Graduates Of The ACSOP Continue To See Growth From Evangelism...

I hope all is well with everyone. God is good and the source of all success in His work at ACSOP, for the Bible says, “I can do all things through Christ which strengthen me.” Without the grace of our Lord Jesus nothing can be achieved by a man. Also, I have not forgotten what an awesome team you and I have at ACSOP, through the Christian love we have in Our Lord Jesus. Without forgetting the great player, brother Cy, as you know the devil tried to harm him, but as you believe the devil cannot win. We have a strong belief that he will recover and come back to finish the race that God plans for all the righteous.

Friday, May 27th, was the last day of class at ACSOP in this quarter, and all of our students traveled to their home congregations to help for two and half months. They will be back for class in August. We would like to thank all the instructors for their great effort to equip these men for the Gospel of our Lord Jesus. Moreover, thanks to our brother Daniel for the heart of serving God for three years at ACSOP and the church in general. He has been helping us serve in our position well by making us communicate well, especially in the time of challenges. He is playing a great role in leadership at ACSOP during this time that our brother Cy is not available. Please pray for him as well, and his family, that God will give them long life as they are fixing to go back home.    

On the evangelism side, I would like to share with you what the Lord has done through our brother Ibrahimu Mrutu this May at the Kisongo church. 

“I greet you in the name our Lord Jesus Christ. It’s my hope that God is good to you                     spiritually as well as physically. I am very happy for our spiritual unity in this tough work of the gospel, that I am able to reach the lost souls. In this month l was able, by the help of our God, to reach many souls and one of them was Janepher Mathias. God added her to His church as she learned the gospel of Christ this month. Also, this month we have a pre-campaign at Njiro Chini, and this will take place two weeks before the campaign. I would like to offer my great thanks to you for all you do, and thank the Lord for the great opportunity to serve Him.” 

Yours lbrahim
Kisongo Church

Please help us pray for the up-coming campaign, that God will add many souls to Him. Many evangelists and various church members will meet for one week to reach souls at Njiro Chini area.

Thank you for your effort and time to read this short report. God will bless you as you join hands with this effort. 

In His service

Ahimidiwe Kimaro
Director, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute International extension school
Arusha, Tanzania

Ladies Empowerment Seminar Encourages The Ladies In Ghana...

Hello everyone, 

Once again I greet all the servants of the Lord.

I am sending pictures taken at the Ladies Empowerment Seminar. It shows some of the ladies presenting lessons with the knowledge obtained during the two-day seminar.

As mentioned in an earlier report, this seminar was to prepare our ladies with knowledge and skills for public speaking, which will be used for a seven-day workshop that will be handled by brother Jerry Bates and his dear wife starting the 26th of June, 2016 for five days.

Thanks to all.

Baah Joseph Okyere
Director

Five Day Seminar On Leadership Development In Nigeria...

Beloved in Christ Jesus,

Greetings from your fellow brethren in Nigeria. This year’s leadership seminar that was held at the premises of BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan was attended by 85 brethren from 43 congregations of our Lord Jesus Christ. Brethren came from Oyo, Osun, Ondo, Ogun, Lagos, Kwara, Kogi, Edo, and Delta states of Nigeria.

The five day seminar centered on Leadership Development. Brother Abiola Joseph Olusoji taught on the book of Revelation. Brother Isaac Olaniyan taught on Evangelism. Brother Dairo Joseph Abiodun on How To Establish Biblical Authority, while I, brother Makinde taught on Leadership Development and Methodology.

Brothers Gbenga Ilori, Samuel Ishikwu, Kayode Eniafe, Victor Fasonu, Aloye Nasamu, Stephen Okesami, and Emmanuel Godwin moderated the morning and evening devotion, while brothers Adedoyin Sola, Jeremiah Dasa, James Gbolahan, Ajiteru Oluwafemi, Momoh Onipe, Sunday Adekunle, and A.D. Bamiduro admonished the brethren Monday through Friday morning on Soldiers of the Cross, We are Debtors, Cooperation and Working Together, Christian Ethics, Be Ready, etc.

On Thursday evening by 5:30 pm, the Southwest Institute building for circular education was commissioned by brother A.D. Bamiduro, assisted by the school BVBIN & SWSE instructors.

The remaining 1,500 copies of VOTI vol. 87 were shared with the congregations represented.

By 12:30 pm on Friday, May 27, 2016 this year’s Leadership Seminar was declared closed by the director, brother Makinde Ebens with a closing prayer from brother Lucky Meya. All the participants were feed twice a day Monday through Friday. To God be the glory.

Beloved, we thank you all for your moral and financial support toward the growth of the Lord's church in Africa. May the Lord of blessing continue to bless all our joint effort in Christ name, Amen.

Your co-laborer in Christ’s vineyard,
Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Minister)

Another Student Obeys The Gospel In Kpalime, Togo...

BVBI Students Receive Thompson’s Chain Reference Bibles
Bear Valley students received Thompson Chain Reference Bibles to facilitate their studies. Bibles were donated by the coordinator, Steve Ashcraft. 

Work Continues On The Vegetable Farm
Bear Valley Bible Institute has continued activities on the vegetable farm project. The volunteers on the farm are mainly preachers and some church members from the Kpalime area who come twice a week to work on the farm. The beds have been raised and some seedlings have been transplanted.

Gospel Chariot Continues To Impact Kloto
During the month of April, the Chariot team revisited some of the towns and villages that were evangelized. Some of the towns visited included: Alikpodzi, Agou, Kpadape, Wome, Ekloh, Akata, Agave, Nyiveme, Kpeglonu, Kliguekonji, and Adeta. 

BVBI Students Enrolled In Computer Training Program
Plans are advanced to enroll all the students in a computer training program. They had the choice to determine the vocational program they would like to engage in. All the eleven students demonstrated interest in ICT. The instructor has agreed to come over to the school to teach them three times in a week for two hours per class session. The training will cover software, hardware and networking. The entire program will take almost a year to complete. 

Abandoned Denominational Church Building
On my recent trip to Kpalime, brethren took me to a community in Kpalime an abandoned meeting place is located. It used to belong to a denomination that left town. One of the preachers started meeting in the structure, including the one who owns the land. Our plan now is to negotiate with the one who built the structure to allow the church of Christ to use it, maybe at a fee. We want to also assess the cost of renovation. 

Courses For This Quarter At BVBI
1) The life of Christ
2) General Epistles
3) The book of Mark
4) The book of Luke
5) Authority of the Bible 6 Teaching methods 

Motor Bike For Cephas
In order to facilitate the work of Cephas (my assistant at the BVBI), I made an appeal on his behalf for a motor bike. Fortunately, someone responded by sending funds through Bob Turner. He appreciates the kind gesture and promises to even do more in the future than he has done in the past. God bless the one who provided the funds. 

House For Sale
There is an old house located in the city of Kpalime. The owner is selling the buildings and the land for CFA 7,000,000.00 (Seven million French francs) about $12,000. The location is good, not far from where the church presently meets. All available lands in Kpalime are very far away. The land is large enough to contain a four hundred siting capacity church building and a portion could be used for pre-school. We need brethren to come to our aid in securing this property for the growth and expansion of the work in Togo. Our goal is to build one large congregation in Kpalime where inter-congregational activities can take place. The Nyiveme congregation has outgrown its current place of worship. 

Visit To The U.S.
I plan to visit the US in August, Lord willing. 

BVBI Student Is Baptized Into Christ  
The strategy of admitting denominational men into BVBI has always yielded fruitful results. The school started in 2005 with three denominational church leaders, who after completing the WBS lessons asked for an advanced lesson. These men started the Bible school and in less than six months were baptized. Since their graduation in 2007, they have remained faithful to preaching the gospel. Yes it works! 

One of the students recently submitted himself to baptism. This fellow has been so overwhelmed by the class lessons that he had no other alternative but to yield. All the eleven students are now Christians. We admitted eight from the church and two from the denomination. We were hoping to have twenty students, but lack of financial support for most of our preachers, greatly demoralized prospective students, thus affecting recruitment exercises for 2015-2017. We were blessed with only 12 students but one was forced to discontinue due to ill health. It is our prayer that the situation will change in 2017. 

Report by:
H. Willie Gley

To see Willie's report with pictures, please click here.

The Boys Are Growing And Everybody Is At Work...

Hello, my people of God.

We are happy to be on the Lord’s side. Hope you are doing great. For the past two weeks we have been very busy with a lot of activities and that is why I have not been able to send my reports, but all is well as I am sending my reports this morning all the way from Kumbo where we are currently attending a lectureship for scholars.

The congregation in Mbanga is doing her best to do some evangelism and visitations every Sunday after worship. This is to empower our few Christians and also keep love reigning among us. We pray for this vision to be a great help in this locality that is very difficult these days to win a soul, but the Lord’s hands are upon us and we shall keep on doing His will.

The church and the congregation is also preparing to host the first annual preacher's wife forum that will begin on the 27th of May to the 29th of May 2016. This event will mark a great turning point in the lives of our student preachers whose wives are to be of great advantage to these studies. The theme for this year is on prayer, which is a vital instrument to the preacher and wife.

The school has been in serious business these days, such as exams which also include traveling out on mission work, preparation for short courses, and campaigns just to name a few.

The students are doing great in their studies even though some of them were really disturbed, which almost affected their studies, such as brother Datouji who spent about two weeks at the hospital in Douala with the wife, who was detained at the hospital for some complications after delivery. Also, Estephan, whose wife was pregnant, but by the grace of God just put to bed a baby girl this morning.

After the preachers forum in Buea, we continued with mission work where we spent time this weekend to begin a new work in Sancho. Three of our students were on a serious mission. After I made a trip there on Monday for the growth of the work to prepare the minds of the few members that we have been working with. Even though we talked on phone, the need for a face to face talk was still very important and, by so doing, the need for a new beginning was a second thought. Church Planting is a very nice course that the students enjoy and they love going out for practicals. Brother Benjamin was able to express his joy when he had the opportunity to deliver a sermon for the first time on a first day to a newly created assembly.

We offered benches and a table for Lord’s supper to this our new born baby that needs a lot of support to realize her growth. This can be morally as some members of our sister congregation worship with us and some from the Dscang assembly are also planning to visit next week and are very happy with the work, spiritually or financially, as it is still a need for this work. Brother Bernard from Nkonsamba one of our instructors offered a place for worship even though it is temporal, but we really appreciate the effort of everybody who is doing his or her part to see that the work of the Almighty should keep on growing. 

The students transported benches from Mbanga to Sancho and the day of worship proper.

Upcoming Events
The preacher's wife forum: We already went to Kumbo for the lectureship. The seminar on agriculture from Healing Hands International and also the short courses that will begin in June. We commit all of these into God’s hands and the newly created assembly in Sancho. Special prayers for the newborn baby of Estephane.

I am sending this from Kumbo, many miles away from Mbanga. The boys are growing and everybody is at work.

Remain blessed
Ititi

Graduation 2016...

Today, the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Denver, CO, witnessed the graduation of 24 students. Jon Arvin, Ben Carter, Collin Henderson, Rob & Carol Melton, Dale Pollard, Max & Haley Turner, Daniel & April Vogt, and Scott Robinson finished the program and will enter the ministry in various locations. Additionally, Cory Landholt, Matthew & Tracy Threlfall, Sage & Alexis Bridges, and Mario & Bonnie Saldana also walked for graduation, but will return to complete the remaining two quarters of course work beginning in August. Nadia Lee completed one year of courses in Denver and, combined with previous college course work, will receive a Bachelor’s of Arts in Biblical Studies. Also completing the wives’ program, Monica Gibson and Abigail Warnes, graduated today. Three men completed their studies in the Master’s degree program: Terrance Brownlow-Dindy, Jerry Groves, and James Pfiffner. The celebration was beautiful and we are excited to see these individuals reach their goal in completing the program at Bear Valley.

News from reporting locations in the extension program continues to indicate growth in the work. This week’s report provides updates on the recent activities surrounding the outreach efforts of students in each location. Keith Kasarjian is in Zimbabwe finalizing plans for the start of a new school in Africa. Other locations in Fiji, New Zealand, and Liberia also move closer to opening day for new classes.

As the year unfolds, these new locations and the number of prospective students enrolled in these locations will expand the opportunities for the program globally. We ask you to pray for the graduates in Denver, each location where we currently partner in training men to preach, and for the development of the new schools this year.

Please remember to update your files to include Keith Kasarjian. He needs to receive your reports, and if there is information to discuss regarding the extension program, please write Keith. He now serves as the new director of the extension program. His email address is kkasarjian@wetrainpreachers.com. 

Now on to this week’s incredible reports...

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

The latest report from Jerry Bates can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports

After Final Exams, Students In Cameroon Prepare For Upcoming Campaigns: As students in Wotutu complete the end of the quarter exams, they ready themselves for practical application.

Two Souls Added To The Kingdom Studying The Way Of Salvation: The growth of the work in Nigeria is encouraging as studies in salvation produce fruit.

Eighty Preachers And Church Leaders Assemble For A Special Study: The influences of Pentecostalism in Ghana were studied at a recent special event in Tamale.

Evangelism Continues To See Fruit In Arusha, Tanzania: Combined with the agricultural development, the Maynard family reports of evangelistic success.

The Providence Of God Is Witnessed In East African Studies: The outreach program in Arusha continues to see the providence of God at work.

Final Thoughts
Thank you for all your continued encouragement and support of the work. Training men and women for greater service in the kingdom is an incredible opportunity to share as coworkers with God in advancing the cause of Christ. Your involvement in this program is appreciated far more than words can express on a weekly basis. We give thanks to God for you.

God bless
Bob

After Final Exams, Students In Cameroon Prepare For Upcoming Campaigns...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this part of the globe. We praise God. Today was great and we had a great worship of our God. We do hope that you are doing great and God is blessing you for all that you are doing.

Last week in BVBIC-Wotutu went on well, except for brother Nguty who is still struggling with sickness. Please keep him in your prayers.

Last week was examination week in BVBIC-Wotutu, the exams went on well and students will be traveling to Kumbo tomorrow morning to attend a scholarship lectureship there for four days. Thereafter, when they return, we shall sign them out for vacation. We just modified our calendar a little bit, so that our students will go for vacation, return, and take two short courses on the book of 2 Corinthians and the book of James. Afterwards we shall send them to different locations for field work.

Brightland Christian Academy kids finished their exams for classes also. They took one public exam already which guarantees them to advance to secondary education. One is coming up in June for the same purpose. This lone christian school in our community is preparing for our graduation ceremony coming up on the 7th of June. This is another great day were the kids expose to the public what Brightland Christian academy is all about. Graduating classes for both the nursery and primary will have rhymes, memory verses, and many other things.

A group of Roman Catholic students and their leader visited the orphanage. They allowed our children to sing praises to God, and they observed that our children were not clapping nor dancing. Afterwards the leader, who calls himself Priest, started talking and was advising that when next you sing, use your hands and clap, but our kids who are barely a year in the home said in chorus, “We don’t clap hands during worship in our church hall and during our devotions.” What a day, as I stood before these children with joy and pride. I said within me, “God thank you for passing through us to bring these children closer to you and to make you known to them.” Nurturing for eternity is our passion, vision, dream, and we are ready to make sure this happens with no stone unturned.

Rainy season is back and it has started making our mission work, not only expensive, but very difficult, where our cars cannot continue. We continue with motorcycles because we don’t have cars with four wheel drive. God alone will provide it to us one day, so that in all the seasons, the gospel message will not have stumbling blocks.

Plans
) Students and staff move to Kumbo for the scholarship lectureship.

2) This Saturday, the fourth entrance exams will take place and we have many prospective candidates, almost 50. We need just 20 freshmen to start in January 2017.

3) Brightland Christian Academy graduation will bring the parents closer to the dream of why the Christian school was established. They will watch and admire their children how they are grounded with the truth about Christ and His church. |Some parents started worshiping with us due to their children in the school. This is and can be an open door, if we invest spiritual and physical things into this dream.

Appreciations
God bless you. Thanks very much for making this work as smooth as it is now. God bless you and replenish your efforts. Thank you for being there for us. Share this news with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

The Providence Of God Is Witnessed In East African Studies...

Greetings Fellow Workers,

I hope this note finds you well. We continue to enjoy seeing God's hand of providence at work here in East Africa. For the past few several weeks, Nester and I have had a series of Bible studies in the home of a local Pentecostal preacher. The studies have progressed well and he has been very receptive to the things we've shown him from the scriptures. He invited us to conduct a seminar last Sunday afternoon at his congregation. We (Daniel, Justin, and Mason) spent two hours exposing them to the gospel of Christ, and they were very receptive. Meanwhile Tiffany, Anna, and Haley did a class with the children. We've been invited back again to teach more at a future occasion. The efforts are already bearing fruit as one of their elders was baptized yesterday, and intends to encourage his family to do the same. This is an exciting opportunity, and we hope that you'll pray with us that God will continue to open doors for the gospel and give increase where the seed is planted. 

I also wanted to make you aware of a couple of pressing needs that the work has:

•We have urgent need of a copy machine at ACSOP. Our old one has breathed it's last breathe after years of faithful service. This is the machine that we use to produce materials for the students, as well as for printing tracts for evangelistic outreach. It will take $1,300 to replace it. If you would like to contribute to this cause, then funds can be sent to either Lehman Ave. or Bear Valley.

•As you know, the work here is in a period of transition. Five new missionaries are in the process of transitioning in (Todd and Susan Storks, Wesley Storks, and Mason and Haley Norman). Wesley especially has struggled to raise his support and could use help. Also, Justin and Anna Maynard will soon be concluding their initial year with us, and will be returning to the US to raise funds to return for another 3 years. The Maynard’s have proven to be invaluable assets to the work here. As my family returns to the States in July, these seven individuals will be left as the stewards of the work here. Please think prayerfully about whether you might be able to help them in some way.   

As you may have noticed, Cy Stafford was able to send out a short report himself this past Sunday. We are encouraged by the progress that he has made and continues to make. He is even talking optimistically about making a trip over here later this year. We will continue to pray toward that end. 

Campaign season is getting kicked off as our first campaigners are arriving this week. Tom Watkins and his team (Brian Anderson and Anna Byrd) got here last night, and will be spending their time working in the Namanga area. Brittany Higgins will arrive Saturday to join that effort also. Meanwhile the local evangelists are gearing up pre-campaign efforts in Njiro Chini in order to have plenty of bible studies set up for the groups arriving in the coming weeks. Pray that God provides lots of good soil for His laborers. 

Thank you all for being such great partners in this work through your prayers, encouragement, and financial support. I believe that God is being glorified through our joint efforts. We pray that He will continue to bless the work.

Till all have heard...
Daniel Gaines

See this report with pictures at:

http://tanzanianmissions.blogspot.com/2016/05/short-report-may-18.html

Evangelism Continues To See Fruit In Arusha, Tanzania...

This month our full-grown egg layers enjoy having the large new coop to themselves. We are growing out chicks who, in a few months, will join the current egg-layers at 6 months. There will be 500 before we begin growing out 500 more. We are doing this for two reasons: One, so we can slowly ease ourselves into the market and two, so we can rotate old layers 500 at a time as opposed to all 1,000. The calves Ruby, Otis, and Leroy are growing and doing very well. Milk production is in full-swing. We are currently getting around 40 liters a day from our 3 cows. This is a huge up in production from the 4-8 liters a day per cow they were getting prior to our arrival. Anna also taught Agnes to make butter from the cream this week. Butter is very expensive here and it is nice that we can make our own. 

The corn and beans continue to thrive – all glory to Him. Mungu ni mwema.

Evangelism:
You will receive a second report from us, as always, at the end of the month. It will include this upcoming Saturday’s children’s seminar at Meru. Please keep this evangelism opportunity in your prayers. 

This month both Anna and I have continued to conduct personal Bible studies with the locals. Please pray for these efforts. 

Evangelism in Njirochini is going well. We are preparing for the upcoming campaigns. Please remember the upcoming campaigners in your prayers and pray that all of our efforts be fruitful. 

Anna and Tiffany taught at the Preachers’ Wives meeting on the first Saturday of this month. Anna taught on Abraham and on how God keeps His promises. Her goal with all of these classes is to connect the patriarchs with Jesus and in this lesson the women saw clearly God’s early promise of Jesus and redemption. Tiffany then presented the same lesson, except for kids, and gave the PW’s materials to use when teaching Abraham to the children. 

We welcomed another member to our team this month! We are so excited to have Wesley Storks here. We know he will be a huge asset to the work here. 

As we have previously reported, an opportunity presented itself with one of the locals, Nester, and missionary Daniel Gaines. Together, they have been studying with a Pentecostal preacher for the last few months. As a result, Anna and I, along with the Gaines family, Mason and Haley Norman, and Wesley Storks had the opportunity to go and teach the Gospel to one of the local Pentecostal churches. 

Mason began by preaching on authority in the Bible and the difference in the Old and New Testaments. I followed his lesson by preaching on sin and repentance. Daniel then followed my lesson by preaching on the one true baptism. You could see on the crowd’s faces that this was the first time they had heard the Gospel. 

While the men preached Anna and Tiffany taught the children outside. We did not get an official count but there were at least thirty children (or more) present. It was clear they had never learned any children’s songs. Anna and Tiffany taught them: Yesu anipenda (Jesus loves me), Siku ni hii (This is the day), Yesu apenda kuzunguka nyuma (Jesus love is a bubbling over), Nina furaha furaha ndani ya moyo (I have the joy joy in my heart), and a few others! One mama in the back was trying her best to learn the songs and as a zawati (gift), Tiffany gave her copies of the songs in Kiswahili. We hope she will continue to sing them with the children! 

Tiffany taught the children about the Bible and how it tells us wonderful, true stories about our God and Him sending His son. Anna taught them about creation. None of the children had heard the story about how God created the world in 6 days and their eyes were wide with excitement. 

We ask that all of you pray diligently for this effort. We are already trying to plan personal Bible studies at this congregation next month and a children’s seminar. We feel like these people are eager to receive the Truth. Please pray for them and us. 

**As I was about to send out this report we were made aware of exciting news. One of the men who was an elder in the Pentecostal congregation has asked to be baptized. Brother Nester is on his way (literally right now) to baptize the man. Please pray for our new brother and for the others who heard the Gospel that the Lord’s words may prick their hearts and that they will obey the will of our Lord. Acts 2:38 1 Peter 3:21** 

Justin Maynard

To see the Maynard’s report with pictures, please click here.

Eighty Preachers And Church Leaders Assemble For A Special Study...

Greetings from Tamale to all workers in the Lord's vineyard.

This weekend was full of joy as the Institute hosted over eighty preachers and church leaders from the three Northern Regions of Ghana. Also in attendance were the current students.

The Institute organized a seminar on the theme, "The Threat of Pentecostalism in the Churches of Christ in Ghana.”

This seminar became necessary because of the fast rate at which some members are developing interest in issues related to Pentecostalism.

Speakers for the 3- Day Seminar were:

Brother Francis Ayine - “What is Pentecostalism?”
Brother Gyan - Kesse (Elder, Bomso Church of Christ) “The Purpose of Miracles in the New Testament.”
Brother Baah Joseph Okyere - “Miracles in the New Testament  have Ceased.” 
Brother Steven   Ashcraft -  “Speaking of Tongues is not Gibberish.”
Brother  Agyei - “Water Baptism and Not the Holy Spirit Baptism is the One Baptism.”
Brother Jacob Yeboah - “The Need to take the Lord's Supper.”

Apart from these topics, a forum was created for participants to discuss prevailing problems they encountered in the various congregations and the possible solutions to these problems.

Another issue of significance was a briefing on the National Registration of the Churches of Christ in Ghana. On this, the speaker Brother Gyan Kesse advised participants not to be part of any strange activity, but to continue to live only by the teaching and practices of the New Testament.

Participants went to their various destination spiritually satisfied.

Baah Joseph Okyere

Two Souls Added To The Kingdom Studying The Way Of Salvation...

Beloved in Christ,

Greetings from my co-WBSFUW and staff and students of BVBIN & SWSE, Ibadan.

The WBS seminar held at the Onikokoro / Gbongudu area of Ibadan on May 14 was attended by 56 youth out of which 16 WBS students present. Brother Kayode Eniafe spoke on “Heaven / Hell,” while brother Lawrence Dada spoke on “Steps unto Salvation,” and I, brother Makinde, spoke on “Worship of the New Testament Church.” The first ten participants were blessed with Bibles. All the participants went home with a copy of VOTI. vol. 87 and a light refreshment was served at the end of the program to all participants.

At a day WBS seminar of May 18, 2016 at Butubutu village, I, brother Makinde, and brother Kayode repeated our topic of May 14, while brother Dele Shotola spoke on “Way of Salvation.” Over 50 people sat down to listen to that preaching which resulted in the conversion of two young boys.

Copies of VOTI vol. 87, tract on “Identification Marks of NT Church,” by Mission Printing, and light refreshments were freely distributed to all participants at the end of the exercise, plus ten Bibles to the first ten participants including the two converts.

Brethren, we thank you all for your partnership and cares. May the Lord continue to use us for His glory is our fervent prayer in Jesus name, Amen.

Your co-laborer in Christ 's vineyard,

Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi (Minister)

Students Prepare For Graduation...

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for strength and healing for Evie Graber (and her family) and Cy Stafford (and his family), while they endure difficult health challenges. Both Evie and Cy are involved in receiving various forms of treatment. Cy just finished another round of chemo-therapy, and he provided a report this week (see below). Please pray for them during this time.

Next Sunday represents a special day in the lives of the men and their families who entered the Bear Valley Bible Institute two years ago. Next Sunday they will walk to the stage to receive their bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, as they have completed the requirements for each course in the intense studies at the Bible Institute. After the classroom hours, the intense work load, and the demands upon their time through assigned venues, these men will briefly celebrate before moving to new locations for full-time ministry. We ask you to pray for these men and their families as they take the next step in their service to the Lord.

Reports from extension locations around the world poured in this week with incredible news about the work students completed over the past week and month. The encouragement is immeasurable when reading about the dedication and determination on the part of these men to share the gospel. The countless souls who hear the gospel and those who obey it remind us of what this work is all about. We count it one of the greatest blessings to partner with such wonderful men who realize the urgency of preparing men to preach the gospel. We also ask that you continue to pray for each location involved in this program.

Please remember to update your files to include Keith Kasarjian. He needs to receive your reports, and if there is information to discuss regarding the extension program, please write Keith. He now serves as the new director of the extension program. His email address is kkasarjian@wetrainpreachers.com. 

Now on to this week’s incredible reports...

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

The latest report from Steven Ashcraft can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports

Communicating With God Through Prayer, And God Gives The Increase: In the midst of all the activities in Cameroon, the focus on prayer demonstrates the power of God at work.

Mbanga School Theme For May, “The Prayer Of The Faithful:” As students continue their studies in Mbanga, Cameroon, their focus this month is on prayer.

The Growing Needs For The Church In Northern Ghana: The challenges facing the church in Ghana emphasis the needs of these brethren and the work of the school.

The New School In Zimbabwe Prepares To Open With 25 Students: Amidst the recent tragedy in Zimbabwe, the staff prepare to open for classes with a strong first class.

Sixteen Souls Were Added To The Kingdom With Recent Evangelistic Efforts: A recent campaign in Takoradi, Ghana witnessed sixteen souls obey the gospel.

Please Read This Encouraging Report From Brother Cy Stafford: It is encouraging to see our brother writing the short-report again. This is worth taking time to read.

Souls Added To The Church Through Daily Activity Of ACSOP Graduates: The efforts of men who completed the program in Arusha continually bear fruit in the kingdom.

Final Thoughts
Not a day goes by that we fail to give thanks for each of you and your role in our efforts to train preachers. The influence of this work is global and your involvement makes it all possible. We cannot thank you enough for your vision to assist the growth of this program in locations around the world where men prepare themselves to preach the gospel. Thank you.

God bless
Bob

Communicating With God Through Prayer, And God Gives The Increase...

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this end to you all in the name of the Lord. We do hope this report finds you all in good health. We are doing better in health as many who were sick gained health, except for brother Nguty Victor who is still out of school because of his health situation.

In the Wotutu congregation, we continue to expose the truth about the importance of prayer and how we can confidently communicate with God through prayer.

Last week in BVBIC-Wotutu went on well, as our students prepared for their exams and many other events that are coming up.

Our students continue to impress me with the spirit that is in BVBIC-Wotutu, which is taking advantage of any situation to share the gospel message with someone be it on the road side, or busy riverside where people in the community take their baths.

Our students are always very happy to make Christ known to others, as the opportunity is granted as long as you can say okay I give you 5 minutes to tell me what you have about Jesus.

As busy as the week and the weekend was, some of our students attended the annual preacher’s forum in Buea. Good lessons were there and I wanted them to meet with those in the field. At least the meeting and sharing their visions and passions was very good. It was also time for me to meet lots of our graduates.

This weekend we were also invited to officiate in the funeral of a sister in Dibanda village. I gave the opportunity to brother Abanda to teach and it was great. By so doing we keep exposing our products to the world for them to see with their own eyes the amount of knowledge our students are getting daily and can help congregations and individuals grow.

It was a big surprise to many of our members in Wotutu today to see a 30 man group from nonpolitical and ethnic backgrounds. They came to Wotutu to visit the children at the orphanage, but they decided to come first and worship with the church of Christ, for their very first time before going to the orphanage home. It was an opportunity to expose the truth to them. We thank God and all those who are concerned to make sure this orphanage is what it is. It is an avenue to teach the truth, nurture the children with the truth, and above all, point them daily to Christ as we raise them to know Christ. It is our desire and vision that they will make known Christ in their generation. They were thrilled by the children’s knowledge of the Bible and songs which are     accapella. They could not hide their feelings by expressing joy with tears as these children owe no many any explanation why they are orphans, but they were happy to carry the children on their laps giving them comfort that they missed all these years from their parents.

It was a time also for us to enjoy fellowship with them, as a prayer was offered to God on their behalf, begging God to watch over them with such a good heart to think about Him and those underprivileged. We prayed that God bless them and help them keep their visions alive and also help them realize their projects.

The children also saw some donated food materials and other things.

In response to their good gestures, our congregation offered them some Bibles and many tracks from Mission Printing that will keep in their memories lots of information about God, His child, and His church. They received it with joy and said they were not expecting something like this and that we have given them the best gift which will help guide them and shape their lives.

Brother Job was added in the Wotutu congregation. Keep him in your prayers.

Sister Mbong Melvisl also obeyed the gospel. Two more souls were added in other congregations that our children were there for weekend evangelism.

Plans
ow that Likomba congregation is going on well. We have started looking at the opportunity to focus on west coast part of Cameroon and Kumba area. Many more invitations come to us to come over and help nurture or plant a new congregation. The field is ripe and time is running out. We are not wasting time to make sure we do our best and our own part of the work. God is doing His own and on the other hand satan is also busy doing his own.

Pray for the annual Bible lectureship which will be in Wotutu this November. The program is out and distribution to other congregations is already going on. We shall be happy to welcome you here during that period to be our guest.

We shall be attending a scholarship lectureship in Kumbo towards the end of this month.

Pray as we prepare to welcome applicants who will come to Wotutu on the 27th - 28th for the entrance exams which will qualify them to be Delta batch of students come next year after this batch is off.

Appreciations
God bless you for all that you are doing for us here. If you were not there, we doubt how this work will have been possible. God bless you and keep you strong as you serve in His vineyard. Greet all over there and around you. Share this report with others.

Elangwe and family
By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

Please Read This Encouraging Report From Brother Cy Stafford...

Greetings Fellow Servants,

It is with great joy I am able to write this Short Report. Our God is a great God, for this I give thanks. The family of God is the greatest family, for this I give thanks. The prayers of the faithful church family are mighty and powerful. I am able to write this report because God is, the faithful prayers of thousands, an amazing supportive family, and the professional health care I have received. Thank you all so very much for all you have done and continue doing, making my life possible.

Health Update: My journey began back in November when I became ill. It would lead to our return to America for additional medical treatment where I was diagnosed with AML Leukemia with Flt3 genetic mutation. I began Chemotherapy on Dec. 25th.  Unfortunately I would develop some serious complications. The medical community did all they could and at one point said, “it is finished.” My family, friends and God said it is not over until it is over.  Long story short, I have just finished round three of Chemotherapy (one to go).  Yes, prayer is powerful and God is amazing.

A journey it has been and continues to be. The type of Leukemia I have has an 80% possibility of returning within a year of so, …then there is the 20%. The prayers of the saints and the mercy of God adds a whole lot more to the reality of my (all our) life. I give you this short update to simple say, I am much better and I thank you all. It is my hope and prayer that we are able to make (at least) short-term trips back to Tanzania later this year.

I want to thank you all for your continued payers and support for God’s mission work in Tanzania. I continue to be amazed as to what God has and continues to do through His family, particularly in Tanzania, East Africa.

I want to thank the Tanzania mission team on the field both Americans and Nationals for doing such an amazing work in my physical absents, a testimony to Who is in control, God!

I want to thank my amazing family (especially my amazing wife) and friends who have been by my side every min. of every day providing all the support I have needed.

I am thankful for every new day God blesses me with. My prayer is that God will use me up in His service with each and every remaining day I am blessed and privileged to live.

We close with joyful and hopeful hearts. We plead with you for continued prayers, support and involvement in this great mission work of God. We truly believe God has just begun and the best is yet to come when it comes to the saving of the lost of this world.

Until all have heard…

In Him, Cy Stephanie and Granny

Souls Added To The Church Through Daily Activity Of ACSOP Graduates...

Equipping the saint for every good work…
As I was thinking on what to write to you this week, I found it necessary to let you know that many good things are taking place here in Arusha and east Africa in general. Many souls are added to the church daily by the good work done by the graduates of ACSOP who are working day and night in the Lord’s vineyard. I really thank brother Charles Herbert for the statistics he gave on our student outreach program for the month of April. Truly it is very encouraging to see faithful men of God working together toward that one goal of discipleship. I can tell just from those numbers that there are still many people who have never had an opportunity to hear the good news of our Lord Jesus Christ. And so we still need more people to be involved in our Father’s business of seeking and saving those who are lost. 

Congregation Marriage Seminar: Beginning this month, ten congregations around the area will be blessed to receive different teachers and preachers from various congregations to conduct a marriage seminar. Soon after we had finished the Spiritual Disciplines Seminar and saw how successful we were, we decided to move on with the marriage seminar. Five teachers with their Timothy’s will be teaching on a marriage seminar (strengthening marriage and families) - a series of lessons that has been prepared from a book titled “What Every Family Needs.” Teaching these kinds of lessons will help congregations as they prepare to have elders in the near future. We really thank brother Cy for his wisdom in introducing this kind of series seminar, which will be taught in Sunday Bible classes and worship service. The Arusha church of Christ happened to be number one to be visited by these seminars. Members were very happy to receive the first lesson by our brother Ely who taught the men, and his wife who taught the ladies in a different class. My fellow worker in the kingdom, Charles, taught in the worship service, God bless you. 

Let us continue to pray as ten men continue to strengthen these congregations in the area of marriage. 

Thank you again for your love, support, and prayers for this work as we all continue working for Him and the Kingdom.

In Him

Godfrey Mngoma
Dean of Students, Andrew Connally School of Preaching
A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school
Arusha, Tanzania

Sixteen Souls Were Added To The Kingdom With Recent Evangelistic Efforts...

Dear Brethren,

By God’s grace another month of operation has ended. We are, therefore, sending herewith the operating report for your necessary action, please.

REOPENING/CLASSROOM WORK
The school re-opened on the 25th of April after the Easter break. All students reported on the re-opening date and classroom work began immediately. All instructors were also on hand to handle their various courses.

EVANGELISM/BAPTISMS
Efforts by both instructors and students during the period resulted in the baptism of sixteen (16) souls. (We are sorry we could not take pictures of any of these).

POULTRY
We decided to sell the birds to the kitchen and use the funds to buy new birds. Inquiries from the open market about the price for a bird made us take the decision to sell to the kitchen instead and use the outcome to buy new birds to replace them.

ADMISSIONS – 2016/17 ACADEMIC YEAR
We have begun our admission process for the 2016/17 academic year. Initial response has been encouraging and we ask you to pray this would continue. 

GRADUATION
We have proposed Saturday, the 29th of October, 20016 for the next graduation. Sixteen (16) students would be graduating. We are putting our budget together and will send to you.

CAMPAIGN FOR CHRIST
In our last report, we reported that our first campaign for Christ was due. As you may be aware, this first one in the year takes us to an existing congregation, thus they bear almost all our expenses. We therefore requested that you assist us with $500.00 to take care of our transportation to Esiama and back and also for our medicals and any other emergencies. We are just reminding you about that.

KITCHEN UTENSILS
The cook has been reminding us about the need to replace some of the utensils in the kitchen. As our financial report indicates, we squeezed our finances to buy a few items. We sent a budget on this in our February report and would be grateful if you can assist us to purchase the rest.

Finally, may we say that we appreciate so much all you are doing to keep the school going. We continue to pray for you all as we know you do for us. 

May God bless us all.
Charles Mensah

The New School In Zimbabwe Prepares To Open With 25 Students...

March 2016 Report
We are grateful to God for this opportunity to report on how things are shaping up as we prepare for the opening of Bear Valley Bible Institute, Zimbabwe (BVBI-Z). BVBI-Z is an institution of churches of Christ and is governed by her doctrines and practices thereof. As we near our start date, we have intensified our preparatory efforts and with the Lord’s providence, we are truly more than conquerors.

1.0    Banking Details
We opened a bank account with Commercial Bank of Zimbabwe (CBZ) and as you may know we had challenges receiving funds for the School with this bank. On the 10th of March we applied for a bank account with Stanbic Bank but we have not yet received any feedback from this bank. We had to use my personal bank account with Ecobank Zimbabwe to send funds to BVBI-Z.

2.0    Start Date
Our start date has been moved from the 4th of April to the 2nd of May 2016. This has been necessitated by the ongoing preparations for the School. We have notified all prospective students of this change.

3.0    BVBI-Z Marketing Campaigns
We continue to publicize the school to the brethren. In March we visited three of the four congregations of churches of Christ in Gweru Urban and talked about the school. We actively participated in the worship services on the days of our visits as well. We intended going to Bulawayo on 11-14 March, but we failed due to some constraints beyond our control. We hope to have this visit the first weekend of April. On the last weekend of April, we hope to attend the Mashonaland West Gospel Meeting and also publicize the school. Mashonaland West is one of the 10 provinces of the country and the Gospel Meeting unites brethren from the churches in the province.

“…commit these things to faithful men who will be able to teach others also” (2 Timothy 2.2)

4.0    Purchased Items
We have managed to purchase most of the needed materials for BVBI-Z. We purchased these items in Harare and had to transport them to Gweru. The following are the items we have purchased so far and we will be sending you details once we buy all the materials. See the attached report on the website.

5.0    Prospective Students
In the previous report we had 19 applicants to BVBI-Z. The month of March saw us receive five more applications from prospective students bringing to 24 the total number of applicants. Our facility will only house 12 male students. Married couples and single ladies may need to organize their own accommodation and transportation to school.

Conclusion
We thank God for guiding us in the preparatory work at BVBI-Z. We continue to seek His guidance so that in all we do His name may be glorified. The coming of BVBI-Z is good news for the church in Zimbabwe. We encourage members within the local brotherhood to partner with us at BVBI-Z in our efforts to ensure that the gospel of Christ reaches all the corners of the world and “…that God would open to us a door for the Word, to speak the mystery of Christ…” (Colossians 4.3, NKJV). May God bless Bear Valley Bible Institute, Zimbabwe! May God bless the churches of Christ! AMEN!

In the service of Christ,

This was the first report by the staff at BVBI-Z

To see the BVBI-Z report with pictures, please click here.

April 2016 Report

Introduction
Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zimbabwe (hereinafter referred to as BVBI-Z) remains God’s project with the mandate of training men and women towards the expansion of God’s kingdom. BVBI-Z (though in its formative stage) remains committed to see this cause for Christ being achieved with help of the Almighty. Though starting on a sorrowful platform, there is light and hope beyond this phase.

1.0 The Passing Away of BVBI-Z Director
On the 2nd of April, the director of BVBI-Z was called home to be with the Lord. Brother Isaiah was involved in a head on collision en route to Bulawayo to meet preachers and church leaders from Matebeleland Province. The intention was to create an awareness regarding the presence of BVBI-Z in Zimbabwe. 10 people died on the spot. So devastated were the people that memories still remain fresh due to the departure of this soldier for Christ. He left behind a wife and 18 month old baby.

2.0 CHANGES
Due to the untimely departure of Isaiah, the remaining but determined staff members unanimously agreed that the work should continue. The opening date was changed to the 6th of June 2016. 

2.2 Staff
Due to the passage of our first director, Brother Mathew Muchingami shall take over as the director, while brother Ishmael Mutichu, the preacher at Nashville church of Christ in Gweru, and a trained educationist, becomes the full time instructor. Brother Howard Suwari and Tawanda Hope Karikoga will serve on a part time bases. 

Conclusion
We continue to thank you all for your moral and financial support you continue to give to BVBI-Z and your desire to see this work on its feet. God’s work will endure forever. BVBI-Z staff is ready to see that the work takes shape. 

Prepared by Howard Suwari, Tawanda Karikoga, Ishmael Mutichu and Mathew Muchingami

To see the BVBIZ report with pictures, please click here.

The Growing Needs For The Church In Northern Ghana...

I arrived in Tamale on the 22nd of April to join Brother Stephen Ashcraft to tour the Eastern Corridor of the Northern region Churches of Christ. This follows the action plan of visiting the past students of T.I.B.S in the three Northern regions. We set off the journey from the 23rd of April 2016 and returned on the 27th of April to prepare for the Seminar to be held in the school on the 28th and 29th of April 2016.

DETAILS

1. From Tamale we stopped over at Yendi to visit brother Stephen Roy and the wife at their residence.

2. Yendi to Bakpaba on Bimbilla road to meet brother Francis Waja and the entire congregation.

3. In Bimblla we met brothers Kwame Lot and Nlakidi Lot, but could not meet with their congregations because we had a mechanical fault with our vehicle. We were caught by the curfew so we spent the night in Bimbilla in a sister’s family house.

4. We left Bimbilla on Sunday morning to worship with the Sibi congregation where brother George Talafor preaches.

5. We returned to Bimbilla to meet with Kwame Lot and his leaders to discuss the challenges facing the church. The Bimbilla church has no place of worship, no chairs and no accommodation for the preacher. He comes from a far village on bicycle to worship. There is need to buy a plot of land for them since Bimbilla is a district capital.

6. From Bimbilla we traveled to Kpandai where we met the following brethren: Godwin Bentikwe and Michel Bingrini,

7. We returned to Damonko where we met brothers Samuel Nayan, a drop out student who wants to come to school. The brother is sick with hepatitis C. Brother Ashcraft gave him money to buy drugs.

8. We visited brother David Waja and Isaac Moakel all of Salaga and their congregations. We spent the night in Salaga and came to Chamber the following day. In Chamber we met with two congregations with their preachers namely Albert Tamanja and Johnson Telinyi. These brethren requested a Seminar to be organized in their area. They also requested for regular visits and donation of used clothes.

9. We finally returned to Tamale on the 27th of April, and the proposed seminar took off on the 28th and ended on the 29th of April. I returned to Accra on the 30th of April.

The purpose of the visitations was to educate the congregations on the need to support their preachers by helping them in farming and with food items so that they may have ample time to serve the Lord in the rural communities. Churches are dying because of lack in preacher’s support.

The issue of the Bimbilla church not having a place to worship was so sad that if care is not taking, we shall loose the church in the district capital. They urgently need a plot for at least a permanent structure for worship. By the help of some brethren, I have got one thousand Ghana Cedis to assist them in the purchase of a plot. The chief and the traditional counsel with the office of the District Assembly has offered them a plot of land at a very convenient place. The price is two thousand Ghana Cedis. We made part payment of GHC.1000 and the plot has been released to them. We need to raise the balance and all land document including land registration will be given to us.

I thank the leadership of Church of Christ, Accra Road for releasing me for such a wonderful mission. I further appeal to the leadership to sacrifice their preacher to help the very needed congregation in the North and any other needed areas in the country including congregations established by Accra Road. I believe this, my humble appeal, will not be rejected.

I thank the Bear valley Institute for training preachers in Northern Ghana. God richly bless them. I suggest preachers who are really on the field working hard to the glory of God and are facing challenges like distance walking to serve two or three congregations must be provided with motto bikes.

Report by brother Francis Ayine
Coordinator

Mbanga School Theme For May, "The Prayer Of The Faithful..."

Cameroon and the rest of the world join to celebrate Mother’s Day. We greet you all from that part of the world as we join to celebrate the induction of the elders in the Bear Valley assembly where the preachers and the members have done well. Congratulations and be of good courage.

Our week was very good even though with poor networking communication in Mbanga, but right now it is better. We are doing great in thee school with the students and our staff, even though brother Philipe is not really sound and has gone to the hospital three times in Mbanga. He has now been referred to another hospital to carry out some examinations, but all will be well.

The congregation was fasting last Friday in which all the students took part and it went on smoothly from six to six after our normal prayer meeting time scheduled on Friday. Our theme for this month on everything we do in school during our devotions is all linked with “Prayer,” which is our theme for the month of May is “The Prayer of the Faithful.”

The Church also visited brother Datouji Silvanus whose wife was just put to bed and it was a sort of fellowship in a big family. Together with the students we presented a gift from the church after we sang and gave exhortation to encourage the family. Brother Sylvanus, the mother, the new born baby, and her elder sister are doing well. Please do not forget to put that in your prayers.

We are preparing for the preachers forum in Buea this weekend, with the presence of some student preachers and next will be the preachers wives’ forum in Mbanga on the 27th and 28th of May.

We pray you remain blessed.
titi

A Historical Day For The Bear Valley Church Of Christ...

Today, the Bear Valley Church of Christ was privileged to witness a historical moment as five men were installed to shepherd the congregation. These five men will add to an already wonderful eldership. We know their oversight of the congregation, the Bible Institute in Denver, and the extension program will continue to fulfill the 50 Year Vision the elders placed before the church in 2008. Please pray for these men as they assume the responsibilities of the highest office on earth.

Prayer Request: Please continue to pray for strength and healing for Evie Graber (and her family) and Cy Stafford (and his family), while they endure difficult health challenges. Both Evie and Cy begin treatments soon. Please pray for them during this time.

Students in Denver are two weeks away from graduation. We are excited about the development of these men who long to serve in our Lord’s kingdom. The next few weeks will be packed with preparing assignments, taking final exams, and the next step into full-time ministry. Please pray for these men and their families as they leave Bear Valley and work to honor our God through leading the lost to Jesus and strengthening the faith of saints wherever they go.

The extension program continues to thrive also as students complete their studies and move closer to graduation. The reports from this week highlight the outreach conducted and souls that were added to the kingdom as a result of their work. The motivation and encouragement received from these reports is immeasurable. I hear from our brethren in each location about the encouragement we are to them, but I wonder if they understand how encouraging they are to us. What a blessing it is to participate in this kingdom work together.

Please remember to update your files to include Keith Kasarjian. He needs to receive your reports, and if there is information to discuss regarding the extension program, please write Keith. He now serves as the new director of the extension program. His email address is kkasarjian@wetrainpreachers.com. 

Now on to this week’s incredible reports...

Coordinator Updates
Reports from the coordinators are now located on the website, under Staff Reports. The address is http://www.wetrainpreachers.com/extension-schools/

The latest report from Howell Ferguson can be read by clicking here.

Extension Reports

Students Continue To Make Inroads For The Work In Cameroon: From weekend evangelism to the hospital, students in Wotutu learn how to apply the lessons learned in the classroom.

The Ability To See Blessings In The Midst Of Adversity: The school in Ukraine finds blessings in the midst of the ongoing difficulties in the eastern part of the country.

Reporting, Reconnecting, And Research: The Spradlins’ near the end of the furlough and report on the recent events in the work at Asuncion, Paraguay.

Amazing Outreach Program With Students At ACSOP In Tanzania: The students at the Andrew Connally School of Preaching participate in an exciting program.

Final Thoughts
Coming to end of one week and the beginning of another continually reminds us of the graciousness of our God. Beyond the life He blessed us with, we are privileged to enjoy this life with our friends and fellow-workers in the kingdom. Thank you for the blessing you are to the program of extension training. We thank our God daily for you and this great opportunity.

God bless
Bob