Radio Planet Is Ready In Togo...

Student’s performance is encouraging.

As I sat in the worship service to observe how some of the students performed the various roles assigned them, I was so impressed and thanked God for what he has done with these men. Those that came from the denomination are now speaking the language of the Lord’s Church; calling bible things by bible names. The only two remaining students who have not been baptized yet will do so by the grace of God prior to the graduation. I wish to use this medium to thank the Gabriel Oaks Church of Christ and our hard working coordinator, Steve Ashcraft.

Radio Broadcast resumes (Radio Planet is ready)

About a year ago Radio Planet in Kpalime ,Togo had to close down for renovation work to start. I visited their outfit during my recent visit and was reliably informed that they have resumed transmission. We couldn’t transfer to any other station because we were preaching the truth. We therefore had to wait till the renovation was completed. We are starting broadcast today, March 21st.

Proposed date for graduation is September 28th, 2013.

Willie Gley

The Goal Has Been Reached...

Greetings Family, Friends and Supporters of Mission Guatemala!

We hope and pray that you and those you love are doing well and enjoying the wonderful blessings from above. We are doing fine here and continue to find ourselves with plenty to do in our service here in Guatemala.

Our reason for writing is to give you another update on the progress of the fund raising efforts. We are very thankful that many of you allowed God to use you to help us achieve this major milestone for ITL and for the Guatemala work. We are VERY excited that we passed from writing “A Great Opportunity for Guatemala Mission” to being able to write “A Great Blessing for Guatemala Mission.” WE REACHED OUR GOAL!!!! In fact, we surpassed it! We were able to say “yes” without having to seek a loan! We now own (or very soon will own) both properties! We do not have to rent anymore! You can probably tell from all the preceding “!'s” that we are very happy about this. :-)

From the last message that we sent to everyone in our database we made known of a special opportunity that we have to purchase both the house we are renting and the house where ITL, our preaching training school, is located. The owner of the house where we live is the son of the lady who owns the property where ITL meets. Due to circumstances beyond their control they need to sell both properties and have given us first option to buy both of them before they place them on the market. The owner of our house planned to ask for $95,000 for his house but was willing to sell it to us for $70,000. It is a four-bedroom, 4 1/2 bath house, with two additional rooms that can be converted into bedrooms. The second property, which joins our house, is what we presently use for ITL. It includes a three-bedroom, 3-½ bathroom house, a two-bedroom, one bathroom apartment, and a studio apartment. Presently, our students live there and all of our classes for the school take place there. Remember that we have both a full-time program and a Saturday program. This property belongs to our landlord’s mother. She was willing to sell us her property for $80,000. We believed that this presented us with a great opportunity for our work and wanted to take advantage of it.

The total for both properties is $150,000. We already had $80,000 that we previously raised to purchase property for ITL. This means that we needed $70,000 when our first request went out on December 29, 2012. Thankfully, we have raised $83,650. That’s right $83,650! While we do not feel comfortable putting a list of our contributors in a general e-mail, we will be glad to send a complete detailed list of supporters to anyone wishing to receive one. We are thankful to God that we were able to go over the amount. The excess will serve us with funds we need to pay our part of the paperwork for the purchase of the houses. And, with what is left we can make some minor repairs, painting, etc., to the facilities. Thankfully, we have the benefit of a student body (and instructors, of course) that is willing to work hard, which will save us many dollars on labor expenses.

Just one more time, please allow us to remind you of some of the advantages for this purchase:

1. The price for both properties is good for the area where they are located.

2. We will no longer be paying rent and that money can be used in other areas of the ministry.

3. Since the properties are next to one another, this provides an opportunity for the expansion of ITL as it grows.

4. We are already in the facilities. We have lived in our house since 2000 and have rented the other property for ITL since 2009.

5. The properties are centrally located for both the full-time students and for those who study on Saturday. Our full-time students are close to shopping centers and the other things they need for daily living. It is a fairly easy commute for our Saturday students to come where we are presently located.

6. The properties are located in a safe area. Since we also have teachers who come from the U.S. to teach, this is very important.

7. By purchasing the property, we will avoid the additional costs entailed in having to move our residence and the location of the school, and having to rent another house and another facility for ITL, which would likely be much more expensive than what we are currently paying for both.

Thank you! Thank you! Thank you very much! Many of you helped us turn this opportunity into a reality. We can never say thank you enough. Some of you even took an extra step and made others aware and for this we are also thankful. May God bless you for your love and concern for the mission efforts that are taking place in Guatemala.

We will close for now. However, please allow us to remind you that the door is always open for you to donate to help teach the CENTRAL MESSAGE in Central America. :-) You have more than one option to get your donation to us. You can always plan a visit to see us and bring your contribution in person. In fact, if you choose to visit, we’ll consider your visit a contribution itself. :-) You can also go to our secured website and donate online by clicking here. You may also send your tax-deductible donation to our overseeing congregation at the following address:

Kingsley Terrace Church of Christ
c/o Dwaine Himes/Guatemala Mission
2031 E. 30^th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46218

Byron and Hawatthia

Outreach In The SOS Clinic Community Bears Fruit...

Greetings,

We extend to you sincere greetings and wish you all God's blessings as continue to share with us in extending the Kingdom of God through training preachers and teachers in the biblical text and ministry. Indeed your kind support continues to enhance the cause of Christ.

Evangelism Update
Weekend evangelism is a key component of LBC extracurricular activities. Students participate in community evangelism each week as part of their outreach obligation. They usually work with local congregations in Monrovia and other places in the areas of teaching Bible classes, doing personal work and visitation. As consequence of their efforts several conversions and restorations take place.

For the month of February 2013 LBC students conducted Bible studies and did outreach. Eight persons received water baptism and three were restored. Several of LBC students actively got involved with outreach for the month under review which is hereby highlighted.

Student Harris Wawellee evangelized in his home town of Kakata that resulted in four persons being baptized and added to the church. He visited ten backsliders and restored three of them to the fold. Harris taught adult Bible class every Sunday on the topic: “The New Testament Church.” He spoke on the local radio program using as theme, “The Old and New Testament Laws.”

For his part Jestine Kamara traveled to his home region of Grand Bassa where he participated in personal work. He baptized one person. He also conducted Bible study prospects in the community.

Tokpateh conducted Bible study with four persons in the SOS Clinic Community. He discussed the topic, “Salvation and the Church.” He taught Bible class and preached at home congregation in Bong County, central Liberia. He led a visitation team to a village called Gormima where two persons were immersed. They traveled afoot a distance of 2 hours and thirty-five minutes to accomplish this task.

Many persons have been enrolled in the WBS correspondence courses. The enrollment exercise of the program is spearheaded by one of the campus students in person of John Uzoamaka. He along with other LBC students do follow up work with correspondence students.

Alassis

Husband And Wife Obey The Gospel In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Wotutu. We do hope this report will meet you in good health and a sound faith. Life is moving ahead with us here even though with some tough times. The Lord is making sure He provides to His people and we are grateful.

Sister Bernadeth obeyed the gospel in Wotutu as we continue our house to house evangelism, doing our best to transform the entire village. God will help us as we continue to penetrate the hearts of many.

Last week was also a busy one for me as I left Wotutu to make sure I checked on some students in their areas of campaign and also to be part of the work. In CBIW we don’t point the way, we show the way for the students to follow. The Lord is blessing our efforts, passion and our visions daily.

Let me share with you some pictures, that I took during my very tedious trip to visit some congregations in forgotten areas as I can say in our country. I took the Supe bridge where the transport car that I took had a break down. I was heading to the heart of the rain forest in Cameroon.

I was able to reach the heart of the equatorial rain forest, sweating, but still moving ahead to get to a village that no car or motor bike can reach. As we think souls, we must go for souls so as to rob as many as the Lord wills in the strong man’s house.

Children welcomed me. Oh how children are so hospitable in their poor state. The village is suffering from high birth rate and at the same time suffering from high infant mortality rate. There is no access to any form of health care. Oh they are surviving by the very special grace of God.

I trekked distances above 4 hours in the forest. I made it safe to the village and I was able to stand at the worship hall of the church of Christ in Koba village.

I was able to sit inside the worship hall. God is great, because with all the predicaments that these people are going through per day, but you will still hear them singing and praising the Creator with joy and a simple heart.

Preaching was in the Mudeka congregation this morning on the topic Who are You in Christ? It was a moment of stock taking to all of us, because the Bible gives us moments like this to check out stuff. (2 tim 2:19-20)

The back to the Bible radio program continues every 5 am and now that the students were out I and minister Nsong Nelson, one of our graduates, was ministering to the kids of Brightland Christian Academy. He joins me every day for us to reach out to the communities. The program continues to publicize the church of Christ. Brother Ebenezer attended our Bible class and told us that he has seen the truth after listening to the program for the past 7 months. He saw the New Testament way of worship and after the class he invited us home to share the gospel to his family also. The same day him and his wife obeyed the gospel.

This husband and wife accepted the gospel same day. It is our responsibility to give them the pure milk that will make them grow. I handed to them each a copy of the Bible that they will continue to follow the program and continue to study to observe all things and also to help many come to the Lord.

We met with many in their kitchen to tell them the love of the Lord in the scriptures. It was very interesting as many listened to the truth that is found in the Bible, but was hidden from them. Keep this work in your fervent prayers.

As I am writing this report, by His grace many of our students who were in different locations in Cameroon preaching the gospel will be on their way now to transit to their respective villages for one week vacation. By next Sunday’s report you will get details of their first ever evangelism as students of the CBIW beta batch. Keep them in your prayers for safe travels to their homes and later on back to CBIW campus by Saturday, March 30th 2013.

All our recent plans will be fostering upon their return as we shall increase the number of students on weekly weekend evangelism mostly to areas that we shall go with the aim of establishing a congregation.

Appreciations
Thanks be to God for His grace that we enjoy daily. Thank you for your love for the old rugged cross. God bless you and always give you all the means to continue  praying for us and for the work entrusted in our hands to depopulate hell so that Heaven will be populated.

I love to receive your comments if you have them, or any proposals.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

One Week Ends And Another Begins...

One week ends and another begins. Last week was an incredible week as Donnie Bates and I had the privilege of traveling to Paraguay to see the opening of the Asunción Bible Academy. The missionary team of Josh and Cara Blackmer, Troy and Andrea Spradlin, Perry and Alba Hardin, and Ale and Brittney Yegros have worked with the leadership of the Sacramento Avenue congregation in putting together everything needed for the beginning of the school.

They have been working for the past year to make sure every area was in place to ensure the success of this work. The staff will consist of leaders from the congregation and the missionary team who will fulfill the responsibilities of teaching, directing and coordinating the work. The teachers will consist of Ike Yegros, Josh Blackmer, Jorge Vera, Pedro Vera, Perry Hardin (teacher / coordinator), and Troy Spradlin (teacher / director). 

An added beauty of this school is that the two congregations in Asunción are working together to see this program succeed. The preacher for the Centro congregation, Jorge Vera, will also serve as a teacher in the program. The Centro congregation visited Sunday afternoon to participate in the opening celebration of the school. Families of the students also came to share in the activities of the day, which made this celebration even more special.

There will be five students in this first class: Enrique Albera, William Arzamendia, Karen Gimenez, Ramón Paredes, and Paolo Rosholl. These students have patiently waited over the past year in anticipation of beginning classes in the Bible Academy and it has now come to fruition. If you would like to look at more pictures with some details of the events last week in Paraguay, you can visit Donnie’s Facebook page for the Asunción Bible Academy by clicking here.

As well, the week ahead also holds great events as Donnie and I will be traveling to Guatemala to participate in the 2nd graduation of ITL and their annual lectureship. I look forward to sharing in the celebration of this event with the leadership of the Linda Vista congregation, staff and students of ITL. The news next week will be exciting.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Howell Ferguson’s latest report is below: Click here to read Howell’s report.

Wes Autrey’s report about his recent trip to Cambodia can be seen by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

Students Campaign In 20 Locations In Cameroon: After their first quarter of studies, students in Cameroon are reaching out in 20 different locations with the gospel.

Growth In Cambodia As 5 Obey The Gospel: The past few months have seen fruit born to the work of the church and school in Cambodia.

Health And Raising Prices Create Difficulties At WCSOP: There have been a number of challenges with health issues in Takoradi, complicated by rising prices for fuel.

Along Chimala Trails: Chad Wagner’s report explores a bit of history in looking at events and people from the past who have worked on the mission. 

Final Thoughts
As time continues to bring opportunities for growth in the Extension Program, we are always mindful of the reasons for the success that has been experienced. We thank our God for His abundant kindness and mercy toward our efforts, as we strive to glorify Him. We thank you for being a tool in His hands to provide for the needs of the Bible Institute in training men to preach the gospel around the world. We thank all the men, and their families, who work diligently in each location to ensure students are being trained.

As we work together, the efforts strengthen our bond of fellowship and move us closer to a glorious reward.

God bless
Bob

Returning With News From Cambodia...

Dear Supporters,

I just returned from a 2 week trip to Cambodia Friday the 8th of March. As always it was a wonderful experience to teach and preach the word of God to these young Christians. The photo tries to show that there are 10 students currently enrolled, 6 men will hopefully become preachers and teachers of the word. I taught for 8 days on a course entitled “Old Testament Lessons for New Testament Christians”. Michael Hite, an instructor from the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver accompanied me and taught a course on 1 & 2 Peter.

Vietnamese
While visiting we had one Saturday free to go and visit one of the villages on the large Ton Le Sap Lake where many Vietnamese refugees have made their home. We have two graduates living on a boat outfitted with a water purification system. Word is getting out that free fresh water is available through this system where they evangelize to the Vietnamese and Cambodians while they load up on fresh water. It is an outreach that has lots of potential and we are hopeful that it has many good returns in the future.

Orphans
I always spend time at the Hannah’s Hope Orphanage to renew my energy and see what these young children are learning from the Bible. Although the orphanage is not affiliated per se with the Bible school, there is a close connection as many of our past graduates have found work running a nearby orphanage. This could very well be a big part of God’s plan for the church in Cambodia.

Thoughts
Over the course of two weeks many things take place. I continue to try and learn more about the culture so that I can relate to the people. Most of our church members are young and have a very good sense of respect for an older American teacher. I am trying to use that to my best advantage while teaching, preaching and bringing lessons. However, I believe one of the best ways to take advantages is by way of an “active encouragement”. Since the “kids” (as I call them) are new Christians, have had no role models, no teaching experience and are shy in nature, I sense a strong reason to “be a Barnabas” and encourage growth in wisdom and maturity in the Word through love. I cannot stress enough how important this is in the growth of the church there.

I should also mention meeting with the staff and church leaders about goals and plans for the school and the church in Siem Reap. We currently are working on plans for a “Saturday School” to take to the villages and also the city where locals can come and learn the basics about the Bible and Christianity. Obviously this has many benefits to the lost, but also will give us a slightly deeper foundation for those wishing to enroll at our Bible school.

We currently have 3 staff members teaching at the school, two of which graduated in our first class 3 years ago and are teaching without any support but for the love of God and His Word.

Other Highlights

• 2 Baptisms within 3 days of each other of our arrival 
• Witnessed a Christian wedding (this makes 7 Christian married couples in a land where that is not approved of ). This is another example of a foundation that is being built for the Lord’s church in Cambodia. 
• One Sunday’s Worship Service had many denominations and Buddhist in attendance for the weeding including one families province Baptist pastor. My lesson was about the characteristics of a Christian and Michael’s sermon was about the church. So, needless to say we gave them a lot of God’s word to think about. 
• Conducted a skype-devotional between the students at IBISR and the teens at the Bear Valley church of Christ - very enlightening for both sides of the world and it went very well. I would recommend that experience to your congregation, especially for the young folks. 

Akun (thanks)
As always I continue to thank God for your support and belief that the seed is being planted and watered in the Siem Reap, Cambodia area. My family here and my family in Cambodia thank you for your support and prayers. You demonstrate the love that Christ has shown and commanded that we actively provide for one another. 

Wes Autrey 

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

Along Chimala Trails...

The Chimala Mission has welcomed a new missionary -- Cheryl Bode! She is a nurse from Oklahoma who is going to work with the hospital to raise the standard of care, educate staff and also do mobile clinics in small, rural African villages. She is fitting in well on the mission and we are very happy to have her here.

The Chimala Bible Institute has many new students. One of the new students is a student from Malawi named Alec Billiat. He has been preaching for 19 years and has decided to come to CBI to get some additional training so that he can serve the churches he works with better. In class, he is quite knowledgeable in the scriptures and also a good leader among the students. He is in my NT Greek class and he is doing well.

At the Chimala Mission Hospital, we had a veteran employee retire at a Shirehe (party). He has been cleaning for many years at CMH. He had quite a big day.

We also are going to have a big day on March 19 as the entire Mbeya region will celebrate National Nurse's Day at the Chimala Mission Hospital. Preparations are in full swing as we are expecting a large number of visitors and guests at the hospital. My daughter Anna has been busy painting poles at the hospital and Cheryl and my wife have been cleaning up several areas of the hospital. We have also tore down the old wooden bridge between the hospital and the church building and are replacing it with a new metal bridge.

Also, through the generosity of good Christians in the USA, we were able to purchase 40 new mattresses to replace the old and torn mattresses at the hospital. Thank you very much!

We have several groups coming onto the mission this year. We have three doctors from China coming in mid-April. In May, we have a group from Oklahoma Christian University coming to do VBS's in local villages and also some work around the mission. Also in May, we have a group of nursing students from Harding University who will be working at the hospital. In July, we have Tony Hopper coming to teach on the Beatitudes at the mission and the surrounding area. In August, we will host the Gospel Chariot to do evangelism work area the Chimala area.  

There is some news for those of you who know the history of the Chimala Mission. We are in the process of re-establishing a presence on the Ailsa Farm (just south of the mission on top of the mountain). We will be planting trees and making a new presence where we have not been in quite a while. We will also be rebuilding some of the buildings and cleaning up the area to enable people to live there again. If you have questions, let us know!

Along Chimala Trails
During the pioneer days of the mission here in Chimala, like Guy Caskey and Eldred Echols, they had several young men come from the USA to do the first 'safari for souls' campaigns. Several men worked long and hard to help build several of buildings here on the mission, plant churches, and many other activities here in the Chimala area. In the spirit of those pioneer missionaries, we would like to invite like-minded Christians to come and work with struggling churches, preach and teach, work diligently in personal and public evangelism, help train preachers and teachers, and equip the local leaders with the needed skills to push the churches to the next level in leadership.  

We often have several groups to come to the mission in May and June. However, we would like for you to consider July 2013 for the 2013 Safari for Souls in Chimala. If you are hearing the call, answer it! Let us know if you would like more information on campaign work at the Chimala Mission. Email us at wagner.chada@gmail.com.  

Wagner Family Furlough
The Wagner family is going to go back to the states for a furlough beginning in late October. We will be visiting churches to make reports, raising support, and also visiting family and friends. The cost of plane tickets will be around $12,000 for round trip tickets. We need your assistance to make this trip happen. If you can consider giving as an individual or by encouraging the congregation, you will be helping our family make this necessary trip. If you would like to contribute, let us know!

Chad Wagner

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

Health And Raising Prices Create Difficulties At WCSOP...

HEALTH
The heat this time of the year brings with it many health problems: malaria and boils leading betimes. Two of our students have had to spend a week each at home for boils and a third left last Wednesday with a dislocated elbow bone. Two others have had malaria for over a week, and one other has had to go home for some ten days now because his wife has been seriously ill. Matthew, our academic dean, could not make it to school last week; he had malaria and diarrhea. I am limping along with a swollen leg and painful back. The teachers held a meeting and decided to relieve me of my teaching for the rest of the term so that I can attend to my treatment and get the needed bed rest. I was able to spend some days at my son’s in Accra at the weekend. I teach only one class a week – the mid-week Bible class on campus, and attend to office duties and supervision. If am better by the first week of April, I shall teach my assigned short courses.

CAMPAIGN
We have had to postpone our Campaign for Christ to March 18-24, 2013 to allow for the recovery of our students.  This will be a first for them and so we want to take along all our students, if possible. Also with the change of date, alternative arrangements must be made for lodging and other logistics.

NEEDS
We have three working computers at the school. With a student population of 20 men, this is woefully inadequate. Since many are now replacing their PCs with laptops and notebooks there is the possibility that you may know of a PC that has been packed and not in use. Please, send them to West Coast. Or you may help us buy some refurbished used-in-Europe computers for 250-300 cedis ($132-158 US) a set. With our energy problems and the fluctuating power we shall need UPS for all computers. A laser printer has been in our need list for several years now. We pray someone can get one for us.

On February 17, 2013, the government increased fuel prices in Ghana between 15-20%. A gallon of Petrol went up from 7.00 cedis ($3.68) to 9.22 cedis ($4.85). Diesel now sells at 9.31 cedis ($4.90) per gallon. LPG was increased by 50% and now sells at 24.36 cedis ($12.82) per 12.5 kg cylinder.

These fuel price hikes have affected everything –food, services, utilities, transportation, medicals, etc., and will surely increase our operational costs. We are going to talk to individuals and congregations to raise some additional local support to help the West Coast Budget.

FOOD SERVICE
West Coast is located on a hill and far from the nearest place one could buy something to eat. Used to, students provided their own meals and we allowed 45 minutes lunch break. It took more than 45 minutes to go downhill to the nearest food joint and back. That affected our scheduled classes for the afternoons. There were times one would go down and find what he could afford was finished and must wait for what was on the fire. And there were those who did not have the means to buy any food. The food service, which provides two meals a day, a mid-morning brunch and supper, has really been a blessing on top of the hill. Teachers and students, the main beneficiaries of the service, are grateful to our sponsors for the great relief. This comes with our love and sincere best wishes to you all who pray for us and sponsor the school, individual teachers, and students.

BRETHREN, PRAY FOR US- these are hard times.

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

Click here to see brother Asiamah’s report with pictures.

Growth In Cambodia As 5 Obey The Gospel...

Greetings brothers and sisters in Christ!

What an eventful month for us here in Siem Reap, Cambodia. First we had Joe Hickey and his group come to encourage the work here and in the villages with aid and teachings on how to farm and grow crops. Joe and another elder named Paul also taught on the qualifications of being an elder in the church. Not only did these men teach how to help us physically but topped it off by teaching things necessary for our spiritual growth. We love their example and care that they continuously show us year after year by their support and sacrifice. 

Then we had our brothers from Bear Valley, Wes and Mike, who spent an entire 2 weeks away from their families and home to impart wisdom from the word of God for the staff and students of IBISR. What a tremendous job they did in providing much needed nourishment for us! This year has been such a blessing so far and I can’t thank God enough for how he does these things for me personally as well as for the local church. As a result of all the activities since the start of the new school year back in September, to Justin and Trent coming in January and then Joe and his group in February, and finally Wes and Mike leaving in the beginning of March, we had a total of 5 new souls converted to Christ! Notice that I didn’t say 5 baptisms, but 5 converted to Christ, meaning these individuals didn’t just get baptized for the sake of baptism, but they truly spent time in the word and observed us as a local church for a period of time before believing that what we say and do is in accordance to God's word! These conversions are a product of what we do as a church and the credit belongs to what we teach at IBISR, verse by verse, the word of God. You may think 5 conversions? That's it? For all the time and money that was sent in support and all you report back is 5 conversions? In India and other parts of the world there are hundreds of baptisms in one month! And I would respond “Amen” to that and glory to God for the increase. 

I would also remind you all of what Jesus spoke on the value of ONE soul found in Matt 16:26. Giving the increase is God's business. Our business is sowing and watering the seed and that we are doing! We ask that you continue to pray for the work here and for it's continual success in winning souls for Christ! We will do the same for you in your part of the world!

Please continue to pray for our new brothers and sisters in Christ in their daily walk with Christ!

Phanat

Please click here to see pictures of these new converts in Phanat’s report.

Students Campaign In 20 Locations In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters in Wotutu and Cameroon in general. I do hope you are doing great in health and a sound mind. God bless you all and help you realize your dreams, most especially as we think souls and map out plans to rob from the strong man’s house. By so doing we will help many come out from darkness to the great light that will shine in their world.

Brother Lah from the Munyenge congregation came to visit us and joined us also as we do house to house evangelism. He is a preacher. He is also part of our early morning radio program.

As I write this mail all students of CBIW have left campus to 20 different locations in Cameroon, both in English and French speaking. The Lord took them to their destinations safe and sound. The work is going well as I get some calls from them. Some have gone down to enclave villages and they cannot get to me on mobile phones till they get out from there. They will be ending their work this weekend. Keep them in your prayers as we shall have a detailed report about their work when they return to school on the 30th of march 2013, God’s willing.

The congregation in Wotutu keeps going ahead and the community continues to listen to the program through our PA system Back to the Bible. It is creating lots of impact with these communities and that provokes many to ask questions and many also persecute us, asking why we are preaching the way we are preaching?

This Sunday we had 83 is attendance and we had 6 fist time visitors. I was able to sit with them outside after worship and appreciate them for their coming and encourage them to come again or ,if they need study further, we can come to their home. My little son, Breedlove, is part of the discussion, even though he cannot understand.

The students are all out. The sisters of the Wotutu congregation spend some of their time after their class to go down on their knees to pray for the growth of the church in Wotutu, in particular, and the world at large. They keep committing the students involvement in mission, how that God should help them and make their trips fruitful. They are crying on to the Lord to help them open doors for them to have something that will empower them also, like a Christian Sisters Vocational Center. That will help them have different skills and it will help them build their homes, because women are pillars in home building.

As we pray together with our families in the morning and in the evening at home, the children in our community are benefiting from Brightland Christian Academy. My son, Ray Jr., is 3 years now and little by little he is turning to a man. In our home we ask him at time to lead in songs and he will sing one song throughout our devotional. It impresses me that my son knows that men lead when we are worshipping God. He wears our traditional regalia as I teach him to know our routes both spiritual and physical. Please join me to pray that he grows up not to depart from these.

Appreciations
God bless you for standing with us to reach out to souls. God bless you and keep you. Continue to pray and continue to stand with us. I leave tomorrow morning for a mission trip for four days to an enclave area.The gospel is for all.

Please share this report with others. Maybe someone besides you may come to the rescue of our sisters here.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

Classes Begin In The Asunción Bible Academy...

Greetings from Asunción, Paraguay. Donnie Bates and I are visiting South America for the opening of the Asunción Bible Academy. By the time most of you read this report we will be concluding the opening day ceremonies where 5 new students were welcomed into the program of study to prepare themselves in the Word of God to help plant and strengthen the Lord’s church in this great country.

Sunday was a day of worship and opportunity to encourage the Sacramento Avenue congregation in this undertaking. The men of this congregation made a decision almost one year ago to begin a school where students could be trained in the Word of God. For the past year they have been setting goals, planning the details, discussing the roles of everyone involved, and implementing the necessary changes to get ready for this day.

Next week we will provide additional pictures of opening day as well as information about each of the students in the program. This has been an exciting trip and we look forward with anticipation of the work produced to the glory of God in this new location where Bear Valley is privileged to work the wonderful brethren in Asunción. 

From around the world this week’s report highlights areas where God continues to be involved in giving the increase to the work of students who are laboring in the kingdom. Their efforts each week in reaching out with the message of Jesus continues to change lives everywhere. What a great blessing to see the ways God is working through these areas. 

As many of you know there are great financial challenges to the work around the world and everyone is looking for needed support. The school in Cameroon is one of the schools in need of monthly support. At this time, there is a shortfall of $1,450 per month. If you, or someone you know, is able to help meet this need, please contact me at bturner@bvbid.org or David Ballard at davidgballard@hughes.net. Thank you for your consideration to this need.

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/

Jerry Bates’ latest report about the work in India can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

Students Prepare For Campaign In Cameroon: As students complete their first quarter of studies, they prepare for the first campaign to 20 villages.

The Church Grows As The Gospel Is Preached: Staff and students with the Southwest School of Evangelism in Ibadan, Nigeria witness the growth of the church.

13 Obey The Gospel In North India: The graduates from the North India Bible School are seeing God give the increase to their efforts.

Steps Toward Mission Goals: The work in Paraguay is growing as the church takes steps toward their mission goals.

A Full Schedule Of Activities In Ukraine: As the students continue their studies in Gorlovka, the work continues to keep everyone busy.

You’re A What? A Missionary: You never know what goes on in the mind of a six year old that will hold a great element of truth. 

Final Thoughts
Thank you for your interest and involvement in this work. The success of this program depends on you and others like you who are willing to make the sacrifices you do to provide for the needs of Extension Training. You are a continual blessing to this work and God is working through each of you to make a difference. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

You're A What? A Missionary...

"Strength and honor are her clothing; she shall rejoice in time to come." Proverbs 31:25

Dear Co-Laborers:

Hello from Tanzania! Pictured above are some large pieces of bright-colored cloth...each called a "kanga" (con-ga). Very popular in Africa, women wear this piece of cloth as a skirt, top, apron, shawl, towel, use old ones for diapers, tie up firewood in it...you name it. In fact, there is a book called "101 Uses for a Kanga."

Short and sweet...is our theme for today's report! Our family is doing fine except that Candace is sick (possible strep throat). Thank you for your prayers for Esther (from church) who was admitted to the hospital last week for ear problems but now is much better. We had a good crowd for worship today at Kisongo (about 100).

Spotlight... is on Julius Odaka, a first-year ACSOP student in the English program. From Uganda, Julius was baptized in 2000 and is married with two children. He worshipped with the Nandwa church of Christ until 2009 until he established another congregation named Nandwa "B." Julius and another Christian take turns preaching there. Julius has also been a part of establishing three other congregations!

You're a What?
Upon hearing that we are missionaries, six-year-old Elijah said, "We're missionaries??"

Heather answered, "Yes." 

Elijah: "You're a missionary?"

Heather: "Yes, and you are, too!"

Elijah: "I'm not a missionary...I live in Africa!"

It's funny...we just assumed he knew! We are so appreciative of the furlough funds we have received! May you have a wonderful day and a blessed week. Thanks again for your prayers.

We'll end with a quote we read recently:

"Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one." --Jane Howard

With Love from Africa,

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

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

A Full Schedule Of Activities In Ukraine...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches.

In Ukraine, spring gradually overcomes winter, and we are looking forward to the warmer weather. The temperature at the Institute is good for having classes and worship services.

February was a month full of events.

The Institute is doing well. First-year students had 1, 2 Kings and 2 Chronicles (taught by Victor Semikoz) and fist part of the Minor Prophets (taught by Dennis Sopelnik). Second-year students had Hebrews (taught by Albert Bagdasaryan) and 1, 2 Timothy and Titus (taught by Dennis Sopelnik). As you can see that in February we had only Ukrainian teachers, who shared their experience and knowledge, which they received studying the Bible and ministering at the local churches. 

In March, we have two American teachers: Garth Hilton and Johnny MacYoung. They have made it safely to Ukraine and have already started teaching their courses. We need the help of our brothers, and it’s a good opportunity to receive encouragement and support from them. 

We have other good news: in March, our first-year students Roman Rotan’ and Sergey Slastyonov started preaching in Illovaysk church of Christ. The church had experienced many troubles. We were praying and looking for those men who will be willing to serve there, and after long conversations with brethren from the US and the church in Illovaysk, we came to the common decision. We hope that our students will be God’s preachers, proclaiming His truth. 

In February, I preached in Nikolayev, Maysakaya church of Christ (Gorlovka), and also visited Central church of Christ in Donetsk. They all welcomed me, and I didn’t miss the opportunity to tell about the Institute and to look for prospective students.  

I hope you like holidays and surprises, because we (men) were surprised by the event our ladies had organized for us. On February 23, Ukraine celebrates the Day of the Defender of the Motherland. And our sisters prepared greetings and a festive program for us, defenders of the gospel. It was really very interesting and fun. We are so grateful for their work. 

At the beginning of last month, a brother-missionary from the US David Binkley contacted me with a request to help the church during their absence. He and his wife Galina live in Nikolayev and preach the gospel there for several years. This time he had the scheduled 3-month business trip to the US, and he needed the help of the brethren who could substitute for him. We were able to provide such help, and our students travel to Nikolayev, and they preach there every Sunday. It really shows how important the work of the Institute is in the life of the church in Ukraine. We love this missionary and are looking forward to his return to Ukraine. 

My wife and I keep visiting the orphanage, and we have good connection with those kids. Also the director of the orphanage is not opposed to cooperating with us and provided us an opportunity to work with those kids on a permanent basis. Praise to the Lord for these opened doors. 

On March 9, we have planned a one-day lectureship on the topic of preparing the future elders in the church. Garth Hilton will be our guest speaker. We hope that there will be many representatives from local churches present here.   

Thank you brothers, sisters and churches for your help and ministry. We pray for you during our chapels and thank God for you love and devotion. I want to thank all of the American and Ukrainian teachers, who are dedicated to this ministry and help us to train preachers.

God bless you!

Your co-worker,
Dennis

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

Steps Toward Mission Goals...

It brings us such great joy to see the brethren so excited about the many activities that have been taking place within the church here in Paraguay! It’s been said, “A working church is a growing church.” According to what we ́re seeing around here, it’s looking like that saying is true!

SPECIAL ACTIVITIES / CONGREGATIONAL DEVELOPMENT:

• The church had a special “Work Day” to clean up around the building and organize all the rooms. Part of the objective was to gather up the many old things that were not being used, like furniture, clothing, toys, or anything that just needed to be discarded. There was a “feria” for the members to buy whatever they wanted among the items with the proceeds going to the building fund. We also hired a company to bring in a big trash container for the stuff we needed to throw away and we filled it up! Things are looking mighty good around here. It is great to see the brethren taking pride (the good kind) in
  maintaining their meeting facility. 
• Our Wednesday night “Summer Series” lessons were such a success that the members have asked to have some more guests! Brethren Glen Henton, Ethan Hardin, and Ivan Villard, Jr, have all agreed to speak for us. If you are a Spanish speaking teacher, or know someone who would be interested in participating in this program, please let me know! 
• Vacation Bible School! School starts the end of February in Paraguay, so it is a great time to have a VBS. We invited our member’s children, those of our frequent visitors, and from the local orphanages. Our youth, like Natalia Mendoza, William Arzamendia, and Carolina Achucarro did an amazing job with organizing and executing this event. There were an average of 40+ kids there all three days! That’s a lot crayons used!

ASUNCIÓN BIBLE ACADEMY DEVELOPMENT:

• The Asunción Bible Academy is now in its final stages of development before opening on March 11. Everything appears to be in order, set, and ready to begin. Next month’s mission report will be mostly dedicated to the opening of the school. 
• We now have five “officially approved” students. They are: Enrique Albera, William Arzamendia, Ramón Paredes, Paolo Roshol, and Karen Gimenez. Please pray for them! 

RECENT BAPTISMS / RESTORATIONS / IDENTIFICATIONS 

• Baptized! Vicente Martínez, Jr. He is the son of Vicente and Zully Martinez who were baptized this past year. Vicente, Jr., has really “come out of his shell” lately and been a lot more involved in the youth activities and Bible studies. He eventually came to realize the state of his soul and decided to submit to the Gospel call. We rejoice to have a new brother in Christ!

Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies:

• Dina Aycock is a new friend that Andrea has made through the “Las Amigas” club. She has started asking lots of questions, so Andrea has invited her to come and see the church for herself! 
• The mid-week study groups are going strong again after a short summer break. We are back to studying in the homes of Delci Enciso and of the Martinez. Our subject is Romans. 
• We are also studying with several different couples with various topics like marriage, new convert lessons, and textual studies. What a blessing to have so many brethren that want to learn and grow in His word. 
• Two of our former English students have returned to continue their studies. Andrea and Adriana are just about to finish the John study that we use, then they will transition into the “Searching for Truth” material. There are always lots of questions that follow with that study! 
• Sergia is one of Andrea’s English students who has now advanced to “Searching for Truth.” 
  
  Steps toward mission goals: 

1. The new church plant in Ñemby! The men of the congregation at Avenida Sacramento have decided to support a young preacher named, Eliezer Perez, who is about to graduate from the Institute of Theology of Latin-America in Guatemala. When he was here a few months ago, he expressed the desire to come to Paraguay and work with the church. So, the church will provide him a place to live and a salary. This is a HUGE step for the church in Paraguay! They are stepping out on faith with the intent to support a young preacher. Eliezer will be working with the congregation here, as well as, being very involved in the church plant in Ñemby. We are praying and working toward having everything ready by July in order to start worship services there. Please pray for this effort. 
2. Upcoming plans: 
   *Preparing for the Inauguration Ceremony and opening of the Asuncion Bible Academy 
   *Congregational retreat in April 
   *We bought our plane tickets for our USA Furlough coming up in May and June of 2013! 
3. We will traveling to the following places during these dates:  
   a. Poolville church of Christ (Texas) - May 5 
   b. Dripping Springs church of Christ (Texas) - May 12 
   c. Margaret Street church of Christ (Florida) - May 19 
   d. Central Avenue church of Christ (Georgia) - June 2
   e. Palm Beach Lakes church of Christ (Florida) - June 9 

PERSONAL DEVELOPMENT AND ACTIVITIES
HIGHLIGHT(s) of the Month: We have a new brother in Christ and the excitement is growing as we are getting closer to starting classes in the Bible Academy.

Family Activities

• Yegros family. We had a nice evening visiting with Ike and Nora and just enjoying a late-night Paraguay style dinner. 
• Angel Ortiz is the husband of our sister in Christ, Mabel Ortiz. We had a nice visit one afternoon when he came by the church building during our “work day.” He is a very interesting person and a rather busy entrepreneur. I hope to have more opportunities to visit with him in the future. 
• Preaching on Skype! I had the opportunity to preach for our sponsoring congregation at Margaret Street church of Christ in Milton, FL via Skype. Even after having done this a few times, it is still such an interesting experience and great opportunity! I am very thankful for the technology that allows us to “be there” with are brethren in the USA. 

Family activities: 

• Valentine’s Dinner! We went to an old Peruvian restaurant we had been hearing about. 
• After a lot of sweat and hard work, I have advanced one more level in Tae Kwon Do to orange belt. Thanks to this much needed exercise, it has helped me to feel much better and have more energy. I have even lost a few pounds in the process. 

Personal study: 

• I am currently reading / have read: 

“The Letter of Paul to the Romans” by Richard A. Batey (Sweet Co) 
“Gramática Simple del Griego (Simplified Greek Grammar) by Armando Alaniz 
“Mejores Estudiantes de la Biblia” by Mark Reeves (Bible Academy Textbook) 

Cultural or language discovery: 

• Interesting point: Americans are often viewed as being “frio” (cold) by the Paraguayans. The reason is because we are considered to be very direct in our personal communication. Americans usually go right to the point, whereas the Paraguayans have several exchanges of greetings before eventually getting to the point. Then, the point is sometimes softened in some form or another. Even in text messages, it is considered rude if you don’t put several lines of greetings before getting to the point! 
• Want to learn more about Paraguay? Check out Natalia Goldberg’s, “Paraguay (Other Places Travel Guide)” which you can get through her insightful website: http://discoveringparaguay.com 

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

If you would like to see Troy’s report with pictures, please click here.

13 Obey The Gospel In North India...

Dear Brother, 

Thank you for being mindful of us. 

We are doing fine and looking for new students. Some have already come and we have started to work with them. Hopefully, the full fledged class will be in place by the end of this month. By the time we have been getting good and encouraging reports from the outgoing graduates. 

Brother Shiv, brother Naresh and brother Rajesh are told to have been teaching people of their community and Shiv and Rajesh are told the help immersing 5 and 8 souls respectively. 

We are sending some Hindi Bibles and song books for them and hopefully they will receive it soon. For any correspondence I am sending their address. Yuhanna Masih is married and he will be having his responsibilities increased. 

Shiv Kumar Sidar 
S/o Dadu Lal Sidar
Vill. Chhoti Rabeli 
Thana/Teh. Malkharan 
Distt. Janjgir 
Chanpa- 495691 (CG- India) 

Rajesh Gotya 
S/o Kanhayya Lal (Salgu)
Vill. Mohtra
P.O. Madhai Bhatta
Thana Sarseevan
Teh. Bilai Garh
Distt. Balaud Bazar- 493559 (CG- India) 

Naresh Mahanand 
S/o Pardeshi Mahanand  
Resali Bhata Ispaat Nagar
Near Vijay Kirayana store BHILLAI
Durg 490006 (CG- India)  

Thanks for all your prayers and support for the cause of Christ.

Earnest Gill

The Church Grows As The Gospel Is Preached...

Report 3-4-13

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings and appreciation for your great contribution toward the growth of the Lord's church in Nigeria and the world as a whole! May the Lord of blessing continue blessing our joint effort in Christ’s name. Amen.

Here is the summary of our activities for the month of January 2013 at Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE),Ibadan and Lagos campus:

On Saturday of January 5, we (the staff and students of SWSE-Ibadan) evangelized Butubutu, Akinwande and Elesin Villages of Ona-Ara Local Government of Oyo state. On Sunday, January 6, I taught on Revolution 2013 at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation-Ibadan while brother Okon S.Udoh, one of the instructors at SWSE-Ibadan, admonished the church.

My work with brother Doug Wheeler, the Patron of SWSE-Ibadan from January 11 through 18 in Lagos and Ogun state resulted in the conversion of two souls at Owode-Titun, Ogun state and restoration of many brethren in Lagos and Ogun state.  

Brother Matthew Idowu, one of the instructors at SWSE-Lagos campus, reported the conversion of one soul on January 6 during the visit of brother Ayobami Akanji, an elder at Isheri-Oshun congregation-Lagos state and a SWSE-Board chairman. While brother Ezekiel Okoh, another instructor at SWSE-Lagos campus, reported the conversion of three souls on January 2013 at Iyana-Ipaja congregation Lagos state where he is a minister.

On Sunday of January 27, I taught the Sunday morning Bible class at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation-Ibadan on Some Images of the NT Church from the book of Ephesians, while brother Lawrence Dada, one of the graduates of SWSE-Ibadan, admonished the church. We were 50 in attendance with total collection of N4,480.

Brethren, work is continuing on the SWSE-lecture hall. We have spent $22,000 so far on the lecture hall and $6,700 will be spent on the roofing. The SWSE first block (picture attached) cost us $27,500. I am already processing a loan of N1,000,000 from the bank for the roofing of the lecture hall before the rains start in Nigeria.

Brethren, we are now set to join hundreds of evangelists and WBSFUW from 17 states of Nigeria at Ologbo, Edo state of Nigeria at this year GREAT WORKSHOP on January 29 through February 2, 2013. The program is an annual workshop organized by brother Doug Wheeler.

Big thanks to you all for your labour of love! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all your undertaking in Jesus Christ name, Amen.

Sincerely His & yours,
Bro. Makinde E.Olufemi (director of studies)
Southwest school of Evangelism(SWSE)
Ibadan & Lagos satellite campus, Nigeria

Report 3-11-13

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings in the wonderful name of our Lord and Redeemer Jesus Christ! Thanks so much for your great sacrifice toward the growth of the Lord's church in Africa most especially in Nigeria.

I taught on Giving unto the Lord on Sunday, March 3, as lesson 1 of our three months of an indoor lectureship at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation-Ibadan. We were 55 in attendance on that Lord's day with total collection of N4,260, and on Sunday, March 10, I taught again on What is giving? as lesson 2 of our indoor lectureship. We were 54 in attendance with a total collection of N2,635, while brother Lawrence Dada, one of the graduates of SWSE- Ibadan, admonished the church on Genesis 22:1-14.

Brethren, Lord willing I will be traveling on Friday afternoon with twelve of SWSE students for two days mass evangelism at the Iyana Ilogbo congregation in Ogun state, slated for March 15 and 16. The four instructors at the Lagos campus, and the ten students there, will join us in that mass evangelism at Iyana-Ilogbo. On Sunday, March 17, I will speak on the book of Revelation at Isheri-Oshun congregation, Lagos state while we shall return to SWSE-Ibadan main campus immediately after the Sunday morning worship at Isheri-Oshun and Iyana-Ilogbo.

On March 23, I will be speaking on the Sweetness in Christian Fellowship at Owode- Egba congregation, Ogun state with brother Paul Akinwale (minister of Ajibawo congregation and one of the SWSE-foundation member). On March 29 -31, we shall be working with the church of Christ, Ayedun quarters' Akure-Ondo state in the planting of a Lord's church at a village in Osun state.

Beloved, my heart is full of appreciation for your great contribution toward the growth of the Lord's church here in Nigeria and Africa as a continent! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint efforts in Christ name, Amen.

I remain your fellow worker in Christ Jesus.

Brother Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE)
Ibadan & Lagos satellite campus, Nigeria, West Africa

Students Prepare For Campaign In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

May amazing grace fall on you as you read this report. I do hope you are doing well in health and the family is healthy as well as the church. We praise God from all blessing flow. It is great on our side as we continue to enjoy good health and in CBIW, but for some few in the Wotutu congregation that are not sound in health.

I gave the students last minute instructions on what is expected of them in the mission field as they go door to door, house to house in different communities preaching and teaching. Keep them in your prayers. The two short courses Scheme of Redemption and Personal Evangelism 1 helped prepare them for this campaign. This campaign is taking our students to 20 communities both in French and English speaking communities all over Cameroon. Where ever the gospel is calling we shall go. Keep their travels and the work ahead of them in your prayers.

The first quarter in CBIW draws to an end today concerning all class work, as I write this mail to you. Students left Wotutu today after worship, and some will leave tomorrow to 20 different communities to preach and teach. One of these communities is strategy, because if the Lord wills, then a new congregation will be establish in Ebonimi village far away from Wotutu. We are going there through the demand of a brother who said, “come over to my village and help me establish a congregation of the Lord’s body.” Keep us in your prayers as we shall report about the progress subsequently.

The work in Brightland Christian Academy is growing well as the students know that “all learning without playing makes Jack a dull boy. Every Friday immediately after their morning devotions they will do sport, as their preacher stands behind them watching them develop in many skills. Oh keep this school in your prayers and you thoughts.

Visitors keep coming to our congregation as they listen to our early programBack to the Bible. After worship CBIW students will sit with them studying more with them, listen to their numerous questions on what they hear over the radio, and what they will see in our worship. They are also cautious about modesty in dressing when they come to worship God, like one who visited today.

Praise God our graduates are doing their best in their respective congregations as they serve as evangelist. This is brother Mulango Theophile in his small congregation is Kossala 2 , this is a young congregation that he is helping it grow, I was with him and others over the weekend as they had their first ALUMNI meeting since they graduated in Dec 20th 2012. Keep them in your prayers because of the zeal and passion for souls to be save .

The entire CBIW alumni had their meeting in brother Mulango’s congregation in Kossala. Every month they will meet in one of the graduate’s congregations for four days to evangelize and then on the last day they will have a meeting to talk about successes and failures in their different congregations and help one another with possible solutions. I was there with them yesterday and admired it and I prayed that God should continue helping these brothers to do great things so as to change the face of the church of Christ in Cameroon. The Lord added two souls and one brother who had fallen away was discovered who came into that community from another one and thought the church of Christ was not there, so he stayed him at home. They were excited with raised thumbs, knowing “we are not alone.” This statement was common on their lips while in CBIW and it continues to help them move ahead. Please keep them in your prayers and thoughts. It is not easy with them to do their work.

Evangelist Itali and evangelist Elangwe stood outside the new congregation in Mile 4 which is about 2 miles away from Wotutu. Both of us are graduates in NCI School of preaching in Nigeria and we are still very close working hand in hand to expand the shores of the gospel of Jesus in Cameroon. Please thank you for praying for the work going on here.

Plans
We shall do a survey of new areas in the Southwest region in Cameroon to take the gospel of Jesus and help souls come out of darkness. The Idenau and Batoke communities will be touched within this time before we resume classes in CBIW on the 30th of March 2013.

Appreciations
God bless you. Thank you and thank you again for your prayers and support to make this ministry reach this level. Please pray because more is still to be done. Continue to help us and the glory will go back to the Lord. Only God will reward you from all your selfless sacrifice because of the old rugged cross. As you think souls you will go to rob from the strong man’s house .

Evangelist Elangwe and family
By His grace director of CBIW

An Exciting Week Is Ahead...

Anticipation is building in preparation for the opening day of the new school in Asunción, Paraguay. The best part is hearing reports about the excitement level of the Sacramento Avenue congregation as this new phase in their growth and outreach blossoms. Next Monday, March 11th, classes will begin for the Alpha class of the Asunción Bible Academy. The development of this project over the past year has involved a number of individuals, and to see it come to fruition demonstrates the greatness of our God.

Donnie Bates and I will be traveling to Paraguay this week to share in the festivities of the opening day. We look forward to being with these wonderful brethren to celebrate the result of their hard and dedicated work. We are also excited to share with you pictures in the weeks ahead of the events of the week.

Along with the happenings in Paraguay, other great news from schools throughout the Extension program continues to show how marvelous God is as He blesses this work so abundantly. 

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/

Steven Ashcraft’s latest report can be read by clicking here.

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

Extension Reports 

More Souls Added To The Kingdom In Cameroon: The evangelistic outreach of the staff and students in Cameroon continues to bring more souls to the Lord.

Teachers Setting The Example In Nigeria: At the Southwest School of Evangelism teachers are showing students the necessity of evangelism by their example.

Student Obeys The Gospel In Liberia: One of the joys of the program is seeing students learn from deeper studies the application for their own lives.

Bible Studies Continue To Go Strong: Both personal studies and classes in the Andrew Connally School of Preaching continue to show progress.

With Many Thanks From The Gee Family: The Gee family inches closer to their financial need. Please continue to pray for them. 

Final Thoughts
The days are moving quickly through this new year and the work continues to grow. I am thankful for the great privilege of being part of this awesome work. Thank you for making it possible. Thank you for being such a great blessing to my life, but more important, to the lives of hundreds and thousands of people around the world.

God bless
Bob

With Many Thanks From The Gee Family...

March 4, 2013 Report

Dear Co-Workers,

“THANK YE, THANK YE, THANK YE…” as Gomer Pyle would say. Our needed furlough funds are down to….$4300! As stated before, we are also still waiting on approval on the immigration visas for our TZ children. As soon as that happens, we will make the ten-hour trip to Dar es Salaam to the American Embassy.    

TAFUTA UKWELI means “Searching for Truth”…and the five thousand copies of this wonderful book have arrived! Charles Heberth spent countless hours in translating it. World Video Bible School did a great job putting it all together, making it so professional! It will be a great tool in helping those who are seeking the truth.

SPEAKING OF EVANGELIZING…the spotlight today is on Evans Onyinge  from Kenya! Evans is forty-eight years old and states that he "joined World Bible School (on-line) in 2005 and (his) study helper was Jeannette Lewis from Tennessee." Jimmy learned of Evans from Mrs. Lewis (a supporter from the Tyner congregation in Chattanooga) and accepted him into the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. In his first quarter (English program) he is doing well and has a super attitude. So, what can one Bible correspondence course result in? Perhaps like Evans, it can lead one to a preaching school to learn every book of the Bible in two years. Evans is the kind of student whom you can expect to return to his home village to convert and encourage others to become preachers. A "seemingly" small service of grading Bible lessons can have such amazing results! Following Jeannette's example, let all of us put our time and talents to use for God's purposes. Of His word, God said, "...it shall not return unto me void but it shall accomplish what I please and it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it." (Isa. 55:11)

"...OF MAKING MANY BOOKS THERE IS NO END..."(Eccl. 12:12) Abigail continues to make progress in establishing a library in Kisongo. After discussing her idea with the Ward Chairman, she now has to meet with his executive officer. Excited that the Ward Chairman was very positive, she has distributed flyers requesting donations of books from the many foreigners living here. One of her goals while on furlough is to collect at least 300 books to take back to Tanzania (already some books have been promised!)

WOULD YOU BE MINE? The West Side church of Christ Youth group sent us a very pretty valentine card! We often receive pretty hand-made cards from the sweet children/young people there (our younger children take turns concerning who gets to keep the card). What a great way to instill in young minds a concern and appreciation for missionaries!

KARIBU... if you've visited Tanzania you know this word! Pronounced "ka-REE-boo," it means "welcome" and is so much a part of the Tanzanian culture that you hear it everywhere. Their attitude is one of hospitality…even to the point of asking you to share their own plate of food if there is no other. American visitors always mention how welcoming Tanzanians are. What a good example of "practicing hospitality!"  (Rom. 12:13)

MONTHLY EVANGELISM MEETING: Six area evangelists met together with Jimmy on Saturday concerning the newly established White Rose congregation. The discussion centered around finding a bigger place to meet (possibly a school) and planning a "Day of Evangelism" (March 23) in which all ACSOP instructors and students (and anyone else interested) will participate.

BIBLE STUDY STUDENT Esther was admitted to the hospital last night after days of an ear ache. Please keep her in your prayers as well as all written about in this report. One of the greatest ways you can help and be a part this great work is to PRAY for it. One person in particular tells me that he regularly prays for all the individual works and activities going on in the TZ 2000 Mission Work. How encouraging!

OUR "DAYS ARE SWIFTER THAN A WEAVER'S SHUTTLE..." (Job 7:6) How fast time is going! Lord willing, we will be boarding the plane in about 42 days. We are indebted to you all and thank you from the bottom of our hearts for your care, concern, love and generosity!

With Love from Africa,
The Jimmy Gee family

Bible Studies Continue To Go Strong...

February 25, 2013 Report

"Order my steps in thy word: and let not any iniquity have dominion over me."  (Psalm 119:133)

Hello Everyone! 

We hope you are enjoying your Sunday. Ours is bright and sunny! Thank you so much for your interest in the TZ 2000 Mission Work. We appreciate you reading our report. Today the ladies class completed Genesis chapter 37 (Joseph is sold by his brothers), Jimmy taught the New Convert's class (questions and answers) and Abigail taught the children (Saul's Disobedience).

Trina's first study with Esther and Rosie went well. They studied in Rosie's rented room of a fairly large mud hut (where others also rented a single room). Trina suggested the study take place outside because it was quite warm and dark inside but Rosie did not have any chairs. So, the study took place inside with Trina sitting on the bed, Esther on a side table and Rosie on a bucket. Both ladies really want to learn, making the study very enjoyable. Last week, we wrote that Esther was unable to read and did not know the common language (Swahili) but only her tribal language. We found out that she does speak some Swahili. Unfortunately, the factory they work at required them to work all last night. Esther stayed home this morning to sleep but Rosie managed to attend Bible Study and worship. 

Our friend, Allie Reed, left to return to the states after a 5-month stay. We will miss her and wish her a safe journey.

Andrew Connally School of Preaching is still going strong with classes (this week being the half-way point of the quarter). We will soon begin introducing the new English students in our future reports.

Jimmy's great-aunt Edith (Kincaid) celebrated her 81st birthday! She and her sister, Ruth Samples (86 years old...the oldest member of our clan), are loyal supporters of our work! 

Good News! The needed travel funds for our furlough are down to $7,000 (thanks to the generosity of a congregation in Chattanooga, TN!). Only 49 more DAYS until our target departure date. We are so appreciative of the generosity of so many. Please pray that the needed funds will arrive soon before the cost of the tickets go up again. Anyone who has flown knows that the sooner you buy your tickets the lower the price. Those who have given in the past month or so should be receiving a "thank-you" card from us soon (sent with Allie to be mailed in the U.S. due to the unreliability of the TZ post office). We always want to express our gratitude to anyone who supports this work! 

Thank you for your concern for the lost souls in Tanzania and for us personally as we work here. May the Lord bless you richly for your kindness and assistance in helping us go home to see our families! (Scroll down one more page for a few more pictures...two in particular showing how two of the children have grown)!        

With Love From Africa,
Jimmy, Trina, Lindsey, Abigail, Heather, Candace, Stuart, David, Naomi, Elijah and Matthew