: The church in Paraguay is growing and preparing for the first class of students to begin in March.

Let Them Eat...Snake: Among all the challenges of culture in different countries, it is interesting to see the culinary differences. 

Final Thoughts
I am thankful to always close with a word of gratitude. There is not a day goes by that I do not think about all of you and the sacrifices you make to help this work grow and enjoy success. God has blessed the work richly. The men and women who are laboring in the field are truly an example of the dedication and sacrifice to ensure the gospel is preached around the world. Your willingness to pray for, encourage, and help with the financial needs of the work also serve as example of how this partnership works. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

L.S.T. And Gospel Chariot In Chimala...

Wagner Family Tidbits
Greetings from Tanzania! Jambo! We pray that all of you are fine back in the states. We are all fine here in Tanzania. As you can imagine, life is busy here at the Chimala Mission every day. From working each day keeping all the work on track, cleaning up various areas, or getting to know everyone involved with the mission, we find that there is plenty each day to keep us busy!

We have received word that our shipping container has been approved FINALLY in Dar es Salaam, Tanzania. However, the we are negotiating with the port authorities on payment amounts, etc. We are hoping to start moving our container out this week.

Rena and Laura have started cleaning out the old missionary school room. It has a lot of class material, books, construction paper, Sunday School material, etc. and all of it was covered in YEARS of dust and dirt!  They have been busy pulling out old boxes, trashing some and cleaning up others. Our plan right now is for Rena to homeschool the kids in that room. We have our home school material on the way through the mail and by airplane (Thanks Garry!) and we hope to start in September.

We went with the LST team on Saturday to visit God's Bridge and Ndulilo Falls. The drive was quite nice and falls were even better!

We make a food run each Thursday to Mbeya - a city about an hour away - where we buy most of our groceries. Since we have been here for some time now, Rena has been tracking the family's spending. We are spending quite a bit on food each week! We spend 400,000 to 500,000 TShillings each week on food.  That works out to be about $290/week. I recently bought some Kellogg's Frosties (Frosted Flakes) at the store. I paid 10,000/= for it. That is $6 for one box of cereal! Needless to say, we are learning how we can trim our budget just a bit! Cereal just might become a luxury item! 

Let's Start Talking
The Let's Start Talking team (LST) is here from Texas. They are Ron and Jan Haker and their granddaughter Lauren, Eddie Stinson, and Debbie Dow. The LST group teach conversational English using the Bible. They have so far had a huge success! They have been busy every day at the Herring Christian Secondary School doing lessons and developing relationships with the people of the area. Anna is with them and she is really enjoying being a part of their team. 

One of the techniques they use in LST is having a game night. They invite their readers to come on a Thursday night for games and social interaction. The purpose of all of this is to build relationships with non-Christian people and also to encourage the Christians. They had a game night this last Thursday night. Their goal for the night was 60 people. I counted 86 - not counting workers!

Evangelism Report from CBI
We received a report from the CBI faculty of their latest evangelism efforts on the mission.  

•  Lai Mkwama: on July 18 – 22 he has been having a series of bible classes with the Chosi “A”  Church of Christ, in his studies they have also been going to preach door to door.  Results: 5 Restorations and One baptism.
• Xavier Joseph and Peter Kamatula: On 13 July they went to Luduga Secondary school they had a seminar with 180 students from that school. They taught several lessons about the church of Christ and they answered many questions from those students. Results: Students who are already Christians their were very encouraged. The next day 14 July Xavier had to go to Igawa church of Christ where he visited with the church and they went house to house preaching. Results: 2 Restorations.  
• Frank Mwashikumbulu: On 13 – 14 July he went to Kapunga with one member, they had a seminar with the Church. And after the seminar they went door to door preaching. Results: The church was very encouraged.
• Boaz Kasiba: On July 13-14 he went to Matamba Nungu, he had some bible classes with the Christians and some non – Christians. Results: The church was encouraged and he had some promises of baptism.  
• Remmy Joseph: On July 15, he went to Chang’ombe with the following people: His (Remmy) wife, Don, Suz and Luka Lubange. They had a wonderful worship the church was very encouraged. And brother Remmy went in the evening, he had a bible class with two people and One was baptized.  
• Joshua Mwakyasima: On July 13-15, he went to Ihanda Mbozi, he had a seminar with the church there. Results: The church was encouraged.  
• Peter Kamatula: On 15 July he went to the Airport Church of Christ, he visited with the Church and they had a group bible study. Results: The church was encouraged.
• Lusekelo Lubange: On July 13 he went to Ntapisi and he visited with the church he had a seminar with that church and 29 members attended. Results: The church was very encouraged.  
• Peter Kamatula: On July 20-22 he went to Mbeya. He had been studying with a certain family he also visited two fallen Christians. And they repented for that. Results: 2 Restorations.  
• Ezekiel and Joseph Haonga: 14 July, they went to Vwawa visiting with the Church and talking about the WBS Campaigns and they concluded that the campaigns should be done at Wasa Mbozi, this is because the preacher in Vwawa will be leaving soon. 

GOSPEL CHARIOT UPDATE:
As you may know, the Gospel Chariot was scheduled to come to the Chimala Mission and work in various areas during this week. However, due to a mechanical issue, the truck is still in Dar es Salaam and must wait on replacement parts. Our campaigns have been rescheduled to begin at the end of August. 

HOW WE GOT THE BIBLE
I have started teaching a class at CBI called "How we got the Bible." I think that the class is going fairly well. We are discussing the origin, writing, and collection of the Bible as we have it today. 

Concluding Remarks
We are settling into the work here. Each day is a challenge. So many things to do we realize that not all of them will get done. We are simply putting out hand to the plow to do the Lord's work here in Tanzania.

Chad Wagner and family

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

You can also read Bill Stinson's latest report by clicking here.

Summer Classes Come To An End...

Greetings from Tamale! Here is the latest news from the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies.

Today the students were let out of their morning class early in order to watch the television coverage of the funeral for Ghana’s president John Evans Atta Mills, who died unexpectedly two weeks ago. It is a reminder to all of us of the uncertainty of life, and the need to do the work God has given us while we have the opportunity. We are especially thankful that the change in leadership here has gone smoothly and peacefully, and that we continue to enjoy the freedom to preach and teach the gospel.  

School Update 
The summer term at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies is coming to a close, with final exams for Church History scheduled for August 14, and for Romans on August 17. Students have been focusing on some of the practical applications we can learn from both studies. In many areas that the students will go to work they will be facing the same issues we learn about in church history, people who want to make small changes to doctrine or worship. It is our prayer that the lessons learned in the classroom will help our students as they diligently seek to be workers who are rightly dividing the word of truth. 

Evangelism Update
During the break between terms Stephen Ashcraft and I will join two of the students for an evangelistic campaign in Sinkasse, Togo. The students, Joseph Molsak and Nichema Jacob, are from villages on the Ghana side of the border near Sinkasse, and belong to tribes that are closely related to those who live on the Togo side of the border. Since Togo is a French speaking country the campaign will also be relying on help from preachers in Togo, especially from a preacher named Fidele who is working in a recently planted congregation in the city of Dapaong. The goals for this campaign include bringing the church to Sinkasse with the planting of a congregation, and to encourage the cooperation between Christians in evangelistic work on both sides of the border. Please pray that this work will be fruitful for the kingdom.

In addition to planned campaigns during the break weeks between terms, there are a number of other evangelistic efforts being performed by members of the staff and the students of the Institute. One example is the work being done by student Timothy Niligrine, who travels every weekend to different villages in the Yendi area to preach the gospel for congregations that do not have full time preachers. Another example is seen in the weekly personal Bible studies being conducted by Jacob Yeboah, a member of the Institute’s staff. Yeboah is also involved with two other staff members, Director Joseph Baah and Dean of Students Adjei Mensah, in hosting a weekly call in radio show that provides gospel preaching and Bible answers. It is our prayer that these types of works will continue to grow in the Northern Region of Ghana. 

Building Update
Progress continues to be made on the new classrooms and dormitories for the Institute. During the past weeks the building has been plastered, concrete floors laid, and window and door frames installed. There is a great deal of work still necessary before students and staff can think about moving in, but we can now see the end in sight concerning this project, which has been in progress since 2008.

In addition to the new building we have also set aside land for vocational training in farming techniques and raising food animals. This effort has a two-fold purpose, to help provide food for the students while they are at the school while also providing the students with skills to help take care of themselves and their families once they begin preaching in villages that cannot provide full time support. We are looking forward to being able to start on this phase of development in the coming weeks. 

Closing Thoughts
In closing we continue to thank all of those who are supporting the Institute through your prayers and with your financial support. You are a blessing to us and to the church in Northern Ghana and the surrounding countries. 

In His service,

Tony Johnson
Coordinator

Evangelism, Edification, and Edifice...

Recent congregational developments and activities 
Former mission team members, Chris and Vickie Fry, brought a group down from Dyersburg, TN, to assist the church here from July 9-18. They put on a VBS at the church building, in local parks, in some of the orphanages, and in a neighborhood where there were lots of children. Vickie also lead a Ladies' Day event with lessons from the book “Lies Women Believe.” They all worked really hard and they brought a lot of encouragement to the congregation while spreading the word about Jesus.

A Special Committee was formed this month from among the men of the congregation to organize and develop a special program for our members in the form of a Bible Institute. The men recognize that Paraguay needs Paraguayan preachers! So, the church is trying to develop a means for training men to be able sow the seeds of the Gospel to the lost in Paraguay. The committee meets twice a week with the goal of organizing everything necessary for starting in March of 2013.

In addition, Pedro Vera and myself traveled to Guatemala City, Guatemala to visit “ITL,” the Institute of Theology of Latinamerica. We went there in order to learn more about how a full/time Bible school works. Our brethren Hawatthia Jones and Byron Benitez were very hospitable and helped us a lot in understanding the necessities of operating a school. ITL is a very sound and well-run institue.

Recent conversions / identifications / restorations
Baptized! – Silvina Giménez was baptized July 17th for the remission of her sins! She came to the church through our “Study English Using the Bible” program and from there proceeded to study “Searching for Truth.” She also began attending many of the youth activities and has been very involved in the church. She came to realize the state of her soul and decided to be reconciled to our Lord. Praise Him!

Contacts / Bible studies:
English Campaign Contacts – Our summer interns, Hannah Phillips and Rhonda Taylor, have completed the initial series of studies with their students in our recent “Learn English by Using the Bible” campaign. Several of these studies have progressed to “Searching for Truth” Bible study and the contacts have been handed over to the local missionaries. Please pray for these contacts that perhaps they will come to know the Lord and His gift of salvation. 

Natalia Osorio and Ruthy Pacua - have begun a new convert Bible study in order to help them grow in the faith. We are using a new series of studies that focuses on the responsibilities of a “new babe in Christ.” 

Evangelistic efforts:
“Kari,” “Pati,” “Romi,” and “Judy.” What do these names have in common besides just rhyming? They are all friends and family members of our brethren in the church which have been brought to us as Bible study contacts. Each one of these is now engaged in various Bible studies that we pray will lead to conversions. We are especially excited that our brethren are reaching out to their loved ones in order to try to lead them to the Savior!

Steps toward mission goals
Investigating other Bible schools in order to learn how to have one in Paraguay was a big step toward our goal of developing a means for training our Paraguayan brethren to be evangelists.

Additional activities:
We have been studying the “Beatitudes” on Sunday mornings with the congregation, lead by our brother, Ike Yegros. He will be finishing this month and then we will be starting a series of lessons on Family, Marriage, and the Home. On Wednesday nights we will be starting a series of lessons called “Identifying Truth” where about we will study how denominational doctrines compare to the Bible. 

Josh Barber flew down to Paraguay to see his girlfriend (and our current mission intern), Hannah Phillips, in order to buy her some flowers and propose to her! He surprised her in a restaurant and then “popped the question.” When she said “yes” the whole restaurant staff applauded! Congrats!

Plans for near future 
Enoch Rinks (former member of the Paraguayan mission team) is bringing a group down from Virginia in late July through August. More on that in the next newsletter!

A SPECIAL THANK YOU!
We would like to extend a special “THANK YOU” to Andy Baker and our brethren at Dripping Springs church of Christ. Andy put together several English devotional songbooks for us and then donated them to the mission team. Dripping Springs paid for the shipping costs to get them to Chris Fry, who then carried them down to Paraguay for us. We will be using the songbooks for when we, the American missionaries get together for our regular English devotionals, or when we have American groups come down. Thank you again brethren, we really appreciate your kindness!

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES
Personal HIGHLIGHT(s) of the Month: We had a visit from a mission group from Tennessee, a new sister in Christ obeyed the Gospel, several new Bible study contacts, and a marriage proposal!

Personal study:
Lately, I have been focusing a lot on Catholicism and especially on Mariology. Several questions have come up recently about Mary worship so I hope to help our brethren learn how to respond to this false teaching. 

I am currently reading / have read: 

“Roman Catholicism” by Loraine Boettner 

“Jesus Christ: The Hope of the Home” by Robert R. Taylor 

I have finished writing the first two major sections for the Spanish fundamentals study guide that I have titled, “The First Principles of the Oracles of God.” We are now using it in a current Bible study to see how well the format works.

Three lovely, faithful Christian sisters: Ursula, Estella, and Andrea
Although we have certainly grown leaps and bounds in our Spanish skills, we were still anxious to get back to studying Spanish to “shake off the rust” from being back in the states recently on furlough. This learning Spanish project is a long process!

Visitation:
Estella Curcio - we always love to have the opportunity to get to visit our sweet sister Estella, who lives in Caacupé and rides a bus TWO HOURS to get to the Sunday am worship assembly! She has been a faithful disciple for more than 25 years.
Tuesday Night Study Group - every month we try to host our Tuesday night Bible study group in our home. The group usually meets in the home of Delci Enciso and has been growing. There have been several great efforts made in reaching out to neighbors and family. 

Area Orphanages 
While the Dyersburg mission group was here, we had the opportunity to visit a couple of the area orphan homes. It is always nice to share with these children, who are starving for attention and affection. We have developed some really good relationships with the directors of the homes, as well as, these precious children.

Family activities:
We finally got to go to the Asuncion Expo together! I am usually traveling this time of year so I have missed it the past two years. Andrea and I enjoyed a nice afternoon of just strolling through the park seeing all the sights.

Plans for the near future:
We have another mission group coming down from the USA that will be working with the church in late July and August. 

Our team retreat and banquet will be coming up soon! 

The service organization that Andrea belongs to, called the “Las Amigas Club” held their recent “4th of July” luncheon at the home of one of its members. The newspapers took this photo and others to recognize the event.

Our Mission Team Goals for 2012:
Evangelism: Each member of the team has developed and committed to some personal evangelism goals. Collectively, we are praying that we will generate more than 120 new contacts and conduct more than 750 Bible studies. These studies will include both evangelistic and member studies. We also plan to use public advertising, special events, and seminars to generate contacts. We also pray that we will continually encourage and develop a more evangelistic spirit within the congregation.

Edification: The team is working to develop leadership within the congregation through the mentoring process, special workshops, and by utilizing studies that focus on servant leadership. We are also developing ideas and working on logistics for the possibility of having a specialized “Bible school” in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Edifice: (Building Construction): We pray that we will complete construction of phase 1 of the building this year. All paperwork has been acquired and we are requesting estimates to begin construction.

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

To see the full report with pictures, please click here.

Let Them Eat...Snake!

Dear Co-Workers, 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  "Enjoy the little things.  One day you may look back and realize...they were the BIG things." Author unknown, but possibly Barbara Johnson.

AFTER A TOTAL OF 48 BIBLE STUDIES AND 9 BAPTISMS (two weeks work in TZ) the Storks family (Todd, Susan, Wesley and Haley) and friend, Brian Simon, left Friday to return to the U.S. We are very grateful to them for the time, effort and expense they put forth. In fact, we learned they had taken out a loan to finance their way to Tanzania (they were unable to secure enough funds from congregations). While we certainly admired their dedication and desire, at the same time it saddened us.

TWO-STEPPING. While going up some steps, Elijah was "taking two steps at a time" and commented, "This is the way Muslims do it."  Obviously, he had probably seen a little boy dressed in his white Muslim tunic-type dress doing this and thought that every Muslim walked up stairs that way. This innocent remark reminds us to consider each person individually and not "throw a blanket" over a whole group of people of a certain race or nationality when only one person acts a certain way (whether positively or negatively).   

TOO OLD? Trina’s translator, Paulina, and her were discussing medical care in TZ and she brought up the terrible car accident she was involved in about 15 years ago (she suffered a crushed hip and a very serious injury to her arm). An older woman was also involved and like Paulina, also suffered a crushed hip. Due to the woman's age (about 70) the doctors would not repair or do surgery on her hip. Paulina said they simply let her lay there and she returned to her home crippled for the rest of her life.

TOO YOUNG? Elly's wife, Neema, told us of being in a room where another woman gave birth prematurely (at about 6 -7 months gestation). The doctor immediately threw the living child into the garbage can full of medical rubbish (syringes, etc) saying, "No way that child will survive." While the possibility was great that the doctor was right (this was about 23 years ago in Tanzania), is that the way a helpless newborn baby should be treated?

"LET THEM EAT.....SNAKE!" Teresia related that, when she was 5 years old, her grandmother worked for some white people (wazungu) who, while out in the bush and had no other meat, cooked and ate a snake. Her grandmother always warned Teresia saying, "Don't eat the meat!" if she worked for or visited with white people. This past week, a snake was found near our porch and the women were in the process of deciding how to kill it (our guard was gone at the time). Jokingly, one of the girls, turned to Teresia and "suggested' we have it for lunch! In order to kill it, our neighbor, Ruth, and Teresia, both ran in the house to get a bag of salt to throw on the snake (hiding under a large flat rock). Since we had never heard of "killing a snake by the salt method", we looked it up later via the internet and learned that throwing salt on a snake is only an "old wives' tale" and has no effect. We also learned that Ruth is a champion rock thrower and we were quite amused that this quiet, humble, small-statured lady, could be so VICIOUS when it came to "snake-killing." Needless to say, we stepped out of her line of fire!

"SAY WHAT?" Speaking of Teresia (of whom you read about frequently), she told of a translator at the Pentecostal denomination (where she previously attended). A white foreigner was preaching and the translator didn't know English well but was doing his best to translate it into KiSwahili. "Jesus came with the Holy Spirit" was translated "Jesus came with Sprite in the car."  "Jesus was the Messiah" was translated "Jesus was a Maasai (a famous tribe in East Africa).” "Today is Sunday" was translated "Today is the day of the Sun."    

DID YOU LOOK....for the "invisible" man standing beside the elephant or did you realize that Jimmy accidentally left Trina’s note to him (concerning a picture of an elephant) in the report when he sent it last week?

NO REASON TO COMPLAIN after we saw a grown man "walking" with his knees bent up almost touching his chin, and his hips almost touching the road, breathing in all the dust from the cars. No, we had no reason to complain about the traffic that day or anything else.

A SPECIAL THANK-YOU is extended towards Exel Aultman, Stephanie Stafford's mother who lives with Stephanie and Cy here in Kisongo, Tanzania. At 80 years of age, she is still a good seamstress and has done quite a bit of alterations/repair on some of our clothing in the past few weeks. Thank you, Granny Aultman!     

CLEMENT MURUNGU is presently an ACSOP master's student and is in our "spotlight" today. He is a widower with seven children (three have obeyed the Gospel) and his home church is Marakta Church of Christ in Katesh. Clement has been a Christian for more than 10 years, having been converted by Francis Wechesa (the first director of the Arusha Bible School and ACSOP). Fluent in four languages, Clement found out about the ACSOP through his home congregation and says that the best thing he learned there concerned Christian Leadership. His motivation in becoming a preacher was simply the Great Commission of Jesus (Matt. 28:19-20). Clement, an enthusiastic song-leader, is a good student academically and of good character.

FAMILY NEWS: Most of us are doing fine, however, four of us are on medicine due to having an amoeba. One can get an amoeba by drinking contaminated water or eating contaminated food.  We drink and cook only with bottled water, clean our vegetables and fruit with bleach and water, put bleach in our rinse water (for dishes) and add bleach in our water tank from which water runs into the house. To know more about amoeba's, Google the subject (warning: content may not be suitable for those with a "weak" stomach). We think we need a special filter for the water coming into the house through the faucets (the water we shower in, wash our hands with, etc).

THINGS WE STILL FIND HUMOROUS: men carrying items or a Bible in a Barbie or Tinkerbell gift bag or sporting a shirt that says "Baby on Board." Tanzanian men wear bright pink shirts and purple pants and think nothing of it. Many wear t-shirts donated but do not know the meaning of the English writing on them. Once a young teenager was wearing a t-shirt with the words "Number 1 Grand-Dad!" To us, the outfit that "takes the cake" is the one of many Maasai men here. Seeing a very rugged, tall, muscular man, wearing his traditional robe, with a sword strapped to his side while holding a long stick over his shoulders and wearing a pair of LADIES WHITE SANDALS is funny to us! Somehow the shoes ruin the whole "tough-guy" image! Many Maasai out in the bush wear the sandals made from old tires. But we have seen many in Arusha (maybe theirs is a special group) wearing the ladies' sandals with the slight heel. Tanzanians find many "funny" things about us foreigners (especially tourists) and enjoy a good laugh also (just ask Elly Martin about some past & present missionaries and visitors. He's got some stories to tell)!

NORMAL IS RELATIVE. It struck me the other day that much of the frustration Americans  experience in TZ traffic is due to what we perceive as "normal" or what we grew up with. For Tanzanians, dodging objects in traffic (motorcycles, bicycles, wooden carts, dogs, people, mini-van buses who stop with no warning, stalled vehicles, etc) is NORMAL. We are used to driving faster and the road being for motorized vehicles only. "Normal" to us is order, boundaries and rules being respected and enforced. We see "normal" as vehicles having the "right of way" for the most part. Motorcycles here do not act as a vehicle but are driven on the sides of the roads and up and down the middle of a two-way street (riding on the white dotted line) between traffic. They dodge in and out of cars and come up beside cars with no warning. Does this explain why it took Trina three and a half years to work up the courage to drive in TZ?

The new quarter begins tomorrow at the ACSOP. Jimmy will be teaching Jeremiah and Lamentations. Sean Hochdorf will be teaching Minor Prophets I. Cy Stafford will be teaching Personal Evangelism II. And, Emmanuel Peter will teach the book of Revelation.   

Today is Jimmy's 46th birthday! We feel blessed to have him as the husband and father of this family. Thank YOU for supporting our family in this mission field! 

In His Service, 
Jimmy, Trina and the kids

A New Class In Denver...

A new class of 13 students have started their preparation to preach the gospel. Monday morning classes officially start and, as I say often, this is a wonderful group of men. These men have come from nearly one coast to the other. They come from the North and South. Some come with families and others are single. We have young and old who are here to better their understanding of God’s word and how they can better serve in His kingdom.

I would never try to place one class of students above any other as far as ability or effectiveness. It is a blessing to see their willingness to present themselves as a tool in the hands of the Almighty God who will take their unique abilities and use them to His glory. I love seeing how God will develop their lives and mold them into the instrument He needs them to be and send them forth to places that will change lives eternally.

I am always encouraged by the growth of the men who come through the program and I love hearing about the work they do once they enter into the ministry. It is also exciting to see the interest grow in the Extension program. Few students coming into the program are aware of the magnitude of the work so many wonderful brethren are involved in around the world. I pray they will grow to have some level of involvement in the development of the work overall.

The reports from various locations indicate there are also classes beginning in several schools. With the beginning of classes, more students are preparing for the spiritual battle for the souls who are lost in a world of darkness. I ask you to be praying with me for all these men, their preparation, and the work they are entering into for the Lord.

I do have an important request. We are desperately needing to raise $2,180 for the work in Chandigarh, India. The North India Bible College has been struggling for years to have the needed support. The struggle became even more complicated as the cost for housing the school has increased by nearly $200 a month. If you can help toward this need, please contact me at bturner@bvbid.org or call me at 303-986-5800. Thank you for your consideration.

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/

Gary Fallis’ report shares news from the past month. To see the full report, click here.

Howell Ferguson’s latest report brings news of changes for his ministry. Read more by clicking here.

Josh Austin is also going to be making changes in his ministry work. Read more from his report by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

A New Class Of Students At BVBIU: As classes begin in Gorlovka, Ukraine, a new class of students are preparing themselves for ministry in the Lord’s kingdom.

The Church Grows In Cambodia: Congregations started by Christians in and around the city of Siem Reap are growing spiritually and numerically.

A Great Way To End The Report: As the Gee family was writing the last paragraph of the report, a call came in about someone wanting to be baptized. Read to find out who! 

Final Thoughts
As you can see, the work continues to be exciting and encouraging. It is so humbling to consider the work being done by so many around the world. The conditions they endure and their willingness to serve tirelessly is an example to us all. They are able to do their work because of the encouragement, prayers and financial support of so many of you. Thank you for your involvement in the work of training men to preach; in Denver and the Extension Program. We need you.

God bless
Bob

Ministry Change For Josh Austin...

Dearest brethren, 

It has been quite a month.  Let me begin with this news:  we have decided to move back to Arizona to work with the Native American population!  If the Lord wills, in June of 2013 we would like to plant a church on the Pima Reservation in the Phoenix metro area.  There are over 100,000+ natives living in Phoenix with only a few handful of Christians.  Over 60% of the Natives who live in Phoenix are Navajo, which is the group of people we have been working with since 2002.  

We will continue to work with Bear Valley in training preachers in Cameroon at least until June of 2013.  Over the next 10 months we are going to be living in Morenci, AZ where my parents live.  They have graciously agreed to allow me to preach there until we make the move to Phoenix.  This move to Morenci will be happening August 15^th.  By moving now instead of in June, it will get us closer to Phoenix to do the research to get ready for this new work, it will also get us closer to my parents and it will get us back on our feet financially.  

We are planning a trip in September to start visiting congregations to try to raise new support.  We have not been on full support since we arrived in Denver.  If I have not spoken with you yet, we would love to come and share with you the much needed work or reaching the Natives.  If you are able to meet with us, or know of someone who might be interested in meeting with us, please let us know.

Now on to the news from July:

The first week consisted mostly of family time.  After being gone a month I tried to spend some good time with the family.  The second week of July is when we made the decision to move, so since that time we have been taking the steps to move.  This includes: having yard sales, packing, “craigslisting,” and planning.  

The new convert that we have been working with, Travis, is continuing to make some progress.  There are obvious struggles being a new Christian, but we have had several good studies over the month.  I have also had a couple of Bible studies with Michael.  He is my neighbor who is about 19 yrs old.  He is really showing some promise.  

I have also been preaching at the nursing home this month and trying to get someone to fill my spot to preach to these precious souls every week.  We are praying someone to step up.  

This month I have been doing a part time job of selling Cutco knives to try and make some extra money.  I have been seeing people who own them already and seeing people who have never heard of them.  I am grateful for their time and helping me out.  

We took the kids to another VBS this month.  Living in a big city gives you the opportunity to take the kids to multiple VBS’s throughout the summer.  It has been great.  We also held Alayna and Josiah’s Birthday party this month.  It was a lot of fun.  We had about 35 people come to share in the celebration.  There was a lot of fun, food and fellowship.  

As far as the work in Cameroon, they are doing great.  They held their entrance exams this month to get ready for the new class in January.  We are making plans for the graduation in December and also the teachers getting ready to go over in September to teach Denominational Doctrines and Hebrews.

We continue to thank all of you for your continued interest in our family and the work we try to do for the Lord.  We have been so blessed here at Bear Valley and are ready to get back in the mission field.  We miss the work, and I know that I have been uniquely blessed to work with this group of precious souls.  If you would like to know more or talk with us in more detail, please give us a call. 

In His service, 
Austin Family

To view Josh's report with pictures, click here.

A New Class Of Students At BVBIU...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches. 

Ukraine is really a big country in the heart of Europe. It's a country where economic development is slow, but prices on utilities, clothes and food are continually getting higher. Ukraine is willing to become a part of Europe. The quality of service is still Soviet-like, but the prices are European-like. Church of Christ in Ukraine is in a great need of worthy leaders and wise administration. No one is surprised now by seeing a foreigner in our country, and it differs from how it was 20 years ago. People don't come to seminars after announcements "Guest from the US or practice your English using Bible, etc." Ukrainian church needs well-prepared teachers, preachers and elders. Our institute is taking care of providing churches with prepared ministers who are ready to preach the truth and be a good example of righteous life. 

In July I had an opportunity to preach and visit churches in different parts of Ukraine. First two Sundays I preached in the Eastern part of Ukraine: Illovaysk and Gorlovka, and then my wife and I traveled to the Western part of Ukraine. When looking at the map of Ukraine to see where the Churches of Christ are, it's easy to notice that 85% of churches are situated in the Eastern part of Ukraine (the border between the Eastern and the Western parts is the river Dnepr), other 15% are situated in the Western part accordingly. In Western Ukraine we have visited two congregations in Chernovtsy and Ternopol, and we also had a meeting with a preacher of another congregation in Ivano-Frankovsk. It was an interesting trip. I had an opportunity to visit with preachers and members of those congregations and to preach.  I also was able to find two new students who will start studying this fall.  Western Ukraine is a huge region; it's a smaller part of our country, and it is in a need of our prayers and people who will be active in evangelizing. Some cities (like Lviv, Uzhhorod, Lutsk) with population over 500,000 people do not have churches of Christ at all. In future, if it's possible, it would be wise to open another Bear Valley extension school in this part of country. 

Right now we have 9 new students who are ready to start studying on September 3. God blesses us with people who are willing to commit their lives to serve people and the Lord. 

In August we plan to help Central Church of Christ in Gorlovka with VBS. We also have to find an apartment to house new students, get the classrooms ready and to visit some churches of Christ if possible. 

Apostle Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 9.2: "For I know your eagerness to help... and your enthusiasm has stirred most of them to action." Because of your help, we continue training ministers for God's Church. In future, church in Ukraine will become independent, and it won't survive without experienced and sound teachers. While preparing preachers now, we build a strong foundation for future generations. 

I want to thank you for spiritual and financial support of my family and ministry at the BVBIU. I know that many members of the churches never saw me in person, but continue to be active participants in supporting this work. We need you, and having new students, we need additional finances. I trust the Lord and you. If you are willing to know more about Institute's financial situation, contact Howell Ferguson. 

God's blessings to you.

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

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

The Church Grows In Cambodia...

Greeting in the name of our dear Lord Jesus Christ from Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Through the sponsoring of our brethren from various congregations, such as love, financially, encouragement, etc. we as the church of Christ in Siem Reap have been growing to some points.  

Siem Reap Church Of Christ
On August 15, 2006 the church of Christ in Siem Reap was established by me ( Kimchann Lork), and during that time we had just two people worship, which was me and a brother name Ret. After a few months we had about 20 people who were converted into Christ by baptism and the numbers continue to grow more, Gal. 3:26-27. Now the church that meets at the Siem Reap Church Of Christ every Lord's day is from 35- 50. We had three more baptisms last week.   

Leang Dai Church Of Christ
In the year 2008 we started another congregation called Leang Dai Church Of Christ where now our brothers Sokchea Lork and Ravy San preach. There are around 20 to 30 members that attend every Lord's day. Last week they baptized four more people into Christ's church.  

Takam Church Of Christ
In the year 2010 we started another congregation called Takam Church Of Christ that now has our brothers Cheuy Cheun and Vanra Ret. There are about 40 to 50 people that attend on the Lord's day.  

Svay Reing Church Of Christ
In the same year 2010 we also had our brothers Sophal Lout and Saran Torn, also a sister, Ussa Lout, who graduated from our school and went back to their hometown to start the Svay Rieng church of Christ among their own family. Now they have about 10 to 15 who meet. 

Future villages to start up the church (Trapang Svay, Sombur, Kompong Kleang, and Chreav)
We have been teaching and preaching for a month and half to two more new villages called Trapang Svay and Sombur villages. The result is we have had one man baptized by our brother Darat Run last week at Sombur village. Keep praying for this village that we will be able to start a new congregation in this village soon. Also, at Trapang Svay village we are still preaching hard so that sooner or later we will have another congregation in this village too. 

Brother Phanat Ouch brought two of our young men to evangelize at a new village called Kompong Kleang, a place where the people survive along the lake. Some people call it the floating village too. We ask you to keep praying also for this new village that we plan to place our two young men, Sopheap Chort and Hokly Chourn, to work and start up a congregation in that area. 

We also plan to place two of our young men, Sam Sorn and Reaksa Thate, at another village called Chreav, to set up a farm in order to start a congregation in that area too.  

Your prayers, thoughts and support are very important for our work of evangelism for Christ in Cambodia. Please keep us in your prayers as we all labor for Him, Romans8:28-30. 

May our God bless you all.
Kimchann Lork (local Preacher)

A Great Way To End The Report...

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters: 

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  "Because we invest most of our days working in exchange for money, there is a very real sense in which our money represents us. Therefore how we use it expresses who we are, what our priorities are and what's in our hearts." --Donald S. Whitney 

The above quote is from the writer of the book, "Spiritual Disciplines for the Christian Life" recently used in the class, "The Spiritual Development of the Preacher." We believe the quote is a true statement and it really "packs a punch" (making us examine more closely how we spend our money).  

The Storks and their friend, Brian Simon, have "kept the dust flying" (instead of keeping the pavement hot) with their studies and all their activity. We are almost afraid to mention all the names of people baptized for fear of leaving someone out. However, we will try: Basilika and Esther (mother and daughter with whom Steven Akin had previously studied with and Todd Storks continued), Alex and wife Joyce, Elias and possibly his wife, Naomi...all who live right here in our neighborhood. And also Mary, whom they met on the side of the road and asked her if she wanted to study. Susan and Haley Storks and Caitlyn Middleton also kept busy painting cardboard for VBS with Anita Hochdorf. When asked what was the weirdest thing she had seen in Tanzania, Susan replied, "A goat on a motorcycle...wedged between two people." That would have been a good picture! We've witnessed goats being crammed into the back of a dala-dala (mini-van) but not on a motorcycle. On a very sad note, we heard that while some of the Storks were conducting a Bible study that a small child died in the house (not sure why, but possibly from dehydation due to malaria or amoeba). As far as we know, Caitlyn is still busy with Bible studies and Lindsey and Abigail are conducting two at this writing. 

Wesley Storks, son of Todd and Susan taught Bible class at Kisongo on Thursday. This young man has been to several preacher camps under the direction of Roger Shepherd. He had a very good lesson and delivered it extremely well. We know his mom and dad are very proud of him. 

Ahimidiwe (preacher at Kisongo) has organized a visitation program to encourage the new converts (and one restored, a total of 14 people). Due to the low attendance for mid-week Bible study the past few weeks, Ahimidiwe met with us in order to keep us accountable for the person assigned to us. Speaking of Ahimidiwe, he will be traveling for three weeks to the East African Gospel Meeting, a youth camp in Ahono, Kenya and another campaign. Ahimidiwe is a product of the ACSOP and a real asset to the church in Tanzania, the preaching school and to the Kisongo Bible School. Pray for his safety, as well as Charles Heberth, Cy Stafford, Sean Hochdorf and Elly Martin as they also travel to some of the events, please. 

Stuart counted 107 in attendance at Kisongo, where Emmanuel (Master's Student) preached a great lesson on showing love (in the church and in our homes). We were surprised that as a young, single man he had such insight. Abigail was unable to actually teach the children's class because her translator (Happiness) stayed home with her sick little brother. So Abigail sang songs with the children and let them color. The ladies class studied Genesis 28, discussing topics such as the wisdom of marrying within the "spiritual family" (Issac charged Jacob that he should not marry "from the daughters of Canaan" but should go "to house of Bethuel your mother's father" for a wife. He wanted Jacob to marry within their physical family.) Also discussed was the topic of "feelings' and how sometimes, like Esau, we make poor choices when hurt or angry (vs. 6-9). 

ACSOP news: Due to Roger Shepherd's heart problems, he will not be traveling to Tanzania.  Both classes he was scheduled for ("Church Planting and Growth" and "Cross-cultural Evangelism) have been assigned as independent study courses. Please pray for Roger and the doctors that attend to him.

TWO WIVES, TWENTY-FIVE CHILDREN, ONE HUNDRED AND SIXTEEN GRANDCHILDREN AND THIRTY-FIVE GREAT GRANDCHILDREN...comprised the family of the recently deceased father of Kisongo church member, Abbas (and you thought our family was large). Crowds of people attended and many were obviously well-off due to the number of vehicles. Chris Akin will never forget the question Mr. Abbas asked him the very last session of the Marriage Seminar. After eight sessions of all kinds of questions, this one "took the cake" so to speak. Chris put his hands up, shook his head and replied, "I'm finished" and sat down. It was one of those situations where it was very funny... but it wasn't. We're glad that the Akins plan to come over for several more summers and work here (regardless of the strange questions asked). 

The children gave out tracts two days this week, in our neighborhood (two young men stood there for about 5 minutes reading them) and at the market (where several people were asking for them). The receptivity of the TZ people here reminds me of the familiar story of the two shoe salesmen who went to Africa. One returns with the sad story that it's hopeless because no one wears shoes while the other one sees a marvelous opportunity. Folks, I'm here to tell you that in terms of the Gospel, there is GREAT opportunity! 

9/ll...At the orthodontist's office, Abigail was given a choice of three dates for the September appointment. Not thinking about the specific date, she chose Tuesday (the 11th). Our (very nice) Muslim orthodontist (from India) replied, "do you think you will remember or shall I write it down?" When Abigail smiled and said to just write it down, he said, "O.K. just don't bring a bomb." 

MORE VALUABLE THAN HUMANS? An ACSOP student commented that if you kill an elephant in Tanzania (even if aggressive toward you or your life is in danger) without a permit the fine is six million shillings (about $3800). However, if an elephant kills a person, the government pays the deceased's family 200,000 shillings (about $125) which would not even pay for the person's burial. Something to think about and strange that true stories like this hardly phase us anymore because such are becoming more common (remember the man put in jail because he killed a large rodent in his garden?) JIMMY: CAN YOU FIND picture of man standing beside elephant or just elephant? 

FAMILY NEWS: Saturday, we visited the Comprehensive Community Based Rehabilitation center in Moshi (about a 1.5 hour drive). We came to check it out because we have an appointment in September for Matthew. For five days, he will be assessed by specialists of all kinds, given special therapy and we will be told what he needs to reach his potential. They provide wheelchairs and all kinds of quality equipment for the disabled. We've read great reports about this place. Jimmy, Abigail, Matthew and his therapist (Lucy) will stay in Moshi while the therapy goes on that week.

Lindsey just called and said Nice wants to be baptized into Christ! What a grand way to end this report! As always, we appreciate all of you and your dedication to the work here in Tanzania, East Africa! Thank you for your prayers that help make this work so successful!  

In Christian Love, 
The Jimmy Gee family