Seventeen Baptisms And Seven Restorations Makes For A Nice Campaign...

Receive greetings from your Kenyan family, we pray you are doing well.

The training is off to a great start with quarter four, year one. We now have 19 students, after one left due to difficulty in the training. What is worth rejoicing is the fact that the student declared he will be faithful to God despite the failure to finish the training. Keep him in your prayers. We not only train preachers, but we also build there faith in the word of God to be able to walk the spiritual journey to the end.

During the three week break, I thought we, the faculty, were the busiest of all by leading the gospel campaign in Marega. We went door to door and later a gospel meeting in the evening for three days. The seed we planted lead to four souls later on obeying the gospel. Elias traveled over 200km to preach in the Kamato gospel meeting and we pray God will give the increase. I cannot forget two more invitations to speak at other gospel meetings which I could not attend due to lack of funds.  

When the students came back and reported what they were leading and part of, I saw men who are busy doing good. The majority were speakers at gospel campaigns and seminars that lead to 13 baptisms and 7 restorations. All of them during the period led worship. This is a message of confidence the church leaders has in them.

During this fourth quarter, Elias is teaching 1st and 2nd Peter and Church Planting, I am teaching the Gospel according to Luke, 1st Samuel through to 2nd Chronicles, while Joseph Ochola will teach Ezra to Esther. We will conclude by two short courses, The Gospel of John and Foundation of Missions that will be taught by teachers from the USA.

There is a great need for books, Bibles, tracts, Bible correspondence courses and Bible materials. We pray we be considered with those among others to help in the further training of preachers and spreading the sound gospel.

We are truly grateful for the roles everyone is playing that brings these fruits to God’s Kingdom.

God bless you more as you continue to pray and support this cause.

His servant and yours,

Charles Ogutu

Southern Institute Of Biblical Studies Prepares For IT Training...

May Report

Campus Church Re-Locates
Hitherto, the church here met on the school campus, Dobro. Since this place is a suburb and quite isolated from the main township, efforts were made over the period to move the church into the main town. Following an earlier campaign last year, a week’s follow-up was organized this time as a sequel to proclaim the gospel of the Lord Jesus

On this mission, a team comprising some older preachers and students at [SIBS] was raised for the work. Although we experienced some disruption by the rains, we remained defiant since of course, we are in the rainy season. The campaign mainly involved distributing large quantities of tracts, conducting personal evangelism in people’s private homes, work places and on the streets. While the majority of the people gave a good listening, they were rather hesitant in taking immediate decision to completely respond in baptism. Most of those studied with postponed the decision to be baptized. At the close of the campaign, there were three who came forward to be baptized. One main objective of this campaign is that, we were able to have the church start meeting in the centre of town, where the meeting place would be accessible to both people from the suburbs and the main town Dobro. 

ICT Training
The issue of students’ life after school was recently discussed among directors of the five Bear Valley extension schools in West Africa, in Accra-Ghana, among other issues concerning progress of the various institutions. The directors are: Willie Gley – Togo; Matthew Ackah, West Coast – Ghana; Baah Okyere, TIBS - Ghana; Seth Osae-Larbi, SIBS – Ghana; Eben Makinde – Nigeria. The meeting was hosted by Steve Ashcraft, West Africa regional co-ordinator of Bear Valley extension programs. While all agreed that the issue was a laudable one, we also thought of what possibly could be done in each school respectively, to alleviate new preachers’ support problems, after their graduation. With a couple of laptops at our disposal, [SIBS] has engaged the services of an IT person to offer basic training in computer skills to our students. This means, besides the students acquiring knowledge of computer to helping with their academic work, they could also possibly avail themselves of the economic potential of the training. In that regard, it would be a great help to receive a couple more of such used laptops. Continue to keep us always in your thoughts and prayers.

June Report

[SIBS] Making Steady Impact
As we struggle to make our presence felt in the brotherhood, and in the midst of already existing training programs, we admit it’s going to take much effort and dedication to keep our head above the waters.

Our students continue with the weekly campaign visits to area congregations which are yielding very positive results.

People in the neighborhood of where [SIBS] is currently located are gradually learning of the school and its mission. The school’s location is in the neighborhood of retired military officers and civil servants. One retired naval officer and his wife were recently baptized.

The good news this time is, we have a retired lady civil servant, who is also a strong Methodist member, who after hearing of [SIBS] developed such absorbing interest in the school that she requested to join the classes. Maureen Simpson, who is 61 years old, has since participated ardently to study the word of God. We also think turning her away would definitely close the door for our reaching her with the gospel. Besides her class studies, we are gradually preaching the gospel to her, praying that she would eventually come to the knowledge of the truth and embrace it.

Master’s Program
Besides the regular Preacher training program, is the Master’s program which is also on-going here. The recent class held in April was a tremendous success. There were eighteen students in attendance, but just two who attended on non-scoring basis. In the end, both students and the instructor had a very good and interesting learning experience, with the students in particular benefiting greatly with good exposure and great insight of the scriptures.

SIBS Registration
It’s also a great pleasure to note that [SIBS] has officially been registered with the Registrar General’s Department to operate as a religious institution in the country with the liberty to pursue our objectives of Preacher and Leadership training. Please, continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers.

In Christ’s service,  

Seth Osae-Larbi
Southern Institute of Biblical Studies

Eleven Baptisms Recorded With The WCSOP In Ghana...

May Report

Dear Brethren,

By the grace of God, another month of operation has gone past successfully. The school re-opened for the third term, the last on our academic calendar, on the 18th of May, 2015. As has been our usual practice, classes began immediately in the first week of re-opening. All the students and the instructors were on hand for an effective teaching and learning.

REPORT  FROM  STUDENTS 
The break was for one month and upon their return, the students gave an impressive report on how they used the break period to teach others. A total of eleven (11) baptisms were recorded.

POULTRY/GARDEN/GOATS
Again, we wish to express our thanks and appreciation for this project. The birds have begun to lay eggs. We are collecting few eggs as of this time since this is the beginning. We hope as days go on the rate at which they lay eggs would increase. Some of the instructors and the students have taken keen interest in the project and are monitoring the process of keeping and management.

BROTHER DANIEL AMPADU ASIAMAH
We continue to ask for your prayers for him.

June Report

Thankfully another month of operation has ended successfully. Classroom and other related works have been very successful. Instructors and all students were punctual to class.

POULTRY/GARDEN
The rates of which the birds are laying eggs have increased. We are trying to keep a record on how they are laying. Averagely they are laying about thirty (30) eggs a day. We hope as the days go on, all forty-eight birds would lay an egg each day.

BROTHER DANIEL AMPADU ASIAMAH
We again ask for your continuous prayer for him. His recovering rate has been very slow as has been said always.

Thank you.
Brother Charles Mensah

Special Workshop And Study On Baptism In Paraguay...

Furlough time is now over and we have returned to the work in Paraguay. We were blessed with an uneventful return trip home and walked into a house that wasn’t a complete disaster (like last year’s mold problem). I hadn’t been back more than a couple of days when it was already time to get back to work. We feel so honored to have this privilege of working in Paraguay. We hope this month’s report brings you a little encouragement from our little corner of the world. Thank you for your love, prayers, and support.

Andrea and I were blessed to get to visit with so many good brethren during our furlough this year! We always love getting to visit and we appreciate the many friendships that have developed over the years. This year I had the privilege of getting to visit my alma mater, Southwest School of Bible Studies in Austin, TX. We also went to visit our brethren at Brown Trail School of Preaching in Ft. Worth, TX.

Developments at the Avenida Sacramento church of Christ
Trent Kennedy and his family have been in Paraguay now for several weeks and have adjusted quite well to South American culture. They have been very active in their time here! Trent has begun teaching classes in the Asuncion Bible Academy, preached one Sunday, and has helped in home Bible studies. He and his wife, Lisa, have picked up several students and have been teaching English using the Bible. We are excited to have them here and they are doing such a great job. You can follow their experiences on their blog at: beingwhatiwanttobe.blogspot.com

We were so excited to return to Paraguay to find the church just as busy as ever! They have carried out continued studies, made several new decisions, and are developing new plans. A missionary’s job is to work himself out of a job. That is what is happening in Paraguay! These brethren are growing in every way: in spiritual maturity, in leadership, and in numbers. Our goal is to develop a church that is self-supporting, self- governing, and self- propagating. The church in Paraguay is arriving at that very goal! Praise God!

Developments at the Asuncion Bible Academy
Brother Gary Fallis from the Bear Valley Bible Institute came to Paraguay to teach “The Godhead” in the Academy. He brought his wife, Sarah, with him who also took the opportunity to teach some classes to our ladies of the congregation. We greatly appreciate the hard work and dedication to the Lord’s Kingdom that the Fallis’ provide.

This quarter had the students participating in a special workshop and study on baptism as part of the curriculum. They learned the fundamental principles of baptism and also how to physically administer a baptism. The ladies also watched and asked questions in order to understand the mechanics of a baptism.

Andrea and I had the opportunity to meet up with Luis Camacho, our BVBID Stateside Coordinator for the Academy, while we were home on furlough. We were able to finalize more plans for the Academy and develop a few new ones. We always enjoy our time with Luis and are grateful for his service to the Academy.

Our local missionary, evangelist, Academy teacher, and beloved Panamanian, Eliezer Perez, has announced that he and one of our sisters in Christ, Raquel Franco, are engaged to be married! Eliezer has returned to Panama for a few weeks in order to get all his legal documents in order so he can apply for permanent residency in Paraguay. The couple hope to be married by the end of this year. He has also completed his initial two year agreement with the church, so a new agreement will be put in place upon his return.

God bless
Troy and Andrea Spradlin

To read the Spradlin’s report with pictures, please click here.

Students In Practice Teaching Prepare For Ministry In Nigeria...

Dear Fellow Pilgrims,

Greetings to you and your loving family from the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan and Lagos Satellite Campus.

This afternoon, our 36 Students at Ibadan’s main campus and a  few from Agege-Lagos State campus traveled to their different stations for a month of teaching practice.

Below are their names and where they served.

(1) Akinade O. Akinleye - Church of Christ, Ore Ondo State
(2) Destiny Elijah Sunday - Church of Christ, Onikokoro-Ibadan Oyo State
(3) Benjamin Okon - Church of Christ, Owoedemeli, Imo State 
(4) Idowu Olusegun - Church of Christ, Isanlu Kogi State
(5) Ikechukwu Eze Collins - Church of Christ, Abusoro-Akure Ondo State
(6) Ikape Matthew Ikwe - Church of Christ, Ore Ondo State
(7) Isaac Philip - Church of Christ, Erinmo-Ijesha Osun State
(8) Isikwu S. Chukwunuike - Church of Christ, Abusoro-Akure Ondo State
(9) Nnamdi Blessing Eze - Church of Christ, Osisioma Nawa, Aba Abia State
(10) Nwaorji Emmanuel - Church of Christ, Ilisan - 2 Ogun State
(11) Samuel Omotayo - Church of Christ, Kube-Ibadan Oyo State
(12) Shotola Emmanuel O. - Church of Christ, Mile 12 Lagos State
(13) Victor Yiron Smasher - Church of Christ, Jalingos Taraba State
(14) Adedoyin Sola Rotimi - Church of Christ, Omuaran, KwaraState
(15) Amos Abana - Church of Christ, Aja, Estate, Lagos State
(16) Anthony Samuel - Church of Christ, Ijegun, Lagos State
(17) Augustine Odoh - Church of Christ, Asejire, Ondo State
(18) Gabriel Ishom - Church of Christ, Onikokoro- Ibadan Oyo State
(19) GodwinEde Edor - Church of Christ, Wasimi, Osun State
(20) Festus Ayoo - Church of Christ, Ado-Ekiti, Ekiti State
(21) Ilori Gbenga Dare - Church of Christ, Abusoro-Akure, Ondo State
(22) Makinde Emmanuel Anu - Church of Christ, Ogbomoso, Oyo State
(23) Matthew Odey - Church of Christ, Maryland, Lagos State
(24) Olofingorite A. Mayowa - Church of Christ, Ire, Osun State
(25) Optimism Onyeanulam - Church of Christ, Oporo Rd. Aba, AbiaState
(26) Tsado Jonathan - Church of Christ, Bashita, Kwara State
(27) Olorode Samuel Olu - Church of Christ, Asejire- II Osun State
(28) Zege John Tobi - Church of Christ, Ofada, Ogun State
(29) James Olaosebikan A. - Church of Christ, Agoro, Ogun State
(30) Nwachukwu Andrew - Church of Christ, Iyana-Ipaja Lagos State
(31) Faith Ohemu - Church of Christ, Aparadija, Ogun State
(32) Okpachui Emmanuel - Church of Christ, Ido-Ekiti 
(33) Victor Dominic Edet - Church of Christ, Omu-Aran, Kwara State
(34) Eno Edet - Church of Christ, Ipaja, Lagos State
(35) Isaac Adebayo Adewolu - Church of Christ, Iroko, Ogun State
(36) Ekundayo Akerele - Church of Christ, Ikeja, Lagos State.

Brethren, we are pleading with you all to please remember these soldiers of Christ in your daily prayers for successful outreach.

This one month teaching practice cost us the sum of $500, as usual, and we rely on God through your generous donations to enable us to pay back the money before I embark on a two week trip to Ghana with brother Isaac Olaniyan in continuation of our studies with Bear Valley Bible Institute International, Accra Graduate School from August 10th through 21st 2015 where brother Jerry Bates shall be our guest lecturer.

Those willing to partner with us in this one month student’s teaching practice should send their generous donation to us through brother Doug Wheeler (SWSE-Patron) or brother Steven Ashcraft (BVBI-West Africa Director) or brother David Ballard (BVBI-Cameroon & Nigeria Coordinator) or through brother Bob Turner (BVBI- Director of Extension Schools) before July 20, 2015 to enable me to get the money in the early week of August before I travel out of Ibadan to Western Nigeria Christian College and School of Biblical Studies, Abeokuta, Ogun State on August 6th-7th where I am to speak on “The Hope of The Crucified Life” (I Cor. 15) in their 16th Annual Bible Lectureship and to Ghana, by road, on Saturday, August 8, 2015 Lord’s willing.

Thanks so much for your brotherly kindness and love.  

May God, in His infinite mercies, continue showering His abundant blessings on all your undertaking is our fervent prayer. Stay blessed and be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Your Fellow Pilgrims,

Makinde Ebens Olufemi (Director of Studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos Campus, Nigeria.
For & Behalf of SWSE-Nigeria

The Future is Bright for French Cameroon

We greet you with the love of God. God is great and His love abides for forever.

The students enjoyed the first semester courses and most especially the short-courses. We are grateful of the the fact that with our few number in our school, most of them are proving to be very serious and are determined to see that they will become very strong preachers and their works show they will be in Jesus name.

We started with our next semester courses effectively and we pray the devil should not come to seize what God has put in place. We are also proceeding with our weekend evangelism and also with the new congregation that we started at Mujuka whereby about 14 persons are already worshiping there and students go there every week. God is torching the souls of people via our school. Please keep on praying for our student.

Ititi Benedict Nimending
Director BVBIC-Mbanga
 

Spiritual Growth To Maturity Highlights The Report...

As a part of the summer activities, travel is on the agenda for several among the extension program. Some are traveling to South Africa, while others travel to Cambodia, West Africa, East Africa, along with Central and South America. Reports from various locations continue to emphasize the work developing in the training of kingdom workers. We are encouraged by the ways the program is growing.

The reports this week indicate the spiritual growth of the church in East Africa, the move to a more permanent location for the school in Ukraine, souls added to the kingdom in various locations reporting, and the edification of brethren who are built up in the faith. As you take time to read through the reports, please pray about the various individuals enduring hardship in their endeavor for the sake of the kingdom.

We believe you will be greatly encouraged as you read through this week’s reports. The news is truly amazing. The growth, maturity, outreach, dedication, and sacrifice made by so many brethren around the world makes this partnership one of the best for the kingdom of our God and Savior.

Now on to this week’s incredible 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 at the following link, please click here.

Extension Reports 

Pray For The Health Of Elangwe And His Son: While the outreach continues to grow in Cameroon, please pray for the situation with Elangwe and his son.

Students Return With News Of Baptisms And Restorations: The evangelism demonstrated by students in the new school of Mbanga, Cameroon is producing fruit.

Adversity Brings Forth Opportunity And Reveals Maturity: The work in Cambodia demonstrates how the church and school continue to grow to maturity even through adversity.

The School In Ukraine Is Moving To A More Permanent Location: After months of conflict and turmoil in Ukraine, the school is moving to a better location for future development.

Help Needed To Keep A Congregation Working In Babati, Tanzania: Recent events created an emergency situation with a location congregation in Babati. Please read how you can help.

Reflecting On The Youth Seminar And Spiritual Disciplines Classes: A staff member at ACSOP reflects on the great youth seminar and the close of spiritual disciplines classes.

Surprise!!! Return To Tanzania Comes Sooner Than Expected: Sean Hochdorf was able to make a return visit to the work in Tanzania and surprised the staff and students.

The Backbone Of The Work At ACSOP Honored For Their Efforts: Those dedicated to the work of training preachers in Arusha were recently honored for their efforts.

Final Thoughts 
One final note of appreciation to each of you for your involvement in the extension training program. The development of this work and the results seen throughout the world are directly connected to your participation in this effort. Thank you. Our prayer is for your encouragement and God’s richest blessings.

God bless
Bob

The Backbone Of The Work At ACSOP Honored For Their Efforts...

Proverbs 3:27 says, "Do not withhold good from those to whom it is due, when it is in the power of your hand to do so." With that in mind, some of the men and women who form the local backbone of the work at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching were honored with an appreciation dinner last week. We took them to the Arusha Coffee Lodge for a nice dinner, then we presented them with some small gifts to express our gratitude to them. The work couldn't take place without men and women like this. Their efforts are critical to the present, as well as to the future of the work. Join with me in thanking God for them, and praying that He blesses them. 

The highlight of the evening was a surprise guest appearance by Sean Hochdorf (Sean now works with the mission from the US side, but he lived in Tanzania for several years). Everyone was delighted to see him.

Today, I introduced the Spiritual Disciplines seminar to the Manyire congregation. This was the site of a recent campaign, so it was good to have the chance to check up on them. I took along Ayubu (Job) with me.  Ayubu is the preacher at the Ilkiurei congregation. I'm training him to be able to take this set of lessons to other congregations himself. Next month he should be prepared to start the seminar at Moshi without me. The ladies of the congregation prepared some delicious rice and stew for us after church, capping off a very enjoyable visit.

Josiah Update: After his initial EEG, the neurologist has decided to do a 72-hour EEG and a sedated MRI. These tests are scheduled to begin on August 3. We appreciate your prayers and support. We especially want to thank those of you who have sent additional contributions. We'll keep you informed as information becomes available.

Daniel

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

Surprise!!! Return To Tanzania Comes Sooner Than Expected...

I love surprising people, especially those I consider dear. Since the doctor had cleared me to fly I made arrangements to get back to TZ as soon as possible. The brethren there did not expect that I would return until late November. Cy Stafford and Daniel Gaines agreed to keep my trip a secret and snuck me in after arriving at the airport Wednesday evening. For those of you who have been to TZ you know one of the most popular sayings is “there are no secrets in Africa”. This has proven true time and time again and we weren’t quite sure if we would be able to pull it off. Turns out we did a pretty fair job at keeping it on the down low. Cy and Daniel had arranged for a nice dinner for a number of the brethren and their wives to say thank you for their recent participation in the summer campaigns. Cy hid me behind a stand of trees until the group had arrived and taken their seats. Daniel came and retrieved me and it was great to see that they were genuinely surprised and, even better, glad to see me. It has been, and is, such a great privilege to work with these brethren. They have traveled so far in their spiritual walk and it makes all of the missionaries here swell with pride and joy to see how their faith has so richly matured.

This morning I had the privilege to preach at the Kisongo church of Christ. They didn’t know I was coming to worship with them so no translator was present except for our good brother Ahimidiwe Kimaro. Since I can’t translate or speak Swahili good enough to preach, I was elected to preach and Ahimidiwe translated. It was very encouraging to be with the brethren in Kisongo once again.

The Arusha church of Christ wrapped up their week-long campaign on Sunday. This campaign was significant for the church in this area for a number of reasons, namely, that the brethren organized and conducted the entire campaign without the aid of missionaries or U.S. campaigners. Also of importance was the tremendous support shown by fellow brethren from around the country and even Kenya. There were 75 brethren that participated in the campaign making the trip to Arusha from as far away Kyela, Tanzania (an 18hr treacherous bus ride). Aside from the exciting results of the campaign, we are thrilled to see the motivation and initiative of our Tanzanian brethren to place their trust in the Lord and successfully stand on their own to conduct such a monumental effort. God certainly blessed their diligent efforts and we give all praise and glory to Him for so doing. When it was all said and done the campaigners had conducted:

47 Bible classes
56 Bible correspondence courses
2300 tracts distributed
4 precious souls were added to the body of Christ. Pray for Sylvia, Rosemary, Angel and Lydia as they start their walk in Christ.
Numerous visitors were present for Sunday’s worship

I look forward to reporting more good news about the work in Tanzania in the near future. We are most grateful for your support. The results mentioned above most likely would not have happened were it not for faithful supporters like you. Thank you.

Until next time, take care and God bless.

In Christ,
Sean and Anita Hochdorf

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

Reflecting On The Youth Seminar And Spiritual Disciplines Classes...

It’s my hope that this short report finds you well. God is always great. I have witnessed how God’s providence works through His children. Last week there was a great youth seminar that was held at the Kilimanjaro Bible school building. There was at least one hundred and fifty youth in that seminar. I was scheduled to teach on Saturday morning on how the Lord’s church can be self-supporting. I taught a sermon that had many questions from the youth because they had seen a lot struggles in the church. This is a one week seminar which rotates among the churches of Tanzania each a year. These young men came from many churches in the country. The greatest news is that six young men who attended seminar were baptized, and one of them was from the Kisongo church. It was surprising to see a young boy from the Kisongo Church leading songs and praying while I have never seen his hidden talent. I met with various teachers and preachers from all over the country using their talents to help young men.

Also, last Sunday I was at the Kioga church teaching in the spiritual discipline seminar, while Charles Hebert ended the same seminar at Kisongo. As you may know, edification is necessary for the children of God. This seminar has had a big impact on the church, as there is big growth due to the teachings of this seminar. The efforts of individual Christians participating in various activities in the church is evidence of the growth. At the Kioga church, there are many older people and I was amazed with their great love and compassion. The people seem to understand the lesson by asking many questions after Bible class and after worship. 

These great efforts would not be possible without a great team which you are a part of. God is the great leader of that team. Please remember the ACSOP team in your prayers as they are planning things for the glory of God, also without forgetting the missionaries who are not sleeping thinking about this work. May the God of heaven be with you.

In His Work,

Ahimidiwe
Assistant Director, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school
Arusha, Tanzania

Help Needed To Keep A Congregation Working In Babati, Tanzania...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

It is a joy and a privilege to be called a child of God. To know we have a family without borders and a home prepared for us in eternity brings true peace to the soul. If it is true, and it is, that God desires all mankind everywhere to know Him and come to a knowledge of the Truth, then we as HIs family must know, He has chosen us to make known the “unsearchable richest of Christ” (Ephesians 3:8). Let each of us be a person who not only go to “church,” but the “church” who go to the world. 

Since May of this year we have been a part of no less than five “Safari for Souls” campaigns. Hundreds of souls, if not thousands, have heard the truth of the gospel and the Lord continues to give the increase. It is such a blessing to see our fellow Christians from America come and give sacrificially. To see the “light” go off in their eyes as they witness firsthand, some for the very first time in their Christian lives, the true power of the gospel in the lives of those desire to hear and know the truth. To be a part of God’s Kingdom growth here in Tanzania, East Africa, witnessing the nurturing of the various new church plants, well, it is simply amazing. 

The Arusha congregation is finishing their campaign. A campaign they planned and executed with 75 faithful workers. They invited evangelists (and their wives) from all over Tanzania. They have done a great work and in so doing, four souls were added to the Church, forty-seven bible studies established, 56 Bible correspondence courses set up, and more then 2,300 Bible tracts distributed. 

The Ushirombo congregation, where our brother Yusuph Mdaki ministers, just completed a week long seminar as well. They had elven congregations and 130 workers present. To see our graduates from the Andrew Connally School of Preaching grow and lead in the growth of the Lord’s church is so encouraging. 

I received a visitor this past week by the name of Thobias Lupagalo. Thobias is married with one child. He is a High School teacher at Babati (a couple of hours southeast of Arusha). Thobias was introduced to the Lord’s church at a young age here in Arusha. He moved to Dar es Salaam to complete his High School education as well as his college degree education. He is a strong servant of Christ, godly husband and father. 

Thobias came to Arusha begging for help. He, along with the Babati congregation, have worked hard to secure a location for the church to meet. The city of Babati is growing and now one of the largest cities in Tanzania. The congregation has saved around $1,000 to help purchase land. The place where they are now meeting has a small house where they can worship. The owner has given them to the end of July to either pay the balance of $2,500 or they will lose the $1,000 they have given and will be forced to vacate the property. 

This is the ONLY congregation of the Lord’s people in this huge city of lost souls. PLEASE consider this opportunity and help us help them help themselves. 

On behalf of the entire Tanzania Missions team, we say thank you to all who have played a part in making this work of God possible. Until all have heard…

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

The School In Ukraine Is Moving To A More Permanent Location...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches. 

Thank you for your prayers and the help that you offer for the work of the Institute and for my family. Last month, we ended our school year in Ternopil. And most likely we will start a new school year in a different city. We've had time to think about what place would be the best for the Institute. When considering different locations we had several criteria in mind: 1. It should be a big city with convenient transport connections; 2. There should be a sound church of Christ congregation there; 3. It should be convenient for Ukrainian teachers to travel to; 4. It should be convenient for American teachers to travel to (international airport); 5. It should be city with no language barriers for both Ukrainian and Russian speakers; 6. It should be safe for students and workers of the Institute. I’ve sought counsel from both American and Ukrainian brethren, and we prayed for the future of the Institute. As a result, we all had but one option, which was agreeable for everyone – the city of Dnepropetrovsk. There is a church of Christ congregation there, where BVBIU graduate, Alexander Rodichev, preaches. The congregation in Dnepropetrovsk is willing to provide us with a place to have classes and school events. I’m asking you to pray for our plans and the future of the Institute. 

The situation in Ukraine is still unstable. Unfortunately, the towns near the frontline suffer from shootings. Gorlovka is one of them. There are bomb explosions and shootings in town every day, and many people can get back to their homes. The only good thing is that the borders are the way they were decided in Minsk in February. Ukrainian army strengthened their positions all around that territory, and it seems it won’t be easy for the Russian army to move as easily as they did last year. 

It is summer vacation time at the Institute and the period of evangelizing practice for the students. Students received assignments for each summer month: they have to preach, teach Bible classes, evangelize on the streets, and visit those who got sick or left the congregation. 

My family and I are in Kramatorsk at our parents, and we witnessed how the church of Christ in Kramatorsk distributed humanitarian aid among the refugees. I have also preached at the Slavyansk church of Christ last Sunday. It’s so nice to be back to my hometown and have fellowship with brothers and sisters that we haven’t seen for so long. The atmosphere in Kramatorsk is peaceful. There are many soldiers and military machines on the streets. Right now there is a VBS at the Kramatosk church of Christ, which is the usual camp that Jeff Abrams and his team does. We are grateful for his ministry. 

We plan to move to Dnepropetrovsk in July. I will have to move the Institute’s and my personal belongings there in the time remaining. I will have to find a place for the students to live and continue looking for the new students for this school year. I’m asking you to pray for our plans to work out. 

My family, our students, and teaching staff sends you their greetings. We thank every person who prays for us and supports us financially. I know God has prepared the best for us. 

Your brother and coworker for the Lord’s cause,
Dennis Sopelnik

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

Adversity Brings Forth Opportunity And Reveals Maturity!

The wisdom that we attain through trials and suffering in our lives is such a wonderful blessing from God (Jas 1:2-3)! As we mature in our walk with God, we learn to see and adjust to adversity for the better. We trust that God is involved and that he is trying to grow us to be mature children of His. Whether it be losing your current job or the government unexpectedly demolishing your property unjustly just to spite you, you learn to take it in stride and look for the positive. Maybe losing our job opens up new opportunities to serve God in a different way. Joseph lost his job as a servant of Potiphar only to be second in command to Pharaoh and ultimately bring the children of Israel to Egypt. 

Do we have the same patience and forbearance as Joseph and trust that God knows what He's doing? When people in authority misuse their power against us unjustly, do we remember the words of Jesus in Matthew 5:11-12 and of Paul in Romans 13:1-7? How we react to these circumstances demonstrates our maturity as God's children. I am pleased to say that the church in Siem Reap has met such adversity and responded with such maturity. We came together, encouraged one another, and showed our growth as children of God. We realize that sometimes we don’t see eye to eye with each other, but we can always look forward together in Christ. We are so thankful for the local work that's producing mature and capable leaders through the Bible school and orphanage. We are thankful for our brethren overseas who are supporting us both financially and spiritually. Please continue to support and pray for the work of Christ here in Cambodia.

Hout's mother finally putting on Christ in baptism. We are so happy for Hout!

The church in Siem Reap shared its blessings with the villagers in Sambu. Thanks to our brothers and sisters in Bear Valley, we were able to provide some food for over 100 people at a village where two of our future graduates will work at!

Phanat

To see Phanat’s report with pictures of Hout’s mother being baptized and the food provisions at Sambu, please click here.

Students Return With News Of Baptisms And Restorations...

We bring greetings from this part of the world. We hope all is well in Jesus’ name. We appreciate brother David Ballard for his great visit, the good time we spent together in class teaching, and at home. For the matriculation ceremony, you played a great roll as a coordinator.

To my elders and deacons of Frisco Church of Christ, we had a very busy week with brother Ballard teaching and my translating, going up and down for mission work, which was really fruitful.

Students returned from vacation with 4 baptisms an 12 restorations reported, but only 8 could come back with good health. The 9th person is still sick, but with us taking treatment. We plan to send him back to his family. We are still waiting for the family members to come pick him up. Students just finished their first quarter with short-courses on “Discipleship” taught by brother Beassem Julien, the preacher of the Dakar assembly in Douala and on “The New Testament Church” taught by the coordinator, brother David Ballard. On the 27th we officially opened the school in the presence of the coordinator who made the declaration in the presence of some elders of the church, directors of other preaching schools, the chief of our local community and his notables, members of the church, and other invitees. The event was great. Students are doing great even though with some difficulties because is was just the beginning, but we believe it is going to be ok. 

Weekend evangelism is also going on well, even though this weekend was characterized with festivities. We still remember that evangelism is our mission an our mission is evangelism. A visibility of studies was carried out within the week in a neighboring village that has never had a congregation and we are happy to tell the world that there is a congregation today in Mujuka village. It is close to Mbanga and we were able to worship for the first time last Sunday, the 28th, with about 15 persons. Oh God is great. Keep this work in your prayers, the students, and the staff of the Institute.

Students preached in door-to-door work and in the church at the new congregation in Mujuka.

Ititi
Director of BVBI-Mbanga

Pray For The Health Of Elangwe And His Son In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon. I do hope this report will meets you healthy and sound in all that you do. We are better here, but I am sick and my son also. We were both at the hospital to see the doctor and now we are home. Please keep us in your prayers. I have severe gastric problems with bleeding in my stomach.

Last week went on well in BVBIC-Wotutu, as all our students were back ready for the third quarter, which is interesting because of the course lined up for them.

Last week also our coordinator left Cameroon. As I write this report now he is back home doing well.

Do your best to share this report with others.

God bless you.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

Preparing For Ministry In God's Kingdom...

While this week may not share as many reports as in the past, there is never a dull moment when it comes to extension training. Even though students in Denver enjoy a break from their studies, training continues around the world. Extension training thrives as students prepare themselves for ministry / service in the Lord’s kingdom. We are excited to learn about and share the results of their activities.

We ask for your continued prayers concerning several areas within the extension program: 1) pray for the brethren and people of Nepal as they work to rebuild their lives, 2) pray for the situation in Ukraine, as staff and students try to determine an opportunity to return to Eastern Ukraine, 3) pray for the souls who obeyed the gospel over the past week in various locations reporting below, and 4) please remember to pray for the development and growth of the extension program through the end of this year and the years ahead. We will report more about new schools in the weeks and months ahead.

We are thankful for each of you and the wonderful way you continue to encourage and support the work of extension training.

Now on to this week’s incredible 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 

Outreach With The Visiting Coordinator In Cameroon Brings Forth Fruit: David Ballard’s visit to Wotutu and Mbanga brings benefit to the work of the schools and church.

Teaching Through 1st Corinthians And Weekend Evangelism In Nigeria: The church is growing spiritually and numerically through the work of staff and students at the SWSE.

The Good News Continues To Come our Way In Arusha: Several field reports from Cy Stafford continue to demonstrate the power of the gospel preached by the brethren in Tanzania.

Many Good Souls Have Been Won To Christ In The Past Few Weeks: Reports from the staff at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching indicates a fruitful Safari for Souls campaign.

140 Young People Gather For The Tanzania Youth Seminar: A recent youth seminar in Tanzania not only sees a record number of participants, the Lord also added to the kingdom.

Final Thoughts 
Thank you for your continues involvement in this program. Only God knows the number of souls touched by the power of the Gospel proclaimed each week. We express our thanks to God and you for the opportunity to work together in this endeavor. Reading about the growth of the kingdom each week is encouraging for us and we pray it is for you also. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

Outreach With The Visiting Coordinator In Cameroon Brings Forth Fruit...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this end. I am sure you are doing okay in all that you do, as we are doing great and God is blessing. We are in the rainy season and rain is doing its best now in Cameroon.

After the short-course with our coordinator we sent out all our students for vacation because we re-schedule our programs just to make sure. We meet up with the program of the coordinator and it all went well.

As I am writing this report, all our students, except one who lost his son, are now back in school to start the next quarter which begins tomorrow.

They return from their vacation with great news about growth and appreciations from their home congregations about their spiritual growth. Our students are handling and preaching better now than before they came to the Bible college in Wotutu.

In Wotutu, our students took the final after a week of intensive studies. It was great to have the coordinator stand in front of the Gamma batch of students to teach. This was the first time for the Gamma batch of students to stay in class and learn from the him.

After the week of teaching in BVBIC-Wotutu, we moved to the new BVBIC-Mbanga for another week of teaching. I was with the coordinator for the one week, so as to make sure he is fine and safe because the director there needed to learn how to accommodate visiting instructors. I was there to help if any help was needed, but it was great until yesterday that they did their matriculation.

Evangelism is our mission: After 6 hours in the class, we still went out for visiting and meeting people. We went on a train ride to Kumba and later Tombel for visiting and also to be part of a youth forum. It was great for us to do that so as to encourage the youths who are the church of tomorrow.

We encouraged and discussed the possibility of a new congregation in this village, called Mujuka. Today, a new congregation was born with 16 souls worshipping God with the New Testament design. Join us in praise to God because this village is nearer to Mbanga. The school in Mbanga will take care of nurturing this young congregation and bringing it to maturity. Please pray for the work there.

Several sisters in one of our newly established congregations are zealous to know more about God and to share the message with their husbands and the community. Many continue to ask for Bibles as we must point to the truth only through the lines of the Bible. I salute their zeal and I pray we can be of help to empower them with adult education for them to know more on how to read and also explain the truth the way it is suppose to be. Pray for our sisters in Cameroon, as many of them need empowerment in many vocational things which will help them balance many situations in our societies. There is a saying that “if you educate or empower a woman, you have empowered entire communities." Our goals are high for our sisters. Maybe you have an idea as to what we can do to realize this. If so, then feel free to get back to me.

Many of them were reading tracts and keeping what is inside, so that they will share it with others. Many thanks to Mission Printing for sending the tracts to us and we pray and wait for the next container that will be shipped to us. This helps us take the tracts to many more communities that the first container could not serve fully.

Our students return from vacations with this precious news: 3 souls were added in two villages where they were for vacation. The spirit of BVBIC-Wotutu will always remain with our students as they now know the importance of reaching out to souls at any giving time. We share the gospel and God gives us opportunity to rob from the strong man’s house.

Plans
e still plan to go with all the students to Idenau, the west coast region, to establish a new congregation which will be the second in the entire west coast of Cameroon.

Keep our students in your prayers as they start their third quarter tomorrow, that as the days are going by, they will continue to grow for His glory and services.

Appreciations
I thank God for you. God has been so kind to us through all that you are doing to make this work a reality. God bless you and keep you strong and safe. You are in our prayers and we trust God that it is well with you. Do your best to share our reports with others.

God bless you and your entire family.

Elangwe and family

140 Young People Gather For The Tanzania Youth Seminar...

This past week about 140 young people from all over Tanzania gathered in Moshi for the Tanzania Youth Seminar. This was one of the largest turnouts ever for this traveling event. The hand shaking line after services this morning was so long that it circled the whole yard and spiraled inwards two-deep. We also had the opportunity to welcome 6 young people who were baptized during the week. 

This week the Arusha church will conduct a campaign of its own. There are no visiting foreign campaigners this time. They will just rely on the efforts of local evangelists, members, and missionaries to reach out to their community. All in all, it is a good time to be a Christian in northern Tanzania. Join with us in thanking God for the successful youth event, and petitioning His blessings on the Arusha campaign. To God be the glory!

Also, if any of you are interested in having me visit with your congregation at some point this year, then let me know, especially those of you that we didn't get to visit with during our furlough last year.

Daniel Gaines

To see Daniel’s report with pictures from the youth seminar, please click here.

Many Good Souls Have Been Won To Christ In The Past Few Weeks...

You can’t imagine how happy we are, after a long and busy month of June here at Arusha. As the old American saying goes, “happy to see the headlights coming, happy to see the taillights leaving”. As you have heard from many reports of the past that the Lord has been accomplishing many good things through his servants who came to Arusha, from the USA and from different places in this country. Precious souls have been added to Christ and His church. The ministers of these congregations are continuing to nurture these little babies in the word of God as our Lord instructed us “… teaching them to observe all that I commanded you…”.  And those good bible classes that have been established by our brothers and sisters have been set into a closer follow up to make sure that no one is left behind in this journey to Heaven.

House to house evangelism in Arusha town
Pre-campaign in Arusha town congregation has started bearing fruits. Two souls have been added into the church by the Lord through baptism this week. Beginning next week the congregation is going to be blessed with another busy week of House-to-House evangelism (as we now call fighting the devil). Every necessary preparation has been put in place for the children’s bible classes. As usual, we are expecting to have more that 100 children every day. About twenty preachers from different congregations have already been confirmed to come and participate in this big event of making disciples.  This makes me more happy because I will also have an opportunity to meet with one of the very first people (Mr. Lenkosi Mkwana) who obeyed the Gospel when the first missionary (Brother. Andrew Connally) came to Tanzania.

Youth seminar in Kilimanjaro
The Tanzania youth seminar is in progress. I had a privilege to attend a youth seminar that is going on in Moshi. About 120 youth from all over the country came to learn the bible. On the very first day, one brother was baptized. I was amazed to see a young boy leading songs (Hamisi) who had been a Muslim, but was baptized  two years ago through their seminar. There is nothing impossible to the Lord. Let us not grow weary to in prayer, and as brother Cy always says, “work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work, work.” May the Lord God bless you as you read and pray for this great ministry in Tanzania.

In Him,

Godfrey Mngoma
Dean of Students, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school
Arusha, Tanzania

The Good News Continues To Come Our Way In Arusha...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

What a joy it is to be a part of God’s Kingdom work. We are family and we partner in the greatest cause known to mankind. We take comfort in the fact that our God is able and through your continued prayers and sacrificial giving, souls are being added to the Church day by day. 

This has been a “bitter-sweet” week for me personally. I put my sweet bride on the plane Wednesday night, the “bitter” part of my week. She was able to come and for the better part of June, allowing me to stay longer, one of the “sweet” parts of the week (month). 

The good news continues to come our way:

I met with several of our evangelists this past week to map out the plans for the follow-up work left from the recent campaigns. It is so encouraging to see the zeal, commitment, and love for God’s work in these men. Thank God and thank you for making their ministry possible. 

Field Reports: 

Michael Losotwa: “I have some good news for you, last Sunday Neema Nicola, Mary (Jeremiah's wife), and Editha Damiano obeyed the gospel. And we (Jeremiah, Michael & Clement) baptized them into Christ for remission of their sins.” 

Godfrey Mngoma Reports: “The Lord has blessed us with three more souls here in Arusha”. 

Oh, it gets even better…

Today, Daniel and I had the privilege of worshiping at Moshi as they concluded a week long “Tanzania Youth Seminar.” I believe the lessons taught speak highly as to the caliber of the young and their teachers here in Tanzania. For Bible class they heard a reason on the “Triune Nature of God,” and for the worship hour they had a lesson entitled “Ten Lessons I wish I had known when I was a teenager” (from a grandfathers perspective). What a joy it was to worship and fellowship with 140 teens from all over the country of Tanzania and the Kilimanjaro congregation. When services were over, we had the privilege of welcoming and shaking the hands of the 6 new Christians from the youth who put Christ on in baptism this past week. 

And just when you thought it could not get any better….the Arusha congregation will begin their Safari for Souls campaign tomorrow. Yes, our American bothers and sisters have returned to the States. They left much to do, many Bible studies and contacts to follow up with. The good brothers and sisters of Tanzania continue carrying the light of the Gospel to the lost of their nation. 

Over the next three weeks the Andrew Connally School of Preaching staff will be traveling throughout Tanzania and Kenya on a “Good-Will” tour. They will be visiting the home congregations of many of our students and some of our graduates as well. They will share the good God is doing through the school and recruiting future students as well. 

Please pray for all these efforts, that God’s will be done, and that many will come to know Him as their God before it is eternally to late. Until all have heard…

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie & Granny