|
Grand Opening in Tirana
Praise God! After ten years of planning and praying, the multi-purpose
building in Tirana, Albania has finally been completed.
New Multi-purpose Building in Tirana
Erik Qirjaqie, Director of WEI in Tirana,
reported recently that 230 people assembled for the dedication ceremony July
21.
Artan Samara spoke about the fifteen-year his-tory of the Church of Christ
in Tirana. Erik Qirjaqie reviewed the challenges that had to be overcome in
order to erect the building. The title of his message was, “Gratitude to
God.” Flori Pollo, a former WEI student who is now a Christian architect,
explained the design of the building. Bill Morgan spoke about the challenges
of the future, and Artan Xhaferi served as Master of Ceremonies.
230 People Attend the Dedication Service
The church invited neighbors who had never attended the church services
before. According to Erik, “they were really impressed with the organization
and the activities.” Some of them told Erik that they were so near and yet
they didn’t know anything about the church. Now, they do.
Erik said, “I think the real challenge has just started. In order for the
new building to be dedicated completely to God, we must fill this place with
people who will hear his word and obey his command.”
Rejoice with us that there is now a permanent place for the church to meet
for worship, Bible study, and fellowship, a place for leadership training,
and a place for WEI students to study and learn about Jesus during summer
campaigns and throughout the year.
Two More Christians in Crete
The headline on Erik Tryggestad’s front page article in the Christian
Chronicle read, “God and Google led John Adesoye to Christ.”
John Adesoye
You may remember that John was a
Pentecostal preacher on the island of Crete who became disillusioned with
Christianity and was surfing the Internet when he found the WEI web site and
enrolled as an Internet student. Jan Towell assigned him to Mike Hale, and
Mike taught him via email.
At Mike’s request, Dino Roussos (minister in Athens, Greece) visited John
and his congregation in Heraklion, Crete, taught them from the Scriptures,
and baptized John into Christ. Since then, John has baptized many members of
his congregation
John Baptizes Naomi in the Mediterranean Sea
Recently, we received a note from John
saying, “Two more souls surrendered their lives to Christ and were baptized.
Naomi was the first to respond after she was instructed about the importance
and the need for baptism. Imelda knew about baptism but had been delaying.
She suddenly decided to be baptized along with Naomi. Naomi is an African
lady, and Imilda is a Philippine woman. They are both students of WEI. To
God be the glory!”
New Brother in Cambodia
Emily Pownall, missionary in Cambodia, sent us an email message recently
that was especially exciting to me. She said, “Great news, Dick. Nen, whom
you started as a student [in February] gave his life to the Lord this
evening! After you left, he studied with Doris [Lohry] a long time, and then
with Jeanne Moore; so you can imagine the celebration. The daughter of the
boat captain decided to follow Nen’s decision while Bora was giving a good
chalk talk and reading all the scriptures on conversion. So, double
rejoicing this evening.”
.jpg)
Dick with Nen in Phnom Penh
Nen is a law student in Phnom Penh. We
praise God that Nen is now our brother in Christ.
Another Baptism in Kenya
Jean de la Nkurunziza reported in a recent email that he had baptized Jacob
Mwaboza Gambo into Christ on August 6. Jacob is 27 years old and enrolled in
WEI on January 19, 2007. He has now enrolled in NationsUniversity.
Jacob Mwaboza Gambo
New WEI Center in Nigeria
We are happy to report that the church in Gladstone, Oregon has volunteered
to sponsor and support the new WEI Study Center in Abak, Nigeria. In late
July, Aniefiok and Etang Akpan formed a WEI Campaign Team consisting of
eight men and two women. This Campaign Team will visit WEI students on a
regular basis and will meet monthly at the WEI Study Center to discuss
progress. The team will also conduct regular WEI campaigns at local churches
throughout Nigeria.
Aniefiok and Etang (center) and WEI Campaign Team
In a recent report, Aniefiok wrote, “The
excitement over the WEI ministry in Nigeria is increasing as more students
of the University of Uyo request enrollment. The university campus is
notorious for acts of violence. We hope that the word of God through the
instrumentality of WEI programme will bring a lasting change to the
university campus in the future. Brother Udeme Thomas Udo, an English
teacher at Rhema Academy is using the holiday period effectively to
distribute the WEI courses in the Uyo area.
“Etang and I will commence work at the WEI Study Center next month. We are
excited about this opportunity to serve the Lord. Work at the center is
progressing.”
The Kings Serve the King
Jared and Laura King, of Portland, Oregon, spent much of the summer working
with Albert Cook in Bucharest, Romania. Here are their comments: “We spent
the last half of the summer teaching, using World English Institute
material. These classes are where most of the contacts for the new church
plant come from. We taught seven hours a day for four weeks. Laura and I
each had twelve students, and as each day went by, we grew closer and
closer, making it hard to say goodbye. Albert will be teaching a follow-up
course in the fall.”
Surge in Internet Students
Bob & Jan Towell
There is very exciting news to report.
Our Google and paper advertisements have produced fantastic results. At the
beginning of August, the budget for the Google advertisement was increased
from $100 to $200 per month, and the registration rate increased from 9.5
per day to 14 a day. During the last week in August, an advertisement
offering free English lessons was placed in a magazine in a communist
country. The next week, an advertisement in Arabic appeared in a newspaper
in the Middle East. With these ads, the registration rate soared from 14 a
day to 35 a day. The success of these ads has so strained WEI’s Internet
teaching staff and administrative staff that we have stopped the Google
advertising.
This success shows that we have been thinking too small. We need to
immediately add 30 teachers to the 30 teachers who are presently straining
to teach all the students the Lord has entrusted to us. As soon as we have
enough teachers, we will turn Google back on. I would like to shoot for a
registration rate of 50 a day by the end of 2007.
We have found out how to get students by
the hundreds; now we need teachers for them, and the administrative tools to
handle and track them properly. Jonathan Towell, our grandson, and Colby
Blysdale are working on the administrative tools, and they expect to have
the major tool operating by the end of September.
Here is where you can help. If you are
not teaching via the Internet, add this method to your bag of teaching
tools. If you can send and receive email, and you know how to use the “copy”
and “paste” functions, you know enough about computers. Teaching via the
Internet eliminates the long wait between sending lessons and receiving
answers. Just ½ of a second after you press the “Send” button, the lesson is
in your student’s email box. Another huge advantage in teaching WEI’s
courses by the Internet is that the teacher and student write each other
after each lesson. Please talk with your friends about this opportunity to
persuade people to believe in Jesus.
---Bob & Jan Towell
Tom, Angie, Brianna, Bianca Langley
The summer of 2007 World English
Institute short-term missions have all concluded. What an exciting summer it
was! Our office sent teams of WEI teachers to 14 different mission site
cities in 5 countries. Approximately 78 teachers from all over the United
States taught the Word of God to more than 380 students. The seed has been
sown, and the soil continues to be watered by missionaries on site, and by
our teachers continuing with their students in correspondence. God has
already given the increase as some of these students have put on Christ in
the waters of baptism, and many more are very close to that most important
decision. Please pray with us for a continued fruitful harvest.
I have to share with you part of a letter that one of our students from
Bucharest, Romania handed me on the last day of classes. I saw her quite
often, and I cannot recall once seeing her without a big smile on her face.
What she wrote is a testament to the way our teachers reflect Jesus in their
lives.
“The first thing that struck me when first meeting my teachers was a feeling
of absolute trust. I enjoyed listening to them because they had the accuracy
and wisdom provided by studying, praying, and meditating upon the Bible.
They transmitted to me serenity, tranquility, and peace. They came from a
long distance to make God’s Word known throughout the entire world. The
teachings and commandments from the Bible are valid, vivid, and current no
matter what time, place, or situation. The Word of God surpasses any
language need or barrier. My life will never be the same. I will keep VERY
special memories of the 2007 summer course.”
After reading that, how could you not want to be a teacher in a WEI
short-term mission? If you are interested in teaching WEI by correspondence
or in a short-term mission, please contact me immediately. We’re always
looking for teachers.
God bless those of you who support our Maryville office prayerfully and
financially. We love and appreciate you.
---Tom & Angie Langley
Dick & Maudine Ady
WEI is drowning in opportunity. During a
single week recently, Bob and Jan Towell received more than 200 new Internet
students, half of them from the heart of Islam, and the other half from a
communist country in Asia. Since August, they have received an average of
34.7 registrants per day. They need 30 more teachers to keep up with the
opportunity that God has laid in our laps.
Almost every week, we receive news from
the Middle East that more people have been born again of water and the
Spirit. God is at work, and the church is growing in an area that is hostile
to Christianity. Our hats are off to those courageous souls who are
proclaiming the Good News at great risk to themselves. Let us pray that God
will protect them.
Enoch and Jeannine Thweatt are scheduled to return to Taiwan for another WEI
campaign this month. They report that six teachers have signed up thus far,
including veteran teachers Sarah Coggins from Alabama and Larry Raper of
Cookeville, Tennessee. New teachers include Rodney and Carole English of
Nashville. Rodney is a retired salesman and serves as a substitute teacher
for Metro schools. Carole is an adjunct professor in the graduate school
Department of Education at Lipscomb. She is a former professor of English at
Vanderbilt University. Praise God for such a talented group of teachers.
Wayne Pyle, WEI teacher in Nashville, TN reports that the Antioch
congregation is using the WEI lessons on Monday and Wednesday nights to
teach over 200 ESL students who come from four cultural backgrounds. Wayne
is teaching a lady from Mexico who has been in the U.S. six years but is
trying to catch up with her fourteen-year-old middle school son. Wayne says,
“She works 10 to 12 hour days, and though she is tired, she says this is the
best thing that she has found since getting to Tennessee.”
GOD is blessing WEI beyond our wildest
hopes and dreams. And he is using YOU, dear friends, to share the Good News
about Christ with people in 190 nations. Thank you. We love you.
---Dick and Maudine Ady
|
