Greetings, Gratitude, And An Appeal From Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon. Your brothers and sisters in Christ send greetings of the season to you, your family, and the entire congregation. We are doing better in health and life after the graduation and other activities. We do hope this mail finds you all doing well in all that you are doing.

I am writing on behalf of many here to thank you all for all that you have allowed God to use you to accomplish in Cameroon. We truly lack the words to give you in appreciation of all your sacrifice to make things happen in CBIW and in our ministries here in Cameroon.

We send our sincere appreciation to you for loving the Lord and His church here in Cameroon. You made it possible for us do what the Lord called us to do in expanding the gospel of Jesus in our communities and country.

We thank you for your fervent prayers and lifting us up to God daily. We say thank you for your prayers meant a lot to us and the work we are doing.

We thank you for all the gracious words of encouragement to us as we serve. Those words were a great source of motivation and driving force for us to move ahead with the task laid for us.

We thank you for the fellowship we share physically, for those who visited us, through emails, phone calls, and otherwise.

We thank you for your financial support to help train men to preach the gospel. Your timely support help students to eat, buy personal needs, handouts, health care accommodations, and others.

We thank you for spending your time to prepare notes that were used here. Thank you for loving us.

We thank you and pray that God will bless you, keep you strong, and open more doors for you to do more for the work here. God alone will be able to replenish, repay, and bless you abundantly for all the good work you are doing for the Lord.

Please permit me make an appeal.

1) Keep praying for us and the work here.

2) Keep praying for the new work we envision as we move to 2015.

3) Please, if you want to get a report from our graduates, give me your email to give to them.

4) Please, some evangelists in newly and revived congregations pray for a small support that can help them establish their ministries.

God bless you as you prepare to increase the shores of your services in His ministry. Thank you and enjoy the few more days before 2014 goes into the annals of history.

God bless you. I will start reporting again God's willing from the 2nd of January 2015 when we shall have the next batch of students.

Elangwe and family

Special Greetings From The Southwest School Of Evangelism...

Dear fellow workers in the vineyard of the Lord Jesus,

We thank the Almighty God for His mercies and kindness over us, who in His infinite mercy made us to see the beginning and the end of this season.

We bless the name of God for all the words of encouragement, charges, motivation, etc. that He sent to us through all of you!

We also thank the Lord for great people of God like you that helped us financially.

The SWSE appreciates you all for your dedication, commitment, and financial support throughout the year 2014. We humbly and prayerfully solicit for your continuous support even beyond year 2015.

The SWSE, Ibadan main campus will close after this weekend evangelism at Egbeda town organized by the Egbeda congregation, Ibadan in preparation for the World Bible School seminar that, by God's grace, will come up at that city on January 31, 2015 where our dear brother Doug Wheeler is expected to minister the gospel of Christ to Egbeda inhabitants.

Lord's willing, classes will continue on January 5, 2015. Our two satellite campuses at Agege and Ikorodu will close for the end of the year program on Saturday, December 27, 2014.

Brethren, the SWSE Ibadan & Lagos campuses appreciate you all for your partnership! May God continue to bless you abundantly as you continue contributing to the growth of His kingdom on earth is our fervent prayer.

Our needs at the Ibadan campus include $3,000 to complete our events hall (Doug Wheeler's Hall) and $5,000 for digging a water bore hole at the school site.

Beloved, I will conclude my teaching on “Marriage and the Home” at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan on the Lord's day before we go out for our monthly door-to-door evangelism.

In the afternoon, brother Samuel Oladokun, one of the present graduates of the SWSE Ibadan will be teaching at the youth end-of-the-year program with another SWSE year-2 student named brother Gabriel Ishom and brother Idowu Segun at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation -Ibadan.

We (the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation) are organizing a three day open-air Bible lectureship at the Idi-Orogbo area of Lagelu Local Government Area where I will speak on “Who is Jesus Christ?” on December 24. Brother Lawrence Olawale Dada, one of the SWSE graduates will speak on “New Testament Worship,” December 25 at the same venue, and on December 26, the two of us will be speaking on the same topics at Lakuru village, Akinyele Local Government Area of Oyo State.

Brother Kayode Solomon Eniafe, one of the graduates of the school and one of our present instructors will be working with the Wasimi congregation in Osun State with brother Adedoyin Rotimi and brother Samuel Olorode (SWSE year-2 students / BVBI certificate students) from December 25-27, 2014.

Beloved, we thank you all for assisting us in obeying the marching orders of our Commander-in-Chief, Jesus Christ as recorded in Matthew 28:19-20.

We thank you all for your prayer, moral, and financial support. May the Almighty God continue to bless, honor, and reward you accordingly (1 Cor. 15:58).

Happy New Year To You All in advance.

Thank you and God bless! We shall all make heaven in Jesus name, Amen.

For enquiry, advice, and constructive criticism, you can contact brother Doug Wheeler (Nigerian Evangelism minister, c/o Westside church of Christ, Oklahoma) or brother Steven Ashcraft (BVBI, West Africa coordinator) or brother Bill Pennell (a close associate of brother Doug Wheeler) or brother Joel Coppinger (International Director of WBSTC, California) or you can write us directly.

Once again, we thank you for all your partnership. We wish you and all your wonderful associates a prosperous New Year.

Your fellow laborer in Christ's kingdom,

Makinde  Ebenezer  Olufemi (Founder & Director of Studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos campus, Nigeria

Blessing Tanzania Missions And ACSOP...

As the year is winding down our team has been busy making plans, setting goals, and preparing the budget for the next year in Tanzania. The Lord has certainly blessed Tanzania Missions and the Andrew Connally School of Preaching. We are grateful for the tireless fund raising that Cy Stafford has done, and continues to do, and for so many generous congregations and benevolent individuals that have made this work possible.

In addition to our organizational goal setting and budgeting, Anita and I have been doing the same on a personal level. We are excited about our small part of this wonderful work and are looking forward to seeing how God will use us during 2015. Concerning our personal budget, we understand that a missionary's income is always in a state of flux because it all comes from contributions. There are a number of reasons that contributors, whether congregations or individuals, cease their giving. Regardless of the reasons, it happens and we need to take the necessary steps to remedy any disparity. During our furlough earlier this year we gained some support and we lost some support. Taking this into consideration we have crunched our numbers and have finalized our budget for 2015 and we find ourselves with a fairly substantial deficit; a deficit of a little more than $1200.00 per month. Utilities in Tanzania have risen by 90% in the last two years not to mention skyrocketing food cost and gas that is nearing $6.00 per gallon. I won't even go into detail about the financial hit we take because of governmental corruption. We have eliminated savings, retirement and medical insurance from the budget as well. This is a no frills, trim all the fat, do what you gotta do to get the job done, budget.

With the end of the year approaching many are considering how they might be able to make their final tax deductions for 2014. It just so happens that I have a great suggestion for where you can do that very thing! All kidding aside we would like to plead with you to consider us in your tax strategy and charitable giving. All contributions that are sent through Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver are tax-deductible (please see the check example at the bottom). Wouldn't you much rather put your funds toward the spread of the gospel than toward Uncle Sam and his 17 trillion dollar deficit?

We hope you will take the time to carefully and prayerfully consider our need and request. We love the Lord and we love His work in Tanzania and we are praying for the financial boost we need to continue doing our part during 2015.

May God continue to bless you in the upcoming year.

In His service,
Sean & Anita Hochdorf

Markers Of God's Hand Working In Tanzania...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

We thank you for your commitment to the gospel and for the lost of this world. Your response to our “Thanksgiving Challenge” was met with great enthusiasm and support. We have been blessed for the past 16 years with good friends and supporters making this mission effort of God’s one of the best on the planet. We genuinely believe 2015 will be one of, if not the, best years ever. 

Last week was one of those “markers” that we are able to witness and know God is having His way through the Tanzania mission effort and is changing lives for the better. Our good brother, Michael Losotwa, a graduate of the ACSOP, current dean of academic instructor and co-evangelist for the Kisongo congregation, was asked to direct the “Ninth Annual Future Preacher's Training Camp.”  He accepted and did a power job. 

This year’s intake of campers was 43 in number representing 16 different congregations. Today 14 year old Baraka (translated, blessing) taught an amazing lesson of “True Love,” really impressive on so many levels. 

We did a short survey of our student body that I believe illustrates the good being done through the avenue of “entrusting the Word to faithful men, that in turn they might teach others). We asked and they answered the following 8 questions:

1)     How many baptisms from their home congregations and that they taught and baptized? 176
2)     How many new congregations have they been a part of this year? 46
3)     How many congregations restored back to the truth? 14
4)     How many campaigns where they took part of this year? 27
5)     How many lectureships? 23
6)     How many youth conference and or camps? 30
7)     How many Bible studies did they conduct? 200
8)     How many denominational preachers did they teach who obeyed the gospel? 8

Yes, what God controls, GROWS! The Lord’s church in East Africa is growing day by day thanks to God’s amazing grace and love, your prayers and support, and the hard work of God’s faithful here in East Africa. Thanks be to God, great things He is doing. 

We wish you all a very happy holidays. We hope and we pray God blesses you with good friends, good Christian fellowship, and lots of good holiday food. 

Please continue to remember Granny in your prayers. She continues to have chronic bronchitis and is having to take some strong drugs and lots of breathing treatments. Stephanie is doing a great job “nursing” her along the way. Granny has several doctors’ appointments in January. We are hopeful she can make the long hard trip back to the U.S. on the 8th of January. 

Until all have heard...

In Him,
Cy, Stephanie and Granny

Finals, Stress, Graduation, Matriculation, Souls Saved, And A Break...

Finals week is always a stress-filled time for students in Denver, as we are sure it is for all other schools where we are privileged to share in the work of training preachers. We are encouraged by the men who are graduating and entering the ministry. Their effort throughout the last two years provides an example worth emulating for all other students. We pray for them and ask you to pray with us for their further growth and development as servants of the Great I Am.

Graduation for students at the Cameroon Bible Institute of Wotutu (CBIW) was held this last week. This day also served for the matriculation of a new class of students that begins their journey in January. We continue to be encouraged by the work each class does during their training at CBIW. They are all involved in personal evangelism on a weekly basis and campaigns each quarter, all to reach the lost, strengthen the church, and plant new congregations of the Lord’s people.

Other schools reporting this week share news of God’s power at work in reaching out with the gospel. Souls are brought to the Lord and the church is growing in each location. Please remember to pray for each of these works. God continues to open numerous doors and the students are diligently working to prepare themselves for greater service, all the while putting those skills into practice.

There will be a short break in Denver before the next quarter begins in January. A new class of students will also begin their journey to prepare for the work in God’s kingdom. As you read through the reports this week, we pray you are encouraged and ask you to think about how you can have a more active role in this effort in 2015. If you need more information, please send me an e-mail at bturner@wetrainpreachers.com.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Donnie Bates can be read here.

The latest report from Luis Comacho about the work in Paraguay can be read here.

Extension Reports 

Graduation And A Reflection On The Past Two Years In Cameroon: After the Beta graduating class, CBIW director, Elangwe Gregory, shares results of their work for the last two years.

Five Souls Added To The Kingdom In Takoradi, Ghana: A recent evangelistic outreach in Ghana by West Coast School of Preaching students brings five souls to Christ.

Marriage And The Home - How To Get To Heaven: These lessons were taught in Nigeria and the combination reveals the need of the family in the direction of heaven.

Requesting Prayers For The Masai: The power of a flyer points people to the one true church of the Bible brought two Masai men to learn more about what the Bible teaches.

Studies Yield Fruit In Tanzania: Three reports from graduates involved in sharing the gospel show the increase given by God as souls are added to the kingdom.

Final Thoughts 
With only two weeks left in 2014, we are thankful when reflecting on the past 12 months. We can see how God has blessed His work. We will soon have a collective report to share with you about the progress in each location and the influence training preachers has around the world. Thank you for making this possible. We need you and we give thanks for you each day.

God bless
Bob

Studies Yield Fruit In Tanzania...

Greetings Fellow Servants, 

It is our hope and prayer that all is well in your life and service. We thank God for you, for your prayers, and most of all, your example and sacrifice in the Lord. One of the joys of working in Tanzania is seeing God’s mighty hand at work in the lives of the people. To witness good men and women of God, serving without complaint, serving tirelessly, brings much joy and comfort to one’s soul. Three evangelists highlight this fact:

Fariji Paul (Usa River congregation): “First, I really thank you for your prayers for the Usa River church. You have been praying for us, as a result, the church is increasing well. Second, in November, we studied with 14 people, one of them was baptized into the kingdom of Christ, named Nelson Sango. He said, that he desires to serve God in His kingdom and has just completed the Bible correspondence course. He asked us to pray for him so that may overcome the false prophets. A future church plant is to begin at Tengeru, please pray for that.”        

Mathew Laizer (Longido congregation): “Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, today is the end of our seminar efforts. One soul obeyed the gospel. The Lord is indeed good. Thanks and be blessed.”

Yusuph Mdaki: (Ushirombo congregation): “Hello brother, six souls have been added and one new congregation has been started.”

Next week in Arusha is a very special week. The “Future Preacher’s Training Camp” will be held at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching location in Kisongo. Michael Losotwa, our dean of Academics and evangelist for the Kisongo congregation, is directing the camp for the first time. This is one of those “markers” that lets us know, it is working. When responsibility can be delegated to faithful men, who in turn, glorify God through faithful service, God’s will and our goal is accomplished. We are anticipating a very good intake for this event and solicit your prayer on behalf of all the young men and those who will instruct them. 

Today was a great day. Keith Kasarjian and I were blessed to worship with Dale Kastner and his family here in Lilongwe, Malawi. We worshiped with the Chinsapo congregation in the city, 324 souls singing praises to our God. What a blessing it was to witness 22 responses to the lesson and 3 souls obeying the gospel. It has been a personal goal of mine to come to Malawi where brother Andrew Connally first began his missionary journey. 

A very special thank to Dale, Leann and Alyssa (7 years old on Jan. 3rd) for their amazing hospitality. They made our trip profitable and pleasant. This good family arrived in Malawi on July 17th of this year, committing 10 years of their life to the cause of Christ in Malawi. Dale is a graduate of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver and based on what I have seen, he will do God proud as a faithful servant of His. 

We wish each of you a blessed week of service to the Master. Until all have heard...

In Him, 
Cy, Stephanie & Granny

Requesting Prayers For The Masai...

“Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations…”(Matt. 28:19). It was a Sunday afternoon when two Masai men came to visit the Arusha church of Christ. The worship service had just ended a few hours earlier and the members were on their way home. Isaac and I remained behind for some church work. After introducing themselves, they told us that were there here to find the church of the Bible. When we asked how they came to find us they told us they had seen one of our advertisements attached to one of the electric poles in town. The advertisement reads,“if you want to know the truth and become a member of the one true church of the Bible visit the church of Christ nearest you.”

So, we sat down and started to answer their Bible questions. Interestingly, they wanted to know why there are so many churches today. After a long study of the scriptures they were able to realize the difference that exists in the denominational world and the church we read about in the Bible.

We continue studying with them and they have invited us to come to their home and study with their other family members, including their wives and children. It has been a blessing for us to meet these people and to be able to share with them the loving message of God.

These two men are very interested in learning the truth and it is our hope that soon they will obey the gospel. Please keep these precious souls in your prayers; they are very close to the kingdom. Please pray for Isaac and me as we continue to persuade them concerning the scriptures.

In Him,

Godfrey Mngoma
Dean of Students, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school
Arusha, Tanzania

Marriage And The Home - How To Get To Heaven...

Dear fellow ministers of God,

Greetings from students and staff of the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan and Lagos campus.

The staff and students of the SWSE Ibadan main campus evangelized Panu, Eletu, and Alagbede villages on Saturday, December 13th, 2014.

We shall close for this year on December 20th after the mass evangelism at Egbeda town in Egbeda Local Government of Oyo state to enable our students to participate actively in the end of the year program in their respective congregations.

I taught on “Marriage and the Home” this morning at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan and brother Dele Shotola, one of the graduates of the school and my co-WBSFUW in Oyo and Ogun states, taught on “How to Get to Heaven” at the Felele congregation, Ibadan and a young girl was baptized unto The Lord.

Brother Eze Mbaraoye, one of the school’s graduates, also reports the restoration of a couple at  the Alagbado congregation, Lagos where he is serving as one of the ministers.

Beloved, the school is growing and we just introduced the WBS correspondence courses to     Ila-Orangun town in Osun state through Brother Kayode Solomon Eniafe, one of the able instructors at SWSE Ibadan main campus.

Beloved, we thank you all for your partnership! Stay blessed and be strong in the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ.

Yours in Him....Makinde Ebens

Five Souls Added To The Kingdom In Takoradi, Ghana...

Dear Brethren,

By God’s grace we ended the month of November successfully without any hitch. Classes went on successfully with all teachers and students present and regular at classes. It is a period of preparation also for our end of term examination. All students who have had problems with particular courses were assisted to understand them.

Baptisms
There were five baptisms in the month as a result of evangelism effort by individual students. We, however, do not have pictures of these.

Daniel Ampadu-Asiamah
He continues to receive treatment in Accra. Report from his wife indicates he is responding to treatment, even through very slowly. We still ask for your continuous prayer.

Thank you all and may God’s blessings be upon you all.

CHARLES

Graduation And A Reflection On The Past Two Years In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from your brothers and sisters here in Wotutu. We do hope this report finds you in good health. We are doing better, but many are still sick and our congregation is recovering from the sadness of our departed student evangelist, Assah Menge Peter.

God helped us train men for two years and we succeeded to do the graduation ceremony on the 11th of December 2014 without any major problems. It was another hectic week and a busy day in Wotutu as CBIW is changing the lives of Wotutu people and the congregations. It was “Come and Let Us See.” Men of honor and all classes of people came to Wotutu in front of the church hall to witness the second graduation ceremony and third matriculation ceremony of our Gamma batch students. To God be the glory and honor.

We began the activities with the valedictory night, where many came to pass the night in Wotutu, so that they will witness all the program.

The valedictory night is characterized with songs and prayers to the graduating students. The students kneel down during a session of prayers.

The graduation morning is a normal tradition now, as we serve a special breakfast to the graduating students, families, and our guests, a strong sign for them to know practically that their leaving school is for them to serve others, not for the opposite to happen in their lives and ministries. Keep them in your prayers.

There was a demand from elder Randy for us to have a pre-graduation ceremony before his departure. On the graduation day, married students sat side by side with their wives. It was an honor to the wives and a sign of appreciation to them for their sacrifice in letting their husbands go for studies for two years.

Brother Paul and sister Jenet Kee are the lone resident missionaries in Cameroon. They were part of our graduation ceremony and they enjoyed it.

The Alpha batch of students were part of the ceremony to welcome the new evangelist into the CBIW alumni. Keep the visions of our graduates in your prayers as they explore communities with the gospel. They have invited us to be part of an evangelistic effort in January to revive a dead congregation in a village.

The kids of Brightland Christian Academy came to be part of the ceremony with good songs that thrilled the audience. Training children in the ways of God is a great investment. Please, can you come and be part of this gestures and investment?

22 men are ready and set to start studies in CBIW after they matriculated alongside the graduation, it is always a twin occasion.

Brother Oben was a convert in prison who was released and he came to Wotutu and spent some days with us, while we get him to his village and connect him with the congregation there. Today was his first worship Sunday out of the prison. Keep him in your prayers as he grows. Think about the prison ministry. Brother Vincent graduated the MOST EVANGELISTIC STUDENT. He was the one that was jailed for no crime and while in prison he preached and converted souls and started a congregation. A brother in Christ gave him an award of a Tablet, where he can prepare lessons and project them. He can also take pictures. Please, if you would like to read his report and the progress of the prison ministry, drop your email with me and I will give it him, to be sharing his report with you monthly.

A cross section of those in attendance during the graduation ceremony reveals more than 2075 people that we could count, but we are convinced it is above that. To God be the glory.

Evangelist Julious Wamo graduated with smiles as God blessed him during his stay in CBIW with a baby boy. Keep them in your prayers as they will start serving the Lord in Ikata and Bafia congregations. The field is really ripe, but laborers are few. Let us continue to pray for more laborers.

On this sad note, yesterday (Saturday) we laid to rest our fallen brother who was supposed to graduate, but died 4 days before the graduation, evangelist Assah Menge Peter. Please keep his family in your prayers.

Do your best to share this report with others.

Let me share our statistic from the two years of training the BETA batch of students.

2013
Number of baptisms: 273
Number of restorations: 192
Number of new congregations: 4
Congregations revived: above 5
Number of mass campaigns: 13

 2014
Number of baptisms: 238
Number of restorations: 100
Number of new congregations: 3
Number of congregation revived: 3
Number of mass campaigns: 10

With lots of weekend evangelism.

The glory belongs to God for all He has accomplished through us. We thank you from our hearts for your love, prayers, and support for all these years. We pray God will bless you and keep you strong as we prepare ourselves to start again come January 2015 God willing. Keep praying for the newly establish congregations and the revived congregation. We have stationed evangelists there already from this graduating batch, so that the work will continue to increase. Please, please, maybe you can be of help to an evangelist to establish him and his family in one place as they serve God.

Thank you, thank you, we say again, thank you. Without you it would have been impossible for us, but God used you greatly to achieve this. We keep you in our prayers. Pray for us, as we are facing persecution now seriously. Keep my family in your daily prayers.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director CBIW

An Amazing Week For Extension Training...

The countdown to 2015 has begun. We are wrapping up the last few weeks of 2014 and pressing forward with great anticipation of how God will bless our efforts in His kingdom. The year-end results from the extension schools are nearly complete and the preliminary news is exciting. Keith Kasarjian will share a full report that summarizes these results in a few weeks. This will be a report worth reading and sharing. Our God is GREAT!

The school in Denver completes the second quarter of studies on December 19th. This will be followed by a short break for the holidays and then a new class of students will join the program in January, as another quarter begins. Seeing new students get involved in the program is exciting and we know that a few more months down the road will bring graduation. We mentioned the senior students who complete their studies over the next two weeks and we are encouraged by their plans for serving in the kingdom.

The week ahead brings graduation for the work of CBIW in Cameroon. The next matriculation ceremony is held the same day as the graduation and the new class of students will begin in January. Please pray for the brethren in Cameroon as they mourn the death of student over the weekend. Additional schools report about the events of the past week and month. We need to remember each of them as they continue to work at training the faithful of God’s church to take the gospel to their country.

Please pray for those who soon enter the work of ministry, and remember those who prepare to begin their journey in training. The continuation of this effort is changing thousands of lives every year and will reach untold numbers of others before eternity. Thank you for helping make this work a reality.

Now on to the other reports...

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

The latest report from Howell Ferguson can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports 

Joy And Sorrow Fills The Hearts Of Staff And Students In Cameroon: While they prepare for graduation, CBIW mourns the loss of a student who died over the weekend.

A Boost In The School Library Aids The Work In Kenya: A staff member in Arusha provided additional books for the library in Kenya, which will assist the students in great ways.

More And Effective Laborers For The Lord’s Kingdom In Ghana: The efforts of the school in Nsawam-Dobro are to provide more men to serve in greater ways through the kingdom.

2014: A Time Of Change, Test, And Hope In Ukraine: The challenges presented by the conflict in Ukraine continue, but there is hope for the future of the program in Ternopil.

Reflecting On The Past Year Shows God’s Hand At Work In India: The report from the Visakha Valley Bible College demonstrates God’s blessings in the work of India.

Students Near The End Of The First Year In Uganda: Even though there are challenges to the work in Uganda, the students are near the end of the first year of studies and growing.

The Lord Is Adding To The Kingdom In Paraguay: We have a new sister in Christ in Paraguay, and the development of the school nears the end of its first class of students.

A Recent Bible Camp Designed For Women Proves Encouraging In Nepal: Several ladies visited women serving in congregations of graduates in Nepal and the results were encouraging.

Evangelism And Teaching About The Church In Nigeria: The staff and students continue to focus on evangelizing and teaching on vital subjects like the church.

What Would We Be Willing To Do Just To Learn The Gospel? It is amazing to see the dedication of people who will travel to whatever lengths to hear the gospel.

An Exciting Graduation Event In Arusha, Tanzania: Sean Hochdorf shares a report about the recent graduation in Arusha, sending eight new servants into the kingdom work.

Nothing Short Of The Greatness Of Our God: The “Thanksgiving Challenge” has been met and exceeded. Our God is GREAT and He worked through you to His glory.

Final Thoughts 
As you finish reading this week’s report, we encourage you to take a moment to pray about the work of extension training. The number of people involved in the success of this program is beyond the scope of our knowledge. We do know, however, that many of you continue to make great sacrifices to share the gospel around the world. Thank you for trusting Bear Valley to be a light in training preachers.

God bless
Bob

Joy And Sorrow Fills The Hearts Of Staff And Students In Cameroon...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this end. We do hope you are doing great in all that you. We wish you, the entire congregation, and your family compliments of the season.

We are doing better here, even though we have trouble in our hearts here now.

The students of CBIW are all completed with their courses that pave the way for their graduation this week by Thursday. Initially, we were suppose to graduate 26, but two students drop within this last quarter because of academic deficiency, so we were left with 24 qualified students to graduate. Another one of our students had an asthmatic attack yesterday and before the doctors could help, he passed on, so we are left with 23 students, by His grace, who will graduate this Thursday, December 11th 2014.

Elder Randy Martin and his wife, Robin, met students after class hours. What a great couple that came to CBIW. By the time of this letter, they will have made it back home safe without any problems.

Brother Randy taught class and after the final exams, he gave out final marks and prayed with the students. It was a great moment to fellowship and it was hard to say farewell.

Some sisters in our congregation gave them African clothes to wear. It fits well to them, but still difficult to say goodbye because of the fellowship and love for all here.

In the presence of God there is great joy and we could see it by the smile on their faces.

We have our colors for t-shirts that we use in CBIW. There is a particular one that is special, with the inscription “Thank You STC Congregation.” It was time to say thank you to the STC congregation for their oversight, prayers, and support to CBIW.

“Thank you” is a word that is common to the CBIW family. We have seen the Lord’s goodness and we say, “Thank you, Lord for bringing people who are just like us in faith and love.” Thank you, Lord.

We were able to take a family picture with the new shirts. CBIW is moving ahead.

Our brother, Assah Menge Peter, who passed away, performed brilliantly within the two years at CBIW. Four days from our official graduation, our brother never made it. Please keep his wife and family in your prayers.

His funeral program will be on the 13th and 14th after our graduation ceremony. Keep the entire CBIW staff and student body, the Wotutu congregation, and the church of Christ in Cameroon in prayer. A few days ago we lamented about the ripe field, but few laborers. Oh, oh with tears, this hard worker was supposed to do a great work to impact the communities in Bova where he was suppose to go and start his ministry.

Plan
Thursday will be graduation and matriculation of 22 new students to start their 2 years of preparation for ministry. Keep praying for us, as it is hard on our side now because of the situation.

Appreciation
We give thanks to God for all that we see and do. Thank you for standing with us to prepare men to preach the saving message. By next Sunday, I shall give a detailed report about our work for two years. God bless you and keep you strong. Share with others what is making news in Wotutu, Cameroon.

Elangwe and family
By His grace Director CBIW

Evangelism And Teaching About The Church In Nigeria...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings in Jesus Christ name. We, the staff and students of the Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan main campus, evangelized Butubutu and Tadi villages of the Ona-Ara local government on Saturday, December 6,2 014 from 8:30 am to 3:30 pm. 

The report reaching me this afternoon from our campus minister, brother Abraham Idu Yeje shows that one of our prospects named Ojo Samuel was baptized at the Asejire river after this morning’s worship. To God be the glory. Brethren, I taught on “The Discipline of the Church” (Acts 5:1-11, cf. 1 Cor. 5) at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu congregation, Ibadan while brother Kayode Solomon Eniafe taught on “What is the Kingdom of Christ?” at the Egbeda congregation, Ibadan.

At the campus church, SWSE Ibadan, brother Akinade Oluwaseun Akinleye taught on “The Life of Christ” while the campus minister, brother Abraham Idu Yeje, admonished the campus church on “Believing a Lie” (1 Kings 13).

Brother Adedoyin Sola Rotimi taught on “The Active Church” at the Jago congregation while brother David Edo admonished the Jago church from 1 Corinthians 13.

Beloved, we are scheduled to evangelize Panu and Eletu villages this coming Saturday, Lord willing. All our year-one and -two students are very active in the Lord! May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name, Amen.

Sincerely in Christ,

Makinde E.Olufemi (Director of Studies)
Southwest School of Evangelism (SWSE), Ibadan & Lagos, Nigeria  

Nothing Short Of The Greatness Of Our God...

Greetings Fellow Servants;

We thank you and we thank our God for you, your prayers, support, and partnership in the gospel. God’s universal family is visible in the lives and good deeds done in His name and for His glory. The result of such generosity is nothing less than saved souls. 

Great News: You did it! God did it through you! Each year we ask of you to show your love and care for the lost of East Africa via the “Thanksgiving Challenge.” The idea is that we as God’s children have more to be thankful for than any in this world. We asked you to join us in expressing this blessing and gratitude by supporting Tanzania Missions. 

This year was very special by the blessing of our good brother and sister in Christ who “challenged” each of us with a donation/matching funds in the amount of $57,500. Well, the Good News is, you did it in a most powerful way. As of this report, you have donated or committed, $65,165. The good that will be done, the souls that will know of God’s love, the souls that will be saved, God alone knows, but, we praise Him and we Thank You, for stepping up and making this a reality. A very special Thank You to our good brother and sister for their love for lost souls and for their amazing example in Christian generosity. A very Special Thank You to each and everyone who came through in a most powerful way. 

Having now lived in Tanzania for the better part of twenty years, we are beginning to see multi-generational growth, spiritually and numerically. These brief report illustrates this point:

Fariji Paul (Usa River congregation) “In November we studied with 14 people, one of them was baptized into the Kingdom of Christ, Nelson Sango. He said, he desires to serve God in His kingdom. He has just completed the Bible correspondence course and asks us to pray for him. The church is planning to set up a congregation at Tengeru, please pray for that.” 

Yusuph Mdaki: “Six souls were added to the Kingdom last Sunday, part of a new church plant.” 

Matthew Laizer: “Praise the Lord Jesus Christ, today is the end of our efforts and one soul has obeyed the gospel. The Lord is indeed good.”

Gaudence Kilewo: When I asked Gaudence what the greatest challenge the Ngordoto congregation was facing he said; “First, we do not have enough places to sit. Second, we need workers, we have more bible classes than we can get to.” This new church plant now has 70-80 souls worshiping each Sunday and had five souls to obey the gospel last month. 

Prayer Request: After several weeks of efforts, prayers and discussion, we have decided that Stephanie and Granny will be heading to the States the first week in January. I will follow a month later. Stephanie has already booked several doctors’ appointments for Granny. We (Stephanie and I) do not believe Granny will be returning to Tanzania. This will be a difficult time for the family as we face some really tough decisions in the coming weeks. Please pray for Granny and her health and for Stephanie and I as we are challenged with some difficult decisions. We know and believe God is able and are fully trusting in Him. 

Till all have heard...
In Him, Cy, Stephanie and Granny

A Recent Bible Camp Designed For Women Proves Encouraging In Nepal...

Dear all respected brothers in Christ,

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

We all are doing well in our regular school and local church activities at NCBS and Kathmandu Valley. After our five weeks of long holidays we began our classes on November 3rd of 2014. All  our classes are going well.

We had six days of ladies Bible camp in the month of November. We had three full days of classes. Sister Sunita (women's teacher), Usha (wife of graduated student Surya Tamang a local teacher at NCBS), Monika (Christian member), Tina (college student c/o brother Jerry), Srijana (school cook) and myself as guide went into our graduate student's home congregations. The sisters taught simple and good lessons that encouraged many women in the village. They received a warm welcome. Their learning desire, fellowship, friendship, talking, laughing, sharing, and caring for each other were amazing. They invited our sisters to visit and have a women's Bible class again in future. I am happy and glad to say that our sisters can teach, encourage, and prepare lady teachers in different communities. 

Thank you all of your guidance, help, and prayer toward Nepal and the Nepal Center for Biblical Studies.

Once again thanks to you all.

Brother in Christ,

Gajendra Deshar
gajendra_deshar@yahoo.com

A Boost In The School Library Aids The Work In Kenya...

Dear brethren,

It has been such a huge honor for me to be part of the great team that is involved in training preachers from the Kenyan soil. I take this opportunity to thank God for bringing all the like minded heads together for a greater cause in the Kingdom. Thanks to all the short course teachers who sacrificed their busy schedule to come over to teach and lead gospel meetings which have been very fruitful.

In August, we had 13 out of 20 students graduate and are now out in the field working, we have been hearing of their active roles in various areas. 

At KSOP, the second class of 20 students is headed for home for the December break having studied 7 courses in their year-1 quarter-1, plus basic computer class. We look forward to having them back for the second quarter on January 9th, 2015 with great reports from the Lord's field. 

Some of the students have been trained at the Nairobi Great Commission School extensions and have been amazed by the errors they were taught. They are very open-minded students and ready to have false doctrine uprooted from them. 

Through their evangelistic efforts, three have been baptized and two are attending worship services at Hellena court where we meet. We pray they will obey the gospel. 

The KSOP school library got a boost from ACSOP Arusha. They gave us 26 boxes of books. Any school is as good as its teachers and the book references they have in their library. We are still building the library and still in more need of books.

Next year, we look forward to continuing with the training and having the students get more involved in gospel campaigns and evangelism as well as visiting the nearby local congregations if funds will be available.

Keep us in your prayers as we look for funds to buy land and put up a school building.

Thanks again for your prayers and generous support of the work. Without you, we would not have been able to achieve the successes.

Brotherly Love,
Charles Ogutu

More And Effective Laborers For The Lord's Kingdom In Ghana...

In the fourth quarter of our first year, we deem it by the sheer grace of God. This is because of a couple of reasons: Firstly, SIBS actually had insufficient time at our disposal to announce the commencement of our school among the brotherhood before taking off. Secondly, SIBS was co-incidentally located in the area where already, a more established preacher training school – the Heritage Christian College is located. Although this initially caused some strain, and apparently posed “indirect challenge” to us, we think so far, it has been a blessing to have come this far by the immeasurable grace of God. Nevertheless, our focus and emphasis continue to be on: more and effective laborers for the Lord’s kingdom.

However, one setback so far, was one of the students coming from the Volta north area of the country, Forster Delali Adjamoa, has withdrawn from the course, due to family problems as he said. Besides the family problems, and perhaps what was equally disturbing to him was the long distance to travel from his home town to Accra, which could not allow him to visit back whenever that became necessary. From what we are hearing, he is continuing his training at the Preacher training school in Ho, in the Volta region. This place is nearer to his home town, and in that case, we wish him well.

Photocopier Machine
We were so grateful to purchase a new photocopier machine for the school. This is to help with the making of photocopies of students’ lesson notes and we trust that it will actually go a long to facilitate the academic work.

Academic Board
SIBS has thought of instituting two boards –first, an Academic Board and an Advisory Board or Board of Governors. We just initiated the Academic Board which comprises the Director, Administrative Assistant, two other teachers and a leading member of the church. Among other things, the Academic Board will be responsible for the academic issues of the school including: directing and regulating all teaching and making sure that the teaching schedule is followed, monitor academic performance of students; and besides, assist with the admission of new students, as well as to deal with disciplinary issues as and when it becomes necessary.  

Appreciate you sacrifice and commitment. Keep us in your thoughts and prayers continually.

Seth Larbi

2014: A Time Of Change, Test, And Hope In Ukraine...

Hello dear brothers, families and churches,

I want to share with you some news of the events that happened in Ukraine, the Bible Institute and Ternopil Church of Christ.

The year 2014 became a time of change, test, and hope. We still personally feel the pain and sorrow of what is going on in our country. Unfortunately, the military actions continue to take place in the eastern part of our country. Gorlovka is still on the occupied territory, and we can't return there. The building of the Institute and the church has been made into the headquarters of the terrorists, and it is wishful thinking that this conflict will end any time soon. We continue praying for peace. Many families are left with no place and no means to live, and there are thousands of them. A month ago, we sent help to those were in dire need of it (food, replacing broken widows etc.). I know many American brethren continue helping those who went through all this suffering, and it is very important and needed. We thank those who participate in this ministry.    

Institute Church of Christ
As far as I know, we are the only congregation that was formed in Western Ukraine because of the military actions in the East. Of course, all new beginnings require additional work, and we try to remind and invite people of our neighborhood to come to Sunday services. Our brother in Christ and BVBIU graduate, Bogdan Chigvintsev, tries to go out, staying with a Christian literature stand in front of our building at least once a week. Yes, many people know about us already. We have made contacts with people working at near-by shops, pharmacies, and post-office. In the next few days, we will hang a big banner that will inform people about the church that meets at this place. As Paul wrote in 1 Cor. 3:6-7, we continue working diligently, but it is the Lord Who gives the growth. 

Our church gathered a good team that consists of students, individual Christians, and several families. We try to spend as much time as possible studying God’s word and having fellowship. We have mid-week Bible classes both at the Institute and at homes. Recently, we celebrated fall birthdays and baptisms, and it was a wonderful time of fellowship. The average attendance of the Sunday service is about 20-22 people. 

Bible Institute
In November, there was an addition to our program: our brother in Christ, Klim Krisanov, joined the first-year course. His father is our second-year student. Their family is from Dnipropetrovsk, and that is the city where BVBIU graduate, Alexander Rodichev, preaches now. Currently we have 9 students total in our program. There were only Ukrainian teachers having classes in this month. First-year students had such courses: Godhead and Angels (Vitaliy Rodichev) and Exodus-Deutoronomy (Eugen Tebel). Second-year students had an opportunity to study 1-2 Thessalonians (Dennis Sopelnik) and Acts (Vladimir Paziy).

On November 29, the Institute held its annual youth conference in the fall. This year we had fewer visitors due to our location. The topic of the conference was “God’s Will in Our Life.” However, those who attended our event received additional knowledge and experienced lots of positive emotions. 

The Institute will have classes until December 19, then the students will have some time for research work and winter break.  

We continue publishing our monthly journal, “Sound Life.” Now we are sending it electronically to all available e-mail addresses all over Ukraine and Russia. The journal contains articles from our American brothers, but we have grown our local authors as well. BVBIU secretary, Oksana, and staff translator, Julia, continue translating books and needed teaching materials for the school. As a result of our building being seized, we lost part of our library and teaching materials, and now we try to add what we are lacking. 

The church, along with BVBIU students and staff, send you their greetings and gratitude for your prayers and financial support. We appreciate your help and care. 

Your brother and coworker,

Dennis Sopelnik

To see Dennis’ report, with pictures, please click here.

Reflecting On The Past Year Shows God's Hand At Work In India...

Dear brethren,

Greetings in Christ’s name. How wonderful and marvelous it is to see the blessings being shared with the brethren who were devastated by ‘Hurricane Hudud’ in the month of October. Certainly it was a heart-breaking incident in the lives of thousands of people living in the Visakhapatnam area and some parts north east of that place. There were people who lost homes, crops, cattle, business, and even some of their dear ones, it was a catastrophe.

We are truly blessed with the greatest concern shown by the brethren at Lake Houston. It indeed helped these preachers and congregations who were affected by the hurricane very much.  As I see, and from what I heard, it was a big occasion when all the material was distributed. After the materials were purchased, they were transported to Visakhapatnam last Friday (for the US it was Black Friday). Local political & public leaders were invited as guests for this occasion. This is indeed giving an opportunity to help the leaders understand that we as Christians are not trying to spread the religion, rather striving to share the love of God by caring for others. “Absolutely,” this is one of the remarks by those public leaders attending this occasion. They are very appreciative of this charitable activity.

Thank you very much brethren for sharing your love with us. Our Lord God is glorified by this…..

Material Distributed were:

500 bed sheets & blankets
500 sarees for women
200 pairs clothing for men
Bibles - This is what made this occasion unique, because we were the only ones who distributed 500 Bibles, 750 New Testaments
2 - bicycles to the preachers
3 - tricycles to the older women who were injured during the Hurricane.
Rice bags including the Blankets were distributed to some of the people living in the coast of Visakhapatnam. We are mindful of the verse Gal. 6:10. 
Monetary gifts to the preachers whose prayer sheds and church building were damaged. Some of these gifts were given to those individuals whose houses were damaged. 80 preachers benefited from this.
Books & Stationary to the students 
120 families were benefited from our efforts, glory to God.

Mission accomplishments in this year 2014 so far:

Villages visited – 126
Bible classes & gospel meetings conducted – 148
Preachers seminars – 2
Leadership workshop – 1
Preachers fellowship meetings conducted – 20
People obeyed the gospel – 387
Number of preaching students graduated - 13
New congregations established – 18
Church meeting places dedicated – 2

We  thank you brethren for your kind concern towards the preacher training work in India. By the grace of God, the Lord’s work is progressing. We are excited about the 14 students who will finish their school by March 2015. We are excited about the graduation program that is scheduled for the 10th of April.

Persecution: Please be mindful of the religious take-over by the predominant religion in our country. Recent incidents taking place in our country compel one to believe that those people want to show their dominance. On average daily, one congregation is being persecuted in the nation of India. What I mean by congregation is Christian believers in general. Kindly pray that our government performs the duty of keeping peace. We pray that our country continues to have religious freedom as a democratic, secular nation. We appreciate your kindness.

Ref: http://persecutedchurch.info/2014/11/08/karnataka-hindu-fundamentalists-attack-innocent-christians/

In Christ,
John Dean M

Students Near The End Of The First Year In Uganda...

We are almost coming the end of our second quarter of our first year. All students are doing fine. Brother Tulenake, who went to Congo for the funeral of his child who died, has not come back due to lack of money for a new visa a temporary passport. This quarter ends on the 12th of December 2014. The students from Congo, Kenya and Tanzania would like to go home during this holidays. Short-courses will be January 5th 2015. They wanted us to help them with transport for going and coming back. The cost will be as following:

8 students from Congo: round trip will cost $300 for each. One student from Tanzania: round trip will be $200. Five students from Kenya: round trip will cost $140 dollars. If these funds can be available now, that means by the end of the year, that is in the month of June 2015 we will just give them one week and they will just stay at school.

The Nandwa Church of Christ has started using our students for evangelism every Sunday afternoon. We finish our worship at noon and come back at the church building and later go in a group of four people. We go in groups of four because most students do not speak the local language “Lusamia,” so we make sure in every group there is a translator.

The Nandwa church also has a house to house program, which is conducted on every Friday from 2:00 - 5:00 p.m.  Every member invites the church into his or her home. While there, we sing, pray, and hear the word of God from one of the members. In each house we visit, we eat “Amaengere.” This is maize and beans cooked together. We accompany this food with tea.  Our students, also being members of Nandwa congregation, invite members of the church at the school where they live for the Friday house to house fellowship that meets in their house.

On Friday our students wake up at six and have their chapel at 6:30 a.m., and after chapel they go for agriculture activities. We distribute them in different departments of agriculture. Group A goes in the garden to plant or weed vegetables, pineapples, tomatoes, onions, and other greens, while some clean our trees. Group B goes to piggery and poultry. Group C goes to clean the fish ponds and the trenches. The group that goes to the fish ponds takes care of the cows on that day. This work is done up to 11:00 and then they go for breakfast.

On Saturday our students wake up and do general cleaning around the school and also clean their clothes. After lunch they go for recreation. In this intake we have many young men and they usually play soccer (African football). They usually do practice behind our classes. They desire to make the U.S.o.E  football team. Due to that need, we request for some funds from any interested individual to support this team. We need things like shoes, uniforms, and balls.

The Uganda church of Christ, being the name of the church in Uganda, since it was registered, has not received approved premises and approved men to conduct marriage ceremonies according to the laws of the Land. Most marriages of members of the church of Christ are considered to be fake by the government of Uganda. If there is anyone in the church legally  married, they must have received that certificate outside of Uganda or in one of the denominational churches around.

The Nandwa church of Christ has seen this as a problem and has started looking for the way our place of worship can be licensed as a place where marriages can be conducted and also to submit names of some men who have qualifications to be licensed.

To get an approval from the Government of Uganda, one has to start applying to the district’s local government and then the Minister of Justice constitution affairs of Uganda.  After   applying through the Busia District, the resident commissioner came and inspected our place of worship and asked us to make it look decent. It forced us to plaster and paint our building.  

I took the photo of the building and they recommended us for the registration. I will be working on this. I think it might be ready by next year.

One of the requirements was to have a nice latrine. We also tried to work on the latrine. Members of the Uganda Church of Christ will now have a place where they can conduct their marriages.

The Uganda School of Evangelism’s Annual Lectureship is due. Everything is ready for the lectureship to begin and most teachers have submitted their lessons. We will be studying the  sixteen chapters of the book of Romans. Each teacher is assigned one chapter. Accommodations and food arrangements are ready. The only problem might be with transport for those coming from far. Members of the churches where our graduates came from desire to attend. Those from far places like Western Uganda and central Kenya are requesting that we help them with bus fare back to their homes. Churches in the Busia area will be transported with a lorry at a small fee of  a dollar and a quarter to put fuel in the lorry. We put a better engine in the lorry and it is running well for now, and it helps us a lot in carrying firewood and other school needs.

We wish you well during the holiday season and a prosperous and happy new year.

Yours In Christian love,
Francis and Margaret Wechesa