Classes resume in India

Dear Brethren in Christ,

I bring greetings from Vishakha Valley Bible College, India. First of all, i thank you all for your kind prayers which is keeping us safe and protected from Covid-19. Even though there were several people that were dead, including several preachers, we are thankful to God for keeping us protected to carry out His mission of spreading the Word and Training Men.

We thank the brethren at Lake Houston & Strickland for helping us to held the graduates and other preachers who are in desperate financial struggle due to the corona Pandemic. From last two months congregational worship has been banned so as public or group meetings, it has affected the financial situation of our preachers. Few congregations has come forward toto help, we have helped over 100 preachers in this area, below picture showing the wife of Brother Appa Rao who was killed by Covid-19, so we helped this widow by sending Rice and essential goods. Our prayers of thanksgiving to our God for your love.

We are thankful to God for making us able to resume the classes at Vishakha Valley Bible College, we shall have all the students by next week, some have not been able to come due to transportation and local Corona restrictions. However, we have begun the classes and trying to keep everything straight since we lost lot of time due to corona since spring 2020.

Well, I will remain for now, thanking God for His mercy and thanking you all for your prayers of encouragement. Please continue your prayers as Corona third wave is what’s been discussed here so much, we are very much intimidated by the stories we hear in the News channels, our government is not able to keep the country vaccinated, it is very true that 1 billion people is what keeping us behind, since its a huge number providing vaccination to all is just a impossible task, however we need your prayers so that God would continue protecting our nation, thank you.

We love you brethren,

In Christ,

John Dean M

Vishakha Valley Bible College

Nationwide tension in Nigeria

Beloved in Christ Jesus.

Grace and peace be multiplied unto you from God our Father and from Jesus Christ our Lord and Savior. Here is the report of some of our June 2021 activities.

OVERVIEW

1. Weekend Evangelism & Campaigns

2. Fourth Semester Classes

3. Nationwide protest on June 12 led to postponement of Classes in Lagos BVBIN

4. Final TP(Teaching Practice)

5. WBSFUW RECRUITED OVER 1,000 NEW STUDENTS

WEEKEND EVANGELISM / CAMPAIGNS:

In spite of the tension in our country, Nigeria, the students and staff carried out successfully the weekend evangelism / gospel campaigns in the six centers throughout the weekends in the month of June and the Lord added two denominational pastors into His Church, one in Butubutu village and the other one in Ajia town. To God be the glory and honor.

FOURTH SEMESTER CLASSES AND INSTRUCTORS:

This fourth Semester Classes begin on May 24 and will come to an end on July 23 before the students embark on a month Teaching Practice.

Bro.Andrew Adeolu is handling 1st Corinthians and Homiletics-3; Bro. Lawrence Dada is handling Pastoral Epistle and Christian Ethics; Bro.Guda Silas is handling Greek and The book of Revelation; Bro.Oladokun Samuel is handling Music in NT worship; Bro.Emmanuel Godwin is handling Foundation of Mission and Church Growth; Bro. Isaac Olaniyan is handling Life of Christ-4(John) and Church Leadership & Administration; Bro. Makinde John is handling Islam and Church History while I (Bro. Makinde Ebens) handling Fundamentals of faith and Homiletics-2(Practical).

NATIONWIDE PROTEST ON JUNE 12,2021 LED TO POSTPONEMENT OF CLASSES IN BVBIN WEEKEND SCHOOLS IN LAGOS:

The Nigerian youths were seen on the streets of major towns and cities protesting against the bad government, high cost of living, insecurity, unemployment, etc on the day set aside by President Buhari regime to celebrate democracy in Nigeria.

In Oyo State, the protest was reported to have kicked off in Mokola, Ibadan. The placards spotted with the protesters across the country had different messages such as "Buhari Must Go" " Insecurity" No food for us and our kids" " Poverty" etc. A deep look at the protests across the country Nigeria showed that the masses were unhappy with the current administration.

All the metropolis turned a "ghost city" with shops and restaurants kept under lock and key. The Policemen were positioned in some important area to prevent the break down of law and orders while few people who went out that day resorted to trekking as they found it difficult to get bus or motor bikes to transport them. Due to the tension that Saturday, the BVBID permit us to postponed the June 12 classes in Lagos State to June 19. To God be the glory, June 12 have come and gone!

FINAL TEACHING PRACTICE OF JULY 24-AUGUST 22,2021:

In preparation for this session final teaching practice, the School authority/management introduced three Internal Lectureship in other for the students to be well equipped for the task before them .

1. Our Morning Devotion now centered on WHAT CHRISTIANITY IS ALL ABOUT with over fifty (50) sub-topics from Matthew 5-7 & Galatians 5:19-23.

2. Wednesday Chapel between 5:00-6:30pm centered on ADD TO YOUR FAITH (2 Peter 1:5-11)

3. Sunday morning Bible Class centered on THE BASIC BIBLE DOCTRINE.

AUGUST GREAT WORKSHOP 2021 FINALLY CANCELLED:

The much awaiting Great Workshop for WBSFUW and Evangelists in about twenty (20) States of Nigeria was cancelled due to the insecurity, kidnapping,etc in our country Nigeria.

Therefore, the leftover VOTI volumes 107-109 and other materials kept for Great Workshop 2021 will be posted to Churches, WBSFUW, BVBIN Schools that can avoid the cost of postage.

WBSFUW RECRUITED OVER 1,OOO NEW STUDENTS:

Our WBS OFFICE in Ibadan received about 200 packs of WBS correspondence Courses (Church and Christian Life) and 63WBS Bible from Overseas in the month of June for WBS students of Faye Bach and West Olive Church of Christ (AZ-025) Peoria in Oyo,Osun and Ekiti States.

In Osun State, Bro.Kayode Eniafe visited four High Schools in Ikoyi( Baptist High School,Vine Model College,Unity School and Olaoye Precious Model College) and shared 37 packs of WBS correspondence Courses and 13 WBS Bibles. He also recruited 117 new students from Muslim Grammar School,Ikoyi through the use of WBS introduction course.

In Ekiti State, Bro.Emmanuel Godwin visited two High Schools (Ogotun High School and Methodist Comprehensive High School,Aye-Ekiti) and shared 63 packs of WBS correspondence Courses and 49 Bibles to the WBS students in that two Schools. He also recruited 59 new students via WBS introduction course from Community High School in Igbara-Odo and Grace Land International College in Ogotun-Ekiti.

Bro. Andrew Adeolu and one of our students (Bro.Imbia Maxfield) visited Lamini Basic School and Ogidi Grammar School in Ona-Ara Local Government in Ibadan and shared 48 packs of WBS correspondence Courses to the WBS students of Faye Bach in the two Schools.

In Ondo State, Bro. Matthew Rowland visited three High Schools in Akure town (Liberty College,Akure Secondary Commercial School and Omoluorogbo Grammar School) and shared 1,000 WBS introduction course and over 700 Introduction course were returned so far from the three Schools.

All the returned courses and about 1,000 introduction course materials will be posted Lord's willing before July 15 to Bro. Joel Coppinger of World Bible School of Tulare County, California for distribution to teachers in America and Canada.

ABOUT A STUDENT:

Bro.Oviri Iruo-0ghene Careson is one of our year-1 Students. Admitted into the school in 1999. Born on February 19,1996 at Amori road,Mesogar-Sapele,Delta State by Bro.and Sister Julius Oviri. He was converted in 2014 at Church of Christ,Mosoga-Sapele, Delta State. His mission is to be fully equipped for the work of ministry. He is the son of the preacher at Church of Christ, Mesogar-Sapele ,Delta State.

CONCLUSION: We are deeply appreciative of your supports and help in many ways. May the Lord bless you all is our fervent prayers, Amen.

I remain yours in His Grace as a servant..... Makinde Ebens (The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE, IBADAN and WBSFUW)

A new class in Kenya

This is KSOP'S 5th in take student's report for quarter one year one, 2021. We had began this intake with 18 students- 16 of them are new ones while the other two have been back to finish up the courses they had missed under the 4th intake, for they were one quarter late when they initially joined KSOP. These two are Duop john Yat and David Okinyi Mwai. Duop has now completed all the courses. Mwai will come once again for first and second Thessalonians.

The African instructors who had taught in this quarter are CharlesOgutu, Nixon Ochieng and Elias Omollo.

Regular courses taught; Genesis, Acts of the Apostles, English Skills, Homiletics I and the Fourfold Gospel

Short courses had been; The one true church and Personal Evangelism

We have closed the school for two weeks as from 28th May and the students will resume the classes as from 14th June, 2021.

While in School we had involved half of the students participate for 2 and a half days in evangelism outreach another county which resulted in planting one new local congregation- called Nyandiwa church of Christ. One had attended the gospel meeting at Ragengni where one was immersed in Christ also.

Again, on 22nd of May, we involved all the students to go help Ebuyangu congregation evangelize their community. one of our current students called Geoffrey Sang had been going back to strengthen his home local congregation called Kipseonoi and had baptized 3 souls in Christ. So in general the students have Baptist 7 souls, restored 14 individuals and planted one new congregation.

It is out prayer that Covid 19 will go down and we continue serve the lord. Be blessed.

In his service,

Elias

Doing much good in French-speaking Cameroon

Calvary greetings from Mbanga Cameroon. We praise God for another gift of light. The church and the school in Mbanga are doing pretty good and are growing in number and also spiritually. The staff and leadership of Mbanga bring to you an update on the work that has been going on in Mbanga since last month. 

It is good to inform you that all of the students who came for this batch are still present in school. In former batches some would have abandoned by now with numerous family problems and calls from back home. But he who is ready to follow Christ does not look behind but takes up his cross to follow Him. Some of them have lost father, son, and even mother already in this first term but they are still doing their best to meet up with their studies. 

Even though they are still in the observation period, some of them are already going out for week end evangelism to some needy congregations. Some others carry out personal evangelism to our own neighborhood here in Mbanga. The little effort they are putting forth during this work in the neighborhood is starting to gain ground which could yield to potential fruit in the future. 

It was good to have a first baptism conducted by a student of this new batch. Bro Souleyman from the Bertoua assembly, today a student in the Bear Valley Bible Institute Cameroon – Mbanga, has opened the door of harvest. It's TRUE that we are still in the planting season in Mbanga but God can do what no man can do. This is why this batch can harvest crops planted by former batches while they are also busy planting new ones. 

The students are also preparing for their exams. After exams, they will take their short courses and then go for their first field work. We met sister Thierita this day. She surprised the students with food on campus during their break. It was a great gesture from this sister in the Mbanga assembly. She has done this with every batch of students since she was converted into Christ. May God keep on blessing her family in Jesus’ name.

The church in Mbanga also gave a small support to the students who lost their properties during the fire incident. An envelope was given to each of them to restore to even a little extent some of their needs. It was just as a sign of loving concern. The Mbanga congregation also handed a separate envelope to the just graduate who was still using the dormitory while he was waiting to look for a room in the Mganga neighborhood. He is one who was going to stay behind and help us in the Mbanga assembly and as a speed test instructor and discipline master to the Bible students. 

Lastly, an envelope was also handed to the director of the Bible college in support of the ongoing reconstruction work on the campus. We want to say thank you to the Mbanga Balong assembly for their love and generosity.

We are almost finished with the reconstruction work on the campus. The rooms already have a new look with the new pant. Left for us to take care of, is new windows that are to be amaco type. Thank you so much to the Frisco assembly, The Pattonville assembly, David Ballard and the Bear Valley mother institution. Remain bless in Jesus’ name.

We also used some time to check on the student’s dormitory rooms to see if there were any abnormalities in any of them. It was a surprise check when they just finished their class. The dorm check was done before anyone could get back to the dormitory at the end of class. We checked their beds to see if they were well dressed. We checked their toiletries. We check to see how neat or nasty their rooms looked. We also checked their belongings to make sure not had come to school with any dangerous stuff or other things against the internal rules and regulations of the school. We thank God that no such thing was found in the search. Let's put them in our prayers so that one will not be tempted.

The director, on one of his mission trips, decided to check on some graduates of the last batch. It was so great to meet with the former students who today are colleagues and fellow slaves in this work. We had some good times together sharing experiences in the field and also giving advise on how to go about this work. We had time to discuss with brother Beni of the Bayomen assembly. We saw some blocks and the side that the church was able to build on her temporal building. 

Some of them presented their difficulties. It was not easy to bear with, especially when I saw how some of them were sleeping on benches with no mattresses although they were still happy to do the work of an evangelist.

Our congregation in Mbanga has grown beyond her worship place so during our fellowship meal last Sunday, we decided to move outside the worship hall which is actually the classroom for our Bible college. I think the length of this canopy is telling us the size of the building we should aspire to build on the church land that is not too far from the school campus. 

We want to thank you for reading all of this. Put us in your prayers as we travel today night to Bertoua for the planting of a new assembly in that town. "Evangelism is our mission and our mission is evangelism."

Remain bless from the bureau of the slave in Mbanga.

Ititi Benedict

Tamale gets a visit from Steven Ashcraft

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE, TAMALE - GHANA

APRIL 2021 REPORT

The operating report for the month of April 2021 was very impactful by all standards. In the month of April, we were engaged in many activities. Many of these activities gave us the confidence of great advancement for the Tamale campus of Bear Valley Bible Institute.

BROTHER STEVEN

It’s always a joyful experience to have Brother Steven in our midst. Once again this year, we had the privilege of having him in Tamale in the month of April to strengthen, educate and motivate us to fight for the Kingdom of God. His presence saw us have a series of discussions and meetings concerning the growth of the school and the Churches in Northern Ghana. He educated us on how to use the syllabus that has been developed for all Bear Valley Schools. We also had a brief look at the challenges with these syllabuses.

Mechanization of the well, Making farms to support the feeding of the students were also deliberated. The way forward of the continuation of the building project for the Kpalsi South Church wasn’t ignored. His coming to us was very necessary as it has always been. May the Lord continue to give him long life, good health and prosperity in all things.

LECTURESHIP

Brother James Legend taught the Life of Christ one in the first week of April as the students prepare to go on break to have some rest and take care of their family and congregational activities.

MECHANIZATION OF THE WELL

Mechanization work for the well we had by the grace of God and the help of our brethren from Healing Hands International started in the month of April and we are hopeful to complete everything in the month of May God’s willing. We hope to acknowledge the efforts of all Brethren who are helping us in Bear Valley Tamale to have a much conducive environment to progress the course of Christ. God bless you all.

ALL NIGHT PREAYER MEETINGS

The director (Daniel Adjei Mensah), has seen the need for us to strengthen the element of prayer for the school, Churches of Christ and other relevant issues. He decided we host one prayer night every month in the school that will involve congregations within and around Tamale who are interested in participating. The maiden one took place in the month of April. It was an excellent experience.  

KPALSI SOUTH CHURCH OF CHRIST

We are determined to work to increase the numerical growth of the local congregation of the Kpalsi South church. As a result of that, we are not giving up in preaching the Gospel to all who are ready to hear the word. As difficult as it is, our efforts are bearing fruits gradually. One soul was added to the church on the 25th of April, 2021. May His name be praised forever; amen.

PERSONAALITY PROFILE ON LAAR PAUL

Laar Paul is our focus for this month. He was born in the year 1993 (28 years) at Kpinkpanyoung in the Upper East Region. Kpinkpanyoung is just a few kilometers away from Togo. He was born to Mrs. Laar Asibe and Mr. Laar Kojo, both residents of Kpinkpanyooung. Both parents were pagans. He was baptized into the church on the 25th of August, 2005. His last circular education was Bawku Technical Institute, which lasted between the periods of 2015 to 2018. The Kpinkpanyoung congregation was planted in 2003, by brethren from a nearby congregation in a village called Garu. Paul grew to see the need for a preacher to help the congregation as they were struggling to govern the church for the lack of leadership. He chose the path of Christ in preaching the gospel by getting enrolled into the Bear Valley Bible Institute, Tamale, in the year 2019. He graduated successfully with a Diploma certificate in the year 2021. He has managed to convert his mother into the church, hoping the Lord will do the same to his father too.

Brother Laar Paul is married to Janet Laar with two children. They currently live at Kpinkpanyoung where he preaches for the local congregation which has a membership of over 200. Paul is one of the dedicated young preachers in the Upper East Region.

We praise God for His kindness and mercy towards us.

Thank you,

Bear Valley, Tamale.

Reaching out in Nigeria

Dear fellow servants of Most High God.

Greetings in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Below are the summary of our activities in this month of May 2021.

OVERVIEW:

1. Birth of the Lord's church in Aramoko Ekiti, Ekiti State.

2. Voice of Truth International Volume 109 shared.

3. Fourth Semester Classes Commenced.

4. Ajia Church Auditorium.

5. Bro. Keith Kasarjian's visit to Nigeria

BIRTH OF THE LORD'S CHURCH IN ARAMOKO TOWN, EKITI STATE:

In obedient to the Master order in Matthew 28:19-20, some of the staft, students and some of our graduates preaching in Ekiti State evangelized Aramoko Ekiti town from May 3 till 9,2021 and started the first church worship in Chief Eluku house, Temidire Steet, Oke-Egbe Area of Aramoko town with five converts, eleven students of BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan and one of the instructors named Bro.Emmanuel Godwin.

We were lucky to get an incompleted building for the sum of N200,000 in Temidire Steet, Oke-Egbe Area and the school was able to assist in the payment of N100,000 while the remaining balance of N100,000

VOICE OF TRUTH INTERNATIONAL VOLUME 109 SHARED:

Free distributions and posting of VOTI Volume 109 commenced on May 3 and as of May 20,our records show that over 5,000 copies of the recent publication of VOTI has been distributed across the Republic of Nigeria.

Report reaching our office shows that the recent publication also aid the Lord's church in converting many souls into Christ's body during this month seminars and campaigns..

FOURTH SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN ON MAY 24 :

This session last semester classes commenced on May 24 and will come to an end Lord's willing on July 23,2021. Then, followed by a month practical work, that is, Teaching Practice between July 24 and August 22,2021. The one month Teaching Practice will cost us between $500 to $700 because most of the students will be working with young congregations across the country, Nigeria.

The instructors for the 4th Semester Classes at Ibadan are :Bro. Isaac Olaniyan, Bro. Emmanuel Godwin, Bro.Makinde John, Bro. Guda Silas, Bro. Oladokun Samuel, Bro. Lawrence Dada, Bro. Andrew Adeolu and myself (Bro.Makinde Ebens).

BROTHER KEITH KASARJIAN'S VISIT TO NIGERIA:

The Director of BVBID Extension program, Bro. Keith Kasarjian visited our troublesome country, Nigeria inspite the insecurity in our country between May 16 through 24 and met with most of the BVBIN Schools in our country starting from Lagos and ended his trip in Abia State.

We appreciate so much is great commitment to serving the Lord and humanity. May the Lord keep on blessings all the gospel ministers throughout the world is our fervent prayers in Jesus Christ name, amen.

ONE MONTH VOCATIONAL TRAINING/BREAK:

The just concluded Vocational training/break of this session resulted in the conversion of thirteen souls and restoration of eighteen erring brethren. All our students and staff were actively involved in the weekend evangelism / campaigns in their different locations and thanks be unto the Lord for making the month fruitful.

REPORT FROM FELLOW WBSFUW:

1. Bro. M.B.Archibong, one of the World Bible School Follow Up Workers in Uyo reported the conversion of four (4) souls on Wednesday, May 19 as the result of the just concluded WBS seminar in Mkpara Otop Village.

2. Bro. Lawanson Akinola, one of the WBSFUW in Ekiti State reported that two souls were added to the Lord's body on May 23 as the result of his follow up in Ilogbo -Ekiti, Ekiti State.

ABOUT ONE OF OUR YEAR-2 STUDENTS :

Bro.Silas ,Wayne Chisom is one of our year-2 students. Born on March 14,1988 at Aba, Abia State by Bro. & Sister Silas of Okpuala Umugwor Village. Become a member of the Lord's church in 2006. A BSC holder from Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,Umuahia,Abia State.

His mission after the August graduation is to become one of the seasoned ministers of God in the Eastern States of Nigeria.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENT:

With God on our sides coupled with the financial assistance of $820 rendered by Austin Chapel Church of Christ, we were able to evangelized Aramoko Ekiti from the early morning of May 3 through the noon of May 9,2021. We give God be the glory and honor for making our dream of planting the Lord's Church in Aramoko town a reality.

CONCLUSION:

We appreciate you all for your partnership and great support. May the Lord keep on blessings all our joint effort in Christ Jesus, amen.

I remain yours in His Grace as a servant......

Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan and WBSFUW)

Keeping on in Ukraine

Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,  

I'd like to share with you the latest news from Ukraine. First of all, I'm very thankful to God for His mercy to us. Finally, the strictest quarantine measures were lifted from our region and we were declared "the yellow zone". It means that the public transportation is working again, the stores can reopen with some caution and masks requirements. On Monday we will resume the classes in the Institute building. Before that for almost a month we only had online studies. It's a good way to learn but our students and Instructors missed personal interactions.  

Last month our students had Epistle to Galatians (Instructor Dmitry Galiuk) and the Book of Revelation (Andrew Zhuravlev). 

This year we will graduate three students - Iliya Zhuravlev, Nazar Semikoz and Bogdan Antipenko. One more student who was in the class, Marianna Medved, is behind academically and mostly likely will have to graduate next year.  

In the beginning of May my family and some of our students were able to attend a Christian Seminar in the Carpathian Mountains alongside many representatives of the Church of Christ congregations. The host was Dmitry Galiuk, the Minister of the Church of Christ in Chernivtsy and our active Instructor. I was given an opportunity to be one of the speakers and present the ministry of our Bible Institute. It was a good time, considering the long quarantine restrictions in our country.  

We are getting ready to publish next book - the Commentary on 1 and 2 Kings, Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. The book printing is supported by Jim Mettenbrink.  We are very grateful for his partnership. During a few recent years we were able to print and send copies of these books to every local congregation.  

We are very appreciative of your prayers for us. And we request prayers for the next school year recruitment, as well as the Church growth in Ukraine and worldwide.  

Our students and Instructors send their greetings and thanks for the financial aid and spiritual support.  Your brother, Dennis Sopelnik 

The inaugural graduation in Tirupati, India

Reporting letter for the month of April-2021 

Our warmest greetings to you in the matchless name of our lord and savior Jesus Christ.  We Pray that this mail finds you good health. If you permit we would like to send you brief report concerning our BVBI. I humbly request your pardon for the delay of reporting for the month of April-2021.

The success of two years preachers training Program: - We congratulate all our teaching staff, non-teaching staff and students of first batch for their great dedication to complete the first batch successfully. We appreciate the teachers for their hard work to complete the syllabus prescribed by BVBI. There were few classes that   were suspended in 2020 due to Covid-19 but in order to cover up those classes we had continual classes from September 2020 to April 2021, even  we did not have the break .  We continually had classes, all the students were able to cooperate to attend for the daily classes, writing their note books, completing their home work, memory work and weekly examinations.  We don’t find words to appreciate the guest brothers from out  side who could able to teach few courses . We are grateful to our International director for visiting us and encouraging the students and teachers. We are thankful to our Coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds and Mr.Damon Vincent for their dedication to teach few courses. We appreciate Mr.John R.Vaughan , Mr.Jonathan Winchester , Mr.Mathew Bowling who were  able to visit from Graymere church and encourage us. We are thankful to Mr.Larry Nokes and Mr.Dennis Widner who visited us from Foothills church of Christ and encouraged  us. We are thankful to sister.Linda smith (from Woodson chapel church of Christ )and sister Jackie Hill who were able to visit us from Berry’s  chapel church of Christ. We are thankful to Mr.RayHart for visiting and teaching . It was  sad to miss Mr.Jerry Bates ,lord willing he may visit in the future.

We are grateful to guest teachers Mr.G.Prabhudass, Mr.G.David who came from Chennai and taught few courses. We are thankful to Mr.Vijay Kiran and local police officer for teaching basic legal principles.

The Graduation Ceremony:-  God has  blessed our graduation ceremony which was held on April 30th, 2021.  We feel sorry to miss the presence of our International director and our coordinator , but we are grateful to them for allowing us to go ahead and organize the event . We are happy to share with you that all the students, their parents , teachers, some of the church members and friends were able to participate to witness the program. We did our level best to reduce the number of  attendance due to covid-19 threat.

 All the students have gracefully received the beautiful Certificates  of  Diploma of Biblical studies . We request you to pray for the 21 students who were graduated.

Building Owners: -   We have taken one building ground floor for the college and opposite another building for the hostel. The college building owner had a proposal to sell the building but now he changed his mind and willing to cooperate with us to continue the program . We thank God for this provision. The college building owner’s  family was staying in the upstairs but now they have vacated and moved to the main city area, it is our ambition to occupy the upstairs building and develop the  library.

Agricultural  Garden:- By the support of Healing Hands International we could able to establish the A.G. Garden , it is growing and growing. We have established two other sustainable Agricultural Gardens at KGBV-School in Chittoor-Dt and another one at Poolathota-village.

Covid-19 second Wave threat:-  It is terrible and heart breaking situation in India, the second wave of Covid -19  is spreading so rapidly , so many people are infected and several people are dying , hope that you are aware of the situation by watching the international news . Our local church members were badly infected, unfortunately my sister-in-law was died last week on Friday with covid-19, I am proud to mention that she was the one who sent first admission to BVBI-Tirupti. Please pray for my brother Ezra who has been under treatment. In fact I was infected by the virus , last  20 days I have been in house isolation with good treatment , God has blessed the treatment and heard the prayers of saints which helped me to restore my health condition.  My words fail to share with you about the great service that my wife and children invested for my survival, kindly pray for them and their health. God has put the boundaries around my family members from the infection though I was living in the same house.  We  Praise God for His great protection, yesterday I have consulted Pulmonologist for the check up,  the oximeter tells that there is 97/ oxygen level in my body. We request you to continue to pray for my health.

Healing Hands International’s  Relief Fund:- We are happy to  report you that HHI has immediately responded and released relief support for this emergency crisis created by the second wave covid-19.  There is partial local lock down has been announced in our place, this causes poor people to suffer without proper food and medical help. It is our plan to support about 121  families by using HHI support, we would like to send you report soon we complete this project.

BVBI-Tirupati ‘s  Second Batch :-  In our country the month of May is too hot and all the schools and colleges usually closed for summer holidays  , we have announced summer vacation . it is our plan to reopen the BVBI in the first week of June-2021. We request you to pray for second batch preachers training program.

Thanking you.

Yours brother and sister in Christ.

Vijay&Swarupa,  behalf of BVBI-Tirupati-India

More souls saved in Malawi

Bear Valley Bible Institute

Ekwendeni – Malawi

April, 2021 – Report

Introduction

Hello everyone!

When we read in the Pastoral Epistles, we are encouraged by the charges of Paul to the young preachers Timothy. As Timothy was at the church at Ephesus he encountered the false teachers and many problems which started to discourage his faith in Christ. This is why we see Paul’s charge to Timothy in his second epistle chapter 4:2 – “Preach the Word! Be ready in season and out of season”. This means Timothy was encouraged to preach the gospel when people are ready to hear it or not.

We are also in the challenging time where our faith is tested, but the apostolic command of Paul still speaks to us – “Preach the word!” when in covid-19 challenging time or not having covid-19 challenge, always Preach the word!. We are always ready to do this command. This month of April, we had Brother Keith who came to visit and see how the work here in Malawi is going on. We hope he had a successful trip and back home. It was good meeting him after 5 years missing. After Keith left, we had a preaching campaign at the end of April, we have helped 4 souls come to obey the gospel and be added into Christ. We always are thankful to our students for the great work they do both in class and out of class.

Preaching and Teaching

This Month of April we had some outreach and most importantly the campaign we had at the end of April which helped 4 souls saved. We are also happy that we have been of great help to the congregations around Ekwendeni, especially Chinungu congregation which uses the advantage of the school. The brethren at Chinungu are always ready to use the student in their pulpit and even their evangelistic work. Many souls around Ekwendeni have the opportunity of hearing the gospel because of the BV school. The teaching work is also progressing well that we have managed to cover lots of courses within a short period of time. We are having some campaigns to be accomplished before the end of June. Because of funds limitations, we may be doing campaigns in areas near the Ekwendeni area. One student who asked to be let go home for his family problems, has reported that he has helped a congregation be restored which stopped worshipping for a period of 5 years. About 31 souls have been restored to Christ. This is amazing!

 Short course teacher

We are thankful to God for the brothers who come to help us manage to finish the course in time. Brother Blessings Nkhamanga and Brother Navie Theu are always ready to come to help us whenever we need them come teach a short course. We are hoping to have Navie back in May and also Brother Donnie who is also the coordinator for the school will be coming at the end of May along with some 2 brothers who want to see the school progress. They will stay with us up to the beginning of June. We pray that their coming will make the work easy for us as we will have a little rest.

We want to thank the Bear Valley Bible Institute International for committing funds to this course. Otherwise without your involvement financially all what we have achieved would not be there. We pray that God will always keep on blessing your families as there are still souls to be saved and be trained. Your support is still needed! Eternity Is Forever, Think Souls!

Yours faithfully

Ephron and Clergynton

Student evangelism in Lagos

REPORT OF THE BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE – LAGOS ISLAND CENTER,  February 2021 - April 2021.

INTRODUCTION: Greetings from the staff and students of Lagos Island Center of Bear Valley Bible Institute Extension Programme, Nigeria. We once again thank God that we are found worthy to be part of this great work in Nigeria and Africa in general. The new normal is becoming part of our life these days in our nation. Nigeria needs your prayer as we are facing serious insurgency. Insecurity has taken over many parts of the Country. However, God is faithful in caring for the elect. Lagos where Am working is relatively peaceful and secure as it is the commercial nerve of the country.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES: We have successfully completed 17 circles in our center. In this last quarter: Marriage & Family life was taught by Odoh Emmanuel, Genesis to Deuteronomy handled by Oluwafemi Adewuyi and Congregational Development was just concluded by Godwin Emmanuel. 10 students were regular in this quarter out of 14 students who registered in the school presently. I was in Butubutu Ibadan for their 19 Annual Bible lectures. It was a great and eye opening discussion about Satan and his Mission. Happy to serve as one of the speakers. I also witnessed the ordination of additional Elders in Jakpa congregation in Warri Delta state where Bro Abiodun Adegeroge also spoke during the program.

CAMPAIGN PROGRAM/MARKET EVANGELISM: The Market Evangelism Public Preaching in the month of April was successful. We visited Ondo Plaza in Balogun in the popular International Trade Fair Market Ojo, Lagos. I spoke from Mark 5 on the topic: Only Jesus Can Help You. We will be going there coming Thursday on one on one discussion. We had a soul obey the gospel two weeks ago from this effort. Also I just came back lst night from Aramoko in Ekiti state where Bro Ebens Makinde, his students and Preachers in the area spent a week in campaign for Christ. 3 souls were added to the church as the time of filling this report and we hope that a congregation will start worshipping this Sunday in this area.

WBS ONLINE STUDY HELPER: I want to thank Bro Doug Wheeler for helping me out in contacting Edie Connel who has been of help in navigating the new platform of the Online WBS Site. Helping students learn online is a very interesting work with its challenges. Am having 561 Certificates awarded, 3741 lessons completed and 20 active students presently.  

CONCLUSION: Glory be to God for the good work going on in this part of the world through your prayer and support. Thanks to Stoney Point Church of Christ for their support and prayer for us. Also thanks to the authority of Bear Valley Institute for increasing our support. Studies are continuing in our center and we hope more students will come in soon.

Thanks and God bless you.

TIM IWE                            

Lagos Island Center Director

Graduation in Liberia

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE- LIBERIA

APRIL REPORTS

PROLOGUE

Warm greetings to you all fellow laborers in the Lord's vineyard! We give honor and glory to God our heavenly Father who through His grace and the love fully expressed in Christ has granted us the rare opportunity to work in His service.

FACULTY MEETING

Before the end of our last quarter, we held our last faculty meeting which was very successful. This meeting brought together all of our staff members to discuss the future of the school and our then up coming graduation ceremony. In this meeting, all our staff members who are preachers were also encouraged to speak with their congregations to please help the school with whatever they can to encourage our American brethren who are supporting the school. We will need more or extra help for this batch because we are taking in 26 new students instead of 20 students. That is why we are asking congregations to support the school and individual brothers and sisters to help the school.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

Our classroom activities ended with Brother Steven Ashcraft, who is the coordinator for Bear Valley West Africa extension Program teaching our last short course. Brother Steven spent over a week with us in Ganta, Liberia teaching Bible geography and had a wonderful time with the students. It was great having him around especially teaching a class and staying for the graduation.

GRADUATION AND MATRICULATION CEREMONY

After two and half years of intensive studies at the Bear Valley Bible Institute-Liberia and in the face of a very serious pandemic (COVID ) that affected the whole world , we finally graduated our second batch of students and welcome twenty six (26) new students from all over the country in to the program. Sixteen (16) students graduated and was awarded Diploma in Biblical Studies, Diploma General Agriculture and Diploma in Computer Studies or IT. Five other special awards was given to some hardworking students. We had awards given to the Dux ( Best Student Award in Bible, Second Best Student Award In Bible, Most Humble Student Award, Best Computer Student Award and Best Agriculture Student Award.

Our graduation ceremony was overwhelmingly attended by so many people including, Bear Valley directors from Guinea and Sierra Leone, the city government, parents and love ones of our students, Church members and preachers from across the country, foreign guest etc.

PRAISES AND APPRECIATION

Many of our students have called back to appreciate the school for the lever of education they have been imparted with from the school. Many of their families, parents and preachers have also call back to say thank you. Some confessed that that the preachers from our school are doing very well and for that, the churches at their locations has a great future.

Conclusion-

On behalf of BVBI- Liberia and the Churches of Christ in Liberia as a whole, we like to express our profound gratitude indeed to everyone who supports in any way the school here in the Republic of Liberia. May God richly bless all of you!

Brotherly,

Robert P. Dahn, Jr.

Director- BVBI-L

Great progress in Zimbabwe

APRIL 2021 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The training of preachers is a critical component in the growth of the church.  A lot of diligence goes into it. Soldiers going into real combat are never trained in a day. Such is the case for a soldier of Christ. Ours is a spiritual battle. The task of winning souls to Christ is ever present in our minds. At BVBIZ, in April, we continued to put one block on top of another to achieve this. The teachers did their bit whilst the students did theirs as well. The view is to produce a well trained soldier for Christ through various activities. The following are some of the few things that we can report on.

1.0 CURRICULUM PROGRESS

A number of subjects have been done and completed. These include Hermeneutics, O. T History, Homiletics, Acts, Personal Work II, Life of Christ, Galatians, Godhead and 1 & 2 Thessalonians. The term will be ending on the 8th of May and another one start on the 10th of the same month. This class shall be having less of breaks this year so as to catch up on lost time.

2.0 AN IMPORTANT VISIT

BVBIZ was blessed on the 20th of April by the visit of Keith Kasarjian, BVBI International director. He took time to tour and access the school and also appraise himself of the progress made so far.  He also had time to interact with students and give some words of encouragement. Much appreciation goes to him and his sacrifice to come and see the school.

3.0 INFRASTRUCTRE DEVELOPMENT

3.1 Teachers House

Brickwork on the teacher’s house was completed in the month. 

3.2 OUTSIDE SINK

An outside sink for the students’ laundry was constructed and completed in the month.  Only plumbing  components needing about $80 are still to be bought and worked on.

3.3 SKIRTING

Skirting was done and completed around the hostel. Falling rain had been affecting the good paint work that was done. Walls were becoming dirt due to water falling from the roof. The same shall be done for other buildings before the next rain season. Gutters will also be needed to complete the job.

4.0 FIRST FELLOWSHIP AT SITE

The first ever fellowship was done on the 24th of April. The program was organised by the Plasworth  congregation and held at the BVBIZ campus. 164 were in attendance and this went beyond the local congregation’s expectation.

5.0 DONATIONS

BVBIZ always welcome donations in cash and in kind. These are critical in the running of the school. Moving to the present site was a step in the right direction but also caused a challenge in the schools evangelism efforts. Bicycles are now needed to solve the transport challenge. A call was made far and wide and two responses came. The first bicycle was donated by Zimbabwe Missions and another one was donated by Keith Kasarjian. Since students go in pairs, the congregation at Greenvale will be serviced. 10 more bicycles are still needed by the school. Bicycles are ranging from $100-$150 depending with type.

6.0 EVANGELISM

BVBIZ places strong emphasis on evangelism. Presently, a lot is being done to fine tune the students before they embark on full-fledged evangelism. Whilst it is not yet in full mode, students have been helping two congregations namely Greenvale and Plasworth. Two souls were baptized at Greenvale in the month. We glorify God for this addition.

CONCLUSION

Several activities took place as highlighted in the above report. We remain grateful to God for making this possible. To our various partners locally and abroad, may God continue to bless you abundantly.  It is through your efforts and sacrifices that BVBIZ has gotten this far. To God be the glory!

Great work in Accra

End of April, 2021 Report, Accra

We are grateful to the Lord for the end of last quarter and beginning a new quarter in April. The Lord has done much for us through His love, caring, and protecting us against misfortune. We all bless His name and unto the Father.

Having begun this quarter, we have scheduled all curriculums with its instructors. This quarter, we are studying six (6) courses, four (4) being regular classes, and two (2) short courses. These are the courses with its instructors: Book of Romans- Emmanuel Amoo-Gyimah; Christian Leadership and Minor Prophet – E.O. Larbi; 1 & 2 Peter – Kwabena Gyan-Mante and Inter-Testamental Period and Epistles of James – Kojo Acquah. The English and ICT Studies are George and Samuel.

Class Activities

Brother Amoo-Gyimah has started with his teaching on the Book of Romans and follows by E.O. Larbi and other subsequent instructors. Currently, we have Eleven (11) students studying the courses above. We also have three (3) students from the Nsawam Extension School joining in with the full-time in the study, in total; they are fourteen (14) men for a class.

 Bachelors Class Activities

Since we are running bachelors program in the school, recently, six (6) of the new students met on Friday to study Elementary Greek in order to acquire basic knowledge to further their Greek 1 & 2 classes. Sammy taught this class.

A Visit to Bunso Plant Research Department by Students

As part of the school’s activities, two staff members (Kojo and Sammy) and the students visited the Bunso Plant Research Department to see the kinds of plant, they research into. Much was taught to the students by the assistant and some were bought to be planted on our school land.  

BVBI, Directors General Meeting

Recently, on Saturday, 17th April, Brother Steven, and Kojo organized a meeting with all directors of Bear Valley Schools in Ghana, both full-time and extension schools. Directors present were E.O. Larbi for Accra (full-time) school; Sammy – Nsawam Extension School; Joshua (full-time & extension) Takoradi School; Kojo – Kasoa Extension School; Gyan-Mante – Koforidua Extension School; Rexford Agyare Mintah (represented Daniel Kyere Mensah, director) – Sunyani Extension School; and Alex Akosa Karikari (represented Gyan Kesse, director) – Kumasi Extension School.

The meeting was about regular reporting on what happens in the school and financial statement (monthly and quarterly), with descriptive photos; on timely response to emails; signing of Doctrinal Position Statement; Students Campaign and Practical Activities and Introduction to the New Curriculum and many other important discussions.

Having done with this meeting, we were assured of progress.

Campaigns

Our students have been effective on personal evangelism in the school, churches, and invitation by other brethren. Recently, they were invited by other brethren on evangelism, where two (2) souls were baptized to the Lord. Also, in their various congregations, they organize personal evangelism and two (2) souls were baptized. We wish that more souls be converted to the glory of God.

Student’s Profile

We had loved to present one of our recent past students on this profile, by name, Samuel Okyere. This brother is 27 years old but single. He had traveled all the way from the Volta Region of Ghana, about 148.7 km to Accra to pursue knowledge from the Bible, for the benefit to edify the church. Samuel’s parents are Emmanuel Okyere and Victoria Aflanyo. They are not Christians yet; he is trying his best to help them understand the gospel.

Samuel is very humble, faithful in the Lord, and a very hardworking man. He never absented himself from classes and all activities in the evangelistic missions. He was one of the students who graduated in 2020. Having completed the school, he had been useful to the Lord at his area, where he is the evangelist in three (3) congregations. These localities are Okagyakrom – 50 members, Jasikan – 70 members, and Bowiri Anyinase – 30 members. It’s very interesting how he schedules his time to preach for these churches.

We are grateful to have such effective student working for the Lord.

The administration is planning to visit him and these congregations.

Glory be to God for His protection in all activities throughout the month, may the Lord bless you all. Pray with us.

Making lemonade in Zambia

Report April 2021

Introduction-Warm greetings to you all brothers and sisters! We give honor and glory to God our heavenly Father who through His grace and the love fully expressed in Christ has granted us the rare opportunity to work in His Vineyard.

The school will go on a recess in a week’s time. This will accord the students to go back to their respective homes after completing the third quarter of their first year. They have already finished studying a total of 16 courses.

Students’ highlights –Mathews Mwale (23 years of age) and Gersom Chomba (20 years of age) came to us from Luapula and Northern Provinces of Zambia. They traveled 796 kilometers (495 miles) to come and study here at BVBI-Zambia. While in School they have proved to be very committed to the studies and are always in forefront with the evangelism program which has been spearheaded by Brother Cephas Mwamba. Together with the rest of the students they do weekly outreach programs in evangelism. We believe that evangelism is our greatest mission. We are very glad to report that through evangelism we have witnessed the spiritual births of seven (7) souls in the month of April and four restorations, these efforts are truly turning our students into soul wining instruments many have become Christians. Mathews and Gershom are both single students. As teachers, we have noted with great satisfaction their growth both mentally, physically and spiritually. We have also Boyd Kalaba who is also a skilled mathematics teacher, he first started teaching gospel to pupils at Luanshya girls’ secondary school and now he is helping those struggling in Mathematics and science. May God use his skill to bring many to Christ.

 On the other development we have recorded sixteen (16) restorations and nine baptisms through our former students in Ndola district. And as we reported last month Clive Kabika and the central Church of Christ in Kabwe is currently conducting a radio program in Kabwe central province and doing very fine. May our God continue to be praised through all the work being done by our Alumni.

On a sad note- During the night of 23rd April, 2021, thieves broke in and stole the booster pump and press control 1.1kw. This paralyzed our water system for almost a week now and we have only managed to replace press control 1.1kw. During this sad note something constructive came up, we had to engage a local instructor from a trade institute in construction who taught our students and they had to rebuild the broken wall as part of their practicing in bricklaying. Most of our current students did well in this survival skill training.

Visiting Teachers-It was great to see Keith visit again Zambia. Because of his tight schedule, we managed to meet with him in Lusaka and the leadership of central Church of Christ. It was really encouraging and refreshing to see this exceptional breed of a preacher! 

It is a known fact that the Covid -19 has affected all the Bear Valley Bible schools in one way or the other. Many had to make several adjustments to keep on the work moving forward. Since Zambia is no longer under any lockdown, we anticipate having Brother Donnie Estep in the first week of June 2021. He is expected to teach the Book of Galatians as a short course. We will also be blessed to have him grace the long awaited graduation ceremony during the same period. 

Conclusion- On behalf of BVBI-Zambia and Zambia as a whole, we like to express our profound gratitude to Woodland Oaks church and indeed everyone who supports in any way the school here in Zambia. May God richly bless all of you!

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Serving in difficult times in Lima

Greetings from Lima, Peru

We want to inform you that continue with the activities of the school, for the glory of our Lord and the benefit of our brethren, we had a 2 days conference "Women of Impact" on which we were sharing material in pdf format and as well of announcing our next course the gospel of John and 1, 2, 3 John trying to encourage those who are not yet part of the school to take the courses our institute offers.

We are facing difficult times due to this pandemic on which our full-time students and instructors have been affected as you know. In April, another of our instructors got covid and he is still not fully recovered and also the families of some of our students have been affected by covid cause them not to continue with the course last month for taking care of their loved ones the rest of the students are doing good so far. We ask your prayers for Alejandro (Instructor), Margot's family (student), Alejandro's M. family (student) and Alejandro B. (student) as well as for the instructors and students that are still well.

This pandemic is affecting the school and the churches and the whole country in many different ways as we could mention a couple of economic and health issues and people are taking difficult decisions in their lives trying to survive.

We would like to have a face-to-face course but it is still illegal to gather together so we continuing with our online courses. As with any method, we found some cons; for example, you must have internet access and prevent new prospects from getting into the program. Although we are encouraging as many as we can to join the school.

Please, pray for the school here. We know that in difficult times the message of our Lord is needed to be spread out and that is what we are trying to do.

God keep blessing your ministries and all the work you do for our Lord.

Abraham Alata

Co-director and instructor

Doing well in Liberia

Bear Valley Bible Institute- Ganta Liberia Operations Reports- February And March 2021

PROLOGUE

We bring you greetings from the students and staffs in Liberia- Bear Valley Bible Institute, hoping all is well with you and your families in the Lord's name. We truly appreciate God for your partnership with us in this great work we have to do here in Liberia, West Africa. Below are the happenings for the month of February and March 2021.

CLASSROOM ACTIVITIES

The month of February and March are the continuation of our last quarter studies in the Bear Valley Curriculum for this second group of students, and the months has been very very busy for everyone, both the instructors and the students had lots to do towards the end of final quarter of the 2nd year. Among what the students are doing includes the following:

1. The 4th and final quarter courses:

   A. The Book of Revelation

   B. Christians Ethics

   C. Denominational Doctrine

   D. The Book of Hebrews

   E. Church History- 2

   F. Bible Geography

   G. Computer Studies

   H. Agriculture

2. Group works

1. A. Research work

   B. Individual Assignments and presentation

   C. Daily Quizzes ( Practical and theory).

   D. Memory work

   E. Weekend House to House Evangelism

   F. Cleaning the campus etc

Thankfully, we have sixteen students who will be qualify for Bear Valley graduation.

WEEKEND EVANGELISM

Our students continued to engaged the communities around the school campus in weekends house to house evangelism and distributions of tracks. This effort is making the church known or have great impart on prospects they come across, and it is also helping the individual students with great experiences on field work and what to expect in the future of their own ministry.

MOTOR BIKES USUAGE

The School currently has three Motorbikes Which was bought with special funds sent to us for the smooth operations of the school. Meanwhile, these motorbikes are of great help to the school and for strengthening location congregations on a weekly basis. As part of our students practical work, they are made to visit local church far and new weekly to preach and teach at where is no train preachers. This effort has greatly strengthened many congregations and has also help our students to grow in the faith and especially in working with village churches. Please keep these young men in your prayers as they travel on bad road to carry the Lord's word.

ABOUT AN INSTRUCTOR

In this report, we will be talking about Brother Fester G. Lee.

During the civil was in Liberia, Brother Fester Lee fled to Ghana and at the refugee camp, he heard the gospel of Christ, repented of His sins and gave his life to Christ through water baptism in September 2003. Brother attended the West Coast School of Preaching In Takoradi Ghana and worked shortly with the church at the Krisan Sanzolee refugee camp before returning back to Liberia (Home).

Brother Fester G. Lee is currently serving as one of the instructor here at the Bear Valley Bible Institute Liberia and he is the current Dean of students. He is married with seven children. Brother Lee is also the pulpit minister for the church of Christ in Sanniquellie city, Nimba county.

APPRECIATION AND CONCLUSION

We want to thank all of you so much for supporting the work in Liberia. Without you, this effort would not be possible. May God richly bless you.

In Him,

Robert P. Dahn, Jr.

Director- BVBI-L

Good works in Ibadan

Dear fellow ministers of God.

Greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Below are the summary of some of our activities in this month of April 2021.

OVERVIEW:

1. Weekend Evangelism/ Campaigns.

2. Third Semester Classes Concluded.

3. World Bible Follow Up Workers Report

4. Birth of the Lord's church in Elewura Village, Ibadan

WEEKEND EVANGELISM/CAMPAIGNS :

In spite of our tight scheduled in the month of April, the staff and students of the BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan carried out the weekend evangelism /campaigns using public address system and house -to -house preaching of the gospel in the six centers (Butubutu village, Jago, Badeku, Ajia , Egbeda and Igbo-Oloyin town)in Ona-Ara , Egbeda and Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State and the Lord crowned our joint effort with four conversions (One in Butubutu village, one in Badeku and two in Jago) with many prospects in the six centers.

THIRD SEMESTER CLASSES CONCLUDED :All subjects,tests , quizzes and examinations for 3rd Semester came to an end as scheduled on Friday noon, April 23rd with songs of praises and short admonishion by one of the instructors, Bro.Lawrence Dada.

Fourth Semester Classes will begin Lord's willing on May 24 ,2021, but students are expected back in the school on May 21 and 22 in preparation for 4th Semester Classes.

Our year-1 students are now on Vocational Training in different locations in Oyo,Osun,Ogun, Lagos and Kwara State while the year-2 students return to their different congregations to assist the church for the period of one month. Nevertheless, the selected students will travel with us next week to Aramoko Ekiti evangelization/church planting.

WORLD BIBLE SCHOOL FOLLOW UP REPORT:

1. Bro.M.B. Archibong,one of the WBSFUW in Uyo, Akwa-Ibom State reported the conversion of 3 souls during a 3 days WBS seminar of April 9-11 at Atan Okoyong church of Christ and another 4 conversion in the just concluded WBS seminar of April 14 at Mkpara Otop Village with about 376 in attendance.

2. Bro. Johnson Godwin and Bro. Olorode Samuel,two of the WBSFUW in Ondo State,also reported the conversion of 2 souls each during this month gospel campaigns in their respective places (Ode-Aye and Ode-Ajagba)

3. Bro. Peter Ortserga, one of the WBSFUW in Oyo State reported the conversion of 2 young brother from Benue State as the result of his follow up program in this month of April 2021.

4. Bro. Obey Rimamskwe,one of the WBSFUW in Ussa Local Government Area of Taraba State reported the conversion of a young sister in Kpakya town as a result of his gospel campaigns and WBS correspondence Courses in the area. This young sister was converted on April 18 and she have been worshipping with the Lord's church in Kakpya town since then.

THE BIRTH OF THE LORD'S CHURCH IN ELEWURA VILLAGE, IBADAN:

With the help of the Almighty God couple with the tireless efforts of Bro.Dele Shotola and some of the BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan graduates, the Lord's church was planted in Elewura village, Oluyole Local Government Area of Oyo State on April 4th ,2021. The young congregation of 9 membership are now meeting at Bro. Gbenga Lawal compound.

OTHER SCHOOL'S ACTIVITIES:

1. Morning and evening devotion : Every morning (5::00 -6:00am) and evening (9:00-10:00pm)

2. Chapel : Every Wednesday (5:00-6:30pm)

3. Fasting and prayers: Every last Wednesday of the month

4. Praise night : Every 2nd Tuesday of the month (8:00-10:00pm)

5. Prayer night: Every 1st Friday of the month(8:00-10:00pm)

ABOUT ONE OF OUR STUDENTS:

Bro. Adeyemi Godwin Sonayon is one of our year-2 students. Born on the 9th of October 1995in Ado-odo town , Ogun State. He is the first son of our late evangelist, Bro. Matthew Adeyemi. He( Godwin) got baptized by his late father at the age of 13 on September 9,2009.

He attended Government Technical College for 3 years where he studied Mechanical Engineering and Craft Technician after his Secondary School education.

A graduate of WNCC and School of Biblical Studies, Abeokuta,Ogun State where he obtained Diploma in Theology.

He is presently assisting the Lord's church in Lusada town,Ogun State. The Lord's Church where is father served as a minister before the Lord called him home on July 2020.

CONCLUSION:

We deeply appreciate all our supporters both home and abroad and we are praying for the blessings of God on all your undertaking in Jesus Christ name, amen.

Sincerely yours in His Grace as a servant........ Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (The chief servant of BVBIN & SWSE Ibadan And WBSFUW)

More souls saved in Guinea

Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute Activity Operations Report for March 2021

Once again we have reached at the time of privilege whereby the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute while reporting to her sponsors can share with you the activities that transpired here during the month of March 2021. As in previous reports there are 2 main areas of paramount concern, namely the indoor or classroom and outdoor activities. While the former is a priority, the later carries with it events of equal importance including especially the act of evangelism. All of this went well as outlined in sub headings below.

Classroom: Until the close of March this year 16 students are still committed to the task of studies at the Gueckedou BVBI and this month was the close of classroom activities for the first year. Academic performance for the most part was good. Notwithstanding unwarranted behavior on the part of 2 students necessitated a special disciplinary measure against them. Following this, students are sent on break to resume classes in April.

Evangelism: Those of our students who are assigned to various congregations have always made an effort to increase the number of save souls. This time around it was in 3 such congregations including the campus assembly that we converted 3 persons.

Campaign: In order to help build up the small congregation in the sou-prefecture headquarters of Ounde kenema the Gueckedou Bear Valley courageously decided to drive the 55 kilometers rough road. It was quite a challenging campaign because despite the double methods of open air or public proclamation and the house to house preaching the efforts resulted in only 6 baptisms.

Special Training: Just before we finally closed for the end of first year activities, a special training of 7 candidates of the 14 previously proposed attended a 1 week workshop. The purpose of the training was not only to enable these new leaders of their new congregations to conduct worship services , but to equip them to teach and to defend «the faith».

A Special Social Event: One of our able staff members, the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute Head of Evangelistic Team, our Secretary and Right Hand Man, Mr Niouma 2 Kamano entered into a lawful matrimonial relationship with Marie Tonguino on the 5th and 6th of the month under review for customary and civil rites respectively. We encouraged, embraced and supported the occasion because of the simple fact that the act is geared towards a good moral needed for perhaps every young christian man and woman especially for those who serve in a Biblical Institution and Administration.

Conclusion: Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute has completed the course study for the first year with 16 of 20 students who initially started the class. There were 3 of the 4 students who had retreated immediately after the Covid 19 shutdown period of some 4 months.

We are especially proud and thankful that our combined evangelistic efforts here at the Gueckedou BVBI have always yielded fruit to the saving of souls. As in the previous month, we did make Heaven rejoice by the conversion of 9 souls in March.

May God bless you as you seek to help promote His work.

Francis

Evangelism in Takoradi

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR MARCH, 2021

 1.      CLASSROOM WORK

There were successful classroom activities for both the full-time and the part-time students. In our last report, we had seven (7) full-time students and eleven (11) part-time students. God has blessed us with one (1) additional student to our full-time program, making it eight (8).

2.      EVANGELISM

West Coast School of Preaching is noted for her evangelistic fervor, and as such, the greater number of our products are so much involved with evangelism activities wherever they are. In almost all the regions of Ghana, we have our students there who are involved with preaching the Gospel on radio, and with other methods of evangelism. For instance, in Takoradi here alone, we have eight (8) of West Coast products who preach on radio every week.

In the month of March, various activities of evangelism were carried out by some of our students both current and past, and there were some good results. In some of the photos, a congregation where one of our past students is preaching, the whole congregation is going on house to house, sharing tracts and teaching people the gospel.

3.      BAPTISM

As a result of the campaigns, house to house, and radio preaching, congregations were strengthened and perishing souls were saved (about 8).

Thank you.

Yours for the Master.

Joshua

Local outreach in Tamale

We are grateful for the month of March 2021. As we worked collectively to progress the course of the Kingdom of God in Northern Ghana as a school, many activities took place. We had activities take place within the school, Church and outside Tamale town.

TEACHING

We had five courses taught in the month of March, 2021 with the fifth one running into the first week of April. Among these courses, three were taught by regular or resident instructors while two were taught by visiting instructors. These courses are: Scheme of Redemption (Adjei Mensah), Personal Evangelism one (James Mabery Forkuor), Hermeneutics one and Life of Christ one (James Legend) and Homiletics one (George Dassah). The photo below is Brother James Mabery Forkuor, one of the visiting Instructor.

KPALSI CHURCH

The local church in Kpalsi continues to grow gradually by the grace of God. Members are maturing greatly as we continue to teach the whole counsel of God. We continue to also study with the community as we persuade many to come to the light of Christ. As reported last month, the new Chapel that is under construction has become a great motivation for us as a church.

VISITATION

Brother James Legend embarked on a two days visitation journey to Agatusi, Bazua and Kpinkpanyoug congregations where some of our graduates are working as preachers. He took the opportunity to meet leaders of these congregations to discuss matters concerning the church in Northern Ghana and the school respectively. 

SUPPORT FOR PREACHERS

Two preachers; Brother Baaba Elijah and Francis Mbugri who graduated from the school received a Motorcycle each as a motivation and an aid to help them effectively work in God’s vineyard as minister of Christ on the 11th of March, 2021. But for the sacrificial working of our Brother Steven and sponsors, this couldn’t have been possible. The good Lord blesses you, amen.

PERSNALITY PROFILE BAABA ELIJAH

We took a brief look at one of our productive graduate in the field this month, which benefitted from the motorcycle, Baaba Elijah. He was born on the 23rd June, 1995, at Kumasi in the Upper East Region. His parents are Akolgo Akanbaga and Akolgo Akalage. He is a single young man who has devoted himself to work for the Lord. Elijah was Muslim converted into the church. He grew successfully after his conversion and also converted his parents into the church who were also pagans, taking that opportunity with some brethren; they established the church at Sigrigu where his parent and family were the first members. He later saw the need to gain more knowledge in the scriptures, and got enrolled into the school. He graduated as the best student academic as well the overall best student of the school the 2018 to 2019 batch of the school. He is currently working with the Agatusi congregation.

May the name of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ be praised, Amen.

Sent for the Director (Daniel Adjei Mensah)