Three Baptisms in Hungary
Five young adults from the Metro congregation in Gresham, Oregon (Matt & Kristen Caldwell, Donnie and Taylor Adams, and Jimmy Tucker), spent a month in Debrecen, Hungary this summer in a short-term mission.
On July 16, Kristen Caldwell wrote, “Good news from Debrecen! Two of our students, Frieda and Dóra, have decided to put Christ on in baptism. Jesus completely paved the way for this to happen.
“Dóra was my WEI student for two summers, and we have communicated often over the course of the years. Last summer, she was convicted of the fact that she needed to be baptized, but her personal relationships and the situation here in Debrecen prevented her from changing. This last week, Jimmy Tucker has studied with Dóra. She is committed to becoming a Christian, relies on God to overcome these stumbling blocks, and
put on Christ in baptism.
“Frieda is a student who has studied with both Gian Monzon and Taylor Adams off and on, over three years. Today, after many hard conversations and the breakdown of many personal barriers, Frieda is a new child of God! Praise Jesus!”
The very next day, Kristen sent another exciting e-mail saying, “Tonight, we had the honor of attending yet another baptism! A man named Zoltán who has been studying with me for three summers was baptized today by my husband Matt. This all came about over the last day or so as Zoltán realized that he needed to be fully obedient and follow the example of Christ. Praise God! He is a very kind and gentle soul. Please pray for our THREE new Christian family members: Dóra, Zoltán, and Frieda!”
INVITATION:
We invite you to include WEI in your 2016 church budget.
Please join us in a concerted effort to lead the whole world to Christ.
Editorial
When God spoke to Moses from the burning bush and commanded him to go back to Egypt and lead the Israelite people out of bondage, Moses made excuses. God’s answer was, “I will be with you” (Exodus3:12). And Moses led approximately two million people out of slavery. When God told Gideon, “Go in the strength you have and save Israel out of Midian’s hand” (Judges 6:14), Gideon made excuses. God answered, “I will be
with you” (Judges 6:16). And with God’s help, Gideon and 300 men routed 135,000 enemies and led Israel out of bondage.
When God called Jeremiah to be a prophet to the nations, Jeremiah made excuses. God replied, “Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you” (Jeremiah 1:8). And with God’s help, Jeremiah became one of God’s greatest prophets.
On a mountain in Galilee, Jesus commanded his followers to go and make disciples of all the nations. Can you imagine the enormity of the task and how inadequate they felt? But before they could make excuses, Jesus said, “Surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20). And within the apostles’ lifetime, the gospel was preached to every nation in the known world.
Today, we are still marching for the Master in response to the Great Commission. Today, there are more than 7,000,000,000 people in the world people for whom Christ died. Today, God is using WEI to spread the good news about Christ in every nation, but he needs more teachers, both postal and Internet. Will you respond to his call? Don’t make excuses. He has promised to be with you.
This is the last WEI newsletter that you will receive this year. Therefore, we take this opportunity to say, “Happy Thanksgiving. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year.” We also want to say, “Thank you for your ongoing support and encouragement and for your fellowship in Christ. We love you.”
Dick and Maudine
Short Term Missions
One of the unique aspects of the WEI material is that it is a very effective English and Bible curriculum in both correspondence studies, one-to-one, or small group personal studies. Therefore, long- and short-term missionaries are able to use our materials to teach the word of God and share their faith with students from every country of the world.
One of WEI’s most effective short-term mission efforts each year is in the country of Guatemala. This is a 4-week mission to Guatemala City conducted by two teams of teachers who go and teach for two weeks each. The host long-term missionaries, Hiwatthia Jones and Byron, and Snezana Benetiz are faithful servants of the Lord and enthusiastic supporters of WEI. Anna Pride and Greg Weston are the two WEI teachers who primarily recruit teachers for their respective teams. Thirty or forty Guatemalan students study the Bible via our WEI Intermediate course for one hour a day, Monday – Friday, for four weeks. Each student has two teachers to guide them through the material.
Over the years many baptisms have resulted from this effort. Below is a very sweet translated letter from one of those students, Deborah Talavera, after taking the WEI course in this year’s short-term mission with teacher Doris Minor.
“Dear Sirs:
With blessing, gratitude, and joy I write this because I have been favored with teachings that missionaries have brought to Guatemala. When I share with my peers, I noticed that his face is satisfaction and recognition of the valuable work you perform. Year after year, this spring we expect to receive and also renew our strength and hearts toward a better future. So, Thanks for coming and investing in us, the missionaries, especially: Hi, Byron, Doris, Greg, LaDon, and of course Anna Pride.”
Please consider going on one of these WEI short-term missions. Your life may forever be changed and your soul renewed. You will witness the lives of your students change before your very eyes as they read and contemplate the powerful word of God. You will be an instrument of God to help them make practical application of His Word.
Thank you for remembering WEI in your giving, and know that we love and appreciate you all.
Tom and Angie
Muslim Is Baptized in Somalia
Katheryn Haddad has taught more than 5,000 Muslim students in the Middle and the Far East. On September 14, Katheryn reported that one of her students in Somalia had been baptized into Christ.
Katheryn writes, “In the World Watch List of countries that are persecuting Christians, Somalia is number two, outranking Iraq, Syria, and Afghanistan.
“We shall call our Somalian ‘Adam’ for his own protection. He enrolled in WEI last June. He told his instructor that the teachers of Islam tell everyone over and over that Christianity is very bad, and no good Muslim will respect them. He said such teaching is in every sentence. “After a month, he had only completed three lessons. He said, ‘Sometimes it is very difficult for me to read or print the Bible lessons because in Somalia we share everything [computers, etc.], and if they know what I am reading, you can understand what can happen to me.’
“Adam’s instructor replied, ‘My heart goes out to you. I have many other students who are studying while afraid. You have courage, just like they do. I want you to know that the Christians in the western world pray for honest, sincere people like you who are risking everything to learn the truth. You are our heroes.’”
“The more Adam studied and considered Christianity, the more he looked back on how his thinking had changed. In August he said, ‘Before learning the word of God, I was worrying all the time about my family’s life situation in my country. But now I believe in Jesus and trust his word, even if I lost my work place because of my faith.’”
“After a few more lessons, he was calling Islam his ex-religion. He said, ‘Step by step it is great to understand the word of God.’”
“Muslims are taught that Christians believe in three Gods—God, Jesus, and Mary.”
After Adam’s teacher explained the nature of God, he replied, “God became like us and lived with us. I understand everything and believe there is Father, Son, and Spirit, and I believe our Lord Jesus is the Son of our Father in the heaven.”
On September 11 (9/11), Adam was baptized. “I feel freshness and happy,” he said.
Now he wants to start teaching his wife and children. “I hope my home to be a great Christian family.”
Prabhu Kumar and his fellow-teachers in WEI-India continue to lead Hindu students to Christ.
On July 16, Prabhu wrote, “Our WEI teacher, Bro. Vinod Kumar is working at Ambajipet which is located 178 kms distance from our campus. Yesterday, upon his invitation, four of us including my wife, went to that place and participated in the special meeting which was conducted for the members of the local congregation and WEI students together. We traveled for five hours in my car and reached P. Gannavaram which is located by the side of the Godavari River.
“When we reached there, Bro. Vinod Kumar was waiting for our arrival to baptize three of his students and one of the local women in our presence. For four of them, he taught the word of God for five months, and finally they were convinced to take baptism.” Two of these students (A. Raju, and A. Jyothy) were formerly Hindus.
Later, on September 18, Prabhu wrote, “A few days back, our WEI teacher Bro. T. Chakravarthy baptized two of his students in Tiruttani, Tamilnadu.” Both students (Vinodh and Kumar) were Hindus. Now, they are Christians.
To God be the glory.
Willy Emmanuel Yudah, the Director of TWEI in Tanzania, writes, “The Lord is abundantly blessing this ministry of WEI in Tanzania. Our new students have all started studying the English language through His [God’s] book, the greatest story of Hope ever told in the world. Everybody is doing well in serving.”
“Early this month, we had two baptisms: Faraja Shanjila who is 24 years of age, and Joseph Kalukwila, 32 years of age.”
In addition to the WEI school in Mbeya, Willy has now established a Tanzania WEI school in the town of Sumbawanga. A simple building has been erected for the classes. Willy says, “This building will be used for the Church too. We want to use this [WEI] program as an entrance for us to share the good news with them.”
Chuck and Cathy Gusek of Hanceville, Alabama have been teaching WEI postal students in Sierra Leone for several years. They have especially enjoyed a close fellowship with evangelist Joseph H.M. Kaipumoh in the Bo Church of Christ. Bo is located in southern Sierra Leone.
Brother Joseph writes, “The WEI courses in Bo have been very successful in helping to win many souls through baptism. The enrollment of students in WEI has increased over time. The course is now extended into the Kono district in the eastern part of the country by James Laggah, a student from Bo.”
Cathy tells a moving story about a student in Bo by the name of Sieh Conteh. She writes, “He introduced himself as a poor farmer who had never been able to attend school. It was extremely difficult to understand anything he wrote. Over the past several years, Sieh continued to take the course from the Intermediate through the Advanced. As he progressed, his reading comprehension and writing improved markedly.”
“Sieh is one of those students who has touched my heart so that I am looking forward to eternity in heaven where I can spend time with Sieh, talking beneath the Tree of Life. He reported that although the Ebola outbreak had been severe in his part of the country—especially in the rural areas where he lives—nobody in his family suffered. Now they are persevering through the famine because so many of the farmers in the country were killed by Ebola. Praise God! Our brother Sieh Conteh was not among them.”
Nelda Jo Lively reports that Joel, one of her young male students in Albania, has been baptized in the Adriatic Sea.
On September 2, Jo said she had received an e-mail from Joel saying, “I am sending you some photos of my baptism and my cousins’ and sister’s also. First we had some training on baptism made by a Christian from New Zealand where she explained the reason why we get baptized, so we can begin a new life with Christ through the Holy Spirit.”
“We got baptized in the same sea where my mom and her brother got baptized 23 years ago. So together, with my cousins, we got baptized on the same day, which was very special.”
“I will go and do my lessons now and send them to you, because I am far behind with them.”
Nelda Jo says, “Joel is the young boy in the photo, and he is a really good WEI student! I sent all the scriptures about baptism to him, so he could make sure the New Zealand teacher taught the Bible facts about baptism. God be with you all. Love in Christ, Nelda Jo.”
In early 2007, Aniefiok and Etang Akpan used WEI Bible and English courses in their newly spawned Rhema Academy in Uruk Otong in southeastern Nigeria. The students met under a large tent, and Aniefiok baptized high school students almost every week. Then the government shut down the school until permanent classroom facilities could be constructed.
Now, after eight years of sacrifice, waiting, and suffering, the Rhema Christian Academy classroom building has been erected, the government has registered the school, and WEI English and Bible courses are again being taught.
Aniefiok writes, “We are also making plans to organize weekend WEI English and Bible classes for students of public high schools in our area. The intention here is to enroll some of them in our school in subsequent terms and to win them for Christ. We use WEI as bait to attract souls to the saving gospel of Christ. We anticipate a great harvest of souls in subsequent months and years. Please keep us in your prayers.”
Praise God for this historic development.
While Brother Addai Asubonteng, a retired preacher from Ejisu, Ashanti, Ghana, was in the States in April, he met our friend, Linda Banks, and she told him about WEI. Immediately, he thought about contacting school authorities in Ghana to enlist students in the WEI program.
Bro. Addai said, “I am really touched and excited about the kind of materials developed to help people come to know God better.”
Later he wrote,“Thank God for the opportunity to serve in that capacity. Readily I have in mind four high schools and four churches to work with. Besides, we have campus ministries in the two universities in Mumasi to share the gospel. Therefore, kindly send one hundred sets of materials for the above categories of people. I’m enthusiastic to live up to expectations, the Holy Spirit being my helper.”
On August 24, Emma Sheffield, a WEI teacher, put me in touch with Charles Yambasa Mungu, one of her students in Sierra Leone. Charles wanted to use WEI materials to spread the gospel in his area.
Charles wrote, “I am currently a student of WEI at the advance level. I am in Sierra Leone and a member of the churches of Christ. Since I enrolled in this course, I found it very unique, and I have told lots of people about it, and they express interest in the studies.”
“Most of the people here in Sierra Leone cannot afford money to access the Internet or buy postal stamps.”
“I myself will be using the WEI materials to teach the first set of people, they are 12 presently, and when this people graduate, they too will be teachers of others. I am thankful that you are able to help my friends here to learn English and the word of God through WEI.”
We sent twenty sets of the Intermediate materials to Charles in September, and he is now teaching twenty students.
One of the unique aspects of the WEI material is that it is a very effective English and Bible curriculum in both correspondence studies, one-to-one, or small group personal studies. Therefore, long- and short-term missionaries are able to use our materials to teach the word of God and share their faith with students from every country of the world.
One of WEI’s most effective short-term mission efforts each year is in the country of Guatemala. This is a 4 week mission to Guatemala City conducted by two teams of teachers who go and teach for two weeks each. The host long-term missionaries, Hiwatthia Jones and Byron and Snezana Benetiz, are faithful servants of the Lord and enthusiastic supporters of WEI. Anna Pride and Greg Weston are the two WEI teachers who primarily recruit teachers for their respective teams. Thirty or forty Guatemalan students study the Bible via our WEI Intermediate course for one hour a day, Monday – Friday, for four weeks. Each student has two teachers to guide them through the material.
Over the years many baptisms have resulted from this effort. Below is a very sweet translated letter from one of those students, Deborah Talavera, after taking the WEI course in this year’s short-term mission with teacher Doris Minor.
“Dear Sirs:
With blessing, gratitude and joy I write this, because I have been favored with teachings that missionaries have brought to Guatemala. When I share with my peers, I noticed that his face is satisfaction and
recognition of the valuable work you perform. Year after year, this spring we expect to receive and also renew our strength and hearts toward a better future. So, Thanks for coming and investing in us, the missionaries, especially: Hi, Byron, Doris, Greg, LaDon and of course Anna Pride.”
Please consider going on one of these WEI short-term missions. Your life may forever be changed and your soul renewed. You will witness the lives of your students change before your very eyes as they read and contemplate the powerful word of God. You will be an instrument of God to help them make practical application of His Word.
Thank you for remembering WEI in your giving, and know that we love and appreciate you all.
Tex Williams once told of being in an airport terminal, watching all the people around him, pondering how most were probably on the “broad way that leads to eternal destruction,” and wondering how they could be reached when many won’t listen.
WEI’s Internet program typically has 50 – 60 students waiting for a teacher. Some wait 5 or more days. These are not the ‘too busy to listen’ people; rather, they are knocking on our doors, pleading with us to take the time to teach them. Yes, they want us to teach them English, but God’s word has the power to penetrate into their hearts as they study English grammar and, for some, it becomes more important than mastering the English language.
It has been said that the thing most lacking in the church today is a sense of urgency. As Bill McDonough says, “We must seek the lost while there is yet time.” WEI’s Internet site takes away any excuse for not doing so.
One solution to handling the long list is to shut down the website so that no one can ask for a teacher. A better solution is to get more people teaching!
We have just been to the French World Workshop, Harding’s annual lectureship, and the Abundant Living Retreat at Branson, Missouri. Several have expressed an interest in teaching, and we hope their interest broadens into actual teaching.
For those of you already teaching, you know how easy the website is to operate, how it makes efficient use of your available time, and how satisfying it is to know you have the opportunity to tell others the Good News. Please make it a personal project to recruit at least one new teacher by the end of 2015. Let’s shorten waiting time to 48 hours or less. Let’s end this shame of people begging to be taught and Christians not taking the time to teach them. We have the tools we need, so let’s use them “while there is yet time.”
Matthew 9:37, 38
