Harvest Sunday Success...

The last Sunday of October each year is one of my favorite days of the year. Sheryl and I have opportunity to visit the Levy congregation for their Harvest Sunday. The congregation plans all year for this special day where they focus on raising money to help with a number of mission efforts around the world. The theme of the lessons involved missions and harvest. The Old and New Testament teachings provide a wealth of information for God’s mission.

Each year the goal for funds raised has continued to increase. This year was no exception. The goal was set at $275,000 in contributions. As with every year before, the congregation arose to meet the challenge. Nearly $276,000 was committed Sunday morning with the anticipation of additional funds coming in over the weeks ahead.

I am constantly amazed at the incredible generosity of such a mission minded congregation. Their love for the Lord and their heart for missions is demonstrated as they continually raise the bar for the amount of funds collected to help provide support for various works in an untold number of countries. I know my words are a small contribution to express my gratitude as just one recipient of their love. 

The example set by the Levy congregation is one all Christians should learn from in considering the approach to helping the work of taking the gospel to the world. I firmly believe that when congregations are aware of the good work being done and exactly how the funds they give are being used, they will always arise to the occasion and give with a sacrificial mindset. I have seen it numerous times. Thank you Levy for the blessing you are to Sheryl and me, for the example you set for others, and for your love for the Lord and missions.

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/

Jerry Bates’ latest report on his trips to India and Nepal is located here.

Extension Reports 

17 Souls, 7 Locations In Cameroon: Efforts from the weekend evangelism in Cameroon demonstrates the ways God continues to bless the work.

Uganda School of Evangelism Alumni: A recent event in Busia, Uganda cause the formation of an alumni association for the school.

Gathering At The Bridge: Before going out to preach and teach the gospel, groups of men were gathering at the bridge for their transportation. The work is powerful.

12 Souls Added During Youth Camp In Nepal: The Lord gave the increase due to the work of a youth camp in Kathmandu.

Leadership Develops In Arusha: Nothing is more powerful than to see men taking leadership within the local work. 

Final Thoughts
Entering November reminds me of the Thanksgiving holiday. Thanksgiving is perhaps my favorite holiday, one which should be celebrated daily. I will express my gratitude during the month ahead for the individuals who are involved with this work and the activities being conducted around the world. Thank you for all you do to make this work successful.

God bless
Bob

Leadership Develops In Arusha...

Greetings Fellow Workers,

God is so good, so good all the time. His missionaries and fellow workers here in Tanzania are the recipients of His Grace daily. We thank you for your partnership in the Gospel and for all God’s blessings.

The Spread of the Gospel! When we began this mission effort we could only imagine how God would bless it. Today there is now a new Kenya School of Preaching with it’s director and dean having their training here at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching.

There is now a Uganda School of Preaching directed by Francis Wechesa who worked with us for the first ten years. Francis has invited Denny Petrillo (President of the Bear Vally School Bible Institute, Denver, CO) and myself to come out and speak at their conference in December. This would be a great opportunity for me to participate and do some recruiting for the ACSOP. One small problem, NO FUNDING! The total cost of the trip would be $700. I really need to let Francis know one way or the other, if anyone is of the mind to help with such a need; please let me know and thank you for your consideration, prayers and support with this opportunity.

Today was a very special day at the Arusha congregation. Twelve men stood before the congregation and one by one prayed for growth in the Kingdom. They asked God for forgiveness, wisdom, strength and a stronger desire to be God men. When one has the privilege to see young converts grow in Christ to the point they begin to lead, you really are blessed! To see the power of God in the lives of His servants brings tears of joy. Please pray for these men as they strive to be the leaders God would have them to be.

Great News! We have learned that all nine of our grandchildren still love us and have requested we pay them a visit. And, if that was not the best news ever, our faithful and dear friends and supporters have requested we come and report on the good God is doing through the Tanzania 2000 mission effort.

So, here’s the deal, with your help and prayers, we would like to go ahead and book our flights and purchase our tickets. All we need is your prayers and financial help! Our travels to America will cost around $5,000. While in America reporting on the work our travels will cost us another $6,000 to $8,000 (depending on how many appointments and invitations we are blessed with).

If you would like for Stephanie, Granny and Cy to see our grand babies and their parents, our good friends and supporters, please dig deep and help in any way you can. If you are able and willing to help, please let us know that we might thank you appropriately. We thank you in advance for your continued prayers and support.

We pray God blesses each of you with an opportunity to glorify Him and an opportunity to have a spiritual conversation with some lost soul. Also we ask you to remember Janet as she will be returning to the States on Tuesday and for her daughter Allie who will be staying with us for the next several months.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

12 Souls Added During Youth Camp In Nepal...

October is always a huge national Hindu holiday in Nepal. Everything in the country slows down, except for buying presents and getting ready for feast days, and many things come to a complete stop. The full-time students at the Nepal Center For Biblical Studies get a five-week holiday at this time.

Since the schools are all closed, it is the best time of the year, along with the best weather, to have a Youth Camp for ages 13-22. The school pays for transportation to and from Kathmandu for about 45 young people and their chaperone, plus the lodging and food so that this spiritual blessing can be shared and enjoyed by young people from all parts of Nepal. Each day also included about twenty young people from the Kathmandu Valley area.  

All those attending were requested to study [read 2-3 times and discuss] the book of Mark before coming to the Camp. Each day there was a morning devotional, classes from 9:00 to 12:30, lunch, games and recreational activities each afternoon, dinner, and an evening devotional plus discussion time with only the young people present about the lessons from that day. The last lesson was directed at the temptations and worldly influences to which our young people are exposed. This and all the classes included lots of discussion, questions and answers, and what we call “active participation learning.”

The last day included a bus ride [you would have to see it to believe it], picnic lunch, games, and a final devotional at a park in the hills outside the valley. The highlight was having 12 baptisms. The joy that these kids had each day and each moment was contagious. It was a lesson in fellowship and love for the chaperones, teachers, cooks, and other adults who attended on occasions. Everyone is looking forward to next year.

The weeks prior to the Youth Camp saw two weeks of special classes by two visiting teachers from America. Again, those who attended, our regular students and invited leaders, were asked to study the teaching materials before the classes began. 

Brother Jerry Bates, associated with Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver and World Evangelism, taught from the book of John. Everyone commented on the depth of the lessons, how easy they were to understand, their practical application, and how they could be used in the congregations throughout Nepal.

Mike Brooks, from Highland Park Church of Christ in Alabama, has been coming to Nepal twice a year for over eighteen years so he is well known, liked, and respected. He taught from the book of Hebrews. Those benefiting from his lessons were the full-time students plus preachers and leaders from around the country. 

The school will reopen on November 19, after this national holiday. However, the school Director, Gajendra, and Parsuram, one of our regular teachers, will be out visiting local congregations outside the Kathmandu Valley. In December, we are planning to take the students for a week campaign to east Nepal and work with the Christian leaders and congregations in about three areas.  

God has blessed up in many ways. The work by the Nepali preachers, teachers, and leaders, combined with the time and effort of visiting teachers, and the loving support and prayers of Christians in American and Nepal is bearing spiritual fruit for Christ’s kingdom. Please continue to remember us in your prayers. 

In Christian love and service, 
Jerry Golphenee

jrgx21958@gmail.com 

Gathering At The Bridge...

We have had rain the last two days, the first in months. As I was in my study this morning (Sunday) I was working on my lesson to preach at Uturo where I will meet some of our students who have been studying with some in the community since Friday. I looked out on the beautiful African morning and saw eight of our students gathered at the bridge. I went out to see them and Howell Ferguson drove up in one of the mission vehicles. He was taking them with Remmy, the Dean of the English program, to another congregation where they were going to worship and stay all day to do follow up Bible studies. Then Joseph, our dean of the Swahili program, drove up in another vehicle. He was going to preach with some students at another congregation. Soon Chad was driving up with his family and Menard Swilla, the mission supervisor, to go preach at another place. Speaking of preaching, Menard spoke in chapel Friday and powerfully encouraged our students to use their talents to serve the Lord. Boaz will come by with his pikipiki (motor cycle) with a student on back and go up the mountain to preach where they have had 4 baptisms and 1 restoration in the last week. 

As I came back into the house to gather my Bible and kahawa (coffee) I was rejoicing to be involved in such a great work. A work that the Chimala Bible Institute does where dedicated preachers of the gospel and our students in training can all to “gather at the bridge” and go out and share the good news of our merciful Savior. 

Ezekiel is here now and we are off to Uteri to join Israel, one of our students who preaches there, with some of the other young laborers and go “preach Christ.” Surely this is the way it must have been as our Lord sent men out to preach the gospel of the kingdom. The road will not be as dusty today and the plants will be in bloom, and a cool breeze is blowing, but what is really special about this morning is to see so many, young and old alike. Teachers and students alike, Americans, Tanzanians and Malawians, “gather at the bridge” and then going to share the gospel with our world. God bless all who support the work with your prayers and thoughts…. 

Garry L. Hill
Extension Coordinator
Chimala Bible Institute

Uganda School Of Evangelism Alumni...

Dear brethren,

We thank you very much for your support. We are doing fine here in Busia, Uganda. My report of the Uganda School of Evangelism Alumni seminar is below. Our short course began on the 8th of October and ended on the 19th of October. We were taught by World video Bible School teachers on the subject of Hermeneutics in both English and Kiswahili. 

In English our video teacher was brother Lindell Mitchell and we used the one I had translated from English to Kiswahili. The only difference was that we had to spend six liters of petrol for the generator to run the TV and DVD player. The long course began on the 22nd of October 2012. This time we are teaching the following subjects: 1st & 2nd Chronicles which is being taught by brother Ouma Christopher, brother Peter Ambaka from Lumakanda church of Christ  Kenya, a graduate of Botswana School of Biblical studies is teaching  Romans and Galatians. 1st and 2nd Corinthians are being taught by Samson Omutele a preacher of Babadogo church of Christ Nairobi Kenya. 

Brother Raymond Bwambale, a graduate of Andrew Connally School of Preaching in Arusha, is teaching Ezra, Nehemiah and Esther. I will be teaching Homiletics 3. These long course go for eight weeks instead of nine weeks as usual which will end on the 13th of December, and on the 14th to 16th we will be conducting the Uganda School of Evangelism’s third lectureship. 

Last week and this week we used our old motorcycle to go worship in Nandwa church of Christ. The church is going on well. I have started going for evangelism after worship in Nandwa village. These two weeks I have been visiting members who have not been coming to church. Today two of the members I visited came to church. Today I visited one home and taught the owner about the gospel of Christ. God willing he will be baptized during this week. I hope to read from you.

The alumni report is below: 

Dear brethren,

Thanks for all your generous support both financial and prayers which you are sending to us on a daily and monthly bases. Through your support a lot is being done here in East and Central Africa. There were over one hundred and sixty-six people under the captivity of Satan who have been made free through your supporting us train men here in Uganda. May God’s blessings be upon you all as you strive to serve Him day and night. The following is the report from our graduates:

ALLUMNI’S  SEMINAR
I am sorry that I have not reported to you many events since Septembers alumni’s seminar. They started arriving on the Wednesday 26th and left on Saturday 29th at nine, after breakfast. The whole day of the 27th from 9:00 a.m we started hearing report from our graduates.

2012 Graduates

DANIEL OLOO (From Kenya)
He went back to Barber Church of Christ in Western Kenya. From March to September there have been no baptisms in Barber. Two people were restored. Up to September, there were 18 people meeting. Their giving has increased from 53/= shillings Kenya money to 130/= shillings. Due to lack of enough grass he sold the goats and bought one cow, which is doing good. He planted vegetables using the drip irrigation line which was given to him on the day of graduation. He has been eating those vegetables and selling some. He thanks you very much for that support.  He went back to central Kenya where he used to preach before he came to school and did some evangelism. On March 6th he went to Sikalira church of Christ for evangelism, no baptism. On the 10th he went to Muramba church of Christ for evangelism. Five people were baptized. On the 19th she went to Nyahururu and visited  Kiwanja, Mailinne, Ole Kalao churches of Christ, three people were baptized. From there he went to Ndadhi church of Christ in Nyeri and 2 people were baptized. On the 5th of April he went to Nyeri town church of Christ for evangelism and five people were baptized. On the 16th of April he went to Karatina church of Christ for evangelism and four people were baptized. In the month of August he attended the youth camp which was at Ahono church of Christ and 25 youth were baptized during that week. On the 17th of August, He went to Tingolo church of Christ for evangelism and there were no baptisms. The 20th of August he went to Sirisia for a three day seminar and nine people were baptized. CHALLENGES: Lack of proper place of worship and also lack of steady income. They cannot help each other. The church is surrounded with denominations which have proper places of worship. VISION: They plan to have a plot and build a church building on it when funds will be available. If he can be supported he can work more in the kingdom of Christ and many souls can be saved. He plans to plant a new congregation in Murumba township.

REMIGIO OMOLO (From Kenya )
He went back to Barber church of Christ. The goats he got, one gave birth to twins and all goats are in a good condition. With his drip irrigation line, he has planted tomatoes for home use and some for sale. He thanks you very much for those gifts which were given to him. He wishes you God’s blessings. He went into the same congregation brother Oloo went. Two people were restored, with no baptism from March to September. He found they were collecting 53/= Kenya shillings on Sunday. They have increased to 130/= . During the month of April he went to Port Victoria for evangelism and five people were baptized and a church was planted in that town. He was a companied with Oloo to Sirisia and Tingolo for evangelism where nine people were baptized.

JOHN MACHO (From Kenya)
He went to Genguluho church of Christ. From March to September five people have been baptized and two were restored. The total membership in March was 17 and now they have grown up to 32 people. He had some problems and he sold his goats. He has not used his drip irrigation line. The Genguluho congregation has started building their church building. He was requesting some funds to help them complete their church building.

STEPHEN MANG’ENI (From Uganda)
He went back to Bugatti church of Christ. He found 8 members meeting and it seemed that he has never been worshiping regular at Bugatti. His goats are doing fine. He has also planted vegetables using drip irrigation line. He has done no evangelism.

ONYANGO MOSES (From Uganda)
He went back to Namagenge church of Christ. 3 people have been baptized from March to September. There was no restoration. Total membership in March was eight and membership in September was 13 Christians. Their contribution in march was 500/= every Sunday but they have increased to 2000/=. His goats are doing well. He has used his drip irrigation line to plant some vegetables. He is very thankful for your support. He can support himself as he preaches the gospel, although he says it is not enough. On the side of evangelism, he says that they have united with other congregations in preaching the gospel and they do it every Saturday. Very soon there will be fruits. He says that they are still worshiping under a tree. They need your prayers.

SANDE JOSEPH (From Uganda)
He went back to Nabyunyu church of Christ. He found 21 members in March. There has been one baptism from March to September. Contribution in March when he went back was 400/= on Sunday, but now they contribute 1200 on most Sundays. One of his goats has given birth and they are all in good condition. In his area there is a river so he has not used yet the drip irrigation line, but he has planted vegetables a long the river. On 20th August he visited Karangarine church of Christ and they did house to house with brother Ndwiga for one week and one man was restored. He also visited  Kerige village with brother Ndwiga and went house to house. 4 people were baptized and the church was planted in that village. Challenges: In Nabyunyu they don’t have a place to worship. In the house they had rented the roof was removed by the storm. They are currently meeting in a Christians home. Brother Sande’s father is dividing his land among his children and brother Sande is willing to donate a small portion of that land to the church. His father wants 300,000/= from them for registration of each child’s land to the local authority. Sande does not have that money, neither his brothers.

RUFINO MURAKA (From Kenya)
He went back to Sikalira church of Christ. Two people have been baptized from March up to September. There was one restoration. Total membership in March was 33 and at present they are 35. The contribution in March was Kgx 150 and they are still contributing the same. The goats he has are in good condition. He has used the drip irrigation line in planting vegetables. In April he was invited to go to each Christian for Kenya school of Preaching which at Sigomere church of Christ. After that they went to Mumiasi Town for house to house evangelism. Two people were baptized and the church was planted. A preacher is being sent to this new congregation every Sunday. In the month of May he was again invited to go and teach in Christian for Kenya School of Preaching where he taught the Synoptics of the gospel. In June he went to Namayika village and restored two old Christians. From 20th-23rd of June in company with Daniel Oloo, Remigio Omollo went to Sirisia for house to house  evangelism and 10 people were baptized. Challenges:  (1) Transportation (2) Few people have learned the word of God. Future plan: They need a place of Worship rented or owned.

OBAARE  SYLVESTER (From Kenya)
He went back to Sikalira church of Christ in the same church of Ruffino Muruka. 2 people were baptized and one restored the same number of membership. He sold his goats because of school fees for his child as he had just left school and had no other way to raise money for the school fees. He is using drip irrigation line to plant vegetables for his family. On the 10th of March he went together with Daniel Oloo in Muramba for evangelism and 6 people were baptized. On the 1st of April he went to Kalamindi church of Christ with brother Julius Manyuru from Muramba church of Christ. While there they went house to house teaching the word of God and two people were restored. From May 23rd- 27th, together with brother Remigio Omollo, they went to Port Victoria where 6 people were baptized. The 1st of July they went to Tingolo and a church was planted in this village. August 15th -16th he went to Mulwanda church of Christ for house to house evangelism two people were restored. August 17th -19th went to Tingolo  and went house to house and two people were restored.

ODWORI  STEPHEN (From Uganda)
He went back to Nabwere church of Christ. From March to September there have been no evangelism done therefore there were no baptisms and restorations in that congregation. There were 15 members and the same are still meeting. Their collection every Sunday was 500/= in March and has increased to 1000/=. His goat is in good condition. He has not used the drip irrigation line given to him. He is just planning to start using it this season. In Nabwere they are in need of a place of worship. There is an unfinished building in which they are meeting. They need some money to own that land on which the building is on. Brother Odwori does not go to Nabwere every Sunday as he does not have transportation. The campaign for the churches of Christ in Bugiri, Namayingo and Busia districts are planning to have a house to house evangelism in that village.

PETER  OTIENO (From Kenya)
He went back to Migori church of Christ in Western Kenya. From March to September he has baptized four and restored four. The membership in March was 51 people and the membership in September was 59 people. In March the contribution was  Kgx 500/= shillings and it has decreased to Kgx shs. 450/=.  His goats are doing good. He has been using his drip irrigation line to plant vegetables which he has used with his family and sold some for family income. On March 3rd 2012 he left U.S.o.E with Donnie and Paul to Migori. On the 4th March 2012 they went to Anding’o church of Christ. While there they went house to house teaching Christ. There was no baptism. On the 25th of April he went back with members of Migori church of Christ to do some house to house preaching. This time six men and two women were baptized. On the 6th of May together with Peter Okeyo, James Okumu of Anding’o church with Ochola Oguttu and his wife Karoline Auma went to Lwanda Kadem for house to house evangelism. There was no baptism. On the 16th of July 2012 together with Peter Okeyo, James Okumu went again to Lwanda Kademu and there was no baptism. On the 26th of August 2012 there was a seminar in Migori church of Christ and it was attended by denominational members whom they are still in need of more learning. On the 28th of August there were two baptisms of Mr. Micheal Oguttu  Odedi and Constain Auma. They plan to plant a church in Lwanda Kademu. Migori church of Christ have a plan of making 15,000 burnt bricks for building their church building. The building will take 10,000 bricks and 5,000 bricks will be sold to help them with some money which will be used in building the church house. Brother Peter Otieno’s family has given to the church a piece of land on which the church is going to be built. The process is being done to transfer the ownership of the land to Kenya church of Christ. CHALLENGES: When there is death in church they lack contribution to help the family concerned. It was very hard for the church to take care of funeral expenses when Nafutali Aruma died.  Anding’o church of Christ meets in a members home. There are some people who complain about that kind of set up. We need a good network among the alumni.

KAMBALE  MUNDUWABO (From Congo)
He went back to Thako church of Christ. There have been no baptism since March and no restoration. The membership in March was 11 and in September was 5. This was because what brother Muhindo Munganga did. This brought had sold the church a plot of land with a building on it When brother Francis  visited us. When he came back from school his family refused the church to meet in that building. They destroyed the building and removed the iron sheets to their home. Now the church in Thako have a case with that brother. The contribution was 1,000 in March and is still the same. His goats are doing fine. He lost his drip irrigation line on his way back to Congo.

PHILP LEEBU (From Uganda)
He went back to Kitoma church of Christ on the boarder of Uganda and Congo. From March to September one person was baptized and there was no restoration. Membership in March was12 people and the membership in September was 17. The collection in March was 2,000 and it is still the same. His goats are doing fine. He has not used the drip irrigation line yet because there have been rain in their area since.

EZEKIEL  NDWIGA NJERU (From Kenya)
He went back to Kathangalire church of Christ. There have no baptism from March to September. There were 2 people restored from March to September. The membership in March was 8 people and in September the membership was now 10 people. He is planning to change his goats into getting a cow. He has not begun to use his drip irrigation line. We had some house to house evangelism from March to July in Kadhangalire and Kirigi village. There was no baptism. In August we did some house to house evangelism in Kadhangalire. One person was restored and we also went to  Kirigi with brother Sande Joseph who had visited our church. Four people were baptized. Brother John Ndwiga said there is no preacher at Kirigi church of Christ. We need some help so as to rent an area and build on it a building. We plan to have fund raising drive in Kadhangalire on 11/11/2012. Challenges: He lacks transport to take him around evangelizing.

MAWA  EMMANUEL (From Uganda)
He came from Mbuya church of Christ in Kampala but right now he is helping at Namungodi church of Christ. There have been no baptism but three people have been restored from March to September. Membership in Namungodi was 14 people but in September was 20 people in total. Contribution in March was 2000 but now it has increased to 5000 per Lord’s day when they  assemble. Evangelism have been slow due to language barrier. He is a Lugubara from West Nile, Northern part of Uganda and in Namungodi people speak Lusamia. They had a seminar in Buswale where he participated in house to house evangelism with a translator. He also attended East African gospel Meeting Campaign where 8 souls were added to the Lord’s body. On the 18th of August 2012 there was a seminar in Namungodi and he is going to attend the Seminar at Namagenge. Challenges: He does not have a translator, there is fluctuation in attendance. People do not want to worship under a tree. Future plans: They plan to buy seats and a table for the church at Namungodi. We need about 40 iron sheets to cover our structure by June next year.

OUMA  HILLARY
He is working with Nandwa church of Christ. Since March there have been two baptisms and there has been no restoration. In March the membership was 48 members and by September there have increased to 50 members. He did not get the goats because he wanted something different. He visited Okello Fred and one person was baptized. On the 17th of May he went for house to house evangelism in Sirere village and the was no baptism. He also went for house to house evangelism in Buswale and there was no baptism.

27^th Nov. 2009 Graduates

OKOCHI  JOSEPHAT (From Uganda)
He went to Junge village and planted a church there. From 2009 to September, 44 people were baptized and two restorations. Total membership in January was 32  and total membership by September was 35 people. September 2012 was 42 members attending church service. The contribution was on the average of 2000 per week before January 2010 but now they have increased to 3000 shillings per week. The goat which was given to him is in good condition. He used the drip irrigation line for two years and it is no longer in use.

JUMA SOLOMON (From Kenya)
He went back to Lugega church of Christ. There have been 19 baptisms  and two restorations from November 2009 up to September 2012. The membership in September 2012 is now 35 Christians meeting on Sundays. Their contribution in 2009 was 35/= Kshs but now they are contributing an average of 100 Kshs every Sunday. He was give a piglet which he latter sold. The one bee hive which was given to him is giving him an income of $428 dollars in a year. He has used drip irrigation  line to plant some vegetables for his home use. On the 2nd of February 2012 he went to Kagonya for house to house evangelism. During this campaign seven people were baptized and added to the kingdom of God. On the 10th of March 2012 he was among those who went to Muramba for evangelism where six people were baptized. On the 23rd of September there was evangelism at Lugega church of Christ and one person was baptized. CHALLENGES: They don’t have a church building. The church is meeting under a tree in brother Juma’s compound.

AYIENGA  DAVID (From Kenya)
He went back to Lugega church of Christ in Western Kenya. Nineteen people have been baptized and two restored since November 2009 up to September 2012. The total membership is now 35 people. Their contribution in 2009 was 35/= Kshs. They have increased to 100/= Kshs average on Sundays. The pig he was given died but he is still getting some income from the beehive he was given. He has never used his drip irrigation kit as he is near the river where he plants his vegetables. He have been doing some home to home preaching since.

Out of 29 graduates of both last two graduations ten missed. Five from the first class and also five from the second class. Out of the ten who missed only was had a good reason of not coming to this alumni seminar that was Akilimali who had just gone back to Congo. On the second day after their reporting, we studied  from World Video Bible School lessons on FUNDAMENTALS  OF FAITH taught by Charlie Diplam using a DVD player with a generator as the short course teachers we expected to teach them from USA did not come. We found that there are a lot basic things that we need to be reminded on. On that day after supper they started what they called the  Uganda School Evangelism Alumni Club. They elected their officials. They talked a lot about things of how they can remain in touch with one another. Thank you very much for making this function to be what it was. May the Lord our God continue blessing you all as His word says in Acts 20:35. Let me stop here for now.

Yours
Francis Wechesa

17 Souls, 7 Locations In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters in Christ over here in Cameroon. Hope you are all doing fine in health and sound faith towards your calling. We are doing fine and the Lord is blessing our efforts to keep reaching out to dying souls.

God blessed us as we went out for evangelism. Brother Innocent robbed from the strong man’s house in one of our newly established congregation in Kombe village. A total of 17 souls were added in the vineyard this weekend in 7 locations. All that went out returned safe and sound.

The week was a busy one as we were fully involved with our activities in CBIW and the Wotutu congregation. The students are gaining their health and many in the congregation who were sick are gaining health, but a few are still sick.

The theme last week for our chapel in CBIW was “WHICH LEGACY DO YOU LEAVE BEHIND?” This was aimed at helping both staff and students and members of the Wotutu congregation to leave a positive legacy that many can benefit from it.

I and some 8 students left campus Friday evening to 7 different locations for weekend evangelism. I was trekking to get to my own location. As we think souls we are always ready to go as long as we have the means. Bad roads are common as rain is still falling in Cameroon.

Our journey took us across a fast running river. We are not scared by this because we accepted to go where ever the gospel is calling. We always appreciate God who is always ahead of us to make sure that souls are being touched.

The Wotutu congregation assembled this morning. Our early radio program keeps creating an awareness of the truth to many who listen to us. We appreciate God for our standby generator set which helps us preach even during our worship today as the power was off. Our congregation keeps growing as people stand up because our benches are always full before 9:30 am. Keep this work in your prayers.

We praise God from whom all blessings flow. This morning the Wotutu congregation spent time praying for brother Maurice and sister Gladys as they successfully carried out their traditional marriage. They appreciated the church to keep them in prayers as they grow and keep their home. It was colorful and they will move on to the government of Cameroon for registration as soon they have means.

The Kombe congregation continues to meet after two months of establishment. Keep this young congregation in your prayers as we see potential of growth.

Two young sisters are new converts who were so happy to receive new Bibles in English and French for them to study it as the grow in the faith. More Bibles are needed for others in different villages that we have baptized.

Plans
1) We are still making preparation for the Batoke mission where we shall establish a new congregation by His grace.

2) Kwa-kwa congregation and Kumba congregation came to us searching for a preacher to come over to them and work full time after graduation.

Appreciation
God bless you for standing with us in your prayers and support to realize all this for the glory of our God. God bless you and keep you to do more for the work here. I truly appreciate you and all your efforts toward the growth of the kingdom of God here in CBIW in particular and Cameroon in general.

Do your best to share this report with others who may love to be part of the work. I will love to read your comments and suggestions.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

The Kenya School Of Preaching...

After participating in the Tanzania Leadership Conference, I was blessed with the opportunity of traveling with Cy Stafford to Kisumu, Kenya. This past week, we were able to spend a few days with Charles Ogutu, director and instructor of the Kenya School of Preaching, and Elias Omollo, academic dean and instructor for the KSOP.

The Kenya School of Preaching began their first class of students three weeks ago. Twenty men have dedicated themselves for the next two years in preparation to preach the gospel of Jesus. Knowing the sacrifices being made by the staff and students of this school, it was an honor to spend time with all of these men. While we were in Kenya, I was blessed with the privilege of teaching material on Leadership to this first class of students. We are looking forward to seeing the growth and development of this first class of students, but also the future of the program as they train men to preach throughout Western Kenya.

I am thankful for the opportunity to visit the school in Kenya, but also for the privilege of traveling with Cy Stafford. His leadership in Arusha, Tanzania, and throughout East Africa, has been an example for me to learn from since getting to know him. This trip gave us opportunity to discuss a number of areas. I continue to learn from his 15 years of experience working in East Africa in training men to preach the gospel and his love in the study of leadership, lessons that will help in my personal development and the future of the overall Extension Program.

By the end of the week, it was time to head back to Denver to prepare for classes to begin Monday, October 22nd. This quarter I will be teaching two classes, sharing information and learning from the students who are preparing themselves for work in the kingdom. I always look forward to teaching, but I also know that I will be a student as well. I learn so much from these men who come with a wealth of experience and knowledge. What they share throughout these two classes will be beneficial to everyone.

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 

Prayer Changes Things: This has been the theme for chapel in Cameroon. The evidence of the power of prayer is certainly being demonstrated in their work.

Mission Property Catches Fire: Chad Wagner continues to see and address a number of challenges in Chimala. The dry season has caused several fires, one on the mission.

Road Trip: Several from the Chimala Bible Institute traveled to Arusha for the Leadership Conference. Even though there were a few challenges, they made it safely.

8 Precious Souls Added In Ghana: The work in Tamale continues to bear fruit as the students are preaching the gospel of Jesus.

Graduates Work With Local Congregations: News from Togo shares the number of congregations graduates are working with from the Center for Biblical Studies.

ACSOP Has 100+ Graduates: The number of graduates and the work being done by these men is amazing. Take time to read more about their work.

Leadership Conference Comes To An End: The lectureship in Arusha, Tanzania is over, but the work continues to go strong. 

Final Thoughts
Each week I continue to realize what a blessing it is to be involved in the Extension Program. I am thankful for everyone involved, and there are many levels needed to make this work successful. I appreciate your vision for seeing the need of training men to preach the gospel. Without you this work could not continue. Thank you!

God bless
Bob

Graduates Work With Local Congregations...

To see the latest report from Willie Gley about the school in Togo, please click here.

ACSOP Has 100+ Graduates...

Greetings Fellow Workers,

We greet you with hearts of joy and thanksgiving. We continue to lift you up in our daily prayers, trusting that God is with you in all that is true and honorable. We are good, blessed and thankful to be a part of God’s work here in Tanzania.

The “Tanzania Leadership Conference” has come to a close with much good being done. We had men from two continents, four different countries and from all four corners of Tanzania. Many were able to come this year with their wives, making the conference one, if not, the best ever. What a joy it is to see the growth in many of our graduates and others who have come to know Christ as their Lord since we began this work.

We were blessed with Francis and Margaret Wechesa from Uganda. We are thankful for Gary Hill coming up from Chimala with two of his coworkers. We could not be more grateful for the Bear Valley presence. Thank you Denny, Mike, Bob and Neil. It was good to have Nathan for the first time and Buddy Fry (an old timer, having been here several times).

I was truly blessed to travel with Bob Turner to Kisumu, Kenya to visit with Charles Ogutu and Elias Omollo who are working with the new Kenya School of Preaching. It is really hard to imagine that we have trained these two men here at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching and now they are directing a newly planted school of preaching. When Francis Wechesa left Tanzania, having worked with us for ten years, to return to Uganda to begin the Uganda School of Evangelism we had mixed emotions. As we now look back at these two schools we can see God’s hand at work and God’s blessing through multiplying His work here in East Africa.

The ACSOP has graduated over 100 Gospel preachers. In our visit with Charles and Elias we learned that between the two of them, since they graduated the ACSOP, that they had planted eight new congregations. WoW! Amazing! We can hardly imagine how many are now Christians today because you cared enough to support this work of God. Thank you and thank you!

We received word this week that our brother Gaudence’s wife obeyed the Gospel. Amen! Gaudence is a new convert as a result of this years Safari for Soul and through the efforts of the group from the Second and Adams congregation, Elk City, OK. Thank you brothers and sister for a job well done, God continues to give the increase.

We are also blessed with the presence of Janet and her daughter, Allie from OK. Janet was part of the Elk City group this summer and has escorted Allie over. Allie hopes to spend the next several months here with us, working in the Kingdom. We are so very thankful for young men and ladies who put God first in their lives and who have such a zeal for the Lord and his Kingdom’s work.

Tom and Bruce, from LA, have been working with Matthew (one of our recent graduates) in the bush for the past week. They are due to return tonight. We look forward to their report and the good news of what God has done through them this past week.

We close with hearts of rejoicing for all God has and is doing. We thank each of you for your part in this mission effort. Without you many more would be lost in sin. May our God receive all the glory and may He bless each of you beyond measure.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Leadership Conference Comes To An End...

Dear Co-Workers: 

Quote of the Week: "But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for God's own possession, SO THAT you may PROCLAIM the excellencies of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light..." I Peter 2:9

The verse above was used in Cy Stafford's closing remarks which brought our 12th annual Leadership Seminar to a end. Cy spoke of how Christians must work together for the good of the nation...having one voice, one mind and one heart. The theme of the seminar was "Shaping a Nation for Service to God" and all the lessons were taken from 1 and 2 Samuel and 1 and 2 Kings. What a wonderful spiritual feast it was and a great time of fellowship with evangelists and their wives, good old regular members, and past students, guests from the states, etc.

Trina loved "re-connecting" with her good long-time friend, Neema, who only lives across town but due to their busy lives, had not had much time to get together to talk. Sean Hochdorf was tasked with organizing the entire event and did a great job. God's Word does not return to him void and it is our belief that the church grew in their knowledge, trust and dependence upon God this week. We appreciate all the people who worked to make this seminar a success.

Although our girls attended most of the classes, they also enjoyed helping out in the kitchen, cutting vegetables and washing dishes. Heather and Candace also helped to care for some of the younger children while their mothers attended a session.

We apologize for not continuing to include an ACSOP biography for the last three weeks. We hope to get back on track with that next week.

We wish you all a wonderful week and wish YOU could have been here this week! What a day it will be when we are all together for ONE ETERNAL DAY. May the Lord bless you and keep you until we meet again. 

In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family 

Part 2
Dear Supporters, Family, and Friends,

QUOTE OF THE WEEK:  "Those who forsake the law praise the wicked, but those who keep the law strive with them."  Proverbs 28:4

ADDICTIVE: That's what the book of Proverbs is...start reading it and it's difficult to stop. The wisdom contained in it is so applicable to every day life and very useful for so many situations. The above verse reminds me of the present day political situation in America (and in most, if not all, other countries also).

"HE WHO GIVES ATTENTION TO THE WORD WILL FIND GOOD" (Pro. 16:20). For several weeks, due to visitors teaching and preaching,  Jimmy has not taught the New Converts' class nor Trina the Ladies' class. The congregation, along with us, enjoyed listening to new voices proclaiming God's word. The guests' lessons were refreshing and their efforts and work appreciated. Since all of our male guests are gone (except for Tom Watkins and Bruce Hatcher working in Longido), Jimmy resumed teaching the new christians on the subject of Bible Intake (Hearing, Reading, Studying, Meditating, Memorizing, and Applying). The ladies studied the first half of Genesis 30, focusing on Rachel and her sorrow at being barren (learning that all will have some sorrow  but should not dwell on it nor let it hinder service to God). Abigail taught the childrens' class on Samson. Jimmy preached an excellent sermon on "Grace: Let God Define it." Stuart counted 113 outside in our hand-shaking line. 

..."WHERE THIEVES DO NOT BREAK IN AND STEAL..." Announced this morning was that all the benches in the congregation of Lukondo were stolen. Most wooden pews in the churches here are not made of quality wood and one must be careful not to exceed the unspecified "weigh limit." We have personally witnessed a bench falling to the floor, spilling a group of teenage girls who crowded onto on. In America, the stealing of church pews would probably be the last thing on any thief's mind but it's always a possibility here.  

ACSOP STUDENT SPOT-LIGHT is on Edwin Kashumba. Thirty-seven years of age, married with four children, he became a Christian in 1994, converting from Catholicism. Edwin was taught by a missionary (Dale Dennis) in Dar Es Salaam, Edwin's hometown. Two of his children have become Christians.

SPEAKING OF GUESTS EARLIER...we welcomed Janet and her daughter, Allie from Elk City, OK.  Janet has worked in short-term campaigns with the Oklahoma group for several years but this is the first trip for Allie. However, Allie plans to stay for 6 months and really "soak up" Tanzania! 

"HOW SHALL THEY HEAR WITHOUT A 'TEACHER?'" The new quarter started at the ACSOP this past Monday. Jimmy is teaching the book of Isaiah, Sean Hochdorf is teaching Minor Prophets II and Cy Stafford is teaching Missions and Church Growth.

"...THAT WHICH IS KNOWN ABOUT GOD IS EVIDENT..." (Rom. 1:19) Lindsey showed us a comic strip about an African fable in the local newspaper. It reads as follows: One day a hummingbird met a honeybee collecting nectar......the humming bird says to the bee "You work so hard to make honey but people and honey badger's steal it. Don't you feel sad when this happens?" "No,” says the honeybee, "because they will never steal my God given knowledge of making honey."

Our appreciation is extended to all of you for your kindnesses and concerns. Please pray for the political situation here in Tanzania due to problems between Christians and Muslims, especially in Dar Es Salaam and Zanzibar. 

In Christian Love,
The Jimmy Gee family

8 Precious Souls Added In Ghana...

Greetings from Tamale! 

It is campaign week here at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies (TIBS). Two of our students are returning to Cinkasse, Togo to follow up on the work that was done there during our September campaign, while the other ten students are headed to Bimbila to begin a new work.  TIBS director, Baah Joseph Okyere, and assistant, Jacob Yaboah, will be joining the students and I for the campaign. Plans are for the work there to take place both during the day and then into the evening. Students and staff will be conducting house to house Bible studies during the day in order to inform residents about the church and God’s plan of salvation. During the evenings of Thursday through Saturday we will also be showing Biblical movies at the town center along with preaching by our students. Finally, on Sunday October 28th, it is our prayer that the students will lead the first service of the Bimbila church of Christ before heading home to their villages for a two week break. Three of our current students who live in the Bimbila area will be heading up the new church and making sure that visiting preachers will be able to help the congregation continue once they return for their remaining classes at TIBS. 

School Update
Students have just completed the seventh of ten terms here at TIBS. The final class of this term was Marriage and the Home, taught by visiting instructor Daniel Ampadu Asiamah, Director of the West Coast School of Preaching (WCSOP) in Takoradi, Ghana. Brother Daniel is one of the best known preachers and teachers in the Ghanaian brotherhood. In addition to his current work at WCSOP, brother Daniel was instrumental in starting the first church in Accra (the nation’s capital and largest city) and has taught at the Accra School of Preaching, Ghana Bible College, and was the founding director of the National Bible Institute in Accra. It is a great benefit for our students to learn at the feet of men like brother Daniel, who not only teaches the truth of the Bible, but who have lived by those truths in the same environment that the students are coming from and returning to. 

As mentioned above, once the campaign week ends the students will be returning home for a two week break before classes resume on November 13. It is our prayer that the students will have a safe and profitable time at home as many will be harvesting their crops, and that all will arrive safely back for the next term.  

Evangelism Update 
TIBS graduate Moakel Isaac visited the school this past month to report on the work he is involved with in the Salaga area. He is working with four different congregations there, his home congregation in Kulpi, plus three congregations that were started by short term missionary workers at Kpajai, Wajado and Kpabikando. It is especially difficult for Brother Isaac to travel to these different villages, the farthest being 43 km from his home, as he has no motor vehicle and must find one to borrow each Sunday. Despite the difficulties, the churches in this area continue to grow with four baptisms during the past few months and a number of restorations of people who had stopped attending after the mission workers left.

Current TIBS student Lot Nlakidi also reported on the work he was involved with during his recent trip to his home to the village of Nakpa. A total of eight precious souls were added to the church through their obedience to the gospel in baptism! Nakpa is a village outside of Bimbila and their congregation will be assisting in the upcoming campaign. We look forward to greeting our new brothers and sisters there! 

Closing Thoughts
This is just some of the work being done by the students and graduates of TIBS. Once the current campaign is completed it will be time for me to leave the country and re-enter in order to renew my visa, so I will be traveling the following week. Once I re-enter the country I will be headed to Takoradi to take part in the West Coast School of Preaching’s graduation ceremony before heading back to Tamale for the beginning of the next term. Please keep us all, both students and staff, in your prayers as we continue working and traveling. 

In His service,
Tony Johnson

anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

Road Trip...

We just returned from a grueling 2-day road trip to Arusha, Tanzania. We attended the Tanzania Leadership Conference at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. We traveled with two of our instructors, Boaz Kasiba and Ezekiel Harrison. The fellowship and teachers were outstanding. Dr. Denny Petrillo, Bob Turner, Michael Hite and Neal Pollard, from the Bear Valley Bible Institute were some of the speakers and their lessons were outstanding. Other speakers included Christopher Mwakabanje who is coming to teach short course at Chimala next year. He is the head of the Swahili program in Arusha and is helping CBI with revising our curriculum. He was not the only speaker connected to Chimala. 

We were all motivated by the lessons from Francis Wechesa, who is now the head of the Uganda School of Evangelism in Busia, Uganda, another extension connected to Bear Valley. Elly Martin and his wife were in attendance and taught classes that Ezekiel and Boaz attended. We traveled part of the way back with brother Edward of Mbeya and his family. Brad Whinery is an elder in Mississippi and delivered a series of lessons on the eldership. We have asked him to come to Chimala next year and deliver these same lessons for our students. 

The trip did have some scary moments. To drive this far in Tanzania is rough and dangerous. We saw many wrecks and, at least twice, other drivers ran us off the road. Once by an overloaded truck who had to swerve into our path because a man was pushing a huge cart in the middle of the mountain road without any concern to oncoming traffic. Then we were texted by Chad who informed us the Islamic extremists were rioting in Dar. It seems a Christian boy and a Moslem child were discussing the merits of each other’s religion and it got out of hand. One of our Christian brothers from the Mdagata congregation was badly injured when the church building was ransacked by Moslem extremist. The preacher from Mdagata was with us at the conference and fervent prayers were offered to the Prince of Peace for our brothers and sisters safety. As usual, our State Department issued warnings for us Americans, but this only reminds us of the importance of the work here in Africa, which is constantly being agitated by a militant group of Islamic believers. 

Boaz and Ezekiel were working hard for CBI while at the conference. They spent time with Mahundi, the preacher from the refugee camp, where we have numerous applicants wishing to come to school. They worked it out with him to help with the interview process next week. They also attended special classes where they were taught slow drip irrigation and food processing to teach our students how to better support themselves when they leave school. 

We had a Bear Valley staff meeting with Denny Petrillo and Bob Turner, with the combined Andrew Connally and Kenya, Uganda and Chimala Bible School staffs. As far as we were concerned the item of importance to CBI is the process of making our Swahili program a degree-granting program. We are also going to do a Swahili material swap with Andrew Connally since we have a lot of Swahili material printing that will help both of the two schools. I was invited by brother Charles Ogutu, the new director of the Kenya program, to visit next year and teach, which we will Lord willing. I appreciated greatly the warm hospitality of Cy Stafford and his wife. We stayed with them during the conference and Cy and I had some wonderful early morning talks with some of the best Tanzania coffee I have ever drank. This conference was a blessing to all who participated and we plan on bring more of our CBI staff to attend next year. 

Here at home the teachers and staff are winding down with the fourth quarter. Nazareth is getting the grades together and we are going to interview the new student applicants next week. Brother Howell Feruguson and Jerry Bates will be arrive soon to teach two short courses, and then we will graduate our 11 students for the year 2012. We were also thrilled as we returned home to learn of Remmy’s work in Ubaruku. Two weeks ago he and some students went and held Bible studies. This past Saturday they studied with a Seventh Day Adventist until 11 pm at night. Sunday, Henry wished to be baptized into Christ and was added to the Lord’s kingdom. This past weekend two more souls were added to the kingdom. We are so appreciative to be involved with some of the greatest people in this great work. Please keep the Chimala Bible Institute in your prayers as we continue to better “train others” to be greater servants in the Lord’s Church.  

Garry L. Hill; BVBID Extension Coordinator
Chimala Bible Institute

Mission Property Catches Fire...

Wagner Family Tidbits
We welcomed Chad's mom and dad (baba and mimi) to Tanzania recently. They came to see the mission as well as visit with grandkids. Chad's dad, John, has started working around the mission helping in the shop, around the house, etc. Chad's mom, Linda, has started helping with handing out quilts, etc. We also took them to the local market.

Rena has been busy homeschooling the children. However, we didn't receive all of the school books until recently so we've been playing 'catch up' on our home school work.   

Chimala Bible Institute
Chad has been teaching "Isaiah" at the Chimala Bible Institute to the first year English class. Their final exams are next week. We also had over 15 prospective students on Friday for interviews. We are looking at adding in 28-30 new students in January. One of our biggest years ever!

Garry Hill (Dean of CBI), Boaz Kasiba, and Ezekiel Harrison traveled to the Arusha Leadership Conference. They report that they learned a lot and also make some more good contacts. 

Preaching the Gospel
Last Sunday, we traveled to the Forest Church of Christ in Mbeya. It is a good congregation with a great location. It was a blessing to be able to visit with them and preach God's Word.  

That Sunday PM, we went to the Chimala A church of Christ because we have heard that they are getting ready to do some building. We visited the church to see that they have bold and great plans for the congregation. They are going to build a bigger auditorium and convert their existing auditorium into classrooms.  

Today, we went to the Kapunga Church of Christ. It was an interesting drive into the bush but there were great rewards when we arrived and had a good worship with the congregation. Chad preached on the Letter to the church at Philadelphia and how it can encourage small churches today.  

Finally today, we also attended the Chosi A congregation. Chad preached on Sharing the Gospel from Romans 10. We also learned that the congregation had a new brother in Christ with one baptism today. 

Fire!
As it goes in the western US, there are fires here at the mission on a regular basis. The conditions here now are hot and very dry. In fact, it is towards the end of the dry season and it has rained twice in the last 8 months. So, as you can imagine, the conditions here are ripe for fire. In fact, as I write these words, the mountain behind the mission is on fire. Recently, we had the mission property catch fire. We have built in fire lanes, but this fire was started behind the fire lanes on the mission side. We had to call in all of the estate workers as well as our CBI students and teachers to fight the fire, but with good humor, hot work and a lot of movement, we were able to cut another fire lane. 

Chad Wagner

To see Chad’s full report with pictures, please click here.

Prayer Changes Things...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters over here in Cameroon. I hope you are all doing well in the family over there and the church is healthy. We are happy to share our news with you in the course of the week. God continues to help us in all that He has entrusted in our hands to reach out to many and nurture those who are already in the family here.

Sister Martha Mesumbe obeyed the gospel of Jesus. She was baptized yesterday after listening to our morning program and came to worship us some time ago. She came during our prayer meeting class on Friday and told me “I am ready to be baptized. Wow! Please keep her in your prayers as she walks with Christ through her many others in their staunch Presbyterian family with the mother being a female elder, that they may come to know the truth and obey it. The Wotutu congregation continues to grow and we are short of chairs as we worship. Today a total of 103 worshipped. God blessed our weekend evangelistic efforts by adding three souls among 6 locations. Glory to His name.

The week ran well without any major problem here, except for the fact that our students, and some Christians, are not sound in health. The chapel theme for the week was PRAYER CHANGES THINGS (2 KGS 20:1-6). This was aimed at making our congregations and our Christians live a prayerful life. We have lots to ask from God and to fight the battle waged against us by the evil one, that is why all of us need to be empowered by our God.

The climate is changing in Cameroon and continues to disturb the health conditions of many in our congregation, but mostly our students. We praise God for the means provided for us to buy medicines that will help the situation. The small medicines continue to help emergencies with little children in the church community. Keep us in your prayers many are sick.

Evangelism is our mission and we are involved in weekend evangelism weekly to help many congregations applying for us to come over and help. Last week we reported about the road and how it was so bad, but we thank God that this week His call took us to a road that was not as bad as the other. This tells us that the Christian race is not always ruff and rocky. We sent out students to 6 different locations to evangelize and also nurture congregations. A student went to Kwa-kwa congregation who lost their preacher in September. They are in need of a preacher from our school. We praise God as many congregation keep coming to my office to see how they can take a preacher on full time work. Keep this work in your prayers so that these men will go into the field directly to rob from the strong man’s house and populate the kingdom of God.

There is a struggling congregation in Kumba area struggling to erect a permanent worship hall. Keep their efforts in your prayers.

Plans
1) We have another tedious mission work this weekend. Keep us in your prayers as we plan to go for the robbing from the strong man’s house.

2) Our mass campaign in a new location in Batoke is still pending. Keep it in your prayers.

3) We shall graduate our alpha batch of students in December 20, 2012. We shall be pleased to have you as our guest to come and witness and have fellowship with us. Please, if you would love to come, then indicate it, so that we can prepare you an invitation for your VISA.

Brother Maurice and sister Gladys are planning to get marry on the 26th of October 2012. Please keep them in your prayers. They need it and your help also. It is not an easy task in our culture to finalize your plans for marriage financially. Share this with others who may love to help these young people to become responsible.   

Appreciations
We thank you and your entire congregation for standing by us to see that the gospel penetrates in our communities. God bless you all and keep you all safe.

Do your best to share this report with others who may love to be part of the soul saving mission here in Cameroon. God bless you and your entire family and the family of God in your area.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director of CBIW

3rd Annual Leadership Conference In Tanzania...

Spanning three days, the 3rd Annual Leadership Conference in Arusha, Tanzania was filled with uplifting singing, powerful prayers and lessons that strengthened our faith in the Lord. The future of the Lord’s work in Tanzania, as well as, surrounding countries is secure. I am thankful for the opportunity to have been a part of this year’s event. Denny Petrillo, Michael Hite, Neal Pollard, and myself were able to share in this year’s event as representatives of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver.

Others from several countries, Uganda, Kenya, and several other teachers from the U.S. were able to enjoy the benefits of this great program (please see Cy Stafford’s report below for a list of those involved). The TZ2000 team has been instrumental in putting together a lectureship to help leaders grow and fulfill their role in the Lord’s kingdom. Each year the program has grown and this year was no exception. More than 130 people came together, many who traveled long and hard distances, to learn leadership lessons from 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings.

Representatives from the Uganda School of Evangelism, Francis and Margaret Wechesa, were involved in teaching at the lectureship. Also, Charles Ogutu, who represented the Kenya School of Preaching, was able to speak at this year’s event. The challenges presented during this time motivated everyone to examine how we can help the church grow into the future.

Sunday allowed everyone the opportunity to visit numerous congregations in the Arusha area to preach and teach. On Monday morning I was privileged to sit in on a meeting of local leaders discussing plans for growth in the Arusha area. I was encouraged to hear two specific leaders talk about the need for African leaders and congregations to step up and take a greater role in working to become free from the dependency on financial support from the U.S. Their understanding of the situation and assessment of the need was exciting to hear. I look forward to the unfolding of such plans for the maturity of the church in East Africa.

Tuesday morning, Cy Stafford and I will be traveling to Kisumu, Kenya to visit the Kenya School of Preaching, one of the newest schools Bear Valley is partnering with in training men to preach. The KSOP has 20 students who began their studies the first week of October. I am excited to have the opportunity to visit and teach in the program this next week.

Well, there is much more going on around the world, and I know you are interested in reading about the great work God is doing through so many wonderful brethren.

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/

Howell Ferguson’s report with pictures is located on the website. Please click here to see the full report.

Extension Reports 

Needs For Sister Mercy: The students have returned from weekend evangelism in Cameroon and Mercy is a sister who has needs, as she recently gave birth to triplets.

God Is Giving The Increase In Guatemala: The news is exciting as five precious souls were added to the Lord’s kingdom in Guatemala.

Moving Toward Dependence On God: As the work in Cambodia works to move away from dependence on U.S. support, they move to greater dependence on God.

Personal Evangelism And Preaching Making A Difference: With all the administrative duties involved, the local work proves to be a blessing making a difference.

Guest Teachers Help The Work In Nepal: Two teachers visiting from the U.S. were involved in teaching at the Nepal Center for Biblical Studies.

Voice Of Truth Distributed In Northern India: Staff and students at the North India Bible College are spreading the news of the gospel.

Seven Souls Added To The Kingdom: Amidst the news of a successful Leadership Conference, the greatest report came Sunday night as souls were added to the church. 

Final Thoughts
I always gain a new perspective when I have opportunity to visit the various locations of the schools we are able to work with in Extension Training. This trip was no exception. I love seeing the work grow and continue to influence souls around the world. Thank you for making this entire work possible. Everyone knows the tremendous generosity that is demonstrated by you to help this work continue. Thank you.

God bless
Bob

Seven Souls Added To The Kingdom...

Greetings Fellow Workers,

It is with great joy we write and with hearts of thanksgiving. We are indeed a blessed people to be a part of the Lord’s Church and to be privileged to serve Him and our fellow man. We thank you for your prayers and support of God’s work here in Tanzania. He continues to bless the work in many ways.

Today I received a call from our brother Julius Gasper, evangelist for the Mto wa Mbu congregations, with “good news”! Our brother Greg Dixon from the Northport congregation in Tuscaloosa, AL has been teaching God’s Word via Skype with a number of people in the Mto wa Mbu area. Today seven souls gave their lives to the Lord in obedience to the Gospel. This is but one example of the power of technology being used for the good of the Kingdom.

WoW! What a week! The Tanzania Leadership Conference has come and gone. Sean Hochdorf did a masterful job directing this years program, thank you brother. To our brothers and coworkers from Bear Valley, Denny Petrillo, Bob Turner, Mike Hite and Neal Pollard we say thank you and may our God bless you for all you contributed to this event. To Buddy Fry, Sid Aultman, Daniel Warren, Tom Watkins, Nathen Adams, Brad Whinery and Bruce Hatcher, again we say Thank You So Very Much.

This year's theme: “National Leadership: Shaping a Nation for Service to God (lessons on national leadership from 1 & 2 Samuel and 1 & 2 Kings). The lessons were powerful and well received. The good done will only be known in Heaven but will be witnessed by the growth of the Lord’s Church here in Tanzania.

It was such a blessing to have 22 of our graduates back to be a part of this powerful meeting. Men from five different countries along with many of their wives made this years conference the best ever. With more than 130 present we had over a 50% increase in attendance of last year’s meeting. We thank our God for all the good done and for the influence for good that will be manifested in the years come.

Great News: The Searching for Truth book is translated and going to print. If all goes to plan the shipment of 5,000 copies should arrive in country sometime around the first of the year. We have been blessed with the funds for the printing, but are in need of funds to cover the clearing and trucking cost; $3,000. If you can, please help us put the final number together that this great tool might have its intended impact on the lost souls of East Africa.

We close with hearts of thanks and joy for all who make this work possible. We pray our God continues to bless you in all the right ways and that through your blessings you in turn are able to bless others to His glory.

In Him, Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Voice Of Truth Distributed In Northern India...

We have planned to disperse all the 5,000 copies of the Voice of Truth International (Hindi) Vol. 2. We received tremendous response for it. People appreciate the effort to make it possible. I receive almost daily phone calls from those who are getting it by post. 

Brother Mangal has viral fever and he could not come to teach this week. I used his time with the students and we were spreading copies throughout the city and its suburbs. About 1,000 people are targeted to contact this week. 

All the students are scattered in teams and we ask them to go to people's houses and share with them this book.

In the city they got nervous today because of the busy life of the people. But today they were encouraged to meet people who welcomed them. Voice of Truth International has been a great tool for them to go out. We are thinking to print some Hindi tracts too.

This and next month I will be having an extra busy schedule. Brother Mangal is having a gospel meeting in Amritsar and I am going to teach in Bible Seminar in Bombay (Nov. 5-7). There, I anticipate to fetch some students for the College. I plan to go by air in the afternoon, Sunday and fly back on Thursday (Nov. 8) to Chandigarh. There is a frequent air service to and from 

Mumbai to Chandigarh. That saves me a lot of time. 

EARNEST GILL 

Guest Teachers Help The Work In Nepal...

Respected brothers in Christ,

Greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May grace of God, love and peace always be with you.

It is my privilege and opportunity to write some words on behalf of Nepal Center for Biblical Study at Kathmandu, Nepal. I apologize to you all for being late on sending monthly school progress report, due to school program and somehow busy in the Bible classes from last week. I believe you all understand me. 

Jerry Bates:
Last week we had our first guest teacher for this second batch of our new students. He is brother Jerry Bates and his wife, Paula Bates. Brother Jerry Bates is the Associate Editor of “The Voice of Truth International.” They are fully involved in the missionary work as well as in “World Literature Publication.” They had arrived at Kathmandu Nepal on Monday, October 1st. We had our classes from same day of Monday afternoon through Friday afternoon. Brother Jerry Bates had spoken to us from “Gospel of John.” He is a nice teacher having sound Bible knowledge in the scriptures. People participated from Kathmandu Valley congregations, some of our graduated students and present students. Sister Paula Bates had opportunity to teach two lessons for the women on Thursday and Friday. She had taken the Old Testament and New Testament Woman characters. We had a few women participate due to being busy in their office and house work. But, all the school family, students, and all participants were encouraged with his teaching at school.  

The Voice of Truth International:
Our brothers, Deepak, Parsuram and Gajendra had opportunity to talk with brother Jerry Bates on printing of The Voice of Truth International in Nepali Language. We talked in detail regarding this. We published two volumes of issues for seven months before. If God wills we will begin again from this coming January of 2013. Besides this printing, we had also talked regarding some of the English literatures and lessons are needed for our Nepali congregations. He has given permission to translate and print some of good lessons like “The Church of The Bible,” “Lessons on the Church.” We need to talk together with brothers, Jerry Golphenee, Parsuram, Deepak, Gajendra when brother Jerry arrives at Kathmandu on October 16th of 2012. Then we will send a financial estimate to brother Jerry Bates and begin our literature publication.  

Mike Brook’s class:
We had a good Bible study last week with brother Mike Brooks who is the preacher from the Highland Park Church of Christ, Muscle Shoals, Alabama. He visits Nepal twice in the year. He is a good preacher and Bible teacher. He came this year with his wife Brenda Brooks and his sister Jane. He taught from the book of Hebrews titled “So Great A Salvation.” This meeting and Bible study is hosted by Nepal Center for Biblical Studies. There were 35 preachers invited, including the present students. People attended from Kathmandu, Lalitpur, Rasuwa, Dhading, Himalaya regions and some of from East Nepal. Sisters Brenda and Jane are teaching Bible characters to the women. Classes went smoothly. We all are benefited from his class. 

Long Holidays and youth classes:
Our five weeks of long holidays will begin from October 13th of 2012. Then our new classes will begin from November 19th of 2012. We are planning to have four days of youth Bible study and camp at our school building between this time. We are planning to do this youth fellowship, Bible study and games from October 22nd -25th of 2012. Brothers Dev, Surya, Deepak, brothers Jerry and Gajendra will be the teachers and sisters Sunita, Judy will be the ladies teachers. Brother Roshan and other associate brothers will be our game teachers.

Please remember all of us in your family and congregational prayer.

Thank you.

Servant of Christ……………Gajendra Deshar

Personal Evangelism And Preaching Making A Difference...

One thing about working at the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies, you can always find something to do! Over the past month I have filled the role of teacher, administrator, accountant, librarian, contractor, personal worker and preacher. I can’t say I always enjoy every role I am called upon for, and I am certainly not the most qualified for any of them, but God is using me as He sees fit. I am ever thankful that as He uses me He is always there to help me do the things that are necessary.

I just finished my second (and final) class for this school term, a mini-course study of the Great Commission. Part of the class work involved putting the great commission into practice through in class exercises designed to help build personal evangelism skills. The students really seemed to enjoy the role playing exercises and the opportunity to talk about ways to “preach the gospel to all creation.” Much of the role playing centered on fulfilling the Great Commission in Islamic areas, a necessity for those who are going to work in the northern regions of Ghana. We also had some fun with the students trying to evangelize while I played the part of the unwilling and obnoxious prospect. My prayer is that exercises such as these will give our students the confidence to go out and fulfill the Great Commission in their own villages.

The administrative and accountant duties are probably the least favorite things I get to do each month. They are probably the ones I am the worst at as well, but since they are necessary I do my best to stay on top of them. A large part of the administrative work this past month was trying to teach the Institute’s staff how to prepare and document campaign plans and budgets. Accounting wise, keeping on top of the Institute’s monthly budget as well as the building projects budget keeps me on my toes. Budgets are a nightmare, as I have learned that whenever you get quoted a price for anything that it is never going to be the real price. There will always be something you have to go buy for the person to do the work. It can be quite maddening at times!

My librarian duties is a side project I decided was necessary, create an electronic card catalog system to make it possible to find something in the library. This project came about after I spent hours looking for books the students could use to write an assigned paper for the Gospel of John class. I concluded that if I couldn’t find anything that it might be hard for the students as well. So far I have about one third of the books identified and entered into the system (a simple searchable database) and hope to have the complete project wrapped up by December.

Then there is the contractor job for the new building that is being worked on. Did I say administrative and accounting is my least favorite? Let me take that back. Trying to get things done at the building site drives me crazy! Much of it is due to my lack of understanding regarding local building practices. I am trying to learn to go with the flow, but it is not easy. I have learned that if someone says it will take two weeks to complete a task, it will take at least four. Despite the headaches the building continues to come along as we have begun installing doors and windows and painting some of the rooms. The hope is to move into the building sometime during the next school term.

For as much as I dislike some of the tasks that are necessary to keep the school running, the opportunity for personal evangelism and preaching more than make up for them! This past weekend I joined the students and two other members of the staff for an evangelism campaign at a local college, the University for Development Studies (UDS). The church that meets at UDS asked for our help in order to introduce the church to the new students who have arrived. Another thing I have learned is that door knocking here in Ghana is different than anywhere I have been before. Here, when you knock on a door you are not trying to set up a Bible study, you are planning to have a Bible study! In the three days we spent going room to room through the UDS dormitories there were very few people who declined to have a study right then. We studied with Muslims as well as people from many different denominations, resulting in a number of visitors at this past Sunday’s worship service. We are working on a plan now to continue to go back to UDS at least one weekend each term and continue the work began this past week.

The next evangelism opportunity for the students and staff is coming up in a couple of weeks as we will be traveling to the town of Bimbila for the all-school fall campaign. This campaign takes place during the week after classes are completed, and is one of the two major week long campaigns that are part of the school’s curriculum. Bimbila is a larger town, but there is no church of Christ that meets there. We will be working with some of the leaders from the surrounding village churches to establish a congregation of the Lord’s church in Bimbila by doing house to house evangelism during the day and public preaching each night.

There is one more project I am working on as well that is outside of my responsibilities at the Bible Institute. When I was in Ghana last year I saw an opportunity to teach children about Jesus and the Bible by offering English classes that used the Bible as a primary textbook. I thought it would be a way to begin teaching children, with the goal of expanding over time into a Christian elementary school. There have been a number of issues and changes necessary to actually put the plan in place, but this weekend I will be traveling north to visit the Bawku and Kuka congregations to finalize plans for the school to be part of the church of Christ Kingdom of Hope Orphans Home. I hope to provide more details on this project next month.

As I said, if you are working in Ghana you can always find something to do!

Did you know?
The coldest temperature ever recorded in Ghana is 64 degrees.

Thank You Supporters!
I greatly appreciate those who are part of this ministry. Over half of the support I receive each month goes directly to help the people and the work here, and most of the rest is spent in travel costs to do the work. Some of the things your money has done these past few months include purchasing an additional water tank for the school, purchasing the necessary tools to allow the students to make their own meals at the school, providing transportation to the hospital for a sick baby and his mother, providing doctor visits and medicine for a number of sick children, payment for a room for visiting preachers to use when working at the church planted in Cinkasse, food for the orphans home, campaign expenses, and so much more. I am currently seeking to raise my monthly support from $1250 per month to $2000 per month. Won’t you consider being part of this work, or passing this information on to others who might want to help? Please send all contributions to:

Blogging
Did you know that I write a blog about what it is like to live and work in Africa? Every week or so I post a new article at http://thinkingsouls.wordpress.com/. I hope you will check it out. Some of the recent stories include:

Road Trip - My adventures driving from Accra to Tamale.
My Test Garden - Learning some valuable lessons while trying to grow tomatoes.
Just What Am I Doing Here - Sometimes the real reason we have to do something is as simple as “because I can.”

Bear Valley Updates
Did you know I also write an update every couple of weeks regarding what is going on at the school that is sent out as part of Bob Turner’s Bear Valley Weekly Report on the extension school programs? You can access all of the reports from the Tamale school at /extension-news/tag/tamale. Here is a glimpse at the most recent report.

Work Accomplished By TIBS Students And Graduates... SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 2012 AT 12:56PM

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 9th 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.

Check the Bear Valley Extension School webpage for the remainder of this article and more about the Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies!

Thank you for your interest and support of the work in West Africa! Please share this newsletter with others who may be interested.

Greenbrier church of Christ Attn: African Missions
12 Wilson Farm Rd. Greenbrier, AR 72058

Thank you for your help!

Contact Information
Mailing Address:

Tamale Institute of Biblical Studies P.O. Box TL 925
Tamale, Northern Region
Ghana

Ghana Phone - 011-233-0248216622 E-Mail - anthonyjohnson2010@gmail.com

Moving Toward Dependence On God...

Brethren,

What a privilege to be a part of God's family on this earth! What a joy it is for me to share with all of you about God's work in Cambodia. It truly is a blessing for me to be in my position. I thank God and you all for making it possible. 

The previous month, the local church has decided and helped Sam get started in Bos Kralahn village. He has finished the pig pen and we got him started with 2 pigs as a test run. We are excited to see how this will turn out. We know the delicacy of the matter in that we don’t want to stress the physical over the spiritual, especially in a poor country like Cambodia. If we are not careful, we will emphasize the wrong priority. At the same time, we don’t want them to be dependent upon foreign aids all of their lives either. There has to be a balance and we will make sure that happens. We want to teach them to rely and depend upon One, and that is God! Amen.

Phanat

To see Phanat’s post with a picture, please click here.