Prayer Letter

Dear Friends,

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

PRAISE

As we near the end of our extended time in the UK, we have many reasons to praise the Lord and would like to list a few: 1. We thank the Lord that our college fees were provided in full. 2. The four-star accommodation we have been using is great. Praise Him. 3. Throughout this time, we have had access to two vehicles provided freely by relatives. 4. It has been good to have had extra time to spend with family and friends. Renewing fellowship with our main supporting churches has also been a joy. 5. Our support levels with SIM have been high so we thank the Lord and all others who were involved in meeting that need. 6. During this time we have been able to attend some conferences such as Mandate, New Horizon and Keswick (see photo links). It has been great to have had these opportunities to worship at such events. God is Good (Nahum 1:7).

PLANS

We are planning to return to Kagoro Seminary on 19th January 2009. Please pray for the preparations and especially that visas will come through okay. You are invited to a farewell service for us at the Ballynahinch Congregational Church on Sunday evening 28th December.

As usual, there are some things to be done before we leave. I am still working on my 20,000 word dissertation and would like to have that finished before we travel. Debbie is teaching First Peter in six evening classes at the Belfast Bible College and also leading a Bible study for a group of ladies at Coagh Baptist Church.

SARAH YOO

We just heard that one of our SIM colleagues at Kagoro, Sarah, has returned to Korea. She has been battling with malaria throughout this year. It looks like she will not be returning to Kagoro. Pray for her. She will be greatly missed at the seminary. By the way, the Seminary is still looking for someone to teach New Testament who has a doctoral level qualification in that area. Pray the Lord will send us someone with that training (Matt. 9:38).

As ever, thank you for your faithful prayers.

David and Debbie Colvin

Contacts (until we leave): Tel 02887752120, Debbie 07810203459, David 07833145995

Update for October

Dear Friends,

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

Many thanks for your prayers. We enjoyed our week of holiday in Portugal (see photos in the links section) but now its back to work. Debbie has many meetings booked this month and would especially appreciate your prayers.

Debbie leads a Bible study for a group of ladies at Coagh Baptist Church on 2nd, 9th, 23rd, and 30th. She is using a Beth Moore study called Living Beyond Yourself.

She is also speaking at ladies’ meetings on 6th at Bangor Congregational Church, 7th Hamilton Road Baptist, 16th Lambeg Baptist, 21st Portadown Baptist, and 27th Cairndaisy Baptist.

I am preaching at Cairndaisy Baptist on 16th and at the Stewartstown Baptist Hall on 26th.

Both of us are involved in the following meetings: 5th Missionary Meeting at Shankill Baptist, 14th GB at Ballynahinch Congregational, 18th Ballycrochan Baptist missionary meeting, 24th SIM Conference, and 28th SIM prayer group at Whiteabbey.

My Dad is enjoying being back at home and recovering some movement in his right arm. He still needs assistance when walking but there is gradual improvement in this area also.

September was a month for reunions. Debbie and I were both at a celebration at the Belfast Bible College which has been at Glenburn House for 25 years. (I was studying there when the college moved.) It was good to meet former students some of whom we hadn’t seen for over twenty years. Then on 27th Sept, I was at a reunion at the Rainey Endowed School. Again it was fascinating to meet classmates I hadn’t seen for over thirty years. While external appearances have, of course, changed a little, basic characters seemed to be much as I remember them.

Reunions remind us we have a limited amount of time to worship God on earth. Let us all make the best use of the time (Eph. 5:16).

In Christ,

David and Debbie

September Update

Dear friends,

Greetings in the name of our Lord Jesus.

We thank the Lord for answered prayer during this past month. Praise the Lord with us that David’s dad is now out of hospital. We are thankful for the level of care he is receiving at home. Please pray that he would regain a measure of mobility as the physiotherapists and occupational therapists work with him over the next three months. Pray too for David’s mum as she helps care for his dad. Thanks.

David’s preaching engagements went well which once again is an answer to prayer. He is continuing to do research for his dissertation so pray that the time spent in study would be productive.

On Saturday, 6th, we will travel to Glasgow where David will preach at the anniversary services of Harper Memorial Baptist Church on Sunday. I will give a short presentation of our work in Kagoro and we will take part in a meeting after the Sunday evening service. We would value prayer for safety in travel and for the Lord’s help in the services.

The ladies of Kilrea Baptist have invited me (Debbie) to speak at their meeting on Thursday, 11th September. Please pray for the Lord’s guidance in preparing and giving the message.

In two weeks’ time (18th Sept.) we’re travelling to Portugal with my parents for a week’s holiday. We thought it would be good to see the sun again!

In our calendar, September appears to be the calm before the storm of activity from October to December when there are many meetings to take and preparations for our return to Nigeria in January.

Thanks for upholding us in prayer. May we continue to remember that without Him we can do nothing but with Him we can do all the things He has called us to do.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David

August update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus.

Thank you for praying for health and safety in July. We had a great time in England visiting friends and enjoying their hospitality. The week at the Keswick conference was well worth attending. Charles Price was the main speaker in the morning meetings and we appreciated his accurate exposition and practical application of the book of Colossians. Keith and Kristyn Getty led most of the times of worship and we enjoyed that aspect of the conference also (check out www.gettymusic.com).

The weather for most of the trip was excellent and we were glad the car we were using had air conditioning! We have uploaded a few photos of the trip with captions (see links section of this blog) but no photos of the conference since no one was allowed to take photos during the meetings. (No doubt Keswick Ministries will add some more to their own web page: www.keswickministries.org)

August offers several opportunities to take Sunday services (10, 24 & 31) and we would appreciate your prayer for those times. I (David) will start work on the dissertation this month and hope to have most, if not all, of the work completed by the end of the year. I plan to study African views of Christology (the doctrine of Christ). A number of African theologians have addressed the subject in recent years and it would be helpful in my teaching to see what can be learned from these authors.

My Dad is supposed to be returning home from hospital soon. He has recovered from the stroke to some extent but still has difficulty walking and has only limited use of his right hand. Please keep on praying for him.

The new semester will be starting at Kagoro Seminary this month. Pray for the teachers and students. We heard from Sarah Yoo that work has started on a new student accommodation block so we praise the Lord for that development.

Thank you for your prayerful interest in our lives.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

July Update

Dear friends,

Greetings from us both.

Many thanks for your prayers over the past month. We really enjoyed our break in Prague and the fact that the sun was out most of the time made it special! You can check out some of our photos and captions on the ‘links’ section of this blog.

Praise the Lord that David completed his essays for the Masters’ last Friday which just leaves the dissertation. He is now recovering from a throat infection so please pray for restoration of health and strength. Thanks. Unfortunately, he had to cancel a speaking engagement at Dungannon Baptist on 6^th July, but hopes he will have another opportunity to be there later in the year.

The month of July looks like it will be quite busy. A friend of ours from Kilkenny is coming to visit for the week 14^th-21^st. She has been off work for several years due to a complex health problem. Pray she will enjoy the time with us and that we would be an encouragement to her. On 22^nd July we will travel to England to renew fellowship with some friends, visit SIM HQ in Suffolk, and attend the last week of the Keswick Convention (26^th July-1^st August). This will mean a lot of driving so please pray for protection on the unfamiliar and very busy roads. Pray too that we would benefit from the messages and worship at Keswick. We are thankful for the bursaries made available to missionaries to cover the cost of accommodation.

Thank you for praying for David’s dad. He is making slow progress but has come a long way during almost three months of being in hospital. Please pray with us for further improvement so he can return home.

Thanks for praying for the ‘matching gifts’ opportunity for the Seminary at Kagoro. Dennis Shelly says the portion that had to be raised through the Seminary has come in and the matching gift should be raised this month.

In Christ,

Debbie and David

Update on 3 to 1 matching gifts challenge

Dear Friends,

Just a quick update on the fund raising for the Seminary at Kagoro. Praise the Lord the required amount has been raised according to Dennis Shelly. Thank you for praying and/or giving.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

David and Debbie in Prague's Old Town Square

Here is a link to some other photos: http://picasaweb.google.com/davidanddebbiecolvin/PragueTrip