Tamale school has many irons in the fire

OPERATING REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2022

Once again, the Lord who has the power over grace has shown His grace to us here in Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies in the month of February 2022. We acknowledge that not all mankind has had these special blessings of peace, unity, mercy and all the providential things we enjoy as His people here in Bear Valley, Tamale. We glorify His name unconditionally. Many activities have also taken place in the month of February that we need to report to you.

ACADEMIC WORK

The month of February was effectively utilized for academic activities. Students were on campus and a series of courses were taught through almost the whole month. Between the first and the 25th of February, all attention was on full academic activities. Courses taught were: Pastoral Epistles by James Legend, Denominational Doctrine by Daniel Adjei Mensah, 1&2 Peter by Thomas Donzie and Research and Writing by James Legend respectively.

KPALSI SOUTH CONGREGATION

The church out of its giving has made burglar proofs for the windows of the chapel which we are working on. We have also arranged to have a mason in the month of March to come fix the burglar proofs and work on the inside ground floor plastering work.

We are hoping to start worshipping in the chapel while we work on it in the month of April. Our major challenge now is the doors and the outside plastering work. We pray and hope the Lord makes a way for us to get this also done. For the inside plastering and the windows and the other finishing work, we can take our time and do them. The doors have become one of the big challenges because, almost every night, we must go chase people away from smoking inside the chapel. We are hopeful the Lord will see us through.

 IRRIGATION

The aim of the great support Healing Hands International has given us in the area of water can’t be forgotten. Indeed, the water has benefitted the school greatly and given us a double assurance in the area of water supply. It has also served the community very well. We believe it’s a tool of showing Christ to the people. One of the roles of this water also is to serve us in the area of irrigation. Because of the weather condition in Northern Ghana in the dry season as reported in earlier reports, it has made it difficult for us to do irrigation in the past two years since this well was drilled for us and its subsequent being mechanized.

We have been looking for ways to make this irrigation work become a reality to help cut down some of the expenses of feeding the students. In January of this year, we gave it a hard try in a small way, and it seems to be working successfully. Currently, though not much, we are harvesting some okro, Ayooyo (local vegetables) and cucumbers.  We have sowed some maize and watermelons that are doing very well. We are therefore confident now and are trying to seek help to set up a good irrigation system.

PERSONALITY PROFILE

Brother Snell Kwasi Owusu Odame is the man we profiled for the month of February 2022. Odame is one of the grown and matured students of the 2021/22 batch of students. Owusu Odame was born on the 4th of July 1976 in Accra, Maprobi in Dansoman area. Mr. Odame is married to sister Evelyn Owusu Odame with four children.

Brother Owusu Odame did his basic education in Accra, Dansoman at St. Anthony Basic school. He proceeded to do his secondary education in the Central Region at Fijai secondary school. He continued from there to the Takoradi Technical Institute where he studied electrical installation and came out with an intermediate certificate. He also did his tertiary education at the Takoradi Poly where he graduated with Electrical Engineering Technician 1 and 2. He proceeded with the Technician 1 & 2 certificates to work a bit and came back to the same institution to complete the Technician 3 certificate.  

Brother Odame has some great working experiences. He has worked with the West Africa Woods Industry as an administrator between the years 2002 and 2005. He has also worked with a multimedia group, specifically, Love FM in Kumasi between 2005 and 2007. He also worked with the Electricity Company of Ghana in the period of 2008 to 2018.

Mr. Odame was baptized into the church in the year 2000 by one brother Kingsley Edu in Kumasi, precisely, the Bomso Church.

He is currently offering the Diploma Course with the Bear Valley Tamale campus, hoping to work fully for the Lord.

Glory be to our God. Amen.

Bear Valley, Tamale.

Graduation Ceremony in Takoradi, Ghana

OPERATIONAL REPORT FOR FEBRUARY, 2022

1.     CLASSROOM WORK

Academic work continued for the month of February. During the two days leading to graduation, the graduates defended their project work before the instructors.

2.     PERSONAL EVANGELISM AND BAPTISM

So long as the world continues to exist and sin is still prevalent in it, the mission of the church is still ongoing in the area of evangelism. Students and people affiliated to the school continued preaching the good news in the month of February. God also continues to bless our effort.

3.    16th Graduation Ceremony

Preparation towards the graduation went on throughout the month. Fasting and prayers was organized on the Wednesday leading to the ceremony. It was attended by instructors, present students and some sections of graduates. The day of the graduation was finally upon us on 26th February, everything was set for the occasion. The Lord blessed us with very good weather and the program was well attended. This is the greatest number we have had for a graduation so far. People were very happy for the tremendous change that has taken place in the school. Overall, it was a very successful program as we ushered these men into the Lord’s vineyard, and it was our wish that you were here.

Thank you,

Joshua 

Radio program is reaching souls in Liberia

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE-LIBERIA

Tokay hill community, Ganta City

Nimba county, Republic of Liberia

OPERATIONS REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2022

PROLOGUE / INTRODUCTION

We bring you greetings from Liberia Bear Valley Bible Institute, west Africa. We appreciate God continually for your partnership with us in this work of our Lord directly or indirectly in Liberia.

ANOTHER GIFT FROM A CHURCH SISTER

In their own little ways, some sisters from the Ganta Church continued to assist our students with some of their basic daily needs as they studied. As you may recall, before the Christmas vacation some sisters donated two bags of used clothes to the students. In the month of February, another sister called Herritta Nehywon came with washing soap for all the students individually. She said that she feels so happy in her own little strength to help the students with the soap because they need it, since their studies keep them on the campus even during the weekends. They still have to go out helping to strengthen smaller congregations in the villages. She further said, the future of these students’ education in the Bible will help the world to be a better place. The students thanked her so much and prayed with her for God’s blessing upon she and her family.

BACK TO THE BIBLE RADIO TEACHING PROGRAM AND THE BEAR VALLEY STUDENTS

Five years ago on the 1st of January 2017, I started the teaching program on the radio as another way of exposing the Lord's church and have more people listen to the undiluted gospel of Christ and His church. Since the inception of this program, many souls have been won to Christ and many new congregations have been started through this efforts.

Another very important part of this radio program is to have our students from the Bear Valley Bible Institute here in Liberia practice public speaking on the radio. The students are taking turns on the radio after preparing a special topic given to them some months before. This practice started with our very first batch of students and the results are to the glory of God and to the edifying of His church. Almost 12 of our past students are now preaching and teaching on the radio at their different locations (Congregations) and the news coming from there by other people make us so happy for the opportunities afforded them to practice while in school.

STAFF MEETING

In the month under review, we held a staff meeting on the school campus. This meeting brought together all the teaching staff and support staff of the school. On our agenda, the following were key in our discussion:

1. Thanking God and welcoming everyone to the new year

   a. Under this, we appreciated our teachers and staff commitment to serve the students and help them become better preachers and church worker for our maker.

2. Reviewing Bear Valley needed standard for her schools

3. We discussed making a cassava farm for the school to help us provide some food in addition to the help Bear Valley is giving to us.

4. We also discussed ways we can help our past students with evangelism to strengthen the work they are doing in their town and villages.

5. We concluded our meeting with a prayer for you all that are sponsoring these efforts in Liberia and across the world.

SHORT COURSE TEACHER

Brother Calvin Jusu Johnson has always responded to our call to come and offer his services to the school. This is his third time honoring our invitation to teach a short for us. We are thankful for his services and want you to please join us to pray for him.

REPORT ABOUT OUR ALUMNI

Alex Gonlarkpo Waie was part of our first batch of students who graduated in 2018 and went back home and started a new congregation. We visited Alex and saw the work he is doing and it moved us so much because he struggled in school. Alex presently preaches in his hometown at a congregation he started and he is also helping two other congregations that do not have a trained preacher. Meanwhile, Brother Alex has a very serious problem in easily reaching these struggling congregations and is asking for help. Having visited him and seen the good work he is doing, we want to join him to request for his need. Bro. Alex is humbly asking for a motorbike to help his movements between these three congregations.

CONCLUSION AND APPRECIATION

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.

We also want to take this time to extend our sincere thanks and appreciation to all of our brothers and sisters across the world for all your financial and spiritual support for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine. The war in Ukraine has dislocated our brethren literally and has brought more sorrow on their land. Many of our Christian brothers and sisters have lost their homes, their jobs and left them hungry. I am so thankful for all your love you have shown them in this hard times. Let us all continue to pray for peace for them, Please!!

In Him,

Robert P. Dahn, Jr.

Director- BVBI-L

Evangelism Outreach in Nyanya, Nigeria

The Evangelism programme at Gbessa was a huge success.

On the first day, which was Friday 11th March 2022, brethren/some students of BVBI Nyanya campus participated in the exercise. Two people were baptized in the process. The day ended with open air preaching by the preacher of Dei-Dei congregation, brother Isaac Makwagh, spoke on the topic, "God's Plan of Salvation."

The next day, Saturday 12th March 2022, there was a larger turnout of both students and brethren from various congregations within Abuja and the surrounding area. Brother Felix Ekpeyong expounded on the topic "The New Testament Church," during the open air preaching.

On Sunday, the inaugural worship of the new congregation was held with 48 persons in attendance. Students of BVBI Kado centre were also in attendance.

May I appeal to the leadership of BVBI to support the new congregation by sending students there to assist the congregation on Sundays.

Thank you and God bless,

Samson

Goals are being reached in Togo

February 2022 Report

 May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be granted to you as long as heaven and earth exist. Everything is going well under his divine power, because the students, the teachers as well as the churches are all doing wonderfully. We have succeeded in restoring an assembly in AVEHO-Tougbli, this assembly that was led by evangelist HANYEBOE CLEMENT since 2015. Brother Clement had suffered a lot of eye problems of which he was finally able to have surgery and now he sees well and works properly. Let us pray for the churches planted by the work of the school in Kpalime.

Evangelism:

Thanks to God, the activities of the students helped by the former students continue every Friday. This is what caused the restoration in this month of February of the church in Aveho-Tougbli with 11 members in the locality and a study with religious group in TSABOM and YOH to support this assembly which grows with difficulty in the middle of the Protestant denominations of the locality.

An evangelism program is planned in KPEGLONOU from March 23, 24 and 25, 2022 in order to plant a new church.

Challenges:  

1. Plant or Restore one church per month.

2. Every town or village in the region should be evangelized.

3. Each evangelist (37) must preach in a church and no longer be multiple evangelists in one congregation

4. Each student must have a plan to work (location or church available) before in December 2022.

5. To put a system in place that can encourage new church students to be more dynamic in serving the Lord.

6. Multiply the places of the Saturday courses by all in Togo.

7. The evangelism organization team is hard at work to restart the public evangelism campaigns (some barrier restrictions are removed).

 Baptisms:

The results at the end of February were encouraging: 9 baptisms as a result of the students' outings for evangelism and church planting. In AVEHO-TOUGBLI we postponed two for an evening because of the distance to travel to do the baptism. They were two women who wanted to receive their baptisms at all costs on the evening of Friday, February 25, and their parents did not want them to be moved far from them. In a short time it will rain and they will receive their baptisms.

 Seminar: Efficiency in the workplace

It has been noticed that the former evangelists need to be revitalized and retrained in the service of worship, evangelism, teaching or Bible study for a very good performance wherever they have the opportunity to intervene. It is a challenge that BVBI Togo gives itself as a complementary work because there are other Bible schools in Togo, so we make a difference by our work. This difference must be noticed in all aspects (fields) that the school intervenes. Churches of Christ from all over French-speaking Africa want to send their candidates to Bear Valley Institute Togo for Bible training because of the work that is done by the school.

 BVBI: courses of the quarter:

1- History of the Church: Cephas

2- Doctrine of Denominations: Cephas

3- Jeremiah and Lamentations: Rodrigue

4- 1 Samuel to 2 Kings: AKALO Komlan

5- Proverbs to Songs of Songs: AKLI

6- Isaiah: ATTAH

7- Logic: ATTAH

8- Homiletics II. AKOVI Esperance

 About the courses :

The students of the Saturday courses in the 4 localities continue as usual. Only some of them like Kpele-Beme the classes are held twice a week (Thursday and Sunday evening). There were some students of the correspondence courses who requested the Saturday school in DANYI located between the mountain ranges. There is a church of Christ in AHLON TINIPE directed by the student KPODO Koffi.

 Covid 19:

There is good news about the distancing measures: churches are allowed to meet wearing masks. So this year evangelization campaigns can take place under the permission of the competent authorities.

Evangelism in Abuja

Bear Valley Bible Institute Abuja, Nyanya Center evangelism campaign at Auta Balefi, Nasarawa State. Activities are, house-to-house; open-air campaign and worship service.

The students were joined by brethren at Auta Balefi in worship (where we officiated in all items of worship), after which there was house-to-house preaching (which ended by 2:pm), while we staged an open air preaching afterwards.

No baptisms were recorded at this time, but the gospel was preached.

Year 1 finished in Uganda

Greetings brothers.

It is always my joy to say hello to you in the name of our dear lord Jesus Christ from whom all joy and peace originate. We greatly thank God for the peace is somehow restored compared to the corona situation we were in here in Uganda . Thank you God for seeing us through. The church can now run her activities without any hindrance.

And so the school is also doing well since we are now able to move around our communities spreading the life saving message to them. I am here to report to you that we closed for the fourth quarter of year one. The school had all the peace, students studying very well. Although we have been going under some challenges ranging from shortage of water, power cut off and sicknesses among students.

Another serious challenge, is the raise prices in fuel, it has changed everything to the point that the prices of each and everything is like now sold double the price it was some time back. So we are buying commodities expensively. Things are shooting up. We need God to intervene.

But all in all God was so good to us and we were able to break off on 11 march and expecting them back on 25th this month for the fifth quarter which is quarter one of year two. Pray for their safety at home and praying for their reporting back to school.

Pray for Uganda, pray for our brothers and sisters in the Congo who are in war many of whom are living as refugees in Uganda now. Pray for our brothers and sisters in Ukraine that God may see them through and peace prevails.

Thank you so much for the support of us and the school to run smoothly.

Until have heard,

Raymond

More progress in Accra

Accra Report, February 2022

Glory be to God for the end of the month of February 2022. We thank him for His marvelous care throughout this month. Glory be to Him.

Steven’s Arrival

We give praise to God that our brother Steven arrived safely in Ghana. We appreciated his presence. We had lots of discussions and the entire staff that yielded progress for the school.

To begin with, we have a class of 12 students presently taking the diploma course. This marks the Fifth (5th) batch since the school commenced its academic studies.

Classes

Classes are ongoing with the full number of students present. This month, all the instructors have not completed yet and teaching is ongoing. All students and instructors are doing well and very effectively in their assigned responsibilities.

Practical Activities

As assigned to each student, everyone attends to their various designated area for their practicals.

School Building Project

 Hopefully, the project is ongoing. Currently, part of the floor has been cast for block laying.

 Land and School Registration

These registrations are in progress. The necessary documentation has been put in place for the finality of the registration.

New School Updates

As part of the purpose of Steven’s services, he visited all the schools, especially those that have been established. He made these trips with Kojo and attended the graduation in Takroadi with the students from Doboro. Currently, four (4) new schools (Cape Coast, Accra East, Kasoa 2, Nsawam 2) have been established and classes are ongoing.

Funds for Start-up

All funds for the start-up schools were received. Funds for purchasing the Bibles. All the items needed have been bought and distributed to various schools together with the start-up funds.

Accident on Accra School Bus

Unfortunately, the school bus for the Accra school has had an accident. We will always give praise to the almighty God for His protection that the Driver (student) was not hurt and no cut found on him. Looking at the condition of the bus and the boy’s escape from injury tells us that it’s good to rely on God. We thank God for His love.

Borehole Pump

We thank God for another offer for the building of a borehole pump at the school building site. The pump has been fixed successfully and water is flowing.

Our appreciation

Glory be to God. We admire the wonderful support and donations. We appreciate the presence of our brother Steven, brother Mark, Keith, and all the supporting team and the churches. We thank our sister who has donated funds for the purchasing of Bibles, construction of the borehole pump, the Ghanaian churches who are also helping in diverse ways, and all the Bear Valley Instructors.

We say God bless you all for the wonderful works.

Alumni news from Zambia

Introduction

We have watched the movie called the "passion of Christ" it is a very powerful movie about the last 12 hours of Jesus' ministry here on earth. Its very graphic but lets you see how much Jesus suffered for us, and now what has remains is “the passion of Christians”. We at BVBI-Zambia believe and ask how are we going to conduct ourselves in light of His glorious love and His immeasurable sacrifice?

The month of February, 2022 continued to be very fruitful in evangelism and other programs of the school. Teaching and preaching Christ to others has indeed made a tremendous impact upon our lives and those around us.

Back in class

All the students have reported back for their final year. The classes are in full swing.  They started this year’s school calendar with a short course on “Marriage and Family Life” taught by Kennedy Mukuka.  They are now learning five regular courses. These courses are:  Church History, Old Testament IIIb and Elementary Greek being taught by Cephas Mwamba. And they are also taking “Life of Christ III and Inter Testament History” being taught by Fred Kanangu.

Two souls saved

Donald Chimbin and his wife prudence Chimbini were added to the Lords church on 18th February 2022 this happened on Friday. We continue to pray that may these two souls walk with God till death.

And the following are the other vital statistics that were recorded during the month of February 2022.

I.               Major Activities

A.    Evangelism

1.    Indeed as we discover Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 4 the absolutely vital role that is played by apostles, prophets, evangelists shepherd and teachers. Without their ongoing preparation of the Lord’s people there would be very few God’s people. BVBI-Zambia has produced other good teachers, we so glad to report about Vincent Kawala who has been given opportunity to serve in the church and now teaching others; Scheme of Redemption, Homiletics, Christian Evidences and mission in the southern part of Zambia. It is refreshing to us as well as to you brothers and sisters as we share same mind of Master Jesus. In the picture attached you will see Vincent teaching.

2.    We would love to share also Clive Kabika in the rural outset of Kabwe central province another vibrant preacher doing a great job and he needs all our support in this area, in the picture you will see Clive preaching in homes and fields wherever he meet people, five souls has been added to the Lord’s Church in the month of February as the result of him preaching.

3.    We have continued to work closely with Nicholus Mulubwa and has done a great Job before resuming classes in February, we have recorded 17 baptisms from Luapula Province of Zambia. We have also recorded 15 people who have been restored back to the Lord. This happened when he preached in five congregations in two districts. He is very confident that the work in his area is indeed prospering.

4.    We have Daniel Kapata who is very evangelistic and this time lead men in the congregation in making pews for the Church in the picture attached you will see Daniel spearheading the work, and during the visitation program, Daniel has managed to restore seven men and two women Daniels’ work is highly recommended by all of us. On the same development Gershom Chansa and Matthews Mwale before resuming classes in February combined forces in Luwingu district of Luapula Province of Zambia preached and converted nine souls and restored two. We have come to know that training is indeed essential if the church is to function as God’s wants it to: “for the equipping of the saints for the works of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.    Apart from teaching and preaching on Sundays they conduct bible studies on Wednesdays and Saturdays. They have also trained others to preach and teach during bible studies in their absence.

II.             Goals and activities for the upcoming month

i.               We are looking forward to seeing Brother Mark Reynolds and Bother Norman Light as they visit BVBI- Zambia very soon.  During their visit they will teach a short course on the Book of Romans. They are scheduled to arrive in Zambia on the 10th March, 2022. They are traveling to Zambia for their very first time. We cannot wait to meet these brothers.

ii.             We are also looking forward to having Brother Ebenezer Udofia to come and teach on poultry at the end of March, 2022. We are told that he is highly knowledgably about poultry and he is an expert in it. We cannot also wait to meet him and having him around.

iii.            We are focusing on meeting the youths on the Copperbelt and men’s meeting to be held in North-western province of Zambia. on this meeting men to sharpen each other for the service in the Lord’s church and BVBI-Zambia is invited.

III.            Statement on covid-19 in Zambia

After surviving the devastating impact of “omicron variant” Zambia continues to record low caseload and deaths of Covid 19.  There is still a threat of yet another unknown wave of this pandemic. And the song that the health authorities keep on singing is on preventive protocols of Covid 19. Very Few people in this nation have so far been vaccinated. Our prayer is that may our God continue to keep our nation safe and the rest of the world.

IV.           Reports from our alumni

Andrew Mwila graduated in 2017 here at BVBI-Zambia. After his graduation he did not go back to Mansa district of Luapula Province where he came from, but he opted to go and settle in Lusaka the capital city of Zambia. He has had rough time as far as preaching the word and maintaining his character as a preacher. He almost stopped preaching and concentrated on whatever he was doing. But for the past few months we have seen him rejuvenating for his desire to preach. He is now a regular preacher at one of the congregations in Kafue district of Lusaka Province. He and his wife are now building up well for the service of our master. We continue soliciting for your prayer for young men like Andrew. Because we know the potential that this young man has and the positive influence that he can bring to bear in his area.

Austin Musonda one of the best students who graduated in 2021 with a distinction is a dedicated servant in Baluba District. A team of leaders from his home congregation visited the Institute on 23rd February and we had a good refreshment in the Lord together, we have recorded thirteen souls who are added to the church at church in Baluba. Austin is now in his second year doing forestry at the government college here on the Copperbelt and has continued to be a faithful servant. When Peter tells us in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are special people he says “that you may proclaim the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light” when we speak the truth in love we grow up in all aspects into Him. 

Conclusion

Indeed Calvary has showed us in no uncertain terms that Christ is the master and His sacrificial love demands that we go do likewise. Take up your cross and follow Him. We are eternally grateful for the partnership that we have with you in the Lord and the financial support that we have continued to receive from Woodland Oaks Church of Christ. 

The way of the cross leads home! May God continue blessing you in all your endeavors!

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Chad Wagner visits Nigeria

Beloved in Christ Jesus.

We appreciate you all for your partnership and love.

Just to let you know that the 3 day Leadership Seminar was a great blessing to all of us present.

147 brethren accross the South Western States of Nigeria participate in this year Leadership Seminar of March 9-11,2022 with Brother Chad Wagner serving as our guest speaker.

Over 4,000 VOTI volume 112 , about 2,000 copies of our local tracts, 1,000 copies of WBS Introduction Courses and 9 carton of Mission Printing tracts/ booklets freely distributed to most of the congregations present.

Lord's willing, our 20th Annual Bible Lectureship & Graduation is coming up on 2nd week of August 2022.

Thanks again for your help and support.

We are very very greatful for your partnership and love.

Sincerely yours in His Grace as a servant,

Makinde Ebens

(The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE, IBADAN and WBSFUW)

Classes resume in Fiji

It is a new school year.  The covid19 pandemic has left its mark on the Pacific Islands.  Many countries are still closed to international travel.  However, due to an ambitious push by the Fiji Government to get the population vaccinated the nation of Fiji has opened their borders to international travel.  Currently, it only requires a negative covid test and a 3 day quarantine.  

Higher institutions of learning have opened their doors to in class instruction. Students must maintain social distancing and wear masks during class.  The teacher is permitted to remove his mask while teaching.

Long story short, the Bible Institute at Raiwaqa was able to open its doors on time. Orientation began on February 21.  Classes started on the next day.  Jason’s class was the Major Prophets and Emosi taught the Gospel of Mark. 

Our Monday night program has been going on and they just finished up a class on the Gospel of John.  Emosi starts a new course tonight on Timothy and Titus.

Currently, I am still in the U.S. taking care of some medical issues.  I have another doctors appointment on today that should give me an idea of when I will be able to return to the field. Your prayers are greatly appreciated. 

Rocco Hugh Pierce

Director of the Bible Institute at Raiwaqa

Ladies Day in Wotutu

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this part of the globe. We do hope you are doing great and that God is actively doing great things in your life and in your ministry and family. God is faithful with us as well. Even though we are being pushed on every side, we are not yet crushed.

We are still very busy making sure that everything on our agenda is good. We are training men and their families, nurturing congregations, establishing congregations and also feeding orphans. I come to you with another exciting report of the work here. God is active in accomplishing His work here in Wotutu Cameroon.

We had a meeting with the instructors in the Bear Valley Bible Institute -Wotutu. It is great once in a while for us to come together and see how we can evaluate and reevaluate our work. We had a lot to talk about concerning sending out students for weekend evangelism and for their end of semester mission work week. We were also beginning to plan for the up-coming graduation ceremony which will be here this December 8.

The chief of Wotutu village visited the area of the Bear Valley Bible Institute -Wotutu and was impressed with what the church of Christ and the Bear valley Bible school are doing in this community. Keep the chief in your prayers as he is a friend to the church. We pray that one day he will become a member of the church for the glory of God.

Wotutu congregation organized a lady’s day. Hundreds of sisters made their way in Wotutu and it was a great time for the sisters to study and enjoy fellowship with one another, it was a moment of joy. The theme was, “SISTERS RESPONSIBILITY WITH ONE ANOTHER.” It was appealing to the sisters to take care, one for another.

APPRECIATIONS

Thank you very much for all you are doing for the Lord’s work here in Cameroon. God is seeing and will reward you in due season. Keep it up!

Elangwe and family

By the His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

Sowing the seed in Zimbabwe

FEBRUARY 2022 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The month of February progressed well without much hindrance except for the dry spell which has impacted negatively on our crops. The Covid positive cases have drastically reduced and life seems to be going back to normal, though slowly. In the month, classes, construction of the teacher’s house and evangelism progressed well. These and more are covered hereunder.

CURRICULUM PROGRESS

The following subjects have so far been taught and completed; African Traditional Religion, Church Growth, Advanced Hermeneutics, Major Prophets, Biblical Counseling (including HIV & Covid Care & Counseling), Sign Language, Pastoral Epistles and James. Outstanding subjects include Hebrews, Romans, horticulture and Strategic Management for Churches. One notable subject that was taught is African Traditional Religion (ATR). An old man from the area, a Mr Jeche was invited to identify, explain and shed more light on issues in ATR. His experience in these issues was critical and greatly helped students beyond expectation.

PROJECTS

More effort and resources had been put towards the maize and beans projects. Both the teachers and the students did their best in making sure that the school will have a good harvest this year. However, a length dry spell in February has resulted in the maize and beans crop to start wilting. Parts of the crops are already a write-off. This is an unfortunate development though it has not dampened the school’s resolve of lowering the school’s food budget, provision of life skills to students and provision of extra income into the school.  

EVANGELISM

BVBIZ always welcomes opportunities for students to put theory into practice. Evangelism effort continued in the month at Redcliff, Plasworth and Lot 64. Evangelism was done on Saturdays and then services are attended on Sundays.

THE TEACHER’S HOUSE

More progress continued to be registered in the month. Plastering, fixing of a rough floor, beam filling, electrical wiring, fixing of window frames and window seals were done successfully. Plumping work began on the 27th of February and is expected to be completed by the second week of March. A report on this will be made in the next report. 

DONATIONS

BVBIZ greatly appreciates donations in whatever form coming from far and wide.  In the month, we received a bag of maize from the Nyatsine family of Macheke. We also received two desktops and a separate CPU from Jefta Mugweni. The school greatly appreciates these two donations.

CONCLUSION

In February, progress was registered in terms of the curriculum, teacher’s house and evangelism despite the dry spell that has affected our crops. BVBIZ continues to thank you all for your partnership and support. To God be the glory!

New school in Nigeria

MAIDEN REPORT FROM BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE JALIMGO, TARABA.

With profound gratitude to God Almighty, and the entire family of Bear Valley Bible Institute, Denver Colorado. We hereby humbly present to you our maiden report.

 The school was inaugurated on the 8th of January, 2022 with ten (10) students, four (4) instructors and four (4) Board members.

The students are:

1.      Antigha Effiong

2.      Targema Zer

3.      Sekav Gvaa Nathaniel

4.      Nuhu Iliya Wahira

5.      Grace Saleh

6.      Jerry Maiguru

7.      Kingsley Francis

8.      Alphonsus Enyinna

9.      Gaji Haruna

10.  Pius Kolari

The instructors are:

1.      Bala Egbwakute

2.      Ume Stephen

3.      Madaki Elkanah

4.      Aarobee Terkule

NOTE: Bro. David Esenewo who was earlier nominated to be the Dean of studies requested to be excused for the meantime.

The Board of Trustee members are:

1.      Dr. Abel Maiguru (HOD Agricultural Science, Federal University Wukari, Taraba state).

2.      Mr. James Bawa work with the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC)

3.      Mr. Aarobee Terkule Jnr. Director Taraba State Education Resource Centre.

4.      Mrs. Grace Saleh work with the Federal Medical Centre).

PROGRESS

So far, the inauguration of the school was successful, classes has commenced, personal evangelism has commenced, and purchase of immediate items needed has been done. Meanwhile, we are working on the following:

·         Registration of the school with the government

·         Evangelism campaign for Christ

·         Skills acquisition; to enable our students to be self-reliant during and after their studies.

Surviving in Ukraine

How are you, brothers and sisters?  

Probably the most discussed event in the world right now is the undeclared war by Russia on the Ukrainian people. For a long time, we didn’t believe that something like that can happen in the 21st century but it looks like the Russian Federation is beginning the WWIII and threatening the whole word with its nuclear weapons.  

On the 24th of February at 4 in the morning the Russian missiles were being fired on multiple military facilities in Ukraine. The Russian Army tried to intimidate us and quickly crossed the border of our country. The first days they were able to rapidly invade deeply into our territory but with each passing day their offensive is slowing down. The entire Ukrainian nation, as one, stood up to defend its homeland. The President, the parliament, the army, volunteers, medics and civilians began to do everything in their power to retain and preserve our country and our nation. In the first phase of the invasion, the Russian military were hitting the strategic objects. However, soon they got frustrated and started to heavily pound the peaceful cities and kill the civilians. It is nothing short of genocide of the civilian population. This is how Satan is raging in full fierce force against the people of Ukraine. As far as the churches of Christ, Ukraine had the strongest presence in Europe. We know that everything is in God’s power but the consequence of sins cost thousands of lives.  

My brothers in Christ and I started aiding in evacuation of the people from our city of Bila Tserkva. First of all, I am concerned about the safety of my own family and that of the students of the Bear Valley Bible Institute. Then we started to move the members of our congregation and our friends to safer regions of our country. I moved my family to Germany. This is the first time ever we had to say goodbyes for an indefinite time period. Of course, we struggling so much being apart but I feel better knowing that they are safe. The students of the Bible Institute are currently in the city of Chernivtsi. This city has a wonderful congregation of the Church of Christ and this region has not had any airstrikes yet. Currently, it’s the western part of Ukraine; close to Poland, Slovakia and Hungary. Presently, we are evacuating children and women. It’s a very trying time in the lives of each family; for us liberty and freedom have great significance. No one wants to go back to the realities of the Soviet Union; we want to be able to freely worship and serve our God.  

As you understand, there’s a lot of panic and multiple traffic jams on the highways. Because of the bottlenecks on the roads what would have taken people merely an hour before the war now takes days to cover, the same distance. The gasoline and food prices have grown considerably. Please, don’t be surprised if people from Ukraine would ask you for help with evacuation and/or financial aid. One trip from Kiev to Lviv can cost a few hundreds of dollars. And then we’d have to come back and pick up the next group of evacuees.  

We are attempting to stay in touch with all the Christians in Ukraine, share information about how to safely leave towns and who needs help with food. Most of the Christians who have left devastated cities and villages are safe and more or less secure. Some are unwilling to leave their homes, hoping that the war would end soon.  

I don’t know when this bloodshed will come to an end. I feel sorry for the soldiers and, especially, their mothers from both sides. We ask you to pray for peace in Ukraine, and God’s protection for all of us. 

Many thanks to all brothers and sisters in Christ as well as the congregations for their financial and spiritual support of the Ukrainian Christians. This war brought a lot of sorrow on the land of Ukraine. Literally, some people live in hunger, millions lost their jobs, thousands lost their houses. And this is the aftermaths of only two weeks of open warfare. We are looking forward to peace and we are thankful for the love you have shown to us. 

 Your brother in Christ,

Dennis Sopelnik

Great successes in Togo

January 2022 Report

Really it is a feeling of joy to see a new year started with the help of the Almighty. I don't know what to say to God, but thank you for all that he has done for the school of Kpalimé through our sponsors. My biggest prayer for this New Year is that the Lord grants all the health and love to serve God and see his work evolve in Togo and everywhere in the world and especially where BEAR VALLEY schools are operating.

 Evangelism:

Already at this dawn of the year, as planned since last year that the year 2022 will be a year of evangelism and planting of new churches in Togo through the work of the Bear Valley Bible Institute - Togo, the fruits begin to be visible: a new assembly implanted in TSAVIE at 45 km with 7 baptisms, 2 baptisms at ATOME at ATAKPAME. You will see the pictures. In the coming months there will be implantations all over Togo through the work of the school. For the month of February the work will be done in KLIGUE-KONDJI and AGOVIEPE. Each month the efforts will be devoted to evangelism and to the implantation of new assemblies. We have students and evangelists working together with the school's motorcycles.

 Baptism:

It is the period of the dry season when the water is dry in the rivers. For a single baptism it takes more than 10 to 15 km of walking.

 BVBI courses completed:

1- History of the Church: Cephas

2- Denominational Doctrine: Cephas

3- Jeremiah and Lamentations: Rodrigue

4- 1 Samuel to 2 Kings: AKALO Komlan

5- Proverbs to Songs of Songs: AKLI

6- Isaiah: ATTAH

7- Logic: ATTAH

8- Homiletics II. AKOVI Esperance

Monday through Thursday classes are taught and all students are present in class. Sows are taught and practice is during the evangelistic period on Fridays.

Seminar theme: marriage

 Most of the couples we encounter in the villages are polygamous, so the seminar on the subject will be of great help to the students in doing effective work in urban settings.

 Saturday classes:

 Currently: there are 4 locations where Saturday classes are held:

1.      Kpalime (10 students)

2.      Blita (20 students)

3.      TEMEDJA (10 students)

4.      Kpele-Beme (10 students)

 New places: there is still a strong demand for part-time courses in different places in Togo which asks for additional help if these places can open the doors for people coming from other denominations than the church of Christ and that after their conversions can (1) continue with the church of Christ and (2) join if necessary the institute in Kpalime. The basic courses are provided for their conversion and become a simple Christian and worship God in simplicity as in the first century.

1.      AKATA (10 students)

2.     AOUSOUKPOE (10 students)

 Meeting with the teachers of Saturday's classes:

On January 18, 2022, I invited to the center in Kpalime all the part-time teachers for an in-depth work in this sector in Togo. The meeting lasted for 4 hours of time

 Themes: How to improve the quality of teachers and have a good result.

Visits to churches by students in January increased i.e. more assemblies visited. Two motorcycles are available to the students to serve as transportation to the places of evangelization and visit the assemblies a little more 30 to 35 km.

Uniform:

The students of the BVBI institute from now on will wear a uniform outfit in order to be distinguished as a student in the neighborhood. The dressmakers are making their outfits so in a short time you will have the pictures.

Registration at Bear Valley Bible Institute - Togo:

Since its opening in 2005, the school, due to its very limited means, has been reserved only for Togolese Christians desiring a biblical training. With the Institute's reports and programs, news and academic work of the school has reached all over French-speaking Africa. In December 2021, the churches of Christ in CONGO and NIGER contacted the Kpalime School to register their candidates for training. The evangelists of these countries say in their writings that it is urgent for the quality of work in their countries. What to do for the students from foreign countries?

Cephas,

Your brother in Christ

More souls saved in Liberia

OPERATIONS REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY 2022

INTRODUCTION

Another New year has come by the grace of God and met us in good health and sound mind to continue the Lord's work as He has instructed. Happy New year to you all. We are thankful to God for his grace and many blessing that he keep bestowing upon us daily. Many thanks also to all those making it possible through their selfless sacrifices for the sake of the kingdom. So far, all has been moving very well..

SCHOOL RESUMED

We wish to inform you that our students returned back to school on the 10th of January after a very successful Christmas and New year vacation. We are saying successful because of the many good work they were able to do back home at their congregations they went to during the period of the vacation. Since our returned from the year end vacation, everyone is in high spirit to play their own role very well to enable us complete the 1st year 3rd quarter. Students are playing students roles very well , whiles the instructors are also playing their instructing roles very well . Sadly, four of our students have not returned yet and from the look of things, they might not be coming back because of their many complains that the lessons are very intensive.

As part of our tradition, after vacation students are required to write on their vacations activities: where they spend it, what were they involved in doing, the results of their work and contacts of the preachers or church leaders they work with. Meanwhile, their reports are so interesting that we think you need to know. To summarized their vacation works and experiences, fifteen of them were involved into preaching and teaching at their different congregations, and deeply involved into houses to house evangelism and personal work. This resulted in eighteen (16) baptisms from all of them and 22 person restored We confirmed these information by placing a phone called to their congregations, I am so proud of the practical work out of the classroom done by our students. Please pray that these men continue to grow in the work of our Lord.

DEATH OF OUR FIRST STUDENT PREFECT

This is to inform you that the school and the county of Nimba has lost one of the pillar of the Lord's church here in Liberia west Africa. Preacher Harris Wonlay was among the first batch of student enrolled into the Bear Valley Extension Program in Ganta Liberia in 2016. He was a very matured Christian who was already teaching and preaching in the church. The quest to rightly divide the word of truth led him to the Bible school in 2016.

While in school, Brother Wonlah served as the students prefect and advisor at the same time because of his level of faith and maturity in the Lord. Harris was a very strong, sound and vocal Preacher who before coming to the Bible school and after his graduation from the Bible school preached the undiluted gospel of Christ without fear or favor. He brought thousands of lost souls to our Lord and planted over 20 congregations in the country. He leave to morn his old wife and four daughters with seven grand children. The school is really hurt with his passing but happy that he died in the Lord and as a great servant of the cross. Please pray for his wife and children he left behind.

3RD QUARTER COURSES AND INSTRUCTORS

Our 3rd quarter continued after the break with the follow courses and assigned instructors.

1. Old Testament -2------------------------- Robert Dahn

2. Life of Christ -2--------------------------Fester Lee

3. Old Testament – 3-------------------------Robert Dahn

4. English--------------------------------------O. D. K. Zakamah

5. Prison Epistles-----------------------------Joel Weah

6. 1Corinthians------------------------------- Calvin Jusu Johnson

7. Short Course ( World Religion----------Peter

8. Agriculture --------------------------------Meantor Bembo

9. Computer--------------------------------- Amos Dolo

CONCLUSION:

Without your love for God and your constant support towards His work, we won't have come this far with the huge work we have here. Please accept our heartfelt gratitude for spiritual and financial assistance. We are eternally grateful to each and every of you. To God be all the glory, praise and honor.

With The Love We Share In Christ;

Robert P. Dahn, Jr

Director, BVBI-Liberia

Evangelism in northern Ghana

OPERATING REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF JANUARY, 2022

The year 2022 started in a very positive mood for us in Bear Valley Tamale campus. The month of January started in a very highly spirited way for us as we had some positive things happening to us just right at the beginning of the month. We began the month with smiles as one of our major challenges was addressed successfully.

PA. SYSTEM FOR EVANGELISM AND MISSION WORK

The Lord Jesus continues to smile at us at Bear Valley Tamale campus. Our missionary journey to Sogon number 1 in the month of November 2021 encountered a lot of challenges, especially with our sound system. At some point, we had to rely on just one speaker to preach at the public preaching. All the same, the Lord still did His work successfully. Notwithstanding, having a listening and a God centered coordinators and men who care for the Kingdom of God, our cry was heard and this challenge has been addressed efficiently. We took delivery of a powerful sound system (two speakers and two horns, two microphones with cords and one complete cordless microphone). We give glory to God for the lives involved in solving this all-important challenge for us, especially Brother Kojo who is always working behind the scenes to get things done. We can never forget our hard and strong Brother, Steven, who has an unending sacrificial life and passion for the work of God across Africa and the world. The Lord bless all who made it possible for us to consistently have a smooth running of activities in Northern Ghana.

KPALSI SOUTH CONGREGATION

The Kpalsi South Congregation is indeed growing strongly in all areas that are concerned as we continue to teach the undiluted doctrines of Christ. One of the members (Brother Godson) presented a 43 inches television set to the Church to be given to the school for the students to have a current television to be able to watch news and relevant information as ministers of Christ. God bless him greatly.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

Classes began for the year 2022 on the 10th of January, 2022 where Marriage and Home and Old Testament 5 were taught by Brother Daniel Adjei Mensah and Brother Albert Tamanja Malir before and after the joint campaign with our brethren from Accra Doboro campus. Apart from one student (Brother John Mbing-Wajah) who couldn’t make it back in January because of health challenges, all of them resumed back successfully. We also had a new student coming from the North-East Region by name Laar Fredrick.  We are working hard to add some few students to this batch so they can be a foundation for our next recruitment.  

JOINT EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN AT SOGON NUMBER 2

We left Tamale on the 17th of January, 2022 around 11:28pm to Sagon 2. We got to the location around 3:14pm. We rested and did the necessary protocols and prepared the grounds to begin the work the next day.

On the 18th of January 2022, as we were preparing in the morning to go for the door-to-door evangelism, the brethren from Accra joined us and together we went out and studied with many. In the evening we went for public preaching. After showing the passion of Christ movie a bit, Brother Emmanuel from Accra preached on “Sin and its effect.”

On Wednesday, 19th January, 2022, we continued with the door-to-door studies with the people of Sagon 2. God willing some were baptized and, in the evening, we did the public preaching on “The Plan of Salvation” by Brother Elijah Baba, one of past students who benefitted from the motor cycle support last year.

On Thursday, the 20th of January, 2022 dawn we went for dawn broadcasting and afterward continued with the door-to-door studies and in the evening, we continued with the public preaching where “The New Testament Church” was made known to the people by one of the Accra brothers (Brother Dominic). Some people also were baptized on this day.

On the 21st of January, 2022 which was Friday, after morning devotion and other preparation, we continued as usual with the door-to-door sharing of the Gospel. Later in the evening preacher Godwin from Accra preached on “Worship of the Church.”

On Saturday, 22nd January 2022, we went round to visit and encourage brethren who made the right decision and have been added to the church and also reminded them of our meeting on the first day of the week to worship God. We also discussed some of our prospects and invited them to the public preaching. In the evening public preaching, Brother James Legend spoke on “The Judgement of God”, bringing our public preaching to a close for Sogon number 2. Haven closed a bit early, we on that same night went to Nayeli, a village around Sogon number 2 where they were inviting us to come to them and we showed part of the passion of Christ to them and also shared the Gospel with them. And that brought our work for this missionary journey to a close.

On Sunday, 23rd January, 2022, after morning devotion we split ourselves into three groups such that, some worshiped at Chamba, others at Sogon 1 and the rest with Sogon 2. 

At the end of the whole campaign, twenty-one (21) souls were baptized within the week. Eight (8) other souls were restored.

At the point of departure, we saw the need to let some brethren stay behind to help set things in order as we search for a preacher for the congregation. Two of our past students who are preaching for Agatusi (Elijah Baaba) and Sanguli (Alex Mabi) stayed back to help strengthen the congregation. As at the point of completing this report, they had also baptized 20 souls in addition to the 21 we baptized on the missionary journey, making a total of 41 souls with 8 restored. Leaders have since been consecrated to help in the running of the congregation before they left. The chamba congregation and the preacher for Sogon number 1 are tasked to collectively help the leaders at Sogon number 2 to stand firm and to maintain the doctrine of Christ as we search for a permanent preacher for them.

By all standards, we had a very fruitful evangelistic journey.

 We give the glory to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,

Bear Valley Tamale

Tirupati conducts Back to the Bible campaign

Respected international director Mr.Keith Kasarjian , The coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds and all the prayers partners of BVBI-Extension Centre  Tirupati-India , we greet you in the most holy and precious name of Jesus Christ.  We thank you for your continued prayers and encouragement .

BVBI-Extension Centre  Tirupati-India:-  By the grace of God and your prayers we have completed three semesters successfully. Today we have began the fourth  semester. It is our goal to complete these following courses: Personal evangelism (Church planting), 1 & 2 Peter, Jude, 1 & 2 Thessalonians, Worship (principles, doctrine and Practice of N.T.Church),  Leadership (Short course). Galatians. According to the BVBI syllabus calendar we plan to complete these courses in the forth semester (March and April).  We are in need of your prayers for teaching faculty and all the students.

Back to the Bible Seminar:- We have conducted back the Bible seminar from February 21-25, 2022  (Monday to Friday) at Vidyanagar, Nellore-District, Andhra Pradesh-State. India. Each day 60 to 65 people were able to attend for the 5-day seminar. We have presented the following lessons: 1. Is there God? 2. Who is God,  3. Divinity (Father, Son, Holy spirit) , 4. The Bible is God’s book. 5. Rightly dividing the word of God ,  6. Instructions to the people who hear the word of God , 7. Instructions to the people who teach the word of God, 8. Why God created human beings 9. Truth about man ( Soul, Spirit and Body), 10.Natural desirs given to man and God’s law for fulfilling  , 11. Satan, 12. Fall of Man (Sin) 13. Scheme of redemption 14.Kingdom of God & N.T Church  14. Two spiritual Realms (In Christ  blessings & in the world curses ) 15. Redemption from Sin 16.Righteousness through Christ  17.. Baptism. We invited a few denominational leaders and brought their attention towards the New Testament Truth. We invited some of the untrained leaders from local churches so they too can train up others to win souls for Christ. All the teachers and students of BVBI have participated in the Bible Seminar. We got a few contacts from the denominational leaders who wish to study more about the New Testament doctrine.

Audio Bibles Distribution for Visually Challenged:-   We conducted a one day meeting at Hindupur town on Feb 7th, which is about 300 miles away from our city. Four people and myself from our Bible College travelled by road way. We conducted a one day meeting with the blind people and distributed audio Bibles . In the month of February we distributed 50 audio Bibles  for the blind people. We distributed 43 bibles directly and 7 bibles we sent by using Indian postal system.

Bible distributions:-  In the month of February we distributed 50 Telugu Bibles, 50 song books and 300 New Testaments. One of our older students, Mr.Jaykumar, works in the Araka Hill area. We provided him 20 bibles and 20 song books.

Baptisms:- in the month of February 4 souls were baptized and added to the body of Christ.

Staff meeting:-  Today we conducted a staff meeting at BVBI-College’s office room. We discussed several things for the success of the 4th semester. We appreciate teachers dedication to serve the students and help them to make true disciples of Jesus Christ by teaching them sound doctrine. 

We express our gratitude and thanks to the elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ for their love and compassion. We sincerely convey our thanks to our international director Mr.Keith Kasarjian  and  our  coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds for their great efforts which they invest for the real success of the training program in India. We pray that God may richly blesses them and use them more and more. We are need of your continual  prayers and encouragement.

Thanking you.

Yours brother and sister in Christ.

B.Vijaya Kumar

Breaking news from Ukraine

Dear Brethren,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ!  As you are all aware, things in Ukraine have been wildly unstable for the past several days after the invasion of Russia.  While there was a lot of talk about a possible attack, many(including myself) weren’t sure if it was a reality, because it seemed like a sort of game for a couple of months.  The suddenness of all of this, though, took Ukraine and the world off guard.  Now we are trying to help our brethren to the best of our abilities.

First, it is wonderful to see that so many Christians are praying for the brethren and for Ukraine in general.  It actually seems that the whole world is behind Ukraine at the moment, which we hope to be the case.  The power of prayer cannot be underestimated.  We know that He hears us, and will answer favorably, if what we are asking is according to His will (1 John 5:14-15).  We thank you for your prayers and ask that they will not cease.

As for BVBIU, we are grateful to report that all seems to be well for the majority of teachers and students, with the exception of our dear brother, Viktor Semikoz, and his family.  Just a few minutes ago, he stated that there was a rocket attack in the town of Brovary where he lives.  He stated that some people died.  Please pray for them, as they have two small boys (ages 5 & 3).  Brovary is close to Kiev, the capital.

Dennis Sopelnik, Director of BVBIU, is located in Ternopil with other members from Bila Tserkva.  The Assistant Director, Stas Kuropyatnikov, and the team of BVBIU graduates who work in Lviv, have taken in a large number of Christians who were trying to flee to the west. Eight BVBIU graduates and their families are there. Another graduate and preacher, Sasha Rodichev, was attempting to get to Lviv with a group of 18, but they were not able to make it.  They did arrive in Chernivtsi, where the preacher, Dima Galuk serves as the minister (Dima is also an instructor at BVBIU).   Sasha preached the sermon yesterday. 

 Regarding the current BVBIU students, they were in Bila Tserkva (where BVBIU is located), but now are safe in Chernivtsi.  In Bila Tserkva, they helped another BVBIU graduate, Taras Danilenko.  Taras obtained funds and  purchased food for people and distributed it.  The students were able to help put the packages together. Even in times of difficulties, it is always best to serve others.

We thank the Lord that the brethren in Kramatorsk so far report that things are relatively quiet there.  The towns of Kharkov and Kiev seem to be the ones the hardest hit, with many casualties.  The rocket attacks are picking up and so we need to pray even harder! 

Today I discovered that we are able to send funds to the brethren in Ukraine.  If you want to help, you can send it to: Christiansburg church of Christ, 1250 S. Franklin St., Christiansburg, VA  24073 - Attn: Ukraine Relief Fund.

Thank you so much and may God bless!  

Terry Harmon

Bear Valley Ukraine Coordinator