A total of twenty-four African nations have pledged intent of being involved with GATS. Four of these have submitted applications, and have been approved. Welcome to our newest membership nations and schools in South Africa and Zambia.
Brother Sisco, our regional representative recently promoted GATS in the sub-regional conference in West Africa.
True Teachers
What, pray tell, is a teacher?
What does a true teacher do?
A teacher loves without a reason
A teacher pulls you through . . .
All the lazy days, the hazy days
A teacher lets you know
What you are now, what you could be
True teachers help you grow.
A teachers knows that real respect
Is something that you earn,
And although the teacher teaches
She's always willing to learn.
A teacher is more than a chalkboard
A teacher is more than a pen
A teacher changes the future
Though she never knows quite when.
So as you stand in your classroom
Know you're part of the race of rare creatures
Who stand out from the average instructors,
And call themselves true teachers.
Melinda Danae Poitras
"A teacher affects eternity: she can never know where her influence stops."
(Henry Brooke Adams)
Kevin Vacca reports: In the Philippines, I was able to make a presentation to the Board of Christian Education which was well received with all the Bible school presidents expressing enthusiasm for the program. The chairman of the Board of Christian Education recommended that I make a presentation for GATS at the February 2009 Executive Board meeting. At this meeting we scheduled Bible School teachers training for two days (sixteen total hours) during the month of May. This will involve forty teachers from the five schools. We will use the GATS Advance Educators Series. We presented GATS at the Micronesia West General Conference. I will be traveling to Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga in March to introduce GATS. We also have a regional retreat next year in October, and we can do more promotion there. And perhaps start a Pacific Bible School Association.
Continue to pray for the Sister Buckland's father. He suffered a slight heart attack, his heart is extremely weak, and he has cancer.
Quoting Jesus, Brother Buckland writes: "...that your fruit may remain..." indicates how important training and mentoring were to our Lord. Bible School endeavors are one of the principle means in which we invest in the harvest. A worthy goal is to provide Bible School education opportunities in each nation of our region. The EME Christian Board of Education is pledging itself to assist you in this invaluable ministry.
They have recently established scholarship funds for EME Bible School students.
Brother and Sister R. Kelley and Harvest Bible College report: We have just received some excellent news! We have passed the first stage of the accreditation process! We are both shocked and excited. It is just hard to believe we have actually made it thus far. Now we will be subjected to on sight inspections.
Following are recent regional stats provided by Brother Buckland:
