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New Sister in Tirana
Sadete Hoxha, WEI/Church Secretary in Tirana, Albania, was overjoyed as
she typed her most recent report.
Sadete wrote, “On May 8, we witnessed the birth of Vasilika Nini. Her
husband Alfred baptized her, and it was a great day of celebration.
Alfred Nini Baptizes his Wife, Vasilika
“On Sunday after worship, as we were talking together, she said, ‘Sadete,
I want to be baptized.’ I can’t express the emotions of those moments. I was
very happy for the decision that she, herself, made.
“The next day, I shared this good news with Bledi, and two days later, on
Wednesday, Vasilika was baptized.
“We started studying together in March-April 2011. At present, we are
studying from the book, The New Birth. We have talked a lot about baptism,
the purpose of baptism, and the new life with Jesus.
Vasilika Nini with Sadete
“Vasilika is a wonderful person. I thank God for my new sister in Christ.
“It’s so good to see Alfred, Vasilika, Ana, and Kristi at worship on
Sundays.
Others Are Baptized in Tirana
Ellen Walker, missionary in Tirana, adds, “Many of you will remember
Alfred Nini. In fact, several of you taught him. Alfred was baptized about a
year ago. Just recently, we had the joy of welcoming his wife, Vasilika
[vas-e-leek’-ah] into the family. Vasilika has studied with Sadete for about
two years.
“When Alfred baptized her into Christ, we all celebrated with the hosts of
heaven, and now with you.”
Ellen says, “We’ve had several baptisms since I wrote last. Altin Maliqi,
Dori Stana, Sonila, Imena Kërpica, and Jonida Zeqo. They all continue to
worship with the church.”
WEI Campaign in Cuzco, Peru
By the time you read this newsletter, Jonathan Rawlings and five other
Americans will have been to Cuzco, Peru to conduct a WEI campaign. Jon
writes, “Last summer, on a mission trip to Peru with Latin American Missions
(LAM), I was privileged to share a hotel room with Gary Reaves, a missionary
working with the church in Cuzco (http://iglesiayllu.com). After some
late-night talking, I found out that they use WEI materials to reach out to
people in the Cuzco area! They wanted a campaign, but they needed someone in
the United States to help recruit teachers.
“I told him I had taught in Ukraine the previous summer and was willing to
help out. From there we started setting dates and recruiting teachers for
the campaign.
“Six of us from the United States will be making our way to Cuzco (at an
elevation of 11,200 feet in the Andes), joining the six team members already
in Cuzco, to teach from July 1st to 20th.
Macchu Picchu, Peru
“What a great opportunity! It never ceases to amaze me how God works!”
---Jonathan Rawlings
Four Souls
Baptized in India
Prabhu Kumar, Director of WEI in India, is working night and day to lead
people to Christ. He and his team of WEI teachers are studying with people
all over India, and they are baptizing people hand over fist.
For example, Prabhu writes, “At present, I have classes in all the week
days. God has been working with me to convert souls from their ignorance.
Last Saturday night, a great historical thing happened in my life.
“Since January of last year, I have been going with my family and teaching a
Bible class every Sunday afternoon from 4:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. at Dr. V.
Vijay Kumar’s family at Gannavaram. After making clear all of their doubts,
last Saturday their entire family decided to be baptized. Both of their two
children are our WEI students. From the beginning, I have taught them
English and the Bible also.
Prabhu with Dr. Kumar’s Family After their Baptism
“This is really a historical thing in their lives also. Their family has
been Roman Catholics for 40 years. All their fathers and forefathers have
belonged to the same church and have been leaders. The doctor’s family
members have been elders in the RCM Church till now.
“Dr. Kumar’s mother has been admitted to the hospital. For one week, they
have been shifting her from one hospital to another. Right now, she is on
dialysis. Both kidneys have been damaged. Yet this situation did not stop
them from implementing their decision to take baptism.
“One more important thing: All the family members were baptized on March 30
which came between ‘Good Friday’ and ‘Easter,’ days celebrated by Roman
Catholics in a special way. But those events were not able to bind them. God
had fixed the time of their redemption at 6:00 p.m. on the evening of the
30th. I count this event as a great achievement in my life, and they, too,
count it as a wonderful milestone in their lives.
“On Sunday, their entire family was supposed to attend worship at our
campus. But because of their old mother’s health problem, they stayed in the
hospital at Vijayawada. So God helped me conduct the worship service and
serve the Lord’s Supper to the Doctor’s family in the car in front of the
hospital on the road.”
God is doing great things through Prabhu Kumar and his associates. Let us
continue to pray for a fruitful harvest in India.
New WEI Center in Tanzania
William (Willy) Emmanuel Yudah has just established a new WEI teaching
center in Mbeya, Tanzania. Many of his students have already been baptized,
thus building up the Kalobe Church of Christ.
Willy writes, “My wife and I are happy to be a part of WEI as we represent
this Institute in this country.
“Our center is now receiving more new students every day following the
advertisements on Facebook, tracts, flyers, and the signboard I put on the
rented building we use to teach the WEI courses.”
Willy’s New WEI Sign
“Having developed friendships during WEI classes, students ask me to
visit their homes, and I usually take my wife with me.
“The Kalobe Church of Christ is rapidly growing in maturity and in number.
Most of the members are WEI students. The congregation is committed to this
course. Wednesdays and Saturdays are dedicated to door-knocking evangelism,
and each member participates. I printed tracts and flyers in Kiswahili
language for them to hand to everyone. These tracts and flyers explain about
our free English classes. It is my prayer that all these methods and
techniques will bring more people to Jesus Christ.”
Willy’s methods and techniques are, indeed, producing fruit for God. On
April 25, he wrote, “Please join us as we celebrate the baptism of our WEI
student, Dickson William.”
Willy Baptizes Dickson William
On May 5, Willy wrote, “Dear brothers, another WEI student was baptized.”
On May 28, he wrote, “Dear WEI family, we had two baptisms today.”
In the picture below, Henry Mwalwisi is talking to another advanced student
about the WEI lesson they are studying together.
More Muslims Baptized
Do you remember Katheryn Haddad’s Muslim student in the Far East who
baptized his wife in the bathtub two years ago and she, in turn baptized
him? Katheryn named him “John Mark.”
In spite of threats of imprisonment, John Mark has enrolled forty people in
WEI. In March this year, he baptized his seventeen-year-old son who was a
WEI student. A month later, he baptized a friend whom Katheryn has named
“Andrew.”
Andrew was frustrated with Islam, and he began doubting that God existed.
When he became a WEI student last December, he said he had never prayed to
God. But as he progressed in his studies, he changed his mind. He said, “I
have found, if we are faithful to God, God will answer our prayers. Now, I
completely trust God.”
Later, he wrote, “I have learned that Jesus is the real Son of God, and I
believe that Jesus is the only man sent by God. He really sacrificed his
life for people. He is alive, and will be alive forever.”
Finally, he decided to be baptized. He said, “I have decided to be a
Christian with my brothers for the remaining time of life. . . . In this
country, if the Muslims know that I left my religion and accepted the
Christian religion, they will kill me as soon as they know. It is a
difficult choice for everyone, but I have decided to be baptized.”
On April 15, Andrew was baptized into Christ. The following day, he wrote to
Katheryn, “I was baptized yesterday in the bathroom. You rescued me from the
fires of hell. Now I swear on the Son of God that I’m a Christian. I have
left Islam forever. I’m not Muslim.”
Andrew Speaks to Villagers about Protecting their Children
Internet Ministry
The Towells
Traveling 6 weeks throughout the West was the highlight of the past quarter
for us! We visited cousins at an uncle’s 75th anniversary in Oregon, enjoyed
great fellowship with teachers we had only met via email, and gave WEI
presentations in Idaho, Washington, and Arizona. In Portland, Oregon, we
spent a wonderful week with Jo Towell and enjoyed attending the WEI benefit
dinner.
Two new works are in Spokane Valley, WA, where John Gwinup leads a group
using ads locally and in Mt. Juliet, Tennessee, where Dan Nordstrum and Don
Humphrey are organizing initiatives in S. Sudan and Brazil.
The following account from a student in the Middle East is only one among
many we could share, but illustrates what is possible with the Internet and
why we press on.
Three years ago, he decided to leave Islam. "I lived in deep sadness because
of terrorism and sectarianism. I started to read the Bible and discovered
truth. This has been the cause of many problems with family and friends."
When he found WEI, he said, “I believe Jesus sent you to help me. He is
the God who created everything. God created humans in his image, but Satan
wants to distort his image."
He gave many reasons for leaving Islam and said, “If there is any beautiful
thing in Islam, it was taken from Christianity. When I heard the sermon on
the mountain, I cried and then I decided this must be the Lord."
While listening to the Bible all one night on his computer, he felt the
inner conflict between good and sin and struggled with what would happen to
his family when he became a Christian. "Society will hurl insults at my
children. They will suffer because of me. I do not know what I will do."
Regardless, the next morning, he was baptized in secret "and started a new
life".
When asked for his favorite Bible verse, he quoted Matthew 5:14-16, "You are
the light of the world.....Let your light shine before others that they may
see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven."
---Bob and Jan
Short-term Missions
Langleys
I’m writing this column from Romania. The summer short-term missions are
always the highlight of my WEI year. We have teachers from Oregon to
Connecticut, Texas to Tennessee, California to Michigan, and many states in
between. All of these teachers will be so blessed by this experience, but
lives will be dramatically changed, and eternal destinies will be altered
among the hundreds of students who will be participating.
As we’re embarking on this year’s summer WEI missions, I wanted to share
with you three personal testimonies of your sisters in Christ who came to
have a personal relationship with our Lord and Savior through WEI.
“The beginning of the WEI course was, in fact, the beginning of my spiritual
journey. Lucky me, I had one of the most wonderful Christian teachers to
show me the way, to build the necessary bridge between my Orthodoxy
background and the real Christianity. Because of that study, now I’m married
to a servant of God, and we have our first child.” ---Anca Iuhos
“Through WEI, I had the opportunity to know God better and to come closer to
Him. After taking the WEI courses, I decided to become part of the Lord’s
family, and that was the best decision I could ever make in my life.”
---Magdalena (Maggie) Lilla Luchici
“I began attending the courses of WEI about 7 years ago. That represented
for me the beginning of discipline in my spiritual life, and especially the
discipline of going to church every Sunday. I grew up spiritually. I began
reading the Bible more intensely. I knew God’s principles even before
attending this course, but after attending it, I knew I had to pay more
attention to respecting them because I had made a commitment to God, and I
had to fulfill it.” --- Lenuţa Ştuybe
Angie and I love and appreciate so much your support of this WEI ministry.
We cherish the partnership in world missions that we share with you. Please
know that we lift you all up in our prayers regularly. Thank you.
--- Tom & Angie
Editorial
Adys
“God’s word is alive and working and is sharper than a double-edged
sword. It cuts all the way into us, where the soul and the spirit are
joined, to the center of our joints and bones. And it judges the thoughts
and feelings in our hearts” (Hebrews 4:12, New Century Version).
When the word of God is taught, the power of God is unleashed. When God
speaks, His words impact people’s lives. They make things happen. They do
what God sends them to do (Isaiah 55:11).
The primary purpose of WEI is to spread the word of God to every man, woman,
and child on earth. God doesn’t want anyone to be lost. He wants everyone to
come to repentance (2 Peter 3:9). The gospel of Christ is the power of God
for salvation (Romans 1:16), and God is using WEI to spread the good news
about Christ to every nation.
Listen to what students are saying about WEI and the way WEI has changed
their thinking:
A Buddhist writes, “I have learned that God created everything. I thought
everything has evolved spontaneously.”
A 47-year-old student writes, “Initially, the Bible was boring and tiresome,
and I couldn’t make the head or tail out of it! Over a period of time,
thanks to World English Institute, I have started cherishing the Bible. Now,
I want to be very close to God and follow his words sincerely.”
A Muslim student in Iraq told his teacher that studying the Bible through
WEI caused him to leave Islam for Christ.
Another WEI student writes, “I feel that the voice I hear in the Bible is
coming from heaven, and I like it.”
These quotations are typical. In order to keep this ministry going, we need
your prayers and your ongoing support. As Tom Langley has said, “WEI has
reached every country of the world, but not every soul. There is much yet to
be done.”
Is God calling you to get involved in world evangelism? If so, please
consider becoming an Internet teacher, or partnering with us financially.
Send your monthly donations to WEI, 1525 NW Division St., Gresham, OR 97030.
Maudine and I are grateful for your love, your support, and your fellowship.
We love you with the love of God. ---Dick & Maudine
Thanks, Peninsula Church Leaders
On April 20, the Peninsula Church of Christ in Portland, Oregon sponsored
a WEI Benefit Dinner at the Johnson Center on the Campus of Columbia
Christian Schools. We would like to thank Steve Merryman and his helpers for
organizing and promoting the dinner; Harold Hailey and CCS for providing the
venue; the Peninsula elders and members for catering the meal; the speakers
(Art Hitt, Tom Langley, Artan Samara, and Justin Speer) for their marvelous
messages; and the generous guests who contributed $14,894 for the cause. We
are eternally grateful for your support and encouragement. May God bless you
richly.
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