Dear friends,
Greetings from Kagoro.
Many thanks for your prayers for the programme in Kaduna. We praise the Lord for safety in travel and help for David as he preached twice on Sunday. We had good times of fellowship with our friends there as well as the chance to see some of our former students who are pastoring in that part of the city. On our way back we were able to call with another former student who is serving as an associate pastor in a town about forty minutes from Kaduna. It's an encouragement to see these young men engaged in ministry and we feel privileged to have had some input into their development. Thank you for your part in this process as you continue to pray for us.
We are so thankful that David has finished his dissertation and sent off the final copy. Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer during this time of study. While this brings great relief to David, more responsibilities await as on the twentieth of July he will be back in the Registrar's office. The teacher who took over when we left in 2007 has been granted study leave to do his Ph.D. Please pray that there would be a good handover and that David would also work well with a different secretary. David also has a lot of marking to complete after spending so much time working on his dissertation.
The first week of our intensive teaching module went well although it's more tiring. Having classes on the same subject each day sharpens our focus and means we move at a faster pace. Many of the students are serving as pastors while they study part-time. We will finish our teaching on 10th July and have a bit of time to do the marking before the new semester begins in mid- August.
There have been a number of changes in key administrative positions in the seminary. Please pray for us and the other staff as we adjust to these changes.
The rains have not been as heavy as usual for this time of year but when they come we are glad of the drop in temperature. We feel cold when it's 22 degrees centigrade!
I was teaching Jeremiah last week and was challenged by his commitment to the message he was given in spite of the opposition he faced. Pray that we would all love the word of God as passionately as Jeremiah (Jer 20:9).
Yours in Christ,
Debbie and David
Wednesday, 1 July 2009
Monday, 1 June 2009
June update
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Saviour.
Thanks for praying about my dissertation. I have done some more work on the main chapters and sent them to the advisor by email. Pray I get feedback on those soon since I would like to submit the final version this month. While I have been working on that, Debbie has been tackling the stack of assignments and exams she needs to mark. My column of papers to mark has had to wait but I hope to reduce it a bit this month.
Debbie and I are travelling to Kaduna city on Saturday. I will be speaking at a church there twice on Sunday 7th and would value your prayers for these opportunities for ministry.
The Summer Programme coordinator has asked us to teach in the second module this year. We will be teaching one course each: Prophetic books for Debbie and Hermeneutics for me. The modules are intense since we will teach the same course content in three weeks as we would normally teach over fifteen weeks in a regular semester. That will keep us busy from 22nd June to 10th July and for some time after that marking the written assignments and exams.
Thank you for praying about the seminars in May. Quite a number of lecturers from the seminary at Jos came and some Bible teachers from local theological colleges were also present. A paper on the 'hidden curriculum' was especially interesting. As teachers we communicate more than the course content by our approach, attitudes and so on. It is a reminder that as Christians it is not only what we say but also how we say it and what we do that communicates our beliefs to other people. Pray that Christ will be communicated in this way also (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
We send you greetings in the Name of our Saviour.
Thanks for praying about my dissertation. I have done some more work on the main chapters and sent them to the advisor by email. Pray I get feedback on those soon since I would like to submit the final version this month. While I have been working on that, Debbie has been tackling the stack of assignments and exams she needs to mark. My column of papers to mark has had to wait but I hope to reduce it a bit this month.
Debbie and I are travelling to Kaduna city on Saturday. I will be speaking at a church there twice on Sunday 7th and would value your prayers for these opportunities for ministry.
The Summer Programme coordinator has asked us to teach in the second module this year. We will be teaching one course each: Prophetic books for Debbie and Hermeneutics for me. The modules are intense since we will teach the same course content in three weeks as we would normally teach over fifteen weeks in a regular semester. That will keep us busy from 22nd June to 10th July and for some time after that marking the written assignments and exams.
Thank you for praying about the seminars in May. Quite a number of lecturers from the seminary at Jos came and some Bible teachers from local theological colleges were also present. A paper on the 'hidden curriculum' was especially interesting. As teachers we communicate more than the course content by our approach, attitudes and so on. It is a reminder that as Christians it is not only what we say but also how we say it and what we do that communicates our beliefs to other people. Pray that Christ will be communicated in this way also (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
June update
Dear friends,
We send you greeting in the Name of our Saviour.
Thanks for praying about my dissertation. I have done some more work on the main chapters and sent them to the advisor by email. Pray I get feedback on those soon since I would like to submit the final version this month. While I have been working on that, Debbie has been tackling the stack of assignments and exams she needs to mark. My column of papers to mark has had to wait but I hope to reduce it a bit this month.
Debbie and I are travelling to Kaduna city on Saturday. I will be speaking at a church there twice on Sunday 7th and would value your prayers for this opportunity for ministry.
The Summer Programme coordinator has asked us to teach in the second module this year. We will be teaching one course each: Prophetic books for Debbie and Hermeneutics for me. The modules are intense since we will teach the same course content in three weeks as we would normally teach over fifteen weeks in a regular semester. That will keep us busy from 22nd June to 10th July and for some time after that marking the written assignments and exams.
Thank you for praying about the seminars in May. Quite a number of lecturers from the seminary at Jos came and some Bible teachers from local theological colleges were also present. A paper on the 'hidden curriculum' was especially interesting. As teachers we communicate more than the course content by our approach, attitudes and so on. It is a reminder that as Christians it is not only what we say but also how we say it and what we do that communicates our beliefs to other people. Pray that Christ will be communicated in this way also (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
We send you greeting in the Name of our Saviour.
Thanks for praying about my dissertation. I have done some more work on the main chapters and sent them to the advisor by email. Pray I get feedback on those soon since I would like to submit the final version this month. While I have been working on that, Debbie has been tackling the stack of assignments and exams she needs to mark. My column of papers to mark has had to wait but I hope to reduce it a bit this month.
Debbie and I are travelling to Kaduna city on Saturday. I will be speaking at a church there twice on Sunday 7th and would value your prayers for this opportunity for ministry.
The Summer Programme coordinator has asked us to teach in the second module this year. We will be teaching one course each: Prophetic books for Debbie and Hermeneutics for me. The modules are intense since we will teach the same course content in three weeks as we would normally teach over fifteen weeks in a regular semester. That will keep us busy from 22nd June to 10th July and for some time after that marking the written assignments and exams.
Thank you for praying about the seminars in May. Quite a number of lecturers from the seminary at Jos came and some Bible teachers from local theological colleges were also present. A paper on the 'hidden curriculum' was especially interesting. As teachers we communicate more than the course content by our approach, attitudes and so on. It is a reminder that as Christians it is not only what we say but also how we say it and what we do that communicates our beliefs to other people. Pray that Christ will be communicated in this way also (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
Monday, 4 May 2009
May update
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus.
Thank you for your prayers for us over these past months. We are so thankful that the rains have started. It's great to have relief from the intense heat.
David has been busy attending several board meetings during these past few weeks. Apart from teaching, he has also has been busy processing the data from the questionnaires he sent out as part of his dissertation research. Praise the Lord for the overwhelming response as over one thousand questionnaires were returned. The questions were asking about views of Christ. Please pray for David as he incorporates the findings of his research into the dissertation and gets it ready for submission in June.
We have one more week of teaching before the week of final exams at the end of the semester. We would value prayer for the Lord's help for the students and ourselves that we would finish well. Once the semester ends we have to concentrate on our marking which will keep us busy for a few weeks.
Thank you for praying about Internet access at the Seminary. We now have a faster connection which makes it easier to receive our emails and for students and staff to do research on line.
Praise the Lord for the large number of new books that have been added to the library and for the shelving bought to store them.
On Friday, 8th May, the seminary will host a seminar on Theological Education for our faculty and our sister institution in Jos (JETS). Our faculty travelled to Jos in March for the first part of the seminar. Pray that this would be a helpful time for all involved and strengthen links between these two seminaries.
Many thanks again for your prayers. Colossians 1:28.
God Bless,
Debbie and David
We send you greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus.
Thank you for your prayers for us over these past months. We are so thankful that the rains have started. It's great to have relief from the intense heat.
David has been busy attending several board meetings during these past few weeks. Apart from teaching, he has also has been busy processing the data from the questionnaires he sent out as part of his dissertation research. Praise the Lord for the overwhelming response as over one thousand questionnaires were returned. The questions were asking about views of Christ. Please pray for David as he incorporates the findings of his research into the dissertation and gets it ready for submission in June.
We have one more week of teaching before the week of final exams at the end of the semester. We would value prayer for the Lord's help for the students and ourselves that we would finish well. Once the semester ends we have to concentrate on our marking which will keep us busy for a few weeks.
Thank you for praying about Internet access at the Seminary. We now have a faster connection which makes it easier to receive our emails and for students and staff to do research on line.
Praise the Lord for the large number of new books that have been added to the library and for the shelving bought to store them.
On Friday, 8th May, the seminary will host a seminar on Theological Education for our faculty and our sister institution in Jos (JETS). Our faculty travelled to Jos in March for the first part of the seminar. Pray that this would be a helpful time for all involved and strengthen links between these two seminaries.
Many thanks again for your prayers. Colossians 1:28.
God Bless,
Debbie and David
Friday, 27 March 2009
Prayer Letter
Dear Friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
Toyota Camry
We thank the Lord for the provision of a 2002 Toyota Camry. It was manufactured in the US and shipped to Africa. One of the great things about this car is the air conditioner. That makes the trips more comfortable especially during this hot season. It also has automatic transmission and cruise control which make driving easier (For those who helped: Phil. 4:19).
Changes
To improve security, SIM has built a wall around the two missionary houses on our side of the road. The wall gives us a little more privacy and stops chickens, goats and other creatures walking through our gardens in the dry season looking for things to eat.
Concerning administration at the seminary, I have not returned to the registry since I am still working on my dissertation. A Liberian colleague, Momolu Massaquoi, will continue as acting registrar for now. Debbie is helping in the library one morning per week. We praise the Lord the library has 18,000 books now. Though this means we have fewer administrative duties, we are kept busy teaching since our classes are large this semester.
Missions week
We had a good missions emphasis week at the seminary. The speaker was Stephen Baba, the director of the Evangelical Missionary Society (EMS). Before taking on that job two months ago, he was the pastor of a missionary-minded church in Abuja which fully supports 30 Nigerian missionaries with EMS. Our students who went to Chad late last year also gave a report of that trip and we thank the Lord that hundreds of people responded to the gospel. Pray for their walk with the Lord and that more of our students will be open to serving in missions once they complete their studies (Is. 52:7).
Prayer letter distribution
We want to thank Ian Strachan for being willing to help with the postal distribution of our prayer letter.
Thank you for your prayers.
David and Debbie Colvin
SIM-UK, Wetheringsett Manor, Wetheringsett, Stowmarket, Suffolk IP14 5QX
SIM-UK Irish Office, Unit 1, Ravenhill Business Park, Ravenhill Road, Belfast BT6 8AW
Monday, 9 March 2009
March Update
Dear Friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus.
Car
We thank the Lord we have a Toyota Camry. (See picture below.) It is a 2002 model and has automatic transmission and a great air-conditioner which we have been using every time we drive since it is 36C and 70% humidity some of these days. Perhaps we will have our first rain soon? We have not seen any rain since we arrived.
Mid-semester
Our mid-semester break comes up next week but we have interviews to conduct for prospective students and marking to do. It is really a break for the students not the teachers but it is a welcome change in routine for a few days.
Missions week
This week we have a series of meetings at the seminary about mission. The speaker is Stephen Baba who is the head of the EMS (Evangelical Missionary Society) – an indigenous missionary society. Only a few of our students are planning to become missionaries after their time of study and we hope these meetings will help some more catch a vision for evangelism. Debbie is speaking on prayer at the student prayer group this week also.
Internet access
The seminary has been getting internet access via satellite but the company we were with shares the same channel with so many other people, the speed is much too slow. Some web pages will not even connect. We have been trying to migrate to a different supplier but this is proving difficult. Pray it will happen, though, and soon. Thanks.
In Christ,
David and Debbie
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus.
Car
We thank the Lord we have a Toyota Camry. (See picture below.) It is a 2002 model and has automatic transmission and a great air-conditioner which we have been using every time we drive since it is 36C and 70% humidity some of these days. Perhaps we will have our first rain soon? We have not seen any rain since we arrived.
Mid-semester
Our mid-semester break comes up next week but we have interviews to conduct for prospective students and marking to do. It is really a break for the students not the teachers but it is a welcome change in routine for a few days.
Missions week
This week we have a series of meetings at the seminary about mission. The speaker is Stephen Baba who is the head of the EMS (Evangelical Missionary Society) – an indigenous missionary society. Only a few of our students are planning to become missionaries after their time of study and we hope these meetings will help some more catch a vision for evangelism. Debbie is speaking on prayer at the student prayer group this week also.
Internet access
The seminary has been getting internet access via satellite but the company we were with shares the same channel with so many other people, the speed is much too slow. Some web pages will not even connect. We have been trying to migrate to a different supplier but this is proving difficult. Pray it will happen, though, and soon. Thanks.
In Christ,
David and Debbie
Friday, 6 March 2009
Our Toyota Camry
Dear Friends, Here is a picture of our Toyota Camry. It is a 2002 model with automatic transmission and air conditioning. Thank the Lord for this provision.
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