Thirty-Five Studies, Fifteen Baptisms, Eight Restorations...

What a wonderful way it was to finish the sixth quarter at KSOP, Kisumu. It was one of the rare opportunities that we pray should repeat itself sooner than later. In the month of February and March we were privileged to have Mike Reese (KSOP coordinator), team from Charlotte Avenue including two elders (sponsoring congregation) and Denny Petrillo (BVBID president).  Whereas Kenya is known to be the home of the big five wild animals, these brethren never came for that as top priority but to work with the preachers training school in Kisumu, local preachers in evangelizing local villages through gospel meetings, door to door evangelism and edification of the saved.  

Denny taught the book of Ezekiel and Daniel in five days morning to evening. We appreciate his coming to teach and the books that he donated to the young preaching school library. During that same week Mike Reese was teaching a graduate class in Old Testament Theology. Mike went on to teach Educational program of the Church to both graduate and under graduate class the following week, it was two tough weeks for him but he was up to the task and did great! While these were going on at KSOP, the Charlotte Avenue team was out in the local villages conducting gospel meetings which were a great success.

During the months, KSOP students also had a great opportunity of leading door to door evangelism and gospel meeting in Ndwara along Lake Victoria for four days leading to one baptism and later three more baptisms from the studies they initiated.  The inspiration they got during the months propelled them to do really great work during the short break as reported below.

During the break, the KSOP students conducted 35 bible studies, resulting in 15 baptisms, 8 restorations and the whole Umuri congregation restored to true worship. I had a privilege to visit this congregation. While there I refuted the false doctrine about women leadership in church, one man bishop, polygamists can be saved and keep his wives… One student taught the book of Genesis to eight men in Sigomre.

We began the seventh quarter on April 14th, all 13 students arrived safely. I am teaching Denominational Doctrines and Greek III whereas Elias is teaching Minor Prophets I and II. Ralph Williams will teach 1and 2 Timothy – Titus, while Wayne Burger will teach for two weeks Scheme of Redemption and the book of Revelation.

Thanks for your prayers and support that keeps this work going on, “And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we…” will meet these men and the souls they preached to either here on earth or in heaven.

His servant,
Charles Ogutu

Four Are Baptized In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from SWSE-Ibadan, Nigeria. In spite of my tight schedule on the weekend, I and some staff and students of the SWSE-Ibadan who are doing their vocational studies in Ibadan and Asejire-Osun state evangelized Asejire and Bale-Ayo,Osun state on Saturday, April 12 with brother Adeniji Joseph, one of the SWSE year 2 students and brother Kayode Solomon Eniafe and the brethren at the Bale-Ayo and Asejire congregations, according to the phone call which I received from brother Adeniji Joseph, the evangelist of the Bale-Ayo congregation, on Sunday afternoon. The Lord crowned our little efforts with four converts named: Bolade Ajani, Julia Adebayo, Josiah Adelana and Opeyemi Olosunde.

These four converts were baptized by brother Adeniji Joseph and assisted by brother Olorode Samuel Olfemi, one of our year 1 students and brother Kayode S. Eniafe, the evangelist of the Egbeda congregation as well as one of the SWSE-Ibadan campus instructors.

On Sunday at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan, brother Destiny Elijah, one of SWSE year 1 students, taught on “Prepare to Meet Your God” (Amos 4 :12) and brother Lawrence Olawale Dada, one of our year 2009 graduates admonished the church from Rom. 3:10-24, while I served as their interpreter and also officiated in the Lord's supper.

Brethren, the students of the SWSE Ibadan are now in their vocational studies until May 16th and classes will commence at the school on May 19th, 2014, Lord's willing.

Beloved, all arrangements for my mum’s burial are now concluded. The service of songs on April 25th, service for burial and burial will come up in my compound while the reception comes up at the Onikokoro Community Primary School after the burial on April 26th from noon until evening.

This coming Friday through Sunday evening, the church at Onikokoro / Gbongudu will be conducting a 3 day open air Bible lectureship at Gbongudu -Ibadan. The lectureship will center on “Who is Jesus Christ?” I will serve as one of the moderators as well as the speaker for the third day open-air.

Brethren, we thank you all for your brotherly love! Stay blessed and be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely His & yours,

Makinde E. Olufemi (Director of studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos campus, Nigeria

Fifty-Seven Applicants For The Gamma Class...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters in Cameroon, especially those in the Wotutu congregation. God is blessing us in many ways and we give glory to His name. Keep on in your prayers for many of our brethren who are sick, mostly the children at this time that we are doing a transitional period.

We do hope you are doing great also over where you are. We keep you in our prayers to go through the challenges in life over there.

Today, we are having serious down pour of rain. The night was with signs that rain will come, but it started a few minutes before the time that many are finalizing their arrangements to go for worship. The rain will help in our crops and cool the climatic conditions.

Brother Richard Renfro, vice president in Mission Printing, came to visit us and many congregations in Cameroon. His one week stay in Cameroon took him to over 13 congregations meeting with preachers and leaders. He is the vice president of Mission Printing and they sent us an ocean container of tracts to help in our evangelism. It is an answer to many prayers in Cameroon as we have never received tracts in great quantity in Cameroon since the establishment of the church here. He was impressed with the dedication of our students, as he gave them ties to make them look neat as the preach the gospel of peace.

He told the Wotutu congregation what Mission Printing is all about. It was a wonderful service time together. Keep him in your prayers as he flies out of Cameroon this evening and back to the USA.

Sister Adamu, who is just a visitor in Wotutu, could hear our morning program. She is from  a Muslim background. She followed our preaching and came to worship with us. She was interested in studying with our students that Jesus Christ is greater than Mohamed, when she saw it, she made her mind to become a Christian. What a God we serve!.

During her baptism she was smiling and being happy. Keep her husband in prayers that he will not disturb her but he will also love to study the word. Keep her in your prayers to grow because she speaks both French and English.

Our students were out on mission work as usual for weekend evangelism. As I write this mail they have called to express what the Lord accomplished through them. Koba, Dikome , and others continue to express their joy as they see our students come and help them grow.

Plans
1) We have two invitations to attend Bible lectureship: in Bolifamba village and also to Ediki, a congregation that we revived. Please keep these missions in your prayers as we have another opportunity to rob from the strong man’s house, if we have the means to make it to both places.

2) This Saturday we have the entrance exams into CBIW scheduled. We have close to 57 applications. We hope all of them will make it to Wotutu because now the weather conditions are not predictable. Keep them in your prayers that God will help us select those He has selected already for His use. We are working on getting 20 students for the GAMMA BATCH .

Appreciations
We thank God for you and your love for the old rugged cross, as you deem it good to stand with us as we reach out to the lost. God bless you in all that you do.

Do your best to share our report with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

Unity: The Beauty Of The Work...

Each week we continue to read about the development of students in various locations where we partner with some of the greatest people on earth. The training of these students bears fruit through their work in proclaiming the gospel. As the overall program grows, we also see the growth of the church in places where the gospel goes for the first time. Students who visit these locations report about the receptivity for the gospel and the need for more to be trained. Our efforts are designed to help meet that need.

We have fewer reports this week to share, but the nature of these reports demonstrates the level of excitement in fulfilling the purpose mentioned above. We are witnessing God’s providential guidance in the growth of His kingdom. The horizons before us spread a vision based on the faith of everyone involved in this work.

The beauty of the work involves the joint efforts of brethren internationally. The ability and opportunity to walk side by side with other Christians who are laboring for the cause of Christ demonstrates a unity desired by God for His people. This unity is the foundation of our Christianity and the testimony to the world we are His disciples. Please join us in praying that God will bless us in achieving this unity throughout the extension development.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Luis Camacho’s report about the need to reach 65 million souls in Paraguay can be read here.

Extension Reports 

Growth In The Church, New Student Prospects: The local congregations in Cameroon continue to grow and CBIW prepares to interview new students for 2015.

Richard Renfro Visits SWSE In Nigeria: Brother Renfro works with Mission Printing and has been instrumental in delivering biblical study materials to numerous countries.

Dedication, Sacrifice, And Soundness In Chimala: In the midst of the challenges to keep God’s word pure, it is encouraging to see how the Chimala Bible Institute remains faithful.

Unity And Teamwork Highlight The Church In Arusha: Daniel Gaines’ report shares how leaders can disagree, discuss, and debate method, yet still be united. Great lesson and post.

Final Thoughts
Thank you for uniting with us in training men to preach the gospel. The financial support, prayers, encouragement, teaching, preaching, and guidance each of you provide keeps this work strong and moving forward. Without your involvement we could not see the fruit of God’s faithfulness in fulfilling the Great Commission. Thank you.

God bless
Bob

Richard Renfro Visits SWSE In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from Nigeria! The three month internal lectureship at the Onikokoro / Gbnongudu congregation centered on “Worship of the NT Church” came to an end on the Lord's day of April 6th, 2014. I taught on “Attending the Assemblies,” while brother Okon S. Udoh admonished the saints from Psalm 1. We are 56 in attendance with a total collection of N2,600=

The students of the SWSE-Ibadan main campus continue their active service in the Lord's kingdom on the Lord's day of April 6, 2014 in their respective congregations.

Brother Godwin Ede (SWSE- year 1) taught on “Worship in Song” at the Wasinmi congregation, Osun state. Brother Ilori Gbenga (year 1 student) also taught on “The Narrow Way” at the Egbeda-Ibadan congregation. Brother Olorode Samuel Oluwafemi (year 1 student) taught on Sunday at the Bale-Ayo congregation, Osun state on “The NT Church.” Brother Akinade Oluwaseun Akinleye (year 1 student) also taught an expository lesson from Ephesians chapter 1 at the Jago congregation, Ona-Ara L. G. Oyo state. Brother Shotola Emmanuel Olusegun (year 1 student) taught at the campus church on “The Epistle of James chapter 1,” while brother Festus Ayoo admonished the campus church from Gal. 5:16-23.

The year 2 students, such as brother Lawrence Abiodun, brother Faleye Joseph, brother Adeniji Joseph, brother Adeyehun Raphael and brother Adekunle Olanrewaju also participated actively in the service of April 6, 2014 at their respective congregations where they are serving as evangelists.

Brethren, the SWSE-Ibadan main campus started their 3rd semester examinations on Friday, April 4th and it will end on April 11, 2014, Lord's willing before the students embark on their vocational studies for three weeks and the 4th semester classes will commence on May 19, 2014.

Brethren, we thank you all for your partnership and we pray the Lord will continue blessing our joint efforts in Christ name, Amen.

The school will host another missionary this afternoon in the person of brother Richard L. Renfro of Mission Printing, USA.

We thank you all for your love and care. Stay blessed.

Sincerely His & yours,

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

Unity And Teamwork Highlight The Church In Arusha...

Yesterday, I attended the monthly Arusha evangelism meeting. This is the time each month when representatives from all of the churches of Christ in or near the city meet together. On this particular occasion, I was the only foreigner in attendance with about 10 Tanzanian evangelists. I was fascinated as the men reported on their work and discussed strategies for evangelizing the city.

I could not help but wonder, "Why don't we do this more in the U.S.?" I have attended many preachers meetings in different parts of the U.S., and generally find them enjoyable and worthwhile. However, they mostly are centered on professional development and networking. What if preachers and elders of all of the area congregations met on a regular basis to discuss the furtherance of the gospel in their area? What if they made concrete plans on how to work together and support each other? How much more could be accomplished by conscious efforts to work together strategically? What if EVERY church leader viewed their congregations as teammates in the work of the kingdom, rather than competitors in the race to be the biggest congregation?

Congregational autonomy is one of the hallmarks of New Testament Christianity as we find it in the Bible. But just because each congregation is self-governing, certainly doesn't mean that they cannot work together for God's glory. I am certainly not suggesting that it never happens, only that it would be great if it happened even more.

In the meeting yesterday, not everyone saw eye to eye on every strategy. There was discussion and debate. But in the end, there was unity. The result was that every preacher there committed to spending two Saturdays each month for the rest of the year evangelizing in the area of a new church (Njiro Chini). How many churches back home would like for their preacher to spend that much time working to build up ANOTHER congregation in the area? It doesn't make much sense in an "every church for itself" mentality, but it makes perfect sense in a "let's build up the kingdom!" mentality. Just some food for thought...

How is the unity and teamwork in your neck of the woods? 

Daniel Gaines

To see the Gaines’ report with pictures and archived posts, please click here.

Dedication, Sacrifice, And Soundness In Chimala...

The Chimala Bible Institute is continuing its work of training preachers. After working with the new and second year students this past month, we are impressed with the dedication and sacrifices these students make in coming to train themselves to be better servants of God. Along with our Tanzanian and Malawian students we admitted five students from the Congo. These young men have been in a refugee camp in Tanzania and all are New Testament Christians with a desire to preach the gospel. Along with the rest of our students we are preparing the future leaders and teachers of the church in east Africa.

We arrived with a dedicated partner in the work, brother Brent Smith. This is his fourth time to come to Chimala making the long and weary trip from Trenton, Tennessee. I am impressed with the many faithful preachers on our staff at the Bear Valley Bible Institute and in area sound churches that wish to be a part of this great work. Brent always brings a level of scholarship and enthusiasm to the work when he comes. This trip he also brought his oldest daughter, Elania. She begins college next year and wanted a taste of doing missions before the life-changing event. She spent time helping Anna in the library and teaching children in the area churches. After returning home, brother Smith reported about the good work the students were doing in his classes. He let us know they all received a passing grade and worked hard in learning the material. 

In our first faculty meeting, I was assured by the teachers that they are standing firm in the faith in their training of our students. Their commitment to New Testament Christianity, without addition or subtraction, is heartwarming and inspirational considering some of the challenges they are facing in the area. My chapel sermons were on the role of the Evangelist in preaching the Word and standing firm on the teachings of the scripture. The hearty response by both students and teachers made me even more proud of the training and commitment our staff and students received under the teaching of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver. Yes, our teachers all sign the BVBID doctrinal statement and we only allow those who visit and speak to do so also. Please continue to pray for the soundness and commitment of New Testament Christianity in our school.

One of the great privileges I also have is collecting material for the library and students from various churches and individuals. We were able to bring back a notebook of material provided by Daniel Cates, the son of our late brother Curtis Cates. The material will be a resource of invaluable information for our students to use in their careers as gospel preachers. Other churches and individuals have generously given Bibles, study materials and supplies to the work at Chimala. One congregation in particular has generously given support, materials such as shirts for the students, candles to use in studying at night and Bible Story coloring books for the children in the village churches. Thanks to the generosity of the Riverbend church in Dalton, Georgia the school is better equipped to do it’s work. Brother Denton Landon, one of our BVBID staff members and the assistant director of the Bear Valley Bible Institute Graduate program, has collected even more books and scholarly materials for the CBI library. Some of the books he and others have collected are arriving over the next few weeks and we will receive more in the next few months. Denton will be returning this fall to begin the second round of graduate classes at Chimala. 

The work at CBI is growing, as many other churches show an interest in supporting the work. Brother Jim Dearman, who is a long time missionary, preacher and gospel TV producer, is allowing us to report on the work on his show, Good News Today. Other churches in the Chattanooga area are inviting us to speak this spring and summer to raise support for the work. We are blessed to share with our brethren the good work of the Chimala Bible Institute.

Please continue to pray for us as we work, both in Tanzania and stateside, in directing and raising the necessary support for the students in southern Tanzania. Like most places in the world, radical Islam, paganism and the false teaching needs to be combated. Like the motto of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver states, using the words of the apostle Paul, we must teach the gospel, “entrusting faithful men who will be able to teach others also.” (2 Timothy 2:2). Help us in our work of “entrusting faithful men.”

Garry L. Hill
Coordinator/Instructor
Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver
Director: Chimala Bible Institute

Growth In The Church, New Student Prospects...

Dearest in Christ

Greetings from Cameroon. God gave us a beautiful day after a heavy down pour of rain the whole night. We are doing great and God continues to watch us and help us go through what must go through. We do hope this report finds you doing great.

Last week at CBIW went on well. God continues to help the students grow as they study and prepare themselves for full time ministry after their graduation in December. We are thankful that God saw us as a vessel He can use to prepare men to preach the gospel to the lost.

Whenever we move towards Friday it is a moment of joy for both us and the students as they think souls. They know another opportunity has come to go out robbing from the strong man’s house. Our normal locations continue to appreciate the presence of our students as they continue to provoke numerical and spiritual growth.

Brother Chu Elvis is one of the leaders in the congregation at Mbanga. As we continue to reach out to many congregations in different locations each week, we expose what the Lord is doing through us and many take interest to come and study. Brother Elvis promised to come to Wotutu and take the entrance exams into CBIW next batch. He said he prayed that God would help him succeed so that he will take the spirit of evangelism which is found in all those in the CBIW family. Keep him in your prayers.

I taught this morning. I have been out of the Wotutu congregation for some weeks because of traveling out to different locations to reach out and help many struggling congregations in Cameroon. It was good for me to be with my brothers and sisters in the Wotutu congregation teaching on the topic, “The Meaning of the Widow’s Mite.” It was good for many to learn how to give their all to the Lord.

Sister Kemeni is French speaking and staying in Wotutu with her family. Her husband is a military person and both of them listen to our early morning “Back to the Bible” program every morning at 5am. They are following from their home and they can understand because the morning preaching is translated into French, so she said she was touched by the messages that they are hearing. She has been coming and worshiping since December last year, but refused to be baptized. But yesterday she came to my house and said, “I am ready to become a child of God during the afternoon.” So I shared and saw her conviction and she was baptized by me. Keep her in your prayers so that her whole family will obey the truth soon.

She is so happy to do what she did yesterday. She is happy and prays for her husband to obey the gospel. She is kind and will attract many to see the light of God.

The Muea congregation witnessed growth today as brother Livinus accepted the gospel there. Koba, Dikome and others of our mission field keep praising God for the growth they are witnessing.

Plans
1) We have planned for a mass campaign to two different locations by the end of this month. Ediki and Bolifamba villages are inviting the entire school to come and evangelize house to house. We may split the group into two to fulfill all the demands, but it will depend on our means of transporting ourselves.

2) Our entrance exams will come up on the 26th of April. Then we shall start selecting prospective students for the GAMMA batch. Keep this in your prayers.

Appreciations
God bless you and reward you and your family for the sacrifice and privilege you accepted to work for the Lord and being part of our work here in Cameroon. We thank God for you and we keep you in our prayers. We know God will keep you standing with us as we achieve many more for His glory. Do your best to share this report with others. God bless you and watch over you all over where you are.

Elangwe and family

New Month And New Reports Brings Great News...

The beginning of a new month always highlights a number of reports from both stateside and international staff. April is off to a great start as the reports from each location share ways God is working in the world. In light of the political turmoil in Russia / Ukraine, it is encouraging to see the reports from Howell Ferguson and Dennis Sopelnik concerning the continued efforts of training students in Gorlovka.

The growth of the work in Paraguay is also encouraging. The development of the church and training students who are actively involved in the church is just the beginning. Prospects for a new class of students in 2015 is already in the plans. The next class appears to have the potential of being double the size of the current class. Our prayers for the Asunción Bible Academy involve continued growth and excitement as they strengthen students for kingdom work.

Students in Denver make their way to their graduation date in May. The students approaching graduation are a wonderful class of men that will soon enter the work of the kingdom. We look forward to providing more information that features these men and where they will be serving for the Lord’s church. Other students will be graduating this summer also in several locations and we will provide information about their work. Please pray for these students and the work they will be carrying forth in the months ahead.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Howell Ferguson can be read by clicking here.

The latest report from Donnie Bates can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

Weekend Evangelism Yields Fruit In Cameroon: After returning from the weekend of evangelizing villages in Cameroon, news shares God’s increase.

Challenges Continue, But The School Grows: In between the turmoil of Russia and Ukraine, the Bible Institute in Gorlovka continues to prepare students for the work.

Lectures Bring A Soul To Christ In Nigeria: Steven Ashcraft teaches at the Southwest School of Evangelism and the Lord gives the increase as one of the students is baptized.

The Beautiful Blessing Of God’s Increase In Paraguay: Souls are added to the Lord’s church in Asunción. The growth is encouraging both locally and internationally.

Tanzania Congregations Are Growing: Christopher Mwakabanje shares more news about the growth and development of the church in Tanzania.

When Did This Become Ordinary? How long does it take in the mission field before it becomes ordinary? An interesting question that Daniel Gaines touches on in his report.

Final Thoughts
We are blessed by your involvement in the work. We appreciate your love for the Lord, His church, and the kingdom work of extension training. Together we are making a difference through the preparation of students who are taking the gospel to various places around the world and help bring souls to the Lord. Thank you for helping keep this work effective.

God bless
Bob

Lectures Bring A Soul To Christ In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ,

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

Brother Steven Ashcraft arrived in Nigeria the evening of March 28, 2014 and resumed work on Sunday at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan by teaching on “The True Worship” while I served as his interpreter as well as service leader and a student of the SWSE - Ibadan sermonized the saints . 

A WBS student of Kathleen Withers and Ken Heflin named Busayo Waleola was baptized after the Sunday worship.

March 31 through April 4, brother Steven Ashcraft taught on “Bible Geography” at the SWSE campus, Butubutu, Ibadan from 8:15 am to 6:00 pm with one and half hours break in the afternoon and the only student from Lagos campus named James Olaosebikan was baptized on April 3, 2014 at Osun River by 3:00 pm.

The five days intensive lectures was attended by 45 brethren (33 students, 6 instructors, 2 foundation members and 4 of the SWSE graduates).

Beloved, with total submission to the will of God, I'm using this medium to announce the passing unto glory of my beloved mother who was added to the Lord's church in August 2001. She passed into eternity at the age of 110 years of age. She was survived by an aged husband, five women and a young man (my self). She will be buried on April 26 at my compound while the service of songs will come up on April 25, 2014. 

Brethren, we thank the Lord for brother Steven Ashcraft’s visit to Nigeria in spite of the ugly news about our country, Nigeria.

Thanks so much for your brotherly love. Stay blessed and have a wonderful weekend.

Sincerely His & yours,
Makinde E. Olufemi

When Did This Become Ordinary?

Today was a pretty typical Sunday. Tiffany taught the children's Bible class, then I preached. We visited with our friends and talked a little church business. Then we drove home. The day seemed very ordinary and natural.  

At some point in the past few months, a change has taken place. We are no longer going to church "in Africa.” We're just going to church. We are no longer driving around "in Africa.” We're just driving where we need to go. All of the children are still in the same Bible class, regardless of age.  The songs are still in Swahili. I still preach through a translator. People still drive on the left side of the very crowded road. However, the same sights and sounds that once seemed strange and exotic have become normal and commonplace. How did that happen??? 

Through time and repetition people can become accustomed to most anything. It occurred to me that sin operates in much the same way. Being surrounded by patterns of behavior, dress, and speech make those things quickly seem normal, even if they are in fact a perversion of how life ought to be. Once sin loses its shock value, then it is only a short journey onward to being considered acceptable. 

Of course the cultural differences that we face are pretty harmless because we are not dealing with right and wrong. However, sin is extremely dangerous, and our attitudes toward it are of great importance. Sin is INEVITABLE, but it is never ACCEPTABLE. This is true in society at large, as well as in our own lives. We must carefully guard our hearts to avoid becoming so accustomed to sin that it seems like "normal" behavior. As Proverbs 4:23 says it, "Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life."    

Taking a Break
School was out last week, as the students received a week off in between quarters. We have been very busy lately, and took the opportunity for some much needed time off ourselves. Mental and physical breaks are vital to longevity in the work of the Lord. Even God rested after a busy week of creation, and Jesus often withdrew for revitalizing alone time. We owe many thanks to Nathan and Jessica McVeigh for keeping the kids for us while Tiffany and I had some time to ourselves. Now we are refreshed and ready to tackle a new quarter.   

Prayer Request
I have a prayer request to share with you. We have a sister in Christ - let's call her "Naomi" (not her real name) - who is in great need of prayer. She lives in desperate circumstances with her small children and her drunkard husband who practices witchcraft. Her circumstances are having serious effects on her mental stability and her children's health and safety. Pray that God will help her family, and that if there is a way for us to offer real help that He will make it clear to us.

Daniel Gaines

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

Tanzania Congregations Are Growing...

Yes indeed parents do love their children dearly, but a mother loves her children in a very special way.

More than once when I was growing up I overheard a conversation among poor women back home: "You take marbles and boil them until children go to sleep when you don't have anything to offer for them."

A mother does that with tears in her eyes and heart. She reaches at such conclusion with a great pain realizing that she is lying to her own children whom she heartedly loves. Little children don't believe a mother or father that can ever be out of food, it is impossible for them!

Since I began preaching the gospel in 1993 I've seen this in the spiritual sense. Many babies in Christ put so much trust in spiritual parents. For them God works through the messenger in every case, which is true in some sense. But some of us are like the poor mothers who don't know what to do afterwards! We believe God can open up the door in many ways, however God always does so by using our hands, feet, etc. to help others in need (Gal. 6:9,10; Mt. 25:31-46).

Few instances here: I recently received a call from Sylvester who graduated from Andrew Connally School of Preaching in 2013 asking for a place to worship. He said, we can do as much as to contribute our effort in this, such as making clay blocks, etc. ($5000 will do much good for this group of 30 new babies in Christ). 

Below is a report from Congo. Theofilo is one of our graduates who became Christian in Tanzania as a refugee of the Congoleese civil war for decades now:

Christopher my dear friend,

Try to forward this report about the churches in D.R.C./CONGO to our brethren so that they may know what is going on in this part of the Lord's church.

We have planted 6 congregations at EAST of D.R.C. Namely:

1. UVIRA CHURCH OF CHRIST - 45 members

Our main task here is door to door Evangelism,seminars for edification of the members once per month and restoration ministry(here we choose one family every week where we will meet in evening for bible study,we invite neighbors to share the gospel and present the church of Christ. 

Other congregations are:

2. BARAKA CHURCH OF CHRIST - 35 members.

3.KIKWENA CHURCH OF CHRIST.20 members.

4. FIZI CHURCH OF CHRIST -21 members. 

5. LWEBA CHURCH OF CHRIST-17 members.

6. MBOKO CHURCH OF CHRIST-15 members.

- Our pressing needs:

1.We desperately need our own ground for the building of worship service since renting houses is very costly in UVIRA and BARAKA towns. 

2.Almost 3 computers or laptops and 1 printer will help us to speedly spread the Good News all over the country.

3.We need the visit of missionaries,teachers,and fellow christians from US and other countries for our edification and assistance since no support is noticed untill now in CONGO.

4. Swahili Bibles and other printed materials are so needed also without omitting your prayers which are the spin of our efforts.

Brotherly yours,

Theofilo M. Songie

The Beautiful Blessing Of God's Increase In Paraguay...

The Lord’s Kingdom in Paraguay is Growing! 
When the Lord provides the increase in His kingdom (1 Co. 3:6) it sparks such joy and gratefulness among the church that it is hard to compare with any other emotion. That is just how this month has felt as we have witnessed souls being added to His kingdom. Hallelujah! We pray that you might be encouraged and will rejoice with us in the great news of this month’s edition of our Paraguay Mission report! God bless.

Developments at Sacramento Avenue 
•Baptisms! Alex Valdez and Fabian Nuñez are friends who just walked off the street and into our worship services one day. They had been attending a local denomination and had become disillusioned with the lack of sound Biblical teaching there. They live nearby the church building and had recently received a flyer in their mailbox during one of the Bible Academy student campaigns. The flyer stated, “Did you know that tithing is not a command for the Christian?” It caught their attention, so they came to investigate. Eliezer Perez, William Arzamendia, and Ramon

Paredes studied with them until they each understood and then each decided to put on Christ in baptism! What a wonderful outcome for two souls searching for God and His truth.

•Because of the recent growth in the church over the past few months, the men of the congregation have decided to offer a “Fundamentals” class on Sunday mornings in order to reinforce our new brethren in Christ. It is so good to see them recognizing the need quickly and then providing for what is necessary!

Developments at Ñemby Congregation
•Baptism! Patricia Larrea is a childhhod friend of our brother, Raul Riveros. She has been visiting worship services in Ñemby and studying with Brittnea Yegros. We praise God that she made the right decision for the most important decision of her life!

•The brethren at Ñemby are sad to report that one of their families will be moving out of the area.

Guillermo and Mirian Sanchez are one of the original families that were part of the church plant last July. They will be moving to Ciudad del Este for his work. Who knows that perhaps God may be providing an avenue to plant a church in that city? We’ll certainly be praying!

Asunción Bible Academy Update 
•Year two has begun! We can’t believe it but it has! The students are doing well and are already accustomed to the study format, so we informed them that we will be “taking it to the next level.” They simply replied, “Very well, we’re ready!” Isn’t that a great attitude to have?! We pray that each one will finish strong.

•We are excited to report that the Beta Class (2015-17) is already forming! That’s right! We have five brethren that have indicated that they are making plans to attend next year. Two of them are international students! We would like to ask you to please pray for Isaac, Isabel, Jose, Leti, and Raúl and their decision.

Evangelistic Contacts / Bible Studies / Activities:
•Andrea is staying very busy with all her studies. She has continued studies with Oscar Parodi, Adriana Rodriguez, Andrea Caceras, Dina Aycock, and Sandra Duarte.

•I have two new English students, Sergio and Sebastian. They both are attending services, as well, so they are receiving a lot of Bible instruction in two languages!

•Sadly, I haven’t been able to study with Rolando Duarte this past month due to traveling or complications with his schedule. We’ll continue to try this next month. I did, however, get a book to him that is an overview of the entire Bible. I pray this will help him along with his desire to know more of God’s word.

•Christian Jourdain, my Taekwondo instructor, continues to be interested in our Bible studies. It is exciting to watch his growth.

•Gina Vera and Bryan Davis were married on March the 8th at the Hotel Paraguay with many from the church present. I was honored to be able lead their wedding vows and be a part of their special day. They were married in Paraguay on Saturday, boarded a plane to the USA on Sunday, arrived in Kentucky on Monday, were married there that evening with an American ceremony, and then took off to the mountains in North Carolina for their honeymoon. Whew! That’s a bunch of miles!

•I had an opportunity to travel to Meteti, Panama, this past month and assist our brother in Christ, Preston Silcox, in an “encouragement and planning mission.” We went with the intention to encourage our brother, Ruben Castro by bringing him some much needed teaching and preaching resources, and to make some plans for the upcoming mission trip in July. Preston brought him some WVBS videos to watch and he was so excited to have a Bible professor in his own living room that he can rewind and listen to over and over.

Personal Development and Activities
Personal Activities:
•Andrea hosted a baby shower for our sister in Christ, Mirian Sanchez, this month. She was only expecting about 15-20 people, but there wound up being 33 that came! Mirian and her husband will be moving to the other side of the country in April, so we’re praying for their faithfulness and for their expanding family.

•Andrea baked a cake for a sweet little missionary girl named Vivian Blackmer. The theme was “Frozen” and you should have heard all the little girls squeal when it was presented at her party!

•Andrea has developed quite a friendship with several of the children in the congregation, but especially, with Luis Fernando. She gives him her camera to take pictures and you would think that he was professional with the way he handles his subjects. He’s such a great kid, we believe he’ll be the pulpit preacher at Avenida Sacramento church of Christ someday! (BTW, his sister plans to attend the Bible Academy next year!)

•Our dear friends and brethren, Arsenio and Hermelinda were married on March 22. They had been waiting on some legal documents to allow them to marry. They finally arrived and so they had a nice, small ceremony in the home of our sister, Delci Enciso.

Personal study:
•I am currently reading / have read:

“The Church of Christ: A Biblical Ecclesiology for Today” by Everett Ferguson 

“Hablemos el Guarani” por Ortiz, Aguilera, y Marecos

•I have been studying about the deity of Christ and how “the Word became flesh.” We’ve had some questions arise regarding this centuries old debate and plan to address them real soon.

Preaching/teaching opportunities: 
•I preached at Avenida Sacramento using the title “A Purpose Driven Life? Glorify God, THAT’s Our Purpose!” based upon Ecclesiates 12:13 and 1 Cor 6:20.

•I have been teaching weekly classes in the Bible Academy on “Ezra, Nehemiah, and Esther” and “Advanced Homiletics.”

•I recently taught the Sunday am class on the subject of “The Mission and Work of the Church.” I also taught one of our Wednesday night Bible classes on Romans Ch 13.

Paraguayan Culture Spotlight: “Chipa”
Chipa, which is a uniquely Paraguayan type of cheese bread, is consumed throughout the entire day in Paraguay. Just woke up? Chipa is the paraguayan breakfast of champions. Time for your mid-morning yerba mate? Chipa makes for a pretty good “tereré rupa.” Need something to go with your afternoon coffee or cocido? How about some chipa? It seems that it is always chipa time in Paraguay. Making chipa is a lenghty process that is most often done in a dome oven called a "tatakuá," which is why most people just prefer to buy chipa. So, every day chipa vendors make their way through the neighborhoods with large wide baskets on their heads full of chipa to sell. Chipa vendors are called “chiperas” and many have a fixed route with a loyal clientele while others work for chipa businesses known as “chiperías.” For more information on this and all things Paraguay, visit this website: http://discoveringparaguay.com/home/tag/chipa/

Troy and Andrea Spradlin

To see their report with pictures, please click here.

Challenges Continue, But The School Grows...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches.

The situation in Ukraine is still very tense. We ask you to keep praying for God’s church in Ukraine and for the Bible Institute. Usually when the economical situation in the country gets worse, people start thinking more about God. Maybe the current events in our country will provide us with more opportunities to share the pure gospel with the lost souls. 

In the first part of March, there were the following teachers teaching courses at the Institute: Dennis Sopelnik taught Daniel, Alexander Rodnayev taught Galatians, Johnny Mack Young taught Personal Evangelism and Wisdom Literature via Skype. The schedule at the Institute is stable, and despite the events in Ukraine, teachers try to assist as much as possible. There was an ocean between Johnny Mack and us, but he tried to encourage both students and teachers continuously. We are grateful for his help and ministry. Now another brother from the US, Garth Hilton, teaches via Polycom system. I’m sure they are more than willing to be here; however, in order to avoid unnecessary problems, this method of teaching is the best for American teachers at this point. In April we’ll have teachers from Ukraine teaching courses. 

In the second part of March, we had evangelizing campaigns planned at the Institute. All students were divided into 4 groups, and each group helped local churches of Christ to put their plans into practice. That way we were able to have evangelizing campaigns in Kramatorsk, Slavyansk, Gorlovka and Dzerzhinsk.  At some places the results were quite vivid. For example, there were new people who visited the Sunday services in Kramatorsk and Slavyansk. I hope that it would encourage the church to further actions. 

Last month I was able to visit congregations in Gorlovka, Illovaysk and Kramatorsk. Our graduates of various years minister in each congregation. On March 30, there was a wonderful service in Kramatorsk, and there were representatives of 15 congregations of the churches of Christ in Ukraine, Russia and the US. We were talking about unity and prayed for the future of Ukraine. 

We continue working with the orphanage. Kids are very fond of us, and many of them want to have more opportunities to study God’s word. We still have Bible School for Kids “The Gifted Child”, which cooperates with the church.  Our students make a huge impact in its work. Many of them receive a good experience of working with the kids and their parents. Perhaps, we can’t drastically change all the society around us, but it would be bad if we don’t use the opportunities that we already have. 

We continue supporting the church in Amvrosievka. Bogdan Chigvintsev, our brother and youth minister of the Central church of Christ in Gorlovka, preached there last month. The church is greatly encouraged when new brothers visit them. We’ll pray for this congregation to find a full-time preacher of God’s Word soon. 

My family, students and teachers send you their greetings and thanks for your help. We need your prayers. 

Your brother and co-worker,
Dennis Sopelnik

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

Weekend Evangelism Yields Fruit In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

We praise God it is another new week in a new month. We thank God for His great care and providence to us through many hands. We do hope you entered into this new month with lots of blessings from above because we serve a faithful God.

All our students who went out for weekend evangelism are all back on campus. They came with great news from the all 10 locations we assigned them to reach out with His word. Dikome continues to witness increase now and the congregation will be adding more benches in the near future. Koba congregation is healthy and the work of their wooden building is in progress. Many thanks to God for His providence. We shall share pictures in future.

The first week of this quarter in CBIW has passed without any major problems, meaning this quarter had a smooth take off. Keep it in your prayers so that as we teach and instruct the students, those courses will provoke growth as we prepare them for full time ministry after their graduation in December 2014.

As the students return on campus here in Wotutu, our motto is still on: Evangelism is our mission and our mission is evangelism. There were many smiles on the faces of these young men as they listened to the truth that helped three of them in Bayai Panya village obey the truth.

One of our former students, who is now a full time evangelist in Mbanga congregation of the church of Christ, the lady who sat next to him was his lovely wife, during the traditional marriage yesterday in the girl’s village in Mukonje. It was great to see young men making that very important decision in life mostly for those in the ministry. Keep brother Ititi and his wife, sister Mary, in your prayers.

During the traditional marriage it was also a time to meet with former students who are now evangelists in different congregations and they are struggling to do well with their calling to preach. Keep our former students in your prayers. God is using them a lot.

Brother Mbappe Guy and wife sister Lum stood for the congregation in Wotutu to offer a prayer to God on their behalf for a new baby girl that God blessed them with a few weeks ago. The baby is named Paulina. Keep this family in your prayers.

Brother Rene Meboka, another keen listener to our early morning radio program Back to the Bible, where we expose the truth to the population in Wotutu and other villages. It prepares them to start their day. We usher them into every new day with God’s word. Keep brother Rene in your prayers to grow to maturity.

It is also very important to me and our entire congregation that brother Eboli Samuel comes to our congregation when we have some work to do, like construction. By doing so he will listen to what we are saying. He developed interest to send his wife to start worshipping with us. The wife obeyed the gospel two years ago and she is growing well. She started encouraging the husband who claimed that every church is the same because he was attached to his Presbyterian denomination. He wore a white baptismal gown and this morning he obeyed after worshipping with us for the past two Sundays. Keep him in your prayers.

Plans
1) The first part of our entrance exams into CBIW will be on the 26th of April. Keep it in your prayers so that the Lord will help us select before December where the new Gamma batch will come in.

2) The Ediki congregation will host the Bible lectureship. We have invited others to come so that they will also help is reach out. By doing so many other congregations in the Kumba area will know about the existence of the Ediki congregation that is now revived.

Appreciation
We give our thanks to God for His providence in all that we do. We cannot do anything by our own. We thank you for obeying God and for standing with us to make this work be what it is. God bless and reward you in due season.

Do your best to share this report with others. God bless you and watch over you, your congregation and your family in Jesus name.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

International School of Theology In Haiti Begins In August...

Few announcements are more exciting than the beginning of a new school. We are thrilled to share with you the establishment of the International School of Theology in Haiti. There is a special and unique quality that exists with the beginning of this new school; we are partnering with Freed-Hardeman University in the establishment and operations of IST in Haiti.

Larry Waymire will serve as the coordinator for this new work and classes are set to begin in August. The first class is planning to have 24 students who will begin full-time preparations for preaching the gospel of Jesus. The Broad Street Church of Christ in Lexington, TN will serve as the overseeing congregation for the work.

We are excited about the new school and the partnership with one of our brotherhood universities. We know this will show a powerful sign of unity to the brethren in Haiti and in the U.S. of our working together in the strengthening of the church in Haiti. We ask you to be praying about this opportunity and the development of the work.

Other news from the extension schools is also exciting as God works through each school in spreading the news of Jesus. The news of God giving the increase is always encouraging and keeps us focused on the purpose for the work we are involved with in each location.

Now on to the other reports...

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

Extension Reports 

Campaigns See 31 Obey The Gospel In Cameroon: The power of the gospel is fruitful as students return from their campaigns and report of God’s blessing the work.

Worship Of The New Testament Church: This is the theme of a lectureship in Ibadan, Nigeria and the staff and students continue to proclaim God’s word.

God Has Been Good In Uganda: An accident, the blessing of fish, pigs weaning, and reaching out with the gospel, God’s goodness is seen in Uganda.

The Gospel Is Going Forth In India: Students at the Visakha Valley Bible College are sharing the gospel throughout the Andhra Pradesh State in India.

Mosquito River Bible School In Arusha Graduates Students: As a part of the TZ2000 work, the church at Mosquito River completes the courses offered to students in the community.

Final Thoughts
As we end this month and prepare for the month ahead, we constantly give thanks for all you do in the support and development of extension training. The program continues to grow and we look forward to the development of future locations where faithful men will be trained to go and preach the gospel to the lost where they live.

God bless
Bob

Campaigns See 31 Obey The Gospel In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Wotutu. We do hope you are doing great as you read the report coming from us. God is faithful and He helped us in all our travels for campaign in different locations.

Thank you for your prayers to God on our behalf for traveling mercies to 26 locations for mission work, house to house evangelism, and nurturing congregations. The church of Christ in Osing had problems that caused division. One of our students, Ebang Micheal, went there and brought the divided congregation back on track. We praise God for His love towards His people.

As I write this mail, our students are back on campus for the second quarter of their studies for the second year. How time flies. One of our students who was on discipline during the first batch repented from his ugly ways and his congregation recommended him to come back and continue his studies. Keep brother Muofo Bernard in your prayers and his family for God’s guidance. Classes commence tomorrow with long courses: Major Prophets, Homiletics-Public Speaking, The Gospel of John, The book of James, English language, French, and Church Music.

Keep us in your prayers.

My village congregation is in total transformation. The brethren are in the new building, still under construction, but it is better than the one I shared with you some months ago. Thanks very much for your help.

The Christians in Koba carried planks that will be used for the walls of the building. They do this with all amounts of happiness. From the forest, both men and women did the work to wipe out shame that the villagers who were laughing and mocking at the church of Christ, because of their exceeding poverty. God is good.

They are now secure from rain, but more needs to be done to get the walls set up and concrete on the floor and the doors and windows set up to fully secure the building.

One of our students, Julius Wamo, was there to reach out to the community with the truth. God blessed his effort with a soul, brother Zamor obeyed the gospel in Koba. The congregation will witness more growth as we continue to send our students there every weekend. Keep praying for the work.

Brother Mokwe baptized brother Zachy in Muyuka congregation. The Lord added, but we cannot share all the pictures from all the students. A total of 31 souls were baptized in those locations and 19 who had fallen away came back to the Lord. We praise God for using these men to reach out and help His church growing. Keep praying for these souls as we continue to do severe follow up on a weekly basis to help them grow and be mature.

Sowing seeds in new locations to plant a new congregation in Isokolo village went on well, but no souls obeyed the gospel. We shall continue to sow more of the seed and water the ones we have already sowed so that God will give the increase in due season. Keep this work in your prayers.

Plans
1) More invitations continue to come for outreach to many communities.

2) We shall go to the village where our student was beaten to organize house to house evangelism and open air preaching for four days within this month. We do hope this will help many know the truth and come closer to Christ and His church. Please keep this in your prayers. The gospel is for all and that exercise will help do more in the hearts of many in that community.

Prayer Request
One of our students who was arrested is still in prison custody. We suffer for the gospel. He is doing his best in prison preaching to some inmates. Today he called me to come and give him some tracts so that he can give it to many to study. What great faith and courage I see in my life. Keep brother Vincent in your prayers. Last Friday, March 28 2014, the court granted a conditional bail to them that they should make a deposit of 250.000 frs in the court treasury for him to be release on bail. Please, please pray for our brother so that he will be out very soon to continue His studies in CBIW.

Appreciation
Our hearts are full with joy as we convey our sincere appreciation for your deep love towards us and the work here. Many congregations who welcome and work with our students will always thank God for you because of the great revival and transformation that is happening in their lives because of you and your efforts towards CBIW. CBIW is a tool of blessing in Cameroon. We thank you for standing with us. God bless you and keep you all in good health. You are in our daily prayers. Keep standing so that more will be done for the glory of our God. He deserves our praises all the time. Do your best to share with others this report.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Mosquito River Bible School In Arusha Graduates Students...

The Mtu Wa Mbu (which means "Mosquito River") congregation began an intensive Bible school last year. Don't confuse that term with the way it is used in America to refer to Sunday morning and Wednesday evening Bible classes. This Bible school requires students to study for 8 hours a day, 3 days a week, for 1 year. Such Bible schools are used with great effects in our area. Similar schools have existed in Arusha, Moshi, and Kisongo for years. 

These schools are open to the general public and are tuition-free. They are a great evangelistic tool, targeting those who have a serious thirst to know more about the Bible. They also accelerate the maturation of new converts by giving them more organized Bible study in a single year than many Christians might get in 10 years of church attendance alone. This also better equips the graduates for the tasks of teaching Bible class and of sharing their faith with others.

Julius Gasper, the preacher at Mtu Wa Mbu and director of the Bible School, invited me to be the keynote speaker at their inaugural graduation. I was honored to be a part of the event. The program also featured a local government official who offered his support to the new school, pointing out that such institutions improve the community. He is quite right. Truly, righteousness exalts a nation and sin is a reproach to any people.

After the graduates received their certificates, then their well-wishers hurried forward to congratulate and decorate them with various brightly colored items to drape around their necks. It added a very festive flair to the occasion. Afterwards, we were treated to an authentic African lunch which is always one of my favorite parts of any event!

I wish the best for the school as it gets off the ground. Right now their facilities and resources are extremely limited, but hopefully it will be able to advance with time. In the meantime, I pray this group of graduates will be useful in the service of our Lord.

Daniel 

To read Daniel’s report with pictures from the graduation, please click here.

The Gospel Is Going Forth In India...

Dear Brethren in Christ,

Greetings to you in the precious name of Lord Jesus Christ, our Savior. By the grace of God and by your prayers we are all doing great. We are excited about sharing the wonderful news about the growing Churches in our state.

Besides all the difficulties, we are coming across due to bifurcation of the state of Andhra Pradesh, and we are able to carry out the gospel to several places. As a result several preachers are uplifted and going forward to strive for the cause of Christ.

In an economically growing country like India, among the common encounters and problems, one of the most serious problems is finance. Usually a preacher stands at the category of common man only. In other words preachers face a great financial difficulty, especially those who just begin their ministry and are totally dependent on this ministry. There are some avenues to help those preachers that would uplift them financially. One of them is a Tailoring Centre; this is a place where the local preacher’s wife would teach how to stitch clothing. For this to be established, there must be one lady who would be able to teach. Since this is purposed to help the preacher’s family it would be wonderful if a preacher’s wife could teach. 3-4 sewing machines will be there in each center. Depending on the convenience of the time, they will hold the classes. So, this would become a place for the women to gather. We anticipate that the preacher’s wife would get a great opportunity to teach them, but also to know them better and teach them about Jesus. These centers would also establish new friendships that would help increase the attendance at the Church.

These might appear like just an effort except that through this kind of programs so much can be accomplished: a) If they charge little money on each student as a tuition fee, this will be an income for the preacher, b) Also if the preacher’s wife can stitch clothing and she can make some earning too, c) A preacher’s family gets the greatest opportunity of meeting new people who come to learn tailoring; teaching them about Jesus and inviting them to Church would an awesome thing to start with. This may be the greatest things we can ever accomplish, because through this we gain souls for the Lord, and d) Also in the local community the preacher receives a good name for helping the women to learn tailoring for the expense of little fees and helping them to live on their legs, certainly there is a scope for all the above things mentioned.

With the help of some fine ladies from the Duffee Church of Christ, they have come up with helping two of our graduates. Upon our request, brother DVS Prakash (first batch of graduates 2009-11), Anakapalli and David Raju (second batch 2011-13) from Ramagiri, were blessed to have these centers established. They are so excited about these centers. Certainly these have given them an opportunity to extend help, education and Christian love. Brother Irven Skinner and Chris Shilply represents the Duffee Church of Christ and we thank them for their concern towards the preachers in India.

We had visitors from USA: brothers James Gilliam, Jimmy Gilliam and sister Joyce Gilliam who admire the school program so much. We are grateful to God first and then to our sponsoring and supporting Churches. With all our love and concern you are making it possible to reach the unreached millions through this program of training effective evangelists. You have a great role in this great effort. We appreciate your prayers towards us, which strengthening us to be steadfast in working for the Lord, besides all kinds of circumstances.

We had brother Jerry Bates teach for a couple of weeks this month. We will post that information soon. We sure did have wonderful Master’s Classes. They have been very productive with much learning….!!

Results of our Mission work in last two months:

Number of people obeyed to the Lord - 18
Number of doors knocked: 3,870
Gospel Tracts Distributed: 9,600
Gospel Meetings Conducted: 6
New Congregation Established: 1

In Christ,

John Dean M
for Visakha Valley Bible College

God Has Been Good In Uganda...

Dear brethren,

The Uganda School of Evangelism is doing fine here in the Lord. We are very busy with our last quarter. The long course will end on April 25th and we expect to start our short courses on April 28th, 2014. The Lord is very good to us. My vehicle  was involved in an accident, but through God’s grace and mercy no one was hurt, although it turned upside down. It happened about one kilometer from the school. We managed to pull it up to the school.

We are busy preparing the way for the water to come into the fish ponds. We have fish ponds ready to stock 800 catfish and 1,600 tilapia, a total of 2,400 fish. In the month of April, when the long rain begins, we will need 1,600 tilapia at the cost of 300 shillings per juvenile, that is 480,000/= or $200 dollars. The cat fish will cost 500/= each which will total to 400,000/= or $165 dollars. We lost the other stock we had put in due to the draught. The reserve pond is being deepened from one meter to two meter, and if possible next year we will deepen it more. We are also repairing an old pond which was used by the village people a long time ago. It is also going to supply this pond and this will supply the ones where we will put fish.

I have harvested my Busia town fish ponds and I sold some to Margaret for her use at the school. She prepared them for parking and put into the deep freezer. We thank the Lake Jackson brethren for this help.

We need more room for the piglets which will soon be weening. We have employed some one to work the building. He started the foundation and within two weeks the walls will be completed.

The total cost for the pig house will cost 2,798,600/= which is about $1,143 dollars. Next to it we need a poultry house which will cost  4,836,900/= which is $1,950 dollars, which will be built next.

The first big pond is ready for stocking 600 catfish and 1,000 tilapia. The small ponds each are 20m x10m and will hold 400 fish: 100 catfish in each and 300 tilapia.

The rains will come soon and these will be full so we need to stock immediately.

Report from Congo Churches
FIZI CHURCH OF CHRIST - The church has now eighteen members: 8 males, 10 females and 8 children. Those who have falled away are eight. The reason that contributed to their leaving the church is because they have no proper place of worship. The church has no development. All these are contributed to lack of proper teaching of the Lord’s word.

Challenges facing the church: (a) not having a place of worship, (b) the church desires to have visitors from other countries visiting them, (c) the congregation is too young to take care of their preacher, and (d) members do not have Bibles and song books.

Future Plans: (a) visiting the backsliders, (b) evangelizing areas surrounding, and (c) starting ladies and youth classes.

As reported By

Imata Mkoko
Bichingini Ponga, on Behalf of the Fizi  church of Christ

LWEBA CHURCH OF CHRIST - DRC. The church has total of nineteen members: 11 Christians, 5 male and 6 female. There are 8 children: 3 boys and 5 girls. There are 5 who have fallen away: 3 males and 2 females. There has been 1 male and 1 female restored. The weekly contributions are 1,000 - 2,000 F.C. which mean about 4,000 - 8,000 F.C. monthly.

The problems facing the church: (a) lack of a meeting place, (b) need for visiting preachers from other countries, (c) need for song books and Kiswahili and French Bibles, (d) the church is unable to support the preachers, and (e) the church is surrounded by denominations.

Future plans for the church include: (a) Spiritual - evangelism and making classes for teaching the word of God and a ladies’ Bible class, (b) Material - helping the needy in the church and helping the sick, and (c) Projects - rearing chicken and hot culture.

Sent By:

Mtumbe  Abwe Safania
Ferdinard  Asukulu

KIKWENA CHURCH OF CHRIST —DRC: The church has 15 members: 9 males, 6 females and 7 children. There were three baptized recently: 2 male and 1 female. There have been 6 who have fallen away: 4 male and 2 female. The reason for their backsliding is the desire of denominational ways and the lack of a place for worship.

Some of the problems facing the church: (a) lack of a place for worship, (b) the government taking the plat they had given to the church, due to a lack of funds to pay, (c) lack of song books and Bibles, and (d) the church not having an ability to stand for their preacher.

The future plans include: (a) visiting those who have fallen away, and (b) start a Bible class every Sunday.

Sent By:  Esube Mlondani
Mtumbe Miambo

CHURCH OF CHRIST  BARAKA - DRC: The church has 34 members: 16 males, 18 females and 16 children. There are 12 who have fallen away. The reason for their backsliding: denominationalism, immaturity, lack of strong Bible classes, and a lack of visitation. There have been 5 recent baptisms.

Problems facing the church include: (a) lack of a place to worship, (b) majority of young Christians, and (c) the church cannot take care of their preacher.

Plans for the church include: (a) if God can bless us to get a place to worship, (b) start middle of the week lessons, (c) visit those who have fallen away, and (d) send Christians to Bible schools.

Sent By:
Mmbehumo Embamba
Mtendjwa Kipimo, who is planning to come to school this year.

Report provided by Francis Wechesa