Exciting Times In God's Harvest...

The first quarter of classes ended on Friday. Students in Denver are on campaign this week and are working in Colorado, Arizona, Iowa, California, and in Guatemala. These dedicated men are reaching out to various communities with the gospel of Jesus. Upon returning from campaigns, these students will have a short break before beginning a new quarter of studies. Please join us in giving thanks for their safe travel and praying for the success of their efforts in these campaigns, as well as, their studies next quarter.

These are exciting times, as reading through each report will show. God continues to give the increase as His harvest is plentiful. We continue to do what we can in providing laborers for His harvest. The greatest part of this work is the fact we are fellow workers with each other and our God. Working together as a team in accomplishing the Lord’s work is what brings such excitement to the whole process.

The team effort that is involved in this work demonstrates how the body of Christ was intended and designed to work. No one person has all the talent, and everyone does not have the same talent. God has given each person various abilities so that when we all come together the body functions in a way that fulfills God’s purpose. We are grateful for the incredibly talented men and women who are connected to this kingdom work. It is an honor to work side by side for our Lord.

Please take a few moments to read through this week’s reports, as they are filled with news that exemplifies the hand of our God at work in His world.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Howell Ferguson is located here.

Extension Reports 

Nine More Souls Added In Cameroon: After two students returned from campaign, it was learned that nine more souls obeyed the gospel. The total is 54 for the campaign.

Baptism, Restoration, Leadership Training, And New Facility: The title about says it all, and this is one exciting report to read from Paraguay.

Sound Doctrine Spreads The Right Doctrine: Changes are occurring in Ukraine. The efforts are reaching into Russia to train students in sound doctrine.

Growing In Grace: The message of God’s grace continues to strengthen the church in Nigeria, as the Southwest School of Evangelism shares the news.

Spiritual Disciplines For The Purpose Of Godliness: This year’s ACSOP Leadership Conference in Arusha, Tanzania is designed to help strengthen character.

Tanzania Chronicles: The Hochdorf family may still be on furlough, but the news that Sean shares continues to show the great work in Tanzania.

Back In Tanzania And The Work Continues To Grow: Two reports are combined from Jimmy Gee about the news from Northern Tanzania. 

Final Thoughts
As the last few months of 2013 transition into a new year, there will be much planning among the Bear Valley staff for the year ahead. This is also the time of year when elders and mission’s committees begin their planning. Thank you for including the Bear Valley Bible Institute and the Extension Program as part of your plans. From the financial support, to your encouragement, abilities, and prayers offered for this work, God has blessed us abundantly. We look forward to a fruitful 2014 in our effort to honor and glorify our God.

God bless
Bob

Nine More Souls Added In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings and love from your brothers and sisters here in Wotutu, in particular, and Cameroon as a whole. We do hope you are doing great in all that you do for the Lord and family. By His special grace we are doing better in health and our activities.

Two more students, who were not on campus when we gave out reports, made it this week to campus safe and strong, with great news of souls being added. Brother Julius Wamo baptized brother Samuel in the Mudeka congregation where he served during his campaign.

I bring to you our weekly report now. God is still sitting on the throne, so He continues to help us accomplish His mission for mankind in our communities and our country Cameroon. CBIW students are back in school except one who is still sick, Namana Martin.

Our students were in class for the last quarter of their first year of studies. They started off this quarter with Leadership. I was able to teach this course and it is a great course as they can testify within this week. Keep them in your prayers as to prepare to grow, so that their growth will affect and impact many in their respective ministries.

The students worked hard this past Friday. Brothers Dikana Ngoe and Enow Elvis came out best students in memory work. It is part of our program that our students start up every day with what we call “Speed Test” which book, chapter and verse. So these students performed well and I decided to award them suits which were donated to us by the CBIW coordinator during his last visit in June. I decided to give to those who really work for it because it was not enough for all the students to have one pair each. To avoid any mixed feelings from others that was the best way to give it out.

Brother Julius also baptized sister Helen in the river. Brother Oliver Anthony, who was sick, also returned much better and he is taking treatment here in CBIW. A total of 9 souls where added to the church in those areas making a total of 54 souls during our campaign. Please keep these souls in your prayers as we continue to make efforts to help them stay in Christ mostly in congregations where there is no preacher.

The week was characterized with sorrow as we lost sister Martha Mesumbe at the age of 25 years. She was a Christian barely 1 year and the Lord called her home. I was able to address the crowd on the topic awareness, making many to know that awareness goes with information and if you are “not informed, then you will be deformed.” The gospel is out to help many as they will obey to follow Jesus. Her burial went on well and we give glory to God.

Our weekend evangelism continues to make impact in those congregations that we send our students to on weekly basis. Today our young congregation in Batoke had 21 worship while the revived congregation in Ediki had 29 in worship, because some of our brethren traveedl out for family responsibilities. We praise God for the growth of His church in those areas. Keep the work in your prayers.

Plans
1) We shall be in the Mbanga congregation from the 17th to the 20th of October for mass evangelism in that young congregation which is barely one year and few months old. It is a place with a diversity of people speaking French and English, but it is dominated by French speaking people. Our presence will help with the work there. Please keep us in your prayers.

2) The church of Christ in Munyenge, behind the Cameroon Mountain, is inviting us also for four days of house to house evangelism by the end of the month. Please, we are still contemplating if we shall make the trip because moving with all the students out of campus twice in a month is a huge financial burden. Keep us in your prayers as our hearts move toward the gospel that is calling.

Appreciation
God bless you for accepting the privilege of serving the Lord in this capacity with us as we reach out to many communities and touching souls with the undiluted message to save many who will believe. God will reward you in due season, you are always in our prayers and we are happy that we are doing this. Pray for us and do your best to share this report with others. God bless you.

Elangwe and family

By His grace Director CBIW

Baptism, Restoration, Leadership Training, And New Facility!

Last month, I stated, “What a blessing to be involved with such an active church!” Well this month, I believe that phrase has lead to, “Here we grow again!” Yes! An active, working church is a growing one. That is what we saw this past month, lots of action which has resulted in not only new spiritual growth, but also, more physical growth! We are excited to bring you encouraging news in this month’s mission report from Paraguay!

DEVELOPMENTS AT AVENIDA SACRAMENTO

New “Leadership Training by Extension” classes have begun. Not everyone can attend the Asuncion Bible Academy in a full time capacity like our students. So, we have developed a special series of training classes designed specifically for the leaders of the church. They are offered at times more convenient for them and at a pace that they prefer. Please pray for these efforts and that they will strengthen our brethren of the local leadership.

DEVELOPMENTS AT ÑEMBY CONGREGATION

•A new meeting facility! The brethren of Ñemby have found a building to rent as a meeting hall. It is a former Pentecostal church building that is owned by the widow of its former “pastor” (denominational meaning). It is well located, quite large, and inexpensive. The Academy students and local members have been working regularly to get it painted and prepared for worship services. We believe the former Pentecostal church members will also be great evangelistic opportunities! We are so excited for the growth happening with these brethren!

•The monthly Men’s Business Meetings continue to go well as they congregation grows and develops. Also, just as Avenida Sacramento implemented Leadership Development classes, the men of Ñemby have decided to start their own Saturday program for training. The classes have been going very well.

•If you are able to understand Spanish, be sure and check out Eliezer Perez’s mission reports for Ñemby at: http://www.scribd.com/doc/163374416/Reporte-Nemby-Agosto-2013

BAPTISMS / RESTORATIONS / IDENTIFICATIONS

•Baptized! Dina Aycock. She is a close friend of Andrea from their  “Las Amigas” club and is also one of her frequent “Mas Que Dulces” customers. She is a very sweet lady with a tender heart. We rejoice in her desire to please God by obeying that form of doctrine which saves. Dina and Andrea plan to continue their studies in order to assist her in her spiritual growth. Please pray for her!

•Restored! Diosnel Atette is a member from many years ago that was, sadly, withdrawn from by the church. Over several years, he has studied more and come to realize that salvation is found only in the church. With a penitent heart, he has returned to his first love to be restored and we rejoice that he has come home! Please keep him in your prayers as his son, Mauricio, is also considering what he must do in order to be saved.

Asuncion Bible Academy Update

•Benevolence projects! During the regular study quarters, we schedule several days for seminars and benevolence activities. On one of those days, we went to Mirta Vera’s house to paint and make several repairs. Another day we went to Ñemby to help prepare their new facility. This has given the students a little more experience in the area of “first giving of themselves” that we read about in 2 Corinthins 8:5.

•We have begun several new student assignments and rotations that have them actively involved in things like leading home Bible studies, organizing the worship services, and writing bulletin articles. It has been exciting to watch them grow!

•ABA student, Enrique Albera, has decided to undertake a special project. He wants to reorganize our “Equipos de Ministerio” groups (with church approval, of course). These groups function to fulfill the many tasks within the church, since we don’t have deacons yet. This is really exciting since it is the first time a Paraguayan has taken the reigns of this ministry!

Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies / Activities:

•Eliezer and I are studying with Sandra Durarte who came to the church through a family contact. She is searching for Truth and desires to make her life right with God. We are diligently answering her questions and praying for her spiritual growth.

•Please pray for our “Learn English Using the Bible” students: Martin, Aaron, Felix, Adriana, and Oscar.

•Josh and Vanessa Hardin (former mission team members) came to visit us in Paraguay, and on one Sunday, they provided a nice lunch for the congregation. Josh then taught a seminar  about prayer in the Academy while Vanessa painted and organized the children’s classrooms. We enjoyed getting to see them and greatly appreciate their contributions to the work here!

•Two of my tae-kwon-do instructors, Christian Jourdain and Christian Garay, came to visit us during our worhip services! They said they were very encouraged by the services and we also gave them each a “Searching for Truth” book.

•Please pray for the several new contacts that have been made in Ñemby: Graciela, Issa, Salvadora, and Ruthy.

Visitation / Other Activities:

•We took a little break between quarters (right before it got really busy) and went on a Paraguayan sightseeing tour. We wound up a neat little resort hotel in the beautiful town of Piribebuy. It was very relaxing and just what we needed before launching off into the next busy season!

•We had the Vera Family over to our home and Andrea prepared a nice birthday supper for Pochi.

We love getting to visit with such wonderful brethren!

•Andrea and Mirta Vera went to visit Maria Teresa for her birthday. She has been traveling a lot and really busy so she has not been able to attend services.

•We had our friends, Jordan and Elin, over for dinner one evening to catch up after their recent trip to the USA. It was Elin’s first time, so she was rather excited about it!

•I have been visiting a lot with brother Guillermo Sanchez. He has been having a lot of difficult times lately and needs lots of encouragement.

Personal study: 

•I dedicated a lot of time preparing for this quarter’s classes: “Life of Christ IV: Luke” and “Judges, Ruth” with Bible study and various materials in Spanish and English.

•I am currently reading / have read:

♦“Church Sponsored Missions: An Evaluation” by Phillip Wayne Elkins (1974)

♦“The Mormon Mirage” by Latanye C. Scott

♦“The Chronological Life of Christ” by Mark E. Moore

Preaching/teaching opportunities: 

•I preached at Ave. Sacramento this month on the “The Threads of the Messiah: Harmony of the Bible - Exodus 28”

•I am currently teaching the books of Judges - Ruth and “The Life of Christ IV: Luke” in the Asuncion Bible Academy.

•On the 28th I had the opportunity to preach at Maragaret St church of Christ in Milton, FL via Skype.

Personal achievement:

•Andrea’s green thumb is in full bloom as she has remodeled our front patio area with river rock, designed a “square foot” garden, fertilized the grass for a greener lawn, set up some potted plants, and harvested her first batch of compost!

Cultural or language discovery: 

•Sugarcane harvest in Paraguay is done the "old school" way (literally)! After living in Florida for 15 years, I became rather accustomed to seeing the sugarcane harvest ... but never like this! They cut it by hand and load it by hand. Some even still use old ox carts like the picture here. Just one more reason why I love the fascinating culture of Paraguay!

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

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

Sound Doctrine Spreads The Right Doctrine...

Dear brothers, families and churches!

We have very unusual weather in Ukraine this fall. It’s very cold and rainy. Usually this kind of weather is more typical for the end of October and beginning of November. Nevertheless, classes at the school proceed as usual, and the Lord continues blessing us abundantly.

Politically, Ukraine is standing at the point of making a decision. We have an opportunity to join European Free Trade Association or to continue working with Russia. Both options have their advantages and disadvantages. If we join Europe, we will be influenced by materialism and liberalism even more. Prices will grow, and we will stay in the same condition as we are now. We will be in an economical and political vacuum. Most likely, we’ll have to give our worries to the Lord. We will be content with whatever is the best for the church.

At the beginning of September, we had Howell Ferguson, Albert Bagdasaryan, Victor Semikoz and Andrew Zhuravlyov teaching at the school. In the middle of the month, Jim Sherman came to teach. He is our faithful brother, who has been working in Ukraine since 1989. Also our brother Terry Harmon teaches Greek via Polycom system. I’m grateful for all these brothers who participate in this ministry and give us an opportunity to learn God’s word and to grow spiritually.

In September, I visited churches we have a good brotherly relationship with. Among them there are churches of Christ in Lugansk, Kramatorsk and Donetsk. Our graduates minister in Kramatorsk and Donetsk and continue to preach sound doctrine.

Also we are sending our school journal “Sound Doctrine,” and we try to spread the right doctrine via printed materials.

There are six students in the first-year class. Two of them joined our program in the second half of September. Vladimir is from Ochakov, and Sergey is from Dzerzhinsk. At the moment, they are proving themselves to be diligent students of the Bible, but their age is their biggest obstacle. They both are about 50 years old, and they never educated themselves before. We hope that the Lord will give them wisdom to grow spiritually. 

When we look at the map of Ukraine, we see that we have students from all parts of our country. Many people know about our institute. Now it’s the time to look at Russia. In October, I plan to visit Syktyvkar (Northern part of Russia), the capital of Komi Republic. There will be an annual seminar, which will be attended by Christians from all parts of Russia. I want to tell them about our school and the work that we do here. We had only one student from Russia, Julia Kudelina, who decided to stay in Gorlovka and help the Institute in its work. Please pray for us to have more influence in Russia too, so that we could find faithful men willing to study God’s Word and become leaders in local congregations.

In September we had several interesting events with the students. We gathered to have fellowship and to celebrate birthdays; some students invited their friends and used these opportunities for personal evangelism.     

In October, we plan to have a one-day youth conference and invite all local churches of Christ. Last time, we had 60 people in attendance. Such events help to encourage and strengthen young Christians and allow them to see that they are not alone, even though local churches are usually not very big. 

We are thankful for those people who support our ministry in Ukraine. I don’t have enough words to express gratitude of our teachers and students for your financial support. We continue training preachers and ministers, who will be ready to spread the Gospel even in the most difficult circumstances.  

If you have any questions, I will be glad to answer them.

Your brother and co-worker for the Lord’s cause,

Dennis Sopelnik

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

Growing In Grace...

Dear fellow brethren in Christ Jesus,

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

We evangelized Arikusa, Akinwande and Ada-Origbo villages of Ona-Ara L.G.A of Oyo State on Friday from 3:00 pm through 6:30 pm and this Saturday we evangelized Butubutu and environ from 8:00 am through 11:00 am.

Lord's willing, I will teach on “Growing in Grace” ( 2 Peter 3:18) in continuation of our Indoor Bible Lectureship at Onikokoro /Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

Brethren, we thank you all for your partnership! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name, amen.

Sincerely His & yours,

Makinde E.Olufemi(Director of Studies)

For & On behalf of SWSE-Ibadan 

Spiritual Disciplines for the Purpose of Godliness...

Greetings Fellow Servants,

We thank our God for the privilege of serving in the Kingdom with each of you, our faithful brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Our family, the family of God, makes possible the seeking and saving of the lost, the ministering of the needy, and all to the glory of our God. God continues to do mighty works in Tanzania through each of you. Thank you for allowing us to be where we are, doing what we are doing, all for the purpose of serving our heavenly Father. 

The Tanzania 2000 mission effort is for the purpose of godliness. We strive to know and do God’s will to the saving of those yet in darkness. We strive to teach others that in turn they might teach others. We believe in the good people of Tanzania and our hope and trust are not in vain. Here is but one example: I received a note from our fellow servant, Yusuph Mdaki. 

“The lady teacher of the primary school here at Ushirombo town has become a Christian. This was made possible by God’s Word and through the evangelistic book; ‘Tafua Ukweli’ (Searching For Truth).”

We fully understand that if we are to build a self-sustaining work, we must continue translating great Bible teaching material like “Searching For Truth.” We are very much indebted to World Video Bible for all their efforts in taking the Gospel to all the world. We use their material daily. We highly recommend you go to their Web site and check out the vast array of material available; www.wvbs.org. A very special thank you to Rudy Cain and his team for a work well done!

Stephanie and Jessica McVeigh just completed a ladies and children’s seminar at Mto wa Mbu. Stephanie said the turn out was wonderful with 70 or so children and 40-50 ladies, mostly from the Massai tribe. They teamed up with our sisters, Jane Massawe, Agnus Kambarage and others in an effort to build up the Body of Christ in that area.

We are very excited about our up coming annual Tanzania Leadership Conference. Men from all over East Africa will be arriving this week, mostly from Tanzania. This year’s theme is, “Spiritual Disciplines for the Purpose of Godliness.” We anticipate over 150 evangelist and their wives. 

We will also have our first “Alumni” meeting. In an effort to help our graduates in their efforts, working together, helping each other in the work of the Church, we are helping them develop this association. Our brother Godfrey Mngoma will be serving as acting President until they select from among themselves a new President.

Too much to report in such a format. Please remember Stephanie and Granny in your prayers as we are separated for the month of October. I will be traveling, reporting, fund raising, etc. and will not return to Tanzania until November 1st. Also remember Rod Minor and Danny Smelser who have both lost their mothers in recent days.

Thank you and may our God bless each of you as you strive to do His will by serving others. 

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Tanzania Chronicles...

Furlough Keeps Us Hopping

We hope this report finds each of you doing well in your labor for the Lord. We are well into our furlough having traveled nearly 11,000 miles reporting to supporters and presenting the work to prospective supporters. While our reports during furlough are short we nonetheless wanted to keep you up to date about what we are doing.

Our furlough began with our preparing for mom’s cancer surgery. Our prayers, and yours, were answered when the surgeon reported that all the cancer was removed and there was no need for any radiation or chemotherapy. At the time of this writing she has made a full recovery.

We were privileged to make the trek out to Sevierville, Tennessee for this years Polishing the Pulpit. Over 3000 brethren gathered for a week of classes, lectures, worship and fellowship. Anita and I attended most of the sessions about mission work and came away greatly edified. The week was such a shot in the arm that we are still riding high on the encouragement we received. If you have never attended PTP you are missing out. Take your vacation time, pack your suitcases, grab the family and go! You will not regret it.

Since we were already so far East we took advantage of the opportunity to report/present the work across Virginia and Tennessee. In every congregation we have been able to visit with brethren that have made campaign trips to Tanzania and hear them reminisce about their visit. Without exception, everyone we spoke with says their trip was a life-changing experience. Have you ever thought of visiting Tanzania or leading a campaign group over? It’s time to stop dreaming and start planning. We will do whatever we can to assist or encourage you and we anxiously look forward to picking you up at the airport for your life-changing journey.

After returning from our East Coast swing we spent some time making final preparations for Madeleine’s wedding. Finishing touches were wrapped up just hours before the ceremony and at 7:00pm on September 27th Caleb and Madeleine were married. We were very appreciative of the encouraging number of people there to witness the beginning of Caleb and Maddie’s life together. Please pray for them as they begin their journey.

Once the wedding was over we were back on the road the next morning to meet with a couple of congregations on Sunday. Lord willing we will continue to do so until our furlough comes to a close. We are still trying to make up a substantial budget shortfall. If you know of any person or congregation that might be willing to meet with us, we would be grateful for the contact information.

The work in Tanzania continues to be blessed by the Lord through the hands of our brethren and fellow mission teammates. I received the following from Cy Stafford, our team leader, this past Sunday:

Our dear brother Theofilo Songie, one of our 120 graduates, is a good example of what the Lord can do when we; “entrust God’s Word to faithful men, who in turn are able to teach others”, (note: 2 Timothy 2.2, Paul’s instructions to Timothy). Note a part of his recent report: “Brethren, I hope that our Lord is blessing you in all what you are doing in His kingdom. I am doing fine in the Lord. Right now I am visiting brother Francis Wechesa in Uganda. I came to share with him about my plans of taking the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to Lubumbashi my home town in Katanga province in D.R.C.

After living in Tanzania for 8 years God showed His mercy to me that the Gospel of our Lord Christ was preached to me and I became a christian. When God opened a way for the Gospel to be taken to CONGO, I was among those who were selected to go. We were sent to the Province of South KIVU in UVIRA town which is about 2,000 klm to Lubumbashi....We have planted six congregations in South Kivu that is, Uvira town congregation, Baraka, Kikwena, Lweba, Fizi, and Mboko. The total number of Christians in these six congregations are about 145 Christians. One Christian has been trained in Uganda by brother Francis and other six are being trained there now and will be graduating next year in May.”

Several of our graduates have gone out and planted and are working with several congregations. These are purely “indigenous”, self-reliant, self-propagating congregations of the Lord’s people. Yes, “what God controls, grows”. The number one problem we face today is training enough men to fill the needs of the many new church plants throughout East Africa. With God’s blessings, your prayers and help, we know this can and will be accomplished.

And so we close on that good note. Thank you so much for your prayer support and financial support. Until next time, take care and God bless.

Yours in Christ,
Sean

Back In Tanzania And The Work Continues To Grow...

Report: 9-30-13

"Whoever does not receive you, nor heed your words, as you go out of that house or that city, shake the dust off your feet." Matt. 10:14

Dear Co-Laborers:

Short-term workers. Today we said "Good-bye" to Neil and Peyton Richey, Skip Slatton and Cary Olgesby. Neil taught ''I Corinthians" at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching and preached at three congregations. Peyton also gave a short lesson. Skip and Cary worked daily conducting Bible studies in Kwa Mrombo and Monduli and also preached at congregations. Cary said he now understood why foot-washing was important in Bible times.  It seems the dust is at an all time high.

At Kisongo today, Abigail taught the children (about 30 in number of all ages) about "The Birth of Jesus." In the ladies' class, Trina taught Philippians chapter 1 focusing on "For Me to Live is Christ." Jimmy taught a great lesson on "The Bible" ( Inspiration, Infallibility and Authority of). Allen, from Wales (UK) visited our services upon the invitation of Ziaka (our former guard).

"Here am I." After noticing the Lazeli Boarding School's ad for a Bible/History teacher, Lindsey volunteered to teach Bible (using the World Bible School correspondence courses). This all-girls school consists of English-speaking students.         

"Cuttin' Up." That's what Heather and Candace were doing one whole day this week when our co-missionary, Stephanie Stafford, asked for their assistance in preparing material for the upcoming VBS at Mosquito River. They loved being asked to help and enjoyed cutting out hundreds of Pharaoh and Moses' heads plus tongues and eyes.                                 

While on furlough, we reported to 33 congregations, attended "Polishing the Pulpit" and toured the Creation Museum (courtesy of the Huntingdon, TN congregation). Trina and the girls spoke to two ladies classes.  We're grateful to Lisa Coy at  Huntingdon who arranged it for us there. Also, Patricia Russell asked Trina to speak to the ladies at Panama Street in Montgomery, AL. Trina was especially encouraged by the interest and enthusiasm shown by these two classes. Of course, we visited with family, especially enjoying the time with our son, Todd and his wife Lauren. Speaking of family, our nephew, Steven Akin will soon leave the U.S to travel to Chimala, TZ (16 hours south of us). Having completed his EMT training, he will work with the Chimala Mission and Hospital for a 3-month period.

Thanks again for making our furlough a reality. You made it possible for us to see our son (Todd), graduate from college, our daughters (Lindsey and Abigail) graduate from high school, Jimmy graduate and for us to attend Todd and Lauren's wedding. Thank you for your continued support, prayers and interest in us and the TZ 2000 Mission Work. 

Gee Report: 10-6-13

"...clothe yourselves with humility toward one another, for God is opposed to the proud, but gives grace to the humble."  I Peter 5:5                                

Today is a bright sunny day, made brighter by two letters of encouragement. This particular mail actually arrived in the post office box in June and July while we were in the states. The first letter was written by Nathan Sprouse, a second-grader  at the Dale Ridge congregation (Roanoke, VA). The second piece of mail came from the Teen Class at the Hartley Bridge Rd. congregation (Macon, GA). Thank you for thinking of us! 

The new quarter at ACSOP begins on Monday with these classes: I Samuel through II Chronicles, Personal Evangelism II...Church Planting, I & II Peter and Jude, Prison Epistles, and  I & II Thessalonians.    

Jimmy preached the 2nd half of last weeks' lesson on the “Authority of the Bible.” Due to her translator's absence, Abigail wasn't able to teach the children but instead sang with them while they colored and ate her delicious banana bread. The ladies' class joined the men due to Paulina (translator) being out of town. Graduate student, Michael Mitalami, continued teaching Acts in the men's class. For the last couple of Sundays, there has hardly been an empty seat in worship services. Today one seat was occupied by a lady visitor ("Likeness") from the Lutheran denomination.    

The Kisongo congregation encouraged the young people to attend the Youth Class being held on Saturdays at the building. Also, this Thursday, the annual Leadership Conference at ACSOP will begin. The theme is: "Spiritual Disciplines for the Purpose of Godliness." Over 150 evangelists and their wives are expected. Trina is scheduled to speak to the ladies on the subject of "Worship." Ladies from area congregations will cook for the speakers and attendees (coming from all over East Africa).

Matthew was measured for new leg braces at the Usa River Rehab center where a cast of both legs/feet was made. This messy process was easier this time because the braces will start from the knee down instead of the upper thigh. Matthew did well and did not cry. The  braces should be ready in 2 weeks.    

Ahimidiwe, the preacher at Kisongo, will be preaching and teaching at the new church plant at White Rose. Jimmy is teaching their Bible class on Wednesday nights. We're very happy to report that this young congregation has grown considerably due to the combined efforts of many.

October 2nd marked Candace's 14th birthday. If you know Candace, you know that "sweetness" could be her middle name. In fact, former TZ missionary Ben Thompson, nicknamed her that. Many local people do not know their exact date of birth although most know the year and some the month. 

When you ask a parent about their child's age, normally they will tell you the year the child was born (few celebrate yearly birthdays). For most Tanzanians, birthdays just don't hold the same importance as they do for Americans. After hearing us discuss the above, our 7-year-old, Naomi, said, "Well, I was BORN on MY birthday!" 

Stephanie Stafford and Jessica McVeigh organized and conducted a VBS and Ladies Seminar at Mosquito River on Saturday. About 70 children and between 40-50 ladies showed up (mainly from the Maasi tribe).  

Last Sundays' report mentioned Lindsey volunteering at a local school (Lazeli) to conduct Bible studies. Unfortunately, her offer was turned down. Then she visited Kisongo Academic College. This time Lindsey was told by the Deputy Headmistress that the Administration "couldn't refuse" her offer. This Friday afternoon, Lindsey will teach the Bible (using the World Bible School correspondence courses). Interestingly, a section of the Tanzanian National Exam covers Bible facts (no specific doctrine) because "teaching Bible" is required by the Tanzanian Educational constitution. Ahimidiwe is a friend of the Deputy Headmistress (the regular Bible teacher at this college). Lindsey could have begun teaching last Friday except that a prayer session was already scheduled with the students concerning their exams. Public prayer may have been kicked out of American schools but it is alive and well in Tanzanian schools!   

Abigail continues to make progress concerning the library to be established in the community of Kisongo. For those unaware of her project, feel free to visit the Facebook page (titled Parker Memorial Library) or her blog at: http://abigailsadventuresinafrica.blogspot.com/.     

While things progress slower in Africa, Abigail's "one step at a time" perseverance is paying off. Through the help of many good people, she now has a sponsoring congregation (Logan Martin Church of Christ), a bank account set up for donations and has obtained over 1000  books. A special thanks to Mark McWhorter who has taken this project "under his wing" and has been a tremendous help and advisor.  

Thank you for supporting us and this work. Much can be accomplished when the Lords' people work together in a great cause. Our heart-felt appreciation is extended towards each and every one of you for spreading the Gospel in Tanzania, East Africa.   

With Love From Africa,
The Jimmy Gee family

To the the reports with pictures, please click here.

Making A Difference Globally...

As the first quarter comes to a close in Denver, we are setting our sites on the next quarter and the classes needed to help develop students in preparation for preaching the gospel. There is always an eager anticipation of the future, both in and out of the classroom. Students will leave later this week for campaigns in several locations around the country. We will share reports about their activities and the impending results in the weeks ahead.

The next quarter will also be the final quarter of studies for two men and their families. Brad and Gretchen Toy (Sarah and Katie), along with Chris and Alicia Krotz (Ava, Angelina, Gabriel, Sophia) will finish their studies in December and enter the ministry. Please be praying for them as they complete their studies these next few months and begin full-time ministry.

The Extension Program continues to show the blessing of God as students are changing lives for the Lord’s kingdom. The reports emphasize God’s providential care and increase as students in Cameroon traveled on campaign to 25 locations. Students in Ghana returned for their second quarter of studies and Tony Johnson has been involved in extensive evangelism in several countries of West Africa. The second group of students graduated in Nepal, the need for the gospel grows in Chimala, a lectureship in Nigeria continues to strengthen the church, and graduates from Arusha are influencing the kingdom in Tanzania and into Congo.

This information is so exciting, I hope you will dig into the reports and envision in your mind’s eye the glorious ways God is working through His people around the world. You are making a difference globally. How awesome is that?

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/

The latest report from Gary Fallis can be read here.

Extension Reports 

A Day Of Rejoicing As 42 Obey The Gospel: Twenty-four locations were the focus of campaigns in Cameroon and the Lord gave the increase.

Sixteen Men Continue Their Studies In Tamale: Students begin the second quarter of studies in preparing themselves for work in the kingdom.

Graduation In Nepal: Five students completed their students and were recently honored in the graduation ceremonies of the Nepal Center for Biblical Studies.

Preaching The Gospel In Tanzania: The report from Chimala demonstrates the need for preaching the gospel in Tanzania, and around the world.

Lectureship Strengthens The Church In Nigeria: The church continues to benefit from the Walking with God lectureship in Ibadan.

ACSOP Changing Lives In East Africa: The report of graduates who are working throughout East Africa demonstrates the power of God in changing lives. 

Final Thoughts
We cannot stop thanking you for all you do to make this work possible. The more we see God blessing the efforts around the world, the more we are reminded of the blessing it is to work side by side with so many wonderful people. You have and continue to influence the direction of the Lord’s work. Thank you for all you do!

God bless
Bob

ACSOP Changing Lives In East Africa...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

We hope and pray you awoke to a wonderful day, full of thanksgiving and joy, knowing you (we) are the most blessed people on this earth, knowing God desires our worship. 

Many of you know of the good being done here in Tanzania and throughout East Africa by the Lord and through the Tanzania 2000 mission effort. When we reflect on the past 15 years and all the good that has been and continues to be done, one knows it is only by the grace of God that it has been made possible. As we have noted before; “what God controls Grows.” 

Through our supporters, short-term campaigners, missionaries, fellow-workers here in Tanzania, seminars, campaigns, Bible Schools, the Andrew Connally School of preachers, Safari for Souls, the printed page, Bibles and your prayers, the Lord’s Church is growing day by day.

Our dear brother Theofilo Songie, one of our 120 graduates, is a good example of what the Lord can do when we, “entrust God’s Word to faithful men, who in turn are able to teach others,” (note: 2 Timothy 2:2, Paul’s instructions to Timothy). Note a part of Songie’s recent report: “Brethren, I hope that our Lord is blessing you in all what you are doing in His kingdom. I am doing fine in the Lord. Right now I am visiting brother Francis Wechesa in Uganda. I came to share with him about my plans of taking the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ to Lubumbashi my home town in Katanga province in D.R.C.

After living in Tanzania for 8 years God showed His mercy to me that the Gospel of our Lord Christ was preached to me and I became a Christian. When God opened a way for the Gospel to be taken to CONGO, I was among those who were selected to go. We were sent to the Province of South KIVU in UVIRA town which is about 2,000 klm to Lubumbashi....We have planted six congregations in South Kivu that is, Uvira town congregation, Baraka, Kikwena, Lweba, Fizi, and Mboko. The total number of Christians in these six congregations are about 145 Christians. One Christian has been trained in Uganda by brother Francis and other six are being trained there now and will be graduating next year in May.”

Several of our graduates have gone out and planted and are working with several congregations. These are purely indigenous, self-reliant, self-propagating congregations of the Lord’s people. Yes, “what God controls, Grows.” The number one problem we face today is training enough men to fill the needs of the many new church plants throughout East Africa. With God’s blessings, your prayers and help, we know this can and will be accomplished.

Please remember and pray for our Brother Neil Richey and his team as they make their way back home today. I also solicit your prayers. I leave Tuesday night for one month in the States reporting and fundraising. If you are interested or know of others who would like to partner with us in a great work of God here in TZ, please drop me a note and I will do my best to come by and share with you (others) the good being done and the many opportunities we have. Please keep Stephanie, Granny and the mission team in your prayers as well. Thank you all so very much. Our hope and prayer is that God will bless each of you richly in His grace, mercy and abundant love. 

In Him, 
Cy, Stephanie and Granny

Lectureship Strengthens The Church In Nigeria...

Dear fellow laborers in Christ's vineyard,

May the love and protection of our Lord be with you all in Jesus Name, Amen.

On Sunday, September 22, a soul named Idowu Segun was baptized by a SWSE-year 2 student and our campus minister, brother Abraham Idu Yeje.

Brother Augustine Okon Essien, one of SWSE-year 2012 graduates, who is presently serving as the evangelist of Church of Christ Nkap Ikot Ekpene, Akwa-Ibom State reported the conversion of two souls on September 22 after the Sunday morning worship.

On coming Lord's day, September 29, I will be teaching on “Be Ye Steadfast” in continuation of our Indoor Bible Lectureship that centered on “Walking With God” while brother Okon S. Udoh, one of the SWSE-Instructors will admonish the church. And in the evening of September 29, I will teach at the youth monthly class on “Established Positive Goals for Your Future” at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan.

Brethren, we thank you all for your prayers and financial support! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless our work together in Jesus Christ, Amen.

Sincerely in Christ,

Makinde E.Olufemi (Director of Studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism(SWSE), Ibadan, Nigeria

Preaching The Gospel In Tanzania...

Next week we will be gathering our books, papers, syllabi and bags for the trip to Chimala, Tanzania to begin the last quarter of work at the Chimala Bible Institute. As a Bear Valley Bible Institute coordinator and the director of the school we are excited about the last weeks of study for the year and the upcoming graduation. Two of our teachers are headed next week to the Leadership Conference in Arusha, our sister BVBID school in northern Tanzania.  E-Mails and phone calls have been made and preparations are complete for the trip back to Chimala. A lot of travel, meetings and worshiping at various churches to make presentations about the work have been done this summer. Yes, we are on our way to continue training preachers for the spread of the gospel in east Africa. 

This week though has given us a further reason to go back to Africa to be involved in this great work. The country just to the north of us is Kenya. Numerous times to complete the flight we have landed in Nairobi, the capital of Kenya. As with the rest of the world we have been shocked, angered and, yes, even a little scared because of the cowardly attack of innocent civilians at the Westgate Shopping Mall in Nairobi this week. 200 people were injured and 72 people lost their lives because of the group, Somali Islamist terrorist group al Shabab, that is dedicated to force Somalia to a Islamist theocracy. They were the ones who committed this act.  Those who died were Kenyans, French, Australians, Netherlanders, Peruvians, Indian Swiss, South Africian, Chinese, New Zealanders and Canadians. They died because the terrorist want to punish, by any means necessary, people and force a false religion. Our state department has notified us that Tanzania is under a travel alert. Yes, it is dangerous there, but as Christians we know there is only one way to combat this evil in the world, i.e. by “preaching the gospel of peace” that Jesus Christ came to provide. This is why we are going and why we MUST continue to train the native Christians to preach the gospel in east Africa.

Garry L. Hill
BVBID Coordinator
Chimala Bible Institute

Graduation In Nepal...

Dear all respected brothers and sisters in Christ, 

Greetings to you all from NCBS. 

Lectureship and graduation program
We did our best to serve the Lord and His people in His kingdom. This is our happiest moment to share with you all.  There was rumor of strike and band on 25th and 26th of September 2013. So, we had to change our lectureship and graduation one day a head. We did our lectureship program on Sep. 24th from 9 AM – 12 noon. There was graduation ceremony after lunch from 2 PM – 4 PM on that day. Our formal graduated students and some of present students shared their messages on lectureship. There was good encouragement. Five students were graduated from this second batch. We have total seven new students for next new class. We do hope to get some more.  

Holiday
Our holiday began from 27^th September of 2013. We will begin our new class on November 11^th of 2013. We are going to have youth Bible camp at school from 11^th -15^th of October 2013.

Thank you all of your help, cooperation, suggestions and love toward us. May God bless you all. 

Thanks

Servant of Christ…..Gajendra Deshar

Sixteen Men Continue Their Studies In Tamale...

The Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS) is back in session with its second term of the 2013-14 school year. The class of 2015 has a total of sixteen men who have committed two years of their lives to studying the Bible in order to become preachers and leaders in their local congregations. Many of these men are married with children, which they have to leave in the care of their local congregations while taking the ten terms of classes that make up the TIBS curriculum. Between each six week term the students return to their families and work to make sure their families are cared for during the next 6 week term. Since most of these men provide for their families as substance farmers that is what they will be doing, planting, tending and harvesting their crop, during the break periods between terms. It is a great struggle for most of these men to be here, and the fact that they are here reflects their desire to serve God.

During the second term the students are taking a total of five classes. They are continuing their study of the three synoptic gospels in Life of Christ 2. They are also continuing their study of the English language in their Writing Skills 2 class. New classes this term include Old Testament 1, a study of the first five books of the Old Testament; The Scheme of Redemption, a study of God’s plan of salvation; and Hermeneutics, the first of two classes they will receive on interpreting the Bible.

One of the interesting challenges faced by the TIBS teachers here is making sure the students understand both the words and what the words mean to the original audience and writer. We use the New King James Bible for all classes, and many of the words used are unfamiliar to the students, so we spend lots of time discussing words like “firmament” and “dominion” from Genesis 1. More difficult than identifying words that the students may be unfamiliar with is identifying a word that is used differently in their culture. Often times it involves a word that you never imagined might cause a problem. A recent example in our OT1 class involved the word “sister,” as used in Leviticus 18:9 and its instructions prohibiting a man from marrying his sister. One of the students stated that in his village they were only allowed to marry their “sister” and wanted to know if this meant that everyone had to leave their wives. Fortunately I’ve learned to ask clarifying questions before answering and we were able to determine that in his village (as well as many others) that every unmarried girl in the village is considered their sister! You can imagine his relief when I explained the difference between how the Bible used the word as opposed to how his village used the word!

There is still much work to do, but we are excited about the work that this class will be doing for the Lord. There is much talent in this group of men, and a great desire to better understand and teach the Word of God. Evidence of their desire was seen a few weeks ago as one of the local women who comes daily to sell food to the students was baptized after studying with them.

Finally, this month TIBS was also blessed to receive a large number of books for our library from the wonderful people at Mission Printing. We are very proud of the library here which contains over 1500 titles. These new books are in the process of being sorted, shelved, and added to the library database, and will add to the depth of knowledge our students have access to. We thank God for all that He has provided us to do the work here in Ghana!

Thank You Supporters!
I want to thank all of those who contribute to the work we are able to do throughout West Africa! I could not do this without the constant support of the Greenbrier church of Christ, Colony church of Christ, Lieper’s Fork church of Christ, Connie Barden, Bobby and Jackie Sims, Sue Shumate, Aubrey and Donna Allensworth, Chris and Shirley Brill, Linda Ray, Gene and Sandra Blair, and Mary Mix.

I also want to thank Travis White and Holley Locke for their recent gift for the purchase of local language Bibles to be distributed in areas where English is not widely used. Being able to read God’s Word in our own language is something we often take for granted! We are currently searching for Konkumba and Kasasi language Bibles, both of which are in great demand in the areas we are working.

One of our greatest current needs is a congregation (or congregations) who would be interested in supporting the ongoing needs of the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS). It costs approximately $2500 a month to operate the school. This includes transportation for the students, a feeding allowance, classroom supplies, and all the expenses associated with the buildings and their maintenance. Currently the school has commitments for $800 a month towards these expenses. If you know of a congregation that would like to be involved with the training of preachers in their own country, please have them get in contact with me for more information.

In conclusion, I want to give a special thank you to all of those who have been supporting me with your prayers. Knowing that you are lifting up my name before God is the greatest blessing I could receive each day!

Please send all contributions to my overseeing congregation:

Greenbrier church of Christ
Attn: African Missions
12 Wilson Farm Rd.
Greenbrier, AR 72058

Be sure to send me a note if you want your gift to be used for a specific purpose.

Evangelism Update
In the month of September I was pleased to be able to assist in two evangelism campaigns. These campaigns, which were organized by Steven Ashcraft, took place in the neighboring countries of Togo and Burkina Faso.

The campaign in Togo was led by two of our Togolese preachers; Fidel, who works in the northern city of Dapaong, and Alakoum, who works in the central city of Kara. The purpose of the campaign was to plant a new congregation in the city of Niamtougou, which is located between the two cities. Each day the campaign team did house to house Bible studies, and each night we showed a different Bible film and peached. At the end of the campaign there were 6 baptisms and 19 continuing studies set up, and a new congregation meeting with 16 in attendance for its first service. Alakoum and Fidel will be taking turns leading this congregation until it develops leaders and teachers of its own.

The campaign in Burkina Faso was held to support a seminar set up by the two local congregations in Ouagadougou, the capital city and home to an estimated 1.4 million people. Despite the size of the city there are less than 40 Christians in the two congregations. Our task was to invite people to the seminar which would be held at the end of the week. After spending 3 days passing out flyers to hundreds of people and inviting them to the seminar, we got to experience the difficulties faced by the local congregations. Despite many people promising to come, only a handful showed up each night for the seminar. There is lots of work to do in Ouagadougou, and we have been left with the challenge of finding new ways to reach the people there. On our last day in Burkina we stopped by the only other active congregation in Burkina (as far as we knew) in the village of Po. Thankfully they had been working hard there and the local preacher has established small congregations in two of the neighboring villages. I'll be going back in November to conduct a campaign with them in the two villages to try and strengthen those congregations.

In November we will also be taking the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS) students on their first village campaign. During their time at TIBS the students will take part in at least 4 village campaigns as well as a number of local campaigns. The first campaign will be held in the village of Zabzugu, which is approximately 150 km east of Tamale, and has a small congregation which is being led by one of last year’s TIBS graduates, Billam Phillip. In addition to doing house to house Bible studies the campaign will bring Billam some much needed supplies such as Bibles, tracts, and a chalk board to help him as he teaches.

There is one other campaign we are still working on set for the village of Yapei. This campaign was to be held with the Tamale West congregation in August, but has had to be cancelled twice, once due to lack of rooms for the campaign workers to sleep in and once due to a schedule conflict. It has currently been rescheduled for October, and our prayer is that we will finally be able to share the gospel with those who live there. Please join us in this prayer!

Kingdom of Hope Update 
A new school year has begun and construction continues at the Kingdom of Hope Orphan’s School.

On September 19th students reported for classes. In addition to the 40 orphans who the school was originally set up to serve, we had 31 additional students on the first day from the village of Kuka for an initial enrollment of 71 students; 20 in kindergarten, 19 in P1 (1st grade, 10 in P2, and 22 in P3. A number of last year’s students have not reported yet, so I am expecting an increase of numbers during the next week. In August we were able to deliver the textbooks for the new P3 classes, Bible based English lessons and flash cards for all grades that were provided by ladies from the Broadway church of Christ in Paducah, KY, and a great deal of necessary supplies for the new school year.

I will be headed to Kuka on October 6 to spend a week there checking on and assisting with the next classroom’s construction. I have been informed that the walls are up and we are ready to proceed with roofing. Our hope is to have the building completed before the end of the year. In anticipation of the new building being completed, and in the interest of the children’s safety, we had the mud brick room that the younger children were meeting in torn down, so we currently have 2 classes meeting in the church building and 2 classes meeting in the classroom completed last year.

In August we also were able to deliver 146 grafted mango seedlings to the school, to be planted on the land given to us by the village elders. It is hoped that these trees will provide an ongoing source of both food and income for the school once they start producing in two years. If these trees do okay in the sandy soil that is prevalent in the Upper East Region I will bring additional seedlings each time I visit the school until we have utilized the land we have available.

In August the school also conducted a series of Saturday meetings for the area children. These classes, which were taught by the school’s teachers and covered subjects such showing respect to elders, doing the right thing in difficult situations, and proper behavior, where well attended each week. On the Saturday I was able to attend there were over 100 children and a number of adults in attendance. These classes allowed the school to reach out to the community, which is primarily Muslim, and invite them to a nonthreatening event sponsored by the church. We are hoping the relationships made will open doors for future studies of a much more important matter, Jesus Christ and the salvation available only through Him.

Contact Information

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

Ghana Phone - 011-233-0248216622 E-Mail - anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

Tony Johnson

To see Tony’s report with several pictures about the work, please click here.

A Day Of Rejoicing As 42 Obey The Gospel...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Cameroon. I hope this report will meet you in good health and sound faith. We are doing fine with our health even though with some health challenges our brethren.

As I write this report 23 out of our 27 students are back on campus safe and sound. They brought great news about God’s accomplishment in all the 25 locations that they were serving in house to house and nurturing existing congregations. Those who are not here as of now are still in their villages sick, while others slept on the road and are still struggling to make it back to Wotutu  because of the bad roads.

The Lord added another soul in Matoh Butu congregation as brother Amos Itoe was baptized. A total of 42 souls were added into Christ while 11 Christians who had fallen away were brought back to the Lord in those 25 locations. We praise God for accomplishing His great work again. Join us to praise God.

Brother Yanick, with rain boots, travelled to Matoh Butu Village to serve the Lord. It was not easy because of the nature of the road. Our students suffered much to get to their places to serve because the rainy season is still disturbing many here to travel and even their health.

Brother Yanick, in Matoh Butu, baptized our new brother Abel Mosaka. Keep him in your prayers to grow to maturity.

I sincerely make this appeal to you for more Bibles for our new converts. Many need the work to study as they grow to maturity. We have these ones now and during the last campaign.

Please keep the Wotutu congregation in your prayers as we mourn the departure of one of our devoted and mission minded sisters, Martha Mesumbe, after a protracted illness. Her corpse will be buried this Saturday. It will be by His grace an ample opportunity to reach out to that family where our sister and the brother who was in our alpha batch graduates.

Keep the Nkenganyi Norbert family, our graduate also, who lost his kid brother yesterday in his early 30s. Keep his young family that he left behind.

Plans
1) We shall be going to Mbanga congregation next month for mass house to house evangelism with all the students and some staff. The Mbanga congregation is a young congregation we established during the alpha batch and one of our graduates, evangelist Ititi Benedict, is doing a great job in that community. Keep this work in your prayers.  

2) Ediki congregation keeps growing as our students go there every weekend for evangelism, preaching and teaching.

3) Batoke congregation is moving. The Lord added 1 soul again during the campaign of CBIW students. Keep the work equally in your prayers.

Appreciations
God bless you for your prayers as we move up and down for the gospel sake. We thank God for answering our prayers as most of the students made it back to school. God bless you and reward you for investing into saving souls. Do your best to share this report with others.

God bless you as we think souls and go out to rob from the strong man’s house.

Elangwe and family

By His grace Director CBIW

Majoring In The Minor Prophets...

“Majoring in the Minor Prophets” was the theme of this year’s lectureship at the Bear Valley church of Christ / Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. There is not enough space in this report to share the details of how wonderfully and powerfully each lesson was presented. The attendance continues to grow each year as the lectureship focuses on remaining true to our God and His word.

If you would like to listen to any of the lectures, you can view the list of topics and see the audio links to the lessons by clicking here. If you were unable to attend the lectureship this year, you can still hear the lessons from these speakers by going to the website link above and clicking on the link that says AUDIO HERE next to the speakers name.

At this year’s lectureship banquet, information was provided for the future as we look to continue growing in our efforts to train men to preach the gospel. Next year will be the start of the 50th year for the Bear Valley Bible Institute in training preachers. We urge each of you to be praying about this special event and plan to be with us. The goal is to have 500 in attendance for the banquet, and we hope to have even more to share in the special lectures planned.

Next year we will focus on “Part 2” of this series on “Majoring in the Minor Prophets.” The lessons will deal with Nahum, Habakkuk, Zephaniah, Haggai, Zechariah, and Malachi. I hope you will plan to join us for this special year at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver.

This week’s report features the great news of God’s hand working through the schools around the world where we are so privileged to share in this task of training preachers. 

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/

The latest report from Howell Ferguson is found here.

Extension Reports 

Campaigns End For Students: Students finished their campaigns in Cameroon and vacation begins for them. Next week’s report will share the results.

Second Graduation: In Nepal, this weekend brought the second graduation for students. We will have more on this in the weeks ahead.

New Students Baptized: Among the 19 students who are attending the extension school in Togo, two were recently baptized.

Two Pastors Converted In Nigeria: A series of lessons continues to strengthen the church and recently became instrumental in reaching two denominational pastors.

Demonstration Of A Childlike Faith: Please take time to read this report from Arusha. The power of the gospel in converting souls is amazing.

Returning Home: Jimmy Gee’s family has returned to Tanzania from their furlough and involved in the work again. 

Final Thoughts
A special thank you to everyone who has been instrumental in the lectureship this year; the speakers, the ones involved in leading in worship, serving at the banquet, and all the behind the scenes activities to make this successful. Also, we want to continue to express our gratitude to each of you for your sacrificial and generous support of the work at Bear Valley. We give God all the glory and we appreciate your willingness to be a tool in His hands to bless this effort. Thank you.

God bless
Bob

Campaigns End For Students...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon. I do hope you are all doing okay in the family there. We are trying our best here. Many are still down in health, even my sons. Keep them in your prayers.

CBIW students ended their campaign today and in transit to their different homes for vacation and they will come back to school this Saturday for the last quarter of their first year of studies in CBIW. God is doing great things in the life of many this way and we continue to rejoice in the Lord.

This week I was busy visiting our students in their areas of service. It was also time to meet our graduates who are also busy in their different congregations making an impact in the work here in Cameroon.

I went to a train station ready to travel to areas that our students are serving. It was a hectic week and we meet many people sharing the good news to them, making them to turn their eyes to the Savior who readily awaits them to come for their salvation.

Plans
On the 17 of October we shall make a trip with all the students to Mbanga congregation for four days effective evangelism to help the young congregation there.

Appreciation
God bless you as we appreciate God for you standing by us to make known the gospel to many and also to train men to preach the gospel.

Do your best to share this report with others as we shall share with you next week concerning just ended campaign. God bless you.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Returning Home...

Dear Family, Friends and Supporters, 

"Be it ever so humble, there's no place like home." Those words rang true when we arrived at our house in Kisongo. The familiar sights, sounds and smells were wonderful.  

Our flight home went fairly well. Due to a lost spring in a door, our 1st flight was delayed an hour (which would make us miss our connecting flight). We had to be re-routed, flying into Doha in the Middle East. It was either that or half of us would have to board another plane. Trina said, "No way" about splitting up the family, so into the Middle East we flew! The last plane arrived in Nairobi, Kenya on Wednesday where we got a marvelous 5 hours of sleep at a hotel. Later that same day, with our stomachs full of Kentucky Fried Chicken, we boarded the shuttle to Kisongo.  

Unfortunately, as many of you now know, others in Nairobi, Kenya (on Saturday) were not as fortunate as us...their lives ended abruptly while at a shopping mall. Our travels are always filled with prayers (ours and yours). Thank you very much. We are grateful to God for our safe arrival. 

There was hardly a seat empty as visitor Cary Oglesby (preacher at Duluth, GA) preached at Kisongo this morning on the much-needed subject of "Repentance." Skip Slatton (an engineer from the Piedmont Road church of Christ) taught us a great lesson on "John the Baptist" during the Bible study hour. Arriving along with these two were Neil Richey and his son, Peyton (Neil preaches at Piedmont Rd). The Richey's taught and preached at Kwa Mrombo. 

After services, we all met in town to enjoy lunch with Cy and Stephanie Stafford and Exel (our co-missionaries), and Nathan and Jessica McVeigh (Bear Valley graduates who are spending a year in Kisongo conducting Bible studies, preaching and teaching and surveying the work, deciding if they would like to work here). Though young, the McVeighs seem like a very mature and dedicated couple.

We will say more about our furlough in the next report. Right now, we will simply say "Thank You" for the many kindnesses toward us. We enjoyed seeing so many of you. The total mileage recorded on our odometer as we traveled reporting was about 15,000 miles. Adding that to the round trip mileage flying to and from the states this year (20,000 miles) makes a grand combined total of 35,000 miles that our family of eleven traveled from April 28th to September 18th.

Our wonderful Tanzanian church family welcomed us back with hugs, kisses and many greetings of "Karibu tena" (Welcome Again or Welcome Back) at Thursday evening Bible study. Also welcoming us back were some critters in the house (a large white slug in the shower, a three-inch roach and a poisonous centipede in the bathtub). 

Due to a time-crunch, today's report will be short and without pictures. We hope to return to our normal reports next Sunday. Our deepest gratitude is extended toward you for your part in the TZ 2000 Mission Work. Your prayers, concern, encouragement and financial support have not been in vain as you saw from the presentation this summer. When Christians work together in the interest of lost souls, God blesses the work. 

With Love from Africa, 
The Jimmy Gee family

Demonstration Of A Childlike Faith...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

What a joy it is knowing we fellowship in the Gospel and that our God is doing mighty works through His faithful. We thank you, for all you do, for all you are and for what is yet to be accomplished in your life. We are indeed a blessed people and a blessed family.

“Then turning toward the woman he said to Simon, ‘Do you see this woman? I entered your house; you gave me no water for my feet, but she has wet my feet with her tears and wiped them with her hair. You gave me no kiss, but from the time I came in she has not ceased to kiss my feet. You did not anoint my head with oil, but she has anointed my feet with ointment. Therefore I tell you, her sins, which are many, are forgiven---for she loved much....” (Luke 7:44-47a--ESV).

I sat on our front porch face to face with a man of God I have come to love and admire much this past week. He was showing me several photos, with tears in his eyes, of his elderly father being baptized in the river for the remission of sins (Acts 2:38). He went on to explain that he had traveled two days to respond to his fathers request to obey the Truth of God’s Word. Yusuph took with him a portable baptistry. For you see his father is confined to a bed due to a stroke he suffered many years ago. When I asked him why they did not use the portable baptistry he went on to explain that his father insisted they go to the river for this is what they did in the Bible. Oh how sweet it is to hear the words of a “childlike faith” demonstrated in ones obedience to the plan and simple truth of the Bible. 

Yusuph’s brother and his family are full-time care takers for their father. The Lord’s Church is now planted in Korogwe, Tanzania. Amen, God is truly good all the time! The true Light of the Gospel continues to have it’s desired affect in East Africa, in spite of all the Darkness that still permeates the lives of the more then 100 Million souls here in East Africa. 

We are thankful for our brother Neil Richey, his son and two others. Neil has come to teach a short course in the ACSOP. His son and our two other brothers are here to teach the Gospel. We thank them, those who made it possible for their coming, and our Tanzanian brothers and sisters who will be working side-by-side with these men in the coming days that others might come to know Our God and that they obey His Word. 

We close with two requests: first, please remember Stephanie’s mother in your prayers. She is having some health issues that concern her and us as well. We almost went to Nairobi this week for a check up, but thankfully we decided against it. In your prayers remember those who are suffering at the hands of the “terrorists” of this world, souls are being lost at their hands as well as their own souls.

Secondly, we have been in the “dark” for a couple of weeks. Tanzania is experiencing more power outages and our generator is not working. We were able to find the part in the States and have ordered it. We paid $600 for this and could sure use some help. We thank everyone who plays a part in this Work of God here in Tanzania. God is doing His part and as long as we do ours, many more will be saved. 

In Him, 
Cy, Stephanie and Granny

Two Pastors Converted In Nigeria...

Dear fellow laborers in Christ's vineyard,

Greetings from staff and students of the Southwest school of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria.

The staff and students of SWSE-Ibadan evangelized Akinwande, Arikusa and Oniyangi villages this morning between 7:30 am - 10:30 am.

Lord's willing, I will be teaching on “The Mission of the NT Church” on Sunday, September 22 at the campus church of Christ, SWSE-site, Butubutu via Ibadan while brother Abraham Idu Yeje, one of our year 2 students and the campus minister, will admonish the church.

Grace and mercy be multiplied unto you all from God our Father and from Christ our Redeemer.

We, the staff and students of Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan-Nigeria evangelized Idera estate, Lagelu L.G.A. of Oyo state with some youth of Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation on Saturday, September 14, 2013 and on Sunday at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation-Ibadan. I taught on “Zealous for the Things of the Lord” (Psalm 69:9) in continuation of our indoor lectureship that centered on “Walking with God.” My first son, brother Emmanuel, and a student of SWSE (DLP 2010-2014) as well as Ladoke Akintola University of Technology, Ogbomosho, Oyo State admonished the church on the “Traits of True Christian” from Phil. 4:8-9 while my second son, John led in giving.

At the end of the service two of our prospects named Tomilola and Bunmi Iyiola got baptized .

Brother Dairo Abiodun Joseph, one of the SWSE-instructors in Lagos reported the conversion of two denominational pastors at a day Bible Lectureship organized by him and the church at Ota, Ogun State where he is serving as an evangelist on September 14, 2013.

Brethren, we thank you so much for your love and contribution toward the growth of the Lord’s church in Africa, Nigeria in particular! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless our work together in Jesus name, amen.

I remain yours in His grace as a servant,

Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Director of Studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos satellite campus, Nigeria