John Fewkes, Founder of Global Seedsowers, and Brian Davis, President of World Bible School, returned recently from a grueling but exciting mission trip to Aweil, South Sudan.
At the Aweil Airport, John and Brian were greeted like royalty by ten local evangelists who took control of their luggage and arranged transportation for them to the MBC Hotel.
John says, “The next morning, Tuesday, [September] 16th, we were driven by Tuk-Tuk to Aweil Bible Shool. While the school was some 4 miles from the hotel, it took over 30 minutes to travel due to the road conditions.”
For the next nine days John and Brian taught the ten evangelists lessons on the New Testament church and the book of James. Six of the evangelists had come to Christ through WEI.
John writes, “It was a privilege to be among enthusiastic evangelists who are able to share the simple gospel truths among spiritually hungry people. Their joy was evident. Just as a family rejoices over the birth of a child, such rejoicing is experienced over the birth of a new church.
“The weather was 90+ degrees and high humidity with little or no wind. To say it was challenging physically is an understatement. By early afternoon, everyone was drenched with sweat. It began to cool in late evening, but without electricity [at the mission compound], an evening session was not possible.
“Some of the villages [around Aweil] have no names. They are just there, and even on a motorcycle, it can take more than a day to reach an area. There are many villages (close to 1,000) requesting the evangelists to come and teach and establish the church. There are no roads, perhaps only a cattle trail, and apparently no maps.”
On September 12, Geng (former WEI student, now evangelist) wrote, “We have initiated a three-day teaching in the small village of Rum-Weet Macha in Aweil East County. Today, John Kuach and I taught the gospel of Jesus Christ. By God’s grace, we witnessed 14 new souls surrender their lives to Jesus Christ as their Savior and make him their own hope of eternal life. After they believed in Jesus Christ, and accepted to be baptized according to the Bible, they were ecstatic.”
The next day, Geng wrote, “I am excited to share with you the addition of 16 new souls that were added to the kingdom of God in our second day of teaching at Rum-Weet Macham plus 14 souls yesterday, which is 30 souls. This decision to get baptized is a significant step of obedience and commitment to following Jesus, and it’s a source of joy and celebration for the entire church community.” On day three, Geng baptized five more people, bringing the number of baptisms at Rum-Weet Macham to 35 in three days.
On September 21, Geng wrote, “I am thrilled to share an update on the recent seminar held at the Ameth Church of Christ. Brother Justin Aleu, who planted this congregqtion in 2004, invited me three dqys ago to assist him. Over the course of our three-day seminar, we taught the Bible and hymns to a faithful and growing congregation. We are deeply grateful for the spiritual strength of this group. Most joyfully, 11 new souls surrendered their lives to Jesus Christ after hearing the gospel during the seminar. These new believers were baptized and have committed to following Christ until the end.”
On October 5, Geng wrote, “I’m pleased to provide an update regarding the recent seminar held at the Makuach Abeer Church of Christ. Over the course of three days, Lang Akol, Mawien Anyoun, and I conducted a comprehensive teaching seminar aimed at introducing the gospel of Jesus Christ to this community. I am delighted to report that the seminar was met with enthusiasm and engagement, resulting in 29 individuals making the life-changing decision to be baptized and affirm their belief in Jesus Christ.
“The Journey to reach the seminar location posed numerous challenges, as the roads were frought with many challenges. The terrain consisted of deep forest paths that were often thick grass and poorly maintained.”
Editor’s note: This restoration movement in South Sudan is the most exciting and productive mission work in the world today. We join John Fewkes in honoring Dennis Cady and Chuck Dennis and the Starfish Foundation for “their foresight and oversight of this great harvest.”
According to Dennis and Chuck, as of October 1st, “there have been 3,781 baptisms and 100 new congregations planted so far in 2025”. Yes, God is moving powerfully in South Sudan.
Attention: I just received an email from Geng saying he has had to park his motorcycle for lack of gasoline. He wants to go to a remote village that needs the gospel, but he can’t get there without his motorcycle. He needs $200 per month for gasoline, oil, repairs, and food for trips to remote villages. If you can help, contact me at weiady@aol.com.
“How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them?” – Romans 10:14
WEI was again thrilled to be one of the three sponsors for the 2025 European Vision Workshop. For the past 5 years, we have partnered with Sunset International Bible Institute, Partners in Progress, and Healing Hands International to host church leaders from all over Europe.
This year, 88 people attended this workshop in Wroclaw, Poland and enjoyed a spiritual uplifting and encouraging 3 days of singing and hearing about many good works and opportunities. We were also encouraged to hear some exceptional lessons on the theme of God’s Certainty in Uncertain Times.
The Oradea, Romania WEI short-term mission school this June-July was a great success. Four excellent WEI teachers taught WEI lessons to many eager students. Several of these students attended worship services during this time. Much seed was sown. And we are grateful to Wendy Neil and Beth Coalson from Bentonville Church of Christ, Arkansas. We also give thanks to God for Felicia Vaughn, Katy Church of Christ, Texas, and Paula Taylor, Fulshear, Texas. These Chistian sisters taught over 200 hours of private WEI Bible lessons from June 23 to July 18. God will give the increase in His perfect timing. Student ages ranged from 14 to 62 years. These EXCEPTIONAL teachers are always welcome to teach WEI on all our platforms.
Most days, at least 100 people ask for Internet support. Usually, they are requesting help for a certain issue, like logging in to their account, or how to proceed to the next lesson. Sometimes, they write to thank WEI for the courses and tell how their lives have been positively altered due to their increased Bible knowledge. Some of the messages that the students think they are sending to their teacher are sent to Internet Support instead. Often, these are messages of heartbreak, challenges, or the loss of a loved one, which they strongly desire to share with their teacher. These messages reveal how amazing, patient, and concerned our teachers are. These messages demonstrate the pure love of Christ our teachers have for their students. They send messages of joy, adoration, and thankfulness to their teachers for what they are learning.
Through Internet Support, we also receive twenty or so messages from teachers. These are often about how to handle a situation with a student, suggestions to improve the courses, or questions about various website issues. Our teachers are always striving to bless their students by answering their questions honestly, accurately, and with love. It’s a thrill to witness how many of our teachers have become passionate missionaries. Our love, adoration, and respect for these teachers are overwhelming. They exceed all expectations. These brothers and sisters are a large group of diverse, faithful Christians, and they are the hearts, hands, and feet of the gospel message.
Keep up the amazing work! We love and appreciate you all.
If you are interested in participating on a shortterm mission experience, contact Tom Langley at tom@worldenglishinstitute.org for more information.
Gading or Reviewing? Teaching or Guiding?
I meet with a lot of people and talk often about being a WEI teacher. The most common hesitation I hear is, “I’m not a teacher, and especially an English grammar teacher.” This fear of teaching represents the majority of people I meet. My response is always, “You don’t need to be afraid of teaching or of being an English expert. The material does the teaching. The lessons are graded for you. We only ask that you model good English as best you can. No one speaks or writes with perfect grammar all the time,”
This leads to a relevant question: If the material does the teaching, why am I needed? The answer is simple. God is introducing a precious soul to you to help introduce them to Christ. Notice the wording: God is introducing people He already knows and loves to you so you can introduce them to Jesus. This makes you more of a guide than a teacher, much like Phillip was to the Ethiopian in Acts chapter eight. Yes, you may clarify questions or elaborate when needed, but most of the time, you are guiding them and encouraging them to see what God has done. Since lessons are graded automatically, we are doing something more meaningful than issuing certificates. Our role is to review responses to questions. For grammar lessons, I usually scroll to the bottom and click Send Grade and View Assignments, rarely having a comment to make. For reading lessons, I look for whether my new friend grasps the main points and how I might bring Christ into clearer focus. We review lessons rather than grade them. This fulfills my main purpose—as a missionary from my kitchen table.
If being a teacher makes you nervous, focus on being a guide who introduces Jesus to someone God has introduced to you.
When I began making plans to retire in 2012, I did not include going blind among those plans. As with many Americans, Advanced Macular Degeneration, or AMD, can attack us whether we are ready or not.
By 2015, I had to stop driving. I gave away a lot of my power tools and backpacking toys, preparing myself for a less active life. I also cut back on many things, including my work with World English Institute as an Internet teacher.
One day, I realized that my total problem was not my level of blindness. My problem was not realizing the potential of better using what I had left. I was introduced to enhanced magnification tools and computer software that could magnify everything on the computer screen and read it to me. I learned how my smart phone could not only read to me, but utilizing GPS technology, gives me walking directions to the nearest Starbucks, or any other place around me. I was trained to use the white cane to allow more freedom in movement without the fear of tripping or falling off a curb or down a flight of stairs. I became more confident, safe, and qualified to find my own way. At the same time, electronic devices and software that can read to me opened up new possibilities for World English Institute.
I use a desktop computer with a large screen. As a blinded veteran of the Vietnam War, I receive a few extra benefits provided by the VA. One of those is a software program called “Zoom Text.” I use it with my WEI lessons to enlarge the text to about one inch high whenever I actually read something. Otherwise, the software reads each word, sentence, or page to me. I have also discovered that a Windows computer can also magnify and speak text. With Zoomtext, I can select a student, hear the grade, and write comments or communicate with my student. WEI has created a unique structure whereby they do all the work, and the teacher gets all the credit. The students think their teachers are amazing. Thank you, WEI, for making us look good although the teachers know you deserve the credit.
In addition to the desktop and the overpriced software I use, I also have my Apple IPAD that I use. Apple created something called “Voiceover.” Once you activate Voiceover, everything you touch on the IPAD will be spoken to you. It may take some work for some people to get used to using Voiceover, but in the end, the possibilities are endless.
I can also do my WEI lessons on my IPHONE, the same way as the IPAD. There are also free APPS available for low visioned tech lovers.
Nothing can take the place of a person’s vision, but technology can enhance one’s remaining vision and allow us to be more complete. I am confident that if I lost my remaining vision, I could still maintain my level of commitment to WEI by using my current technology.
For those of you living with blindness or low vision and would like the help of technology to help you with WEI, I would be happy to share what I know. Blindness does not define us. It is merely an inconvenience; an obstacle that requires a change of direction. You are very welcome to contact me if you would like help. (mikethomas46@gmail.com)
W.E.I. THANKS ALL OF YOU!!
WEI would not be able to reach people in all nations with the word of God without your support, contributions, and donations
WEI teacher, Arthur Tatara, writes, “In 2024, Melanesian Bible College embarked on an exciting new journey by adding English Bible courses alongside our established Pidgin program.
On July 26, 2025, the college hosted its very first English graduation ceremony. Seven of the students here completed their two years of studies and received their diplomas in Basic Bible Studies from the English program. These graduates have now returned to their villages, ready and equipped to serve God in their communities.”
Aniefiok Akpan, founder of Rhema Christian Academy and the Campus Church of Christ, writes, “Let’s welcome Udeme Ephraim Jack to God’s kingdom. He accepted Christ and was baptized at the Campus Church of Christ, Rhema Christian Academy, Uruk Otong today. He is a native of a neighboring village called Nung Ita. He is one of the fans of our GFI football program at Rhema Christiam Academy.”
Lee Allen’s favorite part of his annual mission trip to Albania is teaching classes in the Albanian Christian Camp.
Instead of writing an article about his trip this quarter, Lee asked us to publish an article written by the camp Director, Sokol Haxhiu. Since space is limited, we will have to leave out parts of Sokol’s report to make the article fit the available space.
Jonah 4:2 is a profound statement from Jonah’s own lips about God’s mercy. This year the book of Jonah was the focus of our summer camp teachings, highlighting God’s mercy and his love for humankind.
We had nearly 350 campers of all ages (children, teenagers, and adults) participate in this year’s three-week camp in southern Albania close to Saranda. Campers came from all corners of Albania, and we even had some join us from other countries. This year, there were more requests to attend than we had room to accommodate.
We had a fantastic time, and it’s difficult to put into words the richness of the interactions, fellowship, reflections, joy, worship, tears, breaking of bread, playing together, and singing.
There is so much joy when campers confess Christ publicly and commit to a new life in him. During the camp, seven souls came to Christ including Samuel from Durrës, Liam and Arben from Tirana, and Zerina from Poliçan.
We are humbled to be used by God and to witness the Spirit at work—leading some campers to total surrender, others to repentance, and still others to renewed strength and a recommitment to their walk with Christ.
Edwin Hendrix writes, “Six of us were blessed to be part of a team to Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, August 18-Septembe 5, 2025. While we were there, six were immersed into Christ, including a 51-year-old man from a town 250 miles away. He had been a WEI student of Bill Warren and has taken every WEI course available. After traveling to Ulaanbaatar and studying further with Bill, he was baptized into Christ. He desires to preach, and we hope that a church can be planted in his city.”
Unfortunately, space allows for only one of Edwin’s pictures.
An Invitation: We invite you to, please, consider including WEI in your 2026 church budget and join us in a concerted effort to lead the whole world to Christ.
Honorariums and Memorials
Brannan, Virginia
Yeager, Sheila
In Honor of Jean McElfresh
Quinn, Christopher
In Honor of Harold & Norma Stephens
Farris, Bruce & Linda
In Memory of Maudine Ady
Allen, Lee & Jan
Benson, Norma
Howell, Arles & Sandra
Short, Edward & Sharon
In Memory of Peggy Agee
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Gene Banister
His work in Albania and online teaching
Porter, Lee
In Memory Bill Biszmaier
Bizmaier, Mary, Allison, Noelle, Heath
In Memory of Gary Brewer
Miller, Ruth
Osborn, Susan
Taylor, Kathryn
In Memory of Addelee Brown
Cline, J. Norris & Sarah
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Bonnie
Hayes, David & Judith
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Puryear, Randy & Libby
In Memory of Howard & LaFern Burch
Bowman, Ann
In Memory of Ralph Creighton
Edwards, Bonnie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Miles Cullom
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
In Memory of Delores Cutshaw
Edwards, Bonnie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Linda Darnell
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Dwards, Bonnie
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Steve Dockery
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Amanda Dunbar
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Carol Edmonds
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Miles Haberly
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
In Memory of Wyatt Hall
Hall, John & Sherri
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
Holmes, Carl & Carol
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
In Memory of Billie Sue Hesselrode
Bridges, Susan
Russell, Brad & Rachel
In Memory of Alice Howard
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of Freida Kenner
Eastman, Alma
In Memory of Dianne Little
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
In Memory of Toimi Martikainen
Martikainen, Candie
In Memory of Jason Milliken
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Bonnie
In Memory of Chuck Ogle
Adam, Neil & Norma
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Draper, E. Ann
Edwards, Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Gallaher
Harris, Randall, & Judy
Hayes, David & Judith
Holmes, Carl & Carol
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Metzer, Bob & Cathy
Rush, Terry & Brenda
Samuels, Lawrence & Linda
Spencer, Dan
Teffeteller, Kenne & Elmeria
In Memory of Larry Raburn
Raburn, Shirley
In Memory of Steve Riley
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
In Memory of Linda Roberson
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Draper, E. Ann
Edwards, Bonnie
Gallaher, Roy & Carolyn
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
Metzer, Bob & Cathy
Samuels, Lawrence & Linda
In Memory of Phyllis Roberts
Biszmaier, Mary
In Memory of Kathy Rogers
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Langley, Tom & Angie
In Memory of Helen Schwanke
Elliott, Roger & Pamela
In Memory of Russell Spencer
Dean, Jerry & Brenda
Edwards, Bonnie
Gallher, Roy & Carolyn
Langley, Tom & Angie
McClellan, Bruce & Brenda
