Dear MTZ Reader,

Below are two emails. One from Elder Sam Bryant, the other from Elder Vernon Johnson. I received the following via email yesterday. Bro Sam, in his email, shares some updates about the work in Africa. I am certain you will find the account encouraging! He also shares a current need for assistance in mailing brethren in Africa sound, Primitive Baptist literature and sermons. These brethren are not begging for your money. But, if our Gracious Lord places it upon your heart to contribute to this cause, many will be blessed.

Beloved in Christ,
After my return from Kenya and Tanzania on August 3rd, 2010 I visited with Elder Vernon Johnson by phone and told him how much I enjoyed meeting some of the brethren from Zambia who had been receiving his study materials. They spent a week with us in Tanzania. They have become strong believers in the teachings of the PBC. He told me he is receiving more requests from men in Zambia for the study materials than any other African country.( At the present time we do not have a Primitive Baptist church or minister in Zambia.) He said he had received requests for materials from over 40 men recently from different parts of Zambia and he was not going to be able to meet all these requests at the present time due to the heavy cost of producing the materials and paying the postage.

I asked Brother Vernon if he would send me a list of all the material he sends in one of these boxes and the costs involved. He did and you will find that list below. I was amazed at the amount of information he sends and the costs involved.

Those of us who are representing Primitive Baptists in Africa want Primitive Baptists in America to know what we are teaching the people in Africa in the name of Primitive Baptists. These study materials are available to anyone here in our country who would like to examine them. Many families in Vestavia church have obtained the first note book and have been greatly blessed by reading and studying the articles.

Planting churches in a far away land is a daunting task. Elder Obey was a very sound and gifted Primitive Baptist minister and after being ordained in America, he was blessed to return to his native land and teach and preach in Tanzania and Kenya for three and one half years. He spoke their language and knew their culture. He was willing to "spend and be spent" (11 Cor. 12:15) in the service of Jesus Chirst. Thankfully, before his death five men were ordained in Kenya and have been a huge blessing to the gospel labor in that country. Elder Obey died in Kenya while attending an ordaintion for some of these brethren.

Much of the work Elder Obey was doing has fallen on Elder Martin Onyoni. He is unusually gifted in his understanding of the scriptures and in his ability to preach. He is the busiest preacher I know and his work load does not allow him to go to Zambia. In addition to pastoring a church in Kenya and serving as interim pastor in Tanzania, he travels extensively to other areas in Kenya to teach and preach. He and his wife, Annah, have 3 children and one on the way. Sadly, he faces much opposition from false teachers. Please lift him up in your prayers.

There are four men in Tanzania who are burdened to preach. Hopefully, they will be established well enough in our beliefs to be ordained some time next year. They all have good gifts to teach and they are deeply loved and respected by the church. However we do not want to ordain men to the ministry until they are able to teach and defend the doctrine and practice of the PBC. There is much opposition to the truth in Africa. It takes a lot of diligent study to be able to withstand the false teachers.

Elder Johnson has made several trips to Africa to preach and teach in person. On his first trip, he and Elder Obey stayed in Brother Martin's mud house for three weeks and studied together day and night. Elder Johnson has two trips planned to east Africa in the near future. Elder Mike Gowens will be going with him to Uganda and Kenya on October 3rd for 18 days. and Elder Mike Ivy will be going with him early next year. They will be spending a lot of time in Zambia. (English is the official language in Zambia-a huge blessing.) Having these study materials in advance is a great help to the brethren in Africa and to those from America who go to help establish them in the true gospel.

Please look at the list of materials Brother Vernon sends. You might wonder how anyone could ever work their way through 1600 sermons on CDs by many ministers, including 700 by Elder Sonny Pyles. In addition to the recorded sermons there are many volumes of writings by many different men. We must remember that these men live in a land where they do not have access to TV or radio. They don't go to ballgames etc. Also remember that they don't get to attend 3 day meetings where many able sermons are preached by seasoned ministers!!

I hope you will be impressed to help defray the costs of sending this material to our brethren in Africa who are hungry for the truth that many of us have been rejoicing in for so many years. And please pray that God will use this material for His glory and for the furtherance of the gospel.

I asked Brother Vernon to include his mailing address. If you would like to send money through your home church or through the Denton PBC for tax purposes, that would be fine. Any amount would be helpful. If Brother Vernon should receive more money than he needs for this project, I can assure the reader that any extra money will be used to support more gospel work in Africa.

Your brother in gospel bonds,
Sam Bryant