From:         Friends Of WATS [prayerletter@watsonline.org]
Sent:          Monday, March 1, 2010 A.D.
To:              Friends of WATS
Subject:    Praise and Prayers for March 2010
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  Issue No. 3
March 2010 A.D.
Friends of WATS Prayer Letter
In This Issue
Overview of This Letter
Praise Notes
Prayer Notes
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Dear Friend of WATS,

Overview of This Letter

Dr. Gary S. Maxey, Founder On February 21 Dr. Gary Maxey was spared from serious injury when he broad-sided a drunk driver at 40 mph. Both drivers were injured, but not seriously. Thank God with us! Also, pray that God will answer prayer to REPLACE the Friends of WATS vehicle, which was destroyed beyond repair. We cannot afford to add this expense during a time when every penny is urgently needed in Nigeria. Dr. Maxey will need a vehicle by the time he returns to the US in late April, in order to carry on important Friends of WATS work. Is God saying something to you about this? If so, let us know!

"Enlarge the site of your tent, and let your tent curtains be stretched out; do not hold back; lengthen your ropes, and drive your pegs deep. For you will spread out to the right and to the left, and your descendants will dispossess nations and inhabit the desolate cities" (Isaiah 54:2-3)

This was one of the favorite texts of William Carey (1761 – 1843), whom we remember as the Father of Modern Missions. He fought against the missions lethargy of his own day, exacerbated by wrong-headed theology which assumed that God would do all of the missions task without any co-operating human initiative. Now, more than 200 years later, Christianity has become a truly global movement and we live in an age of worldwide Christian influence that was never dreamed of by great missions leader of the past. Amazing!!


Praise Notes

Praise Notes
  1. During the first days of February Pastor Fred Luogon (WATS teacher) and Gary Maxey took off for Abuja, Yola and Jalingo (very far eastern Nigeria, along the Cameroon border) to a meeting with West Africa United Methodist bishops. God is opening new doors for WATS to impact African Methodism! For example, in early March we are welcoming two more Methodist leaders from Liberia into Masters studies.

  2. Thank God for successful February Masters modules that included Wesley and Discipleship, led by Dr. Joseph Mensah (Accra, Ghana), Hebrew Syntax and Grammar (Dr. Charles Osume), Johannine Literature (Pastor Kalu Okechukwu), Islam in West Africa (Oumar Coulibaly), and Synoptic Gospels (Dr. C. C. Orgu, LIFE Theological Seminary).

  3. In the USA, the annual Friends of WATS Board of Directors meeting was held February 19 - 20, at Peachtree Presbyterian Church, Atlanta. It was a blessing to have with us Pastor William Udotong—the new WATS provost. Dr. William Sillings (Oklahoma) and Dr. Martin Oguike (New Jersey) were re-elected chairman and vice-chairman. David Gross (California) is our new secretary, and Dr. Bryce Norton (Georgia) is treasurer. Dr. William Flippin (Atlanta) and Mark Leavell (Jonesboro, GA) were added as new members. Thank God for a great Friends of WATS leadership team!

  4. We celebrated a Friends of WATS dinner at Mt. Pisgah UMC (Johns Creek, Atlanta), on Friday, February 19. William Udotong was the guest speaker. Thank God for twenty WATS scholarships added that evening!


 

Prayer Notes

Praying Hands
  1. Pray for our new Friends of WATS office manager, Dr. Mark Leavell. He has been to WATS twice over the past six months and is heading a team of IT people here in the US, serving as our International IT Coordinator. This answers some great needs we have been facing. He joins us in a volunteer capacity, providing direction for our all-volunteer staff in the Atlanta area. God willing Dr. Leavell and Dr Maxey will be traveling later in the year to several areas in the US where WATS support is growing (Texas, Arizona, Tennessee, New Jersey/New York, Seattle/Portland, etc.). Pray for Dr. Mark he assumes these strategic responsibilities.

  2. Pray for William Udotong as he completes his PhD dissertation at Asbury Theological Seminary. His research on the REVERSE MISSIONS phenomenon in the US, with thousands of churches planted by African missionaries, is on the cutting edge of what the Holy Spirit is doing today. Some may be surprised to learn , for example, that there are more than 120 churches in Atlanta alone pastored by Nigerians. Pray for Pastor Udotong as he concludes this research and gets back full-time to WATS hopefully within the next six months.

  3. Pray for Eraste Nyirimana, who is likewise completing his PhD dissertation (in Old Testament studies, at the University of KwaZulu Natal) with an expected return to WATS within the next 60 days. Pray also for his wife and family, who may not be able to return with him from South Africa for some time.

  4. Pray for Masters modules coming up at WATS by mid-March: Dr. Emmanuel Ogunyemi teaching Research Methods, Elder Joseph Uponi (Glory Tabernacle, Ibadan) teaching Transformational Church Growth for Africa, Kalu Okechukwu, teaching Greek Syntax and Grammar, and an unnamed Nigerian front-line missionary to North Africa teaching Cross-Cultural Discipleship and Church Planting.

  5. Continue to pray that this year we will finish our chapel project, and make strong headway to complete the additional of nine large classrooms above the library. We hope to complete the chapel in time for graduation on May 23. $32,000 (N4.8 million) will be needed to make that possible. The classroom addition (with a sub-structure of pre-fabricated steel) will hopefully be installed by the end of the year.

  6. Continue to pray for God to direct Dr. Robert and Janet Dann, as they seek how to best equip sub-Sahara Africans to take the Gospel into North Africa.

  7. Finally, please continue to pray for our Nigeria fundraising. This is the heart of our economic future!

 
Hallelujah! It is great to be serving Jesus and to know that He is blessing the ministries of Friends of WATS and WATS itself. Thanks for being a part of the team!
BULLETIN:  (1) Go to www.watsonline.org for giving online using your credit card or checking account. (Note: we now accept American Express, Discover, MC, and VISA.)
(2) We need Bibles and other Christian books! See us about getting them to Illinois for shipment to Nigeria.
(3) This is a fantastic time to plan for work teams at WATS in the coming year. Let us hear from you.
  Friends of WATS   WEST AFRICA THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY
  PO Box 490306   PMB 003, Ipaja
  Lawrenceville, GA 30049-0006   Lagos, NIGERIA
  Ph: 404-895-0018   Ph: +234-1-898-1676 or 1914
  Ph: 678-637-4237   EM: GMAfrica@aol.com
  Yours for the African Harvest,
Dr. Gary S. Maxey


Dr. Gary S. Maxey