Athens International Bible Institute November 2014

On the Rock in Athens AIBI Newsletter

www.athensibi.org

Teaching others to teach others

“…. commit these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also…”

2 Timothy 2:2

New Students

We have 55 active students (full or part-time) currently in Athens.

Ogieva Joy is 25 years old from Nigeria. Enrolled in September 2014, she lives in Athens and is registered as full-time student with AIBI.

Chidi Pius, 32 years old Nigerian was enrolled last October as part-time student. He lives in Athens with his family.

Pervyi Arthur is 18 years old from Ukraine. Enrolled in September 2014 as full-time student. His older brother Artem has been a student of AIBI since 2010 and he brought his little brother to study the Word.

“You will know them by their fruits”

Matthew 7:16

“Go therefore and make disciples” There is a fundamental concept in the Bible about evaluating the genuineness and the success of a person or a program – “By their fruits”. I apologize to all of you (co-workers, supporters and students of AIBI), for not giving the needed thoughtfulness in the past on presenting the fruits of Athens International Bible Institute. Every educational institution is measured first of all by what they produce or in other words the accomplishments of their graduates, and this is exactly what I want to share with you in this short article. AIBI started back on 1997 with the purpose of training faithful men and women in the Word of God so they will be able to serve congregations in Greece and other neighboring nations.

17 years later, I want to give you some numbers of what God has achieved through this school in Athens, Greece. The total numbers of godly men and women who graduated from AIBI has reached 70, presenting an international group of 20 nations from three continents, who in respond of the great mission of making disciples, serve more than 30 congregations in 17 nations. I’ve tried to explain this process graphically in the above map. All the yellow stars represents nations where graduates of AIBI have served or continue to serve the congregations of the saints. Personally, I was astonished and humbled by seeing so clearly what God has done through all of you and AIBI in such a short period. A big “Thank you” to all who made this possible and let’s keep going forward till the map will be full of yellow stars. Beni Leka

Athens International Bible Institute November 2014

www.athensibi.org

AIBI Teaching & Life

The teaching process has continued normally in AIBI for these first terms of Fall 2014. Because of our absence in U.S, Victor Akande is leading in the ground through a constant and intensive communication with me. Also, the visiting instructors and Peter Ozah have been a crucial factor in keeping the teaching process running smoothly. 12 courses are taught during these two semesters with a total of 320 teaching hours. The teaching is done by Victor (the picture in the upper right corner), visiting instructors Jay Kelley (picture in the lower left corner) and Ron Kretz (picture in the lower right corner) and finally by me through Skype (picture in the upper left corner). Peter Ozah has assisted technically and with the teaching

process during my Skype courses. Also, Peter is taking care of the meals that we provide during the school days for the student. We are looking forward on having him more and more involved with the teaching process and with the school administrative service. The “Relief Program” that is financed from Churches in States (especially Crieve Hall and Chapel Hill Church of Christ), continues for the third year in Athens, and the unemployed students of AIBI as well as the members of Christ’s Body in Athens receives some food items to help them survive during these difficult times for Greece. Dino and Mata Tzanetos (our co-workers at Evrou Church of Christ) have helped with this project. For the first time we are having a teaching trimester full of visiting instructors. We are so blessed by their kind spirit and servant attitude as they teach diligently the Word of God. Jay Kelley from Austin Texas was the visiting instructor for September-October (“Bible History 1”, “Effective Bible Study” and “Life of Christ 1”). Ron Kretz from Lubbock Texas who has served as the Dean of AIBI from 2006-2010 is in Athens teaching for two terms October-November (“Gospel of John”, “Spiritual Living”, “Life of Christ 2”) and November-December term (“Ezekiel”, “Advanced Homiletics” and “1st Corinthians”). Also, Jay and Ron have been involved in preaching for the congregations of saints in Athens, Greece. A big “Thank you” to these true servants of Jesus and to all the supporters who have made their service possible. Crieve Hall Church of Christ in Nashville, Tennessee has created all the commodities needed for my Skype teaching. They have given me a dedicated classroom with high-speed Internet connection, Church’s building keys (since my teaching sessions start at 1AM) and so far this simple project is working fine. I was so glad to find out that without the use of any expensive software or hardware the teaching can be done in such high quality. Meanwhile, I am teaching some classes with Crieve Hall and I feel so privileged to share my service to Jesus with such great brethren. Promoting the school and looking for more co-workers and supporters is one of the most important goals that we look to accomplish during our staying in U.S So, far we have not visited any new congregation but we have received confirmation of continuation from the congregations who are already involved with AIBI. We are planning to visit some congregations at the East Cost this coming week, hoping and praying that God will open new doors and bring other co-workers in a school that has grown by 300% the last three years. Please, let us know if you can think of any individual or congregation that would like to participate in this mission to the glory of God.

Jay Kelley - visiting instructor for September-October with “Life of Christ 1” class

Ron Kretz - visiting instructor for October-December terms with Victor Akande

Skype Connection with AIBI

Athens International Bible Institute November 2014

www.athensibi.org

Pictures from the last graduation ceremony

2014 Graduation Class 2014 Graduation Diplomas

Precious gift from the graduates

Graduates of 2014 with Bill and Rebecca Day together with Victor Akande

The Graduation Cake

Athens International Bible Institute November 2014

Family News

Beni and Sonila Leka Dean of Athens International Bible Institute Epidavrou 64, Halandri 15233 Athens, Greece

Phone: (01130) 210-6892426 Greek Mobile: (01130) 694 5153 798 U.S. Mobile: (615) 810-3190

Email: benileka@gmail.com

Site: www.athensibi.org

With Such Wonderful Oversight by:

THIRD & DWIGHT CHURCH OF CHRIST P.O.Box 167 Monahans, TX 79756 Phone: (432) 943-4594 E-mail: monahanschurch@sbcglobal.net

Big changes have happened in our life during these last months.

Andrew has started Lipscomb University as a freshman, Kristina is attending Ezell Harding Christian School and we are all together trying to adjust in this new way of life for all of us. Andrew is majoring “Applied Bio-Chemistry” and so far he is doing very good. Kristina is taking all the science classes from 9-12 grade to unify the U.S teaching program with the Greek one. Both struggling with a “culture-shock” but the fact that God has them surrounded by Christian kids, makes the adaption much easier.

Crieve Hall Church of Christ have given us a house to stay and a car for the transportation during our remaining in U.S for free. We feel so blessed and spoiled by the love and care of the brethren who have done everything to make our transition smooth and our staying comfortable. We have more than what we need and we pray God will give us opportunities to repay their hospitality and kindness.

Closing, we want to thank all of you who are sharing your service to Jesus with us. It is a privilege and honor to be part of His body knowing that all parts have a purpose with a certain assignment. Thank you for fulfilling your purpose in the Lord and sharing with us your mission.

Love

Beni and Sonila Leka

CRIEVE HALL CHURCH OF CHRIST 4806 Trousdale Drive Nashville, TN 37220 Phone: (615) 832-9658 E-mail: missions@crievehall.org