God Is Giving The Increase In Guatemala...

Hola a Nuestros Hermanos y Amigos,

To us, and many in the Linda Vista family, preaching and teaching the precious word of God never gets old. Likewise, it never gets old seeing precious souls respond to the message. Over the past few weeks we have had several respond requesting special prayers: some for health problems, some for the possibility of finding work, etc. Among this number there has also been some requesting forgiveness from our Lord and desiring to be restored to His fold. We particularly want to mention Carlos Ramirez, one of our members who struggled with alcohol. After some time of being away, we are glad to see him return, penitent and wanting to place Jesus before his vice. His wife, Dora, set a very good example in her faithful attendance with their sons, even during the difficult time that Carlos put them through. It’s a joy to see this family now reunited and coming to worship each week. Please keep Carlos and their entire family in your prayers.

Sunday morning, September 2, was one of those mornings when about 10 responded to the gospel call. In this number were two of our teenagers, penitent and ready to turn their lives over to God Almighty.

Both of them surprised their parents and the rest of the congregation. Leslie Zuñiga was the first to make it known that she wanted to become a Christian. Leslie’s mother, Marisol, is a member and says she been waiting for this decision for some time. The other person was Rosemary Cardena, who responded after the invitation song had been concluded. Her mother, too, was excited to see her daughter make the

decision to enter God’s Kingdom. Neither of the girl’s father is a Christian, so both mothers serve in the role of spiritual guides for their families.

That same Sunday evening another one of our teenagers rendered her life to God. Sucely Callen was baptized for the remission of her sins. It was a joy to witness her immersion into Christ. Sucely requested that Brother Hi baptize her. And, of course, it was an honor for him to do so.

The following Sunday two more of our young people entered the Lord’s church through baptism. One of them was Dulce Ramirez, the daughter of our preacher Anibal Ramirez. This was a special time for Dulce as she had just celebrated her 15th birthday (equivalent to our sweet 16). In spite of some setbacks over the past year (like her mother’s leaving home for another man and the suicide of one of her good friends), Dulce continues to try to do what is right. We have watched Dulce grow up to be the beautiful young lady she is and are so proud of her.

The other young person was Abner Mijangos. He also made the sweet confession and was immersed into Christ. Abner had been talking about this and asking a lot of questions for some time now. His mother, Nancy, and stepfather, Estuardo, are both Christians. However, sadly, they are both unfaithful to their commitment to the Lord. Abner has been attending worship with the Ordoñez family, the

family responsible for introducing his mother to the church. He says that one day he plans to preach, but right now his mission is to encourage his mother to return to the Lord. Please keep Abner and his mission in your daily prayers.

Please do not forget to keep Leslie, Rosemary, Sucely, Dulce and Abner in your daily prayers. We also ask you to please keep our youth group in your prayers. These 5 young people that you have just read about only represent a small number of the teenagers at Linda Vista. What is sad is that many of them are not Christians, especially several of our older teenager guys. We pray that these who have made this most important decision will be an example to others in the group.

We’ll close for now. Lord willing, very soon we will be sending a couple more updates. We need to update you on Guatemala Mission, ITL and San Cristobal (the work of ITL’s graduates). Thank you for being a part of our lives and the work here.

Con amor en Cristo,
Hawatthia Byron

“Teaching the CENTRAL MESSAGE in CENTRAL AMERICA!”

To see the report complete with pictures, please click here.

Needs For Sister Mercy...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from the staff, students and members of the Wotutu congregation. We thank God for today and for you over there in your homes and your congregation.

This is sister Mercy. She is having triplets all boys. The unbelieving husband abandoned her with these precious and innocent children from God, the load is too much for him. As I write this mail to you, this sister nor anyone in the community knows where he is. Please as I write this report, I am making an appeal for these young boys who may turn tomorrow to be wonderful vessels for the Lord to use tomorrow for His glory. The children and their young mother need your help of any kind to afford food and medical attention for their survival. Please if you are touched to be part of this humanitarian help, then we wait to read from you and to make further explanations about this pressing need.

The work entrusted in our hands continues to grow and we appreciate God for His help. The rainy season continues to make our movements to preach and teach difficult, but we are being encouraged daily by the word we preach.

Last week our topic for chapel services in CBIW was “Excuses.” We do our best to encourage ourselves not to make excuses that will not bring glory to God or help us move ahead to help grow our ministries away from us. The topic was to challenge one another to sacrifice for one another rather than making excuses.

By His grace all those who went out for weekend evangelism returned on campus safe and sound, except for me. I returned in severe pain because of the nature of the road that I and some students used to go for mission work.

I was on the road trekking to Mbakwa Supe Village along Mamfe road for mission. The rainy season is still heavy and the roads do not support the four wheel vehicle to plough the road, but the gospel is for all. We must go wherever we are called to go so that we should not give excuses and on the other hand help many there not give excuses that no one came to tell us the truth.

If you are going, your journey is not certain because of the nature of the road. Many will spend many days or weeks on the road because big trucks will be stuck down in the mud and the whole road will be blocked until it is clear or towed by another vehicle of greater capacity. This should not discourage us to go where the saving message is calling. The Lord brought 7 Christians who had fallen away back to the fold and the Lord added a soul in our young congregation in Mbanga. Keep this work in your prayers.

We were able to preach from house to house and answer question on the street in Mbakwa Supe Village. It was great and very exciting to preach to people who will open their hearts and stopped whatever they were doing to listen keenly to the message that goes into hearts of men. We need follow up after sowing seeds like these. They said with readiness of heart “come over to us and help us go to heaven.” Oh the field is really ripe but the laborers are few.

Plans
1) We are still continuing with our weekend evangelism and we shall make a joint campaign to Batoke Village if the means are available which will also help us establish a new congregation.

2) We are also planning for a mass campaign in Mbanga congregation before graduation.

3) Our graduation in CBIW will be on the 20th of December 2012 and our second batch of students will matriculate the same day. Please make your plans to be part of this august ceremony in Cameroon.

Appreciations
Many thanks to God for His great care over us and the work we are doing. We thank you for your help and all your prayers toward this work. God bless you for availing yourself for His service.

Please do your best to share this report with others who may love to be part of the program and our appeals. God bless you and all that you do.

Elangwe and family

By His grace director CBIW

The Blessing Of Extension Training...

God has blessed the work of so many wonderful men who are preaching the gospel around the world. I am thankful to share in and partner with these brethren as they labor so diligently. As you read through the reports this week, I believe you will have a clearer picture of what I am talking about with these statements. Training men to preach, and then seeing them put their training into practice is exciting.

The Bear Valley students in Denver just completed their first quarter of studies this school year and they are all out on campaign this week. They will be talking to people in New Hampshire, Ohio, and two locations in Colorado. Their efforts will be focused on evangelism and edification. They want to reach out with the gospel to the lost in these communities, but they also want to encourage and build up the local congregation. I look forward to sharing more about their work in the weeks to come. 

As well, several of the men at Bear Valley will be traveling to Tanzania to teach class, do seminars, participate in the Andrew Connally School of Preaching’s annual Leadership Conference. While in East Africa, I am also looking forward to traveling to Kisumu, Kenya to visit with Charles Ogutu, and other staff members, about the beginning of the Kenya School of Preaching. We are privileged to share with Charles and others in this work. We are thankful to the Charlotte Avenue congregation for their vision, oversight and support of training men to preach in Kenya. The partnership that has been formed is working to help the country of Kenya come to know and obey our God.

Upon returning to the U.S. the second quarter of studies will begin in Denver. Awesome is the word that first comes to mind when I think about what is taking place in Denver and, then to read about the powerful work being done through each Extension School. Thank you for making this all possible.

Now on to the other reports...

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is /extension-schools/

Extension Reports 

Back In Class In Cameroon: Students have returned from campaign and they are now studying in their final quarter as students at CBIW.

Liberia Bible College Is Up And Going: “Going strong” might be a better way to state the exciting news about the new class of students in Monrovia, Liberia.

Kenya School Of Preaching Begins Class: October marked the beginning of studies for the first class at the KSOP.

Influencing Secondary Students, 35 Kids And Dusty Roads: The Chimala Bible Institute is making a huge impact on the population in Southern Tanzania.

Containers Arrive And Churches Hear The Gospel: The Wagner family was glad to see their container finally arrive. As well, they have been active in preaching the gospel.

Parliament Elections And Preaching In Ukraine: There is both political and spiritual activity taking place in Gorlovka at this time.

God Gives The Increase In Paraguay: The church in Asunción rejoices with the increase God has given in the addition of two families.

Tanzania Leadership Conference: Beginning Thursday this week the Andrew Connally School of Preaching will host their annual Tanzania Leadership Conference. 

Final Thoughts
You are all a great blessing to me. I am thankful to participate in the greatest work on earth. The challenges do not seem so great when everything is put into the right perspective. God still sits on the throne and reigns over all. Just think...one day we get to be with Him in heaven. What a wonderful God we serve.

God bless
Bob

Back In Class In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from the staff, students and members of the Wotutu congregation. I pray this report meets you in good health and a sound faith. We are doing fine and we praise God for all that we are able to do for His glory.

Brother David Otia from the Bible college visited us and preached during our chapel. He will love to be part of the efforts in CBIW to teach Introduction to Greek and Church Music.

The climatic condition here continues to disturb our students as they are sick. For most of them our small first aid box cannot help them. Keep the students in your prayers because the evil one will not be happy as they move very close to finish their course in the Bible college to tear down the kingdom of the evil one.

Rain throughout this weekend hindered our evangelistic efforts in 6 communities, but the  students and I were able to go out for some house to house. Many thanks to God for helping us to help nurture those congregations and to make our way to the campus safe. We are happy to inform you that the newly established and revived congregations are doing fine. Keep them in your prayers.

Plans
We are still planning to go to those communities where we have newly established our congregations for a mass campaign to help spread the word before a student graduates and then continues the work full time.

We still plan to go for mass evangelism in Batoke village. That will be our focus to establish a new congregation.

I will be making a trip to a community that suffered from flooding this weekend with some students to preach and give hope to the victims. We have a struggling congregation in that community of Mbakwa Supe.

Keep this work in your prayers.

Appreciations
We thank God for all His care over us as we move from one end to another for the sake of the gospel. Thank you also for standing by us to make sure we move freely to spread the seeds of the word. God bless you and your endeavors. Do your best to share this report to others.

Elangwe and family
BY His grace director CBIW

Liberia Bible College Is Up And Going...

Greetings come to you from your colaborers in Christ in Liberia, West Africa. Following is the news and report about the Liberia Bible College, covering significant activities and events that culminated into the reopening of the school. They include, inter alias, the visit of two American brethren, improving the learning environment of the Bible College, rebuilding the logistical capacity of the Bible College, commencement of academic session and pending Gospel campaign.

VISITORS
A two man delegation from the United States of America in persons of Steven Ashcraft and a brother from Texas visited the Bible College in Monrovia, Liberia in August 2012. Steven who earlier visited us in February 2012 encouraged our brother from Texas about the work of the Bible School and both concluded plans to pay a visit in August of this year. Steven arrived on August 1, 2012 and was joined on August 5, 2012 by our brother from Texas. While in Liberia, the visiting brethren held two important meetings with local church leaders and school authorities. On Monday August 6, 2012 a meeting was held with the elderships of the Church of Christ at Smythe Road and the Church of Christ at V.P. Road. This meeting was highlighted by preliminary briefings and a status report by the director of the school and Steven Ashcraft. They encouraged the two elderships to continue their support of the Bible School by appealing to their congregations to help recruit and support brethren who wish to attend the school. He also asked them to contribute ten percent (10%) of the monthly budget of US$ 2,221.00 as the remaining ninety percent (90%) will come from the U.S. The visiting brethren also met with the board of directors and staff of the Bible College on Tuesday, August 7, 2012. Similar sentiments were expressed. Furthermore, the monthly budget which included costs for staff stipends was presented with staff being asked to make some sacrifices as well as to help encourage and to recruit students for the school. In response, the board and staff thanked these men for their vested interest in the school and that they were going to do their utmost best to contribute their quota thereby complementing the efforts of the American brethren.  

RENOVATIONS
With funds provided, the Jerry Langford building, which was constructed in 1971, has been rehabilitated with new roof and ceiling, painted walls, doors, working electrical and plumbing fixtures, and windows complete with glasses. Also, sufficient appropriate furniture has been acquired and put in place in the classrooms and the library of the college. 

LOGISTICAL CAPACITY
To rebuild the logistical capacity of the Bible College, the external financial assistance has enabled the institution to procure and install one generator, and buy and install a photocopier. 

IMPROVING ACADEMIC PROGRAMS
On improving the quality of the academic and professional programs, the curriculum of the college was reviewed and diversified in consonance with the Bear Valley Bible Institute. The Library of the college was rehabilitated and equipped with books (though the number of books is inadequate), software, furniture and other materials. 

In addition to relocating the library on the second floor of the Bible College building, a large guest room has been rehabilitated to serve as residence of visiting American brethren and instructors. Showers and face basin are installed as well. 

On the first floor of Langford building the classrooms and offices were enlarged, with each classroom now accommodating thirty six students instead of previous capacity of twenty. The two bathrooms were also enlarged to accommodate two toilets and two showers each. 

FURNITURE
Key furniture and fixtures were procured and installed on both floors of the Bible College. Family bed with mattress was put in the Guest Room upstairs. Five old bunk beds were reconditioned and five new bunk beds were built to accommodate students attending the institution. Four large book shelves were built and installed in the library on the second floor.

FISCAL MATTERS 
Given the active benevolence of our American brethren, the College now runs on a monthly budget of US $2,221.00. About ninety percent (90%) or US $2,000.00 accounts for American support while the ten percent (10%) or US $221.00 represents Liberian support. By paying ten percent of the budget the Liberian brethren will demonstrate ownership of the Bible School. To this church leaders have committed themselves.

START OF ACADEMIC SESSION  
Thirteen (13) students started classes on the 17th September, 2012. Classes commenced late due to ongoing work on the bathrooms. We anticipate about twenty (20) students to enroll (this is based on the number of application forms filled and returned to the Office of the Registrar). 

Six teachers have been hired to teach the following courses during this first term.

Maxwell J. Whea  Old Testament I
Arthur B. David    Worship 
G. Moses Beh Personal Evangelism I
Jerry D. Wamah   How we got the Bible
Philip G. Montgomery   Writing Skills
Alassis N. Goldore Christian Evidences

The school is privileged to have a guest instructor from Bear Valley Bible Institute (our partner in Christian education) to come over to Liberia to conduct two short courses. The two courses are The Scheme of Redemption and Leadership. The classes will run from December 3 to 13, 2012.

GOSPEL CAMPAIGN
Gospel campaigns are an integral part of our extra-curricular activities at the Liberia Bible College, one week of evangelism will be held in December immediately following the short courses. Both instructors and students will join hands and hearts with local congregations in Monrovia to conduct this one week of evangelistic outreach. The church at Smythe Road has registered its interest to host this first evangelism program.

Alassis N. Goldore

Kenya School Of Preaching Begins Class...

Dear Brethren, 

I trust you are doing well. It is the third day in class and all the 20 students are settled now and everyone is very excited. The classes began on a high note and the standards are high. The weather here now is very hot and some students are struggling to adapt, but they will get used to. 

Last Sunday we worshiped together within the school compound. I led worship service while Elias led Bible class.

The class hour begins at 8 am - 3 pm Monday to Friday. At 10 am we have daily chapel, at 1 pm - 2 pm we break for lunch, 5 pm they go for supper while at 7 pm the students have compulsory evening devotion. During the devotion, one student preaches in English and another translates into Swahili.We intend to help them learn and get used to translation as it is a need here. The courses we are teaching are Genesis, Homiletic, Life of Christ one, Acts and English I.

We are very thankful to God for helping us overcome the earlier huddles and to you for the sacrifices you have made to see this a reality. The dreams have indeed come true but we truly and continually will need your prayers, suggestions and help to make KSOP an excellent preachers school in training preachers who go and fulfill the Lord's Great Commission.

Your prayers and sacrifices have not/are not/ will not be in vain. We will continually keep you in our prayers and work together to train preachers and evangelize Kenya and beyond.  

Brotherly love,

Charles

Influencing Secondary Students, 35 Children And Dusty Roads...

We have finished another amazing week at the Chimala Bible Institute. Our 12 graduates are eagerly finishing their studies in anticipation of graduation. Brother Howell Ferguson will be with us this year as he and I, for the fourth time, will teach the last two short courses of the year. It is graduation time in other schools as well. Our students get so much practical training in there time here. The secondary schools in the area graduated last week and, besides ours, many of our CBI students have been teaching Bible Knowledge every Friday throughout the school year. In the other area schools CBI presented certificates of Bible competency to the area church of Christ students who have been studying. 

After there studies all week our students and teachers continue to drive out on the dusty roads to preach the gospel. This is the end of the rainy season and the roads are all dry as a bone. Ezekiel and I have been working with Israel, one of our fine graduating 2nd year students at Uturo. Israel has weekend studies with the help of his fellow students. He is the preacher at Uturo and we come every Lord’s Day and preach also. There has been a remarkable growth there this past year because of this young man’s work. Boaz came by this morning on the way to Kilekdo. Some studies on the mountain were bearing fruit. He was on his way up the dusty road to baptize some believers into Christ. 

Speaking of dusty roads, as Ezekiel and I were driving down the road this afternoon to go preach we were passed by Menard and Chad. The dust was so bad we could not see each other for a while, but we both made it safely to our destinations. When we got out I counted 35 kids in the yard, which became a part of the service. We promised them we would be back next week with material sent from the states to teach them about Jesus. 

Since 2005 Menard has been one of our finest teachers and evangelists. A native of Wasa, he came to the Swahili program and then earned his Bachelors of Biblical studies. He is planning to work on his Masters at CBI next year. He has translated for about every American teacher that has come. Besides all of this he is the "go to" guy for any problem on the mission as he oversees the estate. He is one of the reasons it is such a joy to work and labor here. Menard teaches one class a quarter at CBI and this time he is teaching Personal Evangelism. He is certainly one reason our students get the good training the Chimala Bible Institute provides for the Lord’s church here in Tanzania. 

Garry L. Hill
Extension Coordinator
Chimala Bible Institute

Containers Arrive And Churches Hear The Gospel...

Pole sana (very sorry)! We have been very busy the last month with life here at the Chimala Mission and we have failed to send out a report the last few weeks. I'm sure you'll agree, however, that we haven't been sitting around.

Rena has received only 1/3 of the needed homeschool books to teach the kids. There have been a variety of reasons why the books have not arrived, and we are going to have to double up on assignments to catch up on where we should be at. We are hoping that the books will arrive this week so that we can get started on this work with the kids. Currently, we have a room fixed up at the next house into a classroom - complete with a white board, school desk, a computer lab, etc.  

We have received our container! It finally arrived with most of our family's personal items. There were a few items missing, like shoes, toys, a radio, etc. We are unhappy that some items came up missing, but we are glad to finally have our container. In fact, a second container arrived a couple of weeks later with farm project tools, a tractor, etc. So, we had to unload our container quickly, arrange and store the items, and prepare for the second container to come in. We have been quite busy! Not only getting ready for the next container, we were busy unpacking our boxes and totes into our house. We moved all of the boxes, etc. up to the back of the house and our cook asked where we were going to put it!! It's nice to have our own stuff. 

Chimala Mission Update
On September 24, 2012, I had a full day of working around the mission, making sure all is running smoothly, and getting ready to go home for the day. About 5 PM, I was at the Chimala Bible Institute when I heard a strange noise like a siren. I jumped into my car, Ezekiel Harrison (a CBI teacher) jumped in as well, and we drove down to the schools to see what was going on. Upon turning the corner to the Primary School Boy's Dormitory, I saw smoke, fire, and people wailing and working to put out a fire. I went directly into the middle of the effort, but my limited Kiswahili skills constricted me to saying, "maji, sasa" which is "water, now." They quickly formed a bucket brigade to bring water to the burning building. Many people from the community also showed up to help with the effort. There were two children hurt in the fire, but they are fine now. We are beginning to rebuild the dorm also.

At the Chimala Bible Institute, we are looking at adding our biggest class of new students ever with 28-30 new students. These students come from four different countries including a refugee camp which is too dangerous to visit. The future for the school is bright as God is especially blessing the school with new students. I am currently teaching the book of Isaiah.

The Chimala Mission Hospital has been served by a German doctor named Felix Dopple  for the last month. He has truly enjoyed being at the mission and hopes to return. The hospital is in need of good western doctors to come and work at the hospital for a short term or long term basis. If you are interested in this opportunity to serve others and our faithful God, simply reply to this email. 

Preaching the Gospel
We visited several congregations this past month. We try and visit a new congregation each Sunday. With over 100 different congregations in SW Tanzania, I have plenty to visit!  

We are beginning a work with the Kibyoni Church of Christ. They only have 2-3 benches and have to borrow a few from others when it is time to worship. The mission is going to help the church with four benches and also some repair work to their windows. I handed out some 'Chimala Mission' pens to the members and some visiting children.

We visited with the Igawa Church of Christ today. I preached about the Gospel of Christ. 

Since we are visiting so many congregations, I decided to start a new blog to post pictures and information about all of the congregations in the area.  You can check it out here:  http://swtzcoc.blogspot.com/ 

Support Level
We are still in need of support for our family. We came over to Chimala on faith that the LORD would provide. We pray that the LORD will work through you and your congregation to help us in our work.

Chad Wagner and family

To see the Wagner report with all the pictures, please click here.

Tanzania Leadership Conference...

Dear Co-Workers: 

Quote of the Week: "The wicked in his proud countenance does not seek God: God is in none of his thoughts." Psalm 10:4

ALL SCRIPTURE... Somehow we forgot to include a quote for the past couple of weeks. If you've ever noticed, all good and true quotes have their origin in the Bible. From now on, Scripture quotes will begin our report. What could be better?

KARIBU! Buddy Frye was welcomed this week and has completed his course on Ephesians and Colossians. Buddy taught a great lesson ("Walking with the Lord") on Thursday at the Kisongo church building. He spoke at Kwa Mrombo this morning. Buddy is scheduled to speak twice (Solomon & Crisis Parts I and II) at our twelfth annual Tanzania Leadership Conference which begins this Thursday, the 11th continuing through Sunday the 14th (9am-4pm each day). The theme is "National Leadership" (congregations working together on a national level). The scheduled speakers (and attendees) will be of Tanzanian, Kenyan, Ugandan and American nationalities. We're expecting large crowds and much growth from these 4 days of concentrated sermons on the Kingdom. Each day the ladies will have two separate sessions. The women speakers will include two of the local evangelists' wives: Jane Massawe and Julia Mwakabanje, Margaret Wechesa (wife of Francis who is now in Uganda directing a preaching school) and all the current missionary ladies: Anita Hochdorf, Stephanie Stafford and Trina (presenting a lesson on the O.T. character, Abigail, and her contribution to the kingdom).

FOOD PRESERVATION DEMONSTRATION AND DRIP IRRIGATION classes will be taught at the end of the Leadership Seminar late Saturday afternoon. Hopefully, these classes will benefit the local people in their daily life.

MORE SHORT-TERM WORKERS ARRIVE. Denny Petrillo, Nathan Adams, Sid Aultman and Daniel Warren have "crossed the big pond". Denny and Nathan attended Kisongo this morning. Denny taught an excellent lesson on "Worry" at Bible class and preached on "The Purpose of Life" during worship. Pray for Nathan who is not feeling so well. Sid and Daniel attended at Arusha. Others due to arrive this week are: Neal Pollard, Mike Hite, Bob Turner, Bruce Hatcher, Tom Watkins, and Brad Whinery. 

GOOD NEWS! Our understanding is that five-year-old Mary (who had broken her arm three months ago but received no medical treatment) has had corrective surgery and has a pin in her elbow, to be taken out after a month. The Hochdorf family was instrumental in coordinating Mary's treatment! Mary's father (Jaffrey) gave thanks to God this morning that his daughter was recovering well. 

SPEAKING OF GOOD NEWS...Last week, you read about the recent baptisms. Due to a lack of time, we didn't say all we wanted to about the young man (early 20's) named Allen. In a previous report, we mentioned meeting him while walking around the neighborhood. He told of his future plans to attend a university to study Agriculture and Economics. He knows English and seems to be an exceptional young man. One day he had come by to "bid us farewell" because he was due to leave in one week to attend college. Realizing that we might not get another opportunity to introduce him to the Gospel, we asked Mr. Paul Richey to work him into the studies scheduled for that day. After his baptism, he came by, asked for additional study to help ground him (Ahimidiwe studied with him again) and we discussed his good decision to put on Jesus through baptism. Allen's mother said he was old enough to make his own choices but he was reluctant tell his Dad (who is an elder in the Lutheran church) before he leaves for college. He said he was happy to put some space between him and his family because they would "pull him back" and he didn't want that. Thankfully, there are two congregations near his school. We're asking you to put him on a special prayer list so he will continue his Christian walk and will become a strong member. We're looking forward to seeing him when he returns in February.

HE WHO IS SLOW TO WRATH HAS GREAT UNDERSTANDING. Another young neighbor (16 years old) drank poison because he was mad at his family for the discipline he received. Thankfully, he was immediately taken to the nearby clinic where he received emergency care and survived. His family is related to several members of the church.

YESTERDAY...Heather and Candace attended the day-long graduation ceremonies (11:30 - 4:30) for their friend, Happiness. Afterwards, the worn-out graduates were required to attend another activity before going back to the school to clean the building(s). Not quite what we would expect in America. But, "Toto, we're not in Kansas anymore."

THANK YOU FOR YOUR PARTICIPATION IN THIS GREAT WORK!  

In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family

God Gives The Increase In Paraguay...

Worship and Bible class attendance:

• Sun am – 37 (2nd); 56 (9th); 89! (16th); 52 (23rd); 58 (30th) 
• Sun pm – 31 (2nd); 28 (9th); ns (16th); 33 (23rd); 22 (30th) 
• Sunday Bible study average – 48 

• Midweek study average 22 / Other - 21 

Recent congregational developments and activities: 

• Friends and Family Day! (see below for details!) 

• The Special Committee for the Bible School has been working on the internal rules and regulations for the school. They are making good progress and will soon be examining the curriculum to be offered to the students. 

Conversions / identifications / restorations: Two families were added to the family of God! 

• Baptized! - Mirian and Guillermo Sanchez. Mirian is the sister of Ruthy Pacua, who was baptized just a few months ago. Ruthy invited both Guillermo and Mirian to come visit the church to see what we were all about. They had been thinking a lot about their faith lately but had never found the answers to their questions. After a few studies with them, and especially one that focused on all the various aspects of baptism, they decided they had found the right church. On Tuesday September 4th, this wonderful family was added to the family of God through baptism! Praise God! 
• Baptized! - Hector and Patricia Paredes. Hector is the brother of our member Ramon Paredes. He and his wife, Patricia and their son, Alex, have been attending and studying for more than a year now. Once they learned that they not only needed to be baptized for the remission of their sins, but also needed to correct their marriage situation, Patricia decided she wanted to be baptized and married on the same day! On September 22 they were baptized in the morning and married that evening! What a truly exciting day it was! 
• Claudia Larrea - has been struggling recently with her faith and was missing many of our assembly times. She has returned to her first love and is asking for prayers. She is a truly sweet and precious soul! 

Special Activities:
We had a very special “Friends and Family Day” on September 16 with some 89 people in attendance!

Many members brought their neighbors, coworkers, relatives and classmates to participate in our worship to our Lord. After worship, we presented a little photo gift to all those who had been baptized in the last year. We then took the group photo above and had lunch together afterward. It was a beautiful day in many different ways. Please pray for all the contacts that were initiated from that day!

• English Campaign Contacts. Our studies continue to go well and we are advancing toward more serious Bible studies with each one. Please keep Blanca, Daniel, Sergia, Antonio, and Graciela in your prayers that they may be touched by the word of God. 

• We are continuing our Sunday morning Bible study hour on the family. The series is called, “Christ: The Hope of the Home” and we will be covering all aspects of Christian living within our homes. It has been going very well! 
• Our Wednesday evening Bible study hour has been a study about denominational doctrines in comparison to the Bible. We have covered several groups and doctrines and it has been well received by all those attending the classes. 

Evangelistic efforts:

• Daniel and Cristian Monges are painters that we contracted recently. Through various discussions we learned that they are very religious and when Cristian learned that I was a preacher, he asked if I would teach him how to prepare sermons. We have since begun a course on Homiletics and I am praying that through this study he learns a great deal of truth from the Bible! 

• Decli Enciso’s nephew, Alcides, and her neighbor, Eli, have been continuing to participate in our weekly Bible study group in her home. They are growing in knowledge! 

Steps toward mission goals: 

• A new mid-week Bible study group has formed in Ñemby! There are several of our members who live in that suburb of Asunción and they decided to form their own area study group. They are praying (and so are we) that this will eventually develop into a church plant in the town of Ñemby!

Plans for near future:
We are scheduled to have a mission team workshop this next month. Jerry and Gail Heidrich will be returning to Paraguay to help the team with another upcoming transition and to serve as counselors for the team members.

Personal HIGHLIGHT(s) of the Month: Two precious families added to the Lord’s church through baptism, a wedding, a new mid-week Bible study group started, and a very successful “Friends and Family Day” were the highlights of September for us! What wonderful blessings!

Personal study:
I am currently reading / have read:

•  “Everyday Evangelism” by Randy Becton. 
•  “Estudios de la Biblia” by Monroe E. Hawley - this is one of many books I am reading to see if it should be considered as part of the curriculum for the students of the Bible School. 
•  “Preaching” by Fred Craddock 

Culture and language study: 
We continue to take classes in Spanish and we continue to learn something new every time. We are certainly more comfortable with the language but it is going to require some more time to learn it well.

Visitation:

• Prisilla Santandar is a contact we have had since last year, but she had stopped coming. We went to visit her in her new restaurant she opened which explained why we haven’t seen her in a while. 
• Elba Agüero - she is struggling with some family problems, so we went to encourage her and give her our love and support.

Family activities:

• We want to say “THANK YOU” to all the children at Central Avenue church of Christ who made their own cards for us and sent them to Paraguay. We LOVED them! 
• We attended a “Town Hall Meeting” at the U.S. Ambassador's house to learn what is required for overseas voting. 
• Andrea has developed a new hobby in which she has grown a green thumb! She now really enjoys gardening and is having good success at it. 
• Andrea helped plan and organize the recent wedding of Hector and Patricia Paredes. 
• I was recently given the opportunity to preach at Margaret Street church of Christ while still in Paraguay via Skype. 
• We went to Jazz Festival concert at the Municipal Theater which featured some outstanding talent. 

Plans for the near future: 

• Andrea will be traveling with the mission team ladies to Brazil for a South American missionary conference. 
• Next month we will have our annual Men’s retreat where we will be examining our goals for the congregation. 
• We also have a team workshop and annual team retreat coming up. 
• Our 17th wedding anniversary! 

Our Mission Team Goals for 2012:
Evangelism: Each member of the team has developed and committed to some personal evangelism goals. Collectively, we are praying that we will generate more than 120 new contacts and conduct more than 750 Bible studies. These studies will include both evangelistic and member studies. We also plan to use public advertising, special events, and seminars to generate contacts. We also pray that we will continually encourage and develop a more evangelistic spirit within the congregation.

Edification: The team is working to develop leadership within the congregation through the mentoring process, special workshops, and by utilizing studies that focus on servant leadership. We are also developing ideas and working on logistics for the possibility of having a specialized “Bible school” in Asuncion, Paraguay.

Edifice: (Building Construction): We pray that we will complete construction of phase 1 of the building this year. All paperwork has been acquired and we are requesting estimates to begin construction.

Troy Spradlin

If you would like to see the report, complete with pictures, please click here.

Parliament Elections And Preaching In Ukraine...

Dear brothers, families and churches.

We will have the Parliament elections here in Ukraine, and all country is flooded by agitation posters. Our country is under the influence of different political forces, on one side there are those who promote reformation and democratic changes, and on the other – representatives of moderate changes and totalitarian control over society. But the interesting thing is that neither of them mentions God or believes in His control and providence. 

As Christians we believe that all authorities are from God, and it’s in His power to change governments, establish and destroy countries. The only thing thousands of Christians all over the world pray for is the peace for God’s church. 

We have started a new school year at the Institute. 15 students attend classes. First-year students had courses on: How We Got the Bible (Albert Bagdasaryan), Hermeneutics (Dennis Sopelnik), Scheme of Redemtion and Family Living (Jim Sherman). Second-year students had courses on: Ezra, Nehemiah, Esther (Victor Semikoz), Leadership (Andrew Zhuravlyov), Greek (Terry Harmon), and Intertestamental Period (Dennis Sopelnik).  

We thank God that Jim Sherman comes to the Institute twice a year. His work for the Institute is priceless. He is a living example of faith, patience and obedience to God. Students learn a lot from such teachers, and it helps them later to minister at their local churches, and every time parting with him, we are already looking forward to seeing him again. 

Some students are already actively participating in the work of the Central Church of Christ in Gorlovka; they are evangelizing, teaching at the youth group meetings and organizing interesting events after the classes. One such event was a dinner together, when students prepared shashlyk (shish kebab), and then we had good time, playing Frisbee and volleyball. When I was studying at the Institute, I noticed that we didn’t have sports events. Knowledge is important, but our bodies also need physical exercise. 

In October, we have planned to have a conference for young people on the topic: “Do Not Be Afraid of Failure.” We want to invite young people from the Donetsk region.  In this seminar we plan to teach them to not depart from their goals in serving the Lord and also get them acquainted with our Institute and our program of leadership training. 

At the end of October, students of the Bachelor’s program will have a week of an evangelizing campaign, and then they will have Fall Break. During this period, we will have two weeks of classes for Master’s program. 

There is good news. In October, a young lady will join our Bible program. Her name is Katya, and she is from Konstantinovka. Thanks be to the Lord that young people want to receive a good quality education in the Bible. We ask you to pray for our students, so that they will be active ministers for God’s cause in Ukraine in future. 

Thank you for your support of God’s work in Ukraine. We pray for you and your care for us.

Students send you their greetings, and they highly esteem the input that you make in their lives.

Your brother and co-worker for the Lord’s cause, 

Dennis Sopelnik

Lord, Give Us Beautiful Feet...

“How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things, of those who preach the gospel of Jesus” (Romans 10:15). I know you have heard or read this verse before, but the application throughout the Extension Program takes on a powerful meaning. As I read through the reports this week I was constantly reminded of the beautiful feet of the men and women of the Lord’s church who are sharing the good news of Jesus. I think you will agree as you read through these wonderful reports as well.

The students in Denver will be finishing the first quarter of the school year this week. It has been a joy working with these men, watching them grow through the knowledge they are gaining, and preparing themselves with enthusiasm as they travel for campaign. Several groups will be traveling around the country to four areas sharing the gospel. I look forward to hearing the reports about the work they are able to accomplish and the congregations they encourage.

Next week several of the staff in Denver will be traveling to Tanzania to participate in the annual Leadership Conference hosted by the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. While there, I am looking forward to visiting the location of a new school in Kisumu, Kenya. The school will begin classes the first week of October, so it will be a wonderful opportunity to see the school for the first time, welcome the students, and encourage the staff in the work before them.

The news elsewhere around the world grows with excitement. There are several schools involved in sharing good news this week and the growth of the Lord’s kingdom continues to provide encouragement. I hope you enjoy reading as much as I have this week.

Now on to the other reports...

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is /extension-schools/

Extension Reports 

God Abundantly Blessed The Campaign In Cameroon: After working in 17 villages, students return for classes at CBIW and their campaign work was fruitful.

Threefold Recording Of Mission Guatemala: The work in Guatemala continues to demonstrate the planning and work of Byron and Hawatthia. Please take time to read these three reports.

A Birthday, A New Brother, And Two Baptisms At Hidden Valley: The development of the North India Bible College is bringing souls to Christ.

Schools, Mountains, And 30 Prospective Students: The future of the work in training men to preach in Chimala, Tanzania looks brighter each day.

Taking On Greater Responsibility In Cambodia: The church in Siem Reap is taking on more responsibility with the outreach of graduates from IBISR in spreading the gospel.

Denominational Preacher Forced To Resign: In Kpalime, Togo, the outreach of the Cephas, the director of the Center for Biblical Studies, is changing the lives of man, including Pierre.

Work Accomplished By TIBS Students And Graduates: Current and former students in Tamale are changing the lives of many in Northern Ghana.

To Grow, Strengthen, And Unite The Church: Recent campaign work in India and Nepal is helping the church become stronger and united.

Kisongo Bible School Is Bearing Fruit: The efforts of reaching out with the gospel is adding souls to the kingdom in Arusha, Tanzania. 

Final Thoughts
Thank you for the diligent effort you put into the training of men to preach the gospel. From the work in Denver to each location where Bear Valley is privileged to assist in the training of preachers, it is special to have the opportunity to be coworkers with our God and each other. 

God bless
Bob

Denominational Preacher Forced To Resign...

Steve and Willie visit Kpalime
We left Accra on Saturday the 11th of August and returned on Tuesday the 14th of August. The objective of the trip was to deliver a new copier to CBS, worship with the Nyiveme church of Christ and to discuss the needs of CBS. During our visit we had the opportunity to teach the Bible class and preach.

Denominational Preacher forced to resign
Piere, a couple of weeks ago was preaching for a denominational church in Avetonu near Kpalime. He heard of the teachings of the Church of Christ and decided to investigate. Upon visiting the church, he was handed a tract which addressed the issue of the differences between the Old Testament and the New Testament. After carefully studying the tract, he decided to teach his congregation, and this was the beginning of his predicament. He was accused of teaching a false doctrine and subsequently summoned to appear before the council of elders and the founder of the Church. As a result of the incident, he was asked stop preaching. On my recent trip, I met Piere when he came to worship with the Nyiveme congregation. Cephas is seriously teaching him the way more perfectly. Lets continue to pray for Piere Kanyika.

Willie Gley

To see the report with pictures, please click here.

Threefold Recording Of Mission Guatemala...

Byron Benitez and Hawatthia Jones, along with the staff of ITL and the leaders of the Linda Vista Church of Christ in Guatemala City send their greetings along three wonderful reports about the work. It is worth your time to read about the great work these men are doing in Central America.

Read the report about the World English Institute by clicking here.
Read the June Guatemala mission report by here.
Read the July Guatemala mission report by clicking here.

Thank you for reading...

Bryon & Hawatthia

Kisongo Bible School Is Bearing Fruit...

Dear Supporters, Family and Friends,    

Our visitors (short-term workers) have been very busy this week and eight precious souls were added to the kingdom! Your new sisters and brothers are: Adena, Alphayo, Allen, Lowden, Stanley, Daniel, Ezekiel, and Francis. (These last four young men are all students at the Kisongo Bible School. This school has been in existence less than a year and it is already bearing fruit, with the help of our guests). The total number of studies was 38 with 30 people. Thank you very much to Paul Richey, Lance Leavens, and Lindsey Whitehead for all they did in leading these souls to Christ. Thanks also to Neil Richey for teaching Romans and Galatians to the second-year class of the ACSOP. He is already scheduled to come back next year to teach another class. Paul left Friday night and the rest of the group leaves tonight. Please pray for their safe travel.

While Jimmy, Cy, Sean, and Elly were on their trip through southern TZ they had an opportunity to visit with the brethren at Chimala. Chad Wagner is the new administrator there and he has been having the typical "African Experience," getting broke in just right. Sorry, Chad, but we had to laugh when we read in your report back in June that you all were expecting the container in "just a few weeks."  It was a "when donkey's fly" sort of laugh, knowing that nothing short of a miracle would allow you to receive your container "on time." They finally received their container at the beginning of September. In addition, they have had two fires in the school dorms. Please pray for him and his family and the huge responsibility he has undertaken there. We hope to see Chad at the Tanzania Leadership Conference in October as well as he and his family at Tanzania Christian Camp this December. 

Tuesday, Lindsey Whitehead, some of the children, and Trina walked our neighborhood for about two and a half hours handing out tracts and visiting members of the church. We set up one Bible study and met some new people. This trip to Tanzania is Lindsey's second one and we hope it won't be her last. She has a bubbly personality, didn't complain about anything (although she was sick for a few days) and just fit right in.

Tuesday evening, Raul, the owner of Big Bites Indian Restaurant in Arusha, and his mother Sheila, joined us for supper. We really enjoyed our time and conversation and plan to invite them again for Thanksgiving Dinner. 

Our daughter, Candace, turns 13 years old on Tuesday...bringing the total number of teenage girls in our home to four! When our girls were little, people would say, "oh, they are sweet now, but JUST WAIT until they are teenagers!" The time has come and we feel blessed beyond measure to have four wonderful older girls who are so trustworthy and capable, helping to run this household, cook, do laundry and help care for the younger children and teach Bible classes. On Friday, Candace's friends are coming over to celebrate and spend the night. Candace continues to babysit two young children at our house while their mother attends the Kisongo Bible School in the evening.    

Congratulations to Mary and Miriam Martin (Elly Martins' daughters) who recently graduated from school and to Happiness Elibariki (daughter of Paulina) who graduates this coming Saturday! We've known Mary and Miriam for about 11 years now and Happiness for about 6 years. All three girls have a foundation in the Word, know English well, have had experience translating for English speakers and are already an asset to the church! 

Yesterday, eight teenage girls enjoyed a devotional and picnic held right below our house. Lindsey Whitehead spoke on the importance of kindness...a much needed topic anywhere in the world! Their picnic consisted of peanut butter and jelly sandwiches, chocolate cake, cupcakes, cinnamon rolls and sodas...in other words, enough sugar to throw a Tanzanian into a diabetic coma!  

Lindsey (Gee) studied with Nice, Rehema and Grace yesterday (Nice and Rehema have returned but only temporarily, I believe...difficult to get the facts straight here sometimes).

Last week, we mentioned Hilda and her one-year-old son, Bless. Sadly, Bless tripped near the charcoal stove on the floor. His hand was badly burned when it landed in the hot oil on the little stove. When I was told about the accident the next day, I came to visit. His hand was extremely swollen, and the skin on the inside palm and wrist was peeled off. Because the local clinic did not clean it well, were not using the best burn cream and had not bandaged it, Bless and his mom were driven to the Tanzanian Christian Clinic in Monduli (operated by Danny and Nancy Smelser) for him to receive better treatment. Stephanie Stafford is going to continue the on-going care of changing the bandages at her home until his hand heals properly. In Tanzania, where most people place their "stove" on the floor or cook over an open fire, "burns" and "children" are almost synonymous. A simple wooden or metal table would have prevented this accident but Hilda doesn't own one.

WHATEVER IS MINE.. IS MINE AND WHATEVER IS YOURS IS MINE. This statement is said somewhat "tongue-in-cheek" but as you know, most humor contains a bit of truth...that's what makes it so funny! Please read the following without thinking we are "against" Tanzanian males (we love three of them dearly...our sons... and have respect and admiration for many here).  With that in mind, allow us to share a little Tanzanian culture we observed. One of the women here (along with several others) received a pretty Bible cover for her participation in a ladies' seminar. The next Sunday, her sweet husband had HIS Bible in it and was using it. On more than one occasion, we have given ladies' shoes to women... only to see their husbands wearing them the next day! It doesn't matter if the husband has to cram his feet into them and the shoes are bulging at the seams...he's wearing them! At the market, Trina bought Naomi some new shoes. Shortly after arriving home and giving them to her, we noticed Elijah wearing them. Shaking our heads and smiling, our thoughts were, "typical Tanzanian male!"  (To all the TZ men reading this: You know it is true! ha/ha)    

While visiting last week, Paulina and Trina stopped at the home of Jaffey and Yomyake. Paulina directed her attention to Mary, their five-year-old. A small bone was poking up near her skinny little elbow. We learned that Mary broke her arm three months ago and they didn't have the money to get it set (and didn't want to ask anyone for money). Hopefully, with help from the missionaries, Mary will get her arm set properly. 

As always we are grateful for all you do to make our stay here possible. May God bless you all for the sacrifices you make! 

In Christ,
Jimmy, Trina, and the kids

A Birthday, A New Brother, And Two Baptisms At Hidden Valley...

Dear brothers,

It is great to tell you that these 2 weeks have been a great blessing for all of us here. Brother Jerry and sister Paula Bates were here in Chandigarh and left to visit other places on Friday. 

Brother Rodney has been teaching and he has started teaching from the book of Corinthians after completing his studies on the Prison Epistles. We had arranged last week a gospel meeting especially for them and brother Jerry preached there. He also preached in Ludhiana, 100 kms from here (where Noble lives). We had a good gathering there too. On Friday, after brother and sister Bates' left we had the regular Bible class in PGI at 7 pm. 

We have been very busy and enjoying the fellowship of each other. Today was brother Rodney's 39th Birthday. It was a joyful day as one of our students insisted us to baptize him and we took the opportunity. We took all the students to the Hidden Valley, where 2 precious souls were added to the church according to the promise. 

Brother Rodney will be 3 more days with us and will teach till Friday morning and also preach in the Wednesday class. But today was a memorable day as we witnessed 2 souls obeying the Lord. 

Earnest Gill

Taking On Greater Responsibility In Cambodia...

Dear brethren,

What an honor it is for me to report to fellow workers in Christ who support this work! I appreciate you all very much and am very thankful for your prayers. Five years ago, on the 25th day of this month, I left America to come and serve God in this part of the world. What a blessing it has been! I look forward to continuing to serve God here until He tells me it's time to go elsewhere. I will continue to solicit your prayers and support. 

The church in Siem Reap has grown to the point that we are able to partially support our local preacher and send men to evangelize in the surrounding areas. She has also been helping with Hannah's Hope and now is undertaking a major project in helping support one of our graduates settle in a new village to raise pigs and eventually evangelizing that village. To see the initiatives that she's taking on is such a wonderful and pleasing sight. I can’t wait to see how much she grows in the next 5 years. I ask that you continue to pray for the work here. Below are some pictures of some of our members helping getting our brother situated in his new mission field. Please keep Sam in your prayers.

Phanat

To see the report with pictures of the work, please click here.

Work Accomplished By TIBS Students And Graduates...

Greetings from Tamale! This report will focus on some of the work being accomplished by the graduates and students of the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS). 

Work in the Salaga Area
Current TIBS student Matthew Donker comes from the village of Mbauwndo, located near the city of Salaga, here in the Northern Region. During the break between terms in August Matthew returned to Mbauwndo to do personal evangelism work in the village. Matthew reports that four souls were taught the gospel and added to the church through baptism for the remission of sins. Matthew will be returning to Mbauwndo after he graduates to continue teaching the gospel in the Salaga area. 

Work in the Saboba Area
TIBS graduate Bisaan Tibei Richard visited the Institute this past week with a report on the work that is going on in the Saboba area. We were extremely happy to see Richard as the school had been expecting to hear from him for some time. Richard’s report reads as follows:

I am very sorry for delaying in giving my report to you. It is not because I have had a chance but did not come, but because of sickness and other problems. This sickness and problems did not mean that I forgot the school or that I am putting aside God’s work which had been given to me by His grace. I am very seriously working, and others as well. On 9^th June 2011 by God’s grace I have been able to establish one church at Buegmal, which now has 29 members. I was also able to renew the congregation at Tunbu in November of 2011. This year I baptized four additional people in Tunbu, raising their number from 32 to 36 members. 

We are especially thankful to hear about the renewal of the church in Tunbu. Throughout the Northern region there are a great number of villages where the church had been planted by short term missionary workers, but the members stopped meeting because there were no leaders or teachers once the mission team left. Villages like Tunbu are one of the main reasons for TIBS to continue training local men to become the leaders and teachers these congregations need. 

This year, in addition to his work in Buegmal and Tunbu, Richard also reported that he has been working with the church that meets in Sanguli, a village near Saboba of about 1000 people. He reports that the church there has 81 members and is involved with house to house evangelism work in order to continue growing the church.  

Work in the Bimbila Area
The TIBS student body will be headed to the town of Bimbila for a school campaign during the last week of October. In preparation for the campaign one of our current students from that area, Kwame Lot, went to Bimbila last weekend to make arrangements for sleeping rooms and a meeting place. 

To make a long story short, Lot was two days late returning from his trip. While looking for rooms Lot made a number of contacts with people who were interested in learning more about the church. The two extra days Lot stayed in Bimbila teaching resulted in a total of 10 baptisms! Arrangements are being made to have a teacher who will work in Bimbila until Lot graduates and can return to work there full time. With this type of initial response we are excited to return in October with all of our students.  

Closing Thoughts
This is just some of the work being done by the students and graduates of TIBS. However, there are many more villages which need preachers and leaders. That’s why the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies is here. Your support is making a difference in northern Ghana! 

In His service,
Tony Johnson

anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

To Grow, Strengthen, And Unite The Church...

By the grace of God the Father and prayers of my brothers and sisters in Christ, I got the invitation to do the campaign works in Lord with the brethren and churches in Nagrakata division of west Bengal state of India in the late July. I got this invitation from Brothers Samuel Majhi, Paraju Majhi of Nagrakata and Shanti Chettri of Anarmani Birtamode Church of Christ. Brother Shanti is working in this area from over 20 years and planted churches there. I am thankful to God that he invited me to join him and brethrens there in this Lord’s work in 2002 December. Since then I am working with him, churches and brethren there.

Aug 11, Saturday, I left home at the mid afternoon and reached Anarmani Birtamode at late afternoon. After visiting Brother Shanti and his family we had evening devotional with his family and few other church members there in Birtamode that night from 6:30 – 7:30 pm. There were 12 people there with me in the devotional.

Aug 12, Sunday, we had morning worship service at Anarmani, Birtamode Church of Christ. Including me there were 17 people in the service. After the service Shanti and I have visited Brother Bharat Rayamajhi from Surunga whom I have known from over 10 years. Since there was transport strike that day we were not able to visit other churches in Jhapa. We also had evening service and devotional at Birtamode.

Aug 13, Monday morning at 7:00 am brother Shanti and I left Birtamode and went to Kakarvitta a border town of Nepal with India. We enter to India through Panitanki town and we got a 9:30 am bus from Raniganj (Panitanki) to go Nagrakata. We traveled in a overcrowded bus in a hot summer day of August of India via Siliguri city, crossing Tista River by coronation bridge constructed by British India over 100 years ago. When bus dropped us in Sulkamore of Nagrakata it was almost 1:00 pm, from there we got a cycle rickshaw and reached Sulkapara. We were glad to see and visit our brothers and sisters there. That evening from 6:00 – 8:00 pm we had fellowship service with 22 brothers and sisters there in Sulkapara.

Aug 14, Tuesday morning we have visited brothers and sisters in Sulkapara. At 2:30 pm afternoon me, Shanti, Samuel, Paraju and his younger brother traveled in two motorcycles to Dudumari, around 25 KM east south of Nagrakata. It’s a monsoon season in south Asia, due to heavy rain we stopped in two places and reached Dudumari at 4: 30 pm. When we reached Dudumari we were almost soaked by the rain. We were visiting a family of Brother Jagannath Mahali there. He and his wife were baptized 10 years ago when they were in Luksan nearby Nagrakata. Later they left Luksan and settled in Dudumari village. Recently Brother Paraju and Samuel reestablished contact with him, visiting them regularly and brought them back to the church since they were going to a denominational church there. They are also teaching and preaching Jagannath’s neighbors. We were there to encourage him and his family in Christ. We had fellowship with the family till 6:30 pm and, including us, there were 10 people. We left Dudumari village at 7:00 pm. It was raining, not hard like afternoon, when we reached Sulkapara it was dark and almost 8 pm.

Brother Paraju and Samuel are working to establish a congregation in Dudumari through Brother Jagannath’s family. At present they work in Sulkapara Church a 55+ member congregation and Kurti Church a 45 membercongregation nearby Nagrakata. This area is a tea plantation area of northeast India, called Dooars near the eastern boarder of Nepal. In this area mostly Nepali origin and Sadri tribal people live. Most of the people speak Nepali and Sadri language. When we go there we mostly teach and preach in the Hindi language, a national language of India, as asked by the brethren there.

August 15, Wednesday, It was the day when brothers have organized a Bible study and gospel meeting in Kurti church of Christ. At 8: 00 am we went to Kurti, it is 30 minutes drive northeast of Sulkapara. Sulkapara is on the southwest and Kurti is on the northeastern part from Nagrakata town. The church here at Kurti was planted by brothers Shanti, Paraju and Samuel around four years ago and the church meets in a brother Samuel Hemrum’s house. It is a growing church and there were 12 baptisms there in February 2012. We have started fellowship from 9:00 am and went to 11 am. There were a little over 70 people including church members and children were gathered inside Samuel’s house for Bible Study. There were also 20+ members from Sulkapara church. From 11:30 am to 2:00 pm we had a gospel meeting outside the house, and there were 100+ people there including children. Brother Shanti and I took the Bible class and preached the gospel. After the gospel meeting 7 people came ahead for baptism. Brother Paraju Majhi baptized them in the small stream nearby. After coming back from Kurti to Sulkapara, we have visited brothers and sisters at that night in Paraju’s house.

August 16, Thursday at 6:30 am we decided to travel back to Siliguri by train and went to Indian Railways station at Nagrakata. The train came to the station at 7:15 and left after five minutes. In the train we were able to meet some Nepali people. One of them was Lab Kumar Bhujel a school teacher and a Baptist church member from Hasimara further east from Nagrakata. We talked with him about the church of Christ and how we can restore the New Testament church now. He has given me his address and cell phone number and requested me to send Christian literature. We reached Siliguri at around 10:00 am. We took a 12:30 pm truck to Mirik reaching there almost at 3:00 pm. Brother Markus Thapa was waiting for us at the downtown Mirik. Again we took a truck to go to Okaiti Tea Garden where Markus and his family lives. When we reached his house it was 5:00 pm. We have visited him and his family to encourage them in Christ. A congregation meets at his house and most of the members there are from his family. Okaiti is a border village of India with Nepal. Samalbong church of Christ is on the other side at Ilam, Nepal. It is a little less than an hour walk west from there. These Samalbong and Okaiti congregations are working together to evangelize both parts of Nepal and India. They were brought in to Christ by brother Shanti in the mid nineties. It was my 2nd visit to Mirik this year. If we regularly work with the brethren there Shanti and I see the possibilities of growth in the church in this area in the future. That evening Shanti and I had fellowship with 10 people mostly Markus, his family and some members of the church there in Okaiti, Mirik.

August 17, Friday we left Markus' house and Okaiti at 7:00 am, reached downtown Mirik at 8:30 and took the 9:00 am truck to Kakarvitta, a border town of Nepal via Panighatta. We reached the border at 11:00 am and when we reached Shanti's house in Anarmani, Birtamode it was little after noon. Having rested at his house for some time we left for Surunga, Jhapa at 4 pm. There is a congregation at Surunga that meets at brother Bharat Rayamajhi’s house. After reaching there at Surunga at 5:00 pm we had fellowship there from 5:30 to 7:00 pm at Bharat’s house. Including me and Shanti there were 12 people in the fellowship. After service we visited brothers and sisters and we stayed that night in Bharat’s house.

August 18, Saturday noon we left Surunga to go to Dharan, a city in east Nepal where our brother in Christ, Kaziman Shrestha, is living from last six years with his family. He works with the church there in Dharan and evangelizing nearby villages also. Because of his and brother Chandra’s effort, the church at Dharan is growing. They are having Sunday morning and evening services in church now. That afternoon, after reaching Dharan, we had a Bible study with 10 people at Kaziman’s house from 4:00 – 5: 30 pm. After that we visited Chandra and his family and as usual we stayed at Chandra’s home that night.

August 19, Sunday we participated in the morning Bible study and worship service from 10:00 am to 12:00 noon with the church at Dharan. There were 27 people with us. Church meets at the upper floor of brother Chandra’s home. Dharan is a city with over a hundred thousand people in it. There is a medical college and few other Art and Science colleges also in it. It is a hub town of several hilly districts and towns of east Nepal. We see possibilities of growth for the church here and we can use Dharan as a launching pad for evangelizing eastern hill town and districts like Dhankuta, Hile, Khadbari, Bhojpur and Basantapur as well. After the service, brother Shanti and I had a farewell visit with the brothers and sisters in Dharan church. At 1:45 pm I took the bus to Biratnagar to come back home.

This trip was encouraging to me and I believe we have been able to encourage our brothers and sisters in Christ in these areas. I always feel very near to Lord, whenever I visit my brethren and churches there. I strongly believe that by the help of our brothers like Shanti, Kaziman, Chandra, Ganesh, Bharat in east Nepal and Paraju, Samuel, Hemrom, Markus, and Kanchan (Markus’ son) in west Bengal, India we can work more effectively in Lord. If we can have more evangelical trips in these areas and more Bible studies and seminars we can evangelize more areas and people and encourage brothers and sisters in the service of our Lord. For that we have to have at least 10 to 15 days, three trips a year and have Bible study classes and evangelism as well. For that we are in need of more tracts and literature for Church and spiritual Growth. We need your prayers and help for this endeavor in Christ.

Other needs of the churches in these area that will help the churches to grow:

1) Church Buildings in Kurti: This is a growing church of over 40 members in it now. Brothers and sisters are very active in this church in evangelism and fellowship. The church here and in Sulkapara made up of tea plantation Indian Tribal workers whose income is very low, though they are very generous in their service to saints. Brother Samuel Hemrom and Bikram Sabar are working together with Sulkapara brothers for the growth of church here. The church meets in the house of Samuel Hemrom. Since the church is growing they are in need of a building. Bikram Sabar has already donated a piece of land for that and brothers and sisters are ready to do the construction labor work building consruction. The church is in need of US $2,000 (Indian Rupee 100,000.00) only to construct 28’ X 14’ zinc roof building that can hold little over 70 people in it.

2) Church Building at Sulkapara: Church of Christ at Sulkapara has land purchased in the name of church where they have constructed a temporary meeting shed earlier. We have done Gospel campaigns, Bible studies and fellowships there several times in the past. When we reached there this time we found out that the shed was destroyed by a recent rainstorm. Brother Samuel and Paraju requested us to convey the churches request for a building to all of you. As I have told earlier, all of the members here are tea plantation laborers. Brother Shanti and I know that building here will not only be a better facility for church here, it will help them to grow and we can have Bible classes and gospel meetings as well in that building. In the past we hired tents to conduct such meetings. A 32’ X 16’ feet zinc roof building for church meeting, classes and 10’ X 12’ two extra rooms for office and store will cost US $4,000 (Indian Rupee 200,000.00) only.

We hope you will kindly consider these requests and pray for it. We are always thankful to God for your continuous encouragement and generous support to us in His service. Keep us in your regular prayer as you are in ours. God bless you richly in His service.

In His Service,

Parsuram Sunchuri Church of Christ
PO Box 2542
57 Su Marg, Subidhanagar Kathmandu Nepal

Phone: +977- 9751009200 Email: psunchuri@yahoo.com

To see the report with pictures, please click here.

God Abundantly Blessed The Campaign In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from the staff, students and members of the Wotutu congregation. We are delighted to share our reports with you. We do hope this report finds you all in your family and the family of God in good health and sound faith.

We were all happy to welcome all the students back from one week campaign in different locations and one week vacation with their families. The students made their way back on campus safe and sound with most of them with good health. The few with bad health will be looked upon soon as we shall get drugs for them. Their bad health is as a result of bad weather conditions and much strained as they carry out their work. To God be the glory.

Brother Emmanuel Kebila in Bali Village looked intently into the scriptures beside the river to make a confession and to put on Christ. He is a receptionist at the chief of that village office. Our students left our campus with a letter addressed to the chief stating that a student from our school will be in his community. We are doing that for security reasons, but it helps the students start sharing the gospel with those in the royal compound and the gospel gets into the heart of those who are deep into all kinds of devilish rituals.

By the grace of God, brother Emmanuel obeyed the gospel. The Lord can use him now to penetrate the royalty in that community. The campaign this time also was with the wives of married students and it is making news of a great wind of change blowing across the church in Cameroon. Many will lift up their hands to pray to God for the school and the work you are doing through us. You are in the prayers of many over here. God will not pass you by when He comes to reward His servants.

Some of the roads students used to get to their places of work were rough. Rainy season in Cameroon is causing lots of problem because of the deplorable roads. Some students trekked long distances because big trucks will block roads for days, so if you keep waiting, your work will remain so you are bound to trek with your leg to meet up with your calling.

The roads may be bad, but our goal must be attained, which is as we think souls and ready to rob from the strong man’s house, we must go. Brother Nicholas went to the village of Mbakwa Supe preaching house to house to make known Christ to many that he will meet. Evangelism is our mission, and our mission is evangelism.

This mission work was in more than 17 congregations because some students were assigned to extend their tentacles of evangelism in nearby villages. The Lord worked in them and 15 souls were added into the Body of Christ and 53 souls were restored back to the fold.

A new congregation was established in Ntesah village in lebialem and this makes the second congregation to be established in that division. One congregation was also restored in the French speaking part of Cameroon called Kombe where brother Ititi Benedict traveled. 7 souls who have stayed above 7 years without worshipping because there was no preacher to lead. Oh oh oh the field is really ripe but the laborers are few. Oh these 17 men will help the growth of the church here in Cameroon upon their graduation on the 20^th of December 2012. Keep them in your prayers that they will validate all their courses and be ready to go into the field full time to evangelize Cameroon.

We start classes tomorrow for the last quarter. Keep all the staff and students in your prayers for all to move well for the glory to go back to God as we plan to graduate our alpha batch. We pray that you will stand by us to realize this dream.

Plans
1) Next week, by His grace, we shall establish a new congregation in Batoke. Keep the work in your prayers. We have been planning to do so for long, if all the means will be there to transport the entire students and some members of our congregation.

2) We shall continue to send out our students for these 3 months on weekend evangelism to keep nurturing the congregations. Many congregation have applied to fully engage our students, but their cry is HOW SHALL WE DO THIS? God alone knows how far we can go.

Appreciations
God bless you the more for availing yourself for God to use and He is accomplishing His will through you. God bless you as you share this report with others who may love to be part of the work here in Cameroon.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW