Dear Friends,

In our last newsletter, we brought up the possibility that, due to several long term donors being forced to curtail or eliminate their financial support of BEST, a number of seminary personnel would need to be released. As you could see from Dr. Nupanga’s letter which you received earlier, thus far 12 people have been released. While these reductions in force are difficult and emotionally wrenching they were necessary to insure the continued viability of the seminary. The price of leadership often times involve making difficult decisions. Dr. Nupanga is a leader and we are extremely fortunate that God has brought a leader and visionary like Dr. Nupanga to lead the seminary.

One of the visions and a long term goal that Dr. Nupanga has is to work toward making BEST as self-supporting as possible. This will obviously take time, however let us tell you about a first step in this process and how you can help.

Dr. Nupanga has the vision of establishing an English Language Learning Centre on the grounds of BEST. This will meet an educational need in Bangui since English is the global language of business and will be offered for a fee to the residents of Bangui who desire to learn English. The plan is that the Centre will be managed by an African, who will also be the primary instructor. Eventually, additional instructors from the West and Africa will be utilized on an as needed basis to teach in the Centre. Revenue that exceeds operating expenses of the Centre will be used toward funding the operation of the seminary.

The start up cost of this Centre will be in the neighborhood of $30,000. This includes furniture, computers, electrical work required, fans, a window air conditioner for the “computer lab”, and a curriculum. The furniture will be made on site by the craftsmen working in the woodshop, and the electrical work will be done by local electricians who have worked at BEST in the past. More than likely the computers will be purchased in France and shipped to BEST.

If you would be interested in helping to finance this endeavor, you may do so in several ways. One way is a lump sum cash donation made payable to Mtelo Ministries. Another way is that you may purchase one or more chairs at $20.00 each (a total of 64 are needed); purchase one or more tables at $85.00 each (32 are needed); purchase one or more computers at approximately $1500 each (12 are needed); fans at $100 each (4 are needed); and a window air conditioner at $650 (as you can tell, some items are pretty expensive in CAR!). Finally, we are also in need of $2,000 for electrical work, and about $2,000 for the curriculum. The remaining $3,000, if needed, will be used for classroom supplies and the initial payments of the Centre’s manager and instructor.

You can donate securely via credit card with the Mtelo Ministries donation button. Alternately, checks may be made payable to Mtelo Ministries and sent to Mtelo at P.O. Box 871144, Canton, MI 48187. However you choose to donate, please include a note of what equipment you would like to “buy” (you can also donate to the scholarship fund). We are hoping to open the Centre late summer or early fall of 2009. Thank you for your prayers and your sacrificial giving. May the Lord bless you richly as you continue to partner with our brothers and sisters in Africa.

Love and our heartfelt thanks,
John and Marilyn

(from the MteloCAR June newsletter)