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"To grow as excellent Bible teachers"

Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.”

1. Easter Bible Conference

We had our Easter Bible Conference on March 26-28 and 11 students attended. Khomo delivered a message on Genesis 1 and Lesedi prepared a special presentation on creation theory. Through the message and special lecture, the students could understand and accept that God is the one who created the world in the beginning. On the second day of the conference, Kagiso delivered a message on the story of Zacchaeus and Jesus who accepted him. All the messages were powerful because of the heart moving testimonies in it. We wrote and shared a Bible testimony twice during the conference, and through doing so, we were all moved by the grace of Jesus who understands, embraces, and accepts sinners unconditionally.

2. Spring Bible Conference

On September 24-26, we had our Spring Bible Conference with 15 students. Caprice (John 4), Kagiso (Matthew 12), and Khomo (Isaiah 49) served the main messages. The messengers struggled with the word of God for almost two months. Their struggles were well revealed in their powerful and confident speech and their heart moving testimonies in the messages. We didn’t have any other programs except for a couple of hours of soccer, but we enjoyed listening to the messages and writing two testimonies. I saw Africans as liking to sing, dance, and play soccer. These might be true, but they are also very thirsty souls who are longing for Christ like a Samaritan woman. On the last day of the conference, God raised Khomo as a UBF leader. He shared his testimony based on Isaiah 49:6, and M. James and Joshua from Pretoria UBF prayed for him to grow as a light for the Gentiles for Wits students.

3. The 1:1 and disciple-making ministry

In 2010, we studied Genesis and had a testimony sharing meeting every Friday for brothers and after the church service on Sunday for sisters. Brothers Lesedi, Khomo, Desmond, and Donald and sisters Boitshwaro, Kagiso, and Caprice regularly attended these sharing meetings. As they studied Genesis and wrote Bible testimonies, they slowly, but steadily grew as Bible teachers who also taught the Bible to other students. In 2010, not only Lesedi and Khomo, but also Desmond, Boitshwaro, and Kagiso regularly taught the Bible. I pray that Donald, Caprice, and Kagiso may be used as Bible teachers in 2011.

After visiting Namsan UBF in Korea, Lesedi began to realize how humanistic he is and struggled to grow as a man of God. On December 30, he went to Canada for his PhD at Concordia University. He was welcomed by M. Luke Hong and other co-workers in Montreal UBF. He is going to stay at the brother’s house. I pray that God may help him to humbly learn from the missionaries and leaders there and grow as a man of God. May God use him greatly as a professional shepherd of God’s flock when he comes back to South Africa.

4. The Brothers’ and Sisters’ House

Brothers Lesedi and Khomo and sisters Boitshwaro and Kagiso stayed in the Bible house. In spite of good results, we realized it was not good for brothers and sisters to live in the same house. Since the lease is about to expire on January 31, 2011, we had been looking for a new Bible house and found one which has two rooms and a living room big enough for a worship service. We decided to have only sisters live in the Bible house. Lesedi went to Canada, Khomo is living in a men’s residence where he invites many brothers to come, and Desmond is looking for a place near the Bible house. May God bless the sisters, Boitshwaro, Kagiso, and Caprice, as they live together from February 1, 2011.

5. Prayer topics for 2011

Our key verse for 2011 is Ezra 7:10 “For Ezra had devoted himself to the study and observance of the Law of the LORD, and to teaching its decrees and laws in Israel.” We pray for each of our members to grow as excellent Bible teachers by preparing Bible study material, studying the Bible, and writing Bible testimonies each week diligently.

- Missionary Jacob Kim’s Luke gospel messages
- 1:1 Bible studies and the testimony sharing meeting
- Three sisters’ life together in the Bible house
- Leseid may humbly learn the God of Canada and Montreal UBF and grow as a man of God
- Khomo may grow as a leader of Wits UBF
- Desmond, Boitshwaro, Kagiso, and Caprice may grow as leaders and shepherds of God’s flock
- Be self-supporting and M. Rebekah’s PhD studies