Prayer letter for May

Dear friends,

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

Travel and study

We are back in Northern Ireland for a couple of months. Thank the Lord for the provision of a place to stay and a vehicle to use. Debbie has been given admission into a Doctor of Ministry programme which is offered by the Irish Baptist College and accredited by the University of Chester. She will be working on the module on Theological Reflection for which course work has to be submitted by September this year. Pray for her as she studies this summer. It is a part-time programme which should take a few years to complete. We plan to return to Kagoro at the end of July.

Generator

Those of you who get our monthly email updates will know we purchased a new generator. We thank the Lord for this provision since the local electrical supply is very poor these days. Our next challenge will be coping with the fact that our Kerosene fridge is no longer working well. When we get back we will have to set up an alternative system that will allow us to keep food frozen.

Kaduna trip

We were in Kaduna city recently and had the opportunity to catch up with two of our graduates: Nehemiah and Justina Maikai. Nehemiah is one of the pastors in a church which about 2,000 people attend on Sundays. That church is ‘planting’ two more churches in the city. It is always great to see our graduates in the ministry (cf. 3 John 4). At the church we go to at Kagoro both of the pastors are also graduates of the Seminary. We have the problem at Kagoro of not having enough space in the building to get everyone in on Sunday mornings.

Missionary Conference

In late June we are going to a 10-day conference arranged for missionaries who are working in stressful situations. The venue is a Christian guesthouse near Interlaken in Switzerland. We are looking forward to that conference. Some of our fellow SIMers have been to the conference in the past and highly recommended it to us.

Highlights of the January to May semester

Thank you for praying for us during the semester. It was a demanding one in many ways. Debbie was teaching two courses she had not taught before and one she had not taught for nine years. I was teaching courses I had taught before but I was quite busy in the registry since we didn’t have a deputy provost at the Seminary. Thankfully, a new deputy provost has just been appointed which will help to share some of the administrative tasks. We had 350 students register for study which was more than usual. In April our Provost arranged for a two-day retreat at Miango for all the members of the faculty. We studied a devotional book together and it gave us all the opportunity get to know each other better.

Hajara’s wedding

One of the former students we are close to, Hajara, who comes from Niger, just got married to one of our students: Daniel. The wedding took place here at the Seminary with many of the students and Seminary staff present. Pray for them as they start their new home and for guidance as they plan for future ministry together. Daniel has a few more courses to take this summer and hopes to graduate later on this year.

Thanks for your prayerful support.

In Christ,

David and Debbie Colvin

May Update

Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus. Today the blue skies and warmth remind us of Nigeria. It also reminds us of ‘study weather’ as we are both keeping close to our books and computers as we work to meet the deadlines for our assignments.

Please pray for David as he finishes up his assignment on the Pastoral Epistles and gets ready to do another module of study starting with classes on 19^th and 20^th May.

I would really appreciate prayer also as all my assignments have to be in next week and I have lots more work to do as well as attending classes.

Thanks so much for your prayers for the various meetings we’ve taken over the last few weeks. We’ve really known the Lord’s help. We will be taking the SIM prayer meeting in Ballymena on the 16^th May and then on the evening of the 18^th I (Debbie) will be speaking at the Ladies’ service at Lisburn Congregational. I will also be speaking at the Armagh Baptist Ladies’ Fellowship on 30^th and David will be preaching at a CWU meeting in Ballynahinch on 1^st June.

Almost three weeks ago David’s dad suffered a stroke which has affected his right side. He is in hospital and getting better slowly but is also struggling with a chest infection. We would value prayers for his recovery, especially that he would be able to return home in the near future. Pray for comfort for him and for David’s mum. All the family need prayers as we seek to give the support necessary. We are thankful that, in God’s timing, we are able to be in the country right now.

We are thankful too for safety in travel these days as we are on the road so much.

Thank you for your faithful prayers on our behalf, Colossians 4:2.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David

Dear Friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers for us in March. It was a busy month in terms of preaching and study but things seems to have gone well. We also sent out our prayer letter at the end of the month which is why this update is a later than normal.

Debbie would like you to pray for her as she works on two written assignments. Deadlines are approaching and the time seems too short to complete what she wants to cover. I submitted my essay on Romans and some assignments for the Study Skills module and the tutors are happy with these. I am, however, behind in writing the essay on the Pastoral Epistles so pray for us both as we tackle these things in the next few weeks.

This month marked our 10^th wedding anniversary. We thank the Lord for these years together. Although we were not able to get away to celebrate the day itself we have booked a city break in June. We have never been to Prague so it should prove interesting and, hopefully, provide a different venue for romance.

We are just back from a few days in London visiting friends. Although we have quite a number of other friends and supporters in England we would like to see, a longer trip will have to wait until later in the year (D.V.). It was great to have a total break from study and taking meetings and to have some time with David, Judy and their daughter Emily.

On 27^th we will be taking the morning service at Lambeg Baptist Church and we will attend the SIM conference at Magherafelt Baptist on 25^th April. Since our next update might not be sent out early enough, please remember the Sunday services at Carr Baptist on 4^th May during which I should be the preacher.

Thanks again for your prayers.

David and Debbie

Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

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

Studies

Both of us are studying at present. David is working on three modules at the Irish Baptist College and I am taking a three-month course at the Belfast Bible College. This time around, David’s subjects are Romans, The Pastoral Epistles, and more work on the Study Skills module. (He is pictured here with some other students and staff at the college.) My course is a post-graduate certificate in theological education and I am the only British person in the group!

Blog

We have set up a blog. Our prayer letters and monthly updates sent out by email will be ‘posted’ to the blog and we will add some other items from time to time. Please feel free to visit the page which is available at davidanddebbie.blogspot.com.

Security at Kagoro

Since we wrote last year, SIM has been working on improving security for the missionary housing at Kagoro. A wall has been built to surround the house the Shelly family are living in and apparently a wall is also being constructed to surround the house we use. This should help but ultimately we depend on the Lord for protection and encourage you to keep on praying for that (Psalm 91:2).

Keswick Convention

We have never been to the meetings at Keswick but since we have the opportunity this year we decided to attend one of the weeks. The organisers of the conference have kindly made accommodation available to us free of charge since we are missionaries.

We praise the Lord for His help in our deputation meetings. Please pray that we would know the Lord’s strength and wisdom as we continue to have opportunities to share about God’s work at Kagoro.

Thanks again for your prayers.

David with some students and staff at the IBC

March update

Dear Friends,

Greetings in the name of the Lord. Thanks for your prayers during the past month as we have been involved in our studies and some meetings.

Praise the Lord for a good start to the course I (Debbie) am taking at Belfast Bible College. I am now in the fifth week of study and it has been both an exhausting and stimulating time. There are three Africans on the course, three from Romania, one from Slovakia and one from India so it’s quite a mix of nationalities. A major challenge last week was trying to explain to two of them what “craic” and “banter” mean!

David is making good progress in his studies and continues to prepare his assignments on Romans and the Pastoral Epistles. Please pray that this time of study would be beneficial for both of us and that the Lord would keep us safe as we travel.

The month ahead will be a busy one as each Sunday we have the opportunity to take part in church services. Please remember the Missionary Sunday at John White Memorial church this Sunday, 9^th March. The following Sunday morning, 16^th March, we will take the PWA Service at Sloane Street Presbyterian Church in Lisburn. David will be preaching at both services on Easter Sunday at his home church, Coagh Baptist and will take the services at Saintfield Baptist on 30^th March.

It’s been a joy to share in the study of God’s word with a group of ladies from Coagh Baptist Church. We are learning from the lives of some Old Testament women and our study will continue each Thursday evening until the 20^th March. Please pray that all who attend would be strengthened in their faith.

I would also value prayer for the Lord’s help as I speak at the Baptist Ladies’ Rally at Coagh Baptist on 19^th March.

With so many activities and lots of study to do we need much of the Lord’s help in using our time well.

Thanks for your fellowship in this ministry. May you know the joy of the Risen Christ as you celebrate His death and resurrection this Easter.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David