July, 2009

Current Weekday and Weekend SIBI Courses

Stuart and Cecilia Jones will be with us for the first half of July, and for the last half of the month there will be a guest teacher to present lessons from The Minor Prophets.  Bro. Jones’ course on Christian History and the lessons from the Minor Prophets will be offered on the weekend schedule, all other classes for July will be on the regular weekday schedule. The schedule for all July and August courses is posted on our blog at: http://focusonasia.wordpress.com/category/sibi/.

Bro. Stuart Jones serves as an elder at the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas as well as director of a program called Senior Adventures In Missions (Senior AIM).  Senior AIM was conceived by Stuart and his wife Cecilia about 15 years ago as a program for training Senior and/or retired Christians to do mission work somewhere in the world.  The idea was that “Senior Saints” have lots to offer the Cause of Christ. The Senior AIM program is a part of Sunset International Bible Institute, Lubbock, Texas and through it many older Christians are presently serving somewhere in the world as missionaries and church planters.

For working people, join the weekend schedule of July 3rd and 10th (Fridays 7pm; Saturdays and Sundays 2pm): “Christian History” with Stuart Jones weekday schedule of July 6-10 (10-11:45am daily): “Science Supports Scripture” with Stuart Jones (1-2:45pm daily): “The Identity of The N.T. Church Parts I, II, III” with myself will be taught to every incoming class this Fall. Tom Goracke will be teaching the material known as “Historical Christian Evidences” to all of the incoming students.

Another graduate of Sunset International Bible Institute, and a very capable Bible instructor, will join us for the latter part of July to teach 2 more courses: “The Minor Prophets” and “The Christian Home.” You will profit greatly by attending both of these courses. Please be telling folks about these additional courses.

As you can see from the scheduling above, we will be conducting classes for 7 days a week throughout the Fall season. The class schedule for the rest of 09 will be reflected on the blog soon: http://focusonasia.wordpress.com To register for the July and August courses, email sibi@ppcoc.org or sms Tom Goracke at 83683213.

INTRODUCING RON AND SHIRLEY DOWNEY

Ron Downey, has assumed the work of coordinating the efforts of Sunset International Bible Institute branch schools in Asia, a work formerly done by George Carmen. Ron has been visiting the various schools this past month and was able to spend a few days with us in Singapore. We welcome him to the team. On the left he is pictured with his wife Shirley.

REGISTRATION MOVING FORWARD

Just today we received word from authorities that we will be receiving our registration papers in a short time, this will allow us the status of a recognized private school here in Singapore. As such we will be able to invite students from the various nations around to enroll with us and obtain student visas. This represents a break-through and we are very grateful for this news.

  INTERNET IS A GREAT WAY TO SHARE THE GOSPEL

Many are taking advantage of the incredibly effective and astonishingly inexpensive way the internet can be used for mission work. More and more it is being used successfully to reach people with the gospel. Studies show that a large percentage of search engine requests are religious in nature, people in many remote places are surfing for truth.

One Family’s Journey

                                                               Right here in Singapore we recently experienced this. A couple with a teenage son while surfing the net found the World Bible School correspondence course offered online for free. They enrolled, studied with the WBS people who afterward recommended they contact the Pasir Panjang Church to find additional answers to their Bible questions. They did and after further study all three were baptized. We need to take notice of this, internet as a study tool works! Skype, Google, Yahoo and other internet services offer online audio/visual person to person exchanges (groups can also participate). Internet Bible study can delivers results, and it can deliver those results in places where we cannot get to by conventional means. To use a slogan often heard: “If it works – do more of it!” We plan to do just that.

To all our readers and supporters….Thanks and God bless,

Charles and Tamara Cook

June 2009 Goracke Newsletter

Singapore International Bible Institute

Greetings from Singapore! Where did the month of June go? It is hard to believe that already half of 2009 is history too. I can tell you that June has good news to report here at SIBI Singapore. So without delay, let me give the details.
I want to start with some very good news. With all of our paperwork submitted to the Singapore government to acquire registration for SIBI Singapore, the PP church leadership has taken the bold step of agreeing to the need of arranging housing necessary for “full time students” to live and study with us. The leadership has implemented plans to remodel a section of the PP building to meet the needs of approximately 8 students to live and study at the PP facilities! Even though we still wait for the approved registration, this housing issue was going to be the next big hurdle due to the high cost of housing in Singapore. But now, with the nearing registration, we can begin with a full time student body without the economic hindrance of a huge investment! Please keep praying for that registration approval!
The first week of June we had Glen Gray, a Sunset School of Preaching alumnus with us (presently known as Sunset International Bible Institute). He taught a seminar series for SIBI Singapore for three days about the Holy Spirit. Glen was invited by the Pasir Panjang church (PP) to be their keynote speaker for the PP family church camp which was held in Malaysia. The PP theme for the year comes from Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 which states, “Two are better than one…” The camp focus as related to this theme was about “God in the Marketplace.” I was also invited to give a lesson to the teenage youth camp attendees… approximately 75 of them. My lesson title was, “God is so Holy and Awesome.” We were blessed to share this camp time with approximately 255 Christians!

PP camp in Malaysia with visitors from Malaysia, India, the Philippines, Myanmar (Burma) and China

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Glen Gray teaching about 25 pre-camp SIBI seminar students about the Holy Spirit

Prior to camp and after the camp session I was (and still am) busy with my responsibilities of communication with international students who are planning to attend our July and August summer session which I wrote about last month. A lot of effort goes into arranging the details of hosting an international student. We gather information from our multiple applicants to ensure a positive, productive time of study for all who will attend. We presently have about 20 possible students working on visas who want to attend our summer session. At this writing, 3 have arrived and have begun the first scheduled course of studies along with 22 PP members as well as a few other area Christians!

 

Tom teaching about 75 teenagers at the Malaysia camp (right)

 

 

 

This first course of study, Church History, is being taught by Stuart Jones the director of Senior Adventure In Missions (Senior AIM) in Lubbock, Texas. Senior AIM is a “department” of the Sunset International Bible Institute which focuses on teaching and training older generation Christians for ministry. Stuart also serves as one of the elders of the Sunset church. I‟ll give a full report of our July session in our next newsletter.  The photo to the left is of Stuart Jones and his lovely wife Cecilia.

During June we also had the blessing of meeting the new regional dean of all the Asian Sunset branch schools, Ron Downey. Ron traveled to some of our schools in Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, India and here in Singapore to personally familiarize himself with the administrators of already operating schools as well as investigating potential locations for future schools. Ron was also able to attend a SIBI Singapore board meeting with us to come to a deeper understanding of how the Singapore school operates. He also was invited to preach for the PP church during his stay here.

Above are some of the SIBI board members during our summer planning session…Listed from left to right… Charles Cook, Ron Downey, Winston Chong, Tom Goracke, Lee Hock Kuek & Dorothy Tay.

The greatest highlight of June is without a doubt the 11th wedding anniversary to my bride, Nancy! As a family, we went out and took some of our own family photographs and celebrated with a nice family dinner. I‟ll share a few of the pictures in the remainder of this newsletter.

Family News for June

The month of June had some sizzling days for us, not only in temperatures, but also in activities. The first “hot” event was the PP church‟s family camp. When I mention going to camp, images of roughing it, sitting around a campfire, grabbing a sleeping bag and sleeping out under the stars or sleeping in a tent or rustic cabin may come to some of your minds. However, going to „church‟ camp on this side of the world may invoke different images. Camping here is more about getting away or retreating to a new location to revitalize and focus, but does not necessarily include a roughing it or rustic environment. We retreated to a five-star hotel in Malaysia and were treated to fabulous spreads of food physically, as well as spiritually. Jaydon and Shayla would probably report one of the hottest things about camp was being able to go swimming every afternoon in the hotel‟s wonderful swimming pool.

Besides PP‟s camp, other events that made our June sizzle were: library runs (kiddos read close to 50 books one week), shaking and making homemade ice cream with Auntie Alice, spending a day at Sentosa Island (a tourist‟s hot spot) with Grandpa C and Grandma T compliments of Auntie Molly, and celebrating our “one year over a decade” wedding anniversary.

In June we also started a summer schedule as far as our homeschooling was concerned. Instead of including the “3 R‟s”, we just made sure we got at least one R in every day—reading. Although, in one sense we still got 3 R‟s in everyday–once our reading was completed each day, then Jaydon took some R&R from our regular school schedule!

We took our family pictures at the Chinese Garden

That‟s our June news condensed in a nut shell. I‟ll wrap up our family news section with a few thoughts/comments from us nuts…
“When you‟re living on the 17th floor, don‟t get a frog for a pet. If he jumps out the window, it won‟t be good.”—Jaydon
“Mom, I have to tell you something. While I was sleeping somebody came and wet my bed!”—Shayla
“Don‟t whisper your secrets to a crocodile. They have big mouths.”—Jaydon told Dad this at the breakfast table. (I think he was paraphrasing an idea we read from the book, The Long and Short of It.)
“If you‟re going to be rude…at least be polite about it.”— This is Shayla‟s thinking. Shayla asked me if it would be alright for her to do something a bit rude as long as she said „please‟ when she did it. Hmmm… I remember jokingly making a statement to Jaydon once when he wanted to exclude Mom from an activity. I told him he needed to say please if he was going to be rude. Hmmmm…be careful what you say. You never know when your little ones will use your lines or logic on you.
“People who are always putting their two cents worth in, will be known for having no sense pretty soon.”—Mom

“Love you three.”—Dad

As always, know that we love you and that God loves you more. He loves you the most!

In closing we want to share one last report of good news! The Lord has blessed us with our complete budget needs for our second year! Thank you to all of you who have so generously contributed to this ministry and to our family needs in every way. We give thanks to God always for you.                             

Our Love to you…Tom, Nancy, Jaydon & Shayla

Overseeing church:
12th Street church of Christ
P.O. Box 1476
Seagraves, TX 79359

Contact person:
Kenny Smith
Cell Phone: (432) 209-1735
Home Phone: (806) 546-2336

Our Singapore Information
Tom & Nancy Goracke
BLK 60 Teban Garden Road
#17 – 462
Singapore, 600060

Tom‟s mobile phone:
(65) 83683213
Nancy‟s mobile phone:
(65) 83683214
Home Phone: (65) 64981864
Email: HUUtwoservants2002@yahoo.com

FOCUS ON ASIA

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

Newsletter of Charles and Tamara Cook

Pasir Panjang Church of Christ

347 Pasir Panjang Rd.

     Singapore 118688

                                             ccook00@gmail.com                                                http://focusonasia.wordpress.com

June, 2009

CHECK OUT THE BLOG FOR A LISTING OF SIBI CLASSES OFFERED IN JULY AND AUGUST                    I know that many of you check our blog for additional news each month.  If you want a detailed list showing times and subjects for July and August it can be down-loaded at: http://focusonasia.wordpress.com/  Shown left are Stuart and Cecilia Jones who direct an outreach called Senior Adventures In Missions at SIBI Lubbock.  Bro Jones also serves as an elder at the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock.  Stuart will teach “Christian History (c100 to c1517)” and “Science Supports Scripture,” the details about these two courses can also be obtained on the blog.  Later a guest instructor will be with us to teach “The Minor Prophets” and “The Christian Home.”  We are expecting, along with our regular students, several foreign students from Malaysia, China and perhaps Myanmar.  Also included in the July/August lineup are course like “Historical Christian Evidences,” “Identity of The Lord’s Church,” and others by Tom Goracke and myself…see the blog at http://focusonasia.wordpress.com/category/sibi/.

               Sunset Apollos Institute

Glen Gray from Chattanooga, Tenn., USA will be our guest in Singapore June 6-9, 2009 to tell us about the Sunset Apollos Institute and all that their programs offer in the areas of Leadership and Marketplace Evangelism.  On Sunday, June 7th, Glen has been invited by the Pasir Panjang Church of Christ to take the Bible school hour and make a presentation of what Apollos is all about.

THEN IT’S OFF TO CAMP… JUNE 10-13

The above picture shows the nearly 400 Christians who gathered in Melaka, Malaysia last year (June 08) for the Annual Church Camp, and with the number expected and activities planned for 09, this camp should be even greater than 08!  We are looking forward to a great camp.  Glen Gray has been invited to be the camp keynote speaker and our own Tom Goracke will be the speaker for the Youth Program.  This year’s camp will be held at: Port Dickson, West Malaysia.

MISSION INTERNS RETURN FROM P.I.

Ten members of PP’s youth group have just returned from Tuao, Philippine Islands, where they spent a month doing actual mission work.  [front row (left to right): Magdalene Lim, Charmaine Tan, Cheryl Soh, Geraline Lim, Olivia Leow, Joel Goh back row(left to right): Michelle Wong, Kenneth Kuek, Irvin Wan and Darren Chan (we’ll train the 2 little ones later)] For two months or better they were in classes with Tom and I as we taught them mission principles and textual studies from the Word of God.  All that time we kept telling them, “you can learn about missions in the classroom, but on the field where where you learn to do missions.”  Now we suspect they better understand what we meant.  The whole church is very pleased with the dedication and hard work these young people have displayed. 

OPEN BIBLE STUDY

Every Wednesday at 10 am Singapore International Bible Institute conducts an Open Bible Study for the community of Singapore…everyone is invited. Our attendance has been around 30 each week and growing. We are now into the Book of Romans, without doubt the most challenging book in the Bible. Please tell your friends about this opportunity for fellowship and study.

REGISTRATION AND STUDENT HOUSING PROGRESS

We can happily report that real progress is being made for getting official recognition from the local government, a necessary step before we can bring over foreign students to study with us. It is difficult, to say the least, for students from other countries to get permission to come to us as students without our registration identification. Those who have come to us so far have been guests, not students. This step will make us a recognized educational institution with the Singapore government. Our SIBI board of directors have been invaluable for helping get this accomplished. Tom Goracke is working closely with the board to also nail down a place where foreign students can be housed and still easily get to our school facility. “Behold, how good and how pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity!” (Psalm 133:1)

CARE GROUPS THROUGHOUT THE CITY 

In addition to the regular SIBI classes and the Open Bible Study program we have  Care Groups (small groups) that meet at three different times during the week.  Beng Chuan Tan, one of PP’s elders, organizes them and I teach the gatherings.  We are now studying the books of John and Romans on campus with university students, business men (some retired), office workers in Singapore’s business district, and others. 

SKYPING WITH MUMBAI

The Craig Philips family, missionaries to Mumbai, India, were with us for a few day at the end of May and the renewed fellowship was wonderful.  They are pictured above as we all met with the House Helpers, a fellowship of foreign workers from the Philippines within the PP congregation. We got to talking about “skyping” and then Craig wondered out loud “why couldn’t we study the Bible with one another using skype?”  We are now in the process of finding out if that might not be a feasible way for us to communicate the Word of God to those separated by distance.  Many are already doing this

LEADERSHIP SEMINAR IN SEREMBAN, MALAYSIA

This first weekend of June (June 5-7) I will be traveling to Seremban, Malaysia to conduct a Leadership study with the Seremban Church of Christ, 318, Jalan Lobak 11, 70200 Seremban.  Ken and Estelle Sinclair, long time missionaries to Asia, are with this congregation and the minister is Kok Bin Ong who serves as a member of our SIBI board of directors.  I am praying that these leadership seminars we conduct will help churches in this part of the world to develop the kind of oversight God would want them to have…servant leaders with the mind of Christ (Phil 2:5-11).

RON DOWNEY COMING TO SINGAPORE

The Sunset International Schools division has announced that Ron Downey will replace George Carman as director of the Asian branch schools. Bro. George will be semi-retired but still vitally interested in Asian missions. We will introduce Ron Downey in our next printing.

God bless, Keep the Faith,

Charles and Tamara Cook

Stuart and Cecilia Jones will be with us for the first half of July, and for the last half of the month there will be a guest teacher to present lessons from The Minor Prophets.  Bro. Jones’ course on Christian History and the lessons from the Minor Prophets will be offered on the weekend schedule, all other classes for July will be on the regular weekday schedule. (The schedule for all July and August courses is posted at SIBI Classes Scheduled July-Aug 2009 (Latest Posting).

For working people, join the weekend schedule of July 3rd and 10th (Fridays 7pm; Saturdays and Sundays 2pm): “Christian History” with Stuart Jones weekday schedule of July 6-10 (10-11:45am daily): “Science Supports Scripture” with Stuart Jones (1-2:45pm daily): “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part I” with Charles Cook.

Bro. Stuart Jones serves as an elder at the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas as well as director of a program called Senior Adventures In Missions (Senior AIM).  Senior AIM was conceived by Stuart and his wife Cecilia about 15 years ago as a program for training Senior and/or retired Christians to do mission work somewhere in the world.  The idea was that “Senior Saints” have lots to offer the Cause of Christ. The Senior AIM program is a part of Sunset International Bible Institute, Lubbock, Texas and through it many older Christians are presently serving somewhere in the world as missionaries and church planters.

To register for the July and August courses, email sibi@ppcoc.org or sms Tom Goracke at 83683213.

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

Pasir Panjang Church of Christ

347 Pasir Panjang Road

Singapore 118688

CLASS SCHEDULE

JULY 1, 2009 – AUGUST 30, 2009

At Singapore International Bible Institute we are trying to accommodate several unique situations by offering “shortened courses” instead of the six to eight week courses we would normally offer. There are several reasons for this, the main reasons being: 1) Our guest instructors who have volunteered their services to help our school are available only a limited amount of time from their other teaching duties and come our way by making many personal sacrifices, and 2) Most foreign students who register for our classes, and who in many cases also make great sacrifices to come study with us, are only able to come to Singapore at certain times and for limited time periods. For these and several lesser reasons SIBI (Singapore) has designed our “shortened courses” as reflected below. In cases where situations require it, we will offer courses that allow more time for completion. Several of our students have opted to only audit our courses and are not working toward obtaining the Certificate of Completion or one of the degree programs. For those taking our courses for credit SIBI (Singapore) administration office will apply credits toward the Certificate of Completion commensurate with the amount of time in class and quality of work done by each student. This will become effective July 1, 2009. The Schedule of Classes below is for the two months of July and August 2009.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

JULY 3 – 12 Stuart Jones teaching “Christian History (c100 to c1517)” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 6 – 10 [CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday] (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes ) [applicable to all day classes]

Stuart Jones teaching “Science Supports Scripture” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

July 13 – 17 Tom Goracke teaching “Historical Christian Evidences” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI classroom

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part II” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

JULY 17 – AUG 2  A guest instructor teaching “The Minor Prophets” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 20-31 A guest instructor teaching “The Christian Home” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part III” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

AUG 7-23 Charles Cook teaching “Homiletics” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

AUG 3 – 14 [CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday] (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes ) [applicable to all day classes]

Tom Goracke teaching "Epistles of John” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

AUG 17-28 Tom Goracke teaching "The Gospel of Mark” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part II” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Dean of Administration: Dr. Charles Cook

Dean of Students: Tom Goracke

For information contact Tom Goracke, Email: sibi@ppcoc.org

http://focusonasia.wordpress.com

Along with visitors from nearby nations, the members of the Pasir Panjang Church of Christ in Singapore enjoy four wonderful days of Summer Bible Camp at Port Dickson, Malaysia.  Below is the official camp photo for 2009.

120 Receive Bachelors Degree at Sunset Graduation

 

On Saturday, May 23rd, the 78th class of SIBI graduated.  Thirty resident students received their Bachelor of Biblical Studies degree, including five from our interactive video conference site in Puyallup, Washington and one from Fall River, Massachusetts.  Additionally, six resident students received the Associate of Biblical Studies degree.

Two external studies students received bachelor’s degrees.  David Hankins, minister of the Needville Texas Church of Christ received his BBS and a posthumous degree was awarded to Joshua Taliaferro, who passed away before he could graduate.  His diploma was received by his wife, Samantha and his brother-in-law, Andrew Fridelle, who will be a student at Sunset in August.  Ten associate degrees and a number of certificates were also awarded to external studies students.

Eighty-nine alumni of years past received bachelor’s degrees, having done the required leveling courses to qualify.  The first alumni degree was awarded to Walter Maxwell, a 1970 graduate who was our commencement speaker.

Please keep these graduates in your prayers as they spread out across the United States and around the world to serve our Lord.

Truitt Adair
President – SIBI

http://www.sibi.cc/

Singapore International Bible Institute

Greetings from Singapore!
Another month of 2009 is history, but May was a month of several accomplishments for us here! By the way, as of May 23rd we have been here in Singapore now for one year. For those of you who remember our last month’s newsletter, you will remember that the first week of May I was traveling on a business trip. I was blessed to be invited to meet with a small group of family in Shanghai, China where I taught a group of approximately 20 in studies of historical Christian evidences. At the same time, I used this opportunity to encourage possible students to consider studying with us here in Singapore.
Let me also remind you of the dangers of why I am cautious about reporting too much too soon about trips into such places as China. During the month of May I have been informed of at least 4 different churches in different cities who were visited by government authorities. Until the Lord changes things in China, most believers continue to meet “underground.” Please pray that the blessings that come to a nation through Christianity can be understood in China and other countries of the world so God can be glorified through a great harvest in such places. To the right Tom is shown holding one of the 20 million souls of Shanghai.  Indeed, the harvest is plentiful! I was told that the estimated population of Shanghai alone is around 20 million souls.

Upon my return to Singapore, my co-worker, Charles Cook, and I set about planning and making preparations for scheduling July and August courses in anticipation of inviting short term students to the ministry training school here in Singapore. With only a week having passed since our first letters of invitation were sent out, we have three responses already committing to come for some of this period of study. There will be four of us prepared to teach what I will call 13 “condensed courses” during that two month period of time.

                   SCHEDULE OF JULY & AUGUST COURSES (and teachers)

“Christian History (c100 to c1517)” (Stuart Jones)
“Science Supports Scripture” (Stuart Jones)
“The Identity of The N.T. Church Part I” (Charles Cook)
“Historical Christian Evidences” (Tom Goracke)
“The Identity of The N.T. Church Part II” (Charles Cook)
“The Minor Prophets” (guest instructor)
“The Christian Home” (guest instructor)
“The Identity of The N.T. Church Part III” (Charles Cook)
“Homiletics” (Charles Cook)
“Letters of John” (Tom Goracke)
“Evangelistic Methods Part I” (Charles Cook)
“The Gospel of Mark” (Tom Goracke)
“Evangelistic Methods Part II” (Charles Cook)

Besides these preparations for July and August, I have been preparing for teaching a lesson for the PP church’s youth camp session to be held June 10-13 in Malaysia. Prior to and during this camp, we have another Sunset alumni, Glen Gray, who will be here teaching a short pre-camp seminar about the Holy Spirit and he will also be the guest speaker presenting “God in the Marketplace” for the camp sessions.

Also during May, we started planning and working toward creating a bi-lingual and possibly a multi-lingual website for this ministry training institute to better inform potential students from surrounding nations of what we have to offer in training teachers and preachers of the word of God. We were also blessed to meet up with Craig Phillips and his family who are missionaries to Mumbai, India. We (Charles Cook and I) have tentatively made plans to start some distance learning courses with about 6 of Craig’s contacts there in Mumbai using an internet service called Skype. This is a free audio and video service enabling us to teach live with multiple students at the same time.  The photo above is of Craig Phillips, his wife, Teresa, and their daughter, Anna.

Finally, I want to report two more exciting points of progress for the month of May. The first is that our Singaporean board members are in the thick of making progress on our government registration! Please, keep praying about this becoming final. The second is that 6 of the 13 chapters of the historical Christian evidence book being translated into the simplified Mandarin language are now complete! I am convinced this will be an outstanding tool for both evangelism and grounding in faith for serious students of the Bible.

Family news for the month of May…

Looking back it seems the majority of the month was spent looking forward to the end of the month, specifically to the special day that we’d celebrate Jaydon’s changing from “being a handful” to “being more than a handful”. Jaydon’s birthday was our main family event this month. The photos to the right are of The Birthday spent in the countryside…

Although he uses two hands to show his age now, it just doesn’t seem possible that our Jaydon is already six. In addition to being more than a handful, he’ll always be more than a “heartful” for us also. We are blessed.

Birthdays are a good time for reflection. Looking back I have to wonder where the years and our little bundle of joy went. Jaydon continues to be a bundle of joy, but he’s not little any more. In my mind I flashback to one of Jaydon’s baby showers—remembering advice given to me then to enjoy and love every age of his life because his years at home would flash by and he’d be grown up and venturing out into the world before I knew it. I also remember someone wondering out loud how many kisses had already been placed on top of Jaydon’s head and on his chubby cheeks since his birth. I remember smiling at this pondering. At age six Jaydon still has those chubby cheeks and I still can’t say for sure how many kisses have been placed on them or on top of his head—thousands or more.
Birthdays are also a good time for thankfulness. Thank you God, for blessing Tom and me with Jaydon and Shayla. We are grateful and humbled and realize even more how dependant and reliant we need to be on You. Jaydon and Shayla have added new dimensions to our lives—new responsibilities, new joys, new discoveries, new opportunities for growing up. We haven’t reached “grownup” status yet. Shayla says we’re “growing ups”.

Our birthday countryside tour consisted of a trip to a dairy goat farm and a bullfrog farm… Posing with a pineapple plant (Bottom left)… A young goat getting a drink (Bottom right)… Some of the 5,000+ bullfrogs at the frog farm

 

 

 

 

 

Birthdays are also a good time for cake  and ice cream. We had both on Jaydon’s special day. As soon as Jaydon woke up on his birthday, he started talking cake and ice cream. If he could have, he would have had cake and ice cream for breakfast. Young children make birthdays a joy. They get so excited and are ready to celebrate from the moment they wake up. As a friend commented about her own birthday recently, she doesn’t even mind getting older because seeing how excited her children get just to be celebrating her birthday overrides the aging blues.

That’s it for family news this time. As I mentioned before most of our month was spent looking forward to the end of the month when we’d celebrate Jaydon’s big day. In between the beginning and end of the month, Jaydon and Shayla anticipated, planned, dreamed, went about their daily routines and celebrated. Can’t help but think our Christian lives our similar in many ways to how the kids spent this month. As Christians we spend our lives also looking forward to a special event. We anticipate Jesus’ return, we plan, we dream, we go about our daily routines and we can celebrate now and in the end. Also just as birthdays are good times for reflections and thankfulness, so too our spiritual lives must have ample reflection times and be bathed in thankfulness. May your days be filled with thankfulness, things to look forward to and things to celebrate. Know that we love you and that God loves you more. He loves you the most!

Overseeing church:
12th Street church of Christ
P.O. Box 1476
Seagraves, TX 79359

Contact person:
Kenny Smith
Cell Phone: (432) 209-1735
Home Phone: (806) 546-2336

Our Singapore Information:
Tom & Nancy Goracke
BLK 60 Teban Garden Road
#17 – 462
Singapore, 600060

Tom’s mobile phone:
(65) 83683213
Nancy’s mobile phone:
(65) 83683214
Home Phone: (65) 64981864
Email: HUUtwoservants2002@yahoo.com

Pictured below: More of the 20 million souls of Shanghai (upper left)  (Jaydon shown right)  Who needs toys? A creative mind makes his own… This is not saying he does not have plenty of toys…. They both do! (Below left) Sharing a ride on the Big Wheel
(And seen lower right) Shayla enjoying the flowers while we wait for the bus

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Closing Remarks…

As much as I do not like to have to talk about finances for this ministry for the future, I must do so to be responsible to both work and family. At this time we are estimating that we will be several hundred dollars short of our monthly budget needs for the later part of this second year. Our projected needs will be even greater for our third year here in Singapore especially if we lose some key support committed only through our second year. Our plan is to return on a furlough trip every 1½ years instead of every year and by doing so our monthly budget needs will be considerably less than originally budgeted. Yet we will need to use some of our furlough time in search of support for our third year and beyond.
We are so grateful for your support in every way. Please remember us in your prayers as we plan for the future success of this ministry training school in behalf of the millions and even billions who live in Asia who have yet to hear the gospel. A reminder to you that updates about this ministry are posted regularly on this blog…. www.focusonasia.wordpress.com
                                                        Our love to you… Tom, Nancy, Jaydon & Shayla

Two Important Courses

Taught by: Stuart Jones

JULY 3 – 12 (weekend schedule)

JULY 6 – 10 (week day schedule)

 

Bro. Stuart Jones serves as an elder at the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas as well as director of a program called Senior Adventures In Missions (Senior AIM). Senior AIM was conceived by Stuart and his wife Cecilia about 15 years ago as a program for training Senior and/or retired Christians to do mission work somewhere in the world. The idea was that “Senior Saints” have lots to offer the Cause of Christ. The Senior AIM program is a part of Sunset International Bible Institute, Lubbock, Texas and through it many older Christians are presently serving somewhere in the world as missionaries and church planters.

Venue: Church of Christ, 347 Pasir Panjang Road, Singapore 118688

Course Fee: $20

To pre-register contact Tom Goracke, email: sibi@ppcoc.org

————————————————–

Schedule of Classes Offered July 3 – 12:

JULY 3 – 12 Stuart Jones teaching “Christian History (c100 to c1517)” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 6 – 10 [CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday] (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes ) [applicable to day classes only]

Stuart Jones teaching “Science Supports Scripture” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

This will be followed by additional courses being offered from

July 13 Through August 28 

 

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

July 13 – 17 Tom Goracke teaching “Historical Christian Evidences” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI classroom

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part II” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

JULY 17- AUG 2  Edwin Myers teaching “The Minor Prophets” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 20-31 Edwin Myers teaching “The Christian Home” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The N.T. Church Part III” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

AUG 7-23 Charles Cook teaching “Homiletics” in the SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

AUG 3 – 14 Tom Goracke teaching "Epistles of John” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

AUG 17-28 Tom Goracke teaching "The Gospel of Mark” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part II” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Note:  The prospects of having foreign students in July and August look very good at the time of this posting… and we of course will have our regular ongoing students joining us for these classes as well.  Please feel free to contact Tom Goracke at sibi@ppcoc.org about early registration or if you have any questions related to these classes above.

Here you will find some valuable resources for personal and family Bible study. They are recommended for adults and children alike.

http://www.childrensbiblestudy.com 

http://www.cbs1.org 

http://www.friendsfortruth.com 

http://effectivebiblestudy.com 

http://www.creationevolution.org

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

Pasir Panjang Church of Christ

347 Pasir Panjang Road

Singapore 118688

 

        

CLASS SCHEDULE

JULY 1, 2009  – AUGUST 31, 2009

At Sunset International Bible Institute we are trying to accommodate several unique situations by offering “shortened courses” instead of the six to eight week courses we would normally offer.  There are several reasons for this, the main reasons being: 1) Our guest instructors who have volunteered their services to help our school are available only a limited amount of time from their other teaching duties and come our way by making many personal sacrifices, and  2) Most foreign students who register for our classes, and who in many cases also make great sacrifices to come study with us, are only able to come to Singapore at certain times and for limited time periods.  For these and several lesser reasons SIBI (Singapore) has designed our “shortened courses” as reflected below.  In cases where situations allow it, we will offer courses that allow for more time for completion.  Several of our students have opted to only audit our courses and are not working toward obtaining the Certificate of Completion or one of the degree programs.  For those taking our courses for credit SIBI (Singapore) administration office will apply credits toward the Certificate of Completion commensurate with the amount of time in class and quality of work done by each student.  This will become effective July 1, 2009.  The Schedule of Classes below is for the school year of July 1, 2009 to June 30, 2010.

SCHEDULE OF CLASSES:

JULY 3 – 12    Stuart Jones  teaching “Christian History (c100 to c1517)” in    the  SIBI Classroom [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 6 – 10    [CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday] (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes ) [applicable to all day classes]

Stuart Jones teaching  “Science Supports Scripture” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily  in the SIBI Classroom.    

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The New Testament Church Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

July 13 – 17   Tom Goracke teaching “Historical Christian Evidences” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI classroom

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The New Testament Church Part II”    from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

JULY 17- AUG 2    Edwin Myers teaching “The Minor Prophets” in the SIBI Class-room  [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

JULY 20-31    Edwin Myers teaching “The Christian Home” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “The Identity of The New Testament Church Part III” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.

AUG 7-23    Charles Cook  teaching “Homiletics” in the SIBI Classroom  [Weekend schedule 7:00 to 9:45pm Fridays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Saturdays; 2:00 to 5:00pm Sundays].

AUG  3-14   [CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday] (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes ) [applicable to all day classes]

Tom Goracke teaching "Epistles of John” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.  

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part I” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom. 

AUG 17-28    Tom Goracke teaching "The Gospel of Mark” from 10:00 to 11:45 am daily in the SIBI Classroom.

Charles Cook teaching “Evangelistic Methods Part II” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm daily in the SIBI Classroom.   

Glen Gray from Chattanooga, Tenn, USA will be our guest in Singapore

 

June 6-9, 2009 to tell us about the Sunset Apollos Institute and all that their programs offer in the areas of Leadership and Marketplace Evangelism.

 

Why the name “Apollos Institute”?

Apollos is the name of a Jewish Christian from Alexandria who appears in the narrative of Acts (18:24-19:1) and in 1 Corinthians. According to Acts, he possessed great skills in Greek rhetoric and had already learned much about Jesus when he arrived in Ephesus and began speaking in the synagogue. His abilities soon brought him to the attention of the Christians, Priscilla and Aquila, who gave him further instruction in the Christian faith. The Apollos Institute is where individuals who know Jesus, who are eloquent in the Word of God, but who need further instruction, can come and receive additional training.

Pre-Camp Activities:

Glen Gray is the Dean of Sunset Apollos Institute and will be our keynote speaker at Bible Camp as well as our guest for the following activities preceding camp:

June 6th Sat 10 AM to Noon and 1 PM to 3 PM Seminar on “Why God Has Called You Into The Body” (Part I) [SIBI classroom]

June 7th @ the Sunday AM Bible Study 9:30 to 10:30 AM You are invited to a Special Presentation by bro. Gray to introduce Singaporeans to the Sunset Apollos Institute programs. *

June 8th and 9th Mon & Tues 10 AM to Noon and 1 PM to 3 PM Seminar on “Why God Has Called You Into The Body” (Part II & III) [SIBI classroom]

June 10th to 13th Annual Church Camp at Guoman Port Dickson Resort

If you are interested in concepts relative to leadership and evangelism training, you will find the above activities especially encouraging… We hope you can join us for these pre-camp activities.

* [Venue: 2nd Floor Auditorum at the Pasir Panjang Church of Christ facility, refreshments in the foyer following the presentation.]

Family news and notes…

Greetings from Singapore!
The month of April sped by with a full month of teaching!… and it is still going on! We continued with our visiting teachers Ed Wharton and John Massie finishing up with nearly three weeks more of studies in Historical Christian Evidences, the Scheme of Redemption and a study of the Distinctive Nature of the Church. These studies were hosted for both adults and youth intern students. The youth (18-21 years old) are preparing for a short term mission trip to Tuao, Philippines come May 18th.
The Scheme of Redemption course taught by Ed, drew 64 students into a deep study of God’s eternal plan for the salvation of mankind and the Distinctive Nature of the Church study, also taught by Ed, hosted 27 different students. John’s study of historical Christian Evidences encouraged 42 different students to attend and learn. Both of these visiting teachers blessed those students who attended with a treasure of knowledge useful for equipping them in the work of the Gospel.

 

      Ed Wharton’s Scheme of Redemption class             John Massie… Taught                                                                                  Christian Evidences

After we sent John and Ed off to their next destinations (April 20 & 21 respectively), Ed to continue teaching at another Sunset branch school in Ethiopia, Africa, and John back to San Antonio where he lives and works in fulltime ministry, Charles Cook and I continued teaching for the youth intern participants. Charles is teaching the Gospel of John and Missionary Principles and I just finished teaching Evangelistic Methods for one week. These studies will conclude on the last day of this month.

Evangelistic Methods youth intern students & me! (left) Youth interns spending time together in prayer. (right)

As I mentioned in last month’s newsletter, I will be leaving for a five day business trip of teaching and recruiting today, April 29th for a destination outside of Singapore. Please keep me in your prayers that the Lord will grant me safety as well as those who I will be sharing with. Lord willing, when I return I will give you a detailed update. Please understand this delay in reporting is all about the safety of many.

One last bit of exciting news to share is that we have cleared the first stage of a lengthy registration process!!! Notice I said first stage. There are still four more stages of qualifying processes that we must submit before Singaporean governing bodies can approve our registration. Please continue to keep this process in your daily prayers.

If it’s true that every time we speak, our minds go on parade—here’s the view from our place via some of the kiddos’ jabberings. I hope you find something in their processions that bring a smile or two to your face.

Hey, don’t interrupt me when I’m interrupting.—This could be Jaydon’s and Shayla’s daily motto at present. If there was a competitive talking event in the Olympics, we have a couple of gold medal contenders, especially when they are excited and have something to say before the other one can steal the thunder of their story and rain on their parades. (One of our upcoming memory verses will be, “be quick to listen, slow to speak and slow to become angry”—(James 1:19)

I’m hot face mad!—Jaydon uses this expression not only about himself, but also to describe his sister, when they are squabbling. Of course, Shayla doesn’t like her brother’s description. Sometimes with hands on her hips she tells Jaydon , “Hey, I’m not hot face mad. I’m just frustrated!” (The “slow to become angry” memory work should help here also.)

Don’t worry, Mom. If you run out of money, just run down to the money store and pick up some more.—Since we have a grocery store conveniently located downstairs, Jaydon and Shayla have often heard me say we’ll just run down to the store and pick up some more of whatever we just ran out of at the moment. One morning I mentioned that I didn’t have enough money to get a certain toy that Jaydon wanted. He was not easily discouraged. I guess he figured with so many stores around there was sure to be a store that had money so I could just run down and pick some up.

Can we doctor your hair? Shayla likes to play with my hair sometimes. I told her that people who worked on someone’s hair were called beauticians or hair stylists. She told me, “No that’s not what I am.” She wanted to be called a doctor because she was fixing my hair and I was one of her “patience” because that’s what was needed. Many times when she “doctors” my hair, Jaydon is her assistant and faithful slap-stick side-kick. He operates the water spray bottle and has a blast squirting Mom’s hair/Mom. I drew the line one day when he tried to squirt water inside my ear. He said he wanted to see if it would come out of my ear on the other side. I flashed back to a similar incident when he had a flashlight and was shining the light in one of my ears and wanting to see if it would illuminate out the other. I explained to him then that we were in trouble if that happened. This time when I explained that I had something between my ears, he just giggled.

Will tomorrow have ice cream in it?—This was one of Jaydon’s last questions as I tucked him into bed for a second time one night. (His way of trying to get a commitment or promise about tomorrow—he’s always trying to plan out or get “our ducks in a row” so he knows what to expect or he can say, “you said we were going to do this….” I’ve been caught in my words too many times so I’ve been trying to qualify my comments so I don’t have to back track or change plans because of something I said when he appeared to be asking a casual question. One of my favorite lines of reply now–“We’ll just take it as it comes.” I need to include “Only God knows for sure, we’ll just take it as it comes.”

Will there be ice cream in heaven?—A follow up to the previous question. As you may suspect, ice cream has a big roll, I mean role in our family. We’ve always been big ice cream eaters. Especially in the heat, having a cool treat is almost…heavenly. There are so many unique flavors of ice cream here. A quick glance in the freezer section of the grocery store downstairs reveals flavors such as sweet corn ice cream, red bean ice cream, durian ice cream (Durian is a peculiar fruit that has a very strong, nose-attacking odor and is an acquired taste for many.), and many other flavors that I have no idea whether a fruit or vegetable is the source for their names since the flavors on the containers are new to us. The kiddos haven’t met an ice cream they haven’t liked so far, but then again, we haven’t been too adventurous. They had vanilla and chocolate chip ice cream for my birthday and added chocolate syrup, rainbow sprinkles, and whip cream on top—since we were celebrating.

Remember when I was three years old and sooooo young.—Shayla made this statement so matter-of-a-fact-like and seriously to me that I had to resist laughing on the outside, but on the inside I was chuckling. As a four year old, she believes she is pretty close to being grown up.

When you’re 88, Mom can leave you at home and not have to take you to the grocery store.—Jaydon told Shayla this one night at the dinner table. Sometimes one or the other of them doesn’t want to come to the store with me when Tom is at work and we can’t tag team. I’ve explained to them that they have to be old enough before I would ever consider leaving them home alone. Jaydon figured 88 was old enough.

“Her children shall rise up and call her”…Big mama. Take two—“Her children shall rise up and call her” Loving Marshmallow…. Hopefully being called blessed by my lil’ charges will come later in life.

That’s all for this time. May the parades you view be pleasant, but more importantly may they point you towards God. Know that we love you and that God loves you more. He loves you the most!

Celebrating Mommy’s birthday!!!

Jaydon & Shayla with their banana smiles (top left)…Shayla sharing a “corny” grin… (top right) Reading time with Daddy! (bottom left)  Jaydon with his “fishy” tortilla… (Bottom right)

Closing Remarks…

It is amazing to us that already, 11 months are behind us in our commitment to this ministry training school. Once again we ask you to continue praying for God’s blessing of success in this registration process as this is the key element required before we can bring international students here to study with us on a fulltime basis. We have received inquiries from many potential students from several different Asian countries. I remind you to check out our ministry blog on a regular basis to keep informed of the latest and on the future plans we are developing… www.focusonasia.wordpress.com

We always remember you in our prayers thanking God for your commitment and sacrifices to us in this ministry and asking that God increase our faith together with you. Together with you, we are serving toward preparing workers for working the harvest fields of Asia and beyond! Grace and peace to you in abundance as you faithfully walk and serve the Lord.
Our love to you… Tom, Nancy, Jaydon & Shayla

Overseeing church:
12th Street church of Christ
P.O. Box 1476
Seagraves, TX 79359

Contact person:
Kenny Smith
Cell Phone: (432) 209-1735
Home Phone: (806) 546-2336

Our Singapore Information
Tom & Nancy Goracke
BLK 60 Teban Garden Road
#17 – 462
Singapore, 600060

Tom’s mobile phone:
(65) 83683213
Nancy’s mobile phone:
(65) 83683214
Home Phone: (65) 64981864
Email: HUUtwoservants2002@yahoo.com

LEADERSHIP: JESUS STYLE

 

Leadership Seminar on June 5-7

June 5 (Friday) – Lessons in the evening (8 pm onwards)

June 6 (Saturday) – Lessons in the morning (9 am – 2 pm

June 7 (Sunday) – Lesson during Bible Class (11:30 – 12:30 pm)

Lessons in the afternoon (after lunch)

Presented by Charles Cook, Singapore International Bible Institute 

PREPARING

MISSIONARIES FOR THE

CHALLENGE OF ASIA

More than one-half of all the people on earth live in Asia. Here is an opportunity for all of us to learn about missions and better prepare ourselves to reach out with the Good News to this great continent.

All are welcome to join our Youth Mission Internship classes April 20th – May 1st (Monday thru Friday) [Lunch served daily]

CLASS SCHEDULE:
April 20-24 (10am to 11:45am) Gospel of John Part I w/Charles Cook
April 20-24 (1pm to 2:45pm) Evangelism Methods w/Tom Goracke
April 27-May 1 (10am to 11:45am) Gospel of John Part II w/Charles Cook
April 27-May 1 (1pm to 2:45pm) Missionary Principles w/Charles Cook

EMAIL:  sibi@ppcoc.org    ccook00@gmail.com

FOCUS ON ASIA

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

Newsletter of Charles and Tamara Cook

Pasir Panjang Church of Christ

347 Pasir Panjang Rd.

Singapore 118688

     ccook00@gmail.com

http://focusonasia.wordpress.com

April, 2009

COURSES NOW IN SESSION AT SIBI (SINGAPORE)

Our classes for March/April are currently ongoing; attendance is great as well as the lessons being taught by Ed Wharton and John Massie. Ed has taught Bible at the Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas for more than 45 years, John is a graduate of Sunset and preaches for the Alamo Church of Christ in San Antonio, Texas. Both brothers will, Lord willing, be with us again in 2010. The photo above shows Ed’s class on the Scheme of Redemption designed to trace the Seed Promise of Gen. 3:15 to its fulfillment in Christ. The photo below shows John’s class on Historical Christian Evidences where the students are receiving evidential materials, not just to shore up their own faith, but to allow each to convey biblical truths when teaching others about the Lordship of Jesus Christ. We also currently have classes for Singapore youths who are being sent out at times during the year to mission points in the neighboring countries of Southeast Asia.

In addition to taking the courses offered by these  visiting instructors, the youths  are also being mentored by Tom Goracke and me, not only in textual studies but also in missions preparation. The photo to the left shows the members of that class in a previous session.

CARE GROUPS: There are a good number of Care Groups (small groups) where members and non-members get together some time during the week and study the Word. I am teaching 3 such groups that meet before the work day begins in the early morning hours. We meet on Mondays, Thursdays and Fridays of each week. Many of our classroom students are also in these groups. These are great evangelistic opportunities.

RECRUITING: For several weeks we have been trying to get registered with the Singapore Government so that we can be recognized as a private school. This will give us a status that will make it much easier for foreign students (especially from China) to get necessary papers to come and study with us. We ask you to be praying for this to happen soon.

APOLLOS INSTITUTE: Glen Gray from the East Brainerd Church of Christ in Chattanooga, Tenn, USA will be our guest in Singapore June 5-9 to tell us about the Sunset Apollos Institute and all that their programs offer in the areas of leadership development and marketplace evangelism. This will be followed on June 10-13 by the Pasir Panjang Church Bible Camp at Port Dickson, Malaysia where Glen will be this year’s keynote speaker. For more information visit: http://www.ppcoc.org/index1.htm

MONTH OF MAY: In the month of may we will be offering another round of classes as follow up to what Ed Wharton and John Massie are teaching now. The young mission interns are signed on; we hope PP members and brethren from neighboring churches, along with people from neighboring countries, will also be able to study the Word of God with us. For details see our web site at: http://focusonasia.wordpress.com/category/sibi/ .

JULY CLASSES: It’s a bit early to mention details about SIBI classes in July, but the agenda is in planning. We are expecting a good number of foreign students. Stuart Jones, who serves as an elder at the Sunset Church of Christ in Lubbock, Texas and also a Bible instructor at SIBI Lubbock, will be teaching 2 courses for us: Christian History (c100 to c1517) and Science Supports Scripture. Also, he will be followed by Edwin Myers, a graduate of SIBI Lubbock and missionary to Asia, who will be teaching: The Minor Prophets. Other courses are also planned.

UNCLE NOAH: A friend of mine, known widely as Uncle Noah, lends his considerable artistic talents to spreading the Word.  We want you to see Uncle Noah’s videos for young people at: www.youtube.com/friendsfortruth

As always, Tamara and I want to express our great appreciation to those who help maintain us on the mission field year after year. Your resources are making a difference. You are deeply appreciated.

To Him be the glory, Charles and Tamara Cook

SINGAPORE INTERNATIONAL BIBLE INSTITUTE

Pasir Panjang Church of Christ

347 Pasir Panjang Road

Singapore 118688

CLASS SCHEDULE

LAST TWO WEEKS OF APRIL, 2009

We will survey the Gospel of John in ten lessons, offer a practicum course called Evangelism Methods to show ways of presenting the gospel to those interested in the Christian Faith, and conclude with an overview of Mission Principles designed to help today’s missionaries enter and survive on the mission field.

April 20-24

[CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday]

April 20 BIB Session 1— Charles Cook teaches “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes).

PRA Session 1 — Tom Goracke teaches “Evangelism Methods” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 21 BIB Session 2— Charles Cook teaches “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am.

PRA Session 2 — Tom Goracke teaches “Evangelism Methods” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 22 BIB Session 3— Charles Cook teaches “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am.

PRA Session 3 —Tom Goracke teaches “Evangelism Methods” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 23 BIB Session 4— Charles Cook teaches “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am.

PRA Session 4 — Tom Goracke teaches “Evangelism Methods” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 24 BIB Session 5— Charles Cook teaches “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am.

PRA Session 5 — Tom Goracke teaches “Evangelism Methods” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

APRIL 27 — MAY 1

[CHAPEL 9:30 to 10:00 am --- Monday through Friday]

April 27 BIB Session 1— Charles Cook teachers “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am (lunch will be served at 12 noon following all morning classes).

MIS Session 1 — Charles Cook teaches “Mission Principles” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 28 BIB Session 2— Charles Cook teachers “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am

PRA Session 2 — Charles Cook teaches “Mission Principles” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 29 BIB Session 3— Charles Cook teachers “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am

MIS Session 3 — Charles Cook teaches “Mission Principles” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

April 30 BIB Session 4— Charles Cook teachers “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am

PRA Session 4 — Charles Cook teaches “Mission Principles” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

May 1 BIB Session 5— Charles Cook teachers “Gospel of John” 10:00 to 11:45 am

PRA Session 5 — Charles Cook teaches “Mission Principles” from 1:00 to 2:45 pm.

Singapore International Bible Institute

Greetings from Singapore! Another month has just become history and so we give our report of such. March was primarily a month of preparation for the future in several ways… some of which is now actively the present.
Due to our soon to expire passports, we have gone through the legal requirements at the US embassy here in Singapore to get them renewed. The processing time was quick with only a week passing before the new ones were issued. I continued in preparations for two near future teaching responsibilities in which I will be teaching in the months of May and June in countries outside of Singapore. I will report later on the May trip due to security reasons. The June trip is an invitation extended to me to speak for the PP youth at the annual church camp to be held in Malaysia. We continued in our tax filing preparations which is a bit more complex because of living overseas. And finally, we were busily preparing for our two visiting teachers who arrived during the fourth week of March. Therefore, much of March was consumed with busy preparations.
Last month we reported about a second planned PP youth intern program while we have the blessing of two visiting teachers (Ed Wharton and John Massie) here with us. This series of studies started this past Monday through Wednesday morning and afternoons with another weekend SIBI course scheduled for a period of three weeks. We are just beginning our second week of the three week series. All combined, this is a six day a week study for those who will attend.

Ed Wharton (above left) teaching Scheme of Redemption, 50 different students have attended this course.  John Massie (above right) teaching Historical Christian Evidences, 26 different students have attended this course.

Ed Wharton has been a Bible instructor at Sunset International Bible Institute in Lubbock, Texas for the past 45 years. He has taught Bible courses and preached on every continent of the globe. Ed is also the author of the book, The Case for Historic Christianity. This is the book that I have been working toward getting translated into the simplified Mandarin language. Ed has also authored several other Bible related books that encourage a deeper study of the word of God
Other news to report for the month of March is that the fourth chapter (of 12 chapters) of the historical Christian evidence book being translated into the Mandarin language has been completed. Also, after not visiting any doctors for many years, I decided it was time to get a routine physical exam done. It seems I am officially entering what many do in the mid life years…. a report of high cholesterol, slightly overweight and borderline high blood pressure, so adjustments in diet, exercise and other preventative measures are in the works.

Family News & Notes

It has been 10 months since we arrived with our suitcases and smiles in Singapore.  Since then we have accumulated much more than our suitcases could ever hold and God continues to multiply our smiles through all the special people He brings into our lives. Although we continue to miss family and friends in the states, being here reaffirms the fact that when you are a Christian, God supplies and blesses you with family all over the world. We are grateful for the hospitality that has been showered on us and the opportunity to experience the closeness and common bond God gives us with brothers and sisters not only from Singapore, but also from, China, the Philippines, Malaysia, India and Indonesia. God‟s family is amazing and our God is even more amazing!

Speaking of family, Shayla woke up a few nights ago—whimpering. I heard her so I went into the kids‟ bedroom to check on her. When I asked her what was wrong she said, “I‟m sad. I miss grandpa and grandma.” Shayla and Jaydon both know of our plans to return for our first furlough in November and December, Lord willing. The only problem is, for little ones, this seems so far away (for big ones too . Months and days mingle into forever—and forever or large numbers are hard to wrap one‟s mind around and comprehend. Case and point—Jaydon asked me if I was close to the age of 100 the other day. He knew I was a large number and he knew one hundred was large. “Thanks buddy,” I said and thought… better talk to his math teacher…oops…that would be me. Cross that one off my list. Mission accomplished. I talk to myself all the time!

At any rate, the kids talk about family we‟ll see when we jump on a jumbo jet quite often now. They talk about things we might do while on furlough, all the people we‟ll see, toys they remember leaving behind, and movies they want to watch again like—“The Ugly Duckling.” We also talk about keeping positive and not getting too sad when things don‟t go as fast or exactly as we want. I tell them that even though we are missing people, we can be thankful that at least we have special people to miss and care about—we would be sadder if this wasn‟t the case.

Besides anticipating and talking about our furlough, another hot topic around our apartment is pets. Jaydon asked me one day,“Mom, does Jesus talk dog?” I told him Jesus could talk and understand any language He wanted to since He made everything and knows everything. Jaydon has been checking out books about dogs from the library and would really like to get a dog for our family pet. We told the kids pet fish would probably be the best choice for now. I don‟t think I mentioned the fact that we did have six pet fish a few months after we arrived. The kids named them all and watched them chase each other around the fish bowl. The fish were so lively. However, they lasted only one day and then sadly one by one they took turns dying. Jaydon said a few words of thanks to God for letting us enjoy each of them for a bit and then one by one we flushed them down our singing toilet (one of our toilets lets out a sort of high pitched hallelujah hum after it has been flushed—which seemed a fitting touch for a fish‟s funeral). Later we learned that our beautiful fish were young “Fighting fish”, something I didn‟t pick up when we were visiting with the pet shop owner in broken English. We haven‟t tried our hand at securing more fish yet—didn‟t want to traumatize the kids if all our fish died so quickly again. Instead Jaydon has had a pet spider for a couple of hours and he had a pet gecko for about 10 minutes. He decided to release his spider in the park and mom made him let the gecko loose. I told him geckos didn‟t make good pets. They are free range critters that hang around on the walls and leave messes that need to be cleaned up. Shayla said, “Maybe „genkos‟ would make good pets if you could train them to use the toilet in the bathroom instead of making a mess everywhere else.”—one reason Shayla stills believes cats rule. If she could choose our family pet, she would choose a pink sparkly kitty cat. We‟ve never seen a pink sparkly one and as long as Jaydon stays allergic to cats and pink sparkly ones remain elusive, we shouldn‟t have to worry too much about Jaydon and Shayla fighting over having cats and dogs—just fighting like them at times.

Well, that‟s the news for this time. May God continue to smile on you and fill your suitcases with not only the necessities of life, but also with the priceless, important things in life—which even the biggest suitcases could never really contain. Know that we love you and that God loves you more. He loves you the most!

Closing Remarks…
As our November and December furlough plans start to develop, we would encourage you to consider which dates would work best for us to visit so we can arrange a schedule that will allow us to see as many of you as possible. The last two weeks of December we plan to spend with family. If you can respond back to us by email with possible dates that might allow for us to meet with you, this will help us in arranging and finalizing our schedule. With all of the churches and Christians who help to support us, we may not be able to schedule a personal visit during this furlough, but we will do our best to schedule a visit during the following furlough. Thank you for your continued faithful prayers, encouragement and support in every way.

Prayer Requests…
* For God to grant us success in registering SIBI with the Singaporean government
* Safety and good health for our visiting teachers
*Recruiting success so SIBI can equip many workers for Asia

Overseeing church:
12th Street church of Christ
P.O. Box 1476
Seagraves, TX 79359
Contact person:
Kenny Smith
Cell Phone: (432) 209-1735
Home Phone: (806) 546-2336
Our Singapore Information
Tom & Nancy Goracke
BLK 60 Teban Garden Road
#17 – 462
Singapore, 600060

                                                                                      Our Love to you… Tom, Nancy, Jaydon &  Shyla 

Tom‟s mobile phone:
(65) 83683213
Nancy‟s mobile phone:                                                                                                                   (65) 83683214                                      

Home Phone: (65) 64981864
Email: twoservants2002@yahoo.com

http://www.focusonasia.net

http://www.ppcoc.org/sibi.htm

http://www.saturnroad.org

http://www.sibi.cc

http://www.sunsetinternational.org

http://www.friendsfortruth.com/ 

http://www.youtube.com/user/friendsfortruth

http://www.mrnet.org/default/default.asp