(reprinted from the newsletter from Jay Don and Mary Lee Rogers, director of the Ukrainian Bible Institute) Greetings from Ukraine, What a WILD and WONDERFUL week we have just completed!! God is doing amazing things in Kiev for UBI and we are so very thankful for that. August 1st we began our 16th year in Ukraine with UBI and what a beginning we had. Natasha had been writing us before we left Canada that we were going to have at least 10 new students which was wonderful. With the 12 we had that would about put us to our max, considering our building space and funds for scholarships is now so limited. But~~~ when we arrived back to Kiev, she told us the number was up to 12 and we thought whoa, that is probably more than we can handle. Well, opening day we had 5 more wanting to come so now we have an enrollment of 29 with one more coming first of September giving us a total of 30 students!!!! We are literally crammed in like sardines and if you don’t get to chapel early you stand or sit in the hall!!! Great problems to have but a little overwhelming on how to handle them all. We have 16 men and 14 ladies. With our ladies growing from 1 to 14 our ladies classes are now back in action even if we did have to push one of the men’s classes to meet in our staff’s office! Saturday, August 8th Dave Phillips and Gabe...
Author: sibi_admin
More Solar Players to Nigeria and Distribution Passes Halfway
Phase II Halfway Complete With the latest trip to Nigeria the distribution of 2,000 solar-powered audio players in Ethiopia, South Sudan, Nigeria, and Kenya has passed the halfway point. Truitt Adair and Doug Reeves returned from a very productive and rewarding mission to Nigeria in May. They spoke at the West Nigeria Christian College Preachers’ Workshop and Graduation and distributed 200 solar players to the Nigerian preachers and church leaders who attended. Paul Akinwale was a student at Lagos School of Preaching (1973-76) during the time that Truitt and his family served as missionaries in Lagos, Nigeria. Paul is one of only two graduates from that school still alive. Paul is still faithfully preaching after almost 40 years and he brought several of his converts with him, who are also now preaching in Nigerian congregations. “Thank You Hundred Times” Augustine Akpoke, from Nigeria, was excited about the results of the solar player he received. He used the solar player to teach his congregations in their Bible classes. He also used it to teach a WBS student about baptism. He just had to say “thank you hundred times” for providing him with this teaching tool. Other Nigeria Distributions Dan Goodyear and Tim Burow distributed 280 solar players in a different region of Nigeria. As a part of their journey, Dan and Tim were able to hear from a select few who had previously been given players. They reported 32 baptisms as a result of their ministry. Praise God! A Blind Man Helps People See the Light Aweye...
Solar Event Report from Kenya
First Deliveries! Phase II of using hand held solar powered audio players (solar players) has been launched and is already being implemented. Even as the nationwide funding effort continues, steps of faith were taken as deliveries, distribution and training have already begun. FIRST DELIVERY – MARCH 1-3 – MERU, KENYA Geoffrey Mwaura Njoroge finished his studies at Sunset International Bible Institute and returned to his home country of Kenya. He went back to Kenya with a dream and a plan of planting a church in the city where he was born and raised. With the help of Tim Brumfield and Speedy Hart, instructors from Sunset, Geoffrey began planting this future congregation. As Bible studies continued during the day, services were held each evening, allowing those who worked to attend also. Men and women listened intently as they let the Word of God speak to their hearts. Solar players were given out and received with great pleasure and joy. The Lord’s church will continue to meet every Sunday in Machegene. The solar players will be used to mature the saints and grow the body of Christ. Two were clothed with Christ, and prayerfully others will soon come to obey the true gospel. Additionally, the three men made a delivery, distribution and training at the Meru School of Theology. Preachers from around the county of Meru gathered and 70 solar players were given out and will be used in the Meru area of Kenya to train more preachers and leaders and evangelize among the villages in the county....
Good News From Ukraine
ON THE REOPENING OF UBI IN KIEV
After nine months, Sunset is once again equipping servants of Christ in Ukraine. The Ukrainian Bible Institute (UBI) has moved to the capital city and is receiving students to train as preachers and church leaders. UBI is again reaching out with the gospel and blessing the lives of those who are in need physically and spiritually. All of this is possible because you allowed God to work through you to meet a pressing need.
Ukrainian Christians Need Your Help
$25,000 Matching Grant Allows You to Double Your Gift Read the latest on the work in Ukraine. Thousands of Ukrainian Christians have become refugees, among them, the faculty, staff and students of Ukrainian Bible Institute. UBI Dean, Jay Don Rogers, and his staff are leading a huge relief effort, which includes resettling the preacher training school students and faculty from the war zone of Donetsk to Kiev. For months separatists have been in control of eastern Ukraine and that, according to Vincent Cochetel (Director of the UN refugee agency’s European bureau) has displaced more than a million people. The war refugees have scattered across the country and some have gone to live in Russia. They leave their homes, their work and sometimes their families behind. They arrive at refugee camps and church doorsteps with very little besides great need. Our brethren in various regions of the country are trying to help to the very best of their ability but the needs go far beyond their resources. They have appealed to all of us for aid and Sunset will do all that we can to help. We are dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance for those who have been displaced by the war in the east and also to meeting the spiritual needs of those who may be more open to the gospel than at any other point in their life. The relief effort of Sunset and UBI has been given a matching grant of $25,000 from a donor who is challenging others to match his gift....
Urgent Prayers and Help Needed for Ukraine
Read the latest update about Ukraine and of UBI (12/1/2014) UPDATE 8/10/2014: Sasha Kolbzev has been released and is among the refugees living in the church’s building in Mariupol. As most are probably aware, since late February there has been a great deal of turmoil in southeastern Ukraine. Beginning with the Russian annexation of Crimea and then progressing to the formation of the People’s Republics of Donetsk and Lugansk the citizens and Christians of this part of Ukraine have endured a lot. These conditions have had an effect on SIBI’s associate school in Donetsk. The war in Ukraine with its unstable and dangerous conditions forced us to close down UBI two weeks earlier than normal. This also caused us to have to cancel the graduation ceremonies. Jay Don and Mary Lee Rogers (Jay Don is the director of the school) left Donetsk the middle of May. Because flights had been canceled out of Donetsk, they had to fly out of Dnipropetrovs’k’k. They are presently in Canada doing what they can to keep up with the staff, students and multiple needs. It was very hard to make the decision to leave but the Rogers knew that their presence might put the UBI staff and neighbors in danger. There was a lot of anti-American propaganda being put out by the Russian separatists. The original desire was to go ahead and finish the term and have graduation in August but as most of you know, right now Donetsk is one of the hot spots where heavy fighting is taking...
Solar Field Report – Zimbabwe, July 2014
My recent trip to Zimbabwe was mainly for the distribution of the solar players. The primary avenue of distribution was through the faculty and students of the Mutare School of Preaching. The first solar player was given to the Chairman of the Board of the school who works with several congregations to the southwest of Mutare. Eighty players were distributed to students of the school who will use them to reinforce and deepen their training and to help them prepare the lessons they will give at various congregations especially during their ten week field practice when they will do evangelistic studies and strengthen the church and new converts. The students and faculty see the solar player as a great tool for their work, which is why they stood in line in the hot sun to receive the solar players. During the break at a recent workshop, I walked over to some men at the barbecue pit who were cooking for the group. As I got closer I could hear the solar player. They had hooked up the solar player to the car radio and were listening to the book of Genesis and it was loud enough for all around to hear. I was also able to give solar players to two church leaders from Mozambique who live just across the border. They have congregations who are struggling without preachers. The preachers in Zimbabwe are very evangelistic and are willing to travel great distances in order to save the lost and strengthen the saved. They view the...
Solar Field Report – Liberia, June 2014
In early June I carried many of the solar players provided by generous donors into Liberia and began distributing them to a large group of preachers that gathered from Monrovia, Liberia Bible College, the surrounding area and rural villages in the Grand Bassa area. We were blessed to distribute 124 players at the seminar held in Monrovia. The preachers were so excited to have this teaching and study tool at their disposal. I was then able to travel to Weala, Liberia, where Sunset has an international ministry training school. George Tengbeh, Dean of the school, gathered 80 current and former students scattered throughout rural Liberia to receive their own solar players at a seminar that was presented. The preachers and students there were excited to receive them and look forward to using them in villages throughout the country. While in Liberia, we were able to take the solar players to schools and share the Bible teachings on the player with a large number of children and even take the players and use them in local markets. As the Bible and Bible teaching Sunset provided would began to play, Liberians would gather in large numbers to sit and listen to the teaching. They would call out to others and they would run to the market to hear the gospel being taught on the solar players. I was blessed to see clusters of Liberian men, women and children gathered in homes, schools and marketplaces listening to God’s Word together, to see preachers standing guard over their players as...