February Update

Dear Friends,

We send you warm greetings from Kagoro in the name of our Lord. Hopefully you won’t be too envious of the hot temperatures we’re experiencing. It’s good to see the sun again but it’s quite an adjustment to try and function in the heat. I suppose it forces us to slow down!

We have certainly been aware of your prayers as we prepared to leave the country, as we travelled and in this process of transition to life and ministry in Kagoro.

The Thursday before we travelled, David had to go to London to get our visas as it was obvious they would not have been granted on time otherwise. Extra copies of certain documents were needed and one page was missing from another document. David really saw the Lord at work to meet these needs and was able to collect the visas on Friday afternoon. Praise the Lord. We thank the Lord too that the expenses of the trip were covered by a generous gift.

Our return journey was surprisingly hassle-free. Again, we were very aware of the effect of much prayer on our behalf. In Dublin we didn’t have to wait for our scheduled flight. We were able to go straight from the check-in desk, through security and onto the plane because they wanted to fill up the empty seats! A new experience! We were on the runway waiting for take-off longer than we were in the airport! We got to see the new Terminal 5 at Heathrow and are happy to report that we had no problems with our luggage. It was good to see it again when we arrived in Abuja.

Our home in Kagoro is now surrounded by a wall and a strong gate. Apart from being more secure this reduces the amount of chickens and goats going through the compound. All the outer doors of the house are now metal and some other needed repairs were done to some windows before we returned.

We received a warm welcome from our colleagues, neighbours and students. The Shellys very kindly made sure we were fed for two days before we made a quick trip to Jos to stock up on food items we can’t buy locally. It took about a week to unpack enough to get the house up and running. We’ll unpack the rest gradually! It has been a joy to get to know Dennis and Coletta Shelly and we praise the Lord for all they contribute to the life of the seminary.

We thank the Lord that another significant gift came in towards buying a replacement car. Second-hand cars are much more expensive here than in the UK so pray we will know which one to buy.

Classes began last Monday although I (Debbie) didn’t do much apart from the introductions and giving of assignments as I was too exhausted. Please pray for David as he has been given a new course to teach at very short notice. The ‘Third World Theologies’ course overlaps with his recent studies but it is still a lot of work. Thankfully, another teacher who has taught the course has given him a set of notes which is a great help. I am teaching two courses which so far have almost sixty students each and one course which should have about ten. Please pray for stamina for us and the students during this hot season of the year.

We are now connected to two local mobile phone networks and our numbers (with international dialling codes added) are as follows: Debbie +2347069258996 and David +2348089522246. David’s receives texts but mine doesn’t for some reason.

Thank you once again for your faithful prayers.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David

December update

Dear friends,

Season’s Greetings in the name of Jesus.

We have felt the benefit of your prayers during this busy time. Thank you for your faithfulness.

David has been at the computer fairly constantly as he continues to write up his dissertation. Thank the Lord for progress as he has now submitted two chapters. Please pray for positive and speedy feedback from his supervisor.

Almost three weeks ago we submitted our documents for the visas we need in order to travel on the 19th of January. We would value prayer that they would come through in good time.

It was a real blessing and encouragement to study God’s Word with some of the ladies from Coagh Baptist. The Bible Study finished last Thursday evening and I am thankful to the Lord for the great fellowship and all He taught us during that time.

On Monday evening I will take the ladies’ meeting at Cookstown Baptist and Tuesday will be the final evening class at Belfast Bible College.

Ballynahinch Congregational Church will hold a farewell service for us on 28th December at 6.30pm. If you can attend, it would be great to see you. David will preach at both services of Coagh Baptist Church on 4th January, 2009. We would value your prayers for this and all the preparations to return to Kagoro.

Please pray we would do everything in the Lord’s strength (1 Pet. 4:11).

We have been saddened to hear of the recent riots in Jos, a city one and a half hours from Kagoro, where we normally travel every three weeks to do our shopping. The following report came from SIM on 3rd December:

Jos City is still very tense after rioting last Friday and Saturday. There are rumours of reprisal attacks and some reports of armed personnel attempting to enter the city. Presently the police and military have control of the situation and we pray that there will be no further violence. Many of the SIM personnel are moving out of Jos for the weekend which is also a Muslim holiday. Hillcrest School has closed till next Wednesday.

There are ten to twenty thousand displaced people in refugee camps around the city. SIM is providing food for one of these refugee camps. SIM has a funding project for relief, medical care and rebuilding destroyed church facilities as a result of the crisis. Donations are welcomed to this project and can be sent to any SIM office earmarked with project number NG96038.


Debbie and David