The director of the new school in Liberia, Robert Dahn, has sent us an impressive report. Not only are things going well in the classroom, they are also learning better was to grow food. This will help offset some of the cost of feeding the students, as well as arm them to provide for their family when they graduate.
To see the PDF of his report (with pictures you will enjoy), please click HERE.
Dear brethren, families and churches,
I'd like to share some tremendous news in my monthly report. They are the beginning of the new school year, brother Valentine's baptism, church leaders' meeting in Chernivtsy, the end of remodeling project in the church building and the blessed VBS for children of Bila Tserkva.
This year Ukraine celebrated 25 years of Independence. During this time period the country had to survive many political problems, some economic turmoil and currently it continues the fight for the territorial unity. I am sure that the most important event during this time period was the coming of hundreds of missionaries who planted the seeds of the God's Word and spread the Gospel. It resulted in births of many local congregations who continue laboring for God's glory. The church in Ukraine is still quite young but has a lot of potential for growth and strengthening. Please keep praying for Ukraine and the church of Christ that needs protection.
On August 6th I had a wonderful opportunity to participate in a great conference of the church of Christ leaders in Chernivtsy. Originally, our Bible Institute was to host it but the idea gained popularity very fast and congregations of Churches of Christ from all parts of Ukraine decided to join. This time the topic for discussion was "The Role of a Woman in the Church". There were 30 participants representing 9 congregations of the Church of Christ. We had a great opportunity to discuss and debate. The goal of such conferences is to study the word of God together and become stronger in the knowledge. The next meeting of this kind is scheduled to he held in Kharkiv on November 5 with "Marriage, Divorce and Remarriage" as the topic.
We often try to utilize different approaches in spreading the truth. We usually use street evangelism and recently tried to utilize the commercial outdoors ads. We have ordered big boards with a call to think about the meaning of life and, by the way, one man came to check out the worship service last time. But according to our personal experience one of the most effective way to evangelize is to devote a lot of importance to the children's ministry and upbringing of the young people.
On August 22-25 we conducted a wonderful VBS in the church. The topic was "The World of Adventures". Every day children were introduced to different events from the life and ministry of Christ. Most of the children who came to VBS have non-Christian parents. But through this effort we established some good contacts with the parents. We are very grateful to my wife Vera and everybody else who helped her to conduct the VBS. We had a great time. Every day we had about 30 kids. It was a huge success for the church and its Sunday school. On the Saturday after the VBS many children came to the children's Bible class.
Before the beginning of the new school year we found a way to renovate the church building. Some of the work we were able to do with our own talents and only for the more complicated jobs we had to hire professional people. It resulted in saving a lot of money. Many local brethren were able to actively participate and we are thankful to all who helped to serve the church in this area. After that we purchased a few additional desks. Thus, the facility is ready for the school year.
By the end of August most of the students made it to Bela Tserkva, and on September 5 we've started a new school year. This time we have 13 new students from the different parts of Ukraine. It's a big progress. Totally we are educating 17 students this year in both courses. Truly God blesses us in the new location. And it can also be attributed to the joined efforts of many brethren as well. We are very determined to train these people to serve in the Lord's church. Even though some of them may decide against becoming full-time preachers they still could be very strong assets in their home congregations. On the first day of orientation we've introduced them to the Institute's rules and policies. Brother Denton made a report about the tremendous fundraising efforts of our American brethren towards the support of our Institute. We feel very blessed by the opportunity to educate men and women, getting them prepared for the service in the church.
One more great news that I'd like to share with you; on September, 2nd one more precious soul was added to the church. Brother Valentine was baptized in the Ros' River that is nearby to our church/Institute building. He had been attending a Baptist Church and didn't have the right understanding of salvation and forgiveness of sins. After numerous Bible studies with me he decided to obey the Gospel and was baptized by Biblical baptism. This event was a great encouragement for the whole church and me personally.
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ, we are very thankful for your support and your prayers. We truly appreciate your love and care for us. My family and our students send their Christian love.
Your brother and co-worker in the vineyard of the Lord,
Dennis Sopelnik.
If you would like to see the pictures accompanying this report, please click HERE
Donnie Estep is our outstanding and capable Regional Director for Southern Africa, which includes the schools in Zambia, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. Donnie just returned from a 3 week trip where he visited and taught in each of the 3 schools. (can you imagine?!)
You will enjoy his through report, with pictures, by clicking HERE
BIBLE INSTITUTE AT RAIWAQA STARTS CLASSES
A Bear Valley Bible Institute - International Extension
The Bible Institute at Raiwaqa is off to a good start. Jason Pierce and his oldest son Austin left for Fiji on August 29, 2016. Jason began teaching the first class of the newest BVBI-I extension school in Fiji on Monday, September 5. They had seven students to show up for the first day of class. At the end of the first week, they have had perfect attendance. Several of these students are interested in the full time program that is scheduled to begin on February 20, 2017. Jason’s first class is entitled “More than a Shadow” and is a study of the New Testament book of Hebrews.
Lord willing, Rocco and Debbie Pierce will be leaving for Fiji on September 15, 2016. Rocco will teach a second short course on the Sermon on the Mount. It will go for one week, six hours a day. The school will then host two teachers, Tony Duncan, from Tennessee, and Lance Mosher, from New Zealand. They will teach short courses on Proverbs through Song of Solomon and the New Testament church respectively. These classes will be taught October 3 to 14.
Jason will return to the U.S. on September 20, to continue fund-raising. He will teach two classes from the U.S. via Skpe from October 17 to November 18. The classes he will teach are Timothy and Titus, and Christian Ethics. Rocco will teach classes on the Christian home and English Composition I on the ground in Fiji.
The school has open enrolment for this fall term to introduce the school to Fiji brethren. This fall term will be used to help recruit the first class that will start the two year program in February 2017. As an incentive, those who pass these classes with a B or above, will not have to repeat them during the upcoming school terms. These fall classes are a sampling from across the board of the two year program to begin in the spring.
In Christ,
Rocco Pierce
Beloved in Christ Jesus,
Greetings from your fellow soldiers of Christ in Nigeria. Our first gospel campaign in this 2016/2017 session resulted into two conversions on Saturday evening. We evangelised Butubutu, Panu, and Bamisinde villages on Saturday, September 3 under the leadership of our campus minister, Bro. Abraham.
FIRST SEMESTER, 2016/2017: Bro.Abiola Joseph is teaching on Fundamental of the faith and Church Problems; Bro.Kayode Solomon Eniafe on Evangelism -1,OT & NT Survey,OT Wisdom-1 and 2 Corinthians; Bro.Abraham Idu Yeje on The Pentateuch and Scheme of Redemption; Bro.Isaac Olaniyan on Life of Christ -1 and Biblical Eschatological while I,Bro.Makinde is teaching on NT Church-1,1&2 Thessalonians, Ministerial Counseling, and Teach with Success.
CAMPUS CHURCH AND OTHERS: Bro. Obey Rimamskwe led in songs on September 4 and Bro. Anana Abasiama Effiong taught on Preparing for God's work while Bro.Nnamdi Blessing admonished the campus church from 1Corinthians 15:12-19. Attendance was 35 with total contribution of N800.
At Asejire congregation, Osun state, Bro.Johnson Godwin taught on Godly living while Bro.Godwin Ofem led in songs at Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation ,Ibadan and Bro.Emmanuel Okpachui and Bro.Destiny Elijah taught the men & women Bible Class respectively on our responsibilities to one another. We are 55 in attendance with total collection of N3,015=.
MORE STUDENTS FOR ADVANCE DIPLOMA/ BVBI ADVANCE CERTIFICATE: Two of our year 2009 graduates named Bro.Eze Mbaraoye and Agbefa Samson and a graduate of WNCC & SBS (Bro.Lucky Onyah)and NCBC (Bro.Samuel Effiong) now admitted as part of our supplementary in our year two program .
In conclusion ,we thank you all for your partnership and cares. May The Lord continue to bless all our undertaking in Jesus Christ Name, amen.
Your fellow soldier of Christ ,
Makinde Ebens (Director of Studies)
For & On behalf of BVBIN SWSE, Ibadan, Oyo State, Nigeria, West Africa.
INTRODUCTION
August 2016 has been a blessed month for Bear Valley Bible Institute, Zimbabwe. The month was filled with activities that added value to the school. We look back and see the hand of God in all these. In this report, we highlight these activities with gratitude to our Lord Jesus Christ in whose cause BVBIZ exists to fulfil.
STUDENTS PERFOMANCE
BVBIZ finished the term on a high note. In general, we noted great development in the moral and spiritual development of students. Academically, there was a great improvement. With the results out, we congratulate the students and staff for a job well done. Students also passed their practicals, that is, in Personal Work and Public Speaking (these two subjects also had written examinations).
THE VISIT
This month Bear Valley Bible Institute was blessed by the coming of Donnie Estep, the regional coordinator of Bear Valley Bible Institute International’s extension schools in Southern Africa. He taught the New Testament Church, one of our short courses. Donnie was joined four days after by Darren Rainesand his son from Woodlands Oaks church of Christ. It was indeed a blessing to meet this team. They interacted both with the staff and students. Donnie Estep had an opportunity of preaching in one of the rural congregation where students had gone to carry out their evangelism and also during one of the midweek services.
BVBIZ CONGREGATIONAL TRAINING PROGRAMS
BVBIZ’s core business is to train faithful men to become preachers and workers in the vineyard of God. In her effort to contribute to the growth of the church, BVBIZ trains congregations in important issues geared towards the same. This is done during weekends and or during holidays. These programs are expected to fund themselves. In August, the school was privileged to launch this program with the youths at Dzivarasekwa church of Christ in Harare. It ran for 5 days from the 18th to the 22th of August . The objective is to produce youths who will be effective for the Lord. BVBIZ hopes to do the same for the adults and leaders with unique subjects geared for each group. The following subjects were taught;
HEALING HANDS TRAINING
A product of BVBIZ should leave the school with survival skills that may help him as he preaches the word. These skills are intended to help the preacher supplement his income as he preaches. From the 8th-9th of August, students were trained in small garden skills and the use of drip irrigation. The training was done by John Dube, the local facilitator of Healing Hands International.
ADVERTISING OF BVBIZ
With BVBIZ being new in Zimbabwe, it is always necessary that people and congregations are made aware of its presence. This month we had an opportunity of advertising the school at 2 major events. The first was the national youths lectureship which took place at Nhowe Mission. The director and 4 students made it to the lectureship. The director delivered 2 lessons. Over 11 people were baptized at this lectureship. Charles Jokonya, the provincial ambassador of the school for Mashonaland East professionally advertised the school. About 700 youths attended the event.
Thank you for your continued prayers and support,
In His service,
Mathew Muchingam
Director, BVBI-Z
I hope that you are doing well in the kingdom of our Lord. Our God is so good to us here at ACSOP. On August 8, we started our third quarter for all students. There are 16 students in the First Year class, 11 in the Second Year class, and 10 in the Master's Program.
Since then, the first year class has learned World Religions as short course taught by Bernard Kulanga. As for the longer courses they started by studying the book of Acts taught by Josephat Massawe; the Life of Christ taught by Godfrey Mngoma; writing skills taught by Michael Mitalami; Old Testament 2; also taught by Michael Mitalami, and Old Testament 3 taught by Bernad Kulanga.
The second year class has studied Greek III taught by Mason Norman; Galatians taught by Todd Storks; Life of Christ 4 taught by Godfrey Mngoma; OT 5a - Minor Prophets taught by Wesley Storks; and Foundation of Missions also taught by Wesley Storks. The Masters class has learned the Introduction to the Masters program in their first week taught by Jerry Bates, and in their second week they continued to learn the same course on Introduction to the Masters program with Jerry Bates.
The rotating spiritual disciplines program is still going well here. As a part of it, a few weeks ago I went to Ilkiurei to teach in the Bible class service. The topic was “We Will Make it Work” – God and Family. I was really encouraged to see about 35 men and women plus children in worship there listening to me teaching that topic.
Most of the time whenever I read 2 Cor. 8:1-5 it reminds me of you, our supporters. If you don't know it by heart, look it up and read about saints who sacrificed for the cause of Christ. Please accept our deep gratitude for all you have done to help us in this great effort in the kingdom. When committed people work together toward a common goal, great things happen and success is inevitable. We continue to be thankful for the privilege of working in the kingdom of God; teaching people who really desire to know and obey the Truth.
Your fellow worker in the Kingdom,
Losotwa Michael,
Dean of Academics, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school
Arusha, TZ
Greetings from this part of the globe,
I hope this mail meets you all in very saved condition. We are doing pretty good in Cameroon and the work of God is progressing. We are done with the short courses and students have gone out on Campaign already which makes the end of the second quarter in the second year. You can't imagine how time flies, but all of our students are in good health before going on evangelism campaign.
Our congregation experienced a lot of visitors today and the children are growing in their numbers and the Sunday school class is improving.
While preparing to graduate the Alpha batch come March 2017, we are also preparing to recruit the Beta batch and we have the first phase of the entrance exams in Garoua on the 28th of October 2016. We are planning to travel there with one other instructor by His grace. The journey will begin on the 21st because we shall travel for two days to get there and use two days in Garoua then another days to return interview material and exams material will carried along side. It will not be a simple task to us, but we prefer it that way instead of them coming down to us because they cannot afford the cost.
My beloved I am happy to let you know that our green house is doing well as we continue to harvest our vegetable every two weeks and some of our neighbors who took part during the seminar are also having a share of our product. Also, a very large quantity was taken to Wotutu last Wednesday to the students and others. Certificates were also handed over to participants and every body was really happy about it.
Keep on praying for the work in french Cameroon most especiallyas we plan to visit Some Congregations around Gabon and Equatorial Guinea.
In Him,
Ititi benedict Nimending
BVBI-Mbanga
Hello, dear brothers and sisters.
The summer has come to the end – for many people it was the time of vacations, rest and resorts. One can see much more people in the streets in Bila Tserkva now than it was in summer. The coming of the fall is associated with studies or more intensive activities for many people. For us it means the end of summer vacation for the Bear Valley staff and the continuation of the work with familiar students as well as new ones, who begin their studies in the first course.
1. Ministry in Gorlovka.
As I wrote in the previous report, on August 5 I went to occupied Gorlovka to support, strengthen and encourage Christians who live there. During two weeks I conducted two worship services, several Bible classes, many visits in the homes, in the hospital and individual Bible classes. I was encouraged by the fact that during my stay in Gorlovka, Oksana, the mother of our brother in Christ Bogdan Chigvintsev came to the worship services and all Bible classes. She showed much interest in study of the Word of God, and I did my best to give maximum attention to studying with her. I pray that her desire for God and thirst for His Word would not grow cold. Previously Oksana showed no interest to God and His church, but present sufferings and daily dangers because of the war caused her to reconsider her view of life.
During this trip the battles around the city were very severe. Almost every night was accompanied by artillery duels during which one could hardly fall asleep. I recorded the sounds of the shelling on August 17, the battle that day lasted for five hours. The recording was done in the apartment; in the open air the sounds of the cannonade are much louder and scary. Every such shelling causes destruction of the houses and other administrative buildings.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ld8rNU5fTGY
There are casualties also. These are the pictures of the results of the shelling of the city during my stay there.
Without a doubt, the most dangerous thing in the trip to Gorlovka is the crossing of the front line. On coming to the occupied territory I escaped the shelling simply because the bus on which I was travelling was delayed for several hours...
Recently the media informed us that the authorities of the DPR plan to turn off all the Ukrainian mobile operators on the territory under their control. This means that all the people who live there will be totally cut off from their relatives and loved ones and all other people who do not live on that territory. I thought that time had already come on August 17th when all the city was left without mobile connection. I had no possibility to communicate with my family and all my brothers and sisters on both sides of the front line. But it turned out that the connection was lost because of the shelling and some time later it was restored.
2. Ministry in the Kiev region.
Every other Sunday I come to Kiev to help in the Shevchenko district Church of Christ. There I preach and conduct Bible classes on the Book of Ecclesiastes. Also together with brothers we preach the gospel in the streets.
Right after returning from Gorlovka our family participated in the organization and conduction of the VBS in Bila Tserkva on August 22-25. We had Bible classes, prepared games and quizzes, helped smaller kids with crafts, Veronica participated in the puppet show. The children liked VBS very much, and they gladly invited their friends. And the number of kids who participated in the work of VBS the first day (17 kids) increased to 34 within several days. We thank God that we were able to form a strong and friendly team out of the local Christians and those who came from other cities of Ukraine. The result of this VBS was that not only children learned about the church and her work but also their parents with whom we tried to make contacts and maintain good relations. Our expectations were fulfilled, and the number of the kids who come to our Bible classes has increased greatly. Summarizing the results of the VBS we must point out that working with kids in Bila Tserkva may be the best way of evangelism.
In order to reach the people of the city with the gospel we try various methods. In July we placed the contact information about the church on the billboard in the central street in Bila Tserkva. At the last worship service I met a guest who came to the assembly because he read that information.
3. Bear Valley Bible Institute.
On September 5 a new school year begins in the institute. In the building where we have classes there were no repairs for many years. Besides, the roof was leaking in many places. In order for the students to begin their studies in a comfortable setting, the roof, all the rooms used for the education process, and the assembly hall were repaired. Much of this work we did ourselves.
Dennis offered me to teach Minor Prophets from September 15th. This will be a new course for me, and so I spend much time in preparation for it.
I thank God for all my brothers and sisters in Christ who prayed for my safe trip to Gorlovka, my work there and safe trip back to Bila Tserkva. I am very grateful to those who support my work for the Lord in Ukraine financially. May the Lord richly bless you, your families and your work in His vineyard!
In His service,
Andrew
To see the pictures that accompanied this report, click HERE
Brethren,
Greetings to you all, it's our prayer that our awesome God keeps you sound and healthy. At KSOP we are doing well and so thankful to have you as brethren and friends working together with God.
Time really flies very fast, just a few years ago the idea of having preachers' training school in Kenya was born and it's amazing that we are just one week away from seeing our second graduation. 19 men will be graduating God willing and going to serve in the Kingdom.
We dismissed one student for conducts not worthy of a christian after following the mandated procedure and we pray he will walk the talk as he promised to be faithful to God.
The 19 have spent two worthy years in class and in the field being trained to be sound soul seekers and we have confidence they are up to the task ahead.
During this year alone, these men have directly and indirectly been involved in 78 baptisms, 36 restorations, 3 churches planted. We are proud of their abilities and know they will better the first class to graduate.
We are happy to also report that our first class graduates are actively involved in the Lord's work and have been taking part in gospel campaigns, you camps and training other future preachers.
We still have room to improve and better the good that we are now. The school appreciate the brethren that have sacrificed their library books for the training school. Cy Stafford, thanks for giving KSOP all your Arusha home library. We are always lifting your name to God for complete healing.
The library is still hungry for more books and we request all to consider being part of this school. We would be glad to even have bible software and install in some school computers.
We are also not ceasing to pray for generous brethren to come to our rescue and help us buy land and build the school in an environment conducive for training of preachers and evangelism.
It's a great honor for us to be workers together with God, reward awaits us above. We are happy to be working together with you to furthering the Kingdom of God, therefore do "grow weary".
Keep us in prayers as we look forward to our second graduation on August 27.
His servant and yours,
Charles Ogutu
#extensions #kenya
Beloved in Christ,
Greetings in Jesus name from Bear Valley Bible Institute of Nigeria & Southwest School of Evangelism, Ibadan,Oyo State.
ANNUAL BIBLE LECTURESHIP & GRADUATION: This year 14th annual Bible Lectureship & 13th Graduation at the premises of BVBI-N & SWSE, Butubutu, Ibadan was held in Doug Wheeler's events hall, August 24-26. In attendance wereBro.Steven Ashcraft, Bro.Timothy Iwe, Bro.God'spower Ossai, Bro. Makinde, Bro.Ayobami Akanji and others .
This year lectureship focused our attention on ACTIVE CHURCH. Over 300 brethren, friends, and well wishers graced the occasion from 73 congregations of the federation .
The remaining VOTI (Voice of Truth International) volume 88 was shared to all the participants plus a pack of 30 pieces of VOTI volume 88 to the 73 congregations represented from Oyo, Ogun, Lagos, Ondo, Osun, Kwara Kogi, Edo, Delta, Imo, Tabara, and Osun states.
GRADUATION: 14 students graduated with SWSE Diploma in Theology and 16 students with Advance BVBI certificate which equivalent to Bachelor of Bible Studies(BBS).
THIS FINAL PRACTICUM: This year, the one month Practicum (Teaching Practice) was blessed with 31 conversions and 38 restorations . We thank Bro. Doug's associates which provides us with 60 Bibles for some of this converts .
SPECIAL AWARD: The three sisters who was part of the recent graduates went home with The Wise Women award (Prov.14:1). Bro.Emmanuel Okpauchi (SWSE) and Bro.James Yaya Osen(BVBI) won the best academic students award, while Sister Olajumoke Akerele won Pricilla award and Bro. Isaac Adeyiwolu and Bro.Godwin Ede won Leadership award .
APPRECIATION: Thanks be unto Almighty God for granting us success in this year lectureship and graduation.
Please permit me to mention some brethren that their moral or financial help contributed beyond measures to the success of this program. We appreciate Bro.Joel Coppinger & associates, Bro.Doug Wheeler & associates, Bro.Steven Ashcraft & associates, Bro.Jerry Bates & VOTI crew, Bro.Eddie Cloer & Truth for The World Bible Mission, Bro.Richard Renfro & Mission Printing group, and you all for your prayer supports .
May The Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name,amen.
I remain your co-soldier of Christ ,
Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Director of Studies)
BVBIN & SWSE,Ibadan,Oyo State
It's my hope that every one is doing great with the Lord’s work. We thank God for another experience to witness the lost souls hearing the gospel, as the Bible define that , “The Lord is not slack concerning his promise, as some men count slackness; but is longsuffering to us-ward, not willing that any should perish, but that all should come to repentance”. 2Peter 3:9.
By the help of God we ware able to attend the East Africa Gospel Meeting with great desire that people at Siyaya count at Bar Ober in Kenya may hear the Gospel. The East Africa gospel meeting is rotating in three countries, Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda. And the purpose of the meeting is to reach East Africa. And it is hosted by the East African Churches of Christ. But ACSOP is using this opportunity to recruit students, reach graduates in their field, and to advertise her seminars like Tanzania Leadership Conference.
The most amazing thing was meeting with brother Boniface Imong’or who graduated at Andrew Connally School Of Preaching many years ago. This is my first time meeting him since he graduated, in my thinking this brother is back to the world and may even be meeting with denominations groups. But I was surprised by because he is ministering a congregation of over twenty five members at Malaba Kenya in the border of Kenya and Uganda, he came with almost ten members in the Gospel meeting. He challenged me when he asked us one day to visit the congregation of over twenty fivemembers which is preaching at Malaba.
This is exactly how God works when His children plants seeds regardless the circumstances. Our great task is to remind them all things of Christ as Paul told young Timothy that, “If thou put the brethren in remembrance of these things, thou shalt be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, whereunto thou hast attained”. 1Timotthy 4:6
Also we were able to meet with many other graduates like brother Obadiah Omutele who taught amazing lesson on miracles and Emanuel Mawa who graduated from master class. God is glorified through the hands of those support and prays for the ACSOP.
Please continue with this good work of Christ, and our Lord sees your heart.
In His service,
Ahimidiwe Kimaro
Director, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute International extension school
Arusha, Tanzania
Chimala Bible Institute Evangelism Campaign results in 16 baptisms!
The Chimala Bible Institute Evangelism team continues to be busy with their annual Gospel Chariot campaigns. The Gospel Chariot is a large, red truck which travels all over eastern Africa doing evangelism outreach. CBI has arranged its schedule to utilize the students during the campaigns so that they can learn how to do effective house-to-house evangelism as well as having more capable evangelism workers in the field. At the first campaign, there were 40 baptisms and now the team has been busy in three more villages.
The location of the 2nd campaign was Vwawa, a village close to the border with Zambia. This area is well-known for growing coffee. After a week of campaigning with students and evangelists, the team had 7 baptisms. The third village was called Ikonya. At this village, our evangelism teams had 6 baptisms.
The fourth village is called Inyala. This is a town where the local church of Christ building will be demolished due to new government regulations and the building’s proximity to the railroad. This congregation is struggling to find funds to purchase land and erect a building quickly. At Inyala, there were 3 baptisms and 1 restoration.
The next location for the CBI students and evangelism team will be Tukuyu where a church of Christ was planted there only a couple of months ago. Let us pray for their continued success in preaching the Gospel as well as for the new converts in Tanzania.
Because of the Cross,
CHAD WAGNER
#extensions #tanzania #chimala
Maynard Mission Report August 2016
Farming:
This month we have been busy trying to finish up projects before we leave to head back to the States to raise funds. We were able to finish the cow stalls and move the cows into their new home. We also integrated our new chickens in with our older ones, and if all goes well should have 500 chickens laying in a week or two.
Our corn crop has been harvested and bagged. We were able to get 25 bags of corn, despite the lack of rain this year. The corn will be used to feed the school for an entire year. Most will be ground into a powder and cooked into ugaili, one of the main foods in Africa. The rest will be used to make macande, one of my personal favorite African Dishes which is beans and corn.
Evangelism:
Anna taught her last lesson (until we return from furlough) to the preacher’s wives class. Her lesson was on “Who are you in the Church?” They studied the end of Paul’s 2nd letter to Timothy and talked about different roles first century Christians had and what their roles in the
Church are today.
This past Saturday we had our August children’s seminar in a rural village called Kingori. The Church building had no roof and was in the middle of a field. 20 children came and as many or more adults. Anna and Susan taught the children while the men split the adults up into groups. As a result, we have a new brother in Christ!
As most of you know, we return to the States August 26th to fund-raise. We ask for your prayers for our journey home, and for the work here in Africa. Also, if anyone is interested in hearing a presentation on the work please email us and we would love to come and visit. Jamaynard717@aol.com
In him,
Justin and Anna Maynard
If you would like to see the pictures that accompany the ext, please click HERE
Willie Gley, the Director of the school in Kpalime, Togo, has filed an excellent report! It is best viewed in the PDF format in which it was submitted and can be seen by clicking HERE.
Dearest in Christ,
Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Wotutu - we do hope you are doing fine. God is faithful and is helping us meet up with what is entrusted in our hands. The students are doing well as they will continue with their 3 quarter exams this week. They will rest for one week and welcome Randy Martin and his wife to Wotutu to teach a short course on pastoral letters; a course that will help prepare our brothers to go out and prepare men to take up the offices of elders.
Even though exams are up and students spend more hours studying during exams period than other periods, they never stop their weekend evangelism. They all return safe, but dirty and wet because of the nature of the roads this time of year.
PIC 1 - The Tancha congregation is making progress, from 13 last week to 14 this week. We are happy that we can see growth.
PIC 2 - This man is call Pa Motina. He is more than 100 years old and lives in Mbu village. Our students share the message of Christ with him and he said he is already ready to go to Heaven because if he was doing evil things he would not have getting to this ripe old age. To him the gospel was for those who are sinful,but he was interested to know about the church of Christ. Keep our mission efforts in your prayers .
Pic 3 - Randy Martin is always friendly with members of our congregation. They spend time listening to people on one on one and sharing stories about home and life.
PLANS
After the short course, students will go to 21 different locations for mission weeks, on the field moving from one house to another spreading the bread of life. Keep our plans in your prayers.
APPRECIATIONS
Thank you very much for all your help towards to this work. Please keep me in your prayers as I plan to travel .
Elangwe and family
By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu
#extensions #cameroon #wotutu
Greetings from Tamale to all servants of the Lord in His vineyard. It has been our prayer that the Lord endows each one of us with the needed strength, knowledge and enthusiasm to accomplish the task of extending the boundaries of His Kingdom.
The entire staff and students of Bear Valley Bible Institute, Tamale – Ghana wish to express our profound gratitude to our dear sponsors for the financial sponsorship of reconstruction of the structures in the Institute. Our heartfelt thanks go to the Coordinator, Steven Ashcraft for his prompt response to call when the storm caused the disaster in the Institute.
All the students are healthy and doing well. We were privileged to have Brother Jerry Bates- a renowned teacher and preacher of the Bible to assist when his wife, Sister Paula Bates was in Tamale to lecture at a 5-Day Workshop organized by the Institute. While the women were being taught by Sister Paula, Brother Jerry taught the student- preachers a course on the Book Of Revelation.
We want to thank our Brother and Sister for their remarkable service they rendered to God and Man when they were in Tamale. We pray that God would continue to guide and protect them as they have devoted themselves to the service of the Lord. We shall be glad if others who have been gifted with knowledge, money and skills would avail their God-given talents to assist in Tamale.
BAAH JOSEPH OKYERE
Director
Greetings,
Another week has come and gone so quickly. We have definitely had a blessed week. There a lot of great things to look forward to in the coming weeks and months and a lot of preparation to do. We are constantly humbled and grateful to be here. Sometimes, we are overwhelmed (in a good way) with the amount of work there is to be done and all of the fantastic opportunities we are blessed with.
After having been here for going on five months, we can already look back at so many incredible times that have really changed our lives. I wouldn't have thought that Africa could change people so much, but here we are with new outlooks on things and different perspectives in general. I wish I could bottle up some of the innocence, generosity, and authenticity of the people here. Every day, when talking with Africans, we can't help but be joy-filled and walk away with a smile. Their joyful spirits are contagious and we could certainly learn a lot from them. It makes me think, where do we find our joy?
I have had a certain scripture on my mind, so I will share it with you all.
"Therefore, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, always abounding in the work of the Lord, knowing that your labor is not in vain in the Lord." 1 Corinthians 15:58
I hope this encourages you as much as it has me. I often reflect on Paul's journeys, and even our "bad days" are not near as bad as some of the trials he went through. It is a good reminder that the work we do for the Lord is valuable. When we feel like no matter how much we do for the Lord, it's not enough, this verse is a good reminder that as long as we are abounding in His work and laboring in His kingdom, our efforts are not in vain. How awesome it is to be a child of God and exhaust ourselves in His service!
May you all be blessed and have a great week!
In Him,
Mason and Haley
To see the full report, with pictures, click HERE.
To see the most recent full report, click HERE.
We have been about a year in the planning, and I am happy to report that classes have officially begun for Bear Valley Bible Institute-New Zealand. We currently have four full-time students and seven part-time students. The full-time students will complete the programme in two years, and the fully-committed part-time students should complete it in four. We are also blessed to have seven instructors from around the country.
Two Learning Centres
BVBINZ is unique in a few ways. There are over twenty Bear Valley extensions throughout the world, but most of them are not in first-world countries. Because of the resources and technology available to us, we are the first extension school to provide two learning centres for our students. What this means is students are able to live in either the Auckland or Wellington regions during their studies. When a Wellington instructor is teaching, Auckland students will join by conference, and vice-versa.
We are very thankful to the brethren around the world who pray and contribute toward the work of all Bear Valley students. We could not do this without you!
Commencement Sunday
On the 31st of July, the Wellington Church of Christ themed our worship and lesson around preaching and receiving the word (Romans 10:11-18). There was a family that drove four hours from Napier just to shake the hands of the students and congratulate them.
Keep serving Him,
Lance Mosher, Director
#extensions #new zealand
Greetings and love from your brothers and sisters here in Wotutu, Cameroon. We do hope this report meets you all in good health. Life in BVBIC-Wotutu and the entire Wotutu congregation is going on well.
Last week was a busy one in our campus as students wrote some end of course exams and they will finish the rest of the other courses this week and by Friday. They will be done and start getting set and ready to start a short course Pastoral letters with elder Randy, while his wife will continue teaching student’s wives with great lessons that will prepare them to be of help in the ministry alongside their husbands. Keep their travels in your prayers as they will be in Cameroon on the 26 of August God willing.
Let me share some pictures with you.
PIC 1 - You can see our students taking the course, THE LIFE AND WORK OF A GOSPEL PREACHER. What a great and practical class, thought by me to make sure students upon their graduation will go into the field we call it here (wilderness) because we know the tons of challenges that awaits them there, to be practical, committed, zealous, visionary, and passionate for the work here in Cameroon. We are making them to do all it takes for them to live by the message they preached .
PIC 2 - The 13 children in Brightland Christian orphanage are eating well, putting on clean clothes, and are learning about God every day.
PIC 3 - Many congregations and individuals continue to benefit from mission printing tracts. Bomaka congregation around Buea came down to Wotutu and carried boxes of tracts as they prepare for evangelism in their congregation.
APPRECIATIONS
God bless you. Please accept deep appreciation from us all here for your selfless sacrifice and love towards the work here. God alone will reward you.
Pray for the annual Bible lectureship, Graduation ceremony of the GAMMA batch and matriculation of the delta batch come this November 23-27. We are expecting above 6,000 people in Wotutu for 5 days on evangelism, house to house and also indoor lectures to nurture Christians.
Elangwe and family
By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu
#extensions #cameroon #wotutu
