It has been quite some time since we were able to have time to write. Things have been very busy since we sent out our report in the middle of October. We ended our first session of classes at the new Bible Study Center with a Graduation Party on October 21. Since it was our first one in our new place, we wanted it to be good and so we had a meeting to plan everything. All our teachers volunteered to help in preparing a portion of the event and so things were great!
We had just over fifty students enroll in the session and just under half of them graduated six weeks later! All together, the graduates received forty-one certificates, which was the most certificates we have given out in a single session for well over a year at our old location! We had one student, Renor Lim, complete enough courses in this one session to receive a special award. He had Perfect Attendance in all seven of his classes and so received a copy of the New King James Bible!
Graduation is always a fun time because we get to see all of the students together. Before that, they are together in small groups for their classes and some do not ever meet one another until graduation. It is always fun to watch the students as they receive their certificates. From the smiles on their faces and the look in their eyes, you would think that they just received a degree from college! We also try to have some fun with the students with a few games. The highlight is always our Bible quiz, where we divide everyone present into two groups and then have them compete against each other by answering questions taken from the material they learned in their classes. Doing that ensures that just about everyone knows at least one answer!
After the main program was finished, we invited everyone present to look at our class schedule for the next session and enroll in a class or two. We had several sign up on that day! Then we had a two-week break before the next session was to begin, on November 6. We took few days off to let everyone rest up before “getting after it” once again. The week of October 29-November 4 was our official Enrollment Week and so we passed out a few thousand invitations, sent out email messages over the internet and text messages through cell phones to all former students and people who had visited the Center since we started operation. By the time the first week of the new session was over, we AGAIN had more than fifty students enrolled in classes! We were so thrilled because it has been a couple of years since we had back-to-back sessions with more than fifty people enrolled!
Back in the first session, we had twelve students complete our primary “first level course”, which we call Jesus: Man of the Bible. This is the first of a two-part series of courses we use to teach people the Gospel. Each part has twelve lessons and each class lasts about an hour and a half! That works out to a lot of study time. Just before that session, we finally completed the textbook for the course and this group was the first to use it. The book made things so much better because students were able to read and study the lessons material prior to coming to class, which allowed us to have much more discussion and engage the students more during the class time! Each lesson also has twenty-fine test questions at the end, which are designed to help us gauge how the students are doing with the material.
Jesus: Man of the Bible begins with material that explains what the Bible is, where it came from, and how to study it, and then the lesson material goes into a very good study of the person and history of Jesus Christ. The goal is to establish a very solid understanding of WHO Jesus is so that when the students study the Gospel, in the second course, they will always keep in their minds WHO it is that has helped them and just what Jesus had to accomplish in order to become THE LORD! We were so impressed with the effect that having a textbook had on the students in the “Jesus: Man” course that, during the break between sessions, we decided to begin immediate work on making a textbook for Jesus: Lord of Our Lives, which is the second course in the series. By the time class began, we had the first two lessons ready and so we gave them out to the students.
All twelve of the students who finished “Jesus: Man” signed up for “Jesus: Lord” and so we were excited about that. Since they enjoyed the textbook in the first course, they were eager to get the lesson material for the second course!
We ended our first week of classes with about two thirds of the students who enrolled actually attending their classes! What a sight that was to see!
Aside from classes at the Center, we continued to struggle to get the new Southside church going. We still did not have any new members. However, we noticed several of our students become regular visitors. We joined the Southside congregation with the Uptown congregation for their usual twice-a–month outing. They found a small park in our part of town that also has a fishing pond! It has a covered meeting area that extends out over the water, which makes it cool. Those who want to can even fish in the afternoons after our morning assembly and pot luck lunch! (Who says you can’t go to church AND go fishing on Sunday, all at the same time?) Our students have taken notice of how different our “church” is than most others. However, when we take them through the first few chapters of the book of Acts they understand what we are trying to do – and they like it a lot!
Please continue praying for our programs and for the students who study with us, that they will remain eager to learn and that their hearts will be open to what they learn.
As always, we are happy to be here and so THANKFUL for the opportunity you have given us to serve! We ask that you continue to pray for the good health of all the brethren, and especially for our family!
May God continue to give us more opportunities to serve!
Grace and Peace to ALL!
Barry, Shari, Sara & Amy
PS - Here is an interesting photo for you. The electric company is starting to elevate their electric meters to great heights in parts of the city where people are packed together! This is to keep people from stealing electricity or installing 'fake' electrical connections. How would you like to have the job of reading those meters each month?
We had just over fifty students enroll in the session and just under half of them graduated six weeks later! All together, the graduates received forty-one certificates, which was the most certificates we have given out in a single session for well over a year at our old location! We had one student, Renor Lim, complete enough courses in this one session to receive a special award. He had Perfect Attendance in all seven of his classes and so received a copy of the New King James Bible! 
Graduation is always a fun time because we get to see all of the students together. Before that, they are together in small groups for their classes and some do not ever meet one another until graduation. It is always fun to watch the students as they receive their certificates. From the smiles on their faces and the look in their eyes, you would think that they just received a degree from college! We also try to have some fun with the students with a few games. The highlight is always our Bible quiz, where we divide everyone present into two groups and then have them compete against each other by answering questions taken from the material they learned in their classes. Doing that ensures that just about everyone knows at least one answer! 
After the main program was finished, we invited everyone present to look at our class schedule for the next session and enroll in a class or two. We had several sign up on that day! Then we had a two-week break before the next session was to begin, on November 6. We took few days off to let everyone rest up before “getting after it” once again. The week of October 29-November 4 was our official Enrollment Week and so we passed out a few thousand invitations, sent out email messages over the internet and text messages through cell phones to all former students and people who had visited the Center since we started operation. By the time the first week of the new session was over, we AGAIN had more than fifty students enrolled in classes! We were so thrilled because it has been a couple of years since we had back-to-back sessions with more than fifty people enrolled! 
Back in the first session, we had twelve students complete our primary “first level course”, which we call Jesus: Man of the Bible. This is the first of a two-part series of courses we use to teach people the Gospel. Each part has twelve lessons and each class lasts about an hour and a half! That works out to a lot of study time. Just before that session, we finally completed the textbook for the course and this group was the first to use it. The book made things so much better because students were able to read and study the lessons material prior to coming to class, which allowed us to have much more discussion and engage the students more during the class time! Each lesson also has twenty-fine test questions at the end, which are designed to help us gauge how the students are doing with the material. 
Jesus: Man of the Bible begins with material that explains what the Bible is, where it came from, and how to study it, and then the lesson material goes into a very good study of the person and history of Jesus Christ. The goal is to establish a very solid understanding of WHO Jesus is so that when the students study the Gospel, in the second course, they will always keep in their minds WHO it is that has helped them and just what Jesus had to accomplish in order to become THE LORD! We were so impressed with the effect that having a textbook had on the students in the “Jesus: Man” course that, during the break between sessions, we decided to begin immediate work on making a textbook for Jesus: Lord of Our Lives, which is the second course in the series. By the time class began, we had the first two lessons ready and so we gave them out to the students. 
Aside from classes at the Center, we continued to struggle to get the new Southside church going. We still did not have any new members. However, we noticed several of our students become regular visitors. We joined the Southside congregation with the Uptown congregation for their usual twice-a–month outing. They found a small park in our part of town that also has a fishing pond! It has a covered meeting area that extends out over the water, which makes it cool. Those who want to can even fish in the afternoons after our morning assembly and pot luck lunch! (Who says you can’t go to church AND go fishing on Sunday, all at the same time?) Our students have taken notice of how different our “church” is than most others. However, when we take them through the first few chapters of the book of Acts they understand what we are trying to do – and they like it a lot! 
