Students International Missionary Baptist Seminary School (SIMBSS): 2023

First, thank you for visiting the SIMBSS blog! A lot has happened since the last post in the month of August, and I just haven't taken the time to update the blog.

As the last post stated, SIMBSS and the Amazon Project became one following the vote of our sponsoring church. That led to a fairly significant change in my schedule for September, which is normally focused on preparing for the upcoming October trip to the Solomon Islands.

You can see the September and October monthly reports by following this LINK, or by following the link "Monthly Reports" on the right side of this page. The September report is pretty detailed, but I've shared some additional information below. The October report is pretty brief, so I've provided more details about it below also.

Before I get into the September and October news, I extend a very special thank you to Pastor Daniel Conditt and the Russellville MBC in Russellville, AR for allowing us to come and present SIMBSS on October the 8th. I don't have one single picture to prove we were there, but we did have a marvelous time being with them.

In September, Bro Blake Parsley and I traveled to Iquitos, Peru where we visited with nearly 25 pastors about the possibility of beginning another seminary school in the city of Iquitos.

Bro Blake became acquainted with a few of these men while he and his family were living in Iquitos prior to the pandemic.

I think both Blake and I would consider the trip to have been a success as 22 of the 25 pastors committed to enrolling in the seminary.

The plan is for the first week of classes to be held March 11-15, 2024 in the city of Iquitos. As it turns out, one of the churches already owns a piece of ground outside of the main part of the city which they (and the other churches in their local association) use for camps and other associational events. This will be very good as the cost to use this facility will be very small compared to our costs in the Solomon Islands. Here are a few pics of the property.

The seminary in Iquitos will function much like the one in the Solomon Islands. We'll have 4 teaching terms each year with a 4-year curriculum plan followed by a graduation. Our present plan is to travel there in the months of March, June, September and December. Just like in the Solomon Islands, our desire is to leave an indigenous seminary there when our work is completed. Personally, I am convinced this is a great model and one that will help us to not create a dependency on money and manpower from outside THEIR area of ministry. These brethren and churches have made it without either for years and years, so there is no reason to act as if they are all just sitting waiting on us to come and give out money and build buildings. To be honest, I've seen personally that the people in the Solomon Islands and other parts of the world can do most anything they want or need without our help.

Below you'll see some pictures of a few of the services we attended in Iquitos. Both Blake and myself were privileged to teach and preach multiple times during our time in Peru. We also visited a few places along the Amazon River which are also shown below.

"Steps" cut into the side of the river bank

The building with the green roof was the residence for the Parsley family when they traveled to the jungle for bible classes.

This row of "bungalows" was the lodging rooms for the Peruvian pastors when they came to this location for classes. This area is called "Santa Rosa".

This is one of two termite nests hanging in this tree. It is made in much the same consistency as a hornet nest you'd see here in the USA. There may be termite nests like this in America, but I've never seen one.

Another church along the jungle that is pastored by a man with whom Bro Parsley was acquainted during his time of living in Iquitos. Right below are a few pictures of the pastor and some boys from the village.

The man to the right is Wilson, who has been a great asset to the work for many years. Robert Wallace of TBI first met Wilson when the work in Amazon began and Wilson has continued to work with ABA people when they travel there.

Lastly, I want to provide some additional information about the work in Solomon Islands. As you'll notice in the report, we finally had our first graduation on October 28, 2023!

It has been a far longer journey getting to that point than we ever expected. The pandemic put us 2 1/2 years behind our original schedule, but it affected so many of us in so many different ways. At the end of the day, the 14 men who stayed the course, returned to class after the pandemic, and completed their assignments became the recipients of this "Diploma of Biblical Studies".

It was a most glorious day for them and one for which they'd prayed many years. As they tell the story, even their forefathers had prayed for a seminary to one day be established in the Solomon Islands. While some may think that I'd "glory" in that, I don't because I recognize that for me to be able to do what I do countless people and churches from around the world have had to make significant financial & material contributions. Then there are those who have traveled to the Solomon Islands for many years to get this done. We all know that God knows the sacrifices that have been made, and I am not alone in believing that God will be just in His reward for those who've given to this work!

Here are some pics of the students. The actual pictures taken of them receiving their diplomas were lost due to a camera issue. We are presently trying to retrieve them from multiple sources, so maybe I can show them to you at a later date.