West Africa Theological Seminary

April 2008 News and Prayer Letter

From the Desk of Dr. Gary S. Maxey
Founder and Acting Provost

"Unbelief puts our circumstances between us and God, but faith puts God between us and our circumstances” (F. B. Meyer).

Mission work always moves forward amidst challenges and difficulties. The key to success is relying less on our own smartness, ingenuity, and expertise and more on God’s presence and power. Without Him we can do nothing of lasting value. But with FAITH IN GOD we can see mountains removed. At WATS these days mountains are shaking.

PRAISE NOTES:

1. Thank God for good success with our first WATS mission team of 2008—with fifteen or more to come! A Mt. Pisgah United Methodist Church (Alpharetta, Georgia) medical/construction team traveled to WATS March 8, and returned March 15. It included team leader Maryann McLeod, along with Jackie Nietzer, Judy Gordon, Andrew Moore, Woody and Catherine Goslee, Pat Sullivan, Patricia Odem, and Andrew Clark. The medical component saw a total of 435 patients, which, according to WATS clinic matron Florence Osume, puts them in the “WATS Guiness Book of Records.” The medical people tended to patients from both on- and off-campus, while the construction people completely finished the flooring, plastering, painting and shelving in our medical warehouse. Maryann notes “I could not have designed a more pleasant, fun-loving, intelligent, dedicated and cohesive group. I am thankful to God that he brought us together as he did.” Thanks, team!!!

2. March was a very busy month in our various Masters programs. Modules concluding on March 6 included Synoptic Gospels, with Dr. Robert Lillo, and Cross-Cultural Discipleship and Church Planting, led by Ruth Veltkamp. On March 25 four other two-week modules took off: Research Methods, taught by Dr. Barry Hamilton (from Roberts Seminary in Rochester, NY—his SIXTH module at WATS), Transformational Church Growth for Africa, with Dr. Uzo Obed (pastor of Glory Tabernacle in Ibadan, and probably Nigeria’s foremost advocate of discipleship training), Biblical History and Criticism II, with Dr. Russell Lovett (from Africa Nazarene University, Nairobi, Kenya), and Homiletics, led by Dr. Charles Lake (Friends of WATS board member, and pastor emeritus of Community Church of Greenwood, Indiana), with assistance from Rev. Keith Koteskey of Avalon Missionary Church in Fort Wayne, Indiana.

3. In the USA, during the last week of March we worked through the transition of our Friends of WATS bookkeeping from Illinois to Georgia. Jeff Condit has very expertly helped us for several years, and now we are looking to Joe Kilpatrick, CPA, and his office staff to give us similar help. Thanks, Jeff!

4. I started March in a four-day missions convention in Fort Oglethorpe, Georgia, and ended it in Nigeria at WATS. In Nigeria I worked with Deputy Provost David Njoku and Vice Provost for Academic Affairs Eugene Ukaoha to host a four-man visitation team from the University of Nigeria Nsukka. In addition, I attended countless committee meetings, drove to numerous places around town (including three-hour traffic jams!) and have tried to tackle challenges right and left. I am always proud to see the good work being done by our faithful people at WATS, and I ADMIRE them for their stamina and determination. Thank God for our great people here who day after day are doing the challenging work of training leadership for the African Church. They truly deserve our thanks and our prayers and I am proud of them.

5. Last month we asked you to pray that God would give us at least $100,000 in March toward our financial goals for this year. Toward the end of the month we received a single gift for $100,000!!! Please join us to THANK GOD for that very direct answer to prayer!

PRAYER NOTES:

1. Pray for our special fundraising appeal for Phase Two of our WATS campus development sent out at the end of March. Results are already coming in. Pray that God will move the hearts of people near and far to help.

2. Pray for our BIG EVENT coming up on May 24. This may be the largest public event in WATS history. We are planning for 2,000 people. It will be at least a triple header: our annual graduation, the groundbreaking ceremony for TWO new buildings, and a special public presentation of a rare gift-in-kind from one of our US donor families (more news on that one later!). We will present some special awards that day, and announce the endowment of our first faculty chair. PRAY that God will give our WATS people special grace to prepare well for this great day of celebration. Also, pray for those who are already planning to be with us from the US.

3. Again, we ask you to continue to pray that God will give us favor in preparing a WATS music team to come to the USA. Emmanuel and Meekness Ayafor, Chidi Ozodo and Samuel Abdulahi need our prayers that they will be able to sail through with visa applications.

4. Masters modules starting on April 22 include Survey of Church History, taught by Professor E. M. Uka (from the University of Calabar), Old Testament Theology, taught by Dr. Timothy Palmer (a first-timer at WATS, from the Theological College of Northern Nigeria), and Spiritual Life of the Minister, taught by another first timer at WATS, Dr. Ralph Tilley (from southern Indiana, USA).

5. Pray for the quick TAKE-OFF of our next 40’ container shipment from Illinois. This container has been delayed for several weeks because of the scarcity of empty containers in the Midwest. The devaluation of the US dollar has led to heavy increases in exportation, and empty containers are being swept up on the coasts before they can reach the Midwest. Pray for divine intervention here!

6. Pray for Dr. Ira Pence and his family as they prepare to come to WATS in April to build our two-room WATS tool building, as a family project! May God bless them for this unique endeavor. They need your prayers.

7. Finally, pray that God will give WATS favor in its Nigeria-based fundraising. Our May 24 celebration give us an unusual opportunity to show-case the seminary and attract funding partners from within the country. We are asking God for REMARKABLE results in the next 60 days. WATS stands on the verge of great growth and development. We need to expand our facilities, and that is exactly what Phase Two is about—pray that God will deeply inspire Nigerians as well as North Americans to see us reach the worthy goals before us.

Thanks again for being part of this great team! God is with us, and there are great days ahead.

Yours for the African harvest,
Gary and Emma Lou Maxey

BULLETIN: (1) Do you have AIRLINE MILES you will not use—that you can donate to Friends of WATS? Last year 5 trillion frequent flyer miles went UNCLAIMED! (2) We need Bibles or books, including children’s books! See us about getting them to Illinois for shipment to Nigeria.

WEST AFRICA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
PMB 003, Ipaja, Lagos, NIGERIA
tel: +234-1-898-1676; -1914; personal email: GMAfrica@aol.com

US liaison office:
Friends of WATS
3355 Lenox Rd. NE, Suite 600
Atlanta, GA 30326
USA
404-250-3251