Cape Coast School in Ghana continues class work

Second quarter report from Cape Coast School

Bear valley Cape Coast started running from the second week of February, 2022. With support from our coordinator, Bro Kojo, the school has been doing very well for the last five months. The second quarter report sheds more light on our activities over the months under review.

By the divine grace of God, the Cape Coast study center has been operating for the past five months now. The school has been operating with a student population of 24, however we are now blessed to have a total of 25 students as of the end our last meeting in June.

Supply of resources

Our benefactors have come to our aid within the period and we now have a full compliment of classroom furniture. We also have an accommodation facility to house our students who come from distant places with the supply of 15 mattresses for them. Other items such as printer, water dispenser and stationary supplies are fully in place now to support the running of the program.

Courses

By the end of June, the following courses have been successfully completed. They are: How we got the Bible, Hermeneutics, Cost of Discipleship, and Personal Evangelism. We are currently studying the Book of Acts.

Visits

We were privileged to have received and hosted our international coordinator and director, Bro Keith Kasarjian. He came in the company of Bro Kojo Acquah, the Ghana coordinator. We had some fruitful and brotherly interactions. 

Bro Keith stayed overnight and preached at the host church the following day. It was an amazing moment for the church listening to a different perspective of the gospel message.

Ibadan, Nigeria school goes into the field

JUNE 2022 FIELD REPORT

Praise Him! Praise Him! Jesus, our blessed Redeemer! Sing, O Earth, His wonderful love proclaim!......

Doug Wheeler Events Center in Butubutu Village was full of noise joy unto the Lord for bringing us to the end of fourth semester in spite of some challenges created by the state of things in our dear country, Nigeria.

JUNE EVANGELISM AND OUTREACH

Both Students and staff of BVBIN and SWSE-IBADAN were very busy in evangelization of eight different centers (Butubutu Village, Jago, Badeku, Ajia, Egbeda, Igbo-Oloyin, Felele-Ibadan and Asejire - Osun State) throughout the weekends of the month of June. We give all adoration and glory unto God for crowning our joint efforts with five conversions (three in Igbo-Oloyin and two in Badeku) and two restorations in Felele-Ibadan.

FOURTH SEMESTER CLASSES CONCLUDED

With God's Grace and the usual cooperation of my fellow servants of God and the students, we were able to complete all classes, tests and projects for the fourth semester lectures on June 24, 2022.

Bro. Isaac Olaniyan handled Life of Christ-4 (Book of John) and Research and Writing-2. Bro. Kayode Eniafe handled Homiletics-2 (Practical), Christian Ethics and Church History. Bro. Adeolu handled Book of Revelation, and Bible Geography. Bro. Israel Tajomavwo handled Pastoral Epistles (1&2 Timothy and Titus) and Fundamentals of the faith (Elementary). Bro. Makinde John handled Islamic Religion and Elementary Greek. Bro. Oladokun Samuel handled Church Growth 1&2; while I (Bro. Makinde Ebens) handled New Testament & Mission, Church Leadership & Administration and Homiletics-3 (Advanced)

FINAL TEACHING PRACTICE COMMENCED:

All our students embarked on the final practicum (Teaching Practice) on June 25 through August 7,2022, Lord willing, to eight States of the Federation of Nigeria.

Bro. Adeyemo Olusegun is now serving at church of Christ, Itori- Ogun State; Bro. Asang Abel is serving at church of Christ, Ajao Estate, Lagos State; Bro. Haliru Danjuma Iliya and Bro. Dada Sunday are now serving at Elepete Villa, Ibeju-Lekki, Baba Adisa Bus stop, Epe, Lagos State; Bro. Ogor Joseph and Bro. Agbara Oluwa Mamuwomi are with Omu-Aran congregation in Kwara State; Bro. James Isah are now serving in the Lord church at Egbe, Kogi State; Bro. Okesami Stephen and Bro. Princewill Simon are now serving in Aramoko Ekiti congregation, Ekiti State; Bro. Harry Chukwu Ifeanyi now with Igbo-Oloyin congregation in Ibadan, Oyo State; Bro. Imbia Maxfield Elangwe now with Mile-12.5 , Lagos State ; Bro. Ajani Samuel is now serving in Olorombo congregation, Ogun State; Bro. Oviri-Ogene Careson is now serving in Sapele, Delta State ; while others return to their congregations in Ogun, Ondo , Edo and Ekiti States.

OWO MASSACRE OF JUNE 5,2022:

Following the recent deadly terrorists attack on St. Francis Catholic Church, Owo, Ondo State by Fulani, all Western States Police Command has advised the leadership of religious bodies in the states to beef up security arrangements in various worship centers and schools in the West which has affected our WBSFUW from visiting schools for recruitments of Students for WBS Correspondence Courses.

Nevertheless, we were able to get over 500 correspondence lessons back to WBSTC California, USA.

Please brethren, remember Nigeria in your daily prayers for God’s divine intervention and protection for God's children across the globe most especially in Nigeria.

ABOUT A STUDENT:

Bro. Ajani Samuel Oluwaseyi is one of our year-1- students. Admitted on August 2020. Born in Ogbomoso, Oyo State on July 16, 1997. He attended Ajase/ Jabata Community High School for his secondary school education between 2010 and 2016 and also attended Emmanuel Alayande College of Education Oyo between 2016 and 2019. He became a member of the Lord's Church in Ogbomoso on January 2019. His mission after his training is to go back to Ogbomoso to plant the Lord's Church in Gambari town via Ogbomoso.

We appreciate you all for your great contribution towards the growth of the Lord's Church in the whole world, most especially in Africa. May the Lord continue to bless our work together is our fervent prayers.

I remain yours in His grace as a servant,

Makinde Ebenezer Olufemi

Harare, Zimbabwe school puts in long hours to accomplish their goals

HARARE EXTENSION – JANUARY TO MAY 2022

INTRODUCTION

The extension program which is meant to cater for the training of men and women who are dedicated to the LORD’S work is making a difference in the life of the church in Zimbabwe. These men and women are mature and very responsible Christians and are serving the LORD in different capacities in their respective congregations. Their commitment and dedication is unmatched as they give themselves to training and learning the Word of God. Surely these men and women love the church thus they heeded to the call of producing more laborers for the LORD.

STUDENTS - SEPTEMBER 2018

Our class of September 2018 is comprised of seven men and they continue to dedicate themselves to their studies and practical attachments. These are:

Chipendo Isaac Chitanda Simbarashe Julius Edson Moyo Method

Simemeza Kudakwashe Tonderai Kafile Tawanda Tinofa

Added to this class is Tawanda Tinofa, who was in the January 2018 class but due to personal commitments he deferred and has now joined this class.

Our weekend class studies continue to proceed well and according to schedule.

Subjects Done

Old Testament Law/Pentateuch Prison Epistles

How We Got the Bible World Religions

Scheme of Redemption Homiletics 1

Personal Evangelism 1 & 2 Hermeneutics 1

Public Speaking Christian Evidence

Life of Christ (Synoptic Gospels) 1 Preacher’s Work and Life

New Testament Church Old Testament History

Galatians Acts of the Apostles

Wisdom Literature Book of John

Godhead Revelation

Romans Ethics

James Church Leadership

Church History, Theology of Missions

Christian Spiritual Formation Biblical Counselling

Denominational Doctrines Research Methods

Homiletics 2 Hermeneutics 2

1, 2 Peter & Jude Major Prophets

Minor Prophets

Still to be done:

1, 2 Corinthians 1, 2 Thessalonians

Marriage and Family Life 1, 2, 3 John

Hebrews 1, 2 Timothy & Titus

Church Administration & Governance African Traditional Religion

Geography of the Bible

CONGREGATIONAL ATTACHMENT

The seven men in the September 2018 class are doing their practicum in different congregations. All the congregations have full time preachers ministering. Since they are employed somewhere we are continually encouraging them to dedicate two days per week for evangelism. They are also being offered opportunities to teach and preach. Dzivaresekwa has also benefitted from these men.

1.     Method Moyo and Kudakwashe Simemeza - Highfield church of Christ

2.     Tonderai Kafile - Chiware church of Christ

3.     Simbarashe Chitanda - Hatcliffe church of Christ

4.     Edson Julius - Chivero church of Christ

5.     Isaac Chipendo - Ziko church of Christ

6.     TawandaTinofa - Chitungwiza church of Christ.STUDENTS - SEPTEMBER 2021

APRIL CLASSES IN GWERU

From the 14th to the 23rd of April 2022 this class took ten days in Gweru. This was a time of face to face classes. There were thirteen hours (7:00 am to 8:00 pm) of learning per day. For the ten days the total hours were about one hundred and thirty (130). Some of the lessons done were Books of Law, Acts of the Apostles, Godhead and Greek 1. Out of the thirteen active students nine attended and those who did not attend made up for the lost time during weekends. Instructors had to endure long hours so that they catch up with others.

Again I would like to extend my sincere gratitude to Matthew Muchingami, the Director of BVBIZ Gweru and Ishmael Mutichu for helping in the teaching and committing their time, effort and knowledge to this cause.

We hope to have another ten day long learning period in August 2022. This will be in addition to our weekend classes and online lessons.

FUTURE PLANS

We hope to have ten days of continuous in-class learning in Gweru in August 2022. We are still to agree with the students on the dates.

 APPRECIATION

We are so grateful to Bear Valley Bible Institute International for being partners with us in equipping dedicated men and women for the soul saving mission. To brothers Keith Kasarjian and Donnie Estep, we are so thankful for working closely with us. Thank you brothers. May God bless you all.

APPEAL FOR PRAYERS

Zimbabwe has not been stable for a very long time and life has not been easy for us ordinary citizens. The political landscape and environment is too toxic and the economical environment is spiraling out of control. Prices of basic goods are rising and fuel is costing between 5c to 10c more every week. Just like today, people will wake up to another 5c increase on petrol and diesel. This will again prompt another round of increments on basic commodities. Brethren, yes I agree things are getting hard worldwide, but our situation is now worse. We have been in hardships and poverty before and the current wave of doubled challenges will hit us hard and more.

We appeal for your prayers for the church, preachers, and our nation. May God help us.

CONCLUSION

We continue to commit ourselves to the cause of the Cross and we appeal for your prayers for the work we are doing.

Tirupati students do local work in their villages

Reporting Letter for the month of May-2022

Greetings to you and all the prayer partners. We convey our greetings and express our gratitude and thanks to the Elders of Bear Valley Church of Christ for their love and commitment to serve the Indian souls concerning the spiritual educational program which helps for eternal life and also lead the best and happiest life on this earthly planet. In fact, the BVBI is a wonderful project. We treat it as it is the blessed platform to educate young people in India. We are grateful to Mr.Keith Kasarjian and Mr.Mark Reynolds for their great love and restless efforts which they invest for the smooth function of BVBI extension centre at Tirupati, India. 

In the month of May we had a break for our BVBI extension center due to heat. We sent all our students and staff members for field work. We conducted home bible studies, children classes, youth classes, ladies classes, personal bible studies , open gospel meetings  and leadership classes.  We also visited the sick who are in the hospitals. Most of the families conduct marriages during this summer season. We would like to mention a few programs that we have done in the month of May-2022.

On May 4th we travelled about 300 miles (to and from) and visited our church member Mr.Moses  at Appollo hospital. Nellore visited this family . This is not only our church member but also my brother-in-law (my sister’s husband). Unfortunately he passed away this week on Tuesday and we conducted the funeral on Wednesday. Please pray for this family. His three sons and Mrs. Moses  are good encouragers for our BVBI-Tirupati city.

On may 7, 2022 we conducted an evening gospel meeting at Vidyanagar, Nellore-Dt, A.P state. About 100 people were gathered for the meeting. My older brother Ezra ‘s family has sponsored this meeting expenses. 

On May 11, 2022 we travelled to the leprosy colony and collected about 50 children and conducted a children’s class. One family from Rajamandry church of Christ has visited our BVBI. This family has joined with us to visit the leper colony. They encouraged all the children and taught good lessons for the children.

On may 13th we have solemnized a marriage for our church member Mr.Lokesh. There were more than 600 people who attended the marriage and heard the word of God.

On May 17th, it was the anniversary of my brother-in-law’s death (in 2021 he died with Covid-19). The family members have sponsored the gospel meeting at Poolathota-Village , Nellore-Dt, Andhra Pradersh. About 200 people gathered and the entire village heard the good news by the sound system. A couple of months back we planted the local church there. Please pray for this village congregation. Lord willing a church building will be constructed in this village.

Church building at Jangalapalli-Village: This is our native village. My brother Elisha is the gospel preacher in that village,  we are thankful to Mr. Mark Reynolds for visiting this village in his 2022  January Indian mission trip. By the grace of God, the church building roof work has been completed in this village, and the people started to use this building. It is our plan to do  campaign work in this village by the involvement of the  students and staff members of our BVBI. We would like to distribute gospel tracts and New Testaments. We wish to distribute in the day time and conduct  the gospel meeting in the evening. It is my desire and prayer so  that God may help us to reach gospel to each door in my native village.

We once again thank you so much for your prayers and support for the BVBI-Tirupati-India. We love you and sincerely appreciate your love for the educational program which is close to our heart. We request your continual prayers for the students and teaching staff and non-teaching staff.

Thanking you.

Yours brother in Christ

Vijay& family from BVBI-extension centre-Tirupati-India.

Classes resume in Peru

Our cordial greetings, dear colleagues, friends and brothers. The BVBI - Peru has restarted its instruction program! The courses on Homiletics (May by Juan Abanto) and The Origin of the Bible (this month of June) have been taught. We have 4 students and with the possibility of adding two more for next Saturday, the flexibility of our program is allowing new students to be added and we are confident that more and more students will continue to be added.

In a special way we would like to share the last 5 baptisms that have taken place in the Church of Christ in Villa Alejandro (a congregation where three of our instructors, including myself, and one of our students are actively participating in evangelistic work).

The presence of the Institute in the Villa Alejandro congregation is proving to be a great blessing.

May our merciful God continue to bless your respective ministries, we beg your prayers for us.

Juan Abanto

Students evangelize in Malawi

Ekwendeni – Malawi

May, 2022 Report

 Introduction 

It is always exciting to share the good news from the Bear Valley School. As we all are aware our brand is to train men to be faithful preachers of the gospel – 2 Timothy 2:2. We are happy to share with you the news that we have received from our students as they have gone to their home congregations to do the practical work of preaching and teaching the word! They will be out until the end of 16 weeks. This period of time will also help us get everything ready before their graduation on the 15th of October, 2022.

The good news has reached us that already in a period of less than a month19 baptisms have been done and 4 souls restored. We are hoping for more good news to share soon! 

Preaching and Teaching

As far as teaching is concerned at our Bear Valley Bible Institute – Ekwendeni, all the teachings are completed except one course which will be completed by Brother Donnie in early October before the graduation. This made us use the opportunity well as we have sent the students back to their homes to do the preaching and conduct the lectureships as we teachers will be making sure the preparation for the next bunch of students is ready and also the construction of toilets, shower rooms, and kitchens are completed before October. So far so good, in less than a month, the students are sending us good reports about what they are doing in their homes. We have received news from Pharombe, Mozambique where one student is from. This brother Shadreck has reported that he organized a preaching campaign and 4 souls were added to Christ. We also received a report from Brother Mateyo in Kasungu central Malawi, he preached door to door at the end of May and 8 souls obeyed the gospel. It has really been a good time for our students. 

We also had good news from Brothers Takesure Nkhoma and Abishai Makwakwa that they helped 7 souls get saved. This is good news that only in the month of May, 19 souls have been added to the church! We give glory to God!

The construction work of the hostel is completed!

We are excited to report that the construction work has reached the ending point. We have painted it and soon solar power will be installed. 

Construction of the toilets has started

As the excitement has filled the atmosphere, we can’t proceed without toilets, shower rooms and kitchen. We are now also happy to report that the toilets are under construction and after that we expect the kitchen done then shower rooms. We hope that before October all these structures will be completed.

We thank God for everything, and mainly for all those who make this possible through support and many prayers. May the Mighty God continue blessing your families as you Think Souls!

As it is rightly said “Until all have heard”!

Ephron and Clergynton.

Uganda students evangelize during their break

Greetings brethren in the dear name of our Lord Jesus Christ. 

With great joy, I am happy to let you know that we were able to be home for a few days for a break. The students are now back in class, and the classes are going on very well and smoothly. We are still waiting for Mumbere Chris who got sick upon arriving home.  I called him and he affirmed that the improvement is there so he is likely to report back to school today.

Brethren the situation continues to be more difficult when it comes to the hike in commodities.  Fuel is just taking us in a different direction hence affecting everything. 

We will be having a week of open-air campaign and door-to-door knocking this coming week around the school community and on small trading centers around the school. Please help us by praying for success.

While we were home we visited a newly planted congregation. We planned a gospel campaign and after two days so far, six souls have been added to the Lord’s church. We were asked to join them in evangelism at the school, but it was not possible hence the students had limited time for holidays and we also had arranged our own campaigns around the school. 

On another note, to make the church stronger, I hope to begin youth camps to help young men and women grow stronger in the faith, learning from our lord Jesus and also from the mature members of the church.  I would ask if the opportunity is there for our brothers and sisters who have experience in this to come in and help us establish this noble venture.

Pray for the school and the zeal our students are having.  They asked not to have too much time in the holidays because they too much time of resting during the corona pandemic. That’s why you see the holiday taking just a few days rather than the weeks we have been having. 

Together with you, we will accomplish a lot.

Be blessed in the lord 

Until all have heard of 

Raymond 

Mombassa school continues their courses

Dear Brethren,

We hope that you are fine in the Lord. We are glad to get this opportunity to write to you again, trusting God for your faithfulness and health. We in Mombasa are fine, and we continue trusting God for His grace. We continue abiding in God's love and power, asking for His wisdom each day.

We have 10 students who are with us and are continuing their studies each day. We pray that they may continue in the same Spirit to the Glory of God.

So far we have had one baptism as the students keep on doing personal evangelism. We have also organized a few gospel seminars where we locals are invited for teaching. It is picking slowly and we hope that it will bear fruit.

We at Bear Valley Mombasa do not have short causes since the school operates on a Saturday basis because most of the students are working on the weekdays. Lessons are ongoing every Saturday and take 8hours, in spite of having a few challenges.

The school has three teachers who teach different classes on a monthly basis. The teachers at Bear Valley Mombasa who have been teaching classes are:

a. Francis Ojow Adala

b. Paul Karisa Yeri

c. John Kimani.

Francis and Paul are the local directors of the Bear Valley Mombasa. Paul has just concluded his lessons on Church History, and Francis is stepping in for another lesson (Prison Epistles) so as to conclude this quarter successfully.

We thank God for His continued guidance , and believe that He will continue working with us. We also thank you for your continual support, both in material and in prayer.

There's a 6th wave of corona virus currently in the country, and we are taking every precaution as per the government directive. We're hoping that everything will be under control.

Blessings to you all and thank you.

Yours sincerely,

Francis and Paul

Gain and loss in Cameroon

Dearest in Christ,

Greetings from Cameroon and in Wotutu to be precise. I hope things are good with you as we pray daily. We are doing good, and we thank God for the grace and energy given to us to do what is entrusted in our hands.

Last week in Bear Valley was hectic as we were taking a short course in the Gospel of John while my wife was busy with the student preacher’s wives, teaching them during this end of quarter study period for the women’s program.

 As I type this report, all of our students are in the mission field in different locations far and near through muddy roads and fear of the unknown. The gospel calls, and our students and staff are answering it. I was teaching the gospel of John. It is a very interesting book to study as a short course. It was great, as we all continue to learn from the book.

 On the other hand, inside our worship hall, my wife was busy teaching the students’ wives on, “LESSON PREPARATIONS AND DELIVERY,” AND ALSO “THE ROLE OF A PREACHER’S WIFE IN A LOCAL CONGREGATION.” It was very rich, for the future of the church.

We lost a minister of the gospel that graduated from Bear Valley Bible Institute Wotutu. Minister Nguty Victor graduated in the class of 2016 and was doing very well in his home congregation of Nguty Town. The church in Nguty has lost a great man who was described as a bulldozer in the church around his area. That vacuum is there, and we pray that God will help us to fill the gap.

 The entire Bear Valley family in Cameroon came out in their numbers to bid him farewell. A very large number of our graduates and others, assembled to celebrate the life of minister Nguty Victor. Please pray for the widow and her children. I was given the opportunity during the funeral program to speak on testimonies, I cried out about how much minister Nguty loved the church.

APPRECIATIONS

Thanks very much for all you are doing for the work here. Please pray for the work we did in Tchad as the news that is getting to us shows that more beautiful things are still happening there. Make a great day.

Elangwe and family

By the grace of God, director BVBIC-Wotutu

Lusaka school broadens their influence

INTRODUCTION

The Bear Valley Bible Institute – Lusaka, wishes to express its heartfelt gratitude to the supporting brothers and sisters in Lord for the establishment of the Bible training school in 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

The courses listed for the first year of our academic calendar which commenced on October 2, 2021, are:

YEAR ONE (1) OCTOBER 2021 – SEPTEMBER 2022

October: How we Got the Bible

November: Research and Writing

December: The Torah (Genesis)

February: Christian Ethics

March: Scheme of Redemption

April: Old Testament History (Joshua – Esther)

May: Christian Evidences

June/July: The Gospels (Life of Jesus: Matthew – Luke)

August: Life of Jesus: John

September: Book of Acts

EVANGELISM PROGRAMS

Having been in existence and learning for nine months now, the school undertook an outreach program at Maloni Church of Christ located on the western side of Lusaka’s Central Business District on Saturday, May 7, 2022. Twelve students took part in the exercise and were accompanied by John Vwalika, the Instructor.

The outcome was that the gospel was preached to the surrounding communities of the congregation and many of the members who had stopped congregating were also visited and were restored to the fellowship of the brethren. However, no baptism was recorded.

THE GOSPEL CRUSADE

The Lusaka Central Church of Christ will hold a Gospel Crusade that will take place at one of the surrounding communities of the congregation from June 14 – 19, 2022. The key foot-soldiers at the same crusade will be the students. A detailed report on the outcome of this activity will be submitted to you later.

We always thank you for your continued support.

New programs in Zimbabwe

MAY 2022 NARRATIVE REPORT

INTRODUCTION

The month of May was quite eventful. Lessons continued, evangelism was done, life survival skills agenda remains on course, BVBIZ structures continue to grow and  new students arrived on ground. These and many more activities are reported hereunder.

1.0 TERM ENDS

The school’s 2020-2022 class finished its last term on the 3rd of June. The student will be doing their second practicum in various areas and will come back for graduation at the end of October. The following subjects were done successfully this done; Elementary Hebrew, Revelation, Preacher’s life and Work, Church Administration and Governance, Education in the Local Church, Foundation of Missions,  Minor Prophets, Geography of the Bible and Christian Evaluation of Contemporary Ethics.

2.0 SCHOOL VISITS

BVBIZ was blessed to have one of the longest serving and experienced preacher, Alexander Banza on the 24th of May. Besides touring the school, he had time to share words of wisdom with students as they prepare for the ministry. The visit was worth it as students were left at another level.

3.0 FIELD PROGRAM

3.1 Full Time Class

The school’s full time class shall commence its field program on the 5th of June. This is the second after the one they did in 2021. The class will be camped at Shurugwi from the 5th -15th of June. The intention there will be to establish a congregation in this town. The town does not have a congregation of the Lord. They will be joined in the effort by some experienced preachers.

The students will then disperse to their various camps where they will do their practical till the 15th of August. From the 15th of August they shall be shifted to other congregations where they will work till the 20th of October. Students will be distributed as follows in the first round;

Place/Congregation          Province                                            Students

Shurugwi                               Midlands                           Samandra and Michael Kasimu

Derembwe                           Manicaland                       Thabani Dhlamini and Eric Marufu

Mbembesi                            Matebeleland                  Bongani Sithole

Manyame                            Chitungwiza                      Thomas Musongora and Christopher Mutambirwa

Nhedziwa                             Manicaland                         Remember and Melody Mhlanga

Mupudzi                              Manicaland                          Tinashe Moyana

Mutawatawa                      Mashonaland East         Carlos Chandipa and Blessed Marufu

4.0 AMBASSADORS

BVBIZ has added another wing to its structures. This is the ambassadors’ wing. There is an ambassador in each province. Some of these were in the school from the 6th-7th of May. This visit was worth it and a conference for these ambassadors shall be held once every year.

Simangaliso Jamela                     Matebeleland South

Nyasha Mukondwa                      Harare

Godwin Marandure                      Chitungwiza

Charles Jokonya                           Mashonaland East

Tinashe Mazhambe                                     Mashonaland East

Tawanda Chimedza                      Manicaland

Peter Madondo                             Manicaland

Mtokozisi Sibanda                        Bulawayo

Nqobani Ndlovu                            Bulawayo

Dzingai Mugova                             Masvingo

George Muhura                           Mashonaland West

Lovemore Manyanhaire              Mashonaland Central

Ovius Kufa                                      Midlands

5.0 NEW INTAKE

A new intake that began with 10 students arrived on the 15th of May and commenced their studies.  3 did not turn up on the day. The school will therefore leave the doors open for a few weeks for qualified candidates who may want to join the class. The following are the students and origin;

Name                                     Congregation                  Province

Chris Marunga                       Mazowe  COC                Mashonaland Central

Deron Kuwaza                       Dangamvura COC          Manicaland

Hosia Mushaiwa                   Mazambara COC            Masvingo

Getrude  Mushaiwa             Mazambara COC            Masvingo

Mactivish Magadaire            Ngangu COC                    Chimanimani, Manicaland

Munyaradzi Muzoma            First Street                    Marondera, Mashonaland East

Dereen Mulambo                  Ngangu COC                  Chimanimani, Manicaland

Milton Ruredzo                     Morris COC                        Murewa, Mashonaland East

Lascious Kufa                         Nashville COC                Midlands

Chibiku                                    Knowe COC                    Norton, Mashonaland West

Ruvarashe Manyara              Knowe COC                     Norton, Mashonaland West

Perspective Zindoga             Chiware COC                  Rusape, Manicaland

6.0 PROJECTS UPDATE

6.1 HORTICULTURE

Out horticulture efforts are slowly taking shape. The school is self sufficient in terms of its vegetable needs. It is also sufficient in terms of its maize and beans requirements. In May several batches of lettuce were planted including over 10000 plants of onion. Cabbages, other vegetables and more lettuce plants are getting ready on the nursery beds.

6.2 LAYERS PROJECT UPDATE AND EXTENSION OF DATES

Resource mobilization towards the intended layers project moved to another stage as more people came in with contributions. The following amounts have been raised so far;

Makanza family           $30                                  Kanchefu Family                $30

Madanhi Family          $30                                     Kware family                      $20

Ndlovu Family            $10                                       Mazhambe family               $10

Mudhlozera  Family    $20                                       Estep family                        $30

Muchingami Family    $30                                   John Family                       $30

Abraham  family           $10                                    Mukondwa  family             $20

Khata  family                $30                                    Dururu family                     ZWL4700

Raradza Family             $41                                       Mazambani family               $50

From the above figures, US$400 has been raised. This translates to +40 birds. BVBIZ is excited by those who have already done their part as it means the project will be able to see the light of day. The school is now extending, the dates by two more months to allow more time for other families and individuals to come in as well. The target figure is $3000. Your opportunity to partner BVBIZ is still there

7.0 TWO CHALLENGES IN THE MONTH

7.1 Borehole

The school’s borehole drilled by Healing Hands International had a part of its cable burnt. The solar panels are located almost 200m away from it. The school bought a new cable and replaced the burnt section (60metres). Another challenge was identified soon after, pressure is very low. Voltage is being lost along the way. Winter has exposed the challenge which has not been there before. Our electrician has recommended adding one or two more solar panels to it. Over 10000 onions had already planted around the borehole.

CONCLUSION

When all is said and done, we look back and see the hand of God in every fabric of BVBIZ. Great appreciation goes to Woodland Oaks, BVBII, the school Board, students, alumni wing, ambassador’s wing and our supporters far and wide for making BVBIZ what it is now. May God bless you all.

Preaching the gospel in French-speaking Togo

April 2022 Report

I thank the Lord Jesus Christ for having accompanied us throughout the month. May the Almighty grant us all his blessings. Especially that the lord our prayers for the students are doing well as well as the teachers. Most of them are suffering from malaria. Please remember the school in your daily prayer.

 Evangelization on Fridays:

"Bringing salvation to the nations" is a word of Christ to the apostle Paul and for future Christian generations: so it is imperative that all villages and cities, campanes and can hear the message of salvation by the students of BVBI. On Fridays we will go to the villages, houses and workplaces for the spreading of the gospel. For the Friday of the month the evangelization was in the village of YOH at 6 km with 3 baptized young boys.

 Public evangelization:

The Togolese authorities have authorized public gatherings as before the pandemic. It is the first public evangelization campaign with projection of Jesus' films in the public place authorized by the local authorities, on April 14, 15, 16 and 17 in AMOUSSOUKOPE, 3 days of evangelization from house to house and each evening a projection of Jesus' film (the passion of Christ) and the 4th day it is the worship. During the evangelization campaign, 5 people were baptized, including a woman converted from the Assembly of God church. She is a mother of 3 children and her husband works in a company in Lomé.

 Seminar:

Every first Monday of the month, area evangelists meet for 6 hours of study from 8:00 am to 2:00 pm. The topics that are covered are problems that evangelists most often encounter either in evangelism or in the church. The theme is chosen to help evangelists know the will of Christ on the subject: denominations accept and baptize polygamists, and this influences our churches and during house to house evangelism. There are polygamists who want to stay with several wives but are baptized without repentance of the sin of polygamy. To solve this problem, this is the topic we deal with in the seminars every first of the month until all students and evangelists have a detailed knowledge of the subject. The wives of the evangelists are involved in this seminar.

Theme: "The Law of Moses, Jesus, and marriage, divorce and remarriage

Text: Mark 10:3

 Baptisms :

8 souls that the Lord added to the church of Christ in April.

Planting of a church:

A team of students and some evangelists are studying with a group of 4 families in KPELE-KONDA. A couple is baptized and they worship with this family every Sunday.

 Needs:

With the rainy season it is difficult in some places to do the service when it rains. For the new church planted in TEMEDJA, there is a place and also the woods. We need 400.000f (four hundred thousand francs) to make a shed, the assembly counts more than 25 baptized and 10 visitors every Sunday.

BVBI:

1- History of the Church: Cephas

2- Doctrine of Denominations: 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

This course will be completed by the end of April and the next term's courses will start in May.

 Registration for the 8th promotion (2023-2025)

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.

Zambia evangelism

May, 2022

Introduction

 In the past month of May our lives have been over warmed with activities of reaching to our neighbors, different districts, provinces with the gospel of Christ. We are motivated by the language “work for the Night is coming” and especially if you have “a lot of tired” from laboring for our master as he said “ I must work the works  of him  who sent me while it is day, for the night cometh when no man can work” (John 9:4). So we bring greetings to you Brothers and Sisters from Luanshya, Zambia! We are very Grateful to God for according us another time of reporting about the activities of Bear Valley Bible Institute-Zambia.

I.                Major Activities

A.    The current students

We continue to be thankful to our God that the current students are only remaining with less than six months to complete their training at BVBI-Zambia. The current students have not only impressed us in their academics but they have also overwhelmed their local congregations with their improved work in preaching and evangelism. They are indeed excellent students and we have no doubts that they are very exceptional Preachers.

B.    Four days in Luapula district

With Nichorus Mulubwa leading the group, we find out that the church at Chipoka were very divided due to strange doctrine which landed into leaders personal attacks on their fellow Christians. These issues made the congregation to stop assembling for three months, after we received a call we wasted no time and the work in this area was marvelous. We continue to praise Yahweh for the work in Samfya district of Luapula province the church has been revived to worshipping God in spirit and truth.

We also recorded new conversion and restorations as reported under, the work is still ongoing and we are still in touch with the three congregations in that district though we still have a challenge of transportation as seen in the picture we had to ride about 87 kilometers off main road to reach to this village.

C.    Work in Northern province

In Luwingu district of northern Zambia the work is spearheaded by three of our current students evangelism went on well, we are so fortunate to have brothers and sisters in that area who are more than willing to help us do evangelism more effective, the institute don’t have bicycles but they gave us theirs to use as we do the work and this makes up for any difficulties we may encounter while walking, these are farm areas.  

The receptions by residents in these areas are encouraging as seen in the pictures by our students teaching in the village. The zeal for preaching and teaching had impacted the community in a huge way; we want you to know that we appreciate these moments when we become practical of what we learn in class. The church is not that strong in this area but, we are balancing the outward vision of the church by strengthening the inward vision of the already existing members of the Church. We recorded six new converts and three restorations.

D.    Work at Zimba Secondary School in Southern province

The work was spearheaded by Daniel Kapata our current student, the church in this area have not made a great impact on residents and it was a great opportunity for us to have been accorded  time to preach and the harvest was great, four souls responded and nine restorations.

Daniel is a qualified secondary school teacher and we have no doubt that he is going to make a great preacher and teacher after graduation this year. We have attached pictures to this report below.

E.    Revival at church of Christ in Shamabande central province

The evangelism at shamabande was led by Lackson our current student after seven days of doing the work in this area we recorded six baptisms and we continue to pray that we will return some day to do more work in this area by His grace.

Additions to the lord’s church

Janas muwindwa (baptized by his young brother Lackson muwindwa),alex chilufya, Chibwe chilufya, Rodgers Mwila, Kasongo Dickson, Emanuel Ng’andwe ( was converted from Jehovah’s witnesses and had a strong belief in their theology), lewis Bupe. Together we had fourteen (14) who are added and we have just mentioned the few.

May these souls continue to walk with Jesus forever they are wonderful additions to the family of God may you pray for these souls.

Restorations

We have recorded twelve restorations in the month of May. We continue to pray that these souls remain true to our Christian principles.

F.     Recruitment for the New Intake

Time really flies and it is that time again of starting recruiting for 2022-2024. And we have so far started interviewing and vetting some of the prospects students for the next intake. This process is quite laborious and arduous. Many times we are demanded to travel intensively to go and interview these prospective students. And there are places that we need to go and talk to their respective church leaders in person. Other places have very poor communication network and it is extremely difficult to speak to them on the phone. And hence, traveling from one place to another becomes very necessary.

G.    Invitations/Gospel meeting

i.              Lubuto Church of Christ in Ndola district of the Copper belt Province is in the process of replacing one of the shepherds who has shifted to Southern Province of Zambia. Brothers Cephas Mwamba and Fred Kanangu have been invited to go and help in this process. Lessons on Biblical qualifications and duties of elders started on 22nd May, 2022 at Lubuto, Ndola and will continue for the whole month of June.

ii.               We are organizing a gospel meeting to be held in Ndola for four days; this will begin on 1st July to 4th July all our students will be there to participate in this meeting. All the twenty three congregations on the Copperbelt are invited and we believe this is going to be a great gathering. Brother Cephas Mwamba will be preaching on the topic “Acts of denominationalism in the Church”  we had the last meeting with leadership on the Copperbelt and all is set for this meeting.

H.    Condolences

On a sad note- we would like to report that Mike  Kanyangala lost his grandfather, Reuben Museka lost his father and Lacks on Muwindwa (Reuben, Lackson and Reuben are our current students) our hearts are filled with love and sympathy for these brothers and Brother Cephas Mwamba lost his father in Mungwi district of Northern Province of Zambia. He passed away on Saturday, 21st May, 2022.  

Our deepest sympathy goes out to Brother Cephas Mwamba and his family. And we hope and pray that our Brother and the family find peace and comfort during this time of grief.

I.      Conclusion

We continue to be grateful to God for the privilege of helping these men prepare for the wonderful work of preaching. We cannot fulfill this commitment and task without the support of all our partners. 

We are sincerely grateful to all of you and to Woodland Oaks Church of Christ for the financial support you graciously send to the school each month!

God bless you all!

Brotherly,

Cephas and Fred

Lots of activity in Cambodia

A pleasant greeting from Cambodia.

IBISR’s Academy

Piseth Rin, our co-director, has finished his class in the book ‘’LEVITICUS’’. Our co-director, Darat Run, has completed the class ‘’Fundamental of the church II’’.

Joining a Wedding Party

Since early March, most church members went to join Sean and Synam's wedding party, which was celebrated in Srey Snorm District, Siem Reap, Cambodia.  Both Sean (pronounced see-un) and Synam (pronounced see-nime) are graduates of IBISR. The ceremony was performed in a Christian way and the traditional way. Please keep this new Christian couple in your prayers as they will face many difficulties with families to remain faithful, but they continue to worship with our family at Siem Reap.

A Seminar in Phnom Penh

On the 08th of March, which is International Women’s Day, most of us when to join a seminar in Phnom Penh city which was organized by the Best Center. We gained a lot of knowledge from the words of God, especially since we have built an amazing friendship as brethren in Christ.

A Substitute Teaching

Earlier in March, since brother Phanat has a significant task to complete, he asked our teacher named Piseth Rin to replace him in teaching the book of Hebrew through a virtual class (Zoom Cloud Meetings) for E412 Center which is in Battambang province.

This is how we help teach one another, grow in spirit and keep in touch with other Christians as we encourage each other.

Public Holiday (Khmer New Year)

Since Cambodians haven’t celebrated the Khmer New Year for the last two years, and all the students cannot visit their families during this public holiday, the government allowed us to celebrate again this year. We allowed our students to visit their families and relatives during this special occasion. 

Bible Chapel Class

We are so grateful to our coordinator named Wes Autrey and his wife named Teri Autrey for sharing valuable God's words in both female and male classes through virtual meetings every Tuesday and Friday. 

We also have another meeting every Wednesday with our brethren from Phnom Penh, Battambang, and Siem Reap. We rotate each teacher each week. We continue to understand God’s will for all of us through God’s Word presented by different members of the church.  You can see bong Wes’ father Roger Autrey from Garfield, teaching one of these chapels.

Bible Short Course

After Khmer New Year, all of our students and staff went straight to the Bible school to join a class with our coordinator (Wes). Typically, during Khmer New Year we have a two-week break, yet we couldn’t wait to meet and study with him, so we had only one week's break.

In the class, we had a wonderful time and gained knowledge from him regarding our relationship with God.. We all thank and appreciate his visit. Bong Wes also coordinated a series of 4 chapel  lessons from different teachers in the U.S. Each lesson had something to do with our personal relationship with God.  We would then discuss these lessons with bong Wes.  We appreciate;ciate all the men who led us in each study.

Service Work

We continue to help our brothers and sisters in any way we can physically - so that we can also help them in spiritual matters and encouragement.

Asking Prayers

Without your prayers and support, we can't do all of this. Please keep our work and plan in your prayers, especially for our new mothers and newborn babies.

Servant of God,

Darat Run - co-director

Piseth Rin - co-director

Pros Rok - Staff

Students show appreciation for the school in Lesotho

JANUARY-APRIL REPORT 2022

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. The school is still in the right direction of training competent preachers who have the zeal and energy to share Jesus with others. Therefore, as the school marks 36 months of its existence in Lesotho, so far, 3 congregations were established, 38 souls were restored to Christ and 40 souls have obeyed the gospel through baptism. In this reporting period, BVBI Lesotho was fortunate to have two visitors. 4 courses have been taught and one restoration was recorded.

In February the school was fortunate to receive Brother Keith Kasarjian. He met with all the students, and instructors and he motivated and encouraged them with the Word. Indeed, it was a great time for both the students and the instructors. In March, Brother Donnie visited the school and he had an opportunity to go for evangelism in Sekamaneng village. The school is thankful for the impact the visitors had on us and our community. May you visit again brothers.  

The school is glad to inform you that a soul was restored to the church of Christ. The instructors are happy with the progress observed in the students. The following statements are what the students had to say concerning the impact of BVBIL on them:

Moses Tsoene, ‘I am grateful for the positive impact the school has on me, I have been teaching the Zionist church the gospel for a long time, if it was not because of the knowledge I am getting from school I could have quit. The school is preparing me to be a determined and committed servant of God’

Paballo Ramokhele, ‘The school has helped me in such a way that I can be able to teach others the gospel. Many people want to share the gospel but they lack Biblical knowledge. I thank the school’

Thankiso Rahlao, ‘I am a better person than I was before BVBI came to Lesotho. The school has made a great impact on me’

The school is thankful to Brother Donnie Estep who donated money to buy the t-shirts for the students and the instructors. Thank you for the monthly financial support you give us.

Evaneglism and Seminar in Guinea

Introduction

We begin this report with a proverb that says: After the rain comes the weather becomes good. Satan's plan is always to destroy God's work in many ways, but we are also always more than victorious. We are expidient that the information below which make up this report will please you with the good news that enriches in its content.

I-Teaching / Classroom

According to the program schedule, only six (6) days - from the first to the 6th of May 2022 were devoted to the teaching of Bible Geography finished with the evaluation of the students to determine their levels. The results were satisfactory.

II-Evangelism:

The value or importance of this report lies in the result of the evangelism exercise. It is to be known in the activities that follow.

Apart from the door-to-door, personal evangelism and radio gospel broadcast which has now resumed after some technical issues, a special period of seven (7) days was allocated to an evangelistic campaign. That is from May 7 to 13, 2022 in three (3) different prospective areas namely Dakadou, Bandainin, and Koindou. The latter is a new zone, but favorable for our gospel mission.

The combined result of all these evangelistic activities came up to twenty (20) baptisms of which a local assembly was planted through the great contribution of brother Saa Many Koundouno, one of our current students at the Bear Valley school in Gueckedou. The new congregation was established in the sub-préfecture of Koundou Lengo Bengou located some 44 km from the school. Indeed the zone is favorable and we want to mobilize brethren and apply all our efforts to accompany brother Koundouno as he is motivated for the blossoming of the church of Christ to save souls in this new zone.

The following evangelists also participated in the above discussed evangelistic campaign: Saa Robert Kamano, Tamba Emmanuel Kamano, and Antoine Iffono.

III- Bible Seminar

Another important activity that took place during this period of our report was a Bible teaching Seminar that took place at the congregation of Bandalo Bengou. This has been planned as part the framework of the spiritual edification and the fellowship of the members of the Churches of Christ in the Gueckedou area.

Three (3) topics listed below were taught by three (3) evangelists according to the times allocated:

1. The Autonomy of local assemblies: by

Tamba Emmanuel Kamano

2. How to support the church: by

Francis S. Musa

3. The Christian home: by

Niouma 2 Kamano.

The local congregations in the Gueckedou area were invited and the people massively participated in this teaching.

Each session was concluded with pertinent questions and answers and it was such an interesting gathering.

Indeed the program was successful to the glory of God.

IV-Suggestions and Recommendations

Beloved in Christ, brethren of the United States, Australia and other parts of the world, we want you to know once again that the harvest is great in Guinea, but there are few workers. Therefore we ask you in the name of our Lord Jesus to help us spiritually - in prayers for more laborers.

V-Thanks / Appreciations

We, first of all, thank God for his grace which makes us live, and his Spirit which allows us to realize all our projects in Christ.

We also thank the administration of the Bear Valley Bible Institute for their unfailing love to continue God's work in Gueckedou under the coordination of our kind and tireless brother in Christ, Steven Ashcraft.

Amongst others not named here, we wish to thank our beloved brothers in Christ, Ken Stanley and Barry Baggott for their spiritual and moral support in every way in the Lord's work in Guinea.

We also thank Brother Francis Musa for his unwavering love and passion to support God's work in Guinea to the best of his ability.

Finally, we thank all those who contribute in one way or the other to the flourishing of the Lord's church in Guinea.

May God grant us longevity in health and peace in order to do His work.

Amen!

Classes continue in Lagos Island, Nigeria

LAGOS ISLAND/SABO ONIBA CENTER REPORT February - May 2022.

INTRODUCTION: Great is the faithfulness of God to all in His kingdom. The work in Lagos Island is going on well as we have less than two years to graduate the first set of students from this center. 31 courses have been taken and 17 courses remain.

Lagos's new and great development is the successful take-off of the new Study Center in Sabo Oniba covering Mile 2 Badagry areas of Lagos state. This study center will be helping more than 33 congregations to develop Ministers and Bible Teachers. We had our orientation on the 28th of May, 2022. 19 brethren have collected the form while 12 were present during the orientation. Classes will start on the 4th of June with Tim Iwe teaching Research Methodology.  Joseph Okota and Akanimoh Archibong have joined the teaching crew of the work in Lagos. 

ACADEMIC ACTIVITIES: In Lagos Island, the month of May was partly a break and partly a campaign. We worked in Ikota congregation in the Lekki-Aja area. It is a new congregation that some of our students were part of starting in February this year. We also worked with Oluwafemi Adewuyi in his congregation in Shomolu in central Lagos. A soul was brought into the kingdom in these efforts.  

The Discipleship Training Program is impacting many congregations in Nigeria positively. I was involved in the training of ministers and church leaders in WNCC in the month of April. I have also started training members of Ijanikan congregation in Badagry area. Their class will be coming up two times a month. We need your prayers for the success of this work.    

WBS ONLINE STUDY HELPER:

More time was given to online study in WBS program in the passing weeks. 

Active Students: 260

Under Follow Up: 1

Competed Lessons: 4853

Certificates Awarded: 1218

Baptism:  1

CONCLUSION: I want to thank Bro Ebens Makinde, Chad Wagner, and Keith Kasarjian for their encouragement and support in starting the new center in Sabo Oniba. We need your prayers for the success of these works. 

Thanks and God bless you all. 

TIM IWE

Lagos Island/Sabo Oniba Center Director

Ibadan, Nigeria conducts seminar

Grace, peace, and mercy of the Lord be unto you all in Christ’s name.

Here is the report of some of our activities in the Lord in this month of May 2022.

WEEKEND EVANGELISM/ OUTREACH:

The staff and students of BVBIN & SWSE IBADAN participated actively in weekend evangelism and outreach throughout the month of May in Oyo, Ogun, Osun, Lagos, Ekiti, Ondo and Edo States of Nigeria at the congregations the Lord planted through our joint efforts with fellow WBSFUW within and outside the Western States of Nigeria.

The Lord crowned our joint efforts with six conversions and fourteen restorations.

FOURTH SEMESTER CLASSES OF 2021/2022 BEGIN

As scheduled, The BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN begin her 4th Semester Classes on May 2 and will come to an end on June 24, 2022.

The following brethren are the staff for this Semester : Bro. Isaac Olaniyan, Bro. Kayode Eniafe, Bro. Makinde John, Bro. Andrew Adeolu, Bro. Oladokun Samuel, Bro. Israel Tajomavwo, my self (Bro. Makinde Ebens) and our secretary, Sister Oyenuga Esther.

LEADERSHIP SEMINAR IN WNCC ABEOKUTA, OGUN STATE

The BVBIN & SWSE IBADAN was represented by myself and two of our foundation members at this year’s Annual Leadership Seminar in WNCC & SBS ABEOKUTA (West Nigeria Christian College & School of Biblical Studies), Ogun State from May 3 through 6 which centered on Discipleship Training.

REPORT FROM VOTI RECIPIENTS & WBSFUW

Report reaching our office from VOTI recIpients and WBSFUW across the country Nigeria shows how the VOTI booklets aid in the conversions of twelve souls during this month WBS Seminars in Kano, Ondo and Afaha village in Akwa-Ibom State.

ABOUT A STUDENT

Bro. Haliru Danjuma Iliya is one of our second year Students admitted in our ministerial department on January 2021. He is from Kebbi State. Born on April 1999 at Julga Village of Birnin- Kebbi located in Northern part of Nigeria. Once a Pentecost pastor (Assemblies of God Church) before his conversion on January 2021, which led to his decision to be trained as one of the New Testament Evangelists.

CONCLUSION:

We are very grateful to you all for your moral and financial supports toward the growth of the Lord's Church in this part of the world. May the Lord continue to bless our work together in Jesus Christ name, amen.

Sincerely His & yours,

Makinde Ebens Olufemi (The Chief servant of BVBIN & SWSE-IBADAN and WBSFUW)

Graduation in Accra

Accra Report

End of April 2022

Class Activities

Classes are ongoing according to our schedule: brother Amoo-Gyimah taught Christian Evidence and Life of Christ 1, Gyan-Mante taught Homiletics 1, and E.O Larbi taught Godhead. Two short courses, New Testament Church 1 and Godhead will be taught by Kojo and E.O. Larbi.

All the 12 students were present for the class. 

Campaign

The students have been visiting the local churches every week to evangelize in the area and visiting the members and encouraging them. Just recently, they had some baptisms during their evangelical activities.

Graduation and Matriculation

Glory be to God for a successful program where we had 11 men (6 from regular and 4 weekends, and 1 master’s) graduate and about 50 matriculants. About 400 were present, our staff, and the entire invited guests were in attendance.

Karen and Steven Visit

We were grateful to God that the Lord brought Steven and Karen safely to Ghana for the purpose to visit the school to conduct the campaign and the teaching women’s program. As part of Karen’s program for the women, she visited Koforidua, the Eastern part of Ghana, and other regions to educate the teachers for children's classes on Sunday school activities.

Laptops for students

We also appreciate the services Steven has been providing. We had received some laptops for our studies. Few students can use it, however, we will need additional 7 laptops to make it comfortable for the teaching.

Registrations

We hope to meet the Lands Registry’s requirements for the final and full presentation of documents to the school.

Students’ Profile

We present to our cherished brethren one of our effective students. Brother Ebenezer Amoasi, a member of the church and teaches driving. He is 24yrs and single. He left his work and enrolled as a student in our school. He has been very hardworking in all the activities and in the congregational services. He is in his first year. Currently, Ebenezer has been offered an appointment to preach for one of the local churches at Doboro. He participates well in personal evangelism, visitation, and exhorting the members all day. The local church is growing in number from 6 to 10. 

We are thankful to God for such a serious and hardworking student. We wish you remember him in your prayers.

Report by E. O. Larbi

Tamale school students and staff visit and encourage congregations

OPERATING REPORT FOR THE MONTH OF APRIL 2022

There were a series of successful events that took place at the Bear Valley Bible Institute, Tamale campus in the month of April, 2022. These events were successful by the direction and guidance of the Almighty God, who made both the heavens and the earth. We praise His name forever.

ACADEMIC WORK

The doors for the Kpalsi South congregation building were fixed and painted in the month of April by the support and help of God’s servant Steven Ashcraft, who made the funds available. We continue to pray that the good Lord bless him and his family and all the people who consistently make things possible sacrificially for the body of Christ across the world especially, Northern Ghana. We in the Kpalsi South Congregation are grateful for all the kind gestures shown to us.

We are currently working on ways to do the outside and inside plastering of the building. For now, we are able to move in and start worshiping as we work on the other things that are left to be done. We give God the glory for how far He has brought us. We continue to do our door to door Evangelism as we schedule to do some mini public preaching and events with the view of persuading people with the Gospel of Christ.

 SCHOOL GARDEN

We have successfully harvested our corn from the garden we did. It produced very well and the ground-nuts are almost ready for harvest. It has worked successfully and we are ready for a garden takeoff. 

The rains have also started and we have cultivated ground-nut and some vegetables on the school land. We are hoping to harvest them in a few months’ time and cultivate maize again. We are determined to do all year-round farming on the school land in an effort to leverage some of the feeding expenses if possible. We believe the Lord blesses the steps of a good man and He will bless our efforts. 

PERSONALITY PROFILE

Samuel Saakuu Baaru, born on the 4th of March 1978 in a traditional home in the Lawra municipality in the Upper West Region is the person we profiled for the month of April, 2022. 

He is the first born boy of his parents. Being a traditional home, he was to inherit all the idols and properties of the family. To the dismay of his parents, he disappointed Mr. Baaru and the family in 1991 when he got baptized into the church. Three months after his baptism, the leader, Anthony Ferah left for the Bible school in Accra, and at that time all faithful Christians were women with a few casual male members.

Brother Saakuu was taken through some leadership training by nearby congregations like the Wa and the Tumu congregations and was asked to lead the congregation in the absence of the preacher till he completed his program. 

When the preacher returned, Samual Saakuu enrolled for project Timothy. He was an SHS graduate at that time, which was the year 1998.  After completing project Timothy, the District Assembly sponsored him from 2001 to 2004 to go and do an NVTI grade one and two courses. He also completed and graduated from Methodist University College in the year 2011. He went further to do his National service with MOFA (Ministry of Food and Agriculture). He applied again for voluntary service with MOFA after his national service, where he was sent to Ullo (A city in the Upper West Region)

While he was on voluntary service, he had a job appointment with OLAM Ghana LTD (A Cotton and Food Processing Company) as a cotton production officer.  Through that work together with his desire to serve the Lord, which he did, he went around and helped establish the Kogri Congregation, the Ullo, and Genvuori congregations around the Lawra area. He is currently working with the Kogri Congregation as well as working with the Ghana Culture. 

VISITATION AND CAMPAIGN FOR STUDENTS

 Sogon 1 and 2: Brother Albert Tamanja embarked on a visitation journey to Sogon number 1 and 2. He took the opportunity to encourage these congregations to work hard to serve the Lord and to also encourage the youth to take up their responsibility by enrolling into the Bible school to help with the work of our Lord. He stressed the importance of working for the Lord. He spent quality time with both congregations to strengthen them. They appreciated his presence and expressed the importance of the school having a good relationship with them by visiting them consistently.  

Lawara: Brother James B. Legend in the month of April made a visitation journey to the Upper West Region in the effort to create opportunity for the recruitment process of our next batch of students. On this journey, he visited the Lawra town congregation as well as the Tovuori area where Brother Samuel Saakuu lives. There were discussions on the need to establish a new congregation at Tovouri. He further went to the Nadoli and Busie congregations as well as the Jirapa area where he met with Brother Donzie Thomas. 

Yua: On a similar purpose in the month of April, Brother James B. Legend made a visitation journey to the Yua congregation in the Pormoligu Segrigu municipality in the Upper East Region. The Yua Congregation has a membership of 21, out of which only three are men. They have no trained preacher, as they struggle to worship our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ with the help of Baaba Akolgo James. Baaba James is in his 70s and has no formal education and cannot read, nor write, and yet is the one that leads the Congregation. He is very zealous and enthusiastic about serving the Lord.  Baaba James is the Father of Baaba Elijah who graduated from Bear Valley Tamale Campus some years ago and also benefited from one of the two motorcycles that were bought to aid some of the preachers in Northern Ghana. By the grace of God and with the help of Brother James Legend of (BVBI Tamale) and Baaba Elijah, Brother Baaba James is able to successfully lead this congregation for two years now. Baaba James Appealed for help from the school to come and assist them to evangelize the community and also help them with a trained preacher to make the work more effective in the area. He appreciated the school coming to encourage them through Brother James Legend.

Indeed, visitation is very essential for the future and the growth of our schools, especially in Northern Ghana.

We thank the Lord and all brethren who are making these activities possible by sacrificially making the funds available to support. 

 God Bless everyone.

Bear Valley, Tamale.