Love: The Spirit Of Christianity...

Dearest in Christ , 

Greetings from Nigeria. Happy Lord's day to you all.

I taught the mid-week Bible class at Oniyere & Oke-Ofa Atipe-Ibadan last week on Tuesday & Wednesday respectively on “Love...The Spirit of Christianity.”

On Sunday, May 25, 2014 I taught at Onikokoro /Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan on “Spiritual Formation in the Family” (Deut. 6:4-7) while brother Kayode Eniafe taught at the Egbeda congregation-Ibadan on “Christian Increase.” 

Beloved, Lord's willing, classes will resume at SWSE Ibadan on May 30, 2014 and on Saturday will shall commence our weekend evangelism at Kuede and Laminin villages and the following Saturday will shall evangelize Jago village .

Thanks for your labour of love! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name, Amen.

Yours in His service,

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

Gospel Chariot In French West Africa...

The Lord Keeps Adding the Saved to His Church

It is always a joy to see people respond to the Gospel in baptism. It is true that the Lord adds the saved to His Church. The Kpalime area churches are experiencing the joy that the first century Christians experienced when “they went everywhere preaching the Gospel.” In the month under consideration, four souls were added to the Church.

A New Tool For Evangelism: Togo Gospel Chariot
The gospel Chariot Mission in South Africa has provided funding to purchase a Benz Sprinter bus for evangelism. This is the first of its kind in French West Africa. Gospel Chariot Mission last year provided a Benz truck for outreach in Ghana. We hope that, with this new tool, we are going to do even better in our effort to win Togo for Christ.

There is a cargo bus that is being worked on to make it suitable for use as an evangelism van. It will be partitioned for equipment and a place to sit four. It will then be painted red and the logo for the Gospel Chariot in French placed on it.

The van when completed will be furnished with a PA system, generator, laptop, projector, screen and any equipment that will facilitate our outreach program. This tool is going to afford the students of CBS the opportunity to be involved in practical evangelism on weekends.

Kpadape Church of Christ Has a New Place to Worship

On my recent visit to Togo, I was at Kpadape to inspect the work on a church meeting place. The brethren have almost completed the shed. This structure, when completed, will seat about 50 during worship. The Kpadape church is one of the adopted congregations in the Kpalime area. The preacher is David Wama.

Willie Gley

First Annual Scholarship Lectureship In Kumbo...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings and peace from your brothers and sisters in Christ here in Cameroon. We do hope you are doing great. We are doing much better by His grace. Many are still sick, but God is in control to help as they take drugs and herbs.

Last week was suppose to be a week of exams in CBIW after the end of the long courses, but we were invited by a sister school of preaching which is the Kumbo Christian Bible College, about 400 miles from Wotutu. This is their very first scholarship lectureship that they organized, so we were invited to be part of it and we made the trip.

As I write this email, we are all back on campus, even students who had a transit to weekend evangelism are all here safe and sound. We praise God.

Our students got up early in the morning on a hired van to take off from Wotutu to Kumbo in the northwest region of Cameroon.The Lord took us there and we spent 4 precious days getting lessons from the word. It was good that we made it. Thanks for your prayers and support.

It was not only time to study His word, it was also time to do some song practice. Some of our students and others, even some visitors who are part of the Kumbo Bible school who came from USA, were also part of the whole issue.

My wife and I were there. It was great to see and study with others and brain storm on many biblical subjects. We went so that our students and I could be watchful and make sure they don’t absorb wrong teachings, but throughout our stay at the lectureship, no error was identified. Praise God.

On our way back to Wotutu the journey was characterized with fun, as we stopped over in different villages along the road to buy road side food for the students. My wife and I were having fun with our students as we ate together. What a big family we have in CBIW.

We arrived in Wotutu and our journey was safe. We raised our hands up to say “thank you, Father for who you are.” Many of our members in the Wotutu congregation, who were not part of the trip, came and waited for us at the church hall. What a great fellowship we have in Christ.

Brother Muofo Bernard is one of our students in CBIW. The month of May marks the beginning of our students presenting their senior sermon in Wotutu congregation. While I grade them as the preacher of Wotutu, the members of the Wotutu congregation are also evaluating them as they prepare for their graduation December 11, 2014. Keep this date in your dairy and in your prayers.

With all the tiredness, some students transit to different villages as usual for our normal weekend evangelism. The Lord added 3 souls to His church. Brother Premus Mendi obeyed the gospel in Wotutu after listening to our “Back to the Bible” early morning radio program. He came to our compound where the construction work was going on to do manual labor. He came in contact with us and started asking lots of question from the scriptures about what we are preaching very early in the morning. He obeyed the gospel with smile. Keep him in your prayers, that he might keep growing so that many in His family will come to know the truth through him.

Today was a great day in the life of the church of Christ Wotutu because we were able to see brother Vincent, a brother and a Bible student in this current batch who was arrested in a village on transit to another village for field work. There was an uproar in that village where the youths attacked some people, burnt their properties because they are practicing fetish things in the village. The government intervened, they never listened to them, that is why the government sent for an arrest, to arrest any young man they see in the village. That was the same day brother Vincent was arrested and he is not even a resident in that village. He stayed under custody until the 21st of May. Today, the entire church celebrated his discharge from prison. While in prison he continued to preach and converted 18 souls, and he was able to meet with some members of the church there in prison. He told our congregation this morning that the church in prison has a membership of 28. Please, please keep this work in your prayers as we already sent an application for authorization from the government to give us permission to send students from the school to go and handle worship with that prison congregation. Come join us to move to another level with our calling: “I was in prison and you visited me.”

Plans
1) As the days are passing by, we continue to receive requests from other brethren who would love us to visit their villages and help in ways of evangelism and nurturing. We plan to go to Lebialem to do evangelism in the months ahead and see the means to plant a new congregation. The plan to establish a new congregation in Isokolo is still in progress. Keep our plans in God’s hands through prayer.

2)  Students in CBIW start their exams tomorrow. Keep them in prayer as this is their second quarter exams leaving only two more for them to be ripe for graduation in December by His grace.

Appreciations
Words can only express our appreciations to God and to you to a lesser extent. We search what we can use to show our appreciation to you and the way God is using you in His work. We don’t have the words. We thank you very much for your love and care over us and the work entrusted in our hands to do. The glory goes back to Him for He is the architect of all that is happening. Share this work with others. God bless you for all that you are doing for the work here. Share this report with others .We love you and we keep you in our prayers.

Elangwe and family

By His grace Director CBIW

A Day Worth Remembering: Graduation...

Today is the day the students in Denver all strive to reach: Graduation Day. We are excited for the fourteen men who will be walking up to receive their diploma and then begin their journey into the various areas of the work they have accepted. They are prepared to face the challenges before them and we have full confidence in their abilities to achieve success with the power and grace of God to help them.

Next week the extension program in Gorlovka, Ukraine will have their graduation. We are sure everyone is familiar with the political turmoil between Russia and Ukraine the continues to escalate. At this point, everything is in set for graduation to take place, but we ask you to continue in prayer for this event and the work these graduates are entering, even in the midst of such difficult circumstances.

Additional graduations are scheduled in the near future and we are excited to see the number of students who are working to share the Good News with others in in each of the 17 locations. These students continue to demonstrate the dedication and determination to achieve God’s mission of saving those who are outside of Christ.

Join us each week in praying for these students and the work they are doing for the cause of Jesus the Christ.

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 

Christian Training For The Young And Old In Cameroon: The work in Cameroon continues to influence the young, old and everyone in between.

Moving Forward With The Work In Haiti: Everything is set to begin the new work in Port Au Prince, Haiti.

Elder Visits From The Lake Houston Congregation: The power of seeing the work firsthand makes all the difference, and such is the case in Visakhapatnam, India.

New Class Of Students Prepares To Begin At WCSOP: The West Coast School of Preaching is ready to enroll a new class of students in Takoradi, Ghana.

Eight Baptized In Guatemala: News from the ITL lectureship and recent studies conducted by one of ITL’s graduates demonstrates an increase given by God.

New Courses Are Prepared For The Next Quarter: After completing an open air Bible Lectureship, a new quarter is set to begin at the Southwest School of Evangelism.

The Spirit Of The Missionary: The work and influence of Andrew Connally left a lasting impact on the people and mission in Tanzania.

Two More Souls Added To The Kingdom In Tanzania: The kingdom witnessed two new precious souls added the church on Sunday in Arusha, TZ.

Final Thoughts
A final note of thanks. Each week we are reminded of how much we need you for this work. The partnerships we have formed are changing lives everywhere students are preparing themselves through extension training. Thank you for making it possible and thank you for allowing us the opportunity to stand with you in the Lord’s work.

God bless
Bob

New Courses Are Prepared For The Next Quarter...

Dear fellow soldiers of Christ,

Greetings from Nigeria. We thank you all for your prayer for our dear country, Nigeria.

We (myself, brother Kayode Eniafe & brother Dele Shotola) traveled on Friday afternoon to work with brother Emmanuel Nwaorji and the church at Ilisan-Remo in Ogun state in two day open air Bible lectureship and house to house evangelism on Saturday morning through evening.

On Friday open air, I taught on Heaven and it's occupants while brother Kayode Eniafe taught on Hell and it's occupants. On Saturday morning, we divided ourselves into four groups for house to house evangelism while brother Dele Shotola taught on Sin, Our Great Obstacle to Enter Heaven and the host minister taught on What Can a Sinner Do to Get to Heaven during the Saturday evening open air Bible lectureship.

On Sunday morning, May 18th, at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation-Ibadan, brother Makinde Emmanuel led in songs, I taught on Spiritual Formation from Matt. 5-7, while brother Destiny Elijah, a year one student of SWSE -Ibadan, admonished the church from Eph. 5:1-17.

Brethren, all other instructors at SWSE-Ibadan took a give role in their respective congregations on the Lord's day of May 18, 2014.

Thanks to all our supporters in the U.S. and Canada who are playing a vital role in the continuity of the SWSE, Ibadan, Nigeria. We also appreciate brother Steven Ashcraft and associates who have help us raise the needed $3,200 for the completion of this session (2013/2014). The school will open for lectures on May 30, 2014, Lord's willing. I (Makinde) will handle the following lectures: Life of Christ 4, Research Methods, Church Leadership & Administration, Discipleship Training & Practical. Brother Kayode Eniafe will handle OT Prophets-Major, Pastoral Epistles, and Evangelism 3. Brother Isaac Olaniyan will handle Revelation & Church History. Brother Abiola Joseph Olusoji will handle Christian Disciplines / Psychology and Methodology while brother Matthew Idowu will handle Romans, Evangelism 2 and Homiletics 3.

Our final students teaching practice for this session comes up July 12 through August 10, 2014, Lord's willing.

Our entrance examinations & interviews for the next academic session comes up on June 21, 2014 at Ibadan main campus.

Brethren, due to our financial position, which is not encouraging, we have decided to admit only twenty five students for both year 1 & 2 courses.

Once more, we thank you all for your partnership and brotherly love! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless you all is our fervent prayer, Amen.

Your fellow laborer in the kingdom of Christ,

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

Two More Souls Added To The Kingdom In Tanzania...

For the last several days, we have greatly enjoyed having John Strong and the Adam Evans family visiting with us. They are missionaries working in Iringa, Tanzania.  Iringa is about a 14 hour drive from us, which takes 2 days in Africa because you don't want to travel after dark. 

Adam taught a short-course on Christian Ethics at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, while John helped out with some personal Bible studies. This was a great opportunity to share resources and strategies with each other for better reaching the people of Tanzania with the gospel of Christ. They are great people and our families became fast friends. Hopefully, we will get the opportunity to visit together again.

You can read about the Evans family and their work here.  

Two Baptisms Today
Following services in Njiro Chini, a sweet, crippled lady named Matilda put on her Lord in baptism. Meanwhile at the Arusha congregation, a young man named Kevin was also baptized. John and I along with Godfrey (the preacher at Arusha) studied with Kevin and his family a few days ago. He is bright and full of eager questions. We studied together until the sun went down and it was too dark to see. I am thrilled for these two children of God!

Daniel Gaines

To read Daniel’s report and see the pictures, please click here.

The Spirit Of The Missionary...

Greetings Fellow Servants,

We thank our Heavenly Father for the privilege of serving here in Tanzania and most of all, for each of you and your sacrifice making God’s mission work in TZ possible. It is a joyful life seeing the transformation of countless souls coming to the knowledge of God’s love, the saving power of Jesus Christ and the fellowship we share in the Gospel of love. 

Yesterday was one of those days that remind you what is important and how powerful God’s Word really is. The areawide congregations continue to support the new Church plant in Arusha, in the area of Njiro Chini. Several of the local evangelists and church members went throughout the area conducting several Bible studies. As a result, we now have another new sister in Christ. Others are very close to the Kingdom as they contemplate their eternal destiny. The three studies I was apart of reminded me of the fact, we are in the right place, doing the right thing at the right time. We simply need more help......

I have attached a PDF document that has an article written by Andrew Connally entitled; “The Spirit of the Missionary.” When I read this I thought of the 15 missionary families that have served on the Tanzania Missions team over the years. Each has left his or her mark on God’s work here in East Africa. Each contributing to the growth both spiritually and numerically. We are most grateful for men and women who are willing to go into new worlds, unknown cultures and often most challenging endeavors. 

As I read these words written by the man (Andrew Connally) who most influenced my idea’s regarding missions more than any other (besides Christ Himself), I thought mostly of Jimmy Gee, his family, as well as Nathan and Jessica McVeigh. Both families have returned to America, but both left a legacy of good works that have influenced souls for good and for eternity, each serving in different ways, working in their “strong-suites,” using their talents all to the glory of God and to the saving of the lost. Thank God for missionaries who strive faithfully with good attitudes, a godly spirit and can work together as good team members do. Thank you Jimmy, Trina, Gee children, Nathan and Jessica. We love you and we pray God opens the best door of opportunity that you all might be able to continue serving with all your desires and talents. 

We thank our amazing Christian family at Mayfield who donated the needed funds to replace our refrigerator. It has been a blessing to our lives to be able to host many in our home, including Cotton, Beulah, Gene and Steve from the Mayfield congregation. We are so very grateful to be a part of the best family on earth, the Christian family. 

Please remember the family of our late brother Isaac Mwangonde (a graduate of the ACSOP) who passed away this week, leaving his wife and three small children behind. Also, we have several who will be coming our way to participate in the annual Safari for Souls campaigns, please pray for them and our effort to “seek and save the lost.” Until all have heard...

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

The Spirit of the Missionary
Andrew Connally

“The pseudo saintism of some missionaries must be a stench in the nostrils of Almighty God! Yet, the men and women of God who live in a foreign land must ever radiate the true spirit of Jesus Christ. Such men and women are not angels nor ascetics. They are dedicated servants of their Savior. They must make no pathetic plea for sympathy for themselves, but rather seek cooperation for their work and the job they are doing.

As Kipling admonished:

    ‘Go to your work and be strong, halting not in your ways, 
     Balking the end half-won for an instant dole of praise. 
    Stand to your work and be wise----certain of sword and pen, 
    Who are neither children nor gods, but men in a world of men.

The spirit of a missionary must be a composite of faith and works, action and reaction, reliance and relief, acceptance and aggression, expression and suppression, under insurmountable odds, never quitting nor losing hope. They must persevere when ordinary or lesser men would fail? Because their work is not an ordinary job! They work for God. They labor not in vain. They are building for eternity, and souls of men comprise the temple of Jehovah God. Their works shall live long after they have left this human scene. Their memory will be hallowed and eternity will reward them. 

The spirit of a missionary never must be daunted. He must bear criticism, jealousy, envy, rejection and veritable onslaughts of lesser men, yet always show forth the forgiving spirit and example of our Lord. Seldom does a good missionary escape such from his own brethren, and often his fellow missionaries. Only God and judgment will sort out such unjust, unchristian actions. But the missionary must bear this own cross and know that God will take care of him and finally will vindicate righteousness. 

Truly, a missionary has a noble calling and those who manifest such admirable qualities retaining the spirit of Christianity are worthy of our honor and esteem. ‘May their tribe ever increase?’”

[Book: So You Want A Glorified Holiday?; Missions --- Missionaries --- Methods ... All To The Glory of God. by Andrew Connally, Connally Publications, Seagoville, TX, pp. 21-22)]

Eight Baptized In Guatemala...

Here we are in May of 2014! It is unbelievable how this year has gotten away from us. Yet, we are very thankful for the all the blessings God has showered upon us. There are many things that have occurred since our last report, so there is no way that we are going to be able to get it all into one newsletter. So, please be looking for several newsletters/reports over the next few weeks that will bring you up to date with the work in Guatemala and with many other happenings in our ministry and personal lives. We hope they will encourage you.

We would like to begin by sharing with you the good news of some of those who have made the commitment to follow Jesus. Let us begin with the new additions to the church family at Linda Vista.

During our 5th Annual ITL Lectureship, four people responded to the invitation on Sunday morning, March 16. The first was Maria Martinez. This sister in Christ was first introduced to the Gospel several years ago, while Francisco and Erminia Ramos (Alpha class) were still members at Linda Vista, prior to coming to ITL to study the Bible. Maria is Erminia’s sister-in-law. Francisco and we studied with her and her family for several months, but she never obeyed the Gospel. She attended a denomination off and on and last year began to attend the assemblies of the church of Christ at Linda Vista. During this time, Maclovio Calderon (Beta class, Saturday program) and others of us visited her in her home to offer her the Gospel invitation once again. She said she would think about it. That is why it was so encouraging to see her walk down the aisle after Eliezer Perez (Beta class) finished his sermon and offered the invitation that Sunday morning.

The next two are Elmer Martinez and Jasmine Hernandez. Elmer is Maria’s son, and Jasmine is his girlfriend. Elmer was present on several occasions when the Bible studies were conducted in his parents’ home, but often would choose to play soccer instead. He was interested in Christ, but worldly pursuits had his heart. Both Elmer and Jasmine began to attend the assemblies with Maria at the end of last year. It was encouraging to see how his interests had changed. Both of them came forward seconds after his mother responded to the Gospel. It was heart-warming to see the three of them in front of the audience ready to confess Jesus as Lord and to be baptized for the remission of sins.

The fourth baptism was Roberto Valladares. Roberto lives in Jutiapa, about three hours from Linda Vista. He was at the lectureship because a few days earlier Anibal Ramirez had received his contact information from Anne Milstead, a World Bible School teacher in Arizona. Anne got in touch with Anibal because Roberto had expressed to her his desire to become a Christian. After calling Roberto, Anibal explained to him about the lectureship activities taking place at that moment and that he would try to make a visit to Jutiapa shortly after the activities were finished. However, Anibal invited Roberto to come to Linda Vista if he was able. It was great to see Roberto arrive that Sunday morning all the way from Jutiapa! He was ready to put on Christ. He, too, responded to the invitation and was among those who became a Christian that day.

Please pray for these four new souls who have committed their lives to the Lord. Pray that they will grow in their faith and will become active members of the Lord’s kingdom. Especially pray for Roberto, who lives so far from Linda Vista. He is currently worshiping with a small congregation of the Lord’s people not too far from his home. Maria, Elmer and Jasmine have been attending the Linda Vista services and are maturing in their faith.

During the lectureship, Benny Montejo (Alpha class), served as one of our translators. He made the most of the opportunity and invited some friends to attend the event, Silvia Chavez and two of her children, Bryan and Melanie. Benny knows Silvia because he works with Silvia’s oldest son, Carlos, better known as Charlie. This was the first time that Silvia and her children attended anything related to the church of Christ. We remember seeing them getting out of the car as we arrived Saturday morning, March 15th to the church building. After the day was over, Silvia and her children were so excited about the lessons they had heard and what they had experienced that they went home to tell all about it to Charlie, who had to work that day. On Sunday, all four of them were there! Charlie got so excited about what his family told him that he requested the day off and came with them. Benny was able to establish a regular Bible study with all of them and on Wednesday morning, March 26, he sent us a text message so that we would be at the building that evening at 6:00 because the four of them were ready to be baptized. Several of us had the honor of witnessing their new life in Jesus!

Please keep Silvia and her children in your prayers and join us in thanksgiving to the Father for their decision to obey the Gospel. They are making efforts to grow in Christ and to become more and more involved in the life and work of the church.

It is so exciting to see how God works in the lives of people who are searching for the truth and for a relationship with Him. We pray that you, too, will continue to reach out to people because we never know who will respond to God’s call. If you are not a Christian, we pray that you will give Jesus the opportunity to change your life!

God bless each of you! Thanks for reading this report and be looking for another one soon!

Hi
Byron
Snezana

To see the report with pictures of the various events, please click here.

New Class Of Students Prepares To Begin At WCSOP...

Thank God the classroom and all other works for the month of April went on successfully. We vacated on the 11th of April 2014. During the break period, tiling work in the classroom block and the dormitory were undertaken. This tiling work is gradually ending. We strongly believe by the close of next week the remaining works will be completed.

Also during the break period, we intensified our search for prospective students. We are conducting interviews for admission for the next academic year on the 22nd of May, 2014. Present indications are that we may be able to get a significant number of students.

We continue to ask for your prayers as we resumed classes on the 12th of May, 2014.

Matthew Ackah

Elder Visits From The Lake Houston Congregation...

Dear Brethren in Christ,

Greetings to you in Christ’s name. By the grace and mercy of our Almighty God we are all doing fine, and we do hope you are all doing fine too. We have been blessed with the Lord’s work that is going on through Visakha Valley Bible College in various parts of Andhra Pradesh. We are certainly thankful for your prayers and support

Master Class: Brother Jerry Bates spent two weeks teaching the Masters classes. He taught ‘Theology’ and ‘World Religions.’ He has done a marvelous job. Students indeed gained so much from these classes, especially through the material given by brother Jerry.

Ladies Class: Sister Paula always wants to spend her time very useful as she can. This was by taking care of Jerry, getting things organized and also teaching the women in the places she traveled with Jerry. This time also, she spent several hours teaching the woman that meets at the school and another place where our Graduate brother Satyanandam is working. He works on the out skirts of Visakhapatnam Industrial Park.

Yona Raju: Our School is certainly a shining light in this part of Andhra Pradesh. Like the shining light, it is attracting several from the darkness into the light that is everlasting. Brother Yona Raju who is from a Tribal (mountains) area heard about our school couple of years ago and he visited the school and wanted to sit in the classes for some time. When he started listening to the lessons taught in the school by the faculty, he was overwhelmed with the truthful teaching he heard in the classes and verified with what he believed so far. A few weeks after that he met with the faculty bringing some questions for discussion and when everything was clarified he realized that he needed to be baptized. He had a degree from a preaching school where he was baptized, but once all questions were answered he realized that was not a true baptism. So, he wanted to be baptized, he is now working in his community. Every time he attends the school he takes some Christian Literature with him. This time he took some ‘Voice of Truth International’ magazines with him. We thank brother Jerry Bates for bringing these magazines, we do thank sister Betty Choate for publishing them. Yona Raju says, that these are very useful for his personal study as well as to teach others. He remarks that these magazines are a knowledge Bank; the only thing we have to do is withdraw God’s wisdom from this. We believe that he is going to bring so many to the Light of the Lord.

God gives the increase: For Preachers, our primary job is to carry out the gospel to the unreached millions across the world. As the preachers are being produced from the school and they go out and proclaim The Good News, results are very obvious. These results bring glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. In this process all of us are involved in various ways. We are striving in various capacities for the same cause and purpose and when we join hands for this process of rescuing souls, which is our common goal, our Lord gives the increase.  

JY’s visit:  We were truly blessed with the visit of brother J Y Brown, who is one of the elders at the Lake Houston Church of Christ, who supports the Visakha Valley Bible College. During his visit he preached at the local congregation on Sunday morning and traveled to Skinner’s Garden in the afternoon. Monday morning was a special day, for on this day we had a gathering of all the preachers who have graduated from the school so far. Also, the current batch of students both undergrad and graduates were present. It was a gathering of over 60 preachers on that day. All these preachers have introduced themselves and explained about the their mission work. We have located their places on a map and marked them and given to brother JY to share with the church. This would explain how the Churches are growing. He remarked that his visit was very special and a God given opportunity to see everything in person and get first hand information.  We are very encouraged with the visit of brother JY. We have been longing for such a visit from the brethren at Lake Houston, since it would always be wonderful for supporting congregations to see every thing first hand and help make everything more understandable. Finally, the time came and our wish was fulfilled, hoping to see the relationship with the school and Lake Houston be bonded for a long time.  

Elections: We have a New Prime Minister elected in the recent General Elections in our Country. He is from a Hindu Lead party. The Hindu Lead Party got elected where the secular party was defeated. We wonder how they are going to rule our country. The proposed person for being the Prime Minister is an active Hindu leader, but on the other side he is positive about the growth of the nation. We are concerned about the Religious Freedom as the associated Hindu lead groups would take advantage of this and start causing trouble to the Christians in the whole nation. The circumstances we may come across may be beyond the imagination, but they may not appear in a sudden way, but gradually. I believe this may be the time to test our faith and truthfulness. Kindly pray so that we would be bold enough to preach the good news out loud without any circumstances.

Gratitude: The Visakha Valley Bible College work is truly a team work. We really appreciate all those who are part of this team. In this team we have the faculty, visiting professors from BVBID, director, students and staff; when all this works together in a proper system, things go smooth and work is increased. We firmly believe this is what is happening at Visakha Valley Bible College. There are some unseen members of the team I should mention as they are the supporting and overseeing church, coordinator, elders of Bear Valley and director of the Extension Schools. We convey our thanks to all those who are doing their portion of the job for producing preachers at Visakha Valley Bible College. Thank you all for your prayers and encouragement.

In Christ

For Visakha Valley Bible College
John Dean

Moving Forward With The Work In Haiti...

Greetings in the name of our Lord,
I first want to thank each of you for your prayers and words of encouragement as we continue our work for the Lord. My desire is to be a tool for the Lord in expanding the borders of His kingdom, the church. A special thanks to you who have given financially to the work; I could not do what I do without your partnership.

The Haiti Container Has Arrived!
We are glad to report that the container has arrived in Haiti! For several months we have raised the funds and people have donated items to ship a forty foot container to Haiti. The container was filled with items for the children’s home, the school of preaching and items to be used in other works. Your help and contributions have made this possible. We want to send another container but we need help. The cost for shipping, handing fees and customs comes to about $12,000. If you know of a person or congregation who would be willing to help raise or provide these funds, please have them contact me. The needs are great and the items shipped truly help thousands of people. 

International School of Theology
We continue to move forward with the school of preaching planned for Port-au-Prince, the capital of Haiti, with a population of more than three million souls. While we have paid the rent for the first year ($15,000) more help is needed to sustain the school. I will be going to Haiti in June to make some of the final arrangements. We plan to have a two day conference and open house to introduce the school to the churches in Haiti. 

As I mentioned in our last newsletter, we have partnered with Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver and Freed-Hardeman University in Henderson, Tennessee. By combining forces we will be able to have some great Bible teachers and will be able to offer a high quality of education to the students. We plan to start accepting students in June for the fall enrollment and are hoping to have twenty-four students. We plan to have a website for the school in the future so you will be able to meet the students and see the facilities. 

Your help is needed. The cost for the school is going to be about $6,000 per month which is only about $250 per student. We need individuals and congregations to help us meet these needs. If you or the congregation can help provide and sponsor a student, I would be willing to come and give you full details about our plans, curriculum and provide any other information.

Roundup, Montana
In late June and early July we will travel to Roundup, Montana to work with the church for two weeks. The congregation is small, having only four members. The nearest congregation is in Billings, Montana and is about fifty-five miles away. The church in Billings and the church in Lewistown are very helpful and continue to visit the church in Roundup on a regular basis. 

There is a very nice building with a great deal of classroom space but they are in need of a full-time preacher working in the community. If you know of someone who might be interested in working in the big sky county, please let me know. The four members are willing to work and they are filled with love and have a strong desire to serve the Lord. 

Jamaica Campaign
April 18-26th, I had the privilege of traveling to Spanish Town Jamaica with a group from the North Henderson church of Christ - Steve Croom, Ethel Croom, Carleton Salfarlie, Friday Akpan, Elkanah Akpan and Elizabeth Saunders. We were the second week workers in a two week campaign for the Spanish Town church of Christ. The theme for the campaign was, “Let the Bible Speak.” Brother Carleton Salfarlie, the preacher for the North Henderson congregation, did the speaking each night and I spoke during the Sunday morning Bible hour. Brother Salfarlie preached powerful and scripture-filled lessons each night.  

Each day we knocked doors or conducted home Bible studies. We were also privileged to work with some of the preacher students from the Jamaica school of preaching. Some of these students I had worked with in Linstead, Jamaica last year. The growth and maturity that had taken place since last year was truly encouraging. The maturity of the students is a great commentary on the school. They are being well trained in the teaching of God’s word and the practical side of Christianity, evangelism and working with the lost. 

The two weeks of door knocking, home Bible studies and gospel preaching led to nine souls coming to Christ, one restored to their first love and several had their Christian life revived. We left the Spanish Town congregation with about fifty home Bible studies to follow-up with and several contacts to visit. To God be the glory and praise for all that was accomplished in His name. Brother Leslie Goode is the local evangelist and he serves the Lord daily reaching to the lost and working with the church.

The congregation is filled with love and joy in their service to God. The building was filled with about 120 people each night. The local members worked alongside us each day so that the local church would be able to do proper follow-up. They feed us three meals each day and while it might not have been exactly what we as Americans normally eat, it was great! The cooking crew was led by Sister Betty and she and the others made sure every worker had sufficient food. They cooked for about twenty workers each day.  The church reminded me of what Paul wrote in Ephesians 4:16 – Take a moment and read it. 

BibleTalkTV.org
On Thursday and Friday we were able to stream live broadcast around the world via the internet. Brother Derrick Brown, the preacher for the Jago church of Christ in Spanish Town, came with camera in hand and was able to send the message of Christ through the internet. I was able to get the word out to several and they too were able to join us. The Jago congregation broadcasts weekly over the internet at www.bibletalktv.org.  You may wish to visit their web site at http://www.stjagochurchofchrist.org. It is great to work and serve the Lord in a world where there are so many opportunities to reach the lost. Brothers Brown and Goode are only two men but they are truly making an impact on the Spanish Town community.

Final Thoughts
I have had the privilege of working with the Broad Street congregation in Lexington, Tennessee for almost 25 years and now serve as a resident missionary. I am thankful for the eldership I serve under and for this congregation. Brother PJ Hardy serves as the full-time evangelist and Carter Hoover serves as the youth minister. Virginia McClain serves as our secretary.  I am also thankful for my wonder wife, Carol, who supports me in every way with the work I am doing. She teaching at Freed-Hardeman and is not able to travel on all of the mission trips but is able to get in two or three a year. I am blessed to have her in my life. We have a great team and I know that I could not do the work that I am doing with out their encouragement, love, prayers and financial support.   

I have been privileged to work on or visit more than forty countries around the world and there are great needs in every one of them, including the United States. There are many great works being done that include evangelism, Christian maturity, training preachers, feeding the hungry, helping the hurting and educating people so they can have a better life. To God be the glory for all that is being done in His great name! 

Working for the Master,

Larry Waymire
lwaymire@gmail.com
731.798.0136
731.968.6688

To see Larry’s report with pictures, please go here.

Christian Training For The Young And Old In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon. We are doing great even though some among us are sick. We know it may be the climatic condition. Today was sunny and our worship was great as many came eager to worship their God and to listen to the reading and explanation of His word. We do hope you are doing great over there. We wish you a great worship today and send our love to your family and the congregation.

This past week we finished our two months of long courses at CBIW and our students were supposed to start writing the exams tomorrow, but we postponed the exams until the 26th of May because of our invitation to attend the scholarship lectureship in Kumbo organized by the first Bible college in Cameroon. We shall travel there this Tuesday morning. Keep us in your prayers.

The camera had some problems and the students that went out for weekend evangelism could not get pictures of the work.

Some of our students stood by the river side reading the scriptures to a lady whose three children are attending Brightland Christian Academy. She saw changes as her children decided to stop going to the Presbyterian denomination to attend the children’s Bible class at our congregation. She came and she saw the way we worship as the New Testament Church. We pray Brightland Christian Academy continues to impact the lives of these little children as they grow. It is easier to train children, than to repair adults. Keep BCA in your prayers daily.

Sister Ruth Mbong obeyed God after hearing His word. It is great that many continue to listen to us through our PA System Radio program that is not passing through any media. Keep her in your prayers for her to grow. We are reaching out to Dikome, Koba and other places as they continue to appreciate our weekly efforts. Our students think souls and go for souls so that the strong man's house will be robbed. We robbed 4 souls this weekend in different locations. God is faithful.

My son Ray decided to dress up today for worship. I asked why and he said “I love Cameroon and I love the church of Christ.” I was surprised to hear my son give me that type of explanation. Oh how our children are growing. I decided to have him stand on the stair case that leads to our extension of the church hall and the dorms for our Bible students. Please help us pray for him to keep growing in his love for the Lord and to always appreciate God. We need to love our earthly nations, but let us focus on the nation that will never end (Phil. 3:20).

Brightland Christian Academy is touching the lives of those in our community. They started writing their first public exams on Thursday. These exams are organized by the government. They attended our computer lab. More computers will do good to the ever growing population of our congregation and the Wotutu village. Please consider how you can be a part of this growth.

Our visions are many in Wotutu village. We touch the lives of the old and the young and anyone in between. Several ladies are part of the adult literacy classes, as we are reaching out to many in the communities. One of the hindrances was supposed to be the inability to read and write. My wife is doing this great work free of charge for these people who have never been to school. God is great and the class keeps growing day after day. This past week demonstrated how many desire to study, but there was no opportunity. It was a belief of the old that the woman’s place is in the kitchen. Keep this work in your prayers and come be part of this development.

Plans
1) We shall travel to Kumbo in the Northwest Region of Cameroon. It is above 400 miles from Wotutu. We are going to attend the scholarship lectureship. This will be the first of its kind in Cameroon. Keep us in your prayers.

2) By early next month we shall have a one day seminar with preachers and leaders in Wotutu and thereafter we shall start distributing cartons of tracts sent by Mission Printing, which are still in transit in an ocean container. We keep praying and waiting for the arrival of the container. It will help many in Cameroon towards their evangelistic efforts.

3) By His grace, before the month of June runs out, we are planning to establish a new congregation in Isokolo village. This will be the second congregation in the entire west coast of Cameroon.

Appreciations
God bless you and your family for all that you are doing to us. We thank you and appreciate your efforts towards the work here. God bless you, and He will reward you in due season.

Do your best to share this report with others. Stay safe in Christ.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

The Home Stretch...

The final week of classes for students in Denver is always bitter sweet. There is joy over knowing that the journey has been completed, the assignments turned in, tests taken, and graduation follows. At the same time, there is also a feeling of anxiety upon entering the work and how to use the tools provided over the last two years. The disciplined structure changes and each individual is required to be a “self-starter” in accomplishing the work before them.

Even though these feelings exist, the training received over the last two years provides a foundation that equips these men to go with confidence in handling God’s word accurately and proclaiming the good news of Jesus. We ask you to pray with us on behalf of each family as they complete the week ahead and prepare for graduation next Sunday.

We also ask you to pray about the situation in Ukraine. The political turmoil surrounding the situation in Ukraine will have an impact on their graduation which is scheduled for the following week. These students have worked diligently for the last two years to prepare themselves for this same moment and the celebration is clouded by the difficulties of recent events. These students will graduate, but the anxiety they feel is much different. Please pray for them during this time.

Additional activities in the extension program continue to demonstrate the power of God working through the lives of dedicated Christians who serve in each location. Witnessing the increase provided by God is encouraging for everyone. Share this excitement with us in reading through the reports provided below and praying for each one.

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/

To read the latest report from Howell Ferguson about the situation in Ukraine, please click here.

To read the latest report from Tony Johnson, coordinator of the work in Tamale, Ghana, please click here.

To read the latest report from Jerry Bates about his recent trip to India, please click here.

Extension Reports 

Pray For The Work In Cameroon As It Grows: Lectureships, visitors, weekend evangelism,

church plants, out reach, all make the work in Cameroon exciting to watch grow.

New School In Ghana Progresses: The Southern Institute of Biblical Studies emphasizes the progress made over the last few months since its beginning.

Improving The System For Past And Present Students: The work of the West Coast School of Preaching continues to develop ways of improving the overall program.

Adjusting To New Approach To Curriculum: As the school in Cambodia continues to grow, a new approach to the curriculum is helping mature students in their Christian walk.

The 12th Annual Bible Lectureship / Graduation Forthcoming: Students in Nigeria are preparing for the completion of their studies and entering into kingdom work.

Spiritual Wellness For Church Growth: Lessons on becoming spiritual well are the theme for the church in Siem Reap, Cambodia.

Political And Economical Crisis: But School Continues: In the midst of such challenge and controversy, BVBIU continues training others to share the gospel.

A Church Planted Near Mwanza With 18 Souls Baptized: The news is exciting in Tanzania as another church is planted when 18 souls obey the gospel. 

Saying Good-bye After 10 Years In Tanzania: Jimmy Gee and his family are returning to the U.S. after 10 years of service in Arusha.

A Mother’s Day Tribute From Africa: The beauty of godly mothers who influence families in the area of missions is part of this story from Daniel Gaines in Tanzania.

Final Thoughts
Thank you for your contribution to this work. Many of you are the financial backbone of the extension program, but others contribute in ways that are also important: time, abilities, travel, encouragement, prayers, etc. There is no part of this work that is unimportant. We need each of you to help us in the development and growth of each location. Thank you for making it possible.

God bless
Bob

Pray For The Work In Cameroon As It Grows...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Cameroon. God bless you as you take up your time to read this report. We are doing better. Some of our sick students are getting better while others are getting sick, maybe because of the weather. Keep us in prayers. The week was a busy one for us again as usual.

As I type this mail, I am home and all the students that went out for weekend evangelism are all back safe and sound. I went to Bamenda for the annual preachers forum and transit to a village for weekend evangelism and nurturing. It was awesome for me to go there with one student and two graduates from our alpha batch.

One person we meet was visiting his parents in Wotutu village. He is a student in Canada and has been listening to our program, “Back to the Bible,” every morning, so he decided to come and see those people who are preaching sound messages like this. He came and I was the one teaching on that day from the Gospel of John. He came and sat in our class that followed and asked some pertinent questions about us. He is very interested to studying more. We shall do our best to connect him with whoever can connect him to the nearest church of Christ in Canada for further follow up. Keep him in your prayers. His name is Julius Ambe.

I was assigned to teach in the annual preachers forum on “Church Cooperation.” We held a question and answers session. It was good as many benefitted on how we can team up to work for the Lord.

From Bamenda, I took transit to a village called Muock Leteh. This is a village where one of the students was harassed by someone because he was preaching Christ and the daughter became a Christian. It was good that I made it there to see the picture of things and also to reach out to many on my way.

The small congregation there welcomed us with great hospitality as we held devotionals in their kitchen, singing to the glory of God, eating with them, appreciating them for loving the Lord. It was good that I made it there with others. Keep praying for them.

The village and neighboring villages are characterized with severe idol worship. They worship stones, thinking that their blessings come from stones that their forefathers left and live in those stones. One small hut is a shrine. We were just passing as we saw them doing libation and pouring strong drinks to their gods, idol worship is real in these villages. Please, please keep this as an appeal for your prayers as we continue to send our students there quarterly for evangelism, so that God will bring many to Himself.

They also worship stones placed in front of their homes. It is sad that the dominant denomination there is the Roman Catholic and they have told them that they should continue with their fetish belief and also worship their God in the Roman Catholic church, give to Caesar what is Caesar and Christ what is Christ’s. Oh with tears, I write this paragraph. Please, oh the field is ripe but the laborers are few. Thank you for coming to us. Thank you for standing by us and we can move to places far into different locations to meet humans who are lost and are dying in their ignorance. CBIW is ready to move to places so that God’s power of the gospel will touch lives.

It was another opportunity for me to encourage a young congregation using inspiration from Genesis 19, Lot’s family in the Corrupt city Sodom that they should stand fast as they have denounced those fetish belief and they are in Christ now. Keep them in your fervent prayers.

The best thing we can do now is house to house even though is it risky because of the incident that happened last time, but we furnished the chief with papers to show that the church of Christ is legalized by our government and that we are free to reach out. I shared with a young girl who told me she is the successor to their family shrine. Keep Anabel in your prayers. She can read and write and she is expecting me to send her some tracts and a Bible that she can study. Our tracts from Mission Printing will do good to many when they will finally arrive Cameroon, we are still waiting on their arrival.

Keep the church in Muock Leteh in your prayers not to look behind. It is a promising church that needs our help and our man power to help that community and other communities to turn to God. Come and stand with us to archive this for the Lord.

Plans
We have an invitation to attend a scholarship lectureship in Kumbo where brother Paul Kee is, but it is far from us. We will see if we can make the trip, mostly as it comes at the end of our exams this month end.

Reaching out to more communities is our passion and business. Keep praying for us.

Appreciations
God bless you for all your sacrifice to make this work a reality. You are in our pryers and we know God will continue His blessings over you. Keep doing it and do not faint. A reward will come your way from God

We continue to witness growth in our mission fields like Dikome, Koba, Ediki; a total of 6 precious souls were added while two that had fallen away came back to the congregation in Yoke where we started a new work with them last week. If we succeed to fill empty pulpits with sound preachers, then the church in Cameroon will have a new look, that is what I told the preachers. Those who have not been formally trained should desire to come and brandish their work. We have some that applied and passed the entrance exams. We shall release the results this week. Keep us in your prayers as we make our final selection for the Gamma batch.

Do your best to share this report with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Kingdom Of Hope: New Buildings And New Opportunities...

It has been a busy period here in Tamale as we finished up the last term of the school year at Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies, held 3 campaigns in the Tamale area, and continued the work at Kingdom of Hope Orphan’s school. This month’s report will focus on some of the work and events at the Kingdom of Hope Orphan’s School located in the Upper East Region village of Kuka.

We have had a number of building projects that we were able to complete so far this year that will help the school in its mission to serve the children in Kuka. The first project was the completion and dedication of our second classroom. The Broadway church of Christ in Paducah, KY and the family of Jack Wilson provided the funds necessary for this classroom, which was dedicated in his name during April. This classroom has been in use since the end of December by the P2 class, which previously meet outside on the veranda. We have also started construction on our third classroom thanks to funds provided by the Greenbrier church of Christ and the Guy church of Christ in Arkansas. Our hope is to have the classroom ready for the P4 class that will begin meeting during the next school year beginning in September. The goal is to eventually have 7 classrooms at the complex.

Classrooms are not the only building projects at Kingdom of Hope. In April the congregation from the Kuka church of Christ completed two additional buildings, a hostel for the older orphans that live at the school to sleep in and a building to house the new grain mill. Both of these buildings were made from mud-brick and will be used until more permanent buildings can be made in the future. The cost of cement and other building materials continues to rise which makes it difficult to build, but the church continues to do what it can to help the school. The hostel has two rooms, one for boys and one for girls, and will help to alleviate the crowded conditions at Nichema Jacobs house where 19 orphans were staying. The church received help from the Mesa church of Christ in Arizona for the materials necessary to concrete the floor and roof the grain mill building, and from the Colony church of Christ in Heber Springs, AR and the White Oak church of Christ, also in Arkansas, for the concrete and roofing tin for the children’s hostel.

The grain mill project that was sponsored by the Mesa church of Christ was completed in March and the mill’s operations have been increasing each week as people learn of its availability. The purpose of this project was to provide another way for the school to become self-supporting. The school operates the mill and profits will be used to pay teacher’s salaries and eventually to feed the students. Side benefits have been the ability to provide a paying job to a member of the church to run the mill and using the mill to teach students a potential trade.

In addition to the mill, an additional unit was purchased by the Mesa church that uses the generator to produce electricity. In April Kingdom of Hope became the first building in Kuka with electric lights! In addition to the school, lights were installed at the Kuka church of Christ, the children’s hostel, and at the mill building. There is still capacity to wire as many as 12 additional buildings, so as new classrooms are added we will be able to include the lighting as part of the construction.

While the buildings are the most visible signs of growth at Kingdom of Hope, I am also very encouraged by the growth I am seeing in both the students and the local church that supports the school. I recently sat in on classes for the P2 and P3 students and was impressed by the level of understanding in math and science classes. I don’t remember doing addition of complex fractions at that age! The church continues in supporting the school in a variety of ways, including the feeding of a meal to every child each day. While the school has taken the responsibility to make sure the children who live at the school are fed, there is no way we could afford to feed all 143 children without the church’s help. Not only do they provide the necessary food, but a group of women come every day to cook and serve. The church has also been instrumental in helping us locate and place a number of the children who were living at the school with extended family members. We have had as many as 40 children living at the school, but thanks to the efforts of the church 21 of them are now back living with grandparents or other extended family.

We have lots more work to do, but thanks to your support and the willingness of the church in Kuka to work we continue to make progress. Lord willing we will complete the next classroom and begin on another one before the end of the year. I am also working on plans to put toilet facilities at the school this year, adding another 100 trees to the mango farm, and adding a chicken farming facility to provide eggs for the children and another potential source of income for the school to support itself. The rest of the year should be busy at Kingdom of Hope!

I have posted a number of pictures to go along with this report on the Kingdom of Hope blog page at http://kingdomofhopeorphansschool.wordpress.com/ and on their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/KingdomOfHopeSchool.

For more information and news about the work at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies please visit the School’s blog page at http://tamalechristians.wordpress.com/ or their Facebook page at https://www.facebook.com/TamaleChristians.

Thank you again for your support and prayers. I will be traveling back to the U.S. in June and am looking forward to visiting as many of you possible Until then, “The Lord bless you and keep you; The Lord make His face shine upon you, And be gracious to you; The Lord lift up His countenance upon you, And give you peace.” (Numbers 6:24-26).

In His service,
Tony ‘Wintima’ Johnson

To see Tony’s report with a picture of the kids, please click here.

A Mother's Day Tribute From Africa...

Godly mothers leave a spiritual legacy for their children that is worth far more than any trust-fund inheritance. I was fortunate to have a godly mother. She had a love for God and for mission work that has been passed on to me. The picture above was taken during 3 early childhood years that I spent in the West African nation of Cameroon, where my parents were serving the Lord as missionaries. 

Mom loved Africa. Oh, not at first. She wasn't too happy about leaving her parents behind in Tennessee. It wasn't her idea, but she went along with it. However, at some point she came to love it. She loved it and always wanted to return one day. Plans were made to do just that, but this time the family would go to East Africa. Specifically, we were bound for the nation of Tanzania. But alas, it was not to be. Mom discovered that she had cancer and needed to stay in the U.S. to receive treatments. The years went by and she held out hope that one day she might still get to fulfill those abandoned plans to do mission work in Tanzania. Unfortunately, it would never happen. After 9 years, her body could no longer withstand its recurring war with cancer, and she went on to meet her reward.

Sixteen years later, on this Mother's Day I am sitting in Tanzania, Africa thinking of how much Mom wanted to be here. How I wish that she could be! She never made it here in body, but she is certainly present in her influence on me. Don't misunderstand. I'm not operating under the impression that I am somehow completing my mother's unfinished business. This is my mission, not hers. However, there is very little doubt that I wouldn't be hear without the childhood influence of Mom and Dad.

I'm thankful that she showed me the things that are truly important in life. I'm thankful that she showed me how to sacrifice for those important things. I'm thankful that she showed me how to step out of the comfort zone and do something bold.  

And now I'm thankful that my children have a godly mother who is teaching them those same lessons. My sweet wife, Tiffany, is demonstrating daily to our children the importance of serving the Lord. They can see her example of sacrifice and selflessness, and they will learn from it. As they see her dealing with the struggles and triumphs of life in a foreign mission field, they are learning priceless lessons that I hope will enrich their lives. Tiffany is leaving a significant spiritual legacy for our children, and they are greatly blessed to have her.

To every godly mother out there I want to say keep up the good work. What you are doing matters far more than you might realize in the midst of the doldrums of daily life. I hope that you have a very happy Mother's Day!

Daniel Gaines

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

Saying Good-bye After 10 Years In Tanzania...

Dear Long-Time Supporters, Family and Friends,

We Hope you all are doing well and serving God wherever you are. We have been very busy trying to get everything in order so we may leave. Please accept our apologies for the delay in getting a report to you. 

IMPORTANT - Previously, we hoped to secure a job that would begin August 1 and, consequently, had asked our supporters to continue with us until August 31. Unfortunately, that particular job opening may not be available until January. We are hoping to hear positive things about this opportunity in mid-September.

Because of these developments, we are committing to a state-side mission work in Chatom, AL (affiliated with the Sixth Avenue congregation in Jasper, AL). This commitment is for six months. Chatom is located about 3 hours SW of Montgomery, near the Mississippi line.The congregation consists of 10 souls. Our efforts will be focused on strengthening the congregation in spirit and in number. Jimmy will be teaching, preaching, and doing evangelism. Our prayer is to be in Chatom on May 15 and officially begin work there June 1, 2014. Please pray that our efforts will help the church grow in that area.

Therefore, we humbly request that you continue your present support until December 31, 2014. It is imperative that you let us know as soon as possible if you (as an individual or congregation) can grant this request (some have cancelled their support and we understand if you cannot reverse that decision due to other commitments). If you have any questions, please feel free to write.

In other news, our two home computers have crashed, which is part of the reason why we have not been doing reports. We have also made a trip to Dar Es Salaam (for US Immigration visas) as well as Nairobi, Kenya (for British visas) and enjoyed the celebration of the marriage of our daughter Abigail to Adam Rymon on April 25th, here in the beautiful country of Tanzania.

Adam and Abigail have been working in the area of the new church plant, Njiro Chini, where they conducted 24 Bible studies. As many know, Adam and Abigail will be establishing a library/

educational center in Kisongo in the near future. Adam also hopes to establish a gospel radio station in Arusha one day. He recently had a meeting with two Christians involved in radio in Dar Es Salaam in order to understand what would be required .

The Kisongo church of Christ is hosting the East African Gospel Meeting this year and are steadily working toward the preparations for a much anticipated yearly event. The Kisongo Bible School has begun a new quarter.

You may remember the Pippi House director who wanted English reading material. After he received the English books (including Bible books and materials), we received this request from him, "Hi, we will be happy one weekend if you will come to teach Girls at pippi...we need your teachings...You can teach anything that will help girls to grow thinking how to serve the lord Jesus,and to live holly life." Since we are leaving this Sunday, we are asking an evangelist in their area to follow-up.

The best way for us to update you a little on the work for the last couple of months is to refer you to this blog (http://tanzanianmissions.blogspot.com/ ) of one of our fellow missionary families, Daniel and Tiffany Gaines. They are doing a good work here.

We are very appreciative to all who have sent travel funds. We are indebted to you. Our airline tickets have been paid for and, Lord willing, we will board the plane late Sunday night. Thank you for your prayers for our safe travel.

In the true fashion of Tanzania, the church members and ACSOP staff have shown us true kindness and gratitude by hosting two farewell parties for us.  Their generosity and kind words have overwhelmed us.  Some Masai members showed Jimmy great respect when they honored him by wrapping their traditional robes around him and giving him the symbols of a Masai tribal elder  It was a very touching moment. The church also gave us a beautiful cuckoo clock. The preaching school showed their appreciation for our decade of service with a very nice wooden plaque made by no other than our long-time friend and co-worker, Elly Martin, as well as a framed picture of our family with the school staff and workers.  Elly and his wife, Neema, asked to accompany us on the five-hour trip to the Nairobi airport. Finally, we are about to go to our third farewell party hosted by our fellow missionaries.

We thank you for the privilege of living and working in Tanzania, East Africa these past ten years.  Nothing could have been accomplished without your help... your interest, encouragement, prayers and financial support have been the backbone of our part in the work of the TZ 2000 Mission work. 

We hope the Lord will bless you as much as you have blessed us.  We've had the experience of a lifetime and are thankful for all the friends and memories we've made.  However, we are looking forward to this new chapter in our lives and all the possibilities that may come with it. Again, THANK YOU!

With Love from Africa,
The Jimmy Gee family

A Church Planted Near Mwanza With 18 Souls Baptized...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

A very happy Mothers Day to all the moms who have and are making a difference in the lives of countless children. As Booker T. Washington once said; “If I have done anything in life worth attention, I feel sure that I inherited the disposition from my mother.” And most of all, I thank God for all the godly mothers who have influenced their children on the path of righteousness. 

We are so very grateful for each of you, your prayers, support and commitment to the cause of Christ where you serve and through your partnership with God here in Tanzania. Stephanie, Granny and I are blessed beyond measure and thankful for our time in the States the past few weeks. We loved being with family, friends and sharing with many the amazing mission effort of God that is taking place here in TZ and throughout East Africa. We are also very thankful to be back home. We arrived late Wednesday night and received our first house guest for the campaign season: Adam and Meagan Evans, and their three daughters who are missionaries in Iringa, TZ. They arrived Thursday afternoon and will be staying with us through the 18th. Also accompanying them is John Strong and two Tanzanian Evangelist, who are staying at the school. Adam will teach a Short Course next week and the other men will be doing some evangelistic outreach. 

It is campaign time. We have a group from Evansville, IN, Cottondale, AL, Hoover, AL, Elk City OK, and Daniel Gaines’ father, John, all arriving over the next six weeks. We will be conducting campaigns in two locations in Arusha as well as Usa River this year. We solicit your prayers during this time as many will be traveling and many will be receiving the Truth of God’s Word. Many have donated funds for printing Bible material and for the purpose of purchasing Bibles. This has been done and we know it will have its desired affect on many souls. One exciting project this year being done by the Hoover Team is the purchase and distribution of 1,000 mosquito nets. With each net the recipient will be given information about malaria prevention (malaria being one of the leading causes of death in Tanzania) as well as printed Bible material. Each will be given an opportunity to study one-on-one God’s Word as well. 

Today is a very “bitter-sweet” day for the Tanzania Mission Team as we say farewell to Jimmy Gee and his family. Having served faithfully for over 10 years, they will be missed much. The good done by Jimmy and his family can be seen in the number of graduates, new church plants and by the saving of hundreds, yes, thousands of souls. They leave a lasting work, a work that will carry on, just as God would have it and as it was planned from the beginning. As director of the Andrew Connally School of Preaching, we saw a good school become a great school. Thank you Jimmy Gee (and family). We will miss you (all) dearly. We ask that you join us in prayer for this godly family as they begin a new chapter in their lives.  

We also had another surprise when we got home; our fourteen year old refrigerator had died. They are to deliver a new one on Monday for a cost of “only” $1,600. :( If anyone would like to help with this need, we would be all so very grateful. 

I was speaking with our dear brother Yusuph Mdaki a couple of days ago, discussing their need for bibles, tracts, meeting room rent, etc. He said to me; “Oh, by the way, in April we planted a new congregation near Mwanza, baptizing 18 souls into Christ.” We thank God for such men and we thank God for you, making this work possible. Until all have heard.....

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Political And Economical Crisis, But School Continues...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches.

As you know, Ukraine is going through major political and economical crisis. Our country is basically in a state of war. In the Donetsk region terrorists took all administrative buildings, police offices and put their block-posts on all roads, preventing normal traffic. We are getting used to hearing sounds of shooting and seeing our government being inactive. Many citizens are stressed and in panic. Our students and church members are also worried about this. We keep praying, and it’s our only weapon against aggression. Only God knows when it will be over. 

In April, we had classes according to the schedule. Vitaliy Rodichev travelled from Kramatorsk and taught Prison Epistles. Viktor Semikoz continues teaching Luke. Andrew Zhuravlyov taught Jeremiah and Lamentations. I taught Ezekiel. Garth Hilton taught Job and Modern Religious Thought via the Polycom system. Each one of our brothers is active and fearless in ministry and helpful in training ministers. A preacher from Mayskaya Church of Christ, Sergey, joined our program; he’s auditing some courses. Together with the students we try to get away from these events, spending time together outside the classroom, having shashlik (barbecue), playing volleyball and praying together for our future.

Lately we’ve started thinking about selling the institute building and moving to a safer region of Ukraine. We really want to know God’s will for this important decision. It’s very dangerous being in Donetsk area, even more so studying. Sadly, we have only one potential student for the next school year (from Kramatorsk, Donetsk region). It’s because people are afraid to move to this area, and it’s understandable. There are lots of guns “wandering around” in Donetsk and Lugansk regions, and it’s very unlikely that the situation will stabilize any time soon. Please pray with us for the future of the church and the Bible institute.  

Thing are the same in the Central Church of Christ in Gorlovka. Elderly Christians are worried because of the current events. We try to support and encourage them in personal conversations. We keep evangelizing and inviting people to come to God. 

In the past month, I’ve seldom traveled outside of Gorlovka, since the barricades made by separatists surround the city. Nevertheless, I was able to visit Mayskaya Church of Christ in Gorlovka and the church in Dzerzhinsk.   

In May we plan to have a youth seminar (unless there is military intervention) on the topic “Safety in Christ.” Also, there will be a graduation ceremony on May 24, a milestone for the second-year students. This year we have 7 graduates: 5 men and 2 ladies.

We still have Bible classes for kids at “The Gifted Child” Bible School, but there are considerably fewer kids coming. Parents are afraid for their children’s safety and try to escort them to school and meet them after classes. 

Thank you for your prayers and support; we definitely need them.  We are grateful for your willingness to be useful to us. Students and staff of the institute send you their greetings. God bless you. 

You brother and coworker,

Dennis Sopelnik

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

The 12th Annual Bible Lectureship / Graduation Forthcoming...

Beloved in Christ Jesus, 

Greetings from Nigeria. We just concluded our 15th annual Bible Lectureship organized by the Western Nigeria Christian College from the evening of May 6 through 9. The event was a successful program which discussed “Spiritual Formation from life of Christ, Peter and Paul.”

As of 10:00 am on Wednesday, when I went to the register point, I was registered as #269. Brother Aaron Bailey, an American missionary stationed in Tanzania, was the guest speaker assisted by brother Abiodun Owolabi the director of the school while we and other preachers were divided into groups for group discussion.

Brethren, we appreciate all the American and Canadian brethren for their partnership with us in the speeding of the gospel in Africa and beyond. May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all your undertaking in Jesus Christ name, amen.

The SWSE-Ibadan has postponed their resumption date from May 16 to May 30,2014 . We are sorry for any inconvenience! The study hours for the 4th semester have increased from 2:15 pm to 6:00 pm daily.  

The 12th annual Bible lectureship  / graduation of the twenty four Bible students is fixed for August 21 - 23, 2014 Lord's willing, and the students’ teaching practices will come up on July 12 through August 10, 2014. The 12th annual lectureship / graduation will cost us  N250,000 for printing and feeding of the expected 250 participants while the teaching practice will cost us between N70,000 to N90,000.

Brethren, we deeply appreciate your great contribution toward the growth of the Lord's church here in Africa. May the Lord keep on using you all for His glory is our fervent prayer in Jesus Christ name, amen.

Greetings from my co-WBS follow up workers, staff and students of the SWSE-Ibadan and the Lagos campus.

We (myself and some WBSFUW) visited and studied the Bible with five WBS students with sister Kathleen Withers and brother Kenny Heflin on Saturday evening at Kute village of Lagelu L.G.A of Oyo state and they were later directed to visit the church of Christ at Kute for more studies.

On Sunday, May 11, 2014 brother Godwin Ofem, one of the graduates of SWSE-Ibadan, admonished the saints at Onikokoro  / Gbongudu congregation from Acts 21:10-15 and in the evening I taught on “Trials Dark on Every Hand” (Matt.4:1-11).

Brethren, four of our students will attend interviews by the last Sunday of this month in Osun, Ogun and Ondo states. Four congregations need the services of these students as evangelists. Please remember them: brothers Godwin Ede, Olofingorite Mayowa, John Zege and lastly Ilori Gbenga in your prayer.

Big thanks for your brotherly love! Stay blessed and be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Sincerely in Christ,

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