Good morning, brethren! It is hard to believe that 2013 is almost gone. It has been a good year for our work with the Bear Valley extension program. In the past month I was able to make a very quick trip to give reports to the good brethren of both the 4th & Jackson congregation in Hugo, OK and Calera, OK. As I said, it was a very quick trip, but not uneventful. I experienced a blowout on my rental car. I am happy to say that it all turned out fine, and just a little proud that I was able to change that tire in my dress clothes without getting a spot of grease on me. Seriously, I am thankful for God’s watchful care, as always.
I have one more trip scheduled for this year. While the details are still being worked out, brother Denton Landon and I are planning a trip to Panama to deliver diplomas to students who have completed their work on their masters degree, and then on to Peru for a survey of future possibilities.
So far this year, I have been privileged to attend the graduations of three schools. In March I witnessed the graduation of five students from the full time program of ITL in Guatemala. In May, I was blessed to be a part of the last graduation of IBH in Honduras, as well as, the graduation of five students from the Denver program.
Another great part of this year’s work was the beginning of classes of a new school in Asuncion, Paraguay. The Asuncion Bible Academy began classes with five students on March 11. We are very excited about the future of this new school.
In 2013 I was blessed to teach a class on Advanced Homiletics during the third quarter of the program here in Denver. In May I returned to Paraguay and taught Bible Geography. In June I taught Old Testament Introduction to the students of ITL in Guatemala via our video conferencing system. In August I traveled to Guatemala to teach a class on How We Got the Bible. In October we had our campaign in Cobán, Guatemala. And finally, last month (November 4-8), I once again taught a class in Guatemala via the video conferencing system; this time Christian Evidences. I cannot overstate the blessing it is to have this technology that allows us to teach in remote areas of the world from Denver. An interesting side note here is that while I was teaching this class, brother Bart Warren was teaching the same class in English next door to me. What is interesting is that while I was standing in Denver teaching my class in Spanish to students in Guatemala, brother Bart was standing in Kentucky, using the same video system, teaching his class in English to students in Denver. Sometimes the blessings God has given us to be able to train preachers all over the world just boggles the mind. I thank you from the bottom of my heart for your interest in and support of this work, which allows us to be a part of of your work in training preachers.
As we near the end of this year, I wish to offer you a very Happy Holiday season, and God’s richest blessings as we prepare for a new year of work in His kingdom!
God bless,
Donnie Bates