Update for July

Dear Friends,

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

Thank you for your prayers for us at the 'Breathe' conference in Switzerland. We enjoyed the contemporary worship, focused messages, casual interaction with other cross-cultural missionaries, and the opportunity to see some of the beautiful Swiss scenery (Heb. 10:24-25). The weather wasn't as warm or the sky as clear as we would have liked but the weather is one of those things one cannot predict or change.

I (David) have been able to complete the marking I brought back to the UK with me through Debbie still has some marking to do. Debbie will also be working on her D.Min. module this month and would value your prayers for this study. She will spend some time in the library at the Irish Baptist College in connection with this study. I am planning to use this month to develop the material I use in some courses I teach at the Seminary and help one of my thesis students. He has sent me two chapters of his work by email so I will have to check those soon since he hopes to graduate in November this year.

Since coming to the UK I have been checking out whether the inexpensive 'Raspberry Pi' computer could be used in our Internet room at the Seminary for browsing and such. The 'Pi' uses very little power which is good given our lack of mains electricity at Kagoro but it runs on the Linux operating system and seems a little slow for our intended use. Netbook computers are, I think, the best option. One goal is to reduce the total power required to run the computers in the Internet room so we can run them using a battery/inverter system for some hours each day.

It has been great to catch up with family and friends here in the UK. There are some people we really need to see this month who are unwell and/or facing major challenges in life so pray our Lord will use us to minister to them. Thanks. We are booked to return to Kagoro on 31st July so please pray for a safe journey back.

Our colleague and neighbour at Kagoro, Dr Dennis Shelly, has had to go to the US since he is suffering from constant pain in his right leg and lower back. He had an MRI scan last week and is scheduled to see a specialist on Friday 5th July. Pray for an accurate diagnosis of the problem and effective treatment. He and his wife Coletta would like to return to ministry at Kagoro as soon as possible.

Yours in our Lord,

David and Debbie Colvin

October update

Dear friends,

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

Thank you for praying for use as we settled back into life at Kagoro. It has been six weeks and things are now starting to settle into a familiar pattern.

I have been quite busy with administration since our deputy provost flew to South Africa to pursue further study and our provost went to Oxford for three weeks to attend a conference and conduct some research. Since the registrar is the third in line, administratively, I have ended up doing parts of all three jobs. Thankfully the provost should be back soon and please pray for him as he selects a new deputy provost.

The total number of students registered for study this semester has increased slightly to 335 for which we thank the Lord.

On 15th October Dennis and Coletta Shelly, Debbie and I are to give a report to the Seminary community of our time back in our home countries earlier this year so pray that goes well. One other meeting I have this month is the SIM Area Council on 5th October. Debbie and I will go up to Jos for that and stay for a few days to get some things sorted out like the renewal of her driving license.

Things have been peaceful here in the Kagoro area but there are still occasional attacks on Christian churches elsewhere in the country so keep on praying for peace and stability here. Thanks.

It is good to be back and we especially enjoy the teaching (Rom. 12:7b). Thanks for praying.

David and Debbie

August update

Dear friends,

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

Thank you for praying for Debbie. Her nose is healing well and we are able to return to Kagoro leaving Northern Ireland on 14th, flying overnight from London to Abuja and then being driven to Kagoro arriving mid-morning on 15th, God willing. Our colleagues, Dennis and Coletta Shelly, will be on the same flight from London and the journey by road to Kagoro. We thank the Lord Dennis does not need surgery and that his health concerns are not as serious as earlier thought. Thank you for praying.

We have two farewell meetings at our home churches. The evening service at Ballynahinch Congregational Church on 5th August (6:30 to 7:30pm) is the first of these with Mike Ewan (SIM Ireland director) speaking at that service. On the following Sunday (12th), there will be a short farewell service at Coagh Baptist Church at 7:45pm right after the evening service. There will be tea after each of these services, we hear. Our role at each service will be to give a short update including prayer requests. Everyone is welcome at these services and we look forward to seeing you there if you are able to attend.

The academic dean at the Seminary has let us know which courses we will be teaching. Debbie will be covering three courses all of which she has taught before while I have been asked to teach a new course on spiritual formation and one on expository preaching. Although this second course is not new, I have not taught it before so I have been working on both courses and look forward to teaching them this semester. The Provost wants me to resume work as the registrar at the Seminary so I will have to find out from Dr. Paul Bidoli what has been happening in the office while I have been away.

We would appreciate your prayers as we pack (six suitcases to take with us on this trip, two of which are full of things for the seminary). It is always hard to say farewell to family and friends and we would appreciate your prayers for us and them as we head off to Africa again. Pray also for our adjustment to being back at Kagoro. It will take some time to get our systems up and running again.

Thank you to all who have been praying for us and contributing towards our financial support. We could not continue our ministries without you and are confident our Lord will reward those who are seeking the extension of His kingdom (Col. 3:23-24).

Yours in our Lord,

David and Debbie

July prayer letter

Dear praying friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus. Thank you for your faithful prayers for us. Our Home Assignment has been a time when we've been very aware of the importance of family in times of celebration and struggle. We are thankful to be part of our biological family as well as our church, mission and seminary families.

The 31st of March was a great time for my (Debbie) parents as we joined together as a family to celebrate their golden wedding anniversary. It was a joy to see many relatives and friends who we hadn't seen for some time and to be reminded of the strength we gain from family. It has been special to spend a bit more time with family members while we've been here.

The family we are part of in Kagoro has grown with the arrival of the Creighton family. Please pray for their adjustment to a new environment and their new roles within the Seminary community. However, our Kagoro family is also hurting because of the health problems of our colleague, Dennis Shelly, who is in the US with his wife, Coletta, for a series of medical tests. Please pray for an accurate diagnosis and plan of treatment which will enable them to return to their ministry.

Our family in Nige ria has been suffering because of the activities of terrorists against Christians especially as they worship together on Sundays. Please pray for God's people to stand strong in the Lord and also for protection against the Enemy. Praise the Lord for the truth of Matthew 16:18.

Numbers in the wider SIM family and mission community have reduced owing to the security situation and the retirement of some members. Please pray for wisdom for the leaders as they evaluate the events in recent months and plan for the future.

One of the features of this Home Assignment has been dealing with health issues which has resulted in a record number of hospital appointments. We thank the Lord for the NHS! I had a small non life-threatening piece of skin cancer removed from the tip of my nose two weeks ago. The healing process has not been straightforward so please pray that everything would be in order for our return to Kagoro on 14th August.

We enjoyed spiritual refreshment through the ministries of the ladies' Bible Study Fellowship (BSF) and sitting in on some of the Cornhill Belfast classes. I attended the BSF meetings on most Tuesday evenings at the Castlereagh Gospel Hall. It was great to study the Word of God with a lovely group of godly ladies. David sat in on most of the Cornhill classes on Friday mornings and we both enjoyed some other classes we were able to attend on the Psalms and the book of Judges.

We were blessed by having a wonderful week of holiday in Menorca at the end of May.

It's been encouraging for us to meet with our family of prayer and financial supporters

while we've been in the UK. Thank your for being a part of what the Lord is doing in Kagoro and the nation as a whole. Classes will have already started when we return to Kagoro so we anticipate a stressful few weeks as we get our systems up and running as well as begin teaching again. There will have been many changes in the months we've been away so pray for grace to adjust to the new dynamic in the Seminary as a result of a change in leadership. Please continue to pray for good health for us and our colleagues, protection and a fruitful ministry as we help prepare God's people for ministry (Eph. 4:12).

Thanks again for your prayers,

Debbie and David Colvin

Prayer letter

Dear friends,

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

SIM area conference

Thanks for praying for the SIM spiritual life conference. It was definitely one of the best we have ever attended. There was good teaching from the book of Jeremiah, the singing was excellent, and even the food was great! I particularly enjoyed being part of the worship team (Psalm 92:1).

Sadly, just over a week after conference one of our missionaries, Anne Burke, passed away suddenly due to an aortic aneurism. Pray for her husband, Peter, who has returned to Australia for an early home assignment, their two daughters, sons-in-law, grandchildren, and other members of the family.

Trip to Ghana

A number of SIM missionaries and church leaders from West Africa are meeting for a conference arranged by SIM. The conference will focus on discipleship and be held in Ghana from 20th to 24th February. I, David, have been invited to attend while Debbie will stay in Jos during that week. Pray for everyone travelling to and from the conference and that the conference will help everyone in their different ministries.

The new semester

Dennis and Coletta Shelly are back from their home assignment in the US. Both their son Dwight and their daughter Stephanie are now studying in the US so they will miss having them nearby. The provost was also in the US for eye surgery which was successful and he is back at work. Most of the full-time students have returned to the seminary and we are teaching again (Matt. 28:20).


Micah Bulus

One of our November 2010 graduates has been called to pastor a church in Kaduna city. Micah was the valedictorian at the graduation service. He did some work for us around the house while studying here so we know him well and are delighted he has this opportunity to be in the ministry. Pray for him and his wife and family as they settle into life in the city and work with other believers there.

Thanks again for your prayers.

David and Debbie Colvin

Dear Friends,

Happy New Year! We pray it will be a year of learning more of the Lord and increasing in our love for Him, Phil 1:9-11. Pray along with us that it will be a year when more people will be won for Christ and the church worldwide will be strengthened in spite of all the enemy is doing to try and destroy it.

We are praising the Lord that one of our students who just graduated, Micah Bulus, has been appointed as Associate Pastor of a church in Kaduna. We are so impressed by his godly character and his commitment to Christ. At graduation he received the award for best all-round student and last week he brought us a list of names of those he has led to the Lord recently. Please pray for him, his wife and their four small children as they adjust to a new environment. Pray for a fruitful ministry for him and other former students who are beginning pastoral ministry.

Sadly, there were bombs in Jos on Christmas Eve and one in Abuja on New Years' Eve. Many have lost their lives and many were injured. The nation needs much prayer for peace and stability in this election year. Pray that God's people would maintain their witness and be kept safe. Thankfully, all is peaceful in Kagoro.

I wonder what kind of gifts you received at Christmas? We were blessed to receive a live chicken, eggs, yams and coffee!! We enjoyed celebrating the greatest Gift of all with Canadian and Korean friends. We also had visits from some of our students who didn't go home for the break. Between Christmas and New Year we were marking papers. There are still more to mark but we've made good progress and should finish before the beginning of the semester.

We arrived in Miango this morning so the worship team can practice for the conference which begins tomorrow afternoon. David and the others are singing their hearts out! We are looking forward to the times of Bible teaching, worship and fellowship. Both David and I are leading small groups after the main sessions in the morning. These times will be spent in discussing the message and in prayer.

Our neighbours in Kagoro, Dennis and Coletta Shelly, return from their home assignment on Saturday morning. Please pray for them as they set up home again and get ready for classes which begin on the 17th January.

The Seminary's admissions process begins on Monday, 10th January. Pray that it will run smoothly and those that the Lord has called to train for service will be accepted for studies. The returning students should be back by the 14th.

Thanks so much for you faithful prayers during 2010. We continue to need them.

Love and God Bless,

Debbie and David