Diary Of A Recent Trip In Nepal...

Greetings and Namaste to you from NCBS at Kathmandu, Nepal. We would like to briefly write some words from our three weeks on the short vacation trip. We made this trip from our graduates’ village Dev, Jet, Suka and Sonam. Brother Surya, Sonam, and Arun joined me for 14 days of our trip. We visited local the congregations of Dev, Chandra Prakash, Sonam and other surrounding areas of Makwanpur, Tanahu, Dhading and Rasuwa districts. Graduates, their local congregations and many other congregations were encouraged with our visit.

April 3rd – Wednesday - we began our journey from the NCBS building toward Dev's home by a local Tata sumo van. We reached brother Ezekiel's home at 2 PM. We took a river bath. Brother Abraham and Chandra Prakash joined us from their home. We had an evening family Bible study with their family and other neighborhoods. 

April 4th - Thursday - we woke up at 6 AM. We began to walk toward Dev's local congregation after having a light breakfast. It was taken 2 and a half hours from brother Ezekiel's home to reach the Maishirang Church where Dev preaches every Sunday. This is in the Makwanpr district. We had a whole day Bible study with almost 75 Christian brothers and sisters.  We stayed that night in that village.  

April 5th - Friday - Today is a free travel day. We went to the Chitwan National Park where we had spent half a day. We enjoyed our day by seeing natural beauty, rivers, elephant, rhinoceros and the animal museum. We came back to brother Chandra Prakash's home by late evening. His village is in the Tanahu district. We had a short evening devotional of Bible study with their family. 

April 6th - Saturday - We had a day of Bible study at Kota, Kalikatar. Brother Chandra Prakash is our present student. He is the preacher of that local congregation. 

April 7th - Sunday - We did morning worship service at Kota, Kaliktar village. We did not make any travel due to Nepal Bandh (one day all shops, transportations are closed). We went near villages to visit and have Bible study with the believers' houses. 

April 8th - Monday - We left Chandra Prakash's family and came back toward Pokhara Bus Park at Narayanghat. We reached Malekhu Bazar about three and half hours by highway bus. We had lunch and took another local van to reach Dhading Besi. This is the headquarter for the Dhading district. This is 580 meters above sea level. It was a one hour travel journey from Malekhy Bazar. After getting down at Dhading Besi we changed another van to go to Gyangsang village. It is four hours up and down hilly roads. We arrived at 8 PM in Gyangsang. This is 2350 meters above sea level. We stayed at a hotel and had dinner. This was a long traveling day for us, but we enjoyed our day. We were traveling toward the Dhading district of Bagmati zone. Brother Sonam and other Tamang brothers and sisters live in this area. Dhading is a tourist area for trekking, Ganesh Himal and other natural beauties. 

April 9th - Tuesday – After having breakfast we began to walk from Gyansang village toward brother Sonam's village. We started our hill and mountain walking journey about 6 AM. We reached one village called Shertung at 6 PM. This is 1920 meters above sea level. We stayed at the Lodge and took rest. We did not reach our destination. We were unable to walk more than this. This is really a tiresome journey. 

April -10th - Wednesday - We woke up little late this morning due to yesterday's walking, but we did start our walking about 7 AM after breakfast. We reached Tipling village at 11:30 AM. This is 1819 meters above sea level. We had lunch and an hour rest. Again we walked 3 hours toward brother Sonam's home. Finally we reached his home in Puru village. This is around 1900 meters above sea level. We took a bath and some time for rest. Then we had an evening Bible study. 

April 11th - Thursday – We did a half day Bible study at Puru where brother Sonam works locally. We walked toward Linjo village which took one and half hours for us. This is 2020 meters above sea level. We had an evening Bible study with brother B. Bahadur and Linjo’s congregations. 

April 12th - Friday - We left Linjo village at 7 AM. We climbed 4303 meters on a high mountain called Marsyong pass of Pangsang Dada. We enjoyed some time in the snow. Then we reached one lodge and a hotel at Somdang village. We reached Somdang at 7:30 PM. Somdang is 3270 meters above sea level. 

April 13th - Saturday - This is another whole day walking from Somdang villge to Shyabru Besi village. We did this journey through Gatlang which is 2238 meter above sea level. We have Lord's congregation at Gatlang. We arrived at Shyabru Besi at 7 PM. We had night Bible study at here. We were encouraged by the Brothers and sisters from Shyabru Besi. This is 1503 meters above sea level.

April 14th - Sunday - We had a short Bible study with few Christian brothers and sisters at one of the brothers house. We didn't wait for the evening worship service. We did worship service at one of the hotels. We left Shabru Besi for visiting Gosaikunda Lake, Langtang National Park. We stayed one night at Goshaikunda. It is 4000-4700 meters above sea level.

April 15th - Monday - We returned back to Dhunche. This is the headquarters for Rasuwa district. It is 1830 meters above sea level. We stayed at hotel and got ready for the return back to Kathmandu.

April 16th - Tuesday - We took a bus at 7 Am. We reached at NCBS at 4 PM.

Benefits of the trip:

1. To encourage our past and present students.

2. To provide and get spiritual nourishment from the word of God by studying together with new audiences.

3. To get some new students for our next batch.

4. To build close relationship within the school and different congregations.

Thanks 

Servant of Christ
Gajendra Deshar
Nepal Center for Biblical Study
Kathmandu, Nepal

Souls Added In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Wotutu and the entire brothers and sisters in Cameroon. I do hope this report will meet you in good health and a sound faith.

The Lord added 3 souls in the cause of our efforts in Dibanda village, even at night. Souls were added like sister Cynthia. After her baptism she worshiped today and was really pleased with the New Testament worship. Keep them in your prayers that the congregation in Dibanda will help nurture them to maturity.

Life is going on well, but with lots of challenges. Keep us in your prayers. We just made our way back to Wotutu after four days of evangelism in Dibanada village where one of our graduates is serving. The work went on well.

Last week in CBIW and the Wotutu congregation everything went on well. The students are doing well in their studies, but not having the best of health. This morning after worship in Dibanda village I was called by my wife that my daughter, Cheercy, collapsed during worship alongside brother Godwin Nwachukwu as they had severe chest pain. They were both rushed to the hospital in my absence for emergency medical attention. Brother Godwin was under oxygen for a while until he was revived. They are both getting better. Keep them in your prayers.

CBIW students stood beside a hired van as they prepared to depart to Dibanda for mission. We are spending too much on hired van. Keep it in your prayers for the Lord to provide to us.

God granted us a safe trip to the village of Dibanda. Our students struggled to raise the canopy for shade, as we are in the rainy season.

The students and staff of CBIW embarked on house to house evangelism, reaching out to the community. Evangelism is our mission and we make sure we meet up with that daily through our radio program at 5 AM daily and also follow up.

I was able to teach to the crowd during our indoor class on the topic that Christians are supposed to be aware of the schemes of the devil.

The Lord added sister Helen as brother Edwin welcomed her after her baptism.

Plans
We shall target Batoke now to establish a new congregation by next month. Help us pray. We have been planning to go and we have other commitments that will take us to another area. The whole of the west coast in Cameroon does not have the church of Christ, so if this is successful it will be the very first one and it will spread to other parts of that community.

Appreciations
Many thanks to God for using you to be part of the work here. May God continue to bless you and watch over you to not relent your efforts of saving souls and training men to preach the gospel message.

I pray you share this report with others. God bless you.

Elangwe and family
By his grace Director CBIW

A Few Thoughts About A Godly Father...

A mixture of emotions surrounds this week’s report. Not because of the reports that have been given, but because of the passing of my father. There are moments I am sad and happy, at the same time; moments when I feel confused, yet knowing the great reward he enjoys. Everything he stood for, lived for, and awaited with great anticipation is now the reality he enjoys. I would like to take a moment and give a short tribute to him. 

I was blessed to have such a godly man as the major influence in my life growing up. I cannot remember a time when I did not see him with his Bible close at hand. If there was ever a man who lived in and by the Word of God, it was him. For the past 30+ years he has read the New Testament through once every month and the Old Testament through twice each year. He not only memorized the Bible, he knew it and lived it.

He was a preacher, teacher, the best one-on-one personal worker I have ever known, father, grandfather, husband and friend. I give thanks for the great victory he has achieved and look forward to being with him again one day. He left this world with the riches of family, friends, and loved ones too many to count. 

I do not know how many people will be in heaven because of the incredible personal work he has done, but it will be many. I know I am certainly who I am today because of him. I hope to pass along the same legacy to my children. Thank you for your prayers.

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 

A Great Week In Cameroon: The work by students in Cameroon continues to show the power of God’s hand with the graduates and current students of CBIW.

Stewardship Seminar Brings Unity In Togo: A recent seminar in Togo helps develop unity among the congregations participating in this event.

Dedication Of Events Hall To Come: Thanks to the great work of Doug Wheeler in Nigeria, a new events hall in Southwest School of Evangelism will be dedicated to him.

Reports From Students Of USOE Show Growth: Graduates from the Uganda School of Evangelism show growth in the local congregations.

A Special Note Of Thanks: More news if forthcoming from Guatemala. This note is one of special gratitude.

Maturing The Lord’s Church In Tanzania: As the goals continue to be met in Arusha, the Lord’s church continues to mature.

This Won’t Be In The Report, Will It? The children in the Gee family have learned the importance of being careful of what they say. 

Final Thoughts
Thank you for all you do for the extension work. As we close this week, it is exciting to know the work we are all involved with is making an eternal difference. You are all a blessing to the work of our Lord, and to me personally. Thank you.

God bless
Bob

This Won't Be In The Report, Will It?

"Let us also lay aside every encumbrance, and the sin which so easily entangles us, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us..." Heb. 12:1                     

Dear Co-Laborers: 

We hope you are having a great Sunday! Jimmy left early this morning to preach and teach at the Moshi congregation. Afterwards he will be traveling to Dar es Salaam (along with Elly and Neema Martin) to pick up the British visas and the U.S. tourist visas at the Embassy. Jimmy won't return until Thursday evening (yes, it takes that long to drive, attend the interview and receive the visas and return home). Trina taught the ladies class (Genesis 42) and Candace taught the children's class at the Kisongo congregation.    

Saturday, we attended the funeral of David's grandmother, a very friendly and sweet person. Close female friends or relatives of the deceased wear white to the service. An interesting belief is that the body of the deceased must first go back to their house (to say "good-bye" to their home) before being transported if service is elsewhere. 

"This won't be in the report, will it?" asked Elijah after he said something really funny (that I've forgotten now). Saturday, the girls invited friends over for a "farewell" party to say good-bye. Next Sunday, April 28th, we will leave immediately after services to go into Arusha, eat a quick bite, then get on a large bus (coaster) which will travel to Nairobi, Kenya. Later that night we will board the plane. You will not receive another update until the end of May (during furlough we will report monthly on our travels, etc).

We thank God for each and every one who has contributed and/or prayed for us concerning our furlough! We simply cannot thank you enough for your sacrificial giving. However, we are still waiting for some funds to arrive. 

We're looking forward to seeing you real soon! Thank you for the outpouring of love and concern. 

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

Maturing The Lord's Church In Tanzania...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

It is our hope and prayer that this report finds you all doing well, blessed and busy serving faithfully.  We are good, busy and thankful for the life we have been blessed with, in Christ Jesus. God continues to bless his work here in Tanzania in amazing ways.

After fifteen years of labor with the Tanzania 2000 mission effort, we have been blessed with seeing much good. The maturing of the Lord’s Church is beginning to show its self in many ways. The talent we are blessed to work with is encouraging and promising as to the bright future of the growth of the Kingdoms work.

One such talent is seen in the life and work of our brother Charles Haberth. Charles is married to Amy and they have been blessed with three small children. Charles is a graduate of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, both the undergraduate and graduate programs. He also serves as the evangelist for the newly planted Kwa Mrombo congregation here in the Arusha area. 

Charles has a work ethic to be admired by anyone. He also serves as one of our instructors at the school. One of his other primary roles is, translation work. He has and is currently working on several projects. The last large project he has completed (with the assistance of several others) was the evangelistic book by John Moore, “Searching for Truth”. With the help of World Video Bible Institute, this work book in Ki-Swahili is now being used. We have sent copies to Nairobi, Kenya, Ushirombo, Tanga, Tanzania and have also began using them in the Arusha area. 

We have great hopes for the good this book, translated into the local vernacular, will save many lost souls. We also hope to use this tool in a big way during our Safari for Souls campaigns coming up in May, June and July. We are expecting just over 60 co-workers this year and have a goal of distributing 1,000 SFT books. Along with thousands of other Bible tracts, Bible correspondence courses, Bibles, and hundreds of one-on-one Bible studies. 

The work being done is possible because of good men like Charles. We thank him, his family and the many others who give of their life that the cause of Christ might go forth here in East Africa.

We solicit your prayers for the upcoming campaigns and for the use of this new tool, SFT. May our God be glorified and may the preaching and teaching of God’s word have its desired affect on the lost of this community. 

Please remember the Gee family as they are in the final days of preparing for their furlough. They will leave Tanzania a week for today. Also, please remember Anita, currently in the States helping Sean’s parents as they get settled. She is to return to TZ the first of May. 

We thank each of you for your prayers, support and care for God’s work here in Tanzania. May you have a blessed week in your service to others, to His glory.  

In Him, 
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

A Special Note Of Thanks...

Greetings from the Land of Eternal Spring (aka Guatemala)!

I pray that this message finds you all doing well. We are doing fine here.

First, please accept my apology for being so late in sending this message. So much has been happening and so much continues to happen that I decided to stop and to write on our behalf before more time passes by. Lord willing, we will be sending out a few updates within the next few days. After you receive them, you will better understand what I mean when I say a lot has been happening. So, be on the lookout for some Guatemala updates coming very soon.

However, this is just a short note to say THANKS to so many of you that responded in various ways upon the passing of our sister Linda Kay. The numerous amounts of emails received were a great encouragement during this time. Also, all the cards that came from around the world gave us and our family assurance that many were praying for us. The flowers, both from individuals and from congregations, were very beautiful and represented the beauty we share as friends and as brothers and sisters in Christ. Your presence at the church was also a comfort and inspiration to us. In addition, there were funds sent our overseeing congregation in memory of Linda. These funds are being used to purchase books for the ITL library. A note will be placed inside of each purchase letting the readers know of the generous donations. 

It's difficult to express in words how all that you did helped us through such a difficult time. 

Thank you so much for every gesture of kindness during our time of loss. May our God in heaven repay each of you for the way you have and continue to support us.

We love you and thank God each day for you. Take care and be blessed in Him!

Con amor en Cristo,
Hawatthia

"Teaching the CENTRAL MESSAGE in CENTRAL AMERICA!"

Reports From Students Of USOE Show Growth...

Dear brethren,

Thanks be to our heavenly Father who is always blessing us with all spiritual blessings in Christ Jesus. The short course is ending this week and brothers Donnie and Jimmy will be leaving on the 18th of April 2010. This being our end of the year holidays, all our students will be allowed to visit their families. We have six students from Congo who are on my neck that they want to see their families. Each one of them needs $200 for their bus fare to go and come back. The total is $1,200. We promised all our students from Congo and Kenya  transport to and fro once a year.

We have 6 students from Kenya who will need $150. The total money we need to help us transport these students home and come back will be $1,350 dollars. 

Land Issue
On the land issue I have all the necessary forms for the transfer of land ownership. The local chairman has endorsed his stamp and signature. I am waiting for the District and later take it to the lawyer to sign as a witness of the transaction. The funds you sent to help in this work, I received it and it is very much helping me to move around. May our good God bless you for your contribution in this. Very soon the land title will be in our school names. 

Ladies Coming To School
So far we have received ten sisters willing to come to study God's word. As I said we are going to keep them here for two weeks. We need your prayers for this program's success.

Reports from two students are below.

Francis Wechesa

NAMUNGODI CHURCH OF CHRIST

CHURCH REPORT

EMMANUEL MAWA

The Namungodi congregation currently has a membership of 21 people including adults and children.

• The adults 15
• Children  6
• Male adults  8
• Female adults 7

Baptisms
At the beginning of the year the Lord added four souls to this Church, largely due to our evangelization and invitation of nonChristians to come and worship with us.

Monthly Contribution
The monthly contribution keeps fluctuating weekly and, therefore, monthly. On average per week, it is 5000/= meaning that monthly it is 20000/=.

Dropouts and Restorations
Unfortunately, we have had three dropouts of whom we had restored last year and have dropped out again. There has been some effort to reach them, but so far to no avail. Keep praying for them to come back to the Lord.

No restorations therefore.

Challenges
Just like any congregation in the world, Namungodi Church of Christ has a lot of challenges.

1. We lack a proper place of worship, like land and a Church building. With regard to the land we are currently using, the owner of the land, brother Asa, does not tell us the truth about the land. He says he gave the land to the Church; another time he wants money for the land without giving a specific amount.

We had a plan for roofing the small structure on the land which would be adequate as a Church building, but now, without knowing ownership of the land, there is no way we can start looking for funds to aid in the purchase of the iron sheets.

1. Evangelism is another problem. The Christians say that at the moment they do not know what to say or how to present the message. Others say it is not their obligation among others. As the preacher I am trying to teach them how to go about it and, hopefully, in the near future they will learn the basics and do the work of the Lord. 
2. The giving on the Lord’s day is not sufficient to do all, or most, of the church activities, like benevolence among others. 
3. The distance from the meeting place is also a challenge. This reason was given by one of the dropouts because they do not have enough money to come for worship or bible class on Sunday and Friday respectively.

Future Plans

1. To solve the problem of worship house, the plan is to build a worship house of about 15 X 30.
2. Continue praying with members on personal evangelism. 
3. To set up a “bread basket” where members contribute food or money twice a year according to the harvest seasons. We have also set up a group where members contribute 4000 monthly as a savings to be used by individual Christians in times of need. A Christian can put in more than the standard 4000, so far so good. 

NAHAYAKA  CHURCH OF CHRIST

CHURCH REPORT

Wandera Peter and John  Ndiang’u

This is Nahayaka church Christ report since I started worshiping from there. We were two preachers there, but eventually he left me alone there having been sent to another congregation.

As we were two preachers there we found four people, and as my fellow preacher left me there we were altogether 7 people. The number grew from 7 to 8 people excluding children, when children are there we are 11. Therefore, the number of men were 3 people, the number of women was 4, and the number of children was 4.

Number of Dropouts and Restorations: 
Since I started worshiping from there, in June  2012, there has been 7 dropouts and no restorations.

Monthly Contribution
The monthly contribution varies from month to month depending on the weekly contribution which is an average of 6,000/=. Therefore the monthly contribution is used up by Mzee Nalyali.

Baptisms per year:
Right from 2012 up-to-date there has been no baptism carried out since that period.

Challenges:
Just like any other congregation in the world, the church of Christ in Nahayaka faces various challenges that include the following:

1. There is lack of Church building: The church is congregating at Mzee Nalyali’s house which is hindering other people to come in to continue with the service, thus hinders church growth.
2. There is lack of enough evangelist: This problem is hindering church growth because of one preacher who is not able to carry out all the church activities, yet the few members available after leaving on the Lord’s day go until the coming week and, therefore, is leading the church to fall down.
3. Distance covered: This problem is hindering church growth because during holidays it is becoming difficult to travel from home to go there to carry out evangelism and hence leading to church to fall down.
4. The giving on the Lord’s day is insufficient: This problem is hindering church because the amount contributed cannot work for all church activities, and beside that, whatever is contributed ends up being used by Mzee Nalyali to complete his problem.

Future Plans
The future plan made to solve the above out coming is that, first of all, there is need to put up a church building outside Mzee Nalyali’s family because this will encourage other people to come especially those who fear to come in Mzee’s house.

Dedication Of Events Hall To Come...

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from staff and students of the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan -Nigeria.

The students of SWSE-Ibadan led by brother Abraham Idu Yeje and brother Olofingorite Mayowa evangelized Akinwande and Alagbede villages from 8:00 am - 2:30 pm today, April 20, while I and brother Kayode Eniafe, brother Dele Shotola and brother Joseph Adeniji evangelized Egbeda town of Egbeda L.G.A. of Oyo state. We also discussed with the three WBS of brother Ken Heflin of the West Olive congregation and their family the possibility of starting the Lord's church at Egbeda town by May 2013.

Brethren, work commenced on Friday the 19th of April on the flooring and fixing of frames and doors at the SWSE Events Hall in preparation of May 31 when we shall dedicate the hall to our beloved Patron & Special Adviser - brother Douglas M. Wheeler in appreciation of his great and wonderful contribution toward the growth of the Lord's church in Nigeria since 1984.

Also, the 4th Semester classes begin on Monday, April 15th at SWSE-Ibadan, Nigeria. The students will be going for their teaching practice June 8 through July 7, 2013, Lord's willing.

We appreciate you all for your wonderful support, both financially and morally! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint efforts in Christ name, amen.

I remain your fellow-laborer in Christ Jesus,

Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi(Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan-Nigeria

Stewardship Seminar Brings Unity In Togo...

Barry Baggot was a missionary in Ivory Coast for many years. He now lives in the US and works with the Crieve Hall Church of Christ in Nashville, TN. He directs the French Literature program and still makes frequent trips to Ivory Coast and other French speaking countries in Africa. CBS was privileged to have him accept the invitation to teach the book of Romans in Kpalime, Togo from Monday, April 8 – Friday April, 12.

Radio program resumed
Radio Plannet in Kpalime was closed down by the authorities for renovation work about a year ago. Since no other station would allow us to buy air time, we were compelled to wait. By the grace of God the work is completed and government has given the green light for Plannet to resume operation. The team in Kpalime started the broadcast on Thursday, the 21st of March.

CBS organized a 3 Day seminar on Christian stewardship
Seventy-two (72) participants from 4 congregations attended the 3 day seminar organized by CBS. The theme was “The Divine Principles of Stewardship.” Speakers included former students, current students and the principal, Cephas.

Facts and figures

Avekpo: Abraham preaches for the Avekpo church near Kpalime. This congregation has 15 members. One person was baptized recently and added to the congregation.

Aveho Tugbui: Clement preaches for this new congregation with a membership of 7.

Akefe: Yaovi preaches for congregation in Akefe, it has a membership of 15. They had two (2) baptisms recently.

Sanguera: Gidigidi preaches for the Sanguera church near Lome. They had 3 baptisms in the month under consideration.

Kpadape: David preaches for this congregation in Kpadape. It has 20 members. One student has been assigned to assist David each Sunday.

Nyiveme: Cephas, the principal of CBS preaches here with the assistance of some students. Nyiveme has 55 members. A lady was baptized recently.

Scheduled Campaign
Plans are far advanced to plant a new congregation in Tutu in order to relocate the Beme Church. Tutu and Beme are twin towns about an hour away from Kpalime. It has become necessary to relocate the Beme church because people in Tutu are more receptive to the gospel. We are therefore planning to organize a three day open air preaching with a house to house Bible study in May.

Proposed date for graduation is the 28th of September, 2013

Willie Gley

A Great Week In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings and love from this end, from your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Wotutu. We hope this report finds you and the entire family of God’s people there in good health. We are doing okay here, just for the fact that many people are sick now as we move towards the rainy season here in Cameroon. Some students were really sick and our medicine box at the school could not help them. We sent them to the hospital to see the doctor. Among them is brother Namana Martin, who was vomiting blood. We thought it was tuberculosis, but the doctor, after examination and clinical findings, told us it was not TB. I decided to send him home for herbal treatment, as he told me that may help him. Keep him in your prayers to recover speedily and return to school.

Our students trekked down to the young congregation in Mile 4 which is about 1.5 mile away from Wotutu to help scatter the seed of the gospel.

Still on the road very close to Mile 4, as we think souls. We don’t sit, we move towards souls, so that by His grace many that listen and obey the truth, we shall rob from the strong man’s house. Keep this work in prayers.

A girl from the Mile 4 congregation and her children benefitted for the first time to hear the doctrine of Jesus undiluted. She opened her house and her heart to study some more. Keep her in your prayers as she believes that baptism is not immediate. We shall continue in the follow up.

Brother Assah Peter is doing the same house to house evangelism that is our motto and we do our best to work in accordance with the motto. Many souls are perishing and time is running out. We must do this work now that it is still day. Many love the work we are doing as we preach in the entire community of Wotutu every morning. Some will talk against the doctrine of Christ that we preach, while others love it. For two days we were off the air as our PA system was bad. Many called to asked why. That was the time I truly knew that a great number of people follow the preaching daily.

The entire student body went with the evangelist to the Mile 4 congregation for a family picture. The Mile 4 congregation is less than 3 months of age. Please keep the work there in prayer as our students go there every week to help with the work.

Training is of great importance as our students pay attention to the training they are undergoing with the zeal we instill in them to pay attention to souls. It is our great expectation that as they leave CBIW that burning spirit will continue to push them ahead and never look behind. The Alpha graduates keep impressing me daily from their calls and appeals for Bibles for young converts in their areas of ministry. I visited some in the cause of the week as I passed by their communities. I saw in them that spirit, oh the spirit of CBIW, the spirit of reaching out no matter what. Socially they have no message to take home concerning their zeal and devotions, but they keep moving even as things are really hard on their way. My son, Ray Jr., carried the flag of Cameroon. You could see in his face how serious he was in holding the flag. Whenever I am with him, as we move around from one village or town, whenever he sees the flag of Cameroon he will show me “eh daddy, that is the Cameroon flag.” Oh, I pray that he will grow up to point many to the Bible where you can read about God and can gain salvation free through JESUS. Let us join to train people who will love to point people to Jesus. As we love our country and we teach our children in their tender age to know lots about our country, let us teach them more about Jesus and His church. I love Ray, I love Ray was a song one of our short course lecturers composed for him during his 2nd birthday. Keep Ray in your prayers. He is a promising young man. God bless you all and your loving kids

Plans
We shall go to Dibanda congregation this weekend for a four days evangelism , please keep the work in your prayers.

Appreciations
We thank God for you as you invest your time in prayers and support of the work that is going on here. God bless you and keep you. Share this report with others who may love to be part of this soul saving ministry.

We will appreciate your comments and advice.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

Graduation At VVBC In India...

Greetings to you in the precious name of Lord Jesus Christ. We thank you so much for your kind concern toward running the preacher training school at Visakhapatnam. Without your help there is no way we can run this school. Attached are the pictures showing the graduation program. Thank you very much for everything. 

We believe that the Scripture is revealed to us by inspired men so that the men of God be equipped for every good work. The good work; such as teaching, correcting, reproving and for training in righteousness is being done. We are certainly blessed to have Visakha Valley Bible College to teach the inspired word to the men of God to do every good work, to carry out the gospel to their own people. 

By the grace of God and kind encouragements of the supporting churches we have reached two milestones so far: one is training 16 men in the year 2009-11 and the second is 9 preaching students receiving a Master's Degree from the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, which made the total students sent out to the mission field from our school is 25. This was our first Master’s batch of students. 

Now, we have reached another milestone; that is sending out another 13 successful students (2011-13) to the mission field. Our mission of ‘Reaching the unreached millions’ is absolutely coming true.  

“How then shall they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in him of whom they have not heard? And how shall they hear without a preacher? And how shall they preach, except they be sent?” (Rom 10: 14, 15) At this time we honor our mighty God for His kindness and mercy. Now these men are ready to go into the mission field. Let us pray that they will be bring glory to the Lord God. 

I apologize for the wrong information I gave you in my previous email that is about the number of graduates for this year. There are actually 13, by mistake I said 16, please excuse me.

Thank you very much brethren for being part of this accomplishment, we pray that our joint efforts would establish more congregations in this pagan nation. Please share these pictures with the brethren. 

Description of Pictures:

Pic 1: Director of the School, M. Samuel Raju addressing the guests 

Pic 2: Students in the bottom row, in the middle guests including the Director, on top faculty standing in Line

Pic 3: Graduates with the Guests

Pic 4: Bicycles presented by the school through the supporting of couple of Individuals and one congregation together

Pic 5: Brother Jerry presents the Diploma after the student honored by Paula with a Medal

Pic 6: Students have received a Pack of books along with an English Bible, Bro & Sis Joshua Gootam presenting them on behalf of the school

John Dean Muppidi
Skinner's Garden Bible School
Visakha Valley Bible College
Church of Christ
Andhra Pradesh,  INDIA

Another Incredible Week In The Extension Program...

The reports this week are plentiful and they are rich with God’s hand giving the increase around the world. There is a great level of excitement in reading about the mission of God as it is being fulfilled week after week. The activities of the staff and students in various locations around the world continually demonstrates the presence of God in all places at the same time. Our God is active in providing the growth of the church through the proclamation of the gospel.

This week in Denver students are focusing on a time of research. They are given an opportunity to dig deeper into the assignments and prepare for the final thrust of the quarter leading up to graduation. Witnessing the excitement of the Seniors who are approaching the finish line of their training is such a blessing. We look forward to reporting more about their work in the future.

Since there are a number of reports this week, I encourage you to read about the work for yourself. I appreciate the time you take each week to read through the various works being done through Extension Training. Without your hand to provide what is needed for each of these areas, the work would not be possible. Thank you.

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/

To read the latest report from Howell Ferguson, please click here.

To read the latest report from Gary Fallis, please click here.

Extension Reports 

Two Deaths: One Spiritual And One Physical: The work in Cameroon experienced the physical death of one member and the spiritual death and rebirth of a new member. 

Wives’ Seminar In Cameroon: The church in Wotutu, Cameroon is going to host a seminar for the wives in the church. The benefit to the work overall will be significant.

Campaign In Ghana Brings Souls To Christ: A recent campaign with the staff and students of the West Coast School of Preaching in Takoradi yields fruit.

Master’s Class Graduates In VVBC: The Visakha Valley Bible College hosted the first Master’s Class Graduation in Visakhapatnam, India.

A Peaceful Election In Kenya And Classes Begin: Kenya recently held presidential elections. Amidst the possibility of problems, everything was peaceful and classes have started.

Two Souls Added To The Church In Nigeria: As staff and students alike preach and teach the gospel, God is giving the increase as souls are obedient to the Word.

A Ladies Class Will Benefit Upcoming Lectureship: The ladies in Uganda have been asking to have classes for them and this year the annual lectureship will feature those classes.

Combination Campaign And Recruiting Tour In Nepal: Although the students are on a three week break, staff members are busy in a campaign and recruiting for the next class.

The Truth Will Set You Free: The words of Jesus are proving true as the church continues to grow, witnessing those in error changing their practices in Tanzania.

Hi-ho, Hi-ho...You Know The Rest: Or do you? The students are returning to school at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Tanzania. 

Final Thoughts
Another incredible week! The dedication of those who are working around the world makes the entire Extension Program worthwhile. The results are evident and the power of God’s hand continues to work in wonderful ways. It is an honor to stand beside these men and share in the work of training future leaders in the Lord’s kingdom. 

God bless
Bob

Campaign In Ghana Brings Souls To Christ...

The Campaign for Christ at Ampenyi is one of two campaigns on our school calendar for this year.  One campaign is to establish the Lord’s church in a town where there is none. And the second is to work with an existing church in personal evangelism, visitation, and Gospel meetings.

Ampenyi, is a coastal town between Komenda and Elimina in The Central Region of Ghana. The main denominational churches in town are Catholic, Methodist, Church of Christ –Spiritual Movement (SM), The Twelve Apostle Church, and Jehovah’s Witnesses.

The team was made up of four instructors -- Charles Mensah, Charles Arthur, Joshua Aidoo and Daniel Ampadu-Asiamah. Matthew Ackah, an instructor, who could not be on the team, was saddled with the care of a severely ill aged mother. Also on the team were sixteen of our students. Two were ill and could not go with us; one was called home to take care of his wife who was very ill and their young children, and a fourth student had been called up north to his father who is bed-ridden with illness. Additionally, we had our two cooks, a leading brother (Tandoh) from Effiakuma church in Takoradi, and Philip Nyan, a former student now preaching at Tarkwa. Philip provided chauffeur services for the campaign –transporting people, and equipment and taking the cooks to shop for groceries. The wives of Charles Mensah and Tandoh came a couple of days to assist the cooks.

We arrived at Ampenyi Monday evening, March 18. There was power outage ( a regular happening in Ghana today) and so we could not preach that night. We arranged for a standby generator the next day which became handy for the rest of the days at Ampenyi.

Work began in earnest Tuesday morning and from then till Saturday we did personal evangelism in the mornings and afternoons and open-air preaching at night. By Sunday night we have baptized 19 precious souls with whom to start the church at Amenyi. On Saturday afternoon and evening two instructors and five of the students left to fulfill various obligations they had in their congregations.

On The Lord’s Day morning, our worship attendance consisted of 25 men, 8 women, 4 children totaling 37. Eight of our new brethren were in attendance; two were ill and could not attend; four had travelled out before Sunday and three worshipped in nearby towns where they resided. Our giving was GHC 108.50 (USD 57.0)

All the baptisms were done in the ocean.

After church on Sunday, we gathered with the new Christians at our place of lodging and shared our lunch with them and used the opportunity to exhort them further to faithfully and fervently serve the Lord.

We are thankful to God for the opportunity and for the precious souls that were won for Christ, and for our faith strengthened in God and His Word. Also we are thankful to The Effiakuma church contributed GHC 1,000 (USD 526) to the campaign, and to all of you who constantly pray for us.

After the campaign, we allowed a recess of one week which included the Easter holidays. Classes began this week with the short courses taught by Charles Mensah and Joshua Aidoo. Next week God willing, Matthew and I will be teaching our assigned short courses. Thereafter, school will be over for the second term.

I have enjoyed some good health for the past couple of weeks. I am able to walk without much pain. My daughters have sent me a pair of forearm crutches and a walking stick (cane) from London. The cane will do for now and I will visit the rehab center to have it reduced to fit.  

Just about when I am getting better, a great brother and colleague of mine, Kingsley Adu, an elder of the Bomso church in Kumasi was rushed to the hospital Wednesday with a stroke. I solicit your prayers for him. We need him healthy and strong in the church in times like these.

Yes, Brethren pray for us... The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you. Amen. –1Thes. 5:25, 28.

Your servant for Jesus’ sake,
Daniel Ampadu-Asiamah

If you would like to see Daniel's report with pictures, please click here.

Two Deaths: One Spiritual And One Physical...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings to you all in Jesus’ name. We do hope this mail will meet you all in good health and a sound faith. We are doing okay here, just for some who continue to have some health difficulties now. We are down on our knees praying to the greatest Doctor to help the situation.

The waves of our early morning program keep cutting across communities with the adding of another horn speaker. Some villagers, far from Wotutu, called to participate by asking a question and that we should also include their chief’s name when we are greeting and praying for those in authority. Sister Emerencial, in Wotutu, obeyed the gospel last Monday after her family kept listening to the program “Back to the Bible.” Sister Emerencial smiled after being raised to live in newness of life. She told the church that the husband encouraged her go to the church of Christ, after they followed our program. He said he will come later. We are doing a follow up now with the husband. Keep them in your prayers.

Last week was well with the students of CBIW as they continue without any interruption from their studies. They continue to adapt and see the amount of work load that they must accomplish in school of validate their courses, so that students are determined and they are doing all in their reach to meet up.

We “think souls” and by so doing we make moves to rob from the strong man’s house where souls are perishing in their sins. We were smiling as we trekked to Tole for a funeral of a brother and we also used the opportunity to reach out to the entire community before the time of the funeral.

In Tole we were involved in house to house evangelism where we reached out to many in their homes. Some were doing their domestic activity, but will halt and listen to the truth from the Bible. One of our graduates, Awatt Manfree, is in this community and he is doing a great work.

The casket contained the remains of our brother, Ndive Nathaniel. I am preached to the living who listen keenly on the topic “Where Do You Put Your Hope?” It was really a moment to reflect to many who think accumulating wealth and other things is the best a man can do. The brother died at the age of 81 after suffering from stroke. He was blind man and a widower. The students of CBIW created an impact in the community and the people look at the church of Christ differently, as we never asked the mourners during the funeral service to come and give offering. They asked many questions after that and the Lord added brother Nelson to the church in Tole. Keep the brother in your prayers to grow to maturity.

Plans
1) We are still on mapping out the work in Batoke. The needs are enormous, that is why we need preparation before we move.

2) More demands to come and help with the work are still coming to my office. We shall start sending our students far into the forest in Akwaya areas, which is very close to the Nigerian border in the Northwest of Cameroon. Keep us in your prayers as we “think souls,” so that we shall carry the free bread of life and and share it in different communities free of charge and save many from bondage.

Appreciations
We praise God daily for you, for all that you are doing to make things happen here in Cameroon. God bless you and help you continue in this soul saving ministry. Your reward will come from the Lord alone, because we cannot reward you enough for all that you are doing, but we shall thank you for standing by us. Do your best to share this report with others around you.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director of CBIW

Wives' Seminar In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters here. I present before you our annual Preacher’s Wives Seminar in Cameroon, this is the second edition. The preacher's wives had no program in the entire calendar of the work here in Cameroon. We initiated this last year and 40 wives attended for one day. This time around the sisters, themselves, decided that it will be for 3 days, again in Wotutu. Please, please I put it before you for your prayers for the success of the program and possible assistance to help run the day smoothly.

If you have some thoughts, then share with us while we wait to read from you. The primary aim was to help our young preachers in school whose wives will be part of the program to learn from the older preacher's wives who have been serving for a longer time in the mission field already. Then after this program, we shall start sending our married students with their wives for mission campaigns before graduation.

Please, thank you for your prayers and always being there for us.

Elangwe and wife on behalf of the church in Wotutu.

Master's Class Graduates In VVBC...

Greetings to you in the precious name of Lord Jesus Christ. 

Lord has blessed us with the Preacher Training program through your kind help. By the grace of God and your kind encouragements we have reached two milestones so far. One is training 16 men in the year 2009-11, and the second is, 9 preachers receiving Master's Diploma from Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, which made the total students sent our to the mission field from our school is 25. 

Now, we reached another milestone, that is sending another 13 successful students (2011-13) to the mission field. Tomorrow, we shall be having the graduation ceremony of the students for successfully completing the course. We are excited about that, we shall have brother Jerry Bates representing BVBID who will be awarding the Diplomas to the students. 

Graduation of first Master Class:
We believe that the Scripture is revealed to us by the inspired men so that the man of God is equipped for every good work. The good work involves teaching, correcting, reproofing and for training in righteousness. We are certainly blessed to have Visakha Valley Bible College to teach the inspired word to the man of God to do every good work. Nine students out of the twelve have successfully completed the required work in order to receive the MA diploma from Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver.

So far, our school has sent out 25 students including these 9 masters class students. As a result, they are working with 30 different congregations in 30 different places, glory to God.  Now, with this 16 new graduates the total number of students sent are 41. 

At this time we honor the name of the mighty God for His kindness through which we were blessed to be His children. However without someone going to the world and preaching the word, the whole world would be lost. The mission of the Elders of the Bear Valley Church of Christ is coming true, through their dedicated efforts. We are thankful to them for allowing us to use their curriculum and present Diplomas to our students.

We thank the dear elders of the Lake Houston Church of Christ for continuing your support to accomplish something great for our Lord, that is training the men to effectively carryout the gospel to lost millions in India. We appreciate your trust and confidence. At this time I must appreciate brother Steve Wiseman who is instrumental in this relationship going on. Above every thing, glory goes to our Lord God for blessing us with Visakha Valley Bible College, which is producing effective evangelists to proclaim the good news to the lost millions in India. 

Please convey our greetings to the brethren in the congregation. God bless,  

John Dean Muppidi
Skinner's Garden Bible School
Visakha Valley Bible College
Church of Christ
Andhra Pradesh,  INDIA
Cell: 091 - 9989922844

A Peaceful Election In Kenya And Classes Begin...

Brethren,

I hope and pray this finds you doing well in the Lord. I am happy to report that we too are doing great. It is supposed to be winter here in Kisumu but it’s not working at 80 degrees F, yet raining.

The Kenya School of Preaching began the third quarter of classes April 1st. They were on a one month break to allow them go back to their various home villages to exercise their democratic right to vote for a new president in Kenya. We thank God the Election was peaceful and no violence was reported except for a few demonstrations. On April 9th the fourth Kenyan president will be sworn in officially. We thank you all who kept Kenya and Kenyans in prayer.

I appreciate the braveness showed by Mike Reese, the KSOP coordinator, Mike Rowand and his better half, David and his better half, from the Charlotte Avenue church. These brethren overcame the fear that violence will be in Kenya before and after presidential elections and came and taught two classes at KSOP as well as led various gospel campaigns and seminars which brought forth much fruit in the Kingdom, because of their love for souls during the month of February and March. Thanks for trusting our advice, God bless you.

All the 17 preaching students are back in classes. This quarter they are studying OT History (Joshua, Judges, Ruth), and Writing Skills by Charles. The Ministry of Jesus and 1 & 2 Corinthians by Elias.  The book of Job by David Wasonga.  Short courses: World religion by Phabian, and lastly 1 & 2 Thessalonians by Obadiah Omutele. So far it has been a great start with all things working according to schedule.

During the break both Elias and Charles visited the congregations where they had been serving as preachers and some congregations where the preaching school students come from. Some congregations are doing real good while others are struggling and will really benefit from the trained preachers. Different students reported marvelous work that the Lord did as they went out to plant the seed. From the report, we have 8 baptisms!

Join us in prayers as we need to send these preaching students to local congregations in Western Kenya to help evangelize. This requires money to make it possible and it is one way to train these men to reach out to the lost practically.

We still pray that God will help us get land and funds to purchase it and construct buildings for the school. As well, we still appeal for brethren to help donate books to our young and small library.

Thanks for the great sacrifices that you are making. We love and pray for God’s blessings to you.

His servant and yours,
Charles Ogutu

Two Souls Added To The Church In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ,

Greetings from staff and students of the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan and the satellite campus in Lagos State. We, staff and students of SWSE-Ibadan main campus and two WBSFU workers evangelized Elesu and Kuede villages of Ona-Ara L.G.A on Saturday April 6, 2013, and on Sunday at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation I taught on the Reward for Giving unto the Lord. We are 51 in attendance with a total collection of N2,880= 

Brethren, Lord's willing, I will travel to Lagos on Friday morning in the company of brother Samuel Ishola to pay a visit to the wife of our late brother E.E. Efanga and on Saturday morning I will be speaking at a day WBS seminar at church of Christ, 5 Adelakun Street, Baruwa-Ipaja, Lagos State, on Applying the WBS Lessons to your Life.

NB: We had three visit the church and obey the gospel that were connected to WBS of West Olive congregation, Peoria, AZ as the result of brother Doug Wheeler's WBS seminar of Feb. 28, 2013 at ADC primary school and the 3rd semester examinations result of SWSE-Ibadan main campus. 4th semester classes begin on April 15, 2013, Lord's willing. We thank you all for your moral and financial support for the Lord's work here in Africa most especially in Nigeria. Thanks and God blessed!

I visited sister Christiana Efanga this past Friday with some members of Ilogbo congregation, due to the sickness of brother Matthew Adesokan that prevented brother Samuel Ishola from accompanying me to pay her visit. On Saturday, the day of the WBS seminar at Baruwa-Ipaja, Lagos state of Nigeria. Brother Ezekiel Okoh, one of the SWSE-Lagos instructors, moderated the program, brother Isaac Solomon served as the song leader, brother A.B. Udoh (coordinator of WBS office, Sari-Iganmu in Lagos State) taught on a Review of WBS lessons and questions, while I taught on the Application of WBS lessons into our life. The program started at 9:00 am and ended by 3:00 pm.

Thirty-nine WBS students were in attendance with some brethren from nearby congregation. Two WBS students were baptized at the end of the exercise. TO GOD BE THE GLORY!

Brethren, on behalf of the students and staff of SWSE-Ibadan main campus, I appreciate brother Steven Ashcraft and associates for their gift of $5,000 which has enabled us purchased another computer for the school, photo copier machine, HP jet printer, big electricity generator, UPS, Modem, printing of ten thousand Yoruba tracts, and five thousand English tracts for our weekend evangelism and in payments of Ibadan instructors support.

I also appreciate brother Doug Wheeler and associates for their continuous support of another $1,075 for purchasing four tires for the school van and payment of Lagos instructors support.

Beloved, I thank you all for your wonderful love, sacrifice and partnership! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint efforts in Christ name, Amen.

The 4th semester classes begin tomorrow at SWSE-Permanent site. Brother Matthew Idowu, of the Lagos campus, will continue his service at Ibadan main campus in this 4th semester as he did in the 3rd semester to increase the teachings crew in Ibadan from three to four. Thanks so much for your great contribution toward the growth of the Lord's church in Africa and the world as a whole! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name, Amen.

I remain your fellow laborer in Christ Jesus.

Sincerely His & yours,
Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & satellite campus - Lagos

A Ladies' Class Will Benefit Upcoming Lectureship...

Dear brethren,

We thank you all very much for what you are doing. Your support is of great importance for the work here in Uganda. The church is growing and the Lord is being glorified. At the Uganda School of Evangelism students and the whole staff are doing fine and appreciate very much for what you are doing in supporting this work. The short course teachers, brother Donnie and Jimmy, arrived on the 6th of April. On Sunday they went to the Emmanuel Mawa to Namungodi congregations where they worshiped in the beautiful garden of brother Arthur. On Monday  they both started class. They combined both Kiswahili and English Classes in the hall. Paul Odaka helped with translation to Kiswahili class. 

Those in English class who hear Kiswahili were getting it twice. The short course ends on the 17th of April and brother Donnie and Jimmy will be departing on the 18th of April. 

Ladies’ Class
After a long cry from ladies of congregations, who usually come for our lectureships, for classes on Bible education, on the 22nd of April we will be starting that program and it will end on the 3rd May. Our plan is that these ladies will come after the short course every quarter four times in a year.

Bulukuyi congregation has finished putting together their grass thatched building and they are planning to put mud on Saturday, the 13th of April. Our student, brother Robert Owoko, is the one preaching there every Sunday. 

The Lord is blessing His work here in Uganda. May your effort too be blessed. 

Yours
Francis, Margaret, Paul, Susan and Edith and Ema

Combination Campaign And Recruiting Tour In Nepal...

The preaching school, Nepal Center For Biblical Study, takes two holidays each year. This is our first week of a three week Spring Break. More accurately it is the Nepali New Year. All the schools, grades KG to 12, finish their regular school year and the new school term will begin in late April. It is a good time for our students to go home, be with their families, and also work with their local congregations. This group of five students will graduate in late September and we will begin our next class of students [third group] on November 11.

Gajendra, the NCBS Director, is using this free time to do a 15-day combination campaign, teaching, and recruiting tour to three different areas. He began last week in the southern hill region, pressing on to the adjacent jungle region, and then will continue to a northern mountain area that is 10-15 miles below the Tibet border at an elevation of about 12,000 feet. There are a number of faithful and growing congregations in these areas. The church is growing faster in these village areas than it is in the large cities.

I am spending my time writing articles on requested subjects that will be translated and printed as tracts. These will be distributed to all the congregations in Nepal. I am also preparing lessons for out upcoming classes. For Gajendra and I both, this time is more of a change of pace time than a full holiday. We enjoy this time and are looking forward to the return of the students.

Don Prather, and his wife Janie, will be coming for two weeks in July. This will be their third trip to Nepal. Carl and Debbie Fronabarger will also be coming for their first time in Nepal. The plan is to have classes in Kathmandu for the students and about 40-50 leaders from around the country. The classes will be on congregational growth and maturity in the mornings and preacher/leader growth in the afternoons. 

Janie and Debbie will be teaching ladies bible classes in three different congregations during this week.  

The second week will find them in east Nepal working with the congregations in that area. The subject matter will be the same, including more classes for the ladies also. 

Please remember us in your prayers. God has blessed us greatly. Please contact me to set up the time, subjects, and itinerary for your Nepal trip …….. you are invited.

In Christian love and service,
Jerry Golphenee