An Inspiring Example in India
Ratna Paul grew up in an Indian village of 6,200 people. Everyone in the
village was Hindu. There was not a Christian of any kind in the community.
When Ratna Paul became a man, he worked for the Pithapuram Sugar Factory as
a Mechanical Fitter. One day, in an accident at work, his right eye was
seriously injured. In fact, he lost the sight in his right eye. His company
spent a lot of money on surgeries, but none was successful.
Finally, a preacher from the Church of Christ, Brother
Prakasam Reddy, introduced Ratna Paul to Christ and advised him to pray.
That is when things began to change. Slowly, God answered Ratna Paul’s
prayers. His eye healed, and he regained the sight he had lost. He was
baptized into Christ and dedicated his life to God. From that time onward,
he began preaching Christ to all his villagers and to other people
throughout the area. His personal history is not unlike that of the apostle
Paul. Ratna Paul’s own family members, his blood relatives, and his friends
turned against him and became his enemies. The whole community met together
and expelled him from the village.
Brother Paul then constructed a small hut in another place and began
worshiping God. For many years, people objected to this and commanded him
not to worship. They beat him and tried to burn his hut. They sternly warned
him not to preach the word of God. Four times, they gathered together and
tried to kill him. But God saved him, and now he has become a preacher of
the gospel in that area. God is capable of changing a man’s social status.
In the village where people once hated Ratna Paul, they now love him.
God’s power has been demonstrated again and again in
Brother Paul’s life. Today, everyone honors him, and many join him in
worship.
Brother Ratna Paul Baptizes his Student
Prabhu Kumar writes, “God is now using this brother to
work with us by using our WEI study material. He was a good student while he
studied the WEI lessons. I hope that God uses him to open a new door to the
whole Hindu community.
“Please pray for him and for me that we may work together to win many souls
for Christ from the strong Hindu community of Kandarada in the year 2010.”
New Sister in Durrës, Albania
One of the most fruitful works being done in Albania today is being done by
Shkelqim (Çimi) Kafexhiu and his wife, Anila, in the city of Durrës.
Çimi, Anila, & Samuel Kafexhiu
In his December 2009 report, Çimi wrote, “My family
and I thank our God every time we remember you. In all our prayers and
thanksgivings for all of you, we always pray with joy because of your
partnership in the Gospel from the first day until now.”
These words come from the heart of a humble servant of God in Albania.
In nearly every newsletter Çimi reports that God has blessed his efforts
with more fruit.
Ermelinda (Eri) Zyfi Is Born Again
In the current edition of “Winning Albanians to
Christ,” Çimi writes, “On November 3rd, Ermelinda Zyfi (Eri) put on Christ
in baptism. Eri has been attending the church, and she has studied World
English Institute Bible course with Suela since a year ago. I studied the
Bible with Eri for more than three months, and now she is a dear sister in
Christ.
“Eri is very serious about being a godly woman, and she wants to please the
Lord in her life.”
Lebanon Church Bears Fruit
The Grant Street Church of Christ in Lebanon, Oregon has been teaching WEI
postal students for several years, and the Lord has continued to bless them
with a fruitful harvest.
Recently, we received a note from their minister, Jim Vice, saying, “Grant
Street just received their 37th request for baptism through our
correspondence work.”
Jim meets with several members of the Grant Street congregation every
Wednesday evening, and they grade papers, share excitement, and write
letters together.
Jim would be the first to encourage other congregations to get involved in
this worldwide outreach ministry. Leading others to Christ is very
satisfying. Any church, large or small, can do what the Grant Street
congregation is doing. The fruit is sweet, and the rewards are “out of this
world.”
Internet Student Baptized
Ed Deckard, a member of the Maryville, Tennessee congregation who teaches
WEI Internet students, has just experience the thrill of his life. One of
his students, D---- R----, has just been baptized into Christ.
D---- has had a rugged life. In 2002, he was one of many students who took
part in human rights demonstrations in Eastern Africa. He and the other
students thought they had a right to vocalize their views, but government
soldiers reacted violently. A few students died. Some were wounded. Others
were arrested and suspended from school.
At the encouragement of his family, D---- fled to Kenya. He writes, “Even
though God spared my life, I slept at the shade, drank from the rivers, and
was bitten by desert insects in the refugee camp. Life in Kenya was
horrible.
Louis Gerber Baptizes D---- into Christ
“Since the situation hadn’t changed at home, I decided to look for a better
place for the sake of my future. Thank God, I am finally in South Africa and
able to earn some money and study WEI English and Bible lessons. In short, I
live in exile.”
When D---- made a decision to be baptized, Ed put him in touch with Brother
Louis Gerber, a missionary in South Africa. Louis picked D---- up, took him
to the church building, studied the Bible with him, and eventually baptized
him into Christ.
Ed was ecstatic when he heard that D---- had been
baptized. He wrote to Louis, “I am Ed Deckard, your brother in Christ who
has been working with D---- through WEI. I have never had better news. I am
overwhelmed with the idea of his salvation.”
Ed was not alone in rejoicing over D----’s baptism. The smiles in the
picture below tell the story.
Prior to his baptism, D---- said, “I am afraid to go
to church with my addictions: two or three cigars a day, and alcohol.”
After his baptism, D---- said, “It was a wonderful experience. Since then, I
didn’t smoke or drink. God has forgiven me my sin, broken the bondage,
answered my prayer, and comforted me in my dreams. The Bible readings in WEI
have helped me a lot.”
Ed Decker concludes, “The Lord has blessed me by allowing me to work with
WEI. This work gives me a sense of making a difference.”
PIP School Leaves Rich Legacy
We just received word from Bill McDonough, Director of Partners in Progress,
saying that the PIP Center for English Bible Study in Phnom Penh, Cambodia
will be closed this summer.
Bill says, “We too are disappointed that we could not continue to run the
WEI program in Phnom Penh, but the costs have gone through the roof. When
the landlord told us that he would not renew the lease, we felt it was time
to close the office there.
Dick Ady & Phil Gardner in Front of PIP Center
“More than 100 young people have obeyed the gospel,
and although many are unfaithful, there is a core group that has done well.
Some have gone to preaching schools. Others are gainfully employed because
of the English they learned, and are faithful Christians. There are
currently several in the preacher training schools.
“When we look back across seven years (that’s how long we have been here),
we remember there were two small congregations and one missionary here. Now,
we see scores of churches across the country, two full-time schools of
preaching and several part-time schools. There are now more than twenty
full-time foreign missionaries in the country. It’s time to turn it over to
others and look forward.
“Missionaries here (Rich Dolan and Troy Snowbarger) are applauding the
decision saying it is time to make the church more independent and more
Cambodian.”
We should stress that PIP will continue its work in Cambodia through the
Ship of Life and the children’s programs. The Ship of Life will continue to
cruise up and down the Mekong River providing free medical and dental care
for villagers. The children’s programs will continue to feed 1,400 and
educate more than 400 children and young people who are not able to provide
for themselves.
We applaud Bill and Marie-Claire McDonough and their fellow-workers for the
great work they have done and are doing in Cambodia.
Four New Christians in India
Prabhu Kumar reports that, in spite of political turmoil in his part of
India, four WEI students were baptized in Orissa during the past two weeks.
Bro. Tandy Baptizes WEI Student in Orissa, India
There are now more than forty WEI branches in India,
each with approximately twenty-five students. Praise God.
Internet Ministry
Bob & Jan Towell
Internet Registrations - Past 12 months
Thanks to all of you who have participated in helping
WEI’s Internet Program grow dramatically during 2009. What a year it has
been! Almost 37,000 people from 194 nations registered on WEI’s teaching
website and had an opportunity to study Jesus’ parable of the Prodigal Son.
Of these, approximately 5,550 completed the Introductory Lesson and were
assigned to a personal teacher.
The preceding graph shows the number of registrations
each month (blue line), the number of people who submitted answers to the
Introductory Test (green line), and the number of people who scored 70% or
higher and were accepted as students (red line). The registration rate was
down the first quarter when we moved the website to another server and had
to fix programming errors “on-the-fly.” In August and September we had to
suspend the Google advertising because there were not enough teachers for
the students. Thanks to those who stretched themselves and recruited
additional teachers, we were able to keep the Google advertisement on the
full month of October when we reached a record high of 4,363.
We want to personally thank all who made this growth possible.
Not only did you recruit teachers, but you also found
additional money to fund WEI’s Internet program. Please keep up your efforts
on both fronts. Remember, the ad is shown only to the first 4 % of the
people who search for English studies each day, so the numbers in the graph,
as impressive as they seem, are nothing compared to what they would be if
the ad ran all day. The potential is enormous. To reach its potential, more
teachers, more student/teacher coordinators, and more money are needed. The
Lord will provide all these as we are able to use them.
What an evangelism tool WEI is! People from every
nation in the world are coming to us, seeking to learn our language. Even
teachers who cannot leave home can teach these people God’s Word as we teach
them our language.
Join us in dreaming, praying, and giving in the next year!
---Bob & Jan Towell
Short-term Missions
Tom, Angela, Bianca, and Brianna Langley
WEI students are taught by the most effective form of
education known, that is, one to one. Most educational research I’ve read
concludes that the learning experience diminishes in proportion to the
increase of students per teacher. Our postal and Internet correspondence
studies are taught by one teacher to one student. Our short-term mission
studies are conducted in the same manner.
Because we combine English grammar with Bible lessons, we never seem to have
a shortage of students. Therefore, we need teachers. WEI provides
opportunities you to share the gospel and your faith with thousands of lost
souls all over the world. Please consider being a WEI teacher.
We are in the process of forming short-term WEI teams for mission sites in
2010. We have several sites already committed to hosting teams of teachers,
and we need teachers for these sites. The time to make a decision to go is
now. Hiwatthia Jones and Byron Benitez, missionaries in Guatemala City, have
enough teachers for one two-week team, and they need about 6 more teachers
to fill another two-week team in July. Oradea, Romania would like to host a
team of teachers in June and July. Sibiu, Romania would like to host a small
team in 2010. Podova, Italy, under the leadership of the Korodaj and Brauer
families, would like to host their first WEI short-term mission in June and
July. Tirana, Albania will be hosting their 19th WEI short-term mission this
year. Mission sites in the Ukraine, Central America, and South America have
also expressed an interest in hosting WEI teachers. If you are interested in
teaching for 2 weeks, 4 weeks, or even 6 weeks, please contact me directly,
or visit our informational website at
www.weiady.org.
The last three months have been busy with mission
workshops, retreats, lectureships, seminars, etc. It’s encouraging to meet
so many faithful Christians who share our passion for proclaiming the
Gospel. Through WEI we can literally reach the entire world with the true
message of hope. Catch the vision and partner with us in this global mission
ministry. We need teachers and we need financial support as well. Thank you
for your continued prayers and support. ---Tom and Angela Langley
God Is at Work Among Us
Dick and Maudine Ady
The year 2009 is history. A new decade looms before
us, crammed with opportunities for spreading the good news about Christ to
every nook and cranny on earth.
In the past, God has used WEI to teach people about Christ in 201
nations—all but tiny San Marino and the Vatican. Thousands of WEI students
have been baptized, and churches have been planted in at least a dozen
nations.
In the early nineties, the Lord used WEI to teach people about Christ
through postal mail exclusively. Then, he used it in short-term mission
campaigns to follow up on WEI postal students. Now, he has added the
Internet to the mix and is using WEI to teach people in every Muslim country
(including Iraq, Iran, and Afghanistan), and in every Communist country
(including China, Cuba, North Korea, and Vietnam).
I sincerely believe we could have ten million WEI students by this time next
year if we had the money to run the Google ads, and the staff and teachers
to teach the students. If we had unlimited human and financial resources, I
am convinced we could have 100 million students by the end of this decade.
This is not a fanciful pipe dream. It is a realistic vision of what can be
done if churches and individuals all over America were to use this God-given
tool for world evangelism.
Maudine and I are grateful to the churches and friends who have supported
this ministry with your prayers, your participation, and your financial
gifts. You have been generous and loving; and we are thankful. When you get
to heaven, you may be surprised by the number of people you will thank you
for introducing them to the Savior.
The forces of evil are numerous and strong, and
Godless secularism is gaining control of our world. But we are not ashamed
of the gospel of Christ. It is the power of God unto salvation.
If you have not yet had fellowship with us in this ministry, please start
now. You will be blessed. If you are part of the WEI support team, God bless
you. We love you.
---Dick & Maudine Ady
Students in Romania
Tom Langley with Two of His Students in Cluj, Romania
Most of our WEI short-term missions occur in the summer months, but
occasionally we are blessed with an opportunity to teach students in other
seasons of the year.
Evangelist to Cluj, Romania Claudiu Murtaza, and his wife Anca, began
teaching WEI to other Romanians last August. The effort was met with great
success, and an opportunity presented itself for some American teachers to
follow up on some of their students in November. When I was asked to go, I
hesitated about one-half second before saying YES. My mother agreed to teach
for two weeks following my two weeks of teaching. My mother and I are
becoming quite the WEI tag team.
In Cluj, we were blessed with wonderful students who enjoyed the Bible
lessons more than the grammar. The seed has been planted. May God give the
increase. There is no greater thrill than sharing the gospel and your faith
with precious souls in a WEI short-term mission.
---Tom Langley
Winter Scene
|
