When God Calls, Jim Answers
Jim Fox has been an effective and influential WEI short-term missionary in Albania for a quarter of a century. By worldly standards Jim has reason to be proud, but he is one of the kindest, most humble, and most spiritually-minded men I know.
Jim graduated from law school at the University of Memphis in 1970 and distinguished himself as an attorney during the next twenty-two years. At Tennessee Valley Authority (TVA), he served as a trial attorney and rose in rank to Vice President and Deputy General Counsel.
Since his retirement in 2001, Jim has worked with his lovely wife, Susan, at Knoxville Christian School, free of charge. At KCS, he has served as Principal, President, and CEO.
Jim also serves as an elder of the Hardin Valley Church of Christ in Knoxville and as a valuable member of the WEI board of directors.
The students at Knoxville Christian School love Jim. So do his WEI students in Albania. He not only teaches them English and the Bible; he also prays with them and encourages them. His humble spirit draws them to Jesus and often leads them to the waters of baptism.
These accolades probably will make Jim feel uncomfortable. That is not our goal. Our aim is to recognize Jim as God’s man. That is why God is using him as an humble servant.
One of Jim’s students this summer was a young Albanian woman named Fjori Zani (pronounced “Fee-o’-ree”).
Sadete Hoxha, the WEI secretary in Tirana, writes, “Fjori was a WEI student this summer, and her first teacher was Lois Huffman. She continued her studies with Woody Byars and Sarah Cobb. Fjori continued the advanced level with Jim Fox.
“We are so grateful to Jim. He followed up on the Summer Session and taught seven students every day for two weeks (August 20-31). Now, Fjori Zani is our new sister-in-Christ . On August 31, she received salvation in the waters of baptism.”
Slow Journey to Christ in Kenya
Geoffrey Nyaboga, a WEI teacher in western Kenya, tells an interesting story about a student’s slow and tedious journey to Christ.
Geoffrey writes, “We had one soul added to the church today. John Orina has been a Catholic believer and one of the leaders there. He was ‘baptized’ through the sprinkling of water.
“The first time I met John, he didn’t want me to open the Bible and share with him. I asked him, ‘Do you believe the Bible is the holy book of God?’ He said, ‘Yes.’ I said, ‘Then let us open it and read together.’ At that time, he ran away.
“I kept praying for him and visiting him regularly. Sometimes he would hide from me, and sometimes he would accept me. But through regular sharing and praying, John obeyed the gospel and was added to the Lord’s church.”
Afghan Is Baptized in Indonesia
Len Hardaway, an elder of the church in Woodinville, Washington, has taught numerous WEI Internet students and has arranged to have some of them baptized. Two of his converts were pictured in the Towells’ column in the last issue of the WEI newsletter.
In an email dated September 26, Len said, “I forgot to tell you that another of my students, Mustafa Shadan, was baptized. I’m not exactly sure how long ago. He ‘disappeared’ for quite a while and then suddenly showed up again last week to tell me what he had done. He is an Afghan living in Indonesia. He apparently had someone in the Anglican Church baptize him by immersion. I wish he had warned me before he went to them for help.”
By the grace of God, Len is a master teacher. He picks the hard ones, and God uses him to lead them to Christ. For example, a PhD research physicist in Ukraine is now our brother in Christ. So is a college professor in India.
Len says, “I dearly wish I could meet many of my students around the world face-to-face, hug them, shake their hand, and just enjoy getting acquainted. Heaven is really going to be a fantastic ‘meet and greet’ party.”
Moses Born Again in Malawi
Joanna Martin Howard, an elementary school teacher and WEI Internet teacher tells an interesting story about Moses Kamwendo.
In August 2015, Moses Kamwendo’s name appeared on the list of prospective students on the WEI website, and Joanna claimed him as a student. Joanna says, “Moses continued with his lessons, though there were times when he was not able to work on them. He worked through the Intermediate lessons throughout 2016 and 2017.
“In March of this year, he started the Advanced Course. He worked on the lessons about baptism throughout this spring. In May, after completing the lesson on ‘The Purpose of Baptism,’ he came to the question, ‘What have you learned in this lesson?’ His answer was that he had learned he needed to be baptized to have his sins forgiven.
“That comment set in motion an amazing chain of events. I emailed Jan Towell to see if we could find a Christian contact in his area. In her nightly email message to the WEI teachers, she asked if anyone had contacts in Malawi. Sallie Rose Hollis, from Louisiana, knew of a preacher in Malawi named Gift Makwinja. Sallie sent Gift’s email address to Jan, and Jan notified Gift about Moses. The two men got in touch with each other and arranged to meet. Gift’s home is about five hours away from Moses’ home, but Gift made the long journey and studied with Moses. At the end of their study, Moses was baptized in the Mombeze River, almost three years after he started the WEI lessons.
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.”
Langley Reports from Moldova
In an email dated August 13, Tom Langley virtually shouted, “The Moldova WEI Reception was a GREAT success!
“We had 32 Moldova WEI students show up out of fifty-four RSVPs. That’s a good percentage considering that we normally only have about 50% show up after they have registered online.
“Almost all of them, after the reception, signed up for daily studies with the four teachers. The teachers’ schedules are full from morning until night. The students were smiling from ear to ear, and many of them told me wonderful things about their WEI Internet teachers and how much they enjoyed these studies, especially the Bible reading assignments. It is so encouraging. I wish every teacher would experience this. I don’t think many of the teachers fully realize what a powerful impact these WEI lessons are having on our students. At these receptions I often listen to stories about how reading the Bible is changing their lives and their thinking in profound ways. God’s word will not return to him empty.”
Tom wrote, “Pray for these teachers. Many of the students have important questions that these teachers will have an opportunity to answer from the word of God. To him be the glory.
“The teachers are facing the camera in this photo. Sitting from left to right are Carolyn Chance, Luis Camacho, and Adam Dollen. Standing is Bill Stewart. These teachers introduced themselves after I welcomed the students and told them some interesting things about WEI such as its history and its current size and scope. I thanked them for being students and encouraged them to tell their friends about WEI.
“Today was the first full day of classes. We had dinner together afterward, and all of us were happily exhausted. It’s the best kind of tired. We all had some great studies today.
“Thank you all for your prayers.”
More Baptisms in India
In his September 2018 report on WEI-India, Prabhu Kumar included pictures of three more baptisms. He wrote, “Our WEI teacher, Bro. V. Nagabhushanam is teaching many denominational pastors and converting them in his class and outside also. Please pray for him.”
Drug Addict Baptized in Nigeria
In an email dated July 29/2018, Aniefiok Akpan wrote, “On July 16, I sent a prayer request asking you to pray for a young man named Itoro, a drug addict and atheist we were trying to bring to Christ. Thank you for your prayers.
“Itoro has studied and worshiped with us for three weeks now. Just today, he obeyed the gospel after listening to the sermon I preached at the campus church at Uruk Otong. He was baptized in a stream along Abak road.
“His name is Itoro Sunday Okon. He is a native of one of the villages near Uruk Otong. He lives close to our sister Comfort David Johnson. Sister Comfort hires a commercial motor cyclist to bring her to Uruk Otong for worship services, Bible studies, and prayer meetings. Now, she is paying the transport fare both for herself and Itoro to attend church activities at Uruk Otong.
“Fortunately, they live are in one of the four villages where we plan to plant a new church next year. We have received 1,000 copies of the WEI Introductory Lessons in preparation for the area-wide evangelism ministry using WEISOM students.”
Aniefiok is still looking for a church to sponsor the WEISOM outreach ministry. God is blessing this school with a rich harvest of souls.
A Harvest in Papua New Guinea
In his first World English Institute-Papua New Guinea newsletter, Brother Arthur Tatara reported, “On June 26 to July 6, I traveled to Waria Valley and Menyama with a mission team from Australia and New Zealand. We spent seven days in Waria Valley and three days in Menyama. We baptized 22 people into Christ, and 50 plus people were restored back to the church. Waria is my home village where the church is located.”
You can read about this mission effort in the current edition of The Christian Chronicle: “Amid breathtaking mountain scenery, thick jungle brush, and raging rivers, 22 souls gave their lives to Christ through baptism in Papua New Guinea. The baptisms were the result of a gospel campaign by local Christians along with missionaries from Australia and New Zealand. Each convert received a Bible and a songbook in their native language. It was a mission in ‘incredible, remote places” among ‘amazing loving people.’”
Following this mission, Arthur returned to his current home in Lae to serve as an instructor at the Melanesian Bible College and to teach WEI classes in two public high schools.
Thanks to the generous contribution of Arthur Allen (a member of the Metro congregation in Gresham, Oregon), Arthur Katara has been able to give Bibles to 152 people in Lae City this year. Many high school students have come to faith and are ready for baptism, but their parents object.
Arthur’s first WEI graduation ceremony is scheduled in December, and he is appealing for funds to make this ceremony special for the WEI students and their parents. Nicely-printed certificates, simple gifts, and refreshments could help soften parental objections, open the door for Jesus, enable students to be born again of water and the Spirit, and lead them up the narrow road that leads to life (Matthew 7:13-14). If you would like to help make this happen, please contact me at weiady@aol.com or write to the Gresham office.
Testimony from Alda Braka
Alda Braka, our new sister from Fier Albania, expresses her feelings about WEI in the following words:
“The English language has always been one of my favorite subjects at school. I remember how much I used to study before any exam in English because I wanted the highest grade. Here in Albania, the highest grade is 10, but I never did get one during all nine years of elementary school.
“When I got to high school, a friend told me about a church that was offering free English courses in all levels. That was it! My parents couldn’t afford a private course, so this really made my day. It was a good opportunity to learn English and about God.
“I wasn’t used to getting so much attention at school during my English classes, and this personal attention improved my speaking skills. It made a real difference in the way I pronounce the words, and it helped with writing skills too. My grades at school were improving a lot, and I was becoming one of the best students.
“WEI and the church also taught me the good news about Jesus and his sacrifice. Seeing the truth from another perspective made me realize what Jesus had done for me and what I needed to do to be saved. Step by step, through my years in high school, I learned more and more from WEI and the church until I felt it on my heart and got baptized.
Alda concludes, “After finishing high school, I was accepted by an International University in my country. They gave me a full scholarship for a year. All the courses were taught in English by foreign professors. For other students, it was kind of difficult in the beginning, but not for me. That helped me take good grades in all courses. This ended so well I got another scholarship for the next year. Now I can tell you how much WEI has helped me in high school and university as well. It has been a true blessing for me and for many others. I am so grateful.”
This personal account of Alda’s spiritual journey demonstrates the value of the English component in WEI and the power of the gospel for drawing students to Christ.
New Brother in South Africa
Bob and Jan Towell write, “Rejoice with the angels in heaven and Gail Allen in Springfield, Tennessee. Gail began teaching WEI three years ago because she wanted to offer it to some of her WBS students. One student [Steve Miller], of Johannesburg, South Africa completed both Intermediate and Advanced courses and requested baptism.
“Machona Mohamane sent this today: ‘The Gospel Chariot Ministry team, Dimpo, Machona, and Lazarus, went to visit Steve. He was very excited and started telling us why we were there. His mother made us coffee before we walked to the church building which is about a block away on the same street.”
Machona writes, “Steve Miller, who is Gail Allen’s WBS and WEI student, was baptized today at 1:00 pm South African time at the Tuffontein Church of Christ building, in the presence of a brother and sister who attend the congregation. We introduced them to Steve and gave them the responsibility of maturing him. We, also, who witnessed his baptism by Laz, will help him grow.”
Well-Deserved Recognition
In lieu of the editorial and the columns that usually appear here in the newsletter, this issue of the WEI Update will focus on two of God’s special servants, Bob and Jan Towel. The Towells are uncomfortable under the spotlight. Their goal is to please God and to introduce people to Jesus Christ, not to win human approval. That is precisely why they deserve special recognition and honor.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Show respect to those you should respect. And show honor to those you should honor” (Romans 13:7, ETR Version). In keeping with this principle, Bob and Jan Towell received special honor at the Harding University Bible Lectures recently, not once, but three times. First, they were recognized at the WBS/WEI/China Now luncheon that was attended by approximately 260 lectureship participants.
Second, they were honored at a special reception arranged by David and Lola Crouch, champions of WEI at the College Church in Searcy. David writes, “Approximately fifty friends and WEI teachers attended the reception, which included a congratulatory video from Tom Langley, President of WEI, who was attending a mission conference in Europe. A letter from Dick Ady, founder of the institution, was also read. Lee Allen, Director of Development for WEI, served as Master of Ceremonies for the reception.
Third, Bob and Jan were honored by Harding University. David Crouch writes, “At Harding University’s 95th annual Lectureship, Jan and Bob Towell were honored as recipients of the University’s Distinguished Christian Service Award following the October 2 keynote lecture.
“In making the presentation, Dr. Dan Williams, Harding’s Vice President for Church Relations, cited the couple’s ‘more than three decades of behind-the-scenes, invaluable leadership that has made WEI so effective in fulfilling the Great Commission.’”
