In February, during the three weeks I spent in Phnom Penh, several exciting things happened.
On February 4, about forty-five Americans and Cambodians gathered to worship on the Ship of Life and to dedicate her to God. Five years ago, Bill McDonough dreamed of building a ship that would sail up and down the Mekong River providing free medical and dental care for people in isolated villages, and teaching them about Christ. Now, his dream has come true.
The Ship of Life is 110 feet long and contains doctor and dental offices equipped with state-of-the-art equipment. The waiting room, which seats fifty patients, has a wide-screen TV so that patients can watch Christian videos or study the Bible with teachers while they wait to see the doctor or dentist.
Dr. Rick Northen (Dentist) and his wife Gail live on the ship and oversee the day-to-day operations. Medical missionaries will come and go. The ship can house a medical staff of up to twenty plus the ship’s crew. Rick and Gail plan to enroll all members of the crew in WEI and teach them daily. May God use the Ship of Life to his glory.
During the month of February, eight of us lived at the Partners-In-Progress Center in Phnom Penh and taught WEI students seven hours a day. On February 11, twenty WEI Internet students met with us at the PIP Center. Most of them stayed to witness the baptism of Au Sen Boury, a WEI student of Doris Lohry and Russ Burcham.
On Chinese New Year, I had the privilege of preaching to seventy-five children, young people, and adults in Tom Tune’s hotel room in downtown Ho Chi Minh City. During the past three years, while supervising the construction of the Ship of Life on the Saigon River, Tom has been helping street children. He has paid for their school tuition, supplied their basic needs, and worshiped with them on Sundays. Consequently, many of the teenagers and adults are now Christians. Three more were baptized March 10.
Three teenage girls (Ngan, Phuc, and Uyen) have graduated from high school and have been accepted into Harding University on the condition that they pass the TOEFL. Tom is using the WEI courses to help them study English and the Bible.
In mid-February, Tom Langley traveled to Port au Prince, Haiti to participate in the 2007 Annual Lectureship. Jean Robert Hilaire, pulpit minister of the 2,000-member Delmas 43 Church of Christ, met him at the airport and escorted him to his home.
Tom reports: “Following the 8:30 a.m. service, 20 people responded to the message, and 13 were baptized. Approximately 75 WEI Internet students were there on Sunday for the morning worship service and attended the WEI meeting afterward. Many others came to visit me and attended portions of the Seminar over the next two and a half days.
“After the second day of the Seminar, one denominational preacher traveled back to his province and spoke to his church about the things he had learned. He called Jean Robert that evening and asked him to come to his home town and teach more on the things he had heard. He said that all of his church members wanted to be baptized according to the New Testament, and he also asked Jean to bring a Church of Christ sign so he could put it on the entrance of their place of worship. Amazing!”
According to Jean Robert, “468 people at-tended the Seminar including 203 denominational preachers. A total of 238 people were baptized, and 64 of that number were denominational preachers.” Tom concludes, “This trip truly was an experience of a lifetime.”
Nkurunziza Jean De La Paix, evangelist in Nairobi, Kenya, reports that four more WEI students have been baptized in Nairobi: Antony Macharia, Violet Owano Abuyeka, Joel Oduor Chodha, and Ronald Obuba Nyamweya. Praise God.
Mike Hale’s WEI e-mail student in Crete, John Adesoye, has been baptized. John was the pastor of a Pentecostal church in Crete, but after studying with Mike, he wrote, “When God’s light shined on my heart through the teaching of the Bible, your letters, and the [WEI] book you sent to me, I resigned from being pastor. I desire to please God.”
Mike called Dino Roussos, evangelist in Athens, Greece, and Dino went to Crete to visit John and his group. The next day, John took the ferry to Athens, and Dino baptized him into Christ.
Mike writes, “Things are working out very well over there, and I’m excited about it. I am impressed with John’s sincerity. Hopefully, he will baptize many of the other 20 members of his group.”
The multi-purpose building under construction in Tirana, Albania is scheduled to be completed by early June. This new building will bless Churches of Christ in Albania and throughout the Balkan region.
Erik Qirjaqi and Artan Xhaferi have done an excellent job overseeing this construction project. Approximately $40,000 is still needed for purchasing an air conditioning unit, furniture, and supplies for the building . Can you help?
On January 19, Steve and Suzie Winham and Bob and Jan Towell traveled to La Paz, Mexico to set up an Internet Café program for teaching the WEI Beginner’s English Course in Spanish.
Jonathan Towell and Colby Blaisdale, both recent graduates of Harding University in Information Technology, are constructing the website needed for Spanish Internet teaching. Lessons are being loaded onto the website and tested, and it is hoped that students in La Paz can start using the website soon.
Bob reports that “interest in the Beginner’s English Course in Spanish is very great in La Paz. A total of 45 people attended the WEI Beginner’s English course conducted in Spanish, while only five people were ready for WEI’s basic course conducted in English.”
Presently, Steve and Suzie are WEI’s only bilingual teachers. The new website will help them handle the La Paz students, but as we expand to other cities, additional bilingual teachers will be needed.
Aniefiok Akpan, Principal of Rhema Academy in Nigeria, writes, “The WEI ministry has started to create a great impact here in Nigeria through Rhema Academy. Amazing things are happening to the Lord’s ministry here.
“The WEI English and Bible Courses really enhance our programme. We teach WEI lessons every day.
“We have registered over 70 people in Nigeria to study with us using the WEI resources. Many gospel preachers have enrolled in the WEI programme. They also desire to use the WEI English and Bible courses to reach out to others in their communities.
“Etang and I have advertised the WEI programme extensively using our mobile phone network text features. In response, we have received requests for the course from gospel preachers in many areas of Nigeria including Lagos, Abuja, Calabar, Port Harcourt, and Uyo.
“What a marvelous tool God has placed in our hands by means of the WEI resources for his great ministry in Nigeria!”
Brother Akpan recently baptized four students into Christ: (1) Etieno Effiong Udo, (2) Abasiodiong Friday Johnson, (3) Imowo Effiong Sunday, and (4) Amiekan Joseph Akpan. He also reports that “another WEI student, Ifiok Abraham Akpaneyen, accepted Christ and was baptized at Ukanafun.”
What a busy and exciting couple of months we’ve enjoyed here at the Maryville office. I had the privilege of visiting and presenting WEI to several congregations and mission groups in West Virginia, Mississippi, Texas, California, and Haiti. It’s such a blessing and inspiration to meet our current and future teachers. These are wonderful, dedicated Christians who take the Great Commission very seriously.
What a thrill it was to see first hand the fruit of our teachers’ efforts in the country of Haiti. I met nearly 100 students on my recent visit to Port au Prince. Many traveled from towns and cities all across the island to meet with me. They all expressed deep gratitude for the WEI ministry and to their teachers. They all very much appreciated the grammar lessons, but more than that, they absolutely love the Bible lessons. Many have been baptized. Almost all of these students are taking the course through our e-mail ministry. God bless you e-mail teachers! You have touched and eternally changed the lives of these Haitian students who live in a physically hopeless situation. Bob and Jan Towell, who direct the WEI Internet ministry from their home in Round Rock, TX, are two of the most effective missionaries in the kingdom.
The good news doesn’t stop here. This summer, we have plans to send WEI short-term mission teams to Cambodia, Burma, Poland, Romania, Nicaragua, and Albania. If you are interested in teaching WEI in any of these countries, please contact us here at the Maryville office. I also have commitments to travel to several churches this year and introduce them to our WEI English as a Second Language local outreach ministry. Many of the Lord’s churches in America are discovering that they have a foreign mission field in their own backyard.
None of this would be possible without the prayers and support you have offered to WEI. We sincerely thank you. Expenses to operate this Maryville office are ongoing; therefore, our fundraising must be as well. Please give prayerful consideration to support WEI with your tax-deductible contributions. We love and appreciate you all. —Tom and Angie
Watching God work throughout the world is profoundly moving. Last month, I had an opportunity to watch him work in Cambodia and Vietnam. While I was in Southeast Asia, the Lord was busy in other places as well.
Ellen Walker reports from Tirana, Albania that “Ola Stana was baptized for the forgiveness of her sins. Last summer, Ola studied with Ervin Ballabani and Dick Ady during the WEI campaign. Since that time, she has attended quite regularly and has grown to faith.” It thrills my soul that one of my former students is now our sister in Christ.
We also received some exciting news from Aniefiok Akpan, Principal of Rhema Academy in Nigeria. He reports that “three inspectors of schools from the Ministry of Education registered yesterday for the free WEI correspondence course. They were on a routine inspection visit to Rhema Academy. While in the office, they glanced through the samples of the WEI courses on my desk and became interested.
“After I registered them, they promised to introduce the courses to members of their families and to other schools that they would be visiting in subsequent months. Please pray for these top government officials and other WEI students in Nigeria.”
No one knows what God is planning to do in Nigeria and other parts of the world. Thus far, he has given us students in 190 nations, and more students continue to enroll. In order to meet the challenge and to grasp the opportunity, we need more teachers. We are deeply grateful for the teachers who are working so hard to lead people to Christ, and we would warmly welcome you if you would like to join us in this worldwide ministry.
Our hearts are full of gratitude as we think of all the churches and friends who are supporting us with your prayers and financial resources. We are humbled by the confidence you have placed in us. Thank you. May God bless you for your sacrificial care. We deeply love and appreciate you.
—Dick & Maudine
