It was such a thrill and special blessing in January to speak at the annual WEI Teachers’ Planning Meeting in Vijayawada, India.
Prabhu Kumar is the director of WEI-India, and he oversees the operation of twenty-eight WEI schools, mostly in the state of Andhra Pradesh. These schools are taught by twenty-eight Indian national Christians who teach weekly classes at church buildings in villages, towns, and cities. In 2015, there were 107 baptisms as a direct result of these WEI schools.
I was privileged to speak the Word of God at several congregations and graduation ceremonies. The students told me how much they enjoyed learning about God while improving their English skills. I was impressed by the dedication of the teachers and the interest level of the students. Several of the students, upon completion of the course, decided to accept Christ as their Lord and to be immersed in the waters of baptism.
We marveled at the baptism of an elderly Muslim man in one of the villages where a WEI school is conducted. He attended our WEI graduation ceremony and decided it was time to put Christ on in baptism. Praise God!
Last year around this time, we received a very generous and gracious one-year commitment to financially sustain this very effective work called WEI-India. The one-year commitment is ending, and we are now appealing to all churches and individuals who receive this newsletter to give prayerful consideration to investing in this fruitful Great Commission ministry. We need a minimum of $1,600 a month to continue supporting this work at its present level. If you are compelled by God to become involved, please contact someone at WEI or the Maryville church of Christ at the address below. Please pray, pray, pray for WEI-India.
It’s quite a humbling and sometimes even an embarrassing experience to be showered with so much love and hospitality. The teachers were so appreciative and honored to have the opportunity to serve the Lord by teaching the Bible using the World English Institute tool.
WEI Internet teacher, Virginia McPeak of Orangevale, California, is thrilled over the baptism of her student, Ewelina Bielaszewska. Ewelina moved from Poland to London, England last year.
Virginia writes, “Ewelina has been a WEI student since July 2014. She had a strong and sincere faith in God and was happy to improve her English by studying the WEI lessons from the English Bible.”
“We developed a friendly relationship as we communicated and got to know each other. Her life was busy and lessons went slowly. In January 2015, Ewelina was still in Book 1 of the Intermediate course. Then there was silence for twelve months.”
“When she returned, she was much more serious as a student. By February 2016, she had completed the Intermediate course. As she studied the Advanced Bible course, her eyes were opened to the differences between what she had been taught in the Catholic Church and what she was studying in the New Testament and the WEI courses. She soon requested baptism. She continued to ask challenging questions, but with the assistance of my husband and our minister, we were able to respond to them with love and the Word of God. All along, Ewelina had been sharing what she had been learning with friends and her father in Poland.”
“With the help of Bob and Jan Towell, we located the Stratford church of Christ in London, and Ewelina began attending. She was not shy in her request to be baptized. After studying with members of the Stratford congregation, she was immersed into Christ on March 6, 2016.”
Virginia concludes, “Ewelina is hopeful that her father will also, in time, come to complete his obedience to the gospel message. Molly Dawidow, from the church in Sopot, Poland, is sending him Bible literature in the Polish language to help him on his journey. Please pray for him.”
“We celebrate, and we praise God for our new sister in Christ and for the work He has accomplished through the WEI Internet course.”
George Moore, an elder of the church in Lincoln City, Oregon, writes, “It seems that our labor in the Lord is never in vain. Almost fifty years ago, Dick Ady and I worked together in Taiwan, and our medium of evangelism was teaching English using the Bible as the source. This is where Dick came up with the idea for WEI. Now, forty-seven years later, these studies continue to bear fruit at the Unity Village Church of Christ.”
“Carol Hwang, who served Dick and me as secretary, interpreter, and teacher, continues to teach, and she is now using WEI lessons to reach the Buddhist community in Taipei. Recently, a mother and her two daughters from a Buddhist family studied with Carol and decided to be baptized. I had met them a year ago, and Carol generously invited me to Taiwan to baptize them. It was indeed an honor to be asked. I took their confessions and stood by while Lee Ku Yi, the minister, performed the immersions.”
“Nancy Peng was also baptized, making this day a glorious memory. Years ago, Nancy’s sister, Christine, was baptized with the consent of her Buddhist parents—which was absolutely necessary in that culture. She was only thirteen years old and was Carol’s former student. Through the years, Christine has led every member of her family to Christ except Nancy. We all rejoiced when Nancy finally came to Christ and was baptized.”
Finally, George writes, “The Unity Village Church of Christ proudly welcomes Nancy Peng and Jill, Sherry, and Cindy Hou into their fellowship. Our thanks to Dick, WEI, and General Frank and Carol Hwang for their dedication over many years of service.”
Oltion Mezini, the Albanian minister who works with Tom Bonner in the city of Lushnja, gives the following account of his conversion.
“My introduction to the church of Christ in Lushnja was through World English Institute. I enrolled as a student to study English free. My first teacher was Alma Kajdo (Tom’s secretary). She invited me to the Sunday service in 2006. I was studying English and attending the worship on Sunday. During that time, I was an unbeliever.”
After studying with Tom Bonner, Olti was baptized March 18, 2007. He says, “This date for me was the beginning of a new life, new thinking, and a new road with God.”
Sojana (Olti’s future wife) started attending church services in Lushnja in 2008 and was baptized in October 2009. Both later earned Master’s degrees from a university in Vlora, but they decided to serve God in Lushnja rather than pursuing secular occupations.
During the past three months, Olti has been studying with Luan, a sixty-five year old man who has attended church services for five years.
Olti writes, “Luan worked for 35 years as a plumber during the communist regime. Because the ideals of the communist party were very deep in people’s minds and lives, it is very hard for elderly people in Albania to leave that mentality.”
After studying Acts 8:27-38, Olti asked Luan, “What do you think about this?” Luan replied, “I want to be baptized because I want to be saved and have a personal relationship with God. I do not want to wait anymore.”
Olti is now studying the Bible with his mother who was impressed by the joy on Luan’s face when he was baptized. Please pray that Olti’s mother will soon be his sister.
Chuck and Cathy Gusek, two of our most dedicated postal teachers, are working with a national preacher in Gambia where 90% of the people are Muslims. We will withhold his name.
This brother writes, “Gambia is an Islamic country, and the work here is not an easy one. We need prayers from you all. We now have several congregations, and I am urging the brethren to plant more. I keep on training preachers here.”
“The Lord has found a purpose for me in that I know both the Quran and the Bible. I do a radio ministry here. People get a chance to ask any questions on the phone to which I give an answer from the scriptures. It is through the radio and WEI that we get prospects who become converts.”
In the current issue of World Radio News, Steve Cate and Daniel Setiabudi write: “Several of our radio listeners come to us because we teach English as a second language using World English Institute materials. These materials use the English Bible as a text, and many find Jesus as they study.”
For example, Steve and Daniel tell how Ria found more than she had hoped for. After finishing the WEI lessons, Ria “gave her life to Jesus and was baptized.” Ria brought her fiancé Jefferson to Daniel for Bible study. Now, Jefferson and Ria are both Christians. Praise God!
Since January 1, 2016, more than 5,000 potential students gave registered to study on the WEI website. As of this writing, 1996 have submitted answers to the Introductory Lesson and have started their lessons.
During that time, twenty-six new teachers have started, Two have died. A few have had to stop teaching because of ill health, and some have reached the limit of what they can adequately accomplish.
In 1946, the Harding College lectureship featured several speakers who passionately pled for workers in the war-torn nation of Japan. Two of those who heeded the call were Joe and Rosa Bell Cannon, along with fourteen others. In January 1948, they set sail for Japan. The Cannons had only been married seven months, and Joe celebrated his 21st birthday on the voyage.
In the ensuing years, they served in Japan, Okinawa, and in areas of New Guinea where the gospel had not been preached. The day they decided to leave Okinawa for New Guinea, Joe wrote the following poem:
“There is someone out there waiting who has never heard of Christ. There is someone out there dying who must face eternal loss.”
“Can I sit in easy comfort and ignore the plaintive cry? Can I live for self and safety when the world’s about to die?”
“Can I turn from bloody Calvary and seek the easy way—when He died for me and saved me, changing all my night to day?”
“No! I’ve got to face the issue of work yet to be done. Yes! I’ve got to take my cross until the victory is won.”
“So, hold on, Oh child in bondage, for the Word is drawing nigh! You shall hear the gospel story, and no longer shall you die!”
The world is certainly as much in need of the Gospel now as it has ever been. In 2016, we have tools not available in previous generations. What will you do with them? Perhaps we should read again the conversation between God and Moses (Exodus 4).
God bless us all as we fulfill the Great Commission. —Bob and Jan
Joanna concludes, “This experience has helped me to understand the Parable of the Sower so much better. Many seeds were planted, but it took time for the plant to grow.”
We are blessed to add Guatemala and its capital city to the growing list of sites that are planning to start a year-round WEI school. I recently met with the Guatemala mission team to discuss this exciting plan. Missionaries Hawatthia Jones and Byron Benetiz have been hosting WEI summer schools since 2008. They and the short-term teachers have recognized the potential for reaching souls, using WEI, in Guatemala.
Plans for a year-round WEI school were drawn up by Anna Pride and were refined with the help of the missionaries. We are thrilled to announce that Channetta Williams, has committed to establish residence in Guatemala City for the purpose of teaching and directing the start-up of this school. Channetta just earned a Bachelor of Biblical Studies from Sunset International Bible Institute and has completed the Sunset missions program. She is currently seeking spiritual and financial support for this worthwhile endeavor. The Cooksville church of Christ in Cooksville, IL will be her sponsoring congregation. Contact her at chansunset@hotmail.com or (773) 562-4243.
Channetta will be joining the mission team of Hawatthia Jones and Byron and Snezana Benitez, but her efforts will be focused on the WEI school.
We desperately need short-term teachers for several cities in Albania (June 20-July 29). We also need two individuals or a couple to join another couple in Sibiu, Romania (June 20-July1).
To all those who are partnering with us in prayer and resources, we say, “Thank you. We love you.” —Tom and Angie
Moses Born Again in Malawi
The prophet Jeremiah grew tired of preaching to people who rejected his message. He said, “The word of the Lord has brought me insult and reproach all day long. But if I say, ‘I will not mention him or speak any more in his name,’ his word is in my heart like a fire, a fire shut up in my bones. I am weary of holding it in; indeed, I cannot” (Jeremiah 20:8-9).
Many WEI teachers can identify with Jeremiah. You send hundreds of lessons to students, and half of them drop out after the first few lessons. Others argue with you. But from time to time, you find a student who is receptive to the gospel—who responds to the Lord and is born again of water and the Spirit. That fills your heart with joy and rekindles the fire that burns within you.
Someone has said, “It is easy to determine when something is aflame. It ignites other material. Any fire that does not spread will eventually go out.”
A church without evangelism is a dying church. The Christian who is “controlled by the Spirit,” indwelt by the Spirit, “led by the Spirit,” helped by the Spirit, and empowered by the Spirit (Romans 8:6, 9, 14, 26; Eph. 3:16) is a Christian whose evangelistic fervor cannot be extinguished.
In 1985, the Times-Reporter of New Philadelphia, Ohio reported that a group of 400 people gathered around a municipal swimming pool in New Orleans to celebrate the first summer in memory that no one had drowned in city pools. The crowd that gathered included 200 life guards. As the party broke up and the four life guards on duty cleared the pool, they found the fully-clothed body of thirty-one year old Jerome Moody in the deep end of the pool. He had drowned surrounded by life guards celebrating their successful season.
Let us not make the same mistake by ignoring people who are drowning in sin and letting them perish while we enjoy life and celebrate our successes.
Thank you, dear friends, for your support and encouragement. We are working together to seek and save the lost. We appreciate you, and we love you with the love of God. —Dick & Maudine
A WEI student in Sierra Leone, expresses his gratitude to WEI for rescuing him from a life of sin:
“Hello, my name is Solomon Charlie. I’m Sierra Leonean. I’m very grateful and happy to find myself in WEI doing Bible and English courses. Honestly, my life has changed entirely, because I was a fornicator. This sin has been in my life for the past 10 years. Thank God for saving me through WEI. By next year, I’ll be married since Christ has saved me from fornication. Thanks. Yours in Christ, Solomon Charlie.”
Solomon concludes, “Now that I’ve made up my mind to be free from sin, I want you to pray for me to resist the devil and to overcome temptation. Yours in Christ, Solomon.”
