Success in Gueckedou, Guinea: Graduation, Evangelistic work, and Women's Seminar

The good Lord has done many good things for us besides the gift of life and health. He has again accompanied us through out the month of November. We succeeded to accomplish those few, but important activities planned for the month of which we are glad to report and share with you. Such accomplishments include evangelism, graduation, and other training activities.

Here are the details under the below sub-headings.

Classroom:

We are just about the beginning of the second quarter since this batch started in late June and we had a month off class due to the heavy rains in September. However, all has been well and the month of November was the start of our second quarter with the course entitled "Christian Evidence part 3". This was handled by bro Antoine who also gave further instructions and guidelines on the "French Language". 

Then, just before the close of the month brother François Tengiano took them on the course "The Preacher and his Work". All these lessons went well with all the 15 students in class.

Evangelism: 

Even though we had no major evangelistic activity, there were nevertheless personal works done during follow ups to various congregations by the school - staff and students and by our evangelistic team leaders.

The School evangelistic works baptized in total 7 persons.

The Evangelistic team follow up works by the Yaradou Kongonani team baptized 5 souls.

So then the total convertions of all evangelistic works in November is 12.

Graduation: We had a graduation exercise which drew participants from the US, Liberia, Sierra Leone and many other parts within the country including Conakry, Kissidougou and Nzerekore.

There were many members of various congregations around the prefecture headquarters of Gueckedou where the lnstitute is located.

It was also attended by representatives of Government, whose remarks contributed to the uniqueness of the occasion.

This was the 3rd batch of students who started in 2022 when the Institute was undergoing very difficult trial times nearly on every aspect. There were 17 students who initially enrolled, but with the challenges highlighted above and other necessary disciplinary actions applied, we ended with 9 graduates. Some of these of which we are proud had already actively engaged in evangelistic activities before graduation. Quantity is important, but quality must be a part to balance the equation.

One of the 9, brother Alain Mano is an active member of one of the evangelistic teams in the country. Brothers Boundo started a congregation in his village long when he was yet in training while brother Jean Paul Oliano took over the evangelist activities of his congregation some 5 months before graduation. The host preacher is a team leader of one of the evangelistic teams in the country and he is often out to attend other new establishments.

The exercise which started with a matching song as the graduates paraded a 50 meters distance from the school hall to the near by football field where a shelter of tents had been prepared to include an introduction of special guests, garge to the graduating class, certification and special awards to special ones for exceptional services.

immediately after the graduation, our West Africa coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, whose primary objective is for evangelism, called for a meeting of church leaders of the 3 neighboring states of Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia. It was for him an opportune time to involve all 3 states for evangelistic missions to hear, share and give an update of the work and discuss challenges and possibilities to promote evangelism within each country and to further encourage cross-border cooperation.

The participants separated the following day in high spirits of work despite the heavy challenges pointed out.

Women's Seminar for Children's Bible Class:

Four days after the graduation another gathering was called which was on schedule, but for yet another important activity, the training of women for Children's Bible Classes. The seminar was held in the town of Koindu, Sierra Leone with mostly women and a few men of 40 congregations. These were persons in teams of 2 drawn from Conakry, Dabola, Kissidougou, Macenta, Nzerekore and many others around Gueckedou to represent their congregations. It was a 2 day seminar with sister Karen Ashcraft as the main facilitator who provided abundant and easy to use resource materials.

What is also impressive is the fact that the participants were not only willing to travel some hundreds of kilometers, but to cross the Moa River using local made boats.

We are so grateful to sister Ashcraft and to all those who blended their efforts to provide the transport, feeding cost and such important, fantastique study materials. The training seminar was successful to the glory of God.

Conclusion:

We are grateful to the Bear Valley Bible Institute Administration through bro Steven Ashcraft, the West Africa Coordinator, and to all of you whose prayers and material support had contributed to the success of the graduation program, the training seminar, and the evangelistic exercise in November.

We thank you and may God be glorified in all!

Francis

Successful Evangelistic Work from Students in Gueckedou, Guinea

Activity Operations Report for Oct. 2024 at the Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible lnstitute 

Dear brethren, fellow readers,

We bring you greetings in the precious name of Christ our Lord. 

Here again is the report of activities which took place here at the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute for the month of October 2024. As usual, we are filled with gratitude to Almighty God and it is with pleasure that we share these events which are few, but important for this month. 

Classroom: The rest of the courses which started with the church of the New Testament and New Testament worship in late September by the Director, Francis Musa, were continued and completed with the Godhead of the trinity in October. 

Then bro Antoine Fassa Tolno took on Personal Evangelism followed by the French language course.

All these went well with a high level of students motivation. 

Personal Evangelism:

Little by little we strive to make Heaven rejoice for we are commanded to "preach the word; be prepared in season and out of season...". Former graduates, church members, staff and students are all involved in the spreading of the good news of salvation especially where we make the difference of the one true church. Through this, conversions took place in the cities of Conakry 2, Dabola 1, and the villages of Douadou 1 and  Mandou on the 6th (4) and the 27th (7). In total these make 15 baptisms. 

Follow up work:

Through the support of brother Steven we have made several follow up works of visits to teach, encourage and to strengthen brethren of various congregations especially the weaker and newly established. During this exercice, we also destributed raisins for the Sunday Lord's Supper worship and were opportuned to contact a certain nearby village where one of our evangelistic teams grasped the opportunity for what comes next in this report. 

Evangelistic team work:

One of our evangelistic teams in the country, the Yaladou kongonani team was able through the effort of brother Eloi Tolno, one of our great and dedicated evangelists to grasp an opportunity of contact to expand the salvation message and differenciate the one true church from any other. After a few weeks of discussions, bro Eloi, by the grace of God was finally able to establish a congregation in that village of Katcho when 6 precious souls accepted Christ though baptism on 27th October. 

So all of our evangelistic activities for this month resulted to 21 baptisms for which we are grateful to God and appreciate everyone of our supporters. May God be glorified in this too. 

As we said earlier of this month, the above are the few events with which we close our October report.

Photos are attached below. 

Until then, we remain,

Trainers of evangelists and preachers of the gospel.

Successful Evangelistic Outreach through a troubling Rainy Season in Gueckedou, Guinea

Activity Operations Report for Sept. 2024 at the Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible Institute 

Our God deserves all praise having sustained our lives and that of yours to be able to reach this point of writing and sharing the report of activities which took place here at the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute in Guinea. 

This report is for the month of September during which period several important and or interesting events occurred. These include classroom and outdoor activities of exams, lectures, great results of various evangelistic activities despite the heavy rains, restorations and various trainings of church leaders. No doubt, you will find these interesting as we unfold details preceeded by an introduction of each sub-heading.

First Term Exams:

Please be reminded that we stated in our last report that the students were going on a nearly 3 weeks break due to the heavy rains. This they did and upon their return on Monday, Sept. 2nd, they were allowed a 2 days of memory refresh period and were engaged in an entire week of exams resulting to a satisfactory work.

Classroom: 

After the one week of Exams the students were taken into lectures by brother Balla Kamano on "the Scheme of Redemption and "Prison Epistles" almost to the close of the month. These were followed by another series of courses which soon entered October beginning with the New Testament Church by the Director. Students' participation was highly interesting.

Evangelistic Activities:

The were at least 3 different evangelistic activities each of which resulted to the conversion of souls. These were: 

a. Door to door preaching - by some of our former graduates and individual staff and students. We had in total 18 baptisms as a result of this activity in various localities, towns and villages such as Conakry and the villages of Bandikoulo and Botema.

Many of these conversions - 8 were the effort of some of our current students in 2 of their congregations. Also, the efforts of our former graduates now stationed in some congregations are to commended.

b. Radio broadcast - Another method of evangelism engaged in during September was the radio program. We broadcasted doctrinal and soul saving lessons which attracted our audience so that at least 2 persons amongst the callers obeyed the gospel. Some of these listeners and some members of the church are appealing to our donors to increase the air time from 30 minutes to at least an hour for a week. 

Indeed, we ourselves feel the need for additional time and we appeal to any volunteers to support this program. 

c. Evangelistic Teams Activity - Those of you who have followed with us know by this time that through the help and encouragement of brother Steven Ashcraft, Coordinator of the extended Bear Valley lnstitute in West Africa that there are evangelistic teams set up in the country. 

To you, the Bear Valley International Administration and other donors we wish to say that we are glad to partner with you in response to our Master's call, the Lord of the harvest to spread the gospel. Even though the wet season continues, especially again in September with very heavy rains that has caused floods leading to road blocks, yet our devoted men of the Gueckedou team by the grace of God have crossed great floods to reach the gospel to those who were truly hungry for it. In the village of Sanghaa 21 persons obeyed the gospel on the 15th of the month under review. Then on the 23rd of the same month another 16 persons were baptized in another village, Douadou. 

Some times the ground is difficult and hearts are unreceptive. That is what resulted when one of our teams, the Tekoulo team conducted an evangelistic campaign in the sous-prefecture head quarter of Tekoulo town. There were no immediate conversions, but the brethren will keep trying. 

Restoration of churches 

The same Tekoulo and then the Gueckedou teams were on the other hand able to restore 1 congregation at Thymolo and strengthen another on the Kissidougou high way at Yende respectively.

Church Leaders Training:

With the increase of congregations as a result of the various evangelistic activities the need also arise for additional man power to lead those churches. Hence, through brother Steven we were able to train 11 men some already leading congregations while others are prepared to take over or lead congregations soon to be planted.  This one week training involved the teaching of basic doctrinal and worship courses such as the NT church, NT worship, Bible study and Sunday preaching lessons with an encouragement to go help spread the gospel. On the afternoon of the last day we also invited sister Mary Musa to conclude our training by showing the men through practical examples how to prepare or bake the Lord's Supper bread for Sunday worship. It was such an interestingly involving activity as most of the men carried portions of the bread to their congregations.

Conclusion:

We have crossed a difficult period as regarding the season. The month of September was such a troubling rainy season whose floods caused urgent students break period, road blocks and damages. Nevertheless, the Almighty was by our side so that we accomplished not only our classroom schedule, but beyond expectation also achieved most of our outdoor activities with a high number of conversions - 55 souls. In addition we are especially thankful for the church leaders training which was climaxed by how to prepare the Lord's Supper bread. 

Our appreciation to all of you for your prayers and support in whatever way. 

Until then, we remain trainers of evangelists and preachers of the gospel.

33 souls saved in Guinea

Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible Institute Activity Report For August 2024

Greetings from the Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible Institute. Once again to you, our donors and well wishers here is the report of events that transpired here during another rainy month, August.

With careful analyses of the season, the students were sent on a 3 weeks break as stated in our July report. Hence much was not done in the classroom. However, a lot was achieved on the field of personal, congregational and evangelistic team work. Here are the details under the below sub-headings:

Classroom:

The poetic books of Psalms to Song of Songs were scheduled for July but the lessons extended in the month of August and  thereafter the students went on break for 3 weeks until September. This was because of the continuous disturbance of the rains and other family obligations which the students needed to respond. Course evaluations were also postponed to be done in September. 

Individual & Congregational Evangelistic Efforts:

Our alumni efforts are yielding fruits on the mission field as souls are being converted by individuals and congregations. 

Graduates of the Bear Valley Bible Institute found in the city of Conakry, the town of Gueckedou and in the villages of Koundou L-Bengou and Fassaba all together converted 12 souls to Christ. As may be expected, these conversions took place not only at different localities, but at moments that vary and by different individuals and congregational evangelists and other field workers.

Efforts of Evangelistic teams:

There were 2 churches simulteneously planted by the following Evangelistic teams: 

The Tekoulo and Gueckedou teams planted 2 churches when on the 18th of August 4 and 10 persons respectively accepted Christ in the villages of Gbarndonin and Yarakorodou. Then on the following Sunday, the 25th of August an additional 7 souls were baptized still at Yarakorodou making a total of 17 baptisms by the Gueckedou team.

All together, the evangelistic activities in the month of August resulted to the conversion of 33 souls. 

Health Obstacles:

While it is such a difficult thing to get men to accept the call to "go ye into all the world and preach the gospel", even the few volunteers are faced with various challenges and  health obstacles. One of our heard working and able men of the Conakry evangelistic team and instructor at the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute, bro. Francis Lavaley had been struggling while still preaching with an illness that needed a surgery costing more than a thousand dollars. 

Through God's wonderful grace the funds were provided by a faithful, merciful and God loving brother so that the operation was planned weeks in August and successfully carried on in early September. 

We are so grateful to God for his grace as the brother's health improves.

Please remember bro Francis in your prayers and for God to reward those benevolent hands.

Conclusion:

God is to be glorified for his grace in enabling us to achieve thus far.

We realise also that our success is not without your prayers and support for which we thank and appreciate you all.

Now, we wish to inform you that in less than 2 months, precisely in the the month of November God willing, the 16th will be a graduation of the third batch of students from the Gueckedou school. 

We will need your every spiritual and financial support please. 

Thanks and much appreciations. 

Learning continues in Guinea

Once again we bring you greetings from the Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible Institute. Indeed the month of July has since ended but we had some administrative challenges coupled with the heavy rains for which reasons we are coming a little late with the updates of the period. 

There were not many evangelistic activities, also because as mentioned in our last report we have just started with a new batch of students and it is during this wet season. Yet, our Lord is to praised; for by his grace all went well and what transpired is of much interest and importance for us to share with you even though we had to withstand the difficulties mentioned above.

This report will cover both in and outdoor activities of - lmproved environmental conditions of the school, Lectures, Leadership Trainings, Evangelism and Agricultural practices. Here are the details below. 

Campus Environement lmproved:

By the grace of God and through the good financial support of the Bear Valley International Administration we did get some support to creat a conducive learning environnement by improving the dormitory bed facilities, provision of whiteboard for the classroom, kitchen and dining shelter extension and the making of dining tables and benches. All these are in the photos attached below.

Classroom:

During the July lectures, our still on roll 14 students completed the book of James with brother Michel Yombouno. Then in July proper, bro Fara François Tengaino took the class with the Poetic books beginning with Plasms to Songs of Songs. These courses extended a bit in the month of August whose report is coming soon.  

Evangelists and Church Leaders Training:

Another interesting and important activity carried out at the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute campus was the training of evangelists and church leaders drawn from several congregations of Gueckedou, N'zerekore and Conakry. Some of the major areas of this training which was rather an interactive discussion was focused on the evangelist or church leader and his family, church growth, the problems that hinder it and pertinent moral issues. The program was initiated by Peter Sahr Makundu, Director of the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute, Sierra Leone and the good voluntary services of brothers Mike Udam and Mojima who travelled from Nigeria to edify us. We remain grateful for all the good knowledge impacted in us of which possitive responses are beginning to show up.

Evangelism:

Some of our July evangelistic activities were advanced in our June report which included our evangelistic training mission to Côte d'Ivoire and some conversions by our evangelistic teams. Still other July evangelistic work was the conversion of 1 precious soul at the campus congregation by the school staff and the establishment of 1 congregation at  the biggest village in the sous-prefecture of Ouende Kenema namely Owet Djiba by the OuendeKenema team. It was at the close of a day's door to door evangelism when 2 sous were baptized one of which was a prominent Catholic leader who is now on his feet to see the church grow in his community as he worships with all his large family.

Introduction to Agric Training:

Because most of our students are farmers and the fight against hunger is unending, the administration deemed it necessary to seize the opportunity of the planting season and the available spot on campus to at least introduce the students to some modern agricultural training. The Director of the school had obtained this knowledge when brother Abenezer of Healing Hands International visited Kenema, Sierra Leone for that purpose early this year. A good number of seed beds are being raised and seedlings of garden eggs, peppers and roots of other eatable leaves including potatos will be transplanted before releasing the students for break in August. It is our hope that Healing Hands International through the appropriate persons will be encouraged by this exercice to help us. 

Conclusion:

We are grateful to you all for your support and we thank Almighty God for all that we have done in July. It is by your support and prayers that we were able to go through to accomplish the  above activities. May God continue to bless us and bless his work of preacher training and soul saving. 

Evangelistic Successes by teams in Guinea

Greetings to you all, our supporters, well wishers and those who care for the preacher training work that we do in Gueckedou, Guinea. 

Yes, the good Lord has not only kept us alive, but in sound health and has also enabled us to continue doing our usual preacher training and other related activities. All has been successful to the glory of God and we are glad to share with you details of these: a new batch of students, resumption of classes, and the evangelistic activities of the Guinea teams. Now follow with me.

A New Batch of Students

Our last report concluded that the third batch of students had come to a close of their academic work in the school. Some 12 students are now awaiting their graduation ceremony which hopefully will take place in November. 

Main while, the school staff, church leaders and these prospective graduates have identified some 18 individuals who sat to an entrance exam of which 15 are maintained as the current class, the 4th batch of Gueckedou Bear Valley.

Classroom

As stated above, 15 students have started their classes and have already completed  the following courses which were taught by their respective instructors namely:

Old Testament 1, the Law - by Antoine Fassa Tolno

Old Testament 2, history -  by Saa Robert Kamano

The Cost of Discipleship by Saa Michel Yombouno as well as 1st, 2nd Thessalonians and James. 

Evaluation of these courses are scheduled to be conducted at the close of the quarter. Meanwhile, the students are being engaged with reading, memory work and other assignments.

Resumption of campus church and devotions

It is a good thing and it is appropriate for the students to have a campus church  where they are to hold worship services not only for practical exercice, but especially so to worship our Lord. 

We started this on the 21st of July and it is ongoing. 

Also, campus devotions started on the 18th of July and since then this exercise has continued to date. We are thankful to our visiting staff especially to Francis Lavaley who proposed and volunteered to sleep on campus and to begin devotions. We are also thankful to Francios Tenguiano for his voluntary services to lead the church and help direct these activities.

With the church now on campus we shall soon begin to conduct house to house evangelism in the community. 

Evangelistic Teams in Guinea

There are at present 6 Evangelistic teams in Guinea located in various areas around Gueckedou and in Conakry.  These have had some follow up and Evangelistic work to do during the month under review as par the details below:

The Ouende Kenema team:

This team had done follow up work to exhort and strengthen the brethren of both old and newly restored  churches. They reported 2 baptisms in 2 different congregations. 

The Gueckedou team:

This team members made follow up work and also converted 2 persons in the newly planted church at the village of Kamalo. At the same time one of her members, Francis Musa in a combined effort with another member of the Conakry team, Francis Lavaley made a successful evangelistic training mission in the town of Danane in Ivory Coast. There were some 35 in attendance to whom we also shared our field experience. Soon, we began to receive encouraging reports of conversions and restorations. 

The Tekoulo team:

With the rains heavely pouring and with some other personnel issues,  this team was unable to  plant a congregation as had planned. Therefore that mission was transfered on to the Koundou L-Bengou team whose detail report is given below. 

Nevertheless the Tekoulo team itself was regularly making a follow up work every weekend at the village of Workuma from where we now have 2 candidates in the 4th batch at the school.

The Yaladou kongonani team:

Not only has it accomplished follow up work during which some 5 souls were baptized in the village congregations of Fassaba and Baladou, but was also able to convert 3 other persons in a new area thereby planting a congregation in the village of Woladou. Brother Eloi Tolno, the group leader is one of our hard working evangelist carring on these missions. 

The Koundou L-Bengou (KLB) team:

Bro Saa Many who leads the KLB team has worked hard and has planted a congregation in the village of Maadou. It began with 3 baptisms on the 30th of June, but Sunday attendance is encouraging -45 and since then other evangelistic work has continued and we are optimistic that sooner or later additional conversions will follow. Then in the village congregation of Kongola, this team's follow-up work has increased conversions. During the months of June and July we have registered 13 baptisms and the Sunday attendance some Sundays raise to 100+.

Also, the Koundou L-Bengou team is giving a hand to the Tekoulo team which was scheduled to plant a congregation, but was unable to due to unbalanced circumstances. So the KLB team is on a mission this weekend to plant a congregation in the village of Yarakorodou.

The Conakry team:

Much effort is being applied by the members of this team to win new souls and to strengthen already existing congregations. There have not been any new conversions registered, and new grounds are being exploited along with follow-up visits in communities where they preached before. 

It was of this team that a member cooperated with a Gueckedou team member, Francis Musa, for that successful evangelistic mission at Danane, Côte d'Ivoire mentioned above. 

Conclusion

In summary, the activities for the month of June were few, but with a successful outcome. We have started classes with a new batch of 15 students, resumed morning and evening devotions, and started the campus church. 

We did make a successful evangelistic training mission at Côte d'Ivoire where the outcome is to the praise of God. 

Finally, our follow-up and evangelistic campaigns resulted in a total of 28 baptisms. 

We are grateful to God and are thankful to the Bear Valley International Administrative body especially the West Africa Coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, and all well-wishers who support this work. 

I thank you all and personally remain grateful to Steven Ashcraft and Keith Kasarjian.

Baptisms from Efforts in Gueckedou

Bear Valley of Gueckedou, to Bear Valley International in the USA, and to all those who support God's work in Guinea: may grace and peace be given to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ! Please receive our report for April 2024.

Introduction

We, Bear Valley of Gueckedou, present this report to inform you about the activities carried out by the school and the evangelism teams on the ground during the 30 days of April 2024. 

I- Teaching

The final recommendation of our Lord Jesus Christ in Matthew 28 is to teach them to observe all my commandments. So, teaching is an effective means of strengthening the faith of God's servants. 

Bear Valley of Gueckedou taught the following three lessons during the month of April 2024:

1. Galatians was taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

2. The doctrine of denominations was taught by Niouma 2 Kamano.

3. Christians Logic was taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

II- Evangelism

Jesus Christ's last hours on earth before the ascension were marked by recommendations, including, Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved, but whoever does not believe will be condemned.

In this great commission, we use different methods and strategies according to the means and circumstances.

In this month, we used the two following methods :

Door-to-door evangelism: We visited a few families to teach them the truth and the way to salvation. We also distributed biblical literature for them to read.

Evangelism teamwork: The evangelism teams are still hard at work planting new congregations. A new congregation was established in Kongola.

Under the coordination of Brother Francis, an evangelistic mission team led by Saa Mani Koundouno went to Kongola on April 16, 2024, for two days of public evangelism. The word of God sown bore fruit, resulting in 18 people being baptized for the remission of their sins. After the following Sunday's service, which was their first public service, 10 people accepted Jesus Christ as their Savior and were immediately baptized in the name of the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit.

Then the Yaradou Kongonani team succeeded in convincing 5 people to follow Jesus, who were baptized and added to the Lord's church. They are members of the Fassaba congregation.

III- History of the Kongola church

Kongola is a village in the Koundou Lengo Bengou sub-prefecture, located on a plain about 40 km from Gueckedou town. The population is entirely Kissi. Following a survey visit by Saa Mani Koundouno, the team leader of Koundou Lengo Bengou, we were reassured that the village is receptive to the Gospel. 

An evangelistic mission coordinated by Brother Francis Musa went on 16/5/2024 to support the Koundou Lengo Bengou team. 

After two days of  public, door-to-door, and personal evangelism followed by exhortation, eighteen (18) people obeyed the Gospel on April 18, 2024.

 Then 10 other people accepted Jesus on April 21, 2024.

According to the commandement of the Lord they being baptized and he added them to His church. Indeed, we confirm the planting and growth of the church of Christ in Kongola. 

IV- Suggestions and Recommendations

We ask all our brothers and sisters in Christ to support us in prayer for the progress of the Church of Christ in Guinea in unity and peace.

Conclusion

In the light of the above, it is clear that Gueckedou is very favorable to the Gospel of the Lord.

We thank all those who have contributed to the evangelization activities, which have resulted in planting one congregation and 33 people baptized.

We also thank our coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, for his support and determination to see the Church of Christ flourish in Guinea.

We would also like to thank all those who contribute in any way to the progress of the Church of Christ in Guinea.

We close this report with this Bible passage below to tell all those who support us not to slacken.

And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not. Galatians 6:9

Niouma 2 Kamano

Evangelism work in Guinea

Our fraternal greetings to Bear Valley International and to all our donors who financially and materially support God's work in Guinea.

Please receive our report of activity for the month of March 2024

Introduction. 

This report is a summary of all the activities, events, and highlights of the 31 days of March 2024.

I-Teaching in class room 

During the month of March, we had a 2 week break. We resumed class on March 25, 2024. During the rest of the days of the month, Fara François Tenguiano taught local church development for over 35 hours. The teaching results are satisfactory.

II- Rapid training

A fast-track training session for congregation leaders was organized from 15 to 25 March 2024. A total of 10 people received basic doctrinal and leadership training to lead the local congregations. Among them were 4 people from denominations, but after two days of teaching the 5 elements of true worship that God accepts. Three of them obeyed the Gospel of salvation and were immediately baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

On the last day of training, the remaining person decided to follow Jesus in his church, and was also baptized to become simply a Christian.

III-Evangelism 

In this section we talk about the results of all the activities directly linked to the conversion of lost souls as follows:

1-Evangelism campaign

The first week of the month devoted to the evangelism campaign with the aim of saving lost souls edified brothers and sisters of the congregations concerned.

The villages of Gbolonin, N'Diafassou, and Yende Bawa were visited by evangelism teams. The results of the campaign is 3 baptism.

2-Work of evangelism teams.

We report on the evangelistic efforts of the teams during the 31 days of March. Under the coordination of Brother Francis Musa, teams from Conakry and Gueckedou made a missionary journey along the Dabola, Banko, and Kissidougou route. For a eleven days starting on March 06, 2024, they evangelized, exhorted, publicly and personally the communities they passed through. They edified and encouraged the brothers and sisters in Christ of the congregations in the towns they visited.

They did not record any baptisms, but they sowed the good seed in the hope that God, through His Spirit, would cause the truth to germinate, leading to conversions later on.

Then, the Yaradou Kongonani and Tekoulo evangelism teams, led respectively by Eloi Tolno and Malaya Simbiano, have succeeded in planting two new local congregations in different area: in the village of Yombou, with 5 converts, and in the village of Bandikoulo, with 9 people baptized.

IV-Black page

It is with bitter hearts that we inform you of the untimely death of our brother in Christ Justin Malaya Simbiano on March 05, 2024

Biography: Justin Malaya Simbiano was born in 1986 in Ledoumboulo, father of 5 children, including 2 daughters. He was one of the first graduates of the Bear Valley Institute in Gueckedou on 14/3/2020. He became an evangelist preacher for the Ledoumboulo congregation. 

With his courage and commitment to God's work, he was chosen as evangelism team leader for the Tekoulo zone. He led the planting activities of the Bandikoulo congregation on 20 to 23 March 2024

He also participated in the closing of the rapid training on March 25, 2024, lovingly exhorting and encouraging new evangelists to embrace the Lord's work. That same day he was honored to officiate the baptism of one of the students who had not yet been baptized into the Church of Christ. See photo.

Our brother Malaya Simbiano died after a short illness with tears in his eyes for God's work and for his family responsibility.

Conclusion 

With regard to the above-mentioned evangelism results of 17 people baptized and two new local congregations established.

We thank God for his spiritual guidance.

We also thank our coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his financial, material and managerial support in the progress of the church in Guinea.

We also thank the coordinator of the evangelism teams, Brother Francis Musa and these different teams for their commitment night and day at every season favorable or not in evangelism and the planting of local congregations.

We would also like to thank Bear Valley International, through whom all this has seen the light of day in Guinea.

We thank the brothers and sisters who contribute to the flourishing of church of Christ in Guinea.

We end this report with this passage from the Bible which says << For God is not unjust, to forget your work and the love you have shown for his name, having rendered and still rendering service to the saints. We desire that each of you will show the same zeal to keep full hope to the end, so that you don`t grow slack, but imitate those who through faith and perseverance inherit the promises.>> Hebrews 6:10-12

Niouma 2 Kamano

Administrative Assistant 

Souls being saved in Guinea

To you our fraternal greetings in Christ

Please see below the report of activity for February 2024

Introduction:

We, Bear Valley of Gueckedou have the duty to inform you in the smallest details the result of the activities carried out in the vineyard of God in Gueckedou. 

As you know, for the vineyard to be productive, there are various activities that need to be carried out by third parties using different methods and strategies.

In the rest of this report we'll be talking about.

1. Classroom teaching

2. Evangelism in all its forms

3. Restoration of the Church of Bardou 

4. History of the Church in Sandia 

And finally, the conclusion.

I-Teaching/Class room 

The only way to avoid apostasy or to fight against it is to teach holy doctrine to faithful men who are able of dispensing it rightly to others.

During the month of February 2024, a total of 3 courses were taught:

1-Biblical Geography taught by Francis Lavalay. For a week, students literally traveled around Israel, visiting in spirit the strategic points where God's children lived from Abraham to Jesus.

2-Biblical principles and advice taught by Antoine Fasse, Dean of Students.

3-Comparative study of religions taught by Niouma 2 Kamano.

II- Evangelism.

The epicenter of all our activities is evangelism, by which we reduce the kingdom of Satan to enlarge that of God. To carry out evangelism successfully, we use financial and material resources, as well as various methods and strategies, and then the right people.

One of the methods that has won us a lot of souls is  composing of evangelism teams coordinated by Francis S Musa and initiated by our coordinator Steven Ashcraft. 

In February 2024, the evangelism team of Yaradou Kongonani led by Eloi Tolno, a graduate of Bear Valley in Gueckedou, went to Sandia to evangelize. After the Gospel proclaiming by Francis S Musa followed by public interactions, a total of 42 men and women believed and were baptized in the Boya River on 05/02/2024. This means that a new congregation born in this village. The following week after the Sunday service 11 people accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their savior, and were immediately baptized for the forgiveness of sins.

P.S: When the news arrived, that the village was delighted by the strong mobilization and massive adhesion of the population of the village of Sandia to the Church of Christ. The Protestant church, which was the first to join, disturbed, so they dispatched a mission of 8 motorcycles to intimidate people into not subscribing to their former church (Protestant). But their move was in vain. So they demanded by force the portion of land offered to them to build the hall of worship.

To avoid arguments, the entire village, now mostly members of the Church of Christ, agreed to cede the compromised plot. Noted that the Protestant church has a portion of land in Sandia, but no members. 

For according to information, only 3 persons remain as their members.

In the same vein, we also note the conversion of 3 persons through the personal evangelism of certain current students, namely Balla Frangadouno in Kendessoua and Saa Jules Simbiano in Yassadou. 

He also had baptism of a young couple from the family of our brother Saa Robert Kamano, following his exhortations.

III-Restoration of the Bardou church

In 2022, during an evangelistic campaign, a team led by Emmanuel Kamano visited the village of Bardou. 

For three days, they evangelized door-to-door and held a public meeting. With the support of the Holy Spirit, 24 people believed and were baptized in the name of Jesus. Thus began the church of Christ in this village. 

But due to a lack of preachers, the congregation faltered. 

On 24/02/2024, the evangelism team of Koundou Lengo Bengou , coordinated by Francis Musa, went to restore the church. During 2 days of exhortations, they succeeded in convincing and reanimating their faith. 

There were also 5 people who obeyed the Gospel baptized, and the Lord added them to his Church.

IV- History of the Church in Sandia 

Sandia is a village located about 5 km north of the town of Gueckedou, at an elevation of 200m.

The population is Kissi and their main activity is agriculture.

 Before the arrival of the Church of Christ, the majority of the population had been Protestant Christians since 1990. 

Following visits by Eloi Tolno the preacher of the Fassaba congregation, who held religious debates with certain people, they became interested in the doctrine of the Church of Christ. As a result, his evangelism team, accompanied by Francis S Musa and financially assisted by our coordinator Steven Ashcraft, went out to do a public evangelism on 05/02/2024. Resulting in the conversion of 42 people, and the beginning of a new congregation of the Lord's church.

Conclusion

February was a very productive month for evangelism. 

A new congregation was planted and 60 people received their passport to the kingdom of God through baptism in the name of Jesus.

We are grateful to God the omnipotent for his assistance through the Holy Spirit in the successful realization of our evangelistic programs.

We would also like to thank Bear Valley International, our main financial partner, who ensures the smooth running of the school both financially and materially.

We also thank our coordinator Steven Ashcraft, for his strategic management of evangelism and administrating of Bear Valley School in Gueckedou. He is always ready and willing to provide for the financial and material needs of evangelism.

We thank the coordinator of the evangelism teams in Guinea Francis S Musa and the team leader of Yaradou Kongonani Eloi Tolno for their commitment to the Lord's work.

We thank Barry Baggott and his team for the biblical literature they send us for evangelism and useful for the edification of the members.

We also thank the brothers and sisters of the congregations from near and far who contribute whatever they can to the progress of the Church of Christ in Guinea.

We close by quoting this passage from the Bible which reads<< So, my beloved brethren, be steadfast, immovable, working better and better at the Lord`s work, knowing that your labor will not be in vain in the Lord>>. 1 Corinthians 15:58

Off to a great start in Guinea

As always, we extend our warmest greetings in Christ.

Here is the activity report for January 2024

Introduction

One year passes, another follows with different events and realities. This report is the first of those that will follow for the rest of the eleven months of 2024. In the three following parts, teaching, evangelism, working visit ,we Bear Valley of Gueckedou give you the essence of the activities carried out during the 31 days of January 2024.

I-Teaching

After a 3-week vacation, we resumed classes on January 10, 2024.

Two courses were taught by two different teachers, one of whom was a visiting teacher.

The 2 courses are :

The Preacher and his Work, taught by Niouma 2 Kamano.

Ethics of Preachers taught by Balla Kamano.

Note that, Saa Michel Kamano was absent due to illness.

II-Evangelism

We are happy to see that every day, there are new citizens entering the kingdom of Christ through water baptism after believing in the Gospel of Jesus.

Many efforts, methods and strategies are deployed to carry out this activity, through which mankind can gain access to the kingdom of God.

A total of 10 persons men and women were baptized in the following villages

-Gbolonin, a village about 30 km from the northern town of Gueckedou.

-Yende Bawa, a village some 55 km from the town of Gueckedou in the south.

Through this report, we welcome the new converts to the kingdom of Christ.

III-Working visit

A people is strong when it is united in good cooperation.

This month we were visited by our coordinator Steven Ashcraft with a team of three Bible school Director :

Fidèle Bedjelsi from Togo

Cephas Nyemanta from Togo

Koffi Roger from Ivory Coast.

Their stay was very beneficial for us in Guinea.

During four days (25 to 28/01/2024), we shared our work experiences, and they were also able to resolve certains problems or misunderstandings between the brothers. That's also the beginning of good new season for the progress of God work in Guinea especially in Gueckedou.

IV-Suggestions and recommendations

We ask all our brothers and sisters in Christ to help us in prayers for unity and peace, without which we won't be able to do God's work effectively.

Let us also pray for the steadfastness of the new citizens of Christ's kingdom, so that nothing will shake their faith.

Conclusion

In view of the above-mentioned results, we continually give thanks to God for health and his protection in the spiritual warfare we are waging under his control.

We also thank Bear Valley International for their financial, material and spiritual support.

We also thank the brothers in Christ Fidèle, Cephas, both Togolese, and Koffi Roger from Ivory Coast for all their efforts during their stay to exhort and motivate brothers and sisters to work hand in hand for the progress of the Lord's Church.

We sincerely thank our coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his love in mobilizing financial and material means to boost evangelism in Guinea.

We would also like to thank all those who contribute in any way to the development of the Lord's Church in Guinea.

Finally, know that all the churches of Christ in Guinea greet you in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Niouma 2 Kamano

Administrative Assistant 

Big goals for 2024 in Guinea

Greetings from Bear Valley of Gueckedou, Guinea.

Please keep read our annual report for 2023.

Introduction 

This report covers all the activities carried out by  Bear Valley Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea, which operates mainly in the southern Guinean Forest region. This region includes seven (7) prefectures: Kissidougou, Gueckedou, Macenta, N'Zerekore, Lola, Yomou and Beyla. For this year 2023, the bulk of our activities have been focused on the prefecture of Gueckedou.

The Prefecture of Gueckedou is located in south-eastern Guinean Forest region, with a total surface area of 440,000 ha or 4,400 km². Founded by the Kissi ethnic group, its population was estimated at 310,602 in 2014. It comprises 10 Communes or municipality (Bolodou, Fangamadou, Gueckedou-centre, Guendembou, Kassadou, Koundou, Nongoa, Ouende-Kenema, Tekoulo, Temessadou Djibo).

According to our analysis, this Kissi community is very receptive to the Gospel.

This report presents the activities carried out by Bear Valley Institute in Gueckedou, Guinea during the 12 months of 2023. It is structured in four main parts: the first presents the Institute in general, covering its goal, vision, mission, and motto, while the second looks back on the Institute's essential activities by theme: training, evangelism, planting new congregations, the third summarize the prospects for the next 12 months and fourth the report's conclusion.

I-Presentation of the Bear Valle Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea

Bear Valley Bible Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea is a religious organization, created on February 25, 2018 at Gueckedou, Republic of Guinea following the collaboration of Steven Ashcraft, Francis S Musa and the brothers of the church of Christ 

Born in the context of Bear Valley International's extension in Guinea precisely in Gueckedou. 

Our: goal is to promote Bible teaching for Christians in Guinea.

Mission is to contribute to the improvement of the biblical knowledge of Christians in Guinea so that they are able to fill leadership positions in the Church.

Vision is to extend Christian teaching activities to the national level.

Motto is found in 2 Timothy 2:2

And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust to faithful men who are able to teach others also (2 Tim. 2:2 LSG).

II-Overview of  Activities 

This report provides an overview of all the activities carried out by the Bear Valley Institute in Gueckedou, Guinea, in collaboration with Bear Valley International and its technical and financial partnership during the year 2023. The activities focused mainly on the training of evangelists, evangelism, planting of new congregations...

Our objectives are to seek ways and means, strategies, appropriate and necessary support for the promotion of the integrated and sustainable development of the Church of Christ in Guinea through : 

- The training of evangelists or preachers for two years full-time from 8am to 5pm Monday to Friday with about 48 courses taught including the 66 book packs of the Bible;

- The evangelism of communities through evangelism campaigns, public evangelism, door-to-door evangelism and radio broadcasts;

- Planting new congregations to extend the kingdom of God in our community;

Results achieved :

In terms of results achieved, we have on:

1. The training of evangelists or preachers: we currently have 12 students who are in their 7th quarter and will complete their Bible courses at the end of the first quarter of 2024.

Another training method initiated by our coordinator Steven Ashcraft is called Rapid Training for Church Leaders, which is highly effective in converting denominations, multiplying leaders and planting new congregations.

This year, we trained 50 persons across Guinea.

2. In terms of evangelism, we converted 223 men and women over the past 365 days. This result is the combination of all our efforts: graduates, students, school staff, evangelism teams in putting into practice the different methods of evangelism: personal, door-to-door, public, and campaigns(we did 4 evangelism campaign).

3. In terms of planting new congregations, we were able to establish 5 new congregations namely: Yende Bawa, N'Wokouma, N'Diafassou, Gbolonin and Kokossou under the guidance of God through his Holy Spirit.

4. In terms of Bible seminar

To end the year on a high note, the Gueckedou churches of Christ organized a Bible seminar from December 22 to 24, 2023. During these three days of fellowship in Christ, participants were edified by the following themes:

1-Religious feasts taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

2-The life of the early church, taught by Eloi Tolno, a graduate of the second batch of Bear Valley in Gueckedou.

3- Responsibilities in the Christian home, taught by our brother Venecious Fallah from Foya, Liberia.

4- Supporting God's work by Niouma 2 Kamano. 

The event went well, with God's support, despite the fact that our country was going through a difficult period due to the fire at the hydrocarbon depot.

III-Our Outlook and Target Villages 

Outlook

The prospects for the year 2024 are many and ambitious, but we will be focusing our efforts on priority themes in line with our vision and mission. Specifically, these will be:

- Promoting the training of evangelists, preachers and churches leaders; 

- Promoting evangelism in all its forms, aimed at converting pagans, including dénominations, into the Lord's church.

- Promoting the planting of new congregations and their edification through Bible seminars.

- Improving the skills of our evangelism team members.

Target villages

Here are the villages target to establish locales congregations in 2024 by the grace of God.

1 Karima

2 Sembessou

3 Bandikoulo

4 Boboela 

5 Bakama

6 Gbonbou

7 Kolessoua

8 Bakouma

9 Fandou 

7 Banko restoration

8 Yenguela

9 Descendu

10 Douaha Moundeke

11 Menian

Conclusion 

It's true that two thousand and twinty-three was a special year for the joy we felt for the baptism of 223 personsin the name of Jesus for the forgiveness of their sins. It should be noted that we had experienced moments of sadness due to the death of some of our brothers and sisters in the congregations, in particular the death of one of our students Antoine Tolno, the death of Tamba Nestor Kamano a graduate of the first batch as well as the cruel death of Tamba Emmanuel Kamano evangelists at the same time instructor at Bear Valley of Gueckedou, Guinea. 

In terms of activity, in view of all that has been said above concerning the implementation of our various activities presented in this report, we must acknowledge that, we have been successful in evangelism and planting new congregations. 

For this reason, we will continue to invest effectively in training young preachers full of energy to work  in evangelism and in planting more local congregations...

We plead with Bear Valley International, brothers and sisters in Christ, congregations of churches of Christ: people of good will to continue incessantly to support us spiritually morally financially and materially in the implementation of our 2024 action plan.

Then, we would like first thank Almighty God for the health and the grace that accompanied us during the 365 days of successfully carrying out the above-mentioned activities.

We also thank Bear Valley International and all the donors who continue to support the church of Christ in Guinea.

Special thanks to Keith Kasarjian and Steven Ashcraft, respectively Extension Director and Coordinator of Bear Valley International, for their technical support in the management of the school.

We would also like to thank Ken Stanley, Barry Baggott and all those who contribute in any way to the development of the Church of Christ in Guinea.

We conclude by saying that all the churches of Christ in Guinea salute you.

Niouma 2 Kamano

Administrative Assistant 

Reaching souls in Guinea

Greetings from Bear Valley of Gueckedou, Guinea.

Please see below our report of activity for November 2023

Introduction

We pleased to update you on all the activities we carried out during the month of November 2023. The result is satisfactory, as you will see from the rest of the report, which is divided into eight parts.

 Please read with interest and favor so that we share the same sense of satisfaction.

I-Teaching Class room.

Day after day we follow the program of teaching the Scriptures established for inspiration, instruction, edification and correction, so that our students may be accomplished and fit for every good work.

During the past month we taught the following courses:

1 Paul's Epistles to the Thessalonians, whose teaching began at the end of October

2 Christian leadership   

3 The Epistle to the Hebrews.

II- Evangelism

The gospel has always been a power endowed by God for the salvation of people of all nations. That's why Jesus sent us to proclaim the good new and baptize those who believe. In fact, we went to Kokossou to announce the gospel with the  evangelism team of Tekoulo, made up of Bear Valley graduates. Glory be to God, 14 men and women believed and were baptized, which means that the church of Christ is now in this village.

Door-to-door and personal evangelism also bore fruit in Fassaba, for 3 young accepted Jesus as their Savior and were baptized by their evangelist Eloi Tolno.

We should also mention the following baptisms: 2 in Kendessoua by Alain Mano one of the current students, 1 in N'Dendessou and 2 in Yende Bawa.

III- Rapid Training of Churches Leaders.

This method is also effective for multiplying disciples and churches leaders.

From November 20 to 30, 2023, we trained 14 people, 7 of them came from the denominations. After two days of teaching, the 6 people from the denominations understood the saving truth and immediately decided to convert. We baptized them in the name of Jesus to become simply Christians. It should also be noted that 4 of them expressed a desire to follow the two-year training program of Bear Valley for the next class.

IV- Graduation and Evangelism Team Meeting 

In the interest of advancing God's work in Guinea, our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft convened a meeting in Koindou,SL on 03/11/2023, all graduates and some current students from Bear Valley of Gueckedou were present to discuss work and plan evangelism activities with the goal of converting many lost souls to Jesus and planting new congregations. We also attended the graduation of students from Sunset Bible  College in Koindou.

V-Graduation and Meeting with Keith.

We took part in the graduation ceremony of Bear Valley students from Kenema on 16 to 18/11/2023. This gave us the opportunity to meet for the first time Keith Kasarjian Extension Director of Bear Valley International , who after our introduction and briefing on the school's progress in Guinea congratulated us and encouraged us further to continue the work with the same vision of having many harvesters for God's field.

VI-Work Equipment...

We're delighted with the acquisition of an electronic library initiated by our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft. During his last working visit at the beginning of November, he show us how to use it and he also gave us 3 computers and their connection accessories. As soon as he returned to the USA, he approved our request to pay a battery for the power supply. So please be informed that we had the nucleus of an electronic library which we hope to increase in hardware (computer and accessories).

VII-Black Page

Saa Votala Kamano member of Bouliedou's congregation, one of the students of the last rapid training session on 20/11/2023 mentionned below, died of a short illness. The third day of training, he suffered intense headaches that took his life after three days.

With the assurance given to us by the Scriptures in Revelation 14:13, we believe that our brother Saa is now happy to die in the Lord.

VIII-Suggestions

We ask all our backers, brothers and sisters in Christ, to continue support us spiritually, morally, financially and materially. Let us also pray for the family of our brother who pass away, that God may comfort them.

Conclusion

The various evangelism results, with a total of 25 people baptized, show that the dry season is shaping up well.

We thank God and the entire administration of Bear Valley International, for with their help we are becoming productive in the Lord's vineyard.

In particular, we thank Keith  Kasarjian and Steven Ashcraft, respectively Extension Director and Coordinator of Bear Valley International, for their love of doing God's work every where in the world, come rain or snow.

We also thank Ken Stanley and Barry Baggott for their support in the progress of the church in Guinea.

We thank every person or group of people, as well as all the congregations that support God's work in Guinea.

May God's grace accompany us all.

We conclude by saying that all the Churches of Christ in Guinea greet you.

Niouma 2 Kamano 

Administrative Assistant

19 baptized in Gueckedou, Guinea

Introduction.

We are aware that information is a means of guaranteeing a relationship. That's why we take the time to report monthly to our backers, who continue to support us financially and materially. We urge you to read the following report carefully.

I- Teaching.

Biblical teaching is a means of arming Christ's ministers, especially those involved in preaching. For the month of October, 4 courses were taught:

Christian Management because we must be good stewards of the treasures of God's children.

Paul's Epistle to the Church of Rome

The General Epistles

Epistle of 1,2 Thessalonicians.

II- Evangelism.

Evangelism is the activity that enables us to save lost souls, implanting new local congregations of Christ. To do this successfully, various methods are used, teams are mobilized and material and financial resources are deployed. We are pleased to report that the result of all these efforts is 19 people baptized, including 1 in Bandalo Bengou, 3 in Koindou KLB, 3 in Yende Bawa and 12 in the New congregtion of Kango established by Francis and his fellowship Saa Nestor.

The Kango congregation is the new assembly established on 22/10/2023 by the combined efforts of Francis S Musa and Saa Nestor Millimouno assisted by the Spirit of God.

Note the nocturnal baptism of our sister Finda Leno  from Bandalo Bengou, which is rare because some people always put off until tomorrow without understanding the urgency of saving the soul.

III- Radio program.

This program is very important to us because it enables us to reach a wide and varied audience in the defense of holy doctrine, in evangelism, in exhortation and in teaching people to return to the Bible. This program is broadcast every Tuesday from 6:45 p.m. on 104.1 from Sandia Penbetyo.

A new radio station has also been installed in the community, broadcasting on 103.6 covering an area far from 300 km

IV- Suggestions.

We ask all our donors to accompany us in prayers for success in carrying out our evangelism plan to establish new congregations during the next 6 months of the dry season.

We are also asking for financial support to pay our broadcasting costs, which amount to 1200,000 FG per month on 103.6 broadcasting from Makona FM.

V- Conclusion.

Considering the results of the activities carried out, we can conclude that the next dry season will be very productive. We thank Almighty God who is with us in our spiritual battle against the Devil's cunning. We also thank the staff of Bear Valley International for their strategic management of the Bible schools. We are eternally grateful to Steven Ashcraft, our tireless coordinator, for his concern to see the Lord's church grow in Guinea. We also thank Barry Baggott and his team for edifying us with biblical literature. Our thanks go to Ken Stanley and all the Churches of Christ who support God's work in Guinea.

We conclude by saying that all the churches of Christ in Guinea salute you.

Niouma 2 Kamano 

Administrative Assistant 

Fruitful seminar in Guinea

We saluate you in the name of our Savior Jesus Christ. Please see below our report of activity for September 2023

Introduction

God's work is an excellent work whose blessing is shared between those who support it financially, materially and those who carry it out in the field. We, the Bear Valley of Gueckedou, reassure all our donors that their efforts are not in vain.

We humbly ask you to read the five points of our report as follows:

I- Teaching

We resumed classes on the 3rd day of September after a three-week vacation. In turn, three subjects were taught to edify the students and their spiritual growth.

Christian leadership was taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno to engage them in their role as leaders in their respective congregations.

They received courses in Church History.

Balla Kamano begun teaching the so-called Minor prophets books, which will run until the beginning of October.

II- Rapid training

This working method, initiated and supported by our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft, is sincerely beneficial for the church in Guinea. For in short time we convert fervent members of denominations to be valiant servants in the Lord's church. This time, two able-bodied young men, Abraham and Faya, working in the denominations, accepted Jesus as their savior after understanding the biblical truth of their salvation. We focus on Abraham's conversion, which was truly courageous. For he was the piano player in the denomination, so he was one of the popular entertainers. But he preferred eternal salvation to the ephemeral prestige here below promoted by denominations.

This rapid training provided leaders for congregations in need of evangelists to administer the five elements of worship.

Some of these students immediately aspire to follow training at the Bear Valley Institute in Gueckedou for the two years program.

III-Bible camp

In the August report we informed you of a Bible camp at N'Zerekoré in the Mohomou congregation.

With God's grace, the planned program was successfully completed. The seminar resulted in three interests.

1- Brothers and sisters from different congregations received common teaching from one speaker per theme.

2- The fellowship of brothers and sisters in the church as mentioned in Acts 2:42.

3-In all sincerity, remember that this meeting was a way for God to highlight the importance of Bear Valley in Guinea through the brilliant teaching of one of the Institute's graduates, who amazed the audience. Many people understood that Bear Valley is blessing source and a driving force to boost God's work in Guinea.

We note the financial support of our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft for the rental of a mini bus to transport the 25 members of the congregations and the 12 students of the school.

IV-Radio Program

Radio is one of the means of spreading the gospel that reaches a very wide audience. The preaching team, led by brother Saa Robert Kamano, is always at work exhorting, rebuking and reminding apostates to return to the Bible and pagans to repent and follow Jesus Christ.

Meeting at Foya 

The penultimate day of the month was devoted to the meeting of the administrators of the respective Bible schools Bear Valley of Gueckedou, Sunset of Koindou and 21st Century of Foya. A number of evangelists working with these schools also took part in the meeting . The aim of the meeting was to: - come up with a common plan to evangelize the Kissi country,

- Share experiences in school administration and church development.

- Censure certain practices that do not benefit the Lord.

A work plan will be communicated to us in the next few days.

V- Suggestions

We are asking all people of good will to help us with an additional motorcycle to replace the one we bought in 2018, which is in a state where the maintenance expenses are more than the work. The acquisition of this motorcycle is a way for us to do the work efficiently.

Conclusion

Considering the above information, we can say that Bear Valley is a source of blessing for us to intensively do the Lord's work.

This is why we thank Bear Valley International for their commitment to activating the growth of church  Christ in Guinea.

We will never cease to thank our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his determination to accompany Bear Valley International's program in Guinea.

Our thanks to all those from near and far who support God's work in Guinea spiritually, morally, financially and materially.

May God of mercy give us the health, peace and wisdom to do his work.

Amen.

Niouma 2 Kamano 

The Ashcrafts visit Guinea

Introduction

Lack of information creates confusion.

To avoid this confusion, we at Bear Valley of Gueckedou have a monthly obligation to report to our supporters on the completion of activities.

In a few words, you will find the following information in six points.

I-Teaching

In August, there was no theoretical teaching. However, the students did put the theory they had learned in class into practice during their time off. More on this later in the report.

Il-Evangelism.

During the three-week break, the students were not idle in God's vineyard.As mentioned above, they did door-to-door evangelism, according to the instructions they received before joining their respective congregations.

Three of them namely : Balla Frangadouno, Alain Mano and Lambert Kamano succeeded in convincing three lost souls to confess the Lord Jesus Christ as their Savior.

Next, Justin Malaya Simbiano, a graduate of Bear Valley's first class, tells us with joy that he has finally succeeded in converting his own mother to the church of Christ after three years of exhortation.

III-Personal profile

It gives us great pleasure to introduce you to Balla Kamano, a teacher at Bear Valley of Gueckedou.

He was born in Gbangbadou in 1972. He converted on 5/1/1994.

After two years (1999-2001) of training at the Bouaké Bible School under Barry Baggott, he returned to Guinea to serve as a preacher. He began his ministry in Gueckedou in the Solondonin congregation, eventually moving to his hometown of Kissidougou to serve in the same function in the local church to the present day.

We present him as a humble and faithful servant of Jesus Christ. His gentle, patient character is a great asset to his preaching ministry.

IV-Training women in Kenema

In an effort to teach children the way of the Lord, Steven Ashcraft and Karen Ashcraft spent two days, training Sierra Leonean women in Kenema, and two Guinean women took part.

During this training workshop, our Coordinator Steven met us with some of the leaders of the Sierra Leone congregations to discuss the progress of the church in the three countries: Guinea, Sierra Leone and Liberia, especially starting in the Kissi area, namely Gueckedou, Koindou and Foya, which is very receptive to the gospel. A meeting of leaders from the said area is scheduled for 29/9/2023 in Foya to discuss and plan evangelism activities in the zone.

V-Bible Seminar in N'Zerekoré

We would like to inform you that the congregations of the Churches of Christ in Guinea are organizing a Bible seminar from September 20 to 23, 2023 in Mohomou, N'Zerekoré. On the following themes:

1- Church History

2-Importance of being a member of Church of Christ

3-Church Organization.

VI-Suggestions.

We ask our brothers and sisters in Christ to support us in prayer for the peace and social tranquility in Guinea and understanding between us brothers in Christ for the progress of the church.

We also ask for spiritual support for the success of the above-mentioned Bible seminar.

Conclusion.

In the image of what we have as a result of evangelism. We can believe that our students are obeying Bear Valley's mission.

We thank God for his protection during the 31 days of this month and for the various tasks he has enabled us to accomplish.

We are grateful to Bear Valley International for their gratitude in supporting the training of evangelists in Guinea.

We would also like to thank our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his personal efforts in the development of the Church of Christ in Guinea.

We also thank everyone who contributes in any way to the growth of the eternal kingdom in our country.

May God bless each one abundantly in the Lord.

Saving Souls in Guinea

Introduction.

July is a month of heavy rains, people are more focused on field work than any other activity. In any case, rain or shine, we must do our duty of the training, the evangelization, the edification and exhortation to save the lost and strengthen the weakened. You will see in the rest of this report, all the activities carried out by the Bear Valley Institute of Gueckedou in five points.

Please keep reading until the end.

I- Teaching.

Like all schools, our main activity is teaching. It should be noted that for the edification of future leaders of local congregations, three subjects were successively taught one after the other.

1- The Inter Testament Period, taught by Saa Robert Kamano.

2- The Pastoral Epistles taught by Niouma 2 Kamano

3- The Christian Home taught by Antoine Fassa Tolno.

Each teacher has completely exhausted the timing set by Bear Valley Institute.

Il- Evangelism

July was not successful as the previous months of the year. This was due to heavy rains and field work. Two people accepted Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. They were baptized in the water in Jesus' name for the forgiveness of sins. 

We pray for their spiritual growth and their perseverance in the faith in Jesus.

III- Gospel campaign

At the end of the month, we began the evangelism campaign, which will run until the beginning of August. Three teams are deployed in these differents areas: Pova, N'Wokouma, Dento, to evangelize and edify members of our congregations. We also had video projection during the nights.

IV- Radio.

The preaching team led by Saa Robert Kamano is still preaching messages on 104.1, broadcasting from Sandia Penbetyo. The team is accompanied in turn by students, to teach them how to do radio preaching.

Conclusion

We thank God for the life, health and protection he grants us in Jesus Christ.

We never cease to thank Bear Valley International for the spiritual, moral, material and especially financial support contributing to the exponential growth of the Lord's church in Gueckedou in particular and in Guinea in general.

We also thank our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his sacrifice in serving God on every saison favorable or not.

Many thanks to all the brothers and sisters in Christ who continue to support God's work in Guinea.

May the righteous God, who never forgets the blessings of these children, reward each and every one of us. 

Amen

Niouma 2 Kamano

Gueckedou, Guinea school mourns the death of a student

Greetings from the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea.

Please receive our Activity report, June 2023.

Introduction:

Every day that God permits for us is an opportunity to do His work for the conversion of lost souls to Christ in His eternal kingdom. As we work with Bear Valley International, our strategic partner, it is our duty to report to here the result of all activities of the month as follows.

I-Teaching:

This activity consists of entrusting the word of God to students in the hope that they will be able to pass it on to others for their edification leading to salvation.

Indeed, 3 subjects were taught in June namely:

1-Homilitics 2 by Niouma 2 Kamano

2-Gospel according to John  by Fara François Tenguiano

3- Books of the Major Prophets by Antoine Fassa Tolno

Due to their volume, 1/3 of the days in June were devoted to teaching the books of the major prophets.

Il-Evangelism:

Our primary objective is to redeem lost souls from Satan's yoke and to lead them to eternal freedom in Christ. In this spiritual battle during the month under review, 25 people were saved after being baptized in obedience to Christ our Lord and Savior in the congregations of Gbolonin, Yabema and Kendessoua.

Thanks to the Holy Spirit who helped to convince the sinners and to achieve these results.

III-Construction:

Two congregations have reached wall hight with their worship hall construction work and have received financial assistance for roofing. These are, Kendessoua and Kölöadou.

The rainy season which is now in full swing has slowed the work, but not stopped it.

IV-Black page:

We regret to announce the death of brother Antoine Tolno, one of our current students at the Bible Institute. He was born in 1985, a father of 2 children who fell sick and had left us on the 2nd of June 2023 to undergo treatment in his village. In less than 2 weeks later on the 11th of the same month, his family called to inform us of his death. Indeed, we have lost a brillant student. With the financial assistance of our coordinator Steven Ashcraft, the administrative staff, his fellow students and some church members travelled to Kolibada Tolo, his native village 35 km from Gueckedou town, for the funeral. Although he died young, we are happy that he was in the Lord which gives us hope that the soul of our brother will rest in peace. Amen

V-Documentation:

It is with great pleasure to inform you that we have safely received the study materials sent by French World Outreach /Barry Baggott, Mission Printing and other brothers in Christ residing in the US. We assure you that these documents will be put to good use for study, evangelism and edification. May God bless you abundantly in the Lord for all your efforts to build up the Church in Guinea.

Conclusion:

We bless God for His grace to give us life, health and to do his work.

Next, we sincerely thank Bear Valley International for their unceasing spiritual, moral, especially financial and material support in the growth of the Lord's Church in Gueckedou and elsewhere.

We especially thank our coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, for his sacrifice of time, materials and finances in God's work in Guinea.

We also thank Barry Baggott, Karen Ashcraft and other brothers in Christ who have sent us teaching, evangelism and edification materials.

In short, we thank all those who contribute to the flourishing of the church of Christ in Guinea.

May God bless each one according to his or her good works.

Amen.

Niouma 2 Kamano

Many successes in Guinea

I salute all of you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is the report of the activities for May 2023

Introduction

After 31 days of varied activities, we here at the Gueckedou, Guinea Bear Valley Bible Institute are grateful to Almighty God for all that transpired despite the challenges and would like to share with all our supporters the following events of the period.

I - Teaching

During this month of May, which marks the end of the first year of the present batch of 13 students, 4 subjects were taught as follow :

1- Hermeneutics 2 and 2 Corinthians by Antoine Fassa Tolno

1- The Prison Epistles by Niouma 2 KAMANO 

2- The Gospel of Luke by Francis Lawaley.

Results of the evaluations were satisfactory.  

Il- Evangelism

The joy for this activity is immense because our efforts were fruitful yielding a total of 30 people who obeyed the saving gospel. Of these, 26 of them are the first fruits in the village of Gbolonin where an assembly of the Lord's church was planted. 

This great success was the result of a 2 days evangelistic campaign following the rapid training of church leaders organized last April. A "rapid training" of church leaders is a program designed (by Steve and the school staff/evangelists)  to prepared men to be able to lead congregations planted following the training. 

 III- Construction

It is important to point out that the construction of worship halls is having a positive impact on the Lord's church in Guinea as a whole and particularly in the Gueckedou area which has the largest number of congregations in the country. May God be glorified for this and we are grateful to you, the Bear Valley Bible Institute International supporters and to all who are in  partnarship for our success. 

That's why our people are continuing the work, despite the difficulties and natural constraints (rain) that congregations encounter in building the walls even before receiving financial assistance. You will see attached below the Dento house with the roof, the walls of the Kendessoua and Kissidougou buildings.

IV- Sad news

This part of the report is divided into two sections

1- Desolation in Yende Bawa:

 We are sad to inform you that there is was a great desolation in the village  of Yende Bawa where we planted a congregation on February 22, 2023. Following a violent wind that occurred on 17/5/2023, about 40 houses collapsed 35 of which were for our brothers and sisters in Christ. Besides the buildings, huge other material damage was also recorded, with 12 persons injured but not life-threatening. We are truely thankful to God for His grace. 

2- Deaths

We regret to inform you of the death of our brother in Christ, Tamba Nestor kamano on May 28, 2023 as a result of a brief illness. He was a graduate of the first Bear Valley class in Gueckedou (2018-2019) and was now the preacher at the Ouende Kenema congregation. We have lost a brother and a vacuum is created!

 V- Suggestions and recommendations / Appeal:

With this report we ask all our brothers and sisters of good will and for the love of God, for your spiritual (prayers), moral, material and financial assistance for the consolation of our brethren at Yende Bawa and for the family of the deceased, Tamba Nestor kamano.

Conclusion

To God be the glory for his grace that sustains us. To the Bear Valley International, and in particular to our Coordinator Steven Ashcraft, our gratitude and thanks for your unconditional support of God's work in Gueckedou, Guinea. Lastly,  to all our brothers and sisters in Christ everywhere, sincere thanks for your every contribution to the growth of the church in Guinea. 

May God bless us all.

Amen

10 more baptisms in Guinea

Dear Brethren,

We salute you in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Here is the report of activity for April 2023 of Bear Valley Bible Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea.

Introduction

We are pleased to report to our donors all the activities carried out once again in anoher month, April which contributed to the blossoming of God's work in Gueckedou as well as in other areas of Guinea. See details of these under the subheadings that follow.

I-Teaching/ Class room:

It should be expected that there was no classroom teaching for the students in the regular two-year program during the month under review. This is because as indicated in our last report the students were on an evangelistic campaign which was followed by a 3 weeks break period. 

Il-Evangelism campaign

The first five days of the month were devoted to evangelism which was commenced in the previous month, but we were confronted with social constraints at the village of Yende Bawa where the Lord's Church is rapidly and amazing growing.

Nevertheless some other efforts were applied and the result of the different evangelistic sessions came up to 10 persons baptized for the remission of sins.

III-Radio program

The preaching team now led by brother Saa Robert KAMANO is still engagaged in a hard work to realize the broadcasting of the programs on the waves of 104.1 in frequency modulation. For this month, due to the demand of the listeners, the theme developed was on "the qualities of a good woman" and it has gone on well.

IV-Rapid Training 

Here is another strategy that contributes to the growth of servants or church leaders and the multiplication of local congregations for which they are trained. 

After realizing success of the first experiment last January, another team of 13 people were trained during the last two weeks of April 2023. This again is in the hope of planting new congregations where the trained leaders can serve and to strengthen older congregations.

The first result of this second batch of training was the obedience to the gospel of 2 persons who were yet unconverted among them.

It is also worth mentioning the presence of two brothers, Pokpa Kalivogui and Desire Sakouvogui from the city of Macenta through whom we will explore a new area.

The city center of Macenta and the village of Gbolonin are the two places at the top of the list for Evangelism that must follow the rapid training of churches leaders just completed .

V-Construction

Through this report we wish to convey to you the sentiments of satisfaction of the congregations receiving assistance for the construction of worship halls. There is a great amount of appreciation for this offer. We also appreciate this individual or persons for not differentiating between the Christians as God intended and reported by Paul in Galatians 3:27-28. 

For besides the congregations established by Bear Valley, other congregations across the country also benefit from this assistance in the construction and rental cost of buildings to worship our Lord like Kissidougou and Dabola.

Attached are photos of some of the buildings that are covered and others that are in the process of being built.

VI-Personal Profile.

In this section we present our brother in Christ Saa Robert KAMANO.

He is 70 years old. He spent 28 years in the Protestant church also serving as treasurer, before being converted to the Church of Christ in 2010 after attending correspondence courses conducted by Brother Francis Musa.

Although he is advanced in age, he had enrolled and followed the training at the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Gueckedou from 2018-2020. With the love of saving lost souls and extending the kingdom of God, he established a congregation in Dento with the support of the Institute before the end of his training.

Because of his comprehension of the doctrine, dedication and ability, he was retained as a temporary teacher at the Institute .

He also leads the preaching team on the radio.

 May God grant him more healthy days to do his work.

VII-Suggestions and Recommendations

We ask all our donors, brothers and sisters from all parts of the world to pray for the unity of evangelists and members of the congregations in Guinea.

Conclusion

We thank God for all the good works we are doing under his control for the progress of the church in Guinea.

We thank Bear Valley International in general for their unconditional support and in particular our coordinator Steven Ashcraft for his good management in boosting God's work in Guinea.

Great thank for the person who support financialy the building of the worships halls.

We also thank Ken for his financial support of the radio program and all those who support God's work in Guinea.

May God bless us all in the Lord 

Amen.

Mourning losses in Guinea

Hello brethren.

Hope you all are doing well. Here is the report of activity for the month of March 2023.

Introduction

Every day that God makes is an opportune day for us to do His work. We are sharing with you what has occupied us during the 31 days of March 2023 in the vast field of the Lord. The activities took place as follows:

I - Teaching

In this month of March 2023, the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Gueckedou, Guinea taught 3 lessons to edify the students, so that they are able to function in the required capacity of evangelistic mission for the salvation of the world.

The lessons taught were the following:

1-  1 Corinthians by Antoine Fassa TOLNO

2- The Gospel according to Mark by Niouma 2 KAMANO

3 - The Poetic books by Balla KAMANO

Il - Evangelistic campaign

To put into practice the biblical theories learned in class, we started the evangelistic campaign on March 28, 2023 which should extend until April 5, 2023. We have video projections in the evenings followed by preaching the following day.

The days are being dedicated to a door to door evangelism and with the support of the Holy Spirit of God, a total of 14 people thus far have obeyed the gospel having been baptized for the forgiveness of their sins.

III- Construction .

Before the heavy rains started, five local congregations seize the opportunity offered and started to build their worship halls. But due to some difficulties, only one congregation among 5, the assembly at Fouedou was able to reach the level of roofing in March to benefit the required assistance.

IV- Black page

The experience of life shows that there is not only happiness or good things and events that happen, but that man some times expect the undesired surprise. Job had answered his wife by the question "...Shall we accept good from God, and not trouble?" - Job 2:10.

Indeed if last month, February 2023 left us with a smile and gladness in our hearts, then the month of March 2023 surprised us with sad news that brought down our joy.

Firstly, on March 01, 2023 we learned of the death of brother, Emmanuel Foko who was the Assistant Director of Sunset Bible lnstitute in Koindou, Sierra Leone.

Secondly on March 03, 2023 we were shocked by the cruel death of Tamba Emmanuel KAMANO in Gueckedou, Guinea.

He was an instructor at Bear Valley Bible Institute in Gueckedou, Guinea

Subsequently, Abel Lelano, one of the graduates of the 2nd class, was severely hit by a vehicle. He was in coma for 7 days in the hospital at Gueckedou before he was evacuated to a special hospital in Zao, N'Zerekore. We thank God for his case, because he is recovering little by little.

V- Suggestions and recommendation

We want  to take advantage of this report to ask all people of good will to take a positive look for possible support at the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Gueckedou. The reason is that we are in a favorable area for the gospel of the Lord.

We ask all the brothers and the sisters to pray for brother Abel Lelano who is till sick.

Conclusion.

In the image of all that precedes, we thank God for having kept us alive to do his work.

We thank Bear Valley International in general for their incessant spiritual, moral, financial and material support and in particular we thank our tireless coordinator Steven Ashcraft for the strategic management of the school.

We also thank the one who is financially assisting the construction of the houses of worship in Gueckedou.

Finally, we thank all those who contribute in any way to the development of the Lord's church in Guinea.

May God render to each one according to his works.

Amen.

Niouma 2 Kamano