Cebu schools back in session after two-year Covid shut down

Greetings from Cebu, Philippines:

The BVBI-Philippines Cebu school is officially back after two years of not being able to meet together because of the pandemic. Our students were very excited to see each other again and resume studying the word of God. This month we studied the interesting book of Acts. We studied how the gospel spread from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, and the persecutions that went with it. We also learned the importance of continuing the mission of sharing the gospel to the lost.

During the week, seven of our students went on a short mission trip to the beautiful island of Olango to encouraged the brethren there. This church is ministered by one of our student, Jhobert Sabang and the students who went with him were Alvin Legaspe, Junven Calijan, Nino Rey Felicano, Michael Parilla, Ronel Romano and Bong Jumawan. Junven led the short devotional and the brethren in Olango were very encouraged to hear the wonderful message. Our students are planning to go back Olango, Lord willing, and share the message of salvation to the people in that island.

 We pray that our great God will bless these plans.

 In His Service,

 Neil Emperado

Director-BVBI Phils, Cebu

Weekend Evangelism in Wotutu Cameroon

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from this part of the world. We are doing good, and we do hope that you are doing great in all that you do. God is still on the throne leading our ministry from one level to another.

Last week in Bear Valley, and other ministries here, went on well. We were busy with weekend evangelism, funerals, and marriages. God is at work in what we are doing.

Students left Wotutu in pairs to different locations for weekend evangelism. Because of the high prices of things, weekend evangelism and end of quarter mission work is getting too expensive for us. Some went to our usual young congregations for teaching and nurturing while others accompanied me to a funeral as we suffered the loss of one of our sisters in the Wotutu congregation. Her children are now typical orphans as they lost their father some years back. Mission printing tracts are penetrating many hearts as our students make sure to drop a tract for possible future follow up after teaching.

I was preaching during open air on the subject, “HOW WE CAN HAVE FAITH IN GOD.” A big crowd in Yato village came out to listen to the word. One precious soul obeyed the gospel and tracts were shared to many during the day. She asked questions and they were clarified to her with the bible. That opened the way for her to say I am ready to follow Jesus Christ.

In Yato village, the congregation is presently small but we are seeing great potential to grow this congregation. We assembled the men, and we spent quality time discussing strategies we can use to enhance growth in our various congregations. Please pray for the Yato congregation and many of the work here.

The newly established congregation of Ndobo in Douala is witnessing great changes as the weekly evangelism and the sharing of tracts keeps making waves there. Even while back at school, our students keep receiving calls from prospects who will continue to read tracts and to ask questions if they don’t understand some certain things. This week a sister also obeyed the gospel. Keep her in your prayers because her obedience to the gospel will open a door to her family.

The current students of the Bear Valley Bible Institute Cameroon Wotutu are learning a new career of teaching and nurturing children as they are the ones conducting devotionals in the Brightland Christian Orphanage. It is a good thing for them to learn how to work with children as no one knows what plans God has for His church through these students. Please, we solicit your prayers on their behalf.

Join us to praise God as He added two precious souls during the course of this week into His church. Please pray for the souls, and keep this work in your prayers .

At the top on our agenda is weekend evangelism, because EVANGELISM IS OUR MISSION , AND OUR MISSION IS EVANGELISM.

Thank you very much for all that you do for the work here. God is watching and will reward you in due season. Please do your best to share this with others.

 God bless you as you make a great day.

 Elangwe and family

Reaching out in Nepal

Dear respected brother in Christ,

Greetings to you all in the precious name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. May grace of God, love and peace always be with you. We do hope that you and all your family members are doing well. While the Bear Valley school is on sabbatical, we are using our time and opportunities wisely. I am writing all our work report in briefly.

Last month training program

We are fine by the grace of God. Last month we did four days of Bible study and disciple making training classes at our school building. It was good. Our audiences like these new teaching methods.

Baptism

We are having often time Bible study and fellowship at Kalanki. Last week one soul was added in the Lord's kingdom at Kalanki congregation.

Voice of truth international magazine.

I am translating lesson from VOTI in my free time. We have printed our Nepali volume 8. We are distributing VOTI booklet. Today volume 8 is printed out. Brother Jerry Bates from world evangelism is bearing only printing expenses.

Jerry Bates visit

Brother Jerry Bates, sister Paula Bates will arrive Nepal on 25th of May 2022. We will do half days Bible study at two different local congregation at Kathmandu valley. We will do five days of Bible seminar from 28th May -1st June of 2022. We will be inviting some of our preachers and graduated students. They will leave on 2nd June at night. One of Brother from Delhi, Sunny David is also planning to join with us. He is also working with Brother Jerry Bates. Brother Jerry Bates is taking classes on GODHEAD and CHRISTIAN GROWTH. I have finished his lesson translation. We are planning to print out for Seminar. We will print out 2000 copies. He will bear expenses of our seminar, and printed cost.

Our visit to India

Abigail's final exam is finished today. We are planning to visit her home town for 2 weeks. We will be travelling for Mirik, India on 28th April. We will be returning back on 12th May. Please kindly remember us in your prayer.

Thank you for your regular prayer and support for the work in Nepal.

Thank you

Brother in Christ

Gajendra Deshar

Mbanga Balong Cameroon school is busy with school and evangelism

The staff and the students bring greetings from Mmbanga Balong Cameroon. The church of Christ that worships in this town brings their salutations in Jesus’ mighty name. 

 The fourth batch of our students are already working in their second year. What a great moment to say that this month marked the 7th year of the creation of our Bear Valley Bible Institute in Mbanga Balong Cameroon. All along, we've gone through a lot, but God has always been on our side.

To conclude our year one activities, our students traveled to 14 different assemblies in French speaking regions of Cameroon. Our internship for the month of March was really great. God took us out safely and brought us home safely.  

It was good to have a student from Wotutu in the same preaching field as another student from Mbanga. Some of our areas are really bilingual and we don't have bilingual students this time around, so we made a combination with students from the two schools. Nevertheless, it was really successful as we did this in two mission grounds. It yielded some fruit both in Kotto Mission and in Sangmalema.

 A number of souls were added during this mission work. In fact, 14 souls were added into the kingdom of God and 6 were restored. Some areas of work are really too difficult, as our Francophone brothers are more into Catholicism and Pentecostalism. Most of them don't know about the church and some students were even chased out of some neighborhoods. This is not strange to us though as it has happened to me also several times in our French speaking regions. We need a lot of prayers for the churches in these regions.

Bibles were also given to new converts as in the case of a sister who was sitting with her baby. Let's pray for these new converts as they enter into the work of the Lord.

We took our short courses after our fieldwork this time around. This was due to some missionary activities that took us a lot of time as we were going out for evangelism as well all at the same time. Our mission is evangelism and evangelism is our mission. 

As the men took the class on Leadership, and the sisters also took part. The “Leadership” course was taught by minister Ewang Divine, a graduate of the Wotutu school. It all was successful. This took us to the beginning of a new quarter which we started immediately after the short course.The students are now talking about graduation so spending one more year in school will not be that easy. 

Brother Giress had on his usual smile when he was teaching the students in class this Thursday. The darkest moment in the night is when the day is almost dawn. This is the moment where our students will face a lot of temptation, for the devil will not want to see them all graduating. It's a very difficult moment, as we have always seen with the other batches in the past. It is also a moment where God will want to expose all those who are still hiding their bad character and attitude. But prayers conquer all. We still follow up with our activities both in the congregation and in school. 

The congregation in Mbanga was proud of hosting the Francophone Zonal Women’ Seminar. Congregations from the 8 regions of the French speaking part of our country were hosted by the women of the Mbanga assembly. About 16 assemblies were represented. It was a wonderful week with us in Mbanga. 
We continue with our mission to other localities for implantation and revival. The church in French Cameroon is still in renaissance. Lots of work is still to be carried out. The school in Mbanga and the churches in French Cameroon, are calling on all of us to put our efforts together on this theme, " Let Us Evangelize the French World.” Tracks are now available, as we plan to storm the next community with the gospel of peace everywhere that the man of peace is found. 

Our next mission will be in Chad as we plan to begin our journey Friday with my wife Mary and Elangwe and his wife Magdalene where we will be prepared to teach both the women and children as a part of our mission. We shall be working with the preachers on the preacher forum as well. 

We shall also meet our graduates and other preachers in Chad. While we think about souls, their physical worries are also our concern. May God lead us safely to our destination and fulfill our mission for Him in this country. Please put us in your prayers. Chad here we come.  

The people of Cameroon have acknowledged the work of the Bear Valley Bible Institutes in this country and we are proud of belonging to this Bear Valley family. More grace and more prayers. The devil is being put to shame.

Cameroon schools conduct campaign in neighboring Chad

Jesus is the way the truth and the life! True worshipers must worship Him in spirit and in truth! We bring greetings from Central Africa and from Cameroon to be more precise. We are happy to bring to you, our big family of Christians, a briefing on how the on-going work is, in French Cameroon and French Africa at large. 

Let us begin with the work of the Bear Valley Bible Institute that is situated in Mbanga Balong in the literal region of Cameroon. 

Our weekend evangelism journeys have taken us to some far-away places for the purpose of studies and for future implantation of the church. Tracks are being distributed on every mission trip. People are also willing to listen to the gospel being presented by our students and staff. On these various evangelism campaign trips, prospects are being made, and eventually some prospects become converts who are happy to wear the name Christian. 

We also take the students to various lectureships and seminar grounds where studies are being carried out and evangelism is abundant. Our students attended the last annual youth forum in Bonaberi Douala from the 14th to the 17th of April, 2022 where God added one precious soul into his kingdom. A cross section of our students were present in the youth forum with their fellow students from our sister school in Wotutu. 

Still with our bible students, classes are ongoing and the instructors are doing great. The permanent staffers like brother Ename from far away Bertoua will always make it to school in Mbanga no matter his distance. What a great sacrifice! We also have brother Mokou Bernard from Nkongsamba, brother Dafta Yakouba from Douala, brother Giress from Muyuka Peage, and myself, brother Ititi who also acts as the director. In addition to this, we also have brother Bako the school nurse, brother Stephane the night watchman, brother Emile the school Driver, and also brother Christian the speed test instructor and who is also in charge of discipline in the campus. Some others are always there to teach during short courses. With all of these instructors, we are already in the second year of our studies and very soon we shall be going out for another internship. 

Recruitment is also ongoing for the next batch of students as we have applicants from the Democratic Republic of Congo and Central African Republic who are interested to come and study in our prestigious institutions in Cameroon. We are praying for them as they are still searching for funds to establish their traveling documents.  Long live Bear Valley Mbanga as we have a mission to transform French speaking Africa.

We have had the opportunity to train over 11 Chadian who are in the field working and presently have others who are still in school. God has now given us the opportunity to train men and strengthen the church in other African French speaking nations. Let us pray for this work, for this mission, and for openings to these various fields of work. The field is vast and the laborers are few. The field is in need of human resources, for the Bible says, "How can they hear without a preacher?" 

As we continue with the growth and expansion of work in French Africa, my wife and I, along with the director and wife of the school in Wotutu, traveled to Chad early this month and spent two weeks over there. Our mission was to train the men and women on various aspects of church growth. It was revealed to us last year during our first missionary trip to Chad, that the sisters are in need of support in the way of teaching and training from the church in Cameroon and especially from the sisters in Cameroon. God has been the way. He has granted us the opportunity to travel again to fulfill not only this request but also to get involved in the preacher meetings and to go alongside the Chadian brethren on evangelism campaigns and public preaching. It was requested that we preach and teach in some congregations and strengthen them as a part of our mission. 

The French evangelism mission is on-going. For now, we are revisiting the new assemblies we have planted to strengthen and encourage them so that they will know that they are not alone. We have gone back to Kotto Mission where they are making great improvements. The room they were using has become too small and the aging owner of the apartment wants to use the room for a different purpose. So, we are thinking of getting a separate place for the church, and to provide them with benches and a table for their worship. It is the same with some other recently planted assemblies in other localities. They still worship in people’s parlors. This type of setting is not encouraging growth in these modern days as it distracts many from desiring to attend worship there or to visit the assembly there. 

It is time for us to begin the search for the next batch of students as we prepare our 4th batch to get into the field. The congregations in French Cameroon are fewer in number and smaller in maturity than those in English speaking Cameroon. So, most of the time, we must travel a long way to meet up with prospective students from various congregations like those in the North. We intend therefore to send two of our instructors or graduates at the end of this month to conduct interviews with these prospective students. This is to prepare for and to get ready for the next batch.

Our congregation in Mbanga is also growing in number as we have been meeting with almost 150 worshippers each Sunday. Things change continually with time as we have grown from the 5 members that we started with some years ago. Today we are reaping the fruits of patience and endurance. 

We offer a special greeting from the Mbanga assembly. Our building project is still at hand as we are asking the church to always think on how to meet up with all these needs.

Tirupati students work with their local congregations while on break

Reporting Letter for the month of April-2022

Respected beloved brother Keith Kasarjian  the director of International Biblical Studies, beloved brother Mark Reynolds  the coordinator of Bear Valley Bible Institute and all the prayer partners of Bear Valley Bible Institute , Tirupati-India greetings to you in the matchless name of our lord and Savior Jesus Christ. We pray that this reporting letter may finds you good health. We thank you so much for your prayers and encouragement for the success of the BVBI-extension center in  Tirupati-India. We are happy to report you for the month of April-2022.

Class room work: By the grace of God we had excellent classes in the month of April. We appreciate all the teachers for their hardship. We have completed the books  of 1&2 Thessalonians , Colossians , Hebrews,  1&2  Peter,  Jude and New Testament worship in the month of April.

Baptisms:- in the month of April, 10 souls were baptized. Four of those baptized are people who are visually challenged . We request your prayers for the spiritual growth of these precious news babies in Christ.

All India Leadership Seminar:  God has blessed our All India Leadership Seminar which was held on April-28th &29th , 2022. The theme for the seminar was Back to Basics. We studied the book of Jude and selected these topics: 1. Introduction to the book of Jude, 2. Contending for the faith. 3. The description of false teachers 4. The Historical proof that God will judge the wicked 5. Winning souls, 6.Build up on the holy faith. 7.Pray in Holy spirit.    We are happy to inform you that there were more than 300 people who attended for the seminar and were spiritually strengthened by the word of God. We appreciate the speakers and their dedication to serve the souls by presenting the wonderful lectures.  

Ever since i was graduated from N.B.C , Chennai  i have been in touch with the college.  We have received enough encouragement from the director of N.B.C for the grand success of the “All India Leadership Seminar,” and for that we are thankful to them.

Audio Bibles Distribution:-  We have distributed 30 audio bibles for the visually challenged people in the month of April-2022.

Old students ‘s  filed reports:- We are highly delighted to hear from previous batch students who graduated in 2021. They have been conducting home bible studies, children classes, youth classes and planting  local churches. One of the students Mr.Jaykumar and his wife Ruth  have  been working at  hills and  mountain side areas . They are living  about 700 miles away from the BVBI, Tirupati. They requested 20 bibles so we purchased and sent them by transport service . This family is doing wonderful ministry.

Summer: In India it is summer season, all the schools and colleges don’t operate in the month of May due to the high temperatures. Unfortunately my brother-in-law was affected by a sun stroke last week . After March and April busy classroom work, we have given the students a break in the month of May. All the students will participate in the practical work at their local churches while on “break.” When they return to  the bible college in the month of June they will submit a report on the work they did.  We have appointed our teachers for the follow-up work.

We are thankful to the elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ for their love and commitment to establish BVBI-extension center at Tirupati-India. We sincerely express our gratitude and thanks to our International director and coordinators for their restless follow-up work for the smooth function of our extension center. We request your continual prayers and encouragement.

Thanking you.

Yours brother in Christ 

B.Vijaya Kumar, BVBI-Extension Centre ‘s director from Tirupati-India

Successful campaigns in Tanzania

A.C.S.O.P  Weekly Update

April ,20th . 2022.

We thank our Lord for great things is done  in His Kingdom. I hope you are doing well with the Lord’s work. It’s encouraging to the Lord’s work growing through those are generous and happily serving Him. That is why we have good work that glorifies Him. Colossians 2:5-6 For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. 6 As ye have therefore received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him:

 The ACSOP teaching schedule is going on well, I am teaching “life of Christ4” in English stream, while brother Josephat Masawe is teaching Major prophets and our brother Desidery Masawe teaching 1-3 John. In Swahili stream also teachers are teaching well.

As you may remember the ACSOP is involved to the campaigns which helps to reach more souls as well as to build good relationships with churches. The following is the update from the campaign and follow up done at Meserani church. The Lord's Church at Meserani is progressing well, and we are continuing with plans to ensure that the gospel reaches everyone in the area. We continue with house to house classes especially the classes we started during the campaign held at the end of third month by ACSOP. And in the classes in which, one soul has obeyed the faith and added to the Church, praise and glory to our heavenly God. Also as the Church is preparing for anther campaign 07 to 11 June, so that they can reach more souls to come to the Lord Jesus, please remember to pray for this work.

Much more efforts will be done by the ACSOP to make sure the follow up is done well. Every week we are going to send students and teachers to support this church until the end of the quarter.

We are thankful to the members and school to have this amazing campaign. God willing soon we will plan another one soon to a deferment church. We hope you will join us by your prayers and your support.

Please in your daily prayers remember us and this work,  thank you very much for reading and supporting this work.

In His Work.

Ahimidiwe Kimaro

 Director, Andrew Connally School of Preaching

A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school

Arusha, Tanzania

New Converts Classes Instituted in Togo

March 2022 Report

May the peace and grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be granted to us as long as heaven and earth exist. Everything starts well and ends well.

Evangelism:

Every Friday, according to the program of the Institute, the students fulfill their duties of evangelization and personal study in the houses, streets and workplaces. More often we start evangelizing from house to house from 8:00 am to 4:00 pm. Some people are interested but do not have time immediately and appointments are made and the students use the motorcycles that the school has available to meet the appointments in the whole area of the prefecture. In March, the new congregation in AVOUZEKOME requested the help of the students for the evangelization in the neighborhood for the numerical growth of the church. Bible tracts are distributed in the number of 700 copies during the three (3) Fridays.

Baptisms 

The perseverance pays. The first Friday there had been no baptism. The two following Fridays three (3) persons, a boy (he is an apprentice dressmaker) and the two (2) others are women. The last Sunday the church of AVOUZEKOME was filled visitors (11). The service is done very early in the morning before and ends already at 10:00 am to avoid the sun because it misses the shed.

The strength of following the converts:

It had been noted that some of those who had been baptized in the past were no longer present in the churches where they were converted. The institute has put the students at the church’s disposal to study with the new converts to bring them to maturity in Christ. The students continue by going to study with the baptized at home in the evenings according to the time set by the person. The students are to help the converts know more about Christ and especially to continue to serve Christ when the students are no longer with them (in worship) in a short time. Each student is responsible to follow 5 to 10 new converts so that they become mature Christians. The students for this reason move every day to accomplish this task. The newly planted congregations are assisted by the students which is also their leadership experience.

BVBI:

1- Church History: Cephas

2- Denominational Doctrine: Cephas

3- Jeremiah and Lamentations: Rodrigue

4- 1 Samuel to 2 Kings: AKALO Komlan

5- Proverbs to Songs of Songs: AKLI

6- Isaiah: ATTAH 

7- Logic: ATTAH 

8- Homiletics II. AKOVI Esperance

Its courses will end on May 06, 2022 and students will have two weeks off for rest and resume classes on May 23, 2022.

Saturday classes:

Students in Saturday's classes are beginning to fill out their registration forms for the eighth class of 2023 to 2025. We estimate that this class will have more applicants than past classes. Already other places for the Saturday courses are ready and are only waiting for the word to help start the courses. Togo for Christ is the objective that BVBI - Kpalime pursues.

International : 

One is born to grow, one does not hide a light under a bushel. The influence of the school has gone as far as possible. Our brothers from NIGER, Mali and CONGO, want to join the BVBI School for training. According to the information for which they wish to come to Togo, it is the Doctrine of Christ which is taught and the faithfulness to the respect of the biblical principles.

Evangelism Campaign:

A public evangelism campaign is planned for this month from April 14, 15, 16, and 17 in AMOUSSOUKOPE (3 days).

Enrollment at Bear Valley Bible Institute (8 enrolled 2023-2025):

Concerning the registration forms to follow the training at BVBI in Kpalimé, the brothers of the churches of Christ from foreign countries ask to come and follow the training here with our school, what should I do? What should I do? Send information forms? 

Each time the evangelists of these countries call me to follow up on their requests.

A new one will be implanted in TEMEDJA in April 2022 always to reach our objective.

Your brother in Christ

N. Cephas

Graduation in Visakhapatnam, India

Dear Brethren in Christ, 

I bring greetings from the students, staff and faculty of Visakha Valley Bible College.  By the grace of God we are doing good. First of all we thank you so much for your prayers, certainly the offered prayers are of great encouragement  not only to keep moving forward in training men but also to send out evangelists into the real world ministry.

Brethren, it is so delightful to talk about the great victory that God has blessed us with in continuing the school even in the cruel pandemic which has taken away several of our faithful brethren including our Director Brother M. Samuel Raju. 

The graduation ceremony of the Class of 2022, was a wonderful time of celebration and fellowship. We praise God for blessing us with the presence of our brother Keith Kasarjian, Director of International schools. We appreciate him so much for wanting to be with us, certainly his presence made all the difference.  Our graduates have invited their family members to join in this event of celebration. During this time we have invited local leaders as guests of honor. While they were present we have awarded a certificate of completion to the ladies who finished their course of study of 3 months in the Tailoring Institute that we are running through Visakha Valley Bible School. Those leaders who are not Christians have applauded the charity work we are doing. 

Our special thanks go to Jerry & Paula Bates for their loving contribution to purchase megaphones and bicycles for the graduates. The students were thrilled to receive these gifts of encouragement. Certainly, these gospel tools are going to be of great help to travel and proclaim the word of God. 

Brethren, we shall be breaking for the summer for a month, from the th30 of April. Classes will be resumed from 1st of June with a new Batch of Students for the year 2022-24. As of now we have 11 students enrolled and more have shown interest to come and join for the upcoming batch. Lord willing we shall be having more than 15 students for the upcoming batch.

Once again, we thank you the brethren at Lake Houston Church of Christ, Strickland Church of Christ for their continued trust and confidence in the preaching school work we have committed to do. We are thankful to the Elders of Bear Valley for recognizing our school as one of their international schools. We praise God for their wonderful leadership.

Please convey our greetings to all the brethren whom you worship with. Our special thanks to brother Mark Reynolds, Denny Petrillo, and Keith. God bless you all.

In Christ 

John Dean M

Visakha Valley Bible College.

Lima, Peru has a successful lectureship

Greetings brothers,
It is pleasing for us to share a few lines with the purpose of keeping you updated on the course that the Institute is following in Lima, Peru.

Thank God we have concluded the course on "Christian Ethics" taught by brother Andrés Núñez. This course was presented in April. Another course that is being taught this April is "Apocalypse" by our brother Abraham Alata, and we are about to present the "Homiletics II" course in May as a bonus and closing of the 2022 academic year, and ready to start a new round of courses.

We have three students in a very delicate condition, I am referring to Mariela Ramírez who is receiving chemotherapy due to breast cancer. She is doing very well with her treatment, however, the chemotherapy leaves her very weak after receiving it. Despite this she continues to persist in classes. The other brother is José Medina, a very dedicated brother who is now in very poor health due to kidney failure. He is receiving dialysis and is hospitalized at this time. Please join us in praying for him. There is also Alejandro Berrío who has prostate cancer and he is undergoing medical examinations and waiting to be operated on. Unfortunately, the public health system in the country is very slow waiting for beds to open. Waiting behind a long list of people to be operated on, added to the restrictions and limitations that the pandemic has generated. We ask for your prayers for these three brothers please.

We remain firm with our commitment so that the institute continues with its educational activities. On Saturday, April 15, we had our Annual Conference “The Fulness of Time: The Life, Passion, Death and Resurrection of Christ.” The instructors of the conference were three of the teachers of the institute and one of the students (Juan, Alejandro, Abraham and Andrés), we had an attendance of 48 people including some children. As a result of the conference we had one person baptized into Christ. it was a very uplifting and full of spiritual joy.

Yours in Christ,

Juan Abanto

Liberia school starts farming to extend their resources

INTRODUCTION:

We are very thankful to God for having this opportunity once again to report on the work of BVBI- Liberia during the month of March 2022. Under the divine power of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, everything is going well here in Liberia with everyone involved with the school playing his or her part very well

CLASS ACTIVITIES

All our classes for the month of March were very good and well attended by all the 18 students and the instructors assigned to those classes. Because of the rain that has already started here in Liberia, we are having a little challenge with some of our teachers coming to classes a little late because of their distances, but they make sure to cover the day’s materials and class hours before leaving.

VISITATION AND BAPTISM

The continued day-to-day visitation of our students in the communities in Ganta and their every Sunday visitation at local congregations have resulted in 13 baptisms in the month of March. It is getting challenging for them getting to some of the places they used to easily reach because of the rain. Please continue to keep them in your prayers.

SHORT COURSE TEACHER

Brother Peter Makundu, the director from Sierra Leone was our guest teacher in March. Peter spent 12 days presenting lessons on World Religion. We were truly privileged to have him teach at the school in Liberia because our students here spoke highly of his presentation and patience with them.

FARMING

The economic situation in Liberia is getting very bad with the rise of goods and basic commodities on the market making it difficult to effectively run the school. In this light and as part of our plans to buttress your selfless efforts in providing for the needs of the school and the students, we have resulted to farm this year. To be able to do this very effectively without tempering the hours allocated for Bear Valley courses, our farming will be over the weekend. This decision has met the consent of the staff and students and we all agreed that the farm will help us greatly and the future of the school.

Meanwhile, as we speak, seven (7) plots or lots of land have since been cleared and burned. As part of our students agriculture training and practical demonstration, The students have embarked on laying out the land for planting. We are very sure this will ease the burden on you and will also help us take in more students during our next intake to train more men for the work of our maker. Please keep this effort in your prayers.

GOSPEL CAMPAIGN AND PRAYER REQUEST

As part of our academic requirement at Bear Valley Bible Institute -Liberia, we have planned to carry out another evangelism next month in two towns to restore the Lord’s churches that are dying there. Congregations have been in these areas but one of them is no more because of the passing of the preacher that was there and the other one in another town is facing some doctrinal problems that need serious help. Most of the members of the congregation with these doctrinal issues have left the church and the news we are getting from there is not good at all. The school has been called by some members of the church to come and help restore the church and teach some lessons on the problems. For this, we ask for your prayers for God's will to be done there and for the safety of our team members.

PROFILE OF A STUDENT

Brother Robert G. Toweh, another former denominational preacher who through the radio teaching program became a Christian through water baptism in September 2020 at the Ganta church. He is now the oldest student at Bear Valley Bible Institute- Liberia. Brother Toweh was born on Febrary28, 1952 in Tarppita city, Nimba county. Robert is married with 7 children. 

Robert G. Toweh attended the Living Waters Bible School (A Denominational Bible School) in Kakata and had worked as a Pastor for The Grace Mission Church and for the Christian World Mission church. Brother Toweh worked with the World Health Organization in Nimba county, Liberia from 1976 to 1978. He has also worked with the Fire Stone Harbel Rubber Plantation in Margibi County from 1986 to 1996. When asked how he became a Christian, Brother Robert said, he came to Ganta to visit his relative when he heard the church of Christ preaching on the radio. That lead him to visit the church that faithful Sunday when the invitation was extended to the public. Since his visit, he said he was convinced and wanted to learn more about the truth. After discussing this with his wife and children, he got enrolled at the Bear Valley Bible Institute -Liberia where he is now studying the undiluted words of God. Please keep him in your prayer. He is willing to learn and hopefully like the Apostle Paul will do great work in teaching the denominational church he came from.

CONCLUSION AND APPRECIATION

We remain eternally grateful for the partnership, cooperation, and encouragement for the smooth function of BVBI- Ganta Liberia. We express our gratitude and thanks to the elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ for their great love and compassion toward the work of our savior. We are also thankful to our coordinator Brother Steven Ashcraft for his great encouragement for this educational project to train up young people in Liberia who can teach others also. We are in need of your continued prayers and encouragement.

In Him,

Robert P. Dahn, Jr.

Director- BVBI-L

Ag education seminar in Zambia

March 2022 Report

We are very thankful to God for having this opportunity once again to report concerning the work of BVBI-Zambia during the month of March, 2022.

“Therefore let us be grateful for receiving a Kingdom that cannot be shaken……….”  (Hebrews 12:28)

The month of March, 2022 continued to be very fruitful as far as extending the Kingdom of God is concerned.

I.                Major Activities

A.    Copperbelt churches of Christ women’s meeting at BVBI- Zambia:

We had a privilege to invite women in the Copperbelt church and the meeting went on very well. The meeting is meant to strengthen the working relationship of women in the church. The program has been designed to equip our sisters for effective services and stand up for the truth to fight this kind of insidious nonsense propagated by so many denominations, the detriment of our society and values. Let’s stand together, fight together against this latest attempt of Satan to destroy the Church, It was a one day meeting and calls to continue such meetings have not stopped coming to our Institute.

B.    Restorations:

We have recorded twenty two restorations in six congregations on the Copperbelt province where the institute has reached to preach the gospel, indeed without Christian principles, morals and ethics we have discovered that the church is still at risk and our country is doomed.

C.    Added to the Lord’s body:

It was with much happiness that we saw Sybol Mulenga, Jenipher Mwape and nine others put on Christ in baptism by Gershom Chansa. It is always such a joy to see souls added to His Church. Our prayers are with these young ladies.

Our students have continued to set up more Bible studies in the homes of the Christians around the school. They have also continued with their personal evangelism.

II.              Visitors

We were very happy and encouraged to see Brother Mark Reynolds and Brother Norman Light visit BVBI- Zambia. They arrived in Zambia on 10th March, 2022. They spent two days in the Zambian capital city, Lusaka, conducting a seminar at Lusaka Central Church. They proceeded to Luanshya via Ndola on 13th March, 2022. It was a special treat to the students, as they were taught by these great men of God. They taught a short course on the Book of Romans. Having great knowledge and wisdom they taught this book with clarity such that even when they left, students were still talking about the book. They are excellent teachers indeed! This was their very first time traveling to Zambia. We really enjoyed their visit and we are very grateful to them and to God!

On a sad note:

Jonah Sianga a director at BVBI- Lusaka has lost his wife on 04/04/22. We continue to pray that may God grant them the comfort that the family need and we continue to express our sincere love and sympathy to Jonah and the family.

On the other development;

Dr. Ebenezer Udofia flew in Zambia on 27th March, 2022 from his base in Kenya. He is working with Healing Hands International as the Director of African Agriculture. He held a workshop at school on “Food Security” with primary emphasis on Poultry and Livestock Management. He is indeed an expert in Agriculture. Ebenezer flew back to Kenya on 01/04/22 Friday

We are looking forward to more of his coming back for the same work.

.   

III.           Reports from our alumni

Our alumni have continued to work very hard in bringing people back to the Lord. Hornbye Mupengu is one of the workers involved with World Bible School. He reports that he has done close to 30 follow-ups per month. And he has since set up many Bible studies from these follow-ups.  

As we mentioned in our previous communiqué Clive Kabika is another alumnus of the school who is stationed in Kabwe District of Central Province of Zambia.  He reports that he continues working with a local congregation and he features every week on a local radio station. He presents some lessons about the Church and other related topics.  

Joseph Musonda is also alumnus of the school who continues to put into practice what he learned from BVBI-Zambia. The church where he preaches is small and they are not able to support him. In spite of what is going through, he continues to do what he supposed to do. And that is preaching the word!

Austin Musonda has continued to be active in the Kingdom and has so far converted three souls and has continued to teach in Kitwe district, Austin’s work is highly recommended and needs our support.

IV.           Statement on Covid-19 in Zambia

There have been some successes and some failures, as far as dealing with Covid 19 pandemic is concerned. But the most successful response to Covid 19 has so far been vaccination.  Although some in this part of the world have their own misguided myths on Covid 19, the vaccination intervention has proven to be working. Fewer and fewer people in Zambia are being infected with Covid as a result of such an intervention. We only pray that this development continues even through the coming cold season.

We are eternally grateful for the partnership that we have with all of 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!

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Entering their second year in Uganda

Brethren,

The joy of the house of God is being manifested through what God is taking us through. We are called his children because we belong to the house of faith. I bring you greetings from my house.

We started the 5th quarter, we thank God we asked for protection to all the students during their time in the holidays with their families, God is so good , they all came back to school and are studying very well.

Although some are getting weak but this is physical illnesses. Their strength in studying gave me more joy. I don’t know if its because they are seeing the second years to bring their success, but all in all put us in prayers because its not always easy at the genesis of each and everything.

Pray for our country especially the hike in prices of commodities. Everything this is now high. With prayers, we are very sure for a good answer from God. We pray for you always and the hands that give to make the school run smoothly.

Be blessed

Until all have heard

Raymond

Training preachers in Kumasi

BEAR VALLEY BIBLE INSTITUTE, KUMASI

 FIRST QUARTER REPORT FROM JANUARY - MARCH 2022

INTRODUCTION

To God be the glory great things he has done for ushering us to another beautiful year.  Kumasi campus were privileged to get a wonderful support from the Bear Valley Bible Institute country office in the first quarter for which we are grateful to God for the honor.

ACTIVITIES                                                                  

The campus activities is progressing both numerically and in structure, thus instructors, trainees, administrative and academically.

The campus is blessed with a new instructor, three new trainees and an administrator.

There is a rigorous academic activity of face-to-face lectures, very interactive, per instructor and student impartation standard.

Two (2) courses have been completed, thus, the book of Hebrews and Marriage and Family Life. Mid semester examination and quizzes has been conducted.

Two (2) new courses have started, thus the book of Revelation and 1Corinthians.

There are plans to schedule a make-up class of research and writing for the three (3) new students.

Attendance sheet has been introduced to check punctuality and enablement of credit hours accumulation.

Brother Isaac Agyen a student who helped established Effiduase Sekyere church still continues to visit the young Church and also assist a radio broadcast evangelism by the Accra Road Church.

The Kumasi campus is envisaged to plant a new church at Kentinkrono a suburb of Kumasi in between Saint Louis Senior High School and Ejisu in the upcoming Bear Valley Bible students campaign program.

ACHIEVEMENTS

In our previous report this piece of information below was captured to the head office and we want to affirm that the above office holders are in their various positions working as expected.

The school has been able to engage the services of an administrator to help manage student results, draw suitable academic calendar, prepare budgets and a whole lot of stuffs. The Preacher of KNUST (Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology) Campus Church has been appointed as an instructor. This will go a long way to help the Bible School admit most of the University Students who love to combine Preaching with their course of study at the University. Finally, the introduction of the Research and Writing Course has helped improve the exploration skills in the students.

Another achievement is the acquisition of four (4) standard classroom chairs for the BVBI Kumasi campus with the help of country office.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Our recommendation will rather start with an immense appreciation from Kumasi campus to Bear Valley Bible Institute for the timely support. We are most grateful for the acknowledgement.

It’s our earnest plea that the Kumasi Campus will be considered in every decision of the Institute in order to motivate Instructors and Students as well.

Great work in Ondo State, Nigeria

Report of Bear Valey Bible Institute Weekend School, Ondo State Between February - March 2022.

Calvary greetings to my beloved brothers in the Lord. We blessed the name of the Lord Jesus Christ for His abiding grace and presence upon us all. As a School, we are grateful for the power of God that is keeping us moving at the beginning of the second semester in the history of the School in Ondo State. We also express our thankfulness to Bear Valley Bible Institute, the US for their continuous support in the training of men for the work of ministry. Thank you. Equally, we thanked the Lord Jesus for the visit of Brother Chad Wagner, who is the Coordinator of Bear Valley School in Nigeria who came to the Schools in Ondo State around March 5, 2022. His visit was a blessing to the School. Thank you, brother, Chad Wagner. He visited both schools in Ondo State (Ondo Study Center and Akure Study Center).

Classroom activities: We thank God for the beginning of the second semester in the history of the School with the first course of study handled by Brother Akilapa and Brother Philemon ohaebuka respectively in both centers. Brother Akilapa taught Old Testament History in the Ondo City study center in February while brother Philemon Ohaebuka taught Old Testament Major Prophets at the Akure study center in the same month. In March, brother Philemon came to Ondo study center to teach Old Testament Major Prophets while brother Akilapa went to Akure study center to teach Old Testament History. In March, Nigeria as a country experienced fuel scarcity, which affected classroom activities in the first week of March with few attendances in the Akure study center.

One of the students in the Ondo Study center by name, brother Adewole Adebayo has dropped out from the school program, he has been transferred outside Ondo City, he is finding it difficult to cope with rigorous study every Saturday. He is a Staff Ondo State government. He is a Secondary School Teacher by profession. So, the student body in Ondo city study center is now 10.

Financial Report: As a school, we have received support from January to March 2022. We thank Bear Valley Schools and management for their love and support always. Thank you.

Miscellaneous: We will continue to appreciate the atmosphere the Schools in Ondo State have received so far. We are very glad for everything we have from God through the management of the Bear Valley schools.

Our Spirit as a School in Ondo State is high as the day goes by. We are thankful for the privilege given to be part of history with the Bear Valley schools. Commitment is on the high side by the instructors and the Students. knowledge is gained with thanksgiving, grace is abounding to the glory of God. We truly appreciate your vision and mission and we are keying into them with godly results, Amen.

Fasonu Victor, Coordinator

Bear Valley Bible Weekend School, Ondo State

A great quarter in Abuja!

BVBI-A SUMMARY OF REPORTS FOR DECEMBER - MARCH.

The year 3 of the school winds up with this report, concluding the various plans and activities lined up of the school for the third year.

Students:

The school has an average of Thirty-Three (33) regular students in both centers (Kado 19 & Nyanya 14). A total of eight (8) students were newly admitted into the school (6 for Kado center, while 2 for Nyanya center) for the year.

Courses and Instructors:

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

·       Book of Revelation.                   – Domic Dakup

·       “HOMILETICS II”.                     – Rupert Kukwa

·       WISDON LITERAURE II              – Felix Ekpenyong

·       The Book of Job                        – Felix Ekpenyong

Evangelism Campaigns:

There are three (3) evangelism campaigns in the period under review. A general campaign at Gbessa, Lugbe in conjunction with the Church of Christ, Lugbe, while there are two (2) campaigns by the centers (Dutse Makarantha and Aso B Mararaba).

Baptism(s):

During the general campaign at Gbessa, Lugbe, there were two (2) baptisms. More so, God keep crowning our efforts, many have been called through the gospel we preach as a result of good number of baptisms recorded recently.

Congregational Visitations:

A total of Three (3) congregations were visited, they includes the followings;

·       CoC New Karu

·       CoC Dutse Makarantha

·       CoC Aso B Mararaba

Additional information:

Worthy of note, one of the Nyanya Center students, Bro Madalla Haruna has been given a preaching job with the Church at Auta Balefi as their resident Preacher.

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.

Thanks and God bless.

Marriage and Leadership Seminar held in Lusaka, Zambia

INTRODUCTION

The Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka, wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to our supporting brothers and sisters in the Lord for the establishment of the Bible training school in Lusaka, the capital city of Zambia. In this regard, the college pledges to uphold the mission of the Bear Valley Bible Institute of growing the church of our Lord Jesus Christ spiritually and numerically in Lusaka and Zambia as a whole.

 SCHOOL CALENDAR

Following the lifting up of the suspension of all universities, colleges, and schools by the Government, which were closed due to the increased cases of Covid 19 recorded on daily basis, the Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka, commenced its learning program on January 29, 2022. The courses covered in the first quarter of the year 2022 are:

1.    The History of the Old Testament

2.    The Scheme of Redemption

NUMBER OF STUDENTS

At the moment, the number of regular students attending Saturday classes as of 31st March 2022 was fifteen (15).

Marriage Seminar

The Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka hosted a two-day Marriage and Leadership Seminar which was conducted by Bro. Mark Reynolds and Brother Norman Light on 11 – 12 March 2022.

The seminar was attended by the students and the general church membership from the sister congregations based in Lusaka.

Thank you to the visiting brothers for the seminar presentations and for taking part in the worship service at Central Church of Christ on Sunday, March 13, 2022.

CHURCH PLANTING MISSION

Having been in existence and learning for six months now, the school intends to get into an outreach program by planting and maturing one church this coming Easter holiday (15 – 17 April, 2022).

RECOMMENDATIONS

In order to broaden the scope of research and also by taking advantage of the room space for the library, we request for the assorted biblical materials. This will also help the students with no access to the internet to undertake their research assignments within the premises of the school.

Door-to-Door and Soul-to-Soul Campaign in Arusha

ACSOP REPORTS OF MARCH, 2022 

This month of March is one of the busy months for the ACSOP staff, especially those who serve as instructors in under and post-graduate programs. We had a master’s class (New Testament Theology & Homiletics) on March 7 – 18 which was taught by Jerry Bates. In that class we had 13 students attend while more than 5 missed because of various reasons. 

The first quarter of studies here in ACSOP for undergraduate students is impressive. Our teachers are working harder and harder to impart to these fellows the knowledge of God’s word. They are doing exactly what Paul’s letter to Timothy instructs, "The things which you have heard from me...entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also" (2 Tim. 2:2). The first-year students are showing a great improvement in their studies. Different from the last 3 weeks in which we had some who were struggling to cope with their studies but now the majority of them are catching up.  As we speak now we have a total number of 24 students in that class whom we think are the best men we would like to have in ACSOP because of their great effort in their studies and Christ-like manners.      

 We greatly thank our dearest brother Daniel Gaines for his arrival from the US to Tanzania to teach a short course on Denominational Doctrines, which he did from March 28 through April 1.  Before teaching that short course, he was also able to lead our 13 second-year students in the door-to-door, soul-to-soul evangelism campaign from Monday of 21st March through Friday 25th at the Meserani area in Arusha. Through that effort, the following is the report of what they were able to accomplish. Forty new classes were created, five different topics were taught; 

1.      Authority of the Bible 

2.      Church of Christ 

3.      Salvation (this includes Hearing, Believing, Repentance, Confession, and Baptism)

4.      God’s final judgment. 

5.      Difference between Old Testament and New Testament.

This was of the most successful campaigns because;

1.      Biblical teachings were taught to many.

2.      Tracks were distributed to many people.

3.      Many questions were answered biblically.

4.      The true church (church of Christ) was known to many people. 

Besides the above token, on the 4th of April, the ACSOP will begin the 2nd quarter for both first and second-year classes before they depart for the holiday on May 28 – August 6, 2022. Let’s remember these faithful fellows in our daily prayers, giving thanks to God for the great heart of loving the Lord and for coming here to study the Word so that they can go back to their homes to teach others.

In His Service,

Losotwa Michael

Dean of Academics, Andrew Connally School of Preaching 

A Bear Valley Bible Institute of Denver extension school

Arusha, TZ

Sierra Leone baptisms and more

ACTIVITY OPERATION REPORT FOR FEBRUARY, 2022

Full Time and the Extended Programs

 INTRODUCTION

We bring you brotherly greetings from the Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute, Sierra Leone. We are grateful to God for another opportunity to share our report with you, our esteemed and dearly beloved brethren. We are hopeful that you are doing well and may this report find you flourishing in the Lord. As we continue to be engaged in working for the Master, the month of February was a favorable one to us, for the Lord enabled us to carry out the following activities: Conversion of souls, restoration of some erring brethren, the continuation of academics, and the acquisition of some needful items. Please read further for the details. 

WEEKEND EVANGELISM AND CONVERSION OF SOULS

The Lord crowned our combined efforts (staff and students actively taking part in the evangelism exercise) in the past month of February 2022 so that we had 10 conversions and 12 restorations, both in and out of Kenema. The director and the Dean of Students journeyed to three Alumni and restored five brethren and converted five souls. We solicit your prayers as you have always done for those brethren. 

CONTINUATION OF ACADEMICS

We are glad to inform you that our two programs (Full time and Extended) are going well. As we informed you in our last January report, we have 36 students altogether: 20 in the full-time program and 16 in the extended program. The students are glad to be part of the Bear Valley experience. We praise God for His love for us all and for extending His goodness to us here in Sierra Leone. 

ACQUISITION OF STUDENT ITEMS

Some months ago, when we had the dire desire to commence our extended program, we shared our desire with Bear Valley through our God-loving coordinator, Brother Steve Ashcraft. There was a need for two canopies, chairs, tables, a whiteboard and stand, and Bibles (including full-time students). We want to happily inform you, our donors and supporters, that we have acquired all of them and they are so helpful. The students are happy and are learning and taking their classes happily.

APPRECIATION

We are grateful to God for His providence as men and women continue to be trained to rightly divide the word of truth and to bring many to Christ. We secondly appreciate you, our supporters, our coordinator, Steven Ashcraft, our African Director of International Studies, beloved brother Keith, our assistant regional coordinator, beloved Robert Dahn, and our brethren who are praying for us at all times. May God reward you favorably for all your kindness toward us. 

OUR CHALLENGES

A.   Islamic Influence: As it is a known fact that Sierra Leone as a country is about 80% Islamic. It is a great challenge to evangelize in such a country. Islam has spread to almost every remote village in Sierra Leone and some of those Muslims are so fanatical religiously. Therefore brethren, please continue to pray for us as we do our best to preach this Gospel in this Islam-dominated country. 

B.   Transportation: We are facing a very serious challenge with transportation especially when we want to go for campaigns. Sometimes to get a bus that conveys all our students to our destinations can be very difficult as some drivers here prefer to go where the road is fine and smoother. Sometimes, we arrive at our places of campaigns late at night because we do not get the bus on time. Again, some drivers run beyond the limit and when you caution them, they will tell you in our vernacular language that, “Padi, ar want go drop wuna quick make ar go look for other passengers,” which literally means, “My friend, I want to drive you quickly to your destination so that I can go in search of other passengers,” and as many accidents happen on our roads here, this is very risky. But if we had our own bus, we could tell our driver to drive with caution; we could go to any destination we want especially where there is a need for many to hear the Gospel and be saved. The transportation cost is as well so high and mostly we have been managing the resources to embark on the campaigns. 

C.   Library:  The lack of a library has been a great challenge to our students also as 99% of our students do not have access to browsing phones where they could go online to search for materials. Sometimes instructors find it difficult to give some assignments to the students because there is no library where they could be referred to so they could go and read. Since one of the objectives of our Kenema Bear Valley Bible Institute is to offer to our students scholarly materials in order to break the barrier of ignorance and to equip them to also teach others, there is a need for us to get a well-equipped library. 

CONCLUSION

Brethren, we remain appreciative to you. Thank you for loving the Lord. Thank you for your kindness. The lives you are changing in Sierra Leone here through your prayers, financial support, guidance, and direction, are all duly acknowledged, and may the Lord bless you richly.

Zimbabwe school busy with teaching and vocational training

MARCH 2022 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

Training, equipping and moulding of would be preachers takes a lot of effort. It is like building a house where one brick is laid on top of another till the superstructure is complete. BVBIZ continues to take these stages seriously. At the end of each month, we look back and thank God for the progress that would have made in terms of the building blocks. This report is a capsule of the effort BVBIZ is putting in making a difference in the church and in the lives of individuals and families. Together with you, so much more can be done. 

1.0 TERM ENDS

Another term came to an end on the 31st of March. Great appreciation to both the teachers and students for the effort they put in to make the term a success. The following subjects were taught successfully in the term (December-March); African Traditional Religion, Romans, Church Growth, Advanced Hermeneutics, Major Prophets, Greek, Hebrews, Biblical Counseling (including HIV & Covid Care & Counseling), Sign Language, Pastoral Epistles and James. For the month of March we give a special report on the following;

1.1 Discipleship

Discipleship making is a major issue in the Church Growth class. BVBIZ was pleased to have brother Auswich Mashaba of the Gospel Chariot Mission from the 2nd-6th of March who to teach and fine-tune the students in this area. A good job was done and students were left at another level.  The program was opened to nearby preachers as well. 

1.2 Donnie Estep Visit

The school was blessed to have Donnie Estep from the 6th to the 12th of March. He taught the book of Romans.  He went beyond the school’s expectation in imparting knowledge to the students. The school remains grateful for his visit. His visits and lessons are always a blessing to both the students and teachers. 

2.0 UPDATE ON THE PARALLEL PROGRAM

Students who started their parallel program in September 2021 have completed their first semester subjects as well. Their next semester began on the 20th of March. The following subjects were done and completed in the first semester; How We Got the Bible, Personal Evangelism 1 & 2, Denominational Doctrines, 1 & 2 Peter and Jude, Public Speaking, New Testament Church, Galatians, Scheme of Redemption and Life of Christ (in progress). Besides weekend and online classes, the class will be in Gweru from the 14th to the 23rd of April for a block as they do during every school break.. 

The September 2018 class which is due to graduate this year on the 29th of October is going on supervised attachment program on the 1st of April. These students are going to be attached as follows;

Tonderai Kafile                  Chiware Church of Christ                   Rusape

Isaac Chipendo                  Ziko Church of Christ                         Seke

Simbarashe Chitanda         Hatcliff Church of Christ                    Harare

Method Moyo                    Highfield Church of Christ                 Harare

Kudakwashe Simemeza     Highfield Church of Christ                 Harare

Charles Mugadza               Chitungiza Church of Christ               Chitungiwza

Tawanda Tinofa                 Chitungwiza Church of Christ            Chitungwiza

Edson Julius                       Chivero Church of Christ                    Mhondoro

3.0 NEXT TERM CURRICULUM

A new term is set to begin on the 1st of April. The following subjects are going to be taught; Minor Prophets, Geography of the Bible, Revelation, Elementary Hebrew, Christian Evaluation of Contemporary Ethics, The Preacher’s Life and Work, Foundation of Missions, Great Bible Doctrines, Church Administration and Governance and Chaplaincy Studies (seminar). Survival skills will continue to be taught as the term progresses. 

Those on the parallel (extension) program will be doing the following subjects in the next six months (minimum); Acts of the Apostles, Hermeneutics I, Romans, Homiletics, The Pentateuch, OT History (Joshua-Esther), Godhead, Entrepreneurship Skills Development 1 and Sign Language. 

4.0 INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT

In terms of infrastructure development, progress was registered in terms of the teacher’s house, a traffic circle and fowl runs.

4.1  TEACHER’S HOUSE

The teacher’s house has been partially completed. Since January 2022, the following has been done; Roof installation, beam filling and plastering (of inner wall), fixing of a rough floor, electrical tubing and wiring, inserting of window frames and doors, plumping, rhino set skimming, fixing of 2 exterior metal doors and digging of a septic tank.

The following are the outstanding issues;, glazing, fixing of interior doors (5 are already available), construction of the septic tank, installation of a solar system. The priority is on the septic tank and solar system. The structure can be occupied when these two have been fixed whilst other issues will be dealt with later as we progress. 

4.2 TRAFFIC CIRCLE

Taking advantage of the presence of builders who were working on the teacher’s house, a traffic circle was partially constructed using stones. This is part and parcel of the landscaping agenda using locally available materials. The circle is intended to enhance the outlook of the site.

4.3 FOWL RUNS

Two fowl runs which were constructed by the students, being led by their instructor, Ishmael Mutichu, had been left uncompleted since last year. The structures were plastered and roofed by the builders. This means that we now have 5 good fowl runs (of which one is currently being used to house goats). These can house an average of 1000 broilers put together. 

5.0 PROJECTS

BVBIZ is on a drive to have viable projects. The following are the objectives which BVBIZ is pursuing to achieve;

• To provide more revenue for the school and ultimately leading to its development.

• To equip students and ultimately the community with life survival skills 

• To instill an attitude of self-reliance and unyoke the yoke of dependence within students that seemingly remains the major enemy towards development.

• To equip those who graduate with technical skills so as to further help and teach the congregants the same survival skills.

• To help BVBI-Z produce some food locally thereby reducing costs associated with food for students

5.1 BROILER PROJECT

The broiler project continues to move on well. Students who have been keeping the broilers on a rotational basis have continued to increase their skills in this area. From January till March, a profit of $832.12 was made from the project.  After successfully taking care of the broilers, students treated themselves to some braai (barbeque). 

5.2 LAYERS PROJECT

One project that has been on the school’s radar for a long time is the Layer’s project. The Finance and Sustainability committee within the Board of Trustees has come up with a plan of mobilizing funds towards this project. Their target is to have a minimum of 300 birds with each bird costing an average of $10 at point of lay.

6.0 EVANGELISM

Evangelism slowly picked up in the month of March. The following congregations were serviced by students in the month; Lincoln (formerly Lot 64), Plasworth, Redcliff, Julena and Kwekwe. Great appreciation to the congregations at Lincoln, Julena, Plasworth and Kwekwe for providing accommodation and food to our students whenever they go for weekend evangelism (Friday-Sunday). . 

CONCLUSION

At the end of each month, we look back and see the hand of God in the many and various activities at BVBIZ. Moral support from many far and wide has been awesome. To our sponsors and all donors, your work is greatly recognized. The Board of Trustees has been wonderful. Both teachers and students have been putting in their best. To God be the glory.