Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone
Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver, Colorado, USA
ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR DECEMBER, 2021
Full Time Program (A two-year Diploma Program)
INTRODUCTION
Happy New Year to you all our godly supporters, partners, brethren and our ardent readers. From the regional headquarter of the eastern province, Kenema, we send you our profound greetings. We are glad and delighted again to have come your way to share with you our exciting report for the last month of 2021, December. As December marked the end of 2021, the Lord enabled us at KBVBI to carry out the following activities: establishment of a new congregation, new academic endeavor (Part time Program of the Bear Valley Bible Institute), campaign for Christ, conversion of souls and restorations, and academic activities. We are joyous as we share our report with you. Therefore, may you continue reading as we give you the report in detail.
RESUMPTION OF ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES
In our November report, we informed you that our first quarter year one came to a close and our students went on break. To God be the glory, we resumed our second quarter academic activities on 1st December. All our twenty (20) full time students returned to campus and in good condition of health. We are grateful to God.
ESTABLISHMENT OF ANOTHER LOCAL CONGREGATION, CAMPAIGN FOR CHRIST, CONVERSION OF SOULS AND RESTORATION OF BRETHREN
Another local congregation was established by the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute team in December. We embarked on a one week campaign for Christ from 11th-18th December, 2021 at Potoru village. Potoru is located in Kailahun District, about 55 miles away from Kenema. The administration of KBVBI came to know about the dire need of the Gospel to be carried to Potoru community by one of the brethren, Amara Jumui who was also converted during one of our campaigns in Gondama. Interestingly, Potoru is predominantly a Muslim locality and yet the Lord opened the hearts of eighteen (18) people and were added to the Church through water baptism during our one week campaign. Since the establishment of this congregation, some students and staff have been going there every Saturday to teach the new converts and to worship with them. We usually go there, sleep there and worship and return to Kenema every Sunday. For now, those new converts are worshipping under a thatch booth. Additionally, our regular weekend evangelism at the Bear Valley campus has also been yielding fruit. As a result, seven (7) brethren were restored over the month of December. As we progress in this 2022, you shall be getting the update about the progressive growth of the congregation being established. Please brethren, may we continue to pray for these new converts so that the zeal which they have shown will enable them to grow more spiritually.
PART TIME PROGRAM (Extended Program): Consistent Progress at the KBVBI
We want to begin this section again by being so grateful to God for making our dream come to reality. We have been working hand- in-hand with the local congregations in Sierra Leone and we have been encouraging so many brethren to enroll in the school to be trained to go and win more souls for Christ; build up strong local congregations; put in order a very effective biblical leadership, and to deepen their understanding of the scripture. Some brethren truly have been interested in studying in the school; and they have been saying, “Brother Peter, some of us truly desire to enroll in the KBVBI program but it is very difficult for us to go as full time students; It will be very tough for us to go and stay in the dormitory especially when we have our families to cater for. Therefore, if you would introduce a part time program for us, we will really appreciate it.” Then others have been contending, “As you already know Brother Peter, our country Sierra Leone is dominated by Muslims so this is an opportunity for us to study to be able to defend the faith. Some of us are preachers and leaders and we also want to enroll together with our wives, but a part time program will be the best.” Therefore, with the above comments and many more yearnings from the brethren, the administration decided to pray about it and to put it forward to our very committed and kind coordinator, beloved Brother Steve Ashcraft. As it is the will of God, Brother Steve approved it. And on the 11th December, 2021, we had our early entrance exam for the part time students. Twelve (12) brethren wrote the exam and were admitted in the program. Others couldn’t write the exam because they had traveled for December festival break. However, they will also write theirs when they return. We scheduled to begin classes on January 15, 2022.
STUDENT’S BIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Justine Chokpelleh Jr.
Justine Chokpelleh Jr. is one of our committed and serious minded students. He worships with one of the local congregations in Freetown, Trade Center Church of Christ. Justine was born on the 2nd January, 1999 in Freetown. He is the last son of the five children born to Mr. and Mrs. Justine Fallah Chokpelleh Sr. Justine’s father is the preacher at Trade Center Church of Christ in Freetown. Justine Chokpelleh Jr. was added to the Lord’s Church in 2013. Since then, he has been actively involved in the activities of the Church. He has been leading in songs, teaching in teenagers’ classes, cleaning the Church auditorium and many other activities. He is a very promising preacher that will bring many lost souls to Christ. He has been making requests to the administration to embark on an evangelism campaign at his congregation in Freetown, and we will honor his request by the special grace of God. Below is a photograph of Brother Justine Chokpelleh Jr.
CONCLUSION
As the Lord enabled us to have done the little in the past month of December, we pray and hope that January 2022 will even be more fruitful. We remain appreciative to our supporters, our coordinator, our African Director, Brother Keith Kasarjian whom we have not met face-to-face, and all our brethren who continue to pray and to be involved in the work here in Kenema, Sierra Leone. Until we meet in January, remain blessed and in the hands of God.