We are looking forward to traveling the 20 plus hours back to the Chimala Bible Institute in two weeks. We have been sidelined by a hip replacement surgery and then even a heart condition. But we have been so blessed by the prayers and support of the greatest brethren in the world. We have kept up weekly with the teachers and students and have been reminded by two great truths.
First, our God is so gracious and loving along with the support and love of the members of Christ body. The acts of kindness, interest and concern for myself and the students at CBI have been heartwarming. Second, our Tanzanian teachers and preachers are dedicated and competent. The school is running fine. Boaz, our senior teacher and elder in the Lord’s church, has been my chief recorder. He has reminded me of the brethren’s fight to remain sound and committed, even in some unusual situations. The teachers at CBI all have the BVBID master’s degree and are amazingly hard workers and faithful evangelist.
The student body is more varied than it has ever been. Boaz reports, “as for now we have 19 students from Swahili and English. We have more requests from the refuge camp, so far we already have one from Congo and we hope to get another five from the camp. And another four from Dar, one from Iringa and the other from Ntapisi.”
As not only a faithful evangelist, but also an elder of the mission congregation, Boaz reports CBI has become a training ground for the growth and development of the local congregation. He says, “we have also four students from the Chimala Mission congregation, Levi who is the son of Joster Mwilongo is very diligent in working with the church. We also have a daughter of the late chaplain of the hospital (Elia Mdindile) who served for 40 years at the hospital; we are training her to teach the Primary school kids. Finally, we have the son of one of our deacons whom we are also training to be a preacher at the Chimala Mission congregation.”
Yes, we are eager to return and help these great brethren do the work of “training preachers.” We will be returning with Brent Smith who has taught for many years at the Chimala mission. Brent, a faithful gospel preacher and graduate of FHC, is going to teach the Gospel of John and Christian Ethics. The first two weeks we will be teaching “Biblical World” and “Christian Evidences.” Then we will settle in to teaching the long quarter. Please pray for Brent, his daughter and myself as we return to CBI. We will be returning with Bibles for our students, books and study guides that have so generously been provided by the Rossville Church of Christ. Returning to help train the next generation of preachers and teachers in Tanzania, Malawi and the Congo.
Garry L. Hill
Coordinator/Instructor: Bear Valley Bible Institute
Director: Chimala Bible Institute