The Lord is opening so many new doors to Latin America that we can hardly keep up. Spanish-speaking teachers are needed to share the Good News with people in Central and South America.
In May, Tom Langley visited Benny and Donna Baker in Jinotega, Nicaragua. The Bakers began working in the Jinotega and Mategalpa regions of Nicaragua in 1997 with one congregation of twelve adults and children. Today, there are seventeen churches with more than 800 adults and children.
Tom writes, “It’s an understatement to say that we are thrilled at the Bakers’ invitation to introduce WEI into their multifaceted mission ministry. We will be initiating a pilot program in one of the Jinotega High Schools in which WEI will be used as the English curriculum. The students will be studying English, but more importantly, they will also be studying the Bible. We also plan to send WEI short-term teachers to this area of the world very soon.”
“Jurgen Gonzalez has accepted the responsibility of working with our WEI pilot program in a Jinotega high school. He will also be helping with our future WEI short-term mission efforts. William Vargas, a teacher in the Spanish Emersion classes in Jinotega, will also be helping with the WEI efforts. Both of these men are fluent in English.”
If you read and write Spanish and would like to introduce people in Latin America to New Testament Christianity, let us hear from you.kf
On June 11, thousands of Christians came together in Managua, Nicaragua for a national day of worship and fellowship. Information about WEI and WBS was made available after worship so that Christians could utilize these tools for personal evangelism. As Tom said, “God’s hand is moving in Nicaragua, and we are honored to join in these efforts.”
Steve and Suzie Winham have been using WEI materials in La Paz, Mexico for several years. They especially like the Beginner’s English Course for Spanish-speaking people.
They write, “We had the preacher in La Paz put ads in the local newspapers before our arrival last November announcing the Basic WEI Course and the Beginner’s English Course. We had tremendous response to the Beginner’s Course, with over 90 students enrolling in one evening.
“The preacher there continued the classes after we left, and he reported recently that the students who have continued faithfully should ‘graduate’ in November. He has taken some university English courses himself, but he tells us he is learning as much English [teaching WEI] as the students.”
The Winhams are so excited about using WEI as an evangelistic tool that they have agreed to help organize a new Hispanic outreach ministry. We will keep you informed as this ministry takes shape.
You have heard about “Daniel in the Lion’s Den.” Well, there is a modern Daniel who has entered a different kind of lion’s den to preach the gospel in the Middle East. Daniel Ford, a member of the Reidland Church of Christ in Paducah, Kentucky, supports himself by tuning pianos, as Paul supported himself by making tents. Once or twice a year, Dan travels to India and/or the Middle East, at his own expense, to teach in preacher-training schools and to proclaim the Good News in gospel meetings.
Earlier this year, Daniel wrote, “I have just returned from xxxx, and things went very well. We met with and taught 45 people at xxxxxx. They were so excited to hear teaching that emphasizes the Word of God.
Many good things will come from this meeting in xxxxxx. One brother has agreed to meet on Sundays in his home, and there are about 25 who will come for study.
“We had a really remarkable night a few weeks back. Twenty-three people obeyed the gospel.”
In another major city in the heart of Islam, Dan wrote, “I’ve been posting WEI notices around the city on my early morning walks. I walk five plus miles each time—before daylight, between 5:00 and 6:30. I hope we get some response.
“I’ve met a Christian fellow from XXXXX. He is working in professional circles, and I am talking to him about WEI. Hopefully, he will catch the vision of what is possible and help get the word out so we can enroll students.
“This is a very slow process. There are so many obstacles and cautions.” But, praise God, there have been 40 immersions so far.
John Travis reports that six more students have been baptized at the Buduburam Refugee Camp near Accra, Ghana.
John writes, “The gospel campaign started June 29 and continued through July 1. We have had five baptisms thus far, and many more have signed up to be baptized. Two of those were WBS and WEI students. Among them is Mustapha Tarwolo. He had been a student with us since 2003. Mustapha came from a Muslem background.”
In addition to these five new Christians, John reports that Rachel Davis, an active WEI student at Buduburam for three months, was baptized into Christ on Sunday, May 14.
Shkelqim (Çimi) Kafexhiu is a fulltime preacher with the church in Durrës, Albania. In a recent report, Çimi said, “Rejoice, for two new souls have been added to the body of Christ in Durres. “On May 19th, Suada Jakupi (15 years of age) said YES to God and Christ. Suada has been studying and attending the church for a long time, and finally she put on Christ in baptism.”
On May 21st, 16th Regi Salataj was also baptized into Christ.
In a recent email, Erik Qirjaqi, Director of WEI in Tirana, Albania, reported that he had baptized two young women. He said, “Please pray for them. Their names are Erblina Llapaj, 19 years old, and Elona Cepani, 18 years old.
Erik also reported that forty-three members of the Tirana church have formed an email chain. Everybody shares his or her request for prayer, problems, and joys. Erik says, “I am very encouraged by their emails and by their maturity in Christ.”
We are happy to report that the city of Tirana, Albania has finally granted a building permit, and our brothers and sisters in Tirana will soon begin renovating the old WEI/church building. By this time next year, we should be in our new multipurpose facility. The new building will house the church, WEI, IBIA, and NationsUniversity. We are planning a big WEI campaign next summer, and we are looking for teachers. Start planning now for the summer of 2007.
After traveling through America for six weeks visiting children and grandchildren and raising funds, Tom Bonner has returned to Lushnja, Albania to continue his work as a missionary.
In his last report, Tom wrote, “Utilizing the WEI materials (authored by Dick Ady) has proven to be a very effective way to reach out to the community and share the wonderful story of Jesus. There has been no break in the succession of students—with active students regularly referring their relatives and friends as potential students. In fact, many have had to be put on a waiting list until openings occur in the teaching schedule.”
Steve Stamatis, Dean of International Bible Institute of Albania, reports that IBIA has completed its first five terms. Each term is four weeks, and three courses are taught each term. Each course has forty hours of classroom instruction. There has also been a one-week seminar in which the students meet eight hours a day for five days. So, the students have now completed 640 hours of classroom study.
The four fulltime students are half way through the first year of a two-year program. They will complete their first year in December.
In order to finish out this year and to add another class of students next year, we need to raise another four or five student scholarships of $400 a month. Would your congregation like to help train church leaders to carry on God’s work in Albania?
Ted and Martha Ogle, missionaries in Nairobi, Kenya, write, “Today, Nkurunziza (Jean) baptized a young man he had been studying with. He is 21 years old and in his second year of high school. He has been in Islam for 14 years, was born in Rwanda, and he was one excited young man. His name is Rene Ibrahim Issa.
“Another Rwandese man, 30 years of age, was baptized Sunday, June 15. His name is John Bosco Kagaba. He was previously Roman Catholic.”
The picture below shows Jean Nkurunziza (with tie), John Bosco on Jean’s right, and John’s sisters on Jean’s left. Both sisters were baptized July 1.
We have just launched five WEI short-term mission efforts in four different cities in Romania. WEI material is being used in two short-term mission schools in Bucharest. Both churches of Christ in Bucharest are having WEI schools. We also have schools in Lugoj, Oradea, Constanta, and Lasi. I’ve been busy traveling to each site and helping where needed.
Fifty-seven teachers are working with over 200 students in one-on-one studies in this country alone. The annual short-term mission to Albania will be starting soon, and several teachers have already begun teaching this summer in Cambodia. As I reflect over the last three weeks and recall the smiles on the faces of the students as they completed their first classes, I’m again reminded of what a powerful tool WEI is for introducing people to God’s word.
Students come to us with a strong desire to improve their English language skills, and as a secondary benefit, they love reading and discussing the Bible. It’s even more thrilling, after a few weeks of study, to observe the many students whose hearts are pricked with God’s word. They soon realize that the secondary benefit has become the primary benefit, because they are learning something far more valuable than the English language.
One student in Oradea repeated the common line we hear every year at every mission site: “I feel so good when I am here.” The fruit of the Spirit is so evident in the lives of the teachers that some students are overwhelmed by the love and goodness they observe and experience from our teaching teams. Many soon realize that it is the love of Jesus Christ being displayed in their teacher’s life that gives them this good feeling.
We are blessed to know and partner with so many of you in this international mission ministry. We thank you with all our hearts for your financial and prayer support. Please pray for the success of these many WEI short-term efforts this summer, and I look forward to sharing with you some of the results in the next newsletter. We love you all.
—Tom and Angela Langley
It is thrilling to watch God work through his people. I am especially excited about what the Lord is doing with and through WEI.
So much is happening in the world that there simply isn’t enough space in this newsletter to tell about everything. With every issue of WEI Update, we agonize over what to include and what to exclude. Invariably, we have to delete stories that need to be told—stories that reveal the glory and power of God.
On the negative side, we urge WEI teachers NOT to send gifts to their students. In a recent edition of ACTION, the WBS newspaper, John Reese wrote the following: “If teachers would completely stop sending anything besides lessons and certificates to students, there would be no need for suspicion about ‘fake’ students—the incentive would not be there. Even a pen or a bookmark is a valuable prize in a really poor area.
“A young Ghanaian received notice that his WBS teacher had sent him a package. Having no way to get it through customs, he enlisted L—-‘s help. In the process L—- saw an open letter. In effect, the teacher wrote to her student, ‘WBS leaders tell us not to send gifts. But I know better, so here is your camera and school supplies.’ Word of the camera and other gifts spread like lightning through the student’s school. Suddenly, the school and nearby community became hotbeds for fraud. People signed up multiple times to increase the odds of striking it rich with some naïve American. Never connect WBS with material rewards, gifts, and money.”
John’s words of wisdom apply to WEI.
On the positive side, God has blessed us with hundreds of thousands of honest, truth-seeking WEI students in 189 nations, and we are grateful for the opportunity to teach them about Jesus Christ.
We are also grateful to our beloved friends for your prayers and ongoing financial support and encouragement. We love you with the love of the Lord, and we pray that God is blessing you for your sacrifice.
—Dick and Maudine Ady
