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

February update

Dear friends,

Greetings from hot and humid Kagoro. While most of you have been experiencing one of your worst winters for many years, we are having an early hot season. Thankfully, it still cools down a bit in the evenings which is a help. During the day it is over 35 degrees C!

Thank you so much for your prayers as we are now three weeks into the new semester. The students are all back now as well as the new ones who were admitted in January. David is thanking the Lord for a successful admissions process especially as the numbers of students has increased.

David is happy about this but it means I have two of the biggest classes ever and I really do not know how I will cope with the marking as well as managing the classes on a weekly basis. One class has 68 students and the other has 79! To balance it out I have one class with only 8 students, most of whom I have taught before. At least I know the names of this group. David has one class of 73 and another one of 22. Please pray for us and the rest of the faculty as we face the challenge of teaching such large groups.

We really appreciate your prayers for David’s dad. He got out of hospital but had to return a week later. Please continue to pray for him. Thanks.

Our friend, Evelyn Greer, will arrive on Saturday morning to stay with us for a week and then she will go to Jos to stay with another friend. Pray for safety in travel as well as a good time of fellowship together.

Many of you may have heard of the recent violence in Jos. Our hearts go out to the people who lost loved ones, their homes and all their property. Pray for those involved in the relief effort that they would be able to assist those most in need. We are thankful that we were not affected directly but we would value your prayers for peace in this region as well as the rest of the nation.

This semester we are studying James in our devotional services. We need the wisdom James talks about in 3:13-18. Taming the tongue (3:1-12) is even more of a challenge!!

Thank you again for your fellowship in this ministry.

Debbie and David

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

Us with Dr and Mrs Shelly

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

November Update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of Christ Jesus.

Thank you for your prayers for us here at Kagoro. The teaching is going well as are the other meetings we take from time to time. This month Debbie is leading staff prayers on 10th and 12th and speaking at a youth meeting on 23rd. I am giving a talk to the students in the education department on 17th and am the guest speaker at the wedding of one of our former students on 21st.

The baccalaureate service is scheduled for the evening of 27th and the graduation service for 10:00 am on the 28th November (D.V.). Please continue to pray for the preparations for these and for the events themselves that the Lord will be honoured as the 103 graduates celebrate the completion of their studies.

Our climate here changed almost overnight last week from heavy rain and humidity one day to hot, dry and a bit dusty the next. We had one more short rain through the week but think that is it until March/April next year.

Thanking you again for your help.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

Update for October

Dear friends,

Greetings from Kagoro. David and I arrived safely on Friday and are thankful to the Lord for a safe journey. Our hearts are full of praise to the Lord for the special time of holiday in Northern Ireland. The family celebrations went well. We thank the Lord for giving David's parents sixty years together. We also had an advance birthday celebration for my dad who reaches a landmark in November. Our three weeks were a welcome gift which allowed us precious moments with family and many friends. It also meant we got to enjoy lots of delicious food which is unavailable here but maybe that's just as well. As well as the great food, the weather was warmer than expected. When we went to the nearest town to shop the temperature was 29 degrees centigrade.

We have been so conscious of your prayers as we worked through the experience of the robbery. Our time in the UK has certainly helped our recovery. Before we left the police gave us armed night guards for two weeks and we now have two night watchmen (students) patrolling the missionary compound instead of only one. While we were away a stronger door was put in the kitchen. We would value prayers as we take measures to play our part in strengthening security. Praise the Lord that the gang leader was caught the Sunday after the robbery. He is a young man from the local area who is now in police custody in the state capital. This is an answer to prayer as few criminals are apprehended so quickly. Please pray that the young men responsible would repent and be brought to justice. We have no other information as the police are still investigating the case.

In the midst of our struggles the Lord has graciously encouraged us through His people.

It was a great honour to be visited by the local chief who is the traditional leader of the community and a committed Christian. He came with three vehicles, a police guard and colourful entourage. The District Head (a member of our church), along with some village heads, came to the morning service at the Seminary and presented us with some locally made craftwork to take as a gift to David's parents for their anniversary. We had many visitors.

A friend kindly sent money to replace the stolen items and others have encouraged us with gifts, e-mails, hospitality and giving their time to see us.

God's word has also been a source of great encouragement. Psalms 27:1 and 28:6-7 have been a real help.

The remaining weeks of the semester will be particularly demanding as we need to do a lot of extra classes. We weren't fit to do all we had planned before travelling because of the robbery. David will be busy finalizing the list of those who are qualified to graduate. He also has an SIM meeting in Jos on the 16th Oct and will be speaking at the evening service in the Seminary on the 25th. It's David's turn to speak at staff prayers at the end of the month. I will be occupied with teaching, marking papers and making sure food is on the table!

Thank you being among those who continue to encourage us through your faithful prayers and concern for our needs.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David

P.S. Some people have been asking about our phone numbers. We have been able to get the following number back from the company: +2347069258996 (where the +234 is the country code).