Weekly evangelism in Sierra Leone

Bear Valley Bible Institute Sierra Leone

ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR NOVEMBER, 2021

Full Time Program (A two-year Diploma Program)

INTRODUCTION

We want to begin by sending you our profound and sincere greetings again in the mighty name of Christ Jesus. It gladdens our hearts at once to have been able to proceed through the month of November. Our November report is a good and interesting one, especially with the conversion of souls, restorations, and more formal administrative setup. We are thankful to our supporters and our well-wishers. We continue to appreciate our coordinator, brother Steve Ashcraft for his readiness at all times to be involved in the affairs of the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute. We are joyous as we share our report with you. Therefore, may you continue reading as we give you the report in detail.

STAFF EVANGELISM AND CONVERSIONS

In our October report, we notified you that our first quarter came to a close at the end of the month. All our students went on break. However, the permanent staff who live in Kenema where the school is located were actively involved in evangelism over the month of November. To the glory of God, three souls were converted and five brethren were restored to their full fellowship with the saints.

OPERATION “Catch them Young”

In an effort to continue to evangelize Sierra Leone, we traveled down to Gondama where we established a congregation six months ago Students and staff visit this congregation every Saturday to worship with them on Sunday. One of our active members there, Brother Amara Jumui took us to the community primary school where he teaches and has been influencing many of his students to be coming to church. We held a session with them and preached and encouraged them that, “While they are still young, this is the time they can begin to build their spiritual foundation.” The teachers of the school also joined and were taught the word. Many of them are young and we have decided to “Catch them Young” so that as they grow to maturity, they will embrace Christ through baptism and will be added to the church.

STAFF MEETING

A general staff meeting was held at the school campus. Eight staff attended the meeting and it was so fruitful. Many issues were discussed including the past graduation (October graduation), academic update, the extended program, and the general vision and the developmental projects of the school. We pray that the Lord will see us through as we have chosen to save souls till His son comes to take us home.

CONCLUSION

In conclusion, we continue to be grateful to God, our sponsors and all of you who are praying for us. Please continue to remember the work of God in Sierra Leone in your prayers. We look forward to sharing with you again our anticipated December report. We at KBVBI do say, “Have a blessed month ahead.” Some photos of some activities are attached below:

Accra finishes the year with a successful campaign

End of December 2021 Report Accra

The peace of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ be upon us today and forevermore. Our Lord has been merciful to us from the beginning of this year until this day, December 2021. We are highly grateful to Him and to all the Bear Valley School leadership and the brotherhood that immensely supported the school in diverse ways.

Class Activities

All class activities ended in November. All courses on the curriculum were taught to students as assigned to all the instructors. We had eleven young men present for the lessons.

Campaign Activities

As reported in the previous report, the campaign in the central region which started on the 6th and ended on 12th of December, was successful. Some brethren from the Nsawam Road Church joined the students in the campaign. There were many challenges by the denominations, restricting us for the public preaching. However, four souls were baptized.

Vacation & Resuming of School

Having completed the campaign on December 12, the school vacated and will resume on January 16, 2022. This marks the beginning of the new academic year for 2022/2023.

Status of Registration & School Building

Land

Hopefully, we are almost at the final stage of the completion and issuing of the land certificate. The Land Commission has inspected the land and gotten the necessary information on the finality of the registration.

Accra School

This school has been registered. Currently, we are on to replacing the secretary with Brother E. O. Larbi.

Tamale School

This registration is not completed and is in progress.

School Building

As reported in the previous report, the filling has been completed and well done to begin the casting of concrete but the report reaching me by Ken Building Consultancy is that they have gone on a short break and will resume in January 2022 to finish the foundation level of the building.

Challenges & Planning

The Accra school is facing challenges on their feeding due to the consistent increment of the cost. Though, the school’s authority is putting measures in place to visit local churches to solicit funds to subsidize the high cost of feeding the students. Also, we are planning on renting 2 acres of farmland to grow crops for the school.

Our Appreciation

Our Lord has been merciful of us and we are grateful. He has protected us throughout the year, even in the covid era we have not recorded any victims in the school.

Again, we appreciate all the support from Brother Steven Ashcraft, Keith Kasarkian, Mark Reynolds, brethren, and the school authorities for the regular receipt of operating funds, prayers, guidance, and strengthening us in the Lord.

We thank the Ghanaian local churches for their support in prayer, cash, and food items which have also kept the school stable.

Last but not the least; we appreciate the effort of our instructors, directors, administration, cook, and coordinator for the effectiveness in the progress of the school.

This is how far the Lord has brought us.

We hope to hear from all next year, 2022.

We request that you keep praying with us.

Nairobi school progressing well

ACADEMIC REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2020-2021 We give thanks to God always for you, constantly mentioning you in our prayers, remembering before our God and Father your work of faith and labor of Love and steadfastness of hope in our Lord Jesus Christ(1 Thes 1:2-3).

The Nairobi school of preaching wishes to give thanks to all who are making things possible here. It has been a tough year for everyone but we thank God too for His faithfulness towards all. Despite all the challenges, the students have been so progressive in their class work and they are really doing well. Their performance is very good and a lot of changes have been observed. Covid really destabilized everything and many church families have been left unstable and some displaced back to the villages.

Evangelism plans: The students and instructors come from a total of four congregations and since the school began, we have been doing rotational evangelism work in these congregations and some of the students began doing evangelism on their own time just after their first evangelism class. As a result, many baptisms have been made and follow-up classes are taking place as we hope for the Lord to make a way. Through the efforts of co-directors, we have tried to expose the students to those congregations in the villages where they help teach in seminars and evangelism works. That has proved some immense growth from the students and how they are putting into practice what they get in class. God willing, in the near future we are hoping to open more congregations in Nairobi town and village areas to make sure that the word gets to many. God willing, next year we will have a good evangelism calendar and students are very ready and willing to get into the fields.

Library: We are so thankful for the library idea and the books provided by brethren from there. The books have added value in our teaching and learning of the students. We have a problem with an office where we can keep our books and other stationaries. Currently, they are being stored in a preacher's house. The books are still kept in the bags so whenever one wants to access them, it’s a challeng. We are hoping to find a room that is big enough for an office and shelves to keep books. The hard disks sent from WVBS have been a great source of learning information as well.

In conclusion, the entire Nairobi school of preaching wishes to thank you again and request for your prayers and financial support in enabling us to get the word of God reaches the entire world. The school is closed for December holidays and we will resume on 8th January 2022.

Thanks. On behalf of Kenya school of preaching: Co - Director Samson Omutele Kennedy Musembe

Student evangelism in Abuja

BVBI-A SUMMARY OF REPORTS FOR AUGUST - NOVEMBER.

The report of August – November with the various programmes and activities of the school is as follows. Students: The school has an average of Thirty-Four (34) regular students in both centers (Kado 19 & Nyanya 15), even though the total number of students is Thirty-Six (36). There are Two (2) students who joined the school (each in Kado and Nyanya Center).

Courses and Instructors:

The followings were the courses undertaken and instructors for the period under review:

Life of Christ III – Moses Obakemi

Marriage & Family Life – Imoh Enang Atakpa

Church History – Moses Obakemi

Books of John 1,2 & 3 – Dominic Dakup

Evangelism Campaigns: There was one 1 evangelism campaign in the period under review. This took place in Iddo village, hosted by the Iddo Church of Christ. Baptism(s): The students in conjunction with Nyanya Church conducted one baptism. This prospect, now a Brother in Christ have been a long time follower of Let the Bible Speak program on Ray Power FM. Congregational Visitations: A total of Four (4) congregations were visited, they include the followings; CoC Asokoro CoC Zhewhu CoC Mararaba-Aso B CoC Gwagalape We thank God for the grace given to contribute to the development of the church, as well as appreciation to the Bear Valley Bible Institute, the Elders, the faculty and congregations who have plans to key into the vision. God bless everyone.

Director, BVBI-A

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE ABUJA, KADO STUDY CENTER EVANGELISM REPORT.

PREAMBLE: Lugbe Church of Christ gave birth to Iddo Church of Christ. The Iddo village and its environ needed to be evangelized, in order to boost the new congregation. For this reason, the targeted field for the soul winning exercise was a village called Gbesa, which is very close to Iddo village, where the Church is located. Therefore, the evangelism program was strategically planned and executed by Lugbe Church of Christ in collaboration with Iddo Church of Christ and Bear Valley Students of Kado center.

Details below: Date: Sunday, 1st August, 2021. Attendance: About 41 adults including 10 Students. Also in attendance was a faculty member, Minister of Lugbe Church of Christ, Evangelist Rupert Kukwa. Time: Total of three hours was spent in the field. No of baptism: Nil. Venue: Gbesa village. Topic discussed: God's Plan of Salvation.

CONCLUSION: Great impact was made. The report was summited to the host congregation for follow up exercise. The program was successful, amidst great potentials for subsequent evangelism exercise and possible conversion.

Report compiled by Solomon Emmanuel Okon and Iyala Felix, Class Reps, Kado Study Center

Uganda School presses on

Dear Brethren:

By all the mercies and grace that comes from the most high, I take this opportunity to bring you the sincere greetings from the students at Bear Vailley Institute in Uganda.

Brethren we can not stop thanking God for the protection he is giving us as his children. Uganda is passing through a lot of trouble. Recently in the past month our city was blasted by two bombs which claimed a lot of innocent lives. We are happy to say that no members of the Lord's church were hurt in this. We say all the glory goes back to Him.

Since the school started on November 1, it has been going on very well. We have had two instructors finish teaching their courses and now I am teaching the book of Job. Comparing their progress to previous quarters, the students seem to be increasing in the knowledge of the word of God. We will not cease to ask for your prayers for these men while at school. Please also pray for their families.

I would love to report to you that through the evangelism done by these men while in school, we are having prospects worship with us. Last sunday we had seven people attend with us and more still promise to come. Please pray for the church here that even if the school changes location, the church should remain here.

Although we have had some success, challenges are also part of man's daily life. We have been having a challenge of water. We take days struggling to get some clean water. And with the city settings, it is a great challenge, but we are able to relate with people and through that, we get help. Because of this challenge of water we had five students become sick because of drinking bad water. God is good and they are recovering slowly but steady.

Continue to pray that we may pass through this Christmas season because here in Uganda it comes with a lot of challenges.

May the Almighty God bless you.

Until all have heard,

Raymond

Local Congregation Shows Appreciation for Wotutu School

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Wotutu. We are okay, and we do hope you all are okay, as we start preparing to the end the year 2021. It has been a tough year in many ways but it is not yet time to evaluate the year. God is still sitting on the throne, and because of that, we are moving ahead with all that is in our hands to do. We give all glory to Him for all the successes in the course of last month.

Students in the Bible college are working on their studies but many suffer from malaria, which is common this time of the year. I am also having some problems as I need to see the dentist by the end of this month. Keep us in your prayers. The challenges are always enormous.

As we prepare to end the first year of studies for the ZETA batch, I am on the business of teaching “CHURCH PLANTING (MISSION 1).” It is an amazing course as we prepare the minds of students to break any virgin land and plant the Lord’s church there. In December, three of our students are embarking on a VIRGIN LAND MISSION trip to plant a new congregation. Studies are already being made in planning for a smooth mission where God takes the glory. Please, commit that dream in your prayers.

The Likomba congregation was established during the 3rd batch of students in BVBIC-Wotutu. That congregation paid us a surprise visit last week with soaps for our students to use to wash their clothes. They said that they had come to appreciate the administration, supporters, overseeing congregation, and the students for their weekly evangelistic efforts in their communities. They said that they don’t have silver or gold, but what they have, is what they can afford. It was great to welcome them as the student president spoke with tears, appreciating the congregation for thinking about them and for praying for them. Please keep that congregation in your prayers.

Many thanks to Mission Printing, and especially to brother Richard Renfro, for the tracts that came to Cameroon. Many preachers keep coming to Wotutu to select from the different tracts and take the ones that best suit them in the evangelistic efforts in their area. Tracts, hymns, and Bibles are getting into the hands of the right people daily and weekly. Please keep praying for the efforts of the congregations here as their work is making huge waves in the lives of many. Our French school, BVBIC-Mbanga, was also here to get French tracts and other French literature, as well as other books for the work in the French part of Cameroon. Thanks again to mission printing for making all of these to be available here.

PLANS

Next week we shall be at the annual Bible lectureship which will be held in the Limbe New Town congregation. Please pray for the success of that program.

I am still dreaming of making it back to Chad so that we can be of help again for the churches there. The work is making great moves there. I am having a lot of appeals from the brethren there asking us to please come back. Some bilingual brethren from there are anticipating attending BVBIC-Wotutu next year. Several from Chad have and are attending the BVBIC-Mbanga.

APPRECIATIONS

Thank you very much for your prayers and your support. They are what make this work keep moving. Please keep helping us, as we give God all the glory.

God bless you and make a great day. Elangwe and family By His grace director BVBIC-Wotutu

Baptisms and New Learning Center in Warri, Nigeria

REPORT OF THE BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE – WARRI CENTER

INTRODUCTION

The Warri center of the Bear Valley Bible Institute expresses her profound gratitude to God Almighty and to all the great men and women God is using to accomplish the great work done in this part of Africa. We will not cease to thank Bear Valley Bible Institute International especially for the newly approved center at the meeting hall of the church of Christ PTI Warri, Delta State, Nigeria. To this end, the school has secured the services of Godwin Ojocheogwu (Evang), a graduate of the School of Biblical Studies, Jos, Nigeria and the preacher with the church of Christ Ovwor-Olomu in Ughelli South Local Government Area of Delta State. This is done to complement the efforts of the other teachers.

COMMENCEMENT OF SECOND CENTER

With the approval of the new center, is working hard so that come January 8, 2022, the new center at PTI will commence academic activities. Letters of invitation have been sent out for interested candidates. The intake exam is scheduled for the 18th of December 2021. The intake exam will be conducted strictly in accordance with the set questions and answers provided by BVBI International.

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES

The following courses have been taken within the period of this report: September, 2021 – Biblical Interpretation October, 2021 – The New Testament Church November, 2021 – The Scheme of Redemption

CAMPAIGN PROGRAMS

On Saturday, 9th October 2021 the Bear Valley Bible Institute Nigeria-Warri students, went for their maiden evangelism outreach at Ovwor-Olomu in Ugheli South Local Government Area of Delta State. After the preaching exercise, we worshipped with the very small rural congregation on Sunday 10th October, 2021 and three (3) souls were baptized to the glory of God. Please commit the students, the very small congregation and the young converts to God in prayer. Furthermore, between the 12th and 14th of November, our students embarked on another campaign that led to the planting of a new congregation at Oghior town, Udu Local Government Area of Delta State. During this exercise, six (6) persons were baptized and five brethren were already living in the community. Inaugural worship was held on Sunday 14th November, 2021. The congregation is fully established having her own minister too. . CLOSING We give thanks to our father in heaven for His loving kindness that has enabled us continue our services in the kingdom of Christ. We are also grateful to all the good people of the BVBI family. We pray abundant grace and blessings upon you all as we do the work of the master.

Osita Daniel Onuora, LLM, ACArb Director, BVBIN-Warri

Steven Ashcraft visits Tamale

OPERATING REPORT FOR THE MONTH OCTOBER, 2021

The month of October 2021, was indeed a very busy, well-used, and a very fruitful month for us in the Bear Valley Institute of Biblical Studies in Tamale. Busy because we had our students back on campus to continue with their academic activities, as well as us harvesting our farming produce for the school, especially the soybeans and the maize. The busy nature of the month even made it a joyful month for us since we were created to work and serve our Lord. We give God the glory.

TWO DAYS REFRESHING AND EMPOWERMENT

The month of October 2021 started with two days of instructors and Director’s empowerment program with Brother Steven in Nsawam Adogyiri congregation auditorium. The event brought together almost all instructors and directors of Bear Valley Institutions in Ghana. The Coo-Ordinator for Bear Valley Schools in Ghana (Kojo Acquah Beenyi) was also present at the event. We were taken through the standard Syllabi that need to be implemented by all Bear Valley Schools globally. How to effectively run administrative activities in all campuses smoothly was also looked at. The need for consistent communication between schools and the Coo-Ordinator was also dealt with properly. Reporting of Financial and Operating reports were also considered as an important element. We were also taken through some highlight areas on the Research and Writing course smoothly and were told to include it in our courses.

ADMINISTRATION AND ACADEMIC WORK

Office activities are smoothly moving forward in harmony. Working as a team, we continue to maintain good communication in all the things done within the school administratively. There is a great harmony between the staff. We are also able to co-operate successfully and consistently with our Coordinator (Kojo Acquah Beenyi) on issues beyond our capacity. He has been a great support for the Tamale campus.

Between the 4th and the 29th of October 2021, four courses were taught successfully. These courses were; Old Testament 4, which was taught by Brother Albert Tamanja Malir, 2 Corinthians, taught by Brother and Director Adjei Mensah and Denominational Doctrine, also by Director Adjei Mensah and the Life of Christ 3 by Brother James B. Legend.

VISIT

We were blessed to receive Brother Steven Ashcraft in Tamale in the month of October 2021 to look at several issues that concern the development and growth of the school. His visit was a very fruitful one as many things were discussed on administration, academic issues as well as the Kpalsi South congregation. He also while he was here in Tamale, hosted three brothers from Togo to discuss the progress of work in Togo. We in Tamale were blessed to establish a great relationship with our brethren from Togo. His visits to Tamale always bring us many positive benefits. We continue to wish him and his family well in all their days as they work tirelessly and sacrificially to progress the course of Christ in Africa and the world at large.

FUNERAL

One of our hardworking students who was enrolled into this current batch of students couldn’t return back to school when the school reopened. He was taken on by a short ailment just one week after school resumed and he couldn’t join his colleagues. He passed on in that same month. The Director, the staff and some of the students attended the funeral. A donation was made to support the family. He is in the person of Brother Batimor Philemon. It is our hope that he has done the will of our Lord while he was on earth. Amen.

BENEVOLENCE

Brother Joseph Ayimbila, a brother from Agatusi community in the Upper East Region who is residing in Tarkwa in the Western Region came to seek medical treatment for his wife at the St. Lucy Hospital. It became difficult and he had to come and lodge at the school for some period of time for the doctors to handle the situation. He became very motivated and happy about the great investment made in Tamale to train up preachers to go preach the Gospel. So, he purchased one (1) box of pens to support the school and the students.

SCHOOL FARM

Harvesting of the school farms produce was done successfully in the month of October, 2021. The soybeans which we did at Sanguli and that of the Maize at Chamba respectively. We did five acres of each of these crops. The harvesting of the Soybeans brought together several congregations in the Sanguli, Zabzugu and Tatale Area. Congregations like Nbolado, Zabzugu, Jomoani, Osonado, Bipkajab, Kparibontaabo, Nkpani and Sanguli. It was a great communal labor that we organized to do the harvest. It brought together 16 preachers of the Lord’s church that are all products of Bear Valley Institute. We had a great fellowship together and also took the opportunity to charge them to all work in the interest of the school and the Lord’s Church. We took the privilege to canvas for students for our next batch. Brethren were happy to be of help to the progress of the school. In all we had 10 ½ bags of soybeans to the glory of the Lord. These 10 and half bags of soybeans were to be sold now, we are going to get about ₵4,000.00, A profit of ₵1,500.00 and more because ₵2,500.00 was invested in it. If stored for a period of time, we are likely to get a 100% profit of our investment.

The Maize at Chamba on the other hand couldn’t produce much because of the rain pattern. However, we had about five bags of maize which if sold now, could produce an amount of about ₵1,300. This will mean, we didn’t realize any profit from the maize because of the rain pattern. ₵2,500.00 as well was invested in the Maize farm of five acres respectively. In all, it would still mean, we haven’t run at loss in the investment we made on the farming project. There is the likelihood that we will make a profit more than ₵1,500.00 in totality. It is a good beginning, and I believe we can do better if we choose to continue in the coming years with the help of God.

Note; these farming projects have the potential of helping us have fellowship with our past students as well as an avenue we could use to recruit students if utilized properly.

SOUTH KPALSI CONGREGATION

We glorify the Lord for His kind mercies and grace upon the Kpalsi South congregation. One soul was added to the Church in the month of October, 2021. We give God the glory for His saving grace.

PERSONALITY PROFILE

A 23 years old young man Emmanuel Balefam from Gbingbani in the Bunkpurugu Yunyoo district of the North East Region is the person we profiled in the month of October.

Born by Yadabe Balefam Samuel and Tibiana Balefam, who are both members of the Lord’s Church in Gbingbani is a very tall slim young man that have chosen to educate himself in the Bible (in Bear Valley Tamale current batch) and to preach the saving Gospel of Christ to the world. His parents were Christians before he was born.

His father encountered the gospel of Christ in 1998 when he was on his way to another community to perform a sacrifice to his gods. According to him, though that very day he didn’t give his life to Christ, his heart was troubled. He went further to perform his sacrifice, but not with joy. Some weeks later, he encountered another group of people of the Lord’s church preaching the saving grace of God in his village. This time around, he gave himself up for baptism. From there, the church was established at Gbingbani. His wife also got baptized and his children as well. Making his whole family a Christian home.

Brother Emmanuel Balefam was therefore born into a Christian home and it wasn’t difficult for him to come to Christ. In Northern Ghana, if the family head isn’t a Christian, sometimes, it will be very difficult converting members of the family. Emmanuel gave his life to Christ on August 10th, 2017.

Emmanuel is a Senior High School graduate with an excellent result but yet decided to come to the Bible college. The preacher for the Gbingbani congregation, though not a trained preacher, left the congregation in 2019, and it was then difficult for them to be able to worship the Lord properly. Upon completing Senior High, he negotiated with his father to come to the Bible college, so he could come and be of help to the congregation. When he had decided to come to the Bible College, one of our past students (Bintim Eric) got engaged with the congregation at Gbingbani, yet brother Emmanuel said, no turning back. While in the college, the earlier parts of this year 2021, he had a scholarship he had applied for in 2020 to continue his secular education in the University. He decided he isn’t turning back any longer. Emmanuel Balefam is currently one of the most intelligent students of our students. He is now engaged in farming apart from Biblical education. One of my visitation’s journeys with Brother Steven, we went to Gbingbani and his father told us he had taken their preacher to be one of his sons. So, whatever he does for his children, he does the same for the preacher. That man is Emmanuel Balefam’s father. Emmanuel by all standards is a great student and positively going to be a good preacher for the Lord’s Church and possibly the school as well.

Glory and honor to our glorious Father for his mercies, Amen.

Thank you,

Bear Valley Tamale.

Training preachers in an Islamic country

Gueckedou BVBI Activity Operations Report for October 2021

Once again we are writing to give you an update of events during the last month - October at the Gueckedou Bear Valley Bible Institute. This will include 2 main items namely classroom and evangelism.

Classroom: Although there were some challenges regarding the absence of some of the students, all was put under control and all 14 students went through courses administered during the month. This include Hermeneutics 2, the book of Romans and Old Testament 4 – Isiah – Daniel.

Evangelism: One of our students, EloiTolno is to be commended for taking the lead thereby accessing a group of other evangelists to some 7 prospects in a nearby village. After discussing a series of Bible topics including the plan of salvation 4 of the prospects yielded to the gospel call and were therefore immersed for the remission of sins on the 4th of the month under review.

Then in the village of Dendesou where 3 of our students lead an assembly, 2 other conversions took place on the 24th of this month. Thus, for the month of October 2021 our evangelistic efforts resulted to 6 conversions! God is to be glorified!

Personal Profile – EloiTolno: Brother EloiTolno was born in 1977 in the village of Fassaba, Gueckedou, Guinea. He was yet in high school when he accepted the Protestant faith where he stayed till elevated to a leadership position. On July the 26thhowever, this brother, his wife and their first son obeyed the gospel. Our evangelical team had made several preaching visits to his village and Mr. Tolno had always welcomed and offered us gifts, but made no attempt to accept the gospel until 10 months later when he himself visited the school campus to declare his faith in Christ and desire to be trained. He was baptized the same day and started training the very next day with a high courage to catch up with courses offered before his arrival. This, brother Eloi has done and is now up to date with his course study.

It was only a month later after his conversion when Eloiwith the help of other brethren started a congregation with 3 baptisms in his village. Since then both old and young people in and around his village had been encouraged to accept the gospel. The number of converts so far registered for the Fassaba congregation is 21 with an average attendance of 35. The congregation meets in the house of brother Tolno, Eloi. What is impressive of this brotheris the fact that he is very evangelistic and a trainer. His first son, Emmanuel - age 19 is not only a great song leader, but one of the 3 able men who help to lead Sunday worship service.

This year 2021 with the encouragement of Eloi, the assembly embarked on a rice farming project as a means of securing some income for a propose future worship hall construction. Brother Elio will be graduating from the Bear Valley extension program in Gueckedou, Guinea in about 5 months. He is to be commended for his great determination for gospel service!

Thank you for your support and for your prayers

Antoine

Evangelism in Zambia

November, 2021 Report

Introduction

The month of November, 2021 continued to be very fruitful as far as evangelism is concerned. Preaching Christ to others has indeed made us realize that, to make something strong and durable requires going deeper. The following are vital statistics that were recorded during the month.

I. Major Activities

A. Evangelism

1. We have intensified personal evangelism. We have targets of people to preach to during each day. With eleven students (11) we speak to a total of twenty-two (22) people in every two days of each week. And at the end of the month the students speak to a total of eighty-eight (88) people. From the people spoken to they (students) set up Bible studies as a way of follow-up.

2. Bible Studies

As stated earlier the number of houses where they conduct the Bible studies has tremendously increased. Each team consisting of two students have Bible studies at least twice a week. We discover that we had two-hundred and fifteen contacts (215) and out of these eighty-eight (88) we had very serious studies with them and a good kingdom harvest.

B. Baptisms

What joy it was to see Mr and Mrs Kafuli, Ruth Mambwe, Richard Chikago, Dauphines Mwanza, Garry Kalebwe, Miriam Mwenya,Garry Siakwezya, Kays Siakwezya, Kelby Siakwezya, Catharine Chishimba, Delta Tembo, Rodia Rubinda, Lushomo Siamyenda, Nalumino Lubasi, Belinda Kanjolo, Billy Sindowe, Sharon Sibelele, Dean Namadwa, Violet Mando, Mitson Zyamba, Easter Nayame and Ruth Nayame submit to God in baptism. We wish them God’s guidance in their new life and we expect them to become good role models in their life. Please remember these souls in your prayers. We had twenty-two (22) souls saved in the month of November.

C. Restorations

Our alumni have continued to work very hard in the bringing people back to the Lord. We have recorded thirty restorations during the same period.

Students were invited by Austin Musonda who is working with Chibwe church of Christ and had invited student preachers to go and assist with evangelizing the area. We recorded twenty one (21) at Church of Christ in Chibwe and eight (8) in Ndola through Hornbye Mupengu and Stephen Ngosa

D. Short courses;

The school was privileged to have our Institute coordinator Donnie Estep come and teach a short course. He as usual ably taught the book of 2nd Corinthians. We continue to be grateful to Donnie for his willingness to come to Zambia and his competence to teach our students.

Shortly after the class with Donnie our students had a treat with Kennedy Mukuka as he taught them 1st Corinthians in another short course. We are truly thankful to God for these men.

II. Coordinating leadership seminar

We had a very successful leadership seminar on 13th November 2021; we had thirty two Leaders representing fourteen congregations on the Copperbelt. This seminar took us the whole day covering topics like who is a leader? Characteristics of a leader, church management and administration, principles of effective Church administration, management of Church finances and what should leaders do? Simply put, the leaders should be peace makers, prayer warriors, teachers, lead by examples and help in decision makings. The seminar ended on a good note with more desire to on regular basis such a meeting.

The following churches were well represented; Church of Christ Ndola central, four (4) Twapia Ndola (3), Chingola Central (2), Sakania Ndola (4), Lubuto Ndola (4) Kamuchanga Mufurila (3) Wusakile Kitwe (2), Kawama Kitwe (2) Luanshya central (2) Mikomfwa Luanshya (2) Roan Luanshya (2) Northrise Ndola (4) Dola Hill (2). We gathered thirty-six Leaders from fourteen congregations and the meeting went on well.

Statement on Covid-19 (new variant cases)

Our neighboring countries namely South Africa, Namibia, Botswana, mozambique. Malawi and Zimbabwe have been reported to have the new corona virus mutation called Omicron and it seems to be much more deleterious than the others and not responsive to the present vaccine. Though Zambia has not recorded any Case we are still not safe, but protective measures have been tightened. III. Goals for the upcoming month

The long vacation of the school started on the 25th November, 2021. Almost half of our students went back home immediately to do some cultivation. Reuben Museka, Winston Changala, Lackson Mwangala and Nicolas Mulubwa normally survive through farming. Hence, they had to rush back and prepare their fields.

The rest of the students have volunteered to remain at the campus and do personal evangelism for almost a month. They will be returning back to their respective homes in the second week of December, 2021. Those that have remained are Daniel Kapata, Matthews Mwale, Gershom Chansa, Jally Siawaza and Mike Kanyangala.

This is a good period for the Instructors to complete marking and grading all students’ assignments and catch-up with visiting students’ congregations.

IV. Reports from our alumni

A. As mentioned in our previous report that Hornbye together with his dad, Hornbye Mupengu senior, have made a tremendous impact in Masaiti district. They regularly conduct Bible studies and church services at their farm. They officially opened a congregation during an evangelistic campaign that was slated for October 31st, 2021 in their area. Many gospel tracts and some literature about the church were distributed during the campaign. Hornbye reports that five people were baptized at the same meeting.

B. Bornface Sianjina earned a survival skill in bricklaying while at the Institute and he is now using it in preaching, Bornface is doing well and we are receiving a good recommendation from a congregation where is in Kitwe. Joseph Musonda has started a project of raising chicken for business the skill he earned while at the Institute, Joseph is still preaching since his graduation though the congregation in Luapula has not been able to assist him in terms of finances but, they have provided him a house. We have received a good report about the work he is doing. In fact all our former students are doing very good work at their respective congregations.

Conclusion

We are eternally grateful for the partnership that we have with you in the Lord and the financial support that we have continued to receive from Woodland Oaks Church of Christ.

May God continue blessing you in all your endeavors!

In His Service,

Cephas and Fred

Please pray for Nigeria

NOVEMBER 2021 FIELD REPORT Dear fellow servants of God. Grace, peace and mercy of the Lord be multiplied unto you all in Christ Jesus name, amen. Here is the report of some of our activities for the month of November 2021.

OVERVIEW:

1. Second Semester Classes begin.
2. Vocational Training/ Break report.
3. Weekend Evangelism report. 4 Second set of BVBIN DEGREE program begin

SECOND SEMESTER CLASSES BEGIN: All our year-1- Students reported fully for 2nd Semester Classes as scheduled on November 15 while our year-2-students who are in their third years of training continue their services with the churches within the South Western States of Nigeria till December 5th. Classes for this semester begins on November 15 through January 28,2022. All Students will embark on two weeks break from December 17,2021 through January 3 to enable them participate in the end of the year activities in their respective local congregation.

VOCATIONAL TRAINING/BREAK: Our year-1- Students engaged in different Vocational training for four weeks while our year-2- Students assisted congregations within the South Western States of Nigeria in preaching, teaching, house-to-house Evangelism and morning campaign. Report reaching my office from the Students so far shows the conversion of 15 souls and restoration of 22 erring brethren.

WEEKEND OUTREACH/CAMPAIGN: Our weekend outreach and campaign for this semester begins on November 19 in six centers (Butubutu, Jago, Badeku, Ajia, Igbooloyin -Ibadan and Asejire-Osun State. Bro. Harry Chukwu is the group leader of Igbooloyin group. Bro. Ayobami Salvation is leading the Jago group. Bro. James Isah is leading the Badeku group. Bro. Oshie Thomas is the group leader for Ajia. Bro. Adeyemo Olusegun is leading the Butubutu group while Bro. Ajani Samuel is leading the Asejire-Osun State group. Three of the group were blessed with one conversion each in their respective centers.

SECOND SET OF BVBIN- DEGREE PROGRAM BEGIN: As the Lord would have it, the second set of BVBIN DEGREE program begin on November 29 with nine Students at Butubutu campus, Ibadan. Bro. Isaac Olaniyan is handling Research and Writing-1 from November 29 through December 3 while I, Bro Makinde Ebens will be teaching on Advanced Fundamental of faith from December 6 through 10, Lord's willing.

SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF EVANGELISM KIDDIES ACADEMY: We are using this medium to appreciate first and foremost,The Almighty God for the grace giving us to see the needs for SWKA with the vision of training tomorrow leaders today. Secondly, we appreciate Gahanna-Jeffersion congregation and Sister Cherry Lloyd and associate for their partnership in providing physical and spiritual education for the children of less privileged brethren and people of our community. May the Lord continue to bless all you do for His name in Jesus Christ name, amen. The school want to really appreciate all our well wisher in America and express our profound gratitude to God for giving you the grace to feed the pupils of our Kiddies Academy twice in a week since the beginning of this term. Food is a fact of life. Delicious and healthy food is good in the tongue and the stomach. You have not only fed this pupils and their teachers but also given them delicious meals which I always share with them every Tuesday and Thursday of the week. Words cannot express how grateful we are for your kindness towards us. This feeding program is indeed very helpful to us all, even the instructors. So, all instructors, parents and students are saying "thank you so much" for your altruism. May God endow you and replenish you a hundred fold. Best regards.

BVBIN & SWSE IBADAN RESEARCH LIBRARY: We acknowledge and thank Our Grand Patron and Brother in Christ, Doug Wheeler, for the books he sent to us towards the building up of the Research Library in Butubutu-Ibadan. We are indeed very grateful. Brethren, we need more books and educational materials for this library as the ones we currently have are few and less voluminous. We are in need of these resources for the students' perusal which will lead to the total, mental and spiritual education of the students. It will also aid in students' research paper. In fact, this will be a great blessing to the ministers of God within and outside the South Western States of Nigeria. Many thanks for your usual cooperation and support.

PLEASE, REMEMBER NIGERIA IN YOUR PRAYERS: Amid the unpopular plan by the Federal Government of Nigeria to raise electricity tariff in December 2021 and remove petrol subsidy by February 2022, the Nigerian have lamented the untold hardship and inflation the development would bring. Also, many Nigerians have voiced out grievances but the Federal Government of Nigeria has been unyielding despite the public outcry. If the price of petrol pump rise from N156 per a litre to N340 per a litre, salaries will be wortless, food prices will rise, transportation fare will go beyond what the masses can bear and insecurities will be worsening ! Brethren, I am pleading with you all, on behalf of the Nigerian, to join us praying to the Almighty God:

1. To touch the hearts of those in authority in Nigeria to repent from this merciless and their destructive plans.
2. That our leaders should build a United nation, devoid of agitation and disenchantment. And
3. That our leaders should value the interest of every section of the Country . In fact, Nigeria as a nation is blessed with both human and natural endowments which can only be enjoyed in a peaceful atmosphere. Therefore, God should restore peace in Nigeria and the whole world!

WHY SOUTHWEST SCHOOL OF EVANGELISM IBADAN IS NEEDED: The School organized by members of the church of Christ since 2003 for the training of gospel ministers in South Western States of Nigeria.

1. Due to the state of the Lord's Church in this part of the country, Nigeria. Before the establishment of this school, we have five congregations of our Lord Jesus Christ in the city of Ibadan. To God be the glory,we have contributed directly or indirectly to the planting of over 50 congregations within and outside Ibadan city since our inception in 2003.
2. The Lord church here in the Western States of Nigeria is suffering from indegenious preachers, but as of today ,there is no year the school here is not graduating indegenious preachers which is now aiding in the spread of the gospel within and outside the South Western States of Nigeria.
3. The last reason is so funny. Before the establishment of the SWSE Ibadan, most Western people of Nigeria recognized The Church of Christ as Calabar people church. But, seen village people like us in the ministrations of the Word in The Lord's church change their wrong concepts about the Lord's church.

Aim of SWSE Ibadan:

1. To indoctrinate the youths for the safety of the Lord's Church depend on her youth being indoctrinated.
2. Training Tomorrow leaders today
3. To prepare God's people for works of service, so that the body of Christ may be built up.

Our Mission :

1. Saved to Serve
2. Emphasis on Sound Bible teaching that avoids the extremes of Legalism and Liberalism.
3. Training Church Leaders and New Testament Evangelists.

OUR ACCOMPLISHMENT: Man proposed,God desposed! To God be the glory, we were able to actively work with the family of Bro. & Sister Ade Ajetunmobi of Lagos State for the restoration of the Lord's Church in Felele-Rab-Ibadan through a three day mass evangelism and Open-Air Bible Lectureship from the noon of November 26 through the evening of November 28,2021. One of our instructors, Bro.Kayode Eniafe will be ministering there. CONCLUSION: We sincerely appreciate you all for your moral and financial supports towards the growth of the Lord's Church in Africa, Nigeria in particular. May the Lord continue to strengthen and bless you all in Jesus Christ name, amen.

I remain yours in His Grace as a servant...... Makinde Ebens (The Chief Servant of BVBIN & SWSE Ibadan And a WBSFUW

Sowing the seed in Zimbabwe

NOVEMBER 2021 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

As usual, at the end of each month, we look back and thank God for what he has been able to do through BVBIZ. BVBIZ remains humbled and grateful to our partners and sponsors. Economically, things have not been easy in Zimbabwe. Despite all this, God has seen us through another month. We can only thank Him that despite these negative pressures, BVBIZ continues to advance her agenda, that is, to train men and women for the furtherance of the Gospel in Zimbabwe and beyond. The following is a capsule of what transpired in the month of November.

1.0 CURRICULUM PROGRESS

The following subjects are being taught this term; Music, Sign Language, Advanced Homiletics, Introduction to Computers, 1,2 &3 John, Community Development and Poverty Alleviation, Marriage and Family Development, Greek, Christian Spiritual Formation, Church Leadership, Church History and Research Methods. Some of these are short courses. The following subjects have so far been completed; Christian Spiritual Formation, 1-3 John, Advanced Homiletics, Music, Church leadership, Greek 1, Introduction to Computers and Community Development and Poverty Alleviation.

2.0 WEEKEND PREACHING

Students are provided with opportunities to work with congregations as part and parcel of their practice. Congregations that have benefited immensely in this regard include Plasworth, Lot 64 and Redcliff. In the month of November the following congregations had students; Chitenderano (Mvuma), Redcliff, Nashville, Plasworth and Lot 64. A total of 8 baptisms were recorded in the month. The school is happy to partner with congregations this way. From January 2022, students shall be available to serve more congregations.

3.0 PROJECTS

The school’s drive to have several projects on site is slowly progressing well. The broiler project has been a success story this far. The new goat project is also in progress. The maize and beans projects done last season have provided food for our students and this has lowered our food budget. The available maize can take the students to April-May 2022. This month, however, we can report on the following;

3.1 MAIZE

The target is to put about 2.5 hectares under maize. On the 17th of November, 1.2 hectares were put under maize. The aim is to provide mealie-meal to our students from May 2022 to May 2023 and at the same time provide feed for the school’s poultry project. In the event that there will be excess, the maize will be sold. In the same vein, students are being provided with the knowledge and skills necessary towards self-sustenance.

3.2 RABBITS

One of the small projects in the school is rabbitry. Great appreciation to Bro. James Abraham and Forget Nyandoro and their families for donating one rabbit and 4 rabbits respectively. This is the seed for this project currently underway.

3.3 GARDEN

The school currently has a small garden. The garden has tomatoes, vegetables, okra, onions and cabbages. These are meant for the students’ kitchen. The greatest and immediate need for the school is to have at least 2 acres under drip irrigation. $1700 The money will be for drip irrigation equipment and for fencing the area. This will enable a horticulture project to start. Any help in this regard will be highly appreciated. Students need to be exposed to horticulture as one of the options that a preacher can venture into whilst preaching the word.

3.4 GOATS

The goat project started with 10. The herd is now at 12. Great appreciation to Bear Valley Bible Institute International through Keith Kasarjian for providing funds that were used to purchase the goats. The aim of this project is threefold, that is; to provide meat for students selling some of the goats as to provide more income to the school and provide hands-on experiences to students towards their self-sustainability agenda.

5.0 DONATIONS

We always appreciate donations both in cash or kind. Great appreciation to the Chirenda and Sande families who are always regular in cash donations.

This month, the school also received a donation of timber from the Fombe family. The timber is worth around US$120. This donation really helped the school as we had to buy less timber for the teacher’s house. May God continue to bless the hands that give!

CONCLUSION

As we look back into the past month, we give all glory and honour to God for taking us this far. The progress made with the curriculum, in evangelism, to donations, infrastructure and projects all show God’s guidance in this endeavour. Your support financially,morally or in kind always propel BVBIZ towards the achievement of her goals. . This support is enabling the training of preachers for the salvation of many. To God be the glory!

Graduation in Sierra Leone

ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR OCTOBER, 2021

Full Time Program (A two-year Diploma Program)

INTRODUCTION

On behalf of the administration and the students of the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Sierra Leone, I want to open this write up by giving thanks and acknowledgement to God Almighty for His love that He continues to bestow upon us. We are grateful to Him for this opportunity again to share with you the continuous outcome of the work that is going on in Sierra Leone here. The month of October served as another remarkable month for us so that the impacts of the activities that took place during its course will last longer. The following activities took place in the month of October: academic activities, conversion of souls, lectureship and the graduation ceremony, Coordinator’s meeting with staff and students. Please continue to read for the details of our activities.

END OF YEAR ONE FIRST QUARTER

The end of October marked the end of our first quarter in the first year. Our first quarter began on July 27, 2021. Currently, we have 20 students and all of them attended their classes and obtained the required number of credit hours. They all wrote their exams and left for one month holiday. In the course of the quarter, eight courses were covered which included Research and writing, Old Testament 1, Personal Evangelism 1, Cost of Discipleship, Scheme of Redemption, Homiletics 1, Basic English Grammar 1, Introduction to Computer 1. One of the courses 9Cost of Discipleship) was handled by the Director of the Bear Valley Bible Institute, Liberia, Robert Pascal Dahn. All our lecturers gave their best and taught to the best of their abilities. We give God all the glory.

CONVERSION OF SOULS

In the previous report (September) I echoed that five souls were added to the Church. However, for the month of October, the Lord opened the hearts of seven people and embraced Christ and are faithfully worshipping God in truth and in spirit. We thank God for His mercy upon the newest brethren in Christ; and we plead with you brethren to continue to remember them in your prayers as you have always done.

LECTURESHIP AND THE GRADUATION CEREMONY

In the report for September, your prayers were required and requested for the lectureship and the graduation which was scheduled to be held on October 29-30, 2021. And by the grace of God, the program came and passed successfully. The first Bible lectureship of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Sierra Leone was held on the first day of the program (29th October), and the theme for the lectureship was, “Christian Education and the Growth of Churches of Christ in Sierra Leone.” Under this theme, various topics were handled by various speakers. We were blessed by seasoned speakers both in Sierra Leone here and other parts of the world. Two of our external speakers included Brother Steven Ashcraft (Our West African Coordinator), Brother Tom Udo Tom Ekpot (PhD) - the president of the School of Biblical Studies, Jos Nigeria. Many preachers, local Church leaders, members of various congregations of Churches of Christ in Sierra Leone and some non-members attended the lectureship. The Director of the Bear Valley Bible Institute in Guinea, Brother Francis Musa and two of his staff were as well in attendance. We had our guest speaker from the republic of Liberia, Brother Dave Arthur together with his wife, Sister Enora Arthur all present. Questions were asked and brilliant answers were provided. The lectureship was followed by a football match between the Bear Valley students and the Local congregations in Kenema city. The Bear Valley students won 3:2. While the match was going on, spectators came and some of the students who were not playing were engaged in sharing tracts and preaching to them individually. We thank God that a social occasion like that could as well be used to share the Gospel with the perishing souls. The next day, 30th October was the day of the graduation. The school had her 2nd graduation program since its establishment in Sierra Leone in 2016. Twenty (20) students were enrolled in 2019 for the program. However, in the course of time, six (6) couldn’t continue. Therefore, the school graduated fourteen (14) preachers and evangelists who have been sent out to turn the world upside down with the Gospel. Before the graduates left for their various congregations, the Director held a meeting with them, urging them to be sending in reports of their works. Moreover, and Alumni team has been formed to be making a follow up on the graduates.

COORDINATOR’S MEETING WITH THE STAFF AND STUDENTS

We continue to ever be grateful to God Almighty for sending to us a coordinator who is so passionate about the work of God, whose love and mentoring skills are worthy to be emulated. Brother Steven Ashcraft, our beloved and dearly loved coordinator held a two-day seminar with the staff and the Bear Valley Director in Liberia. This meeting was so fruitful. He taught the staff the rudiments of writing research papers so as to be able to assess the students appropriately whenever they are being given assignment. He as well elaborately discussed what Bear Valley requires from every staff. He touched many arrears like academics, administrative, developmental projects, etc. Also, Brother Steve met with the current students in their class room to encourage them to remain steadfast in the pursuant of their course with Bear Valley. He presented Bibles, pens, and ties to all the 20 students and the graduates.

GRATITUDE AND APPRECIATION

The entire one body family of Bear Valley Bible Institute Kenema Sierra Leone continues to express her deepest appreciation to her supporters and sponsors for their financial and the spiritual support they continue to demonstrate toward her. I remember, two months ago, we were asked to submit our prayer requests so they could pray for us. Brethren, we are really appreciative. May the Lord bless and uphold you and may your works follow you. Again, we continue to be thankful to Brother Steve Ashcraft for his loveliness and his kind heart. We as well appreciate Brother Robert Dahn, the Director of Bear Valley Liberia, and Brother Francis Musa, who have been so much involved in the sustenance of this school. Thank you beloved brethren. A big thank you to all our well -wishers and those who are acutely praying for us whose names we didn’t mention here. May God bless all of you!

CONCLUSION

In brief, we continue to be grateful to God, our sponsors and all of you who are praying for us. Please continue to remember the work of God in Sierra Leone in your prayers. We look forward to sharing with you again our anticipated November report. We at KBVBI do say, “Have a blessed month ahead.”

Making a difference in Ukraine

Dear brothers and sisters,

I hope you are doing well and keeping the faith. In the end of October Ukraine has entered into the red zone of quarantine and the government enforced a lot of restrictions that are still not lifted. However, we continue congregating in the church and it seems like it is still safe. The members have different opinions about worshiping in the building during yet another outbreak of the virus and, naturally, those who are cautious make their decisions every time whether to stay home or not. We streamline every service online.

In the beginning of November, the students went to the places of evangelical practice in different places of Ukraine. Matthew, Anton and Sasha went to Chernivtsy where they worked in partnership with the local congregation. The local preacher and our Instructor Dmitry Galiuk was supervising their activities. They had a very busy schedule. During that week they conducted a lot of youth group studies. They preached, visited the members and practiced street evangelism. Dennis went to his home city of Kharkiv and also paid a visit to the congregation in Kramatorsk. He held some youth meetings, and alongside with the church worked in the street evangelism efforts, as well as had some private studies too.

Beginning November 15 the students resumed their studies. Currently they have Genesis taught by Brovary Church of Christ Minister Viktor Semikoz.

In the first part of October I visited the rehabilitation center of the Church of Christ in Nikopol. Our graduate Sergiy Khovrich decided to continue his ministry there. During 4 years he lived in Bila Tserkva and helped us with maintenance in the church building. But the times changed and we encouraged him to serve the unfortunate and troubled people. About half of his own life Sergiy was incarcerated because he had been a very dangerous criminal. His life was changed when he obeyed the Lord. He graduated from our program and helped us during the time period of 4 years. Now God found him a place where he would be extremely useful. These days he teaches the Truth to men who are afflicted by different addictions (drugs, alcohol, gambling, etc.) I request prayers for him and his ministry that it may be fruitful and many people will be saved.

As for the next month, we are planning on having a few events in the church, meeting the church family being one of them. In the recent past we came to realize that fellowship is very important and when you lose it seems even more valuable.

Thank you for your help and support of our ministry. May God keep you and strengthen your hands.

Your brother and coworker in the vineyard of the Lord,

Dennis Sopelnik

Classes continue in Tirupati, India

To all our partners: Greetings to you in the name of Jesus Christ. We thank you so much for your continual prayers and encouragement. We express our sincere gratitude to the Elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ. We are thankful to them for their great love, compassion and commitment to train up the young people for the spiritual kingdom of god. We thank you so much for your kindness to establish the extension Centre in our city(India). We would like to report for the month of November.

BVBI-Class Room Work: We report to you that classes were successfully conducted in the month of November. For the last week of classes a few guest students joined us for the Monday to Friday classes. Each day we had more than 45 students. We examined the notebook work, gave assignment work, gave memory verses and conducted weekend examination for the each course. All the students are doing hard work. We appreciate teachers and non-teaching staff for their dedication for the smooth function of the class room work.

Flood Relief Service: In the month of November people in our place suffered lot due to terrible cyclone effect. The trees were uprooted, houses were broken down, roads and streets were filled with water . Several villages don’t have transportation and power supply for few days, due to flood effect there was 5’ feet of water in some of our church members houses. We have moved with great compassion and did our level best in serving the flood victims. We shifted a few flood victims to the safety place, we have provided food packets, we have provided rice bags, we have provided groceries to some families, we have given some money contribution for the needy families. we have helped with medical costs for the needy people. We have provided sweaters for the school children who were under poverty and we have distributed gas stoves for the people who are suffering a lot for finding fire wood during the flood time.

We once again thank you so much for your willingness to establish BVBI extension Centre in our place. We are grateful to our International Director Mr. Keith Kasarjian and assistant Director Mr. Mark Reynolds for their commitment in providing guidance and encouragement. We are thankful to all the prayer partners. We appreciate our teaching staff and non-teaching staff. We request your continual prayers for the staff and students.

Thanking you. Yours brother and sister in Christ. Vijay&Swarupa, behalf of BVBI-Tirupati-India.

A milestone in Harare

INTRODUCTION

In January 2018 we started our Extension Program and our focus was/is on mature christians. On enrollment we had twenty (20) students. Through the years the students went through thorough learning as we equipped them for ministry and on the 16th of October 2021 we had our first graduation in which eleven (11) students, who committed to the end, graduated. Four could not graduate because of outstanding courses and five had dropped along the way. We are grateful for our first graduation.

SEPTEMBER 2018 CLASS

This class is now in their 3rd year and we hope they will complete their courses next year 2022. Six students are in this class and all are men. We continue to meet as usual.

NEW CLASS

In September 2021 we had a new class that started their lessons. The new class has 16 students, with four being women. So far we have done The New Testament Church and How We Got The Bible is in progress.

STAFF

Our teaching staff comprise of myself, Matthew Muchingami and Gerald Dzuwanani.

UPCOMING EVENTS

On the 10th of December 2021 to 18 December 2021 the two classes will be in Gweru for an uninterrupted week of learning. This will help us to have a continuous week of instilling practical subjects such as Personal Evangelism and Homiletics plus some doctrinal courses. I would like to thank our Gweru Director for accepting our request to use the premises.

GRATITUDE

I would like to thank you BVBII for this opportunity you gave us to equip men and women for the great work of preaching. Your financial and spiritual support continue to sustain us in this great work. This approach (Extension Program) is helpful and has produced the eleven (11) who are now serving the Lord with knowledge and correct zeal. May God bless you always.

Stay blessed and be a blessing to all

HOWARD SUWARI BVBIZ HARARE EXTENSION

Mark Reynolds visits Accra

End of October Report Accra

Let’s give thanks to God for His mercies.

This is to report on areas regarding class and sub-activities, visit the land, personal campaign.

Arrivals & Purpose

We thank God for His traveling mercies for our brothers, Steven, and Mark Reynolds. It was Mark,s first to visit Ghana, West Africa, to check on the school, to impart his God-given knowledge, and to strengthen us in the faith. Steven visited to introduce the MLA style in research and writing and managing the school.

Brother Mark Visit to Adoagyiri Nsawam Church of Christ

We thank God that He exhorts us through brother Mark. We have edified with the true sayings and the leadership was happy. The leadership recommended that anytime he comes to Ghana, he must visit the church to edify it.

After the church service, Mark Reynolds, Steven, EO Larbi, and Sammy visited the school's new site to inspect the ongoing building project.

Class

Mark taught the Accra School (i.e. Southern Institute of Biblical Studies) for the first time in Ghana, WA. He treated 1, 2, and 3, John, as a short course with the students. Ten (10) men were present for the class and conducted an examination. We were all glad for the teachings and sharing with the students his knowledge in the Bible.

This followed our usual daily class activities, Monday to Friday for the teaching of the rest of the courses. The number of students who attended the class was Ten (10).

Meetings with Steven Ashcraft

A Meeting with All Directors and Instructors of Bear Valley Schools in Ghana

Brother Steven had a two-day meeting with all the Directors and the Instructors of all the Bear Valley Schools, nationwide to discuss important lessons and the progressive management of the school. It is the dream of this organization that better management structure and lessons are taught that we obtain good outcomes. The various school representatives were Tamale Institute of Biblical School, BVBI Takoradi, Nsawam, Accra, Koforidua, Sunyani, Kumasi, and Kasoa. Eighteen (18) men were present, amongst which 5 were directors, and the Coordinator, Kojo. Among some of the topics discussed were Research and Writing (in MLA Format), the school management structure, regularly Monthly and Quarterly Operating and Financial reports, tracking on the weekend students effective activities in their various localities as part of the academic requirement for grading.

There were other meetings that were carried on with the administration of the Accra School on the future of the school and campaigns.

Brother Mark also met with the Directors and instructors for a quite short time on motivation for the work of the Lord and the school.

Students Personal Campaigns

As part of the student’s activities, they have been organizing an evangelism activity to reach out to prospects around every weekend. They also visit the surrounding members of the localities which are helping in edifying the members. Our students are doing well in this regard.

Conclusion

The above activities were done successfully without any challenge. And we are grateful to the Lord our God.

May the Lord be blessed for the marvelous protection in these times of COVID.

Keep praying with us.

Doing good in Zambia

October 2021

Report

Introduction

Greetings to you all brothers and sisters in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, our prayers are that this report finds you in good health. We give glory and honor to God the Father as we send this report for the activities here at BVBI-Zambia in the month of October.

Indeed we have come to realize that Bear Valley Bible Institute- Zambia, is no ordinary institute, we supersede any tertiary educational facilities around us. We are swimming in the love that flows through the hearts of all those who are walking through our corridors. Indeed our God is present here, and He warms our hearts and souls in a way no fireplace can.

I. Major Activities for the Month of October

A. Evangelism

We have continued with our evangelism program in our own district Luanshya. Luanshya has nine township areas and in the month of October we had three targets among these townships within our district, and also in the two districts nearby. The students have done a commendable work with the teachers spearheading working alongside them. Indeed the word of God has been burning in their bones and failed to keep quiet! These past few weeks have taught us that we have way too much work to do for our Master. So your sacrifice in this work is highly appreciated and necessary to make our continued work easy here.

We are excited to announce that due to these sustained evangelism activities we were blessed with forty-three (43) baptisms in the month of October. These baptisms were recorded from three townships of Luanshya namely: Roan, Luanshya Central and Mikomfwa. Additionally, we have continued to render help to our newly established church in the Northern Province and we believe the congregation will continue to mature until they have their own preacher.

B. Skill Training

Once again we are so happy to write this report about our students’ practical work in horticulture production and bricklaying. They have learned good agronomic modern hybrids, varietal selection for the targeted markets, good soil preparation and fertilizer placement. All students worked as a team and the program will continue in their first quarter of next year. They did their practical work at Church of Christ in Mikomfwa. No doubt these preachers have manifested a militant spirit in the ministry of our master.

C. Restorations

We have also recorded sixteen (16) restorations, five from Mikomfwa Church of Christ, one from Roan Township and three from central town of Luanshya. On the other development we have recorded seven restorations from Luapula province through our alumni Joseph Musonda.

II. Covid-19 in Zambia

We have continued to get encouraging reports on the covid-19 status by the Africa Center for Disease Control and Prevention. While we are encouraged to continue observing the rules to combat the disease the country is slowly opening up for business.

With the situation above, we are burning with a great desire to do God’s will and it is an honor to be humble servants in His kingdom.

III. Goals for the Upcoming Month

Paul emphasizes in Ephesians 4 the absolutely vital role that is played by apostles, prophets, evangelists, shepherds and teachers. Without their ongoing preparations of the Lord’s people there would be very few Lord’s people. Training is essential if the church is to function as God wants it to; “for the equipping of the saints for the works of service, to the building up of the body of Christ.

We did not go for the four (4) days gospel campaign as planned due to lack of transportation, but we will continue with our evangelism within our district and to strengthen survival skills training in agriculture and bricklaying for our students. We believe this is another way of fulfilling Peter’s word in 1 Peter 2:9 that we are special people he also said “that you may proclaim the excellences of Him who has called you out of darkness into His marvelous light.”

IV. Reports from Our Alumni

Vincent Simwanza has done a great job for our Master in the month of October and he continues to be very impressive in the kingdom, may our God continue to use him. Through his efforts we had seven souls added to the Church and he has continued to preach; we expect more souls to be added to the Church. He has also worked hand-in-hand with our current student body to put up a building structure at Church of Christ in Mikomfwa.

Joseph Musonda has been working extra hard with the Church in Luapula Province and has continued to make good progress. Lord willing, whenever we shall have an opportunity in terms of transportation we plan to camp there for three days to work alongside him in the preaching of the gospel. So far we have recorded six (6) restorations from this Joseph Musonda’s efforts.

Joseph Ilunga, our former student from the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), now lives on the Zambian side at Sakania border. Joseph is doing a good job working with a Zambia congregation in Sakania helping him to establish a congregation from the Congolese side. We have been receiving good reports from our brothers at Sakania and its very encouraging. We often call Joseph to meet with us whenever we are having meetings to advance the kingdom of God.

Conclusion

We are doing the best we can to avoid wailing and gnashing of teeth at the end of our journey. May the God of Heaven, the shepherd of our Souls, bless our relationship and may we grow together in the grace as we walk and work together to the glory of our God. You are always in our prayers and may God be with you always.

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Reaching out in India

Reporting Letter for the month of October-2021

Respected beloved International Director of Biblical Studies Mr. Keith Kasarjian and Coordinator Mr.Mark Reynolds and all the prayer partners greetings to you in the matchless name of Jesus Christ. We would like to express our deepest gratitude for your unselfish contribution for the smooth function of BVBI extension Centre at Tirupati city, Chittoor-Distruct, AndhraPradesh, India.Your assistance is very much important, it helps the continuity of our commitment to educate young people spiritually who can teach the gospel to the lost souls in India. This would have not been successful without your act of generosity in support of the BVBI in India.

BVBI Regard: We continue to hold the class room work, all the teachers and students are busy. Beside their class room study they involve in the activities of local church. We give them opportunity for leading songs, bible reading, offering prayers, the distribution of communion, offering collection. Last Sunday BVBI student Mr.Joshua could able to teach at children class.

Bible Seminar: In the month of October 15&16(Frinday&Saturday) we organized Two days Christian Growth Bible Seminar at Vidyanagar, Nellore-DT, A.P,India. The Theme was Fruit of the spirit (Gal 5:22). We have invited 13 women speakers to preach at Women seminar. We encouraged Mrs.K.Swarupa to be the coordinator of the Seminar, The most of the speakers for the seminar were the preachers wives from four states Tamil Nadu, Kerla, Telangana and Andhra Pradesh who did wonderful job in presenting their lectures. We have given them their topic and also study material for three weeks an advance to all the speakers . We have distributed the booklet of the Seminar which was written and printed by Dr.Damon Vincent. We appreciate Mr.S.Vijay Prakash who has translated this book let in Telugu. We report there were about 130-140 attendance for the two days seminars. We invited ladies from different local churches surrounding in above said states . We express our gratitude for every individual donor for their confidence, generosity, dedication and keeping responsibility for the spiritual growth of the saints . We report you that about 30 brothers voluntarily served for two days for the success of the two days Bible Women Seminar.

Agricultural Vegitable Garden Workshop:- We report you that another AG.garden work shop was being conducted at Jangalapalli-Village, Nellore-DT, A.P( state), we could able to participate on October 9th,2021. We are grateful to HHI for their loving contribution for the establishment of this AG garden. We are grateful to sister.Linda smith and sister Jackie Hill from US who could able to visit this remote village and recommend for the establishment of this AG-Garden. We express our gratitude to the elders of Foothill Church of Christ and ministers Mr.John R.Vaughan, Mr.Jonathan Winchester and Mr.Matt Bowling from Graymere church of Christ who could able visit this village previously. We are grateful to HHI for the digging Bore-well for the purpose of proving drinking water for the villagers. In fact it is my native village, my older brother Mr.B.Elisha Subhakar is preacher there who graduated out of National Bible College, Chennai.

A.G.Garden at BVBI:- We have newly planted seeds at AG Garden , this week all student could able to remove the reeds to keep all the plants healthy.

Thanking you.

Yours brother and sister in Christ.

Vijay&Swarupa, behalf of BVBI-Tirupati,India

Exciting times in Malawi

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE

EKWENDENI – MALAWI

October Report - 2021

INTRODUCTION

Hello everyone! It is always a joy for the students when we come to the closing date, especially in the month of October as everyone is looking forward to farming before reopening of the school in February. October has been a month full of good news to tell. God is blessing us daily, we praise His Holy name. In this month of October, we have had a visiting teacher – Donnie Estep, our coordinator. Brother Clergynton, one of the BV Ekwendeni teachers went to Lilongwe and Blantyre to conduct the interviews for the next intake, all went on well. We also had a preaching campaign whereby more souls obeyed the gospel.

Preaching and Teaching

We are very thankful to BV international that they always consider sending us short course teachers, and we were happy to have Brother Donnie who taught the course of “Hermeneutics”. The same dates Donnie arrived were our same dates for the interviews for the next intake. Therefore, instead of all the teachers going for the interviews program, the work was divided so that Ephron the local Director stayed to take care of Donnie while Clergynton and another teacher went to conduct the interviews in the central and southern region of Malawi respectively. As indicated in the introduction of this report, this month of October has been of good news as far as the winning of souls to Christ is concerned – two more congregations established.

Brother Navie, one of the teachers who helps us in short courses, is always happy to manage the evangelism part of the school work. After teaching the short course he went to a place called Manthepa where he was involved in the preaching campaign, 1 soul was baptized and many others restored. This congregation has started with about 30 members plus. After Manthepa, he went to restore the Mtende congregation where 20 members are now meeting as the church. Then last week went to Hola where he was involved again in establishing the new congregation, 3 souls baptized and 12 more restored – the church has started with 15 members there. God is good.

Saliwa Nkosi

Saliwa is one of our former students who is very active and always shares with us what he is doing. This month of October, he has helped 8 souls come to Christ through baptism. We are always appreciating him for the good work he is doing. This work has a greater reward hereafter! We pray that God will continue blessing his family.

School Van and school construction work

We are thrilled with great joy as we now have hope for the school future in Malawi. For a long time we have been hiring cars to take us to preaching campaigns, funerals and lectureships; but now we say PRAISE GOD, for the problem is solved as we have our own school van now. We are also happy that the construction work is in progress, everything is moving in the favor of God at the moment. We are thankful to bother Wongani Gondwe, our former student who is also our current contractor. Wongani is well experienced in building work and he is really doing a good job on our Hostel construction. So far the hostels are in roofing level and once the funds are available, we are roofing it hopefully before the rains

We, therefore would like to appreciate the Bear valley bible institute international for their monthly support towards this work here in Malawi. We understand the big task you have in looking after about 47 schools in the world. Ekwendeni being one of the beneficiaries, we want to really appreciate this from the deep of our hearts. We also want to take this advantage to thank brothers Tim and John for their love and concern with the Malawi BV school, renting is very expensive and now it has been increased in price due to everything going up in price, but with the construction of the hostels, it will help us move to our own place by September next year. We pray daily that God bless your families as you think about the BV school in Malawi. Eternity Is Forever, Think Souls!

Yours in Christ,

Clergynton and Ephron