Prayer Update for May

Dear friends,

Greetings from Kagoro in the name of our Lord.

Thank you for responding to our urgent prayer request. Praise the Lord for the way we felt the impact of those prayers as we experienced the Lord's peace and protection. Classes were cancelled last week and many students travelled home. Classes resumed this week but most of the students have not returned. They should be back by Monday now that all the elections are over.

We never expected the post-election violence to come so close to our area. In our local market town of Kafanchan, 85 people are said to have lost their lives and many properties, including churches and mosques, were destroyed. Hundreds were killed in a town about 20 miles from us and close to Kagoro, others were killed. In this region, reportedly those who initiated the violence came off worse. Pray with us that there will not be revenge attacks. The level of security has been strengthened in the past week and now there is an army checkpoint on the main road just outside our gate.

Further north, many churches and Christian homes have been burned. Some lost their lives because they refused to renounce their faith. The nation still needs much prayer now that the elections are over.

We were thankful that we had planned to spend Easter weekend at Miango, the SIM-run guest house outside Jos. The Shellys and about a hundred other missionaries were there. We really enjoyed the break from the tensions in Kagoro as well as the fellowship and good food.

Thanks for praying for the various speaking engagements last month. They all went well. Please pray for David as he will be preaching on Sunday, 15th May at the Seminary church.

There are only two more teaching weeks before the final exams. There is a lot to get through as we need to do some extra classes because of the time we lost.

Please pray for wisdom for the Seminary Board which is next Friday, 6th May. David and the Provost are busy getting things ready for that.

It will be great to have the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland for our month's leave. We plan to arrive on 31st May and we'll be glad to be back whatever the weather!

Thank you again for standing by us in prayer. Pray for all of us at the Seminary that we will keep trusting in the Lord, Nahum 1:7.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David

Prayer Update for April

Dear friends,

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

Thanks for praying for our mid-semester ‘break.’ We were able to get some marking done but not to get it call cleared. Pray we will be able to catch up in this second half of the semester.

Thanks also for praying for the curriculum review. In the end it was postponed until later in the year but we did have some meetings for processing those who have applied for admission to study here. 237 people applied this year. About 100 people have been given admission letters and another 100 are still being processed and will probably be offered admission also. Not all those who get admission letters actually come to study here but these numbers are normal for this period so we thank the Lord people are interested in studying at the seminary.

Debbie has several meetings to take this month so pray for her. Dates are 6th and 11th at the seminary and also a women’s meeting on 8th April at our local church. I am taking the evening service on 17th at the seminary. While we enjoy these opportunities they are in addition to our normal duties at the seminary and this is the hottest time of year. The heat and humidity tend to sap one’s energy.

The people who drilled the borehole returned and installed a manual pump. This has proved very helpful since the local water supply is not good at this time of year. We have purchased a 24 volt d.c. submersible pump and solar panels to power it but have not installed these yet. The plan is to use this system to provide safe, clean water for ourselves and other seminary staff and students living nearby.

One of our former students was preaching at the church recently. The Lord used him as a missionary to plant several churches in Sierra Leone. It is always encouraging to receive such news from former students. He is on home assignment now and plans to return to Sierra Leone in a few months.

There are several elections taking place here this month. Pray it will be a peaceful process and that those elected will discharge their responsibilities as those assigned their tasks by God (Rom. 13:1f ).

Thanks again for your prayers for us and may our Lord bless you in your walk with Him.

In Christ,

David and Debbie