Greetings in the Name of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ! This month’s newsletter comes a little later in the month this time, partly because of all that was taking place in the last month and partly because of a trip coming up that will not end until the middle of next month.
Over the Last Month
On September 15 I traveled to visit with the students and faculty of the school in Honduras. Part of the reason for that trip was to meet brother Luis Camacho, who was to be teaching Personal Evangelism I the week of September 19-23. I had corresponded with Luis before, but had not met him personally. I might add he did a fine job and I am thankful for his help and the work he did and will do.
On September 22, I traveled to Denver to speak at the Bear Valley Homecoming Lectures. It was a great time of fellowship with old friends and of sharing in some great Bible study. On October 11 I returned to Denver for a meeting about the possibility of doing some work in training Hispanic American Christian men to preach the Gospel. Hopefully there will be more to report on this at a later date.
Upcoming Plans
I am excited to announce that I am returning to Chimala, Tanzania at the end of this month. Two years ago I was privileged to teach two courses over two weeks in the Chimala Bible College. Now, the CBC and the Chimala School of Preaching (taught in Swahili) have been combined to form the Chimala Bible Institute (although non-English speaking students are still taught in Swahili). This time I will be teaching the first-year students The Prison Epistles and the second-year students the book of Revelation. At the end of the second week, the second year students will graduate, having completed two years of study. I will be traveling with brother Denton Landon, who will be teaching two graduate courses, and co-teaching with brother Garry Hill, who lives most of the year in Chimala. I am very much looking forward to my time with these good men, brethren and friends. I ask you to keep all of us in your prayers as we travel and do this work. I am scheduled to return on Sunday, November 13.
Update on Honduras
In last month’s newsletter I shared with you the financial need, even crisis, we have with the school in Danlí, Honduras. I am happy to say that we have gained somewhat on our budgetary needs, but not as much as we need. We are now receiving approximately $2,375 per month, which is an increase of $525 over where we were a month ago. We are still looking for around 30 more individuals or congregations who would be willing to add $25 per month to their giving for this work. As we stated before, this will get us very close to meeting our budget. If you can help in this way, please let me know using the contact information below, or you can send your check directly to the Hillcrest church of Christ in Neosho, Missouri. Their address is:
1037 West South Street, Neosho, MO 64850
(Please indicate on your check that the money is for the Bible Institute of Honduras)
Again, I am so thankful for each of you and for your interest in our work. I hope to have more exciting news in coming months about our plans and work. As I try to say every time, we could not do this work without God’s blessings and your interest in this work we consider to be a great part of those blessings. We love and appreciate each of you so much.
May God bless each one of you. If you would like to contact me, you may reach me at:
2013 Rushing Meadows
Edmond, OK 73013
Cell Phone: (580) 326-1914
Email: dnbates1@gmail.com*
*Please note the change of email address!
Thank you again and God bless,
Donnie Bates