Update for September

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.

Thank you for praying for the conference at Otukpo. It rained for almost all of the 240 mile drive there and we saw several recent accidents along the way. The conference went well with a large number of people coming forward for counselling after the Sunday morning service. Others were also counselled after the other sessions by members of the Prayer and Witnessing Team (see attached photo). We believe some people at Otukpo came to faith in Christ and others put some things right in their lives as a result of the conference. Praise the Lord! The journey home was mainly dry and accompanied by some great African scenery along the way. As we neared Kagoro, the evening sun illuminating the mountains of Plateau State was magnificent.

We arrived back at Kagoro right at the start of the new semester. Debbie has fewer students to teach this semester and she is thankful this should make it easier to keep up with the marking. Debbie has three courses to teach and I have two since I am still working as the registrar at the seminary.

Preaching opportunities seem to arrive like buses: you see none for ages and then several all come at once. In August I was asked to preach twice at Fada Gospel Church and I have three preaching engagements lined up for September. The Bible passages to consider on each occasion have already been set by other people so I know where I am supposed to preach from but I haven’t done the preparation yet. Please pray as I work on these while also carrying a full load at the seminary.

Other meetings I am involved in have to do with administration. On 8th we have a long-overdue full meeting of the Academic Committee. I am the secretary for that committee and am working on the agenda right now. SIM has its area council on Friday 3rd and I have a another meeting in connection with SIM on 24th (D.V.).

This month Debbie prepared a meal for a Mission Africa team which is working in the area for two weeks and we had Donna Pridham over for some meals since she has just returned from Canada. On Sunday we were visited by a total of 17 people. Some of these were small groups of children and teenagers who wanted to report how the recent CEF camp went. We don’t normally have quite so many people come on the same afternoon.

As always, we appreciate your partnership with us in prayer (Rom. 15:30).

In Christ,

David and Debbie

Update for August

Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of the Lord.

Many thanks for your prayers as we've settled into life in Kagoro after our time in the UK.

The past month has been characterised by an abundance of rain but we are not complaining even though it means an abundance of mud!

There has also been an abundance of visitors both local and international. Many friends and students have come to sympathise with us and pray for us which has been a comfort and encouragement. A team from the USA (mostly former missionaries) and Africa were based in Kagoro for a writer's workshop and we had them over for a meal one evening. I got a friend to cook up some local food and I made the western food. It was an example of international cooperation to feed an international group of 19 people. Two weeks later, Alan Purser, the team leader of Crosslinks, came to take part in some seminars for pastors and we had the opportunity to enjoy fellowship with him during the meals we shared together.

An abundance of disruption was a feature of two days last week when the Local Government came to drill a borehole just beside our house. It is intended to supply water for the seminary students and staff who live on this side of the road. This means we will not struggle to get water during the dry season. Praise the Lord for this provision and pray that we will be able to work out the logistics of getting the water to all who need it.

The pile of marking is gradually going down but not as quickly as we had planned. We're nearly there!

One thing we have been concerned about is the number of armed robberies in the area during the last two weeks. Last week the chief of Kagoro was robbed which was a huge shock to the community. Two other homes were targetted the same night. Please keep on praying for God's protection.

This Friday I, (Debbie) will travel to Miango for a Board Meeting and David will be taking part in the Primary School Board Meeting. Please pray for safety in travel and wisdom in discussions and decisions.

As well as trying to get ready for the beginning of classes on 16th August, David will be busy with the orientation of new students and the registration process next week.

The date of the conference we're taking part in has been changed to 13th-15th August. David will be speaking twice on 'Knowing your Position as a Child of God' and I will a give a seminar on prayer. Again we need prayer for safety in travel and for the Lord's help in the programme.

I am marking assignments on the book of Zechariah and have been reminded that our work cannot be accomplished by human effort but by reliance on the power of the Spirit (Zech. 4:6). May you know His empowering in all you do.

Thanks again for keeping us in your prayers.

God Bless,

Debbie and David