ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR APRIL, 2022
Full Time and the Extended Programs
INTRODUCTION
Greetings to you our dear brethren and co-workers in the Lord’s vineyard. It is with great joy that we write to share with you our fruitful and exciting report for the month of April 2022. Moreover, we are very hopeful that you are doing well in the Lord and that this report will also interest you as you read through. Thank you for your support and for praying for us; may the Lord bless you all. As the month of April ended, the Lord enabled us to resume our third quarter academic activities (for the full-time program, though the extended program continued without break), carry on a successful campaign where souls were converted and some brethren were restored, hold our first formal alumni meeting, embark on fasting and prayer for our sponsors and all brethren, complete the planting of our crops on the farm. However, we had sad news about the death of the father of the director, Brother Peter Sahr Makundu. But in all, God was favorable to us in the past month of April, hence, may you read further for the details of the report.
RESUMPTION OF 3RD QUARTER CLASSES
In the March report, we informed you that our second quarter for the full-time came to a close on the 5th of March 2022 and that the students were to resume on the 1st of April 2022 for their third-quarter year one, which would end on June 30, 2022. To the glory of God, all our 20 students in the full-time program resumed and the academic activities continued.
3RD EVANGELISTIC CAMPAIGN AND CONVERSION OF MORE SOULS
The administration of Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute acknowledges the dire need for the Gospel to be preached to the dying souls, hence her effort is always directed to evangelistic campaigns. The month of April was not an exception. Our evangelism was directed at the southern part of Sierra Leone, specifically, Taiama Town. Taiama is 110 miles away from Kenema and it is one of the historical towns in Sierra Leone where “Christianity” began. From 1810-to 1898, some denominational missionaries, especially the Anglican and the Roman Catholic penetrated the town and subsequently established their denominations there. As time went on, in the 1960s-80s, some early missionaries for the church of Christ who were based in Freetown capital also found their way in Taiama, and with great effort, some locals were converted and the church of Christ was also established. The church was flourishing very well until sometime later, it died completely as a result of the withdrawal of the missionary activities and the lack of a dedicated and a committed preacher who could encourage and motivate other members to continue steadfastly with the work of the Lord. However, in 2016, when some of the early members (3 of them) who are still living in Taiama who never joined any denomination though were not worshipping as church of Christ brethren, heard about the coming of Bear Valley Bible Institute which they learned is associated with churches of Christ, decided to send one of their children, Pessima Sheku to enroll in the school. Pessima was accepted and enrolled and in fact, it was at Bear Valley here that he was converted and became a serious-minded preacher, who upon graduation in 2019, returned to his hometown at Taiama and restored the congregation back. It was upon the request of Brother Pessima that the campaign be held at Taiama in the past month of April. The campaign was so fruitful that twenty-three (23) souls were converted, and twelve (12) people that Brother Pessima had preached to but were no longer attending were also restored. As we write this report, since the day after our campaign, we have been sending our students to Taiama every week to worship and fellowship with the brethren. God is indeed glorified for His wondrous works! Please brethren, may we pray for this restored congregation, and may we pray for Brother Pessima to continue with the good work he is doing. Apart from the conversions from our campaign, five (5) souls were as well converted during our regular weekend evangelism.
FIRST FORMAL ALUMNI MEETING
In some of our reports, we have informed you that we plan to work with our graduates closely so that all of us can combine our efforts for the growth of the work of God in Sierra Leone and the KBVBI. It was on this note that we called for an Alumni meeting, which was held on the 29th April 2022 at the school campus. Thirteen (13) graduates who are actively preaching attended the meeting, together with five teaching staff. Many important things were discussed: the activeness of the graduates in the preaching field, maintaining communication with the administration, challenges that are being faced, what can be done for more evangelistic work to be carried out, etc. The leadership of the Alumni was also formed on that day.
DECLARATION OF FASTING AND PRAYER
Our students and staff embarked on our regular fasting and prayer on April 15, for our sponsors, the Ukraine-Russia war, our coordinator, our International Director, our directors of Bear Valley schools in the world, and the brethren worldwide.
COMPLETION OF FARMING PLANTATION
In order to complement the great effort that has been made by Bear Valley, we embarked on agricultural activities. We planted cassava so that our students can eat it when it is ready.
BEREAVEMENT NEWS
It is with deep sorrow that we write to inform you that on April 20, 2022, Peter Sahr Makundu lost his father, Steven Makundu. He died from high blood pressure and was buried. Our very compassionate coordinator, beloved Brother Steve responded to us when we needed some financial assistance. He did so through the provision of Bear Valley Bible Institute, thus we are very grateful to you all for your assistance. Thank you for your prayers. Thank you also, especially to beloved Brother Keith who sent some comforting words when he heard about the demise. Moreover, we appreciate brothers Francis Musa and Robert Dahn who showed great concern at the time of our bereavement. The family members of Makundu are so grateful to you.
A GRADUATE’ S AUTOBIOGRAPHICAL INFORMATION: Sheku Pessima
Brother Sheku Pessima is one of our first graduates who graduated from the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute in 2019. He was born in 1987 in Taiama town to Mr. and Mrs. Francis Pessima. Brother Pessima, prior to his conversion was a Muslim. In 2016-2017, after enrolling for a Diploma course at the KBVBI, was converted through the efforts of his coursemates. Since his graduation, he has been actively involved in ministry work. He presently serves as the preacher of the Taiama Church of Christ and was among the alumni that attended our April 29 meeting.
CONCLUSION
Brethren, we remain grateful to you. Thank you for loving the Lord. Thank you for your kindness. The lives you are changing in Sierra Leone here through your prayers, financial support, guidance, and direction, are all duly acknowledged, and may the Lord bless you richly.
Thank you so much for reading through.
Peter Sahr Makundu,
Director,