Dear friends,
Greetings from Kagoro. David and I arrived safely on Friday and are thankful to the Lord for a safe journey. Our hearts are full of praise to the Lord for the special time of holiday in Northern Ireland. The family celebrations went well. We thank the Lord for giving David's parents sixty years together. We also had an advance birthday celebration for my dad who reaches a landmark in November. Our three weeks were a welcome gift which allowed us precious moments with family and many friends. It also meant we got to enjoy lots of delicious food which is unavailable here but maybe that's just as well. As well as the great food, the weather was warmer than expected. When we went to the nearest town to shop the temperature was 29 degrees centigrade.
We have been so conscious of your prayers as we worked through the experience of the robbery. Our time in the UK has certainly helped our recovery. Before we left the police gave us armed night guards for two weeks and we now have two night watchmen (students) patrolling the missionary compound instead of only one. While we were away a stronger door was put in the kitchen. We would value prayers as we take measures to play our part in strengthening security. Praise the Lord that the gang leader was caught the Sunday after the robbery. He is a young man from the local area who is now in police custody in the state capital. This is an answer to prayer as few criminals are apprehended so quickly. Please pray that the young men responsible would repent and be brought to justice. We have no other information as the police are still investigating the case.
In the midst of our struggles the Lord has graciously encouraged us through His people.
It was a great honour to be visited by the local chief who is the traditional leader of the community and a committed Christian. He came with three vehicles, a police guard and colourful entourage. The District Head (a member of our church), along with some village heads, came to the morning service at the Seminary and presented us with some locally made craftwork to take as a gift to David's parents for their anniversary. We had many visitors.
A friend kindly sent money to replace the stolen items and others have encouraged us with gifts, e-mails, hospitality and giving their time to see us.
God's word has also been a source of great encouragement. Psalms 27:1 and 28:6-7 have been a real help.
The remaining weeks of the semester will be particularly demanding as we need to do a lot of extra classes. We weren't fit to do all we had planned before travelling because of the robbery. David will be busy finalizing the list of those who are qualified to graduate. He also has an SIM meeting in Jos on the 16th Oct and will be speaking at the evening service in the Seminary on the 25th. It's David's turn to speak at staff prayers at the end of the month. I will be occupied with teaching, marking papers and making sure food is on the table!
Thank you being among those who continue to encourage us through your faithful prayers and concern for our needs.
Yours in Christ,
Debbie and David
P.S. Some people have been asking about our phone numbers. We have been able to get the following number back from the company: +2347069258996 (where the +234 is the country code).
