CMS Snippets
Missionary Malcolm Richards with students at Berea Bible School.
Please pray that many people will buy a gift from the 2008 'Looking for the perfect gift?' catalogue to support the training of local group leaders through NETS. Photo CMS
Building the new school at Berea DR Congo. photo CMS
Namibia: To Rundu and beyooooond!
One of David Greeff’s jobs is to train up local leaders who can teach the growing number of people who study long-distance through the Namibia Evangelical Theological Seminary (NETS).
A little while back, David went with fellow CMS worker Simon Gillham to the far northeast of Namibia to conduct workshops. They did six workshops and covered about 1400 kilometres!
Simon had the interesting experience of being in a situation where no one could speak English. Some could understand Oshiwambo, so one chap translated Simon’s teaching into that language. However, many did not understand Oshiwambo either, so David then translated it into Afrikaans for them!
Pastors with little theological training usually means congregations with a poor and confused understanding of the Bible.
Many students have lots of questions. One person said to Simon, ‘I have heard about someone called Martin Luther. Is he God?’
David and Simon spoke in a prison, and the prisoners were so keen that when they were called away for the evening meal they put their food in their cells and came back for further discussion. They knew David would not be back to that part of Namibia for months.
This month CMS is sending out the 'Looking for the perfect gift?' catalogue to all our members and link churches. Here's a story that connects with one of the ministries that the catalogue will support.
In late 2005, Malcolm and Elizabeth Richards arrived in the war-stricken nation of DR Congo to set up Berea Bible School in the extremely isolated Diocese of Congo.
The school is still being built, with all the materials ferried across the Congo River by canoe, as roads have been impassable since the war.
But as Malcolm and Elizabeth report,
'Much progress has been made since planning began just under three years ago. We have just completed our second building, a dormitory block that can accommodate 24 people. This will be a great improvement on the dirt floors and leaky grass roofs of the current student housing.
'The new Bible School year started last month, and we are running the third and final year of our course for the first time. We have decided not to have a new first-year intake, but instead to invite the spouses of the final year students to join them so that they too can have some training before couples begin their life together in parish-based ministry. This new course presents some challenges, as we are teaching a combination of literate and totally illiterate women.
'With the arrival of wives and children the Bible School community is growing. Families continue to live in the mud huts but the other students have moved into the new accommodation block.'
Please pray that many people will buy a gift from the 2008 'Looking for the perfect gift?' catalogue to support the teachers who work at Berea Bible School. contact Pam Lake 6265 2445.
Emma Kelso Communications Officer
CMS – Australia Inc.