Some before and after pictures of work completed in several apartments in the etage. The etage is married housing for the students at FATEB. Walls and staircases were painted, plumbing is being replaced to include new toilets and electrical repairs are being done. The last picture is of the men taking a much needed lunch break and rest.
Fresh coat of paint on the walls
Bennett and his wife, Janet, are graduates of FATEB. They run an orphan center in Bangui. At this center they train the students in practical skills, mechanics etc that will be a job and future for them. They also provide Christian training and pay their school fees. They even have one of the orphans graduating from University.
Bennett purchased this land back in 2006 and has a great vision for this place. Currently, they have planted manioc, sorghum, banana trees and mango trees. The produce provides food for the orphans and the extra they sell to support the orphan center.
Mtelo Ministries assisted in providing funding so Bennett could plant teak trees as a boundary around the property so others could not take the land. He has built a medical building on the property. It is not up and running yet. His plan is to build a school on the farm for the orphans and children in the surrounding villages with a Christian worldview. He is mentoring and training many of the orphans to not only take over the farm and agriculture but grooming some to eventually take over the orphan center. Succession planning.
As part of the sanitary improvements at FATEB that Mtelo made, 15 non-functioning toilets were replaced with news ones. In addition, three new latrines were constructed, totally nine stalls.
Wonderful time with the women in the women’s school at FATEB yesterday. I may have shared a recipe or two with them to make but they continually teach me how to cook over a charcoal oven and to improvise using what I have. They are such a joy to be around. There are 40 women in the school under the direction of Marcelline. Gertrude teaches the cooking class. We made a cabbage soup. one day and egg salad sandwiches another day. Bon Appetit!
Cooking over a charcoal oven.
The teen girl program started last Monday night. These girls are beautiful, inside and out. Our message was on being a daughter of the King and what that means. Then they made a craft that says” daughter of the King” (“fille du Roi” in French) for their doorknobs and then the greatly anticipated moment when they were able to choose their yarn and knitting needles. I would not be able to do this without my friend and translator, Yolande, to whom I am deeply grateful. Each week we have a time of singing and praying, devotional time and then the girls make a craft to remind them of the devotions. It is fun to see their creativity and personalities and to watch them growing into young ladies. One of the young ladies has been coming for many years. Her dad teaches here at FATEB so they have lived on campus for many years. The others girls come and go as their fathers and mothers complete their degree. It is always sad to return and they are gone but it is wonderful to get to know new girls. On Valentine’s Day we talked about God’s unconditional love for them. The night the girls made necklaces and bracelets the lesson was on God giving us a “Clean Slate”. Our last night our topic was “We Need Each Other” and the girls had to help each other braiding their embroidery floss to make a pendant.
Mtelo Ministries renovated six of the duplexes that are used as rentals. These rentals help to provide an income stream for FATEB. Improvements include painting, tearing up old concrete floors and pouring new concrete floors, new tile on the sink counter tops and backsplash.
The children’s program began a week ago Monday, with the help of my amazing translator, David Mowa. Without him, this would be impossible. He loves these children! We sing, pray, memorize a Bible verse from the lesson, Bible story time, we then play a modified game of hangman (without the drawing of a hangman) for the older children (using words from the lesson), and then the much-loved time of coloring. Yesterday’s devotion was on salvation and the memory verse was Isaiah 1:18. We meet three times a week and each time the children color a picture from the Bible story and lesson.
The work continues at FATEB’s Leadership Center! The center is able to be used now as the North wing is almost completed. The conference rooms are completed and 8 of the guest rooms are completed and six of them have been used. Solar power has been installed for the guest rooms and more solar power is to come for the kitchen and south wing.
FATEB is grateful to God and to the donors that provided a new bus for FATEB after their van had been totaled in an accident. The bus is used to transport visitors and students and is vital to the operation of FATEB.
A dedication service was held on Saturday, February 1st. It was followed by the “maiden voyage” around the city of Bangui, Central African Republic.
The loud clap of colliding, crunching metal left the driver temporarily in a coma and all that was left of the van was an unrecognizable heap of scrap metal. After twelve years of faithful service, the van was gone and along with it all means of transport for FATEB Seminary in the Central African Republic.
On Behalf of the leadership of the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology I am writing to share with you the immediate need to replace the FATEB van and to ask that you prayerfully consider providing assistance.
Background on Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (FATEB).
FATEB, is an Evangelical Christian educational institution that is equipping leaders for churches and Christian outreach in French Africa. There, Christian churches are in enormous need of well-trained Evangelical leaders. Students come from west and central Africa to study at FATEB’s main campus in Bangui, Central African Republic and at its branch campus in Yaounde, Cameroon. Through its educational programs, FATEB has been graduating leaders to serve a population of 325 million people for 42 years.
For the past 12 years, a donated 13-passenger van, has transported students and family members to local hospitals and clinics when they needed medical care. Visiting professors and other friends of the school have been received, chauffeured to and from the International Airport. Construction supplies and school equipment have been purchased and transported to campus in this van. It has been critical to the operation of the institution.
This past August, the van was involved in a crash that seriously injured the driver and demolished the van. Since then, the school has been without transportation, compromising both the health of campus personnel and the smooth operation of the administration.
A 13 passenger replacement van can be purchased locally with all import taxes paid for $45,000. The school’s spartan budget cannot accommodate the purchase of such a van that is so greatly needed. A small amount of money has been received for a new van, but the majority of the replacement cost is still lacking.
Would you be willing to consider contributing to the purchase of a new van for FATEB?
Donations can be made by check to Mtelo Ministries, mailed to 302 W 5th Street Suite 210, San Pedro, California 90731 or on-line at www.mteloministries.org. Mtelo, a faith-based 501(c) 3 non-profit organization, is a fiscal sponsor for the Seminary, assesses no fees, and sends your entire contribution to FATEB.
Please don’t hesitate to contact me at 310-739-5710 deborah@bergcm.com should you have any questions.
Thank you so much for your past support of FATEB, your prayers and your consideration of this request.
By His Grace Alone,
Deborah Berg
On behalf of Dr. Nupanga Weanzana Wa Weanzana, President of FATEB