December Update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord.

Some semesters seem busier than others and this has been one of them. Thank you for praying we would get through November. Both preaching engagements at the seminary went well. One Sunday sermon was from Revelation 17 and the other chapter 18. I have never preached from those chapters before so I learned something and hope people in the congregation gained something also. Next week is exam week after which we will not be teaching but need to mark the exams and written assignments.

Graduation

One hundred and twenty students graduated on 27th November. About one half of these were at the B.A. level but we had our first seven master’s graduates this time. The service was well attended and surprisingly short at less than three hours. Pray for the graduates as they plan what to do next. Many of them are already pastors, missionaries, or teach the Bible in schools, but some will be looking for their first work assignment.

ACTS board

Debbie is on the African Christian Textbooks (ACTS) board. She has a meeting on Monday 6th which prepares for the board meeting on 13th December. The director of ACTS is Dr Sid Garland of Mission Africa. ACTS has been very helpful by importing theological books for sale here and also publishing and printing books written by mainly local authors. Many of the books in our seminary library have been purchased through ACTS.

Outreach teams

As usual, a number of our students will be away over the holiday to preach the gospel. Some are going to Chad, others to Cameroun and some will work in this country. Pray for safe travel and fruitful ministry (Col. 1:6).

Christmas

This year we will spend Christmas at Kagoro. Cheryl and Donna Pridham will join us for the main meal on Christmas Day. Our neighbours, Dennis and Coletta Shelly, are still in the US and will be spending the season with their son and daughter. Dennis and Coletta are booked to return in early January 2011 so we look forward to having them back at Kagoro.

Thank you again for your prayers and we pray you will enjoy the Christmas season.

Yours in Christ,

David and Debbie

Prayer letter, March

Dear praying friends,

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

Thank you for being a source of encouragement to us through your faithful prayers and financial support.

The Chad outreach was successful. They were kept safe on their long journey and had the joy of seeing many come to faith in Christ during that time. Pray for good discipleship of the new believers and that the students would continue to have a vision for mission and evangelism.

Paul

Paul , one of our students who went on the Chad outreach, has a gift for evangelism. While he was on his practical assignment with a church last June and July he led five people to the Lord. Last semester, the young man he was discipling introduced him to a lady who was dying of HIV/AIDS. Paul led her to Christ a few weeks before she passed away. While in Chad, he discovered that the man assigned as his interpreter was not born again and Paul led him to faith in Christ. When I get discouraged in the work here, I remember students like Paul who make our work a joy and privilege (Heb 10:24). Please pray that Paul would continue to develop his gifts and that the Lord would use him to win others.

Evelyn

Another source of encouragement is the visit of friends. Evelyn, from Windsor Baptist Church, visited us for a week in February. As well as being blessed by her company we were blessed by her lemon meringue, cinnamon scones and other goodies which are NEVER on the menu in Kagoro!

Daunting Tasks

Teaching the largest classes we have ever had is a daunting task. David has 75 in one of his classes and I have 80 in one class and 70 in the other. We would really value prayer not only for the teaching but also for the marking.

I (Debbie) have been made chairperson of a committee to create a five-year development plan for the seminary. Pray for wisdom in our discussions and decisions.
Jos

Many people lost their lives as a result of religious conflict in Jos in the middle of January. Please pray for the success of the relief effort as many also lost their homes and all their property. Pray too for peace to reign in Jos and the nation as tensions are still high.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Debbie and David Colvin

January update

Dear friends,

May you grow in the knowledge of our Lord this year.

SIM Conference

We are looking forward to the annual SIM conference at Miango this year (6-10 Jan.). The speakers are Charles and Hilary Price from the People’s Church, Toronto, and the conference topic is ‘press on’. We heard Charles at Keswick in 2008 and appreciated his ministry from the word of God. It will be great to receive some good teaching and also renew fellowship with our SIM colleagues.

Chickens

This Christmas was the year for live chickens. After one of the weddings I spoke at, we were given two live chickens to put in the car and take home! Then one evening a member of staff came to the house and presented us with another one. The fourth came from one of our students. Thankfully we have a student who helps us with gardening and he knows how to slaughter and divide up chickens. We appreciate the generosity of all these people since chicken meat is much more expensive than beef here.

New semester

We have entrance exams and interviews for prospective students this month. These are set for 11-13th January. Then registration for study in the new semester is on 14th and 15th. We will be teaching familiar courses in the January to May semester: I have been assigned Hermeneutics and Third World Theologies; Debbie is teaching Interpreting Parables, Old Testament Prophetic Books, and Pentateuch. Pray we will be able to keep up with the marking as well as our teaching this year.

Please pray we get some more suitably qualified teachers for the seminary. The areas of need are in Education, New Testament, and English.

Outreach teams

The students and staff who went on missions trips in December have given reports of many people coming to know Christ and individuals being restored to fellowship with our Lord. Praise the Lord. The team that went to Chad isn’t back yet so we will send you a report from them later.

My Dad in hospital

My Dad was in hospital for a few weeks with a chest infection. He is back home but still quite weak. Pray for greater strength.

Thank you for your prayers as we remember many of you regularly in our prayer times.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

December update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord.

Thank you for praying for the baccalaureate service. David was asked to preach at that and it went well. The graduation service also went well with 105 students graduating in the end. It only lasted three hours so it was a relatively short service for the seminary here.

David is speaking at another wedding on Saturday 5th December. No more meetings arranged after that and we are looking forward to the Christmas break. Exams are next week so pray for the marking of those. Thanks. We plan to spend Christmas here in Kagoro and have a get-together with other SIM missionaries in the area on Christmas Day.

As mentioned in our prayer letter, don't forget to pray for the team of students and staff going to Chad over Christmas. The seminary is also arranging two other missions trips to local areas during the break.

Thanks again for your prayers and we trust you have a great Christmas and happy start to the new year.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David