November prayer letter

Dear friends,

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

Colleagues
Dennis and Coletta Shelly will be spending Christmas in the US with their son and daughter but be back in time for the new semester to start in January. We are expecting a new family to join the work at Kagoro soon. Rick and Alanna Creighton are originally from Northern Ireland but have been living in England for some years. They have three young children (the youngest, Jack, was born in October) and SIM is renovating a house at the Seminary for them to use. They hope to arrive in mid-February so pray for them as they make this relocation. Though both Rick and Alanna have been to Nigeria before for short trips, moving here to live will be a major adjustment. Rick is presently completing a doctorate in ethics and theology and will be lecturing at the Seminary. We expect Alanna will be fully occupied at home.

Another answer to prayer for teachers is the arrival of Dr. Gabriel Olaniyan who had been in pastoral ministry for some years and has recently completed a doctorate in Christian Education. We have needed and were praying for someone in this field of study so he will definitely strengthen the faculty in his area of expertise.

Home assignment

We will be back in the UK in December and start taking meetings in January 2012. Pray for the Provost as he selects someone to take on the work of the registrar while I am away. During this time of ‘home assignment’ we will be staying in a house on the Ballygowan road out of Belfast owned by our friends Rev. Mark and Elaine Shaw who are in the Presbyterian ministry in Strabane. We thank the Lord for this provision especially since the apartment we have been using in recent years isn’t available.
We are looking forward to seeing many of you soon. Our contact details will be the usual ones for our times in the UK with phones being: 07810203459 for Debbie and 07833145995 for me. You should be able to contact us on these numbers from 15th December. Apart from these, our usual email addresses will work such as david.colvin@sim.org but if you want to send large attachments (i.e. greater than 1M) please use colvin@runbox.com. Please address any normal letters for us to my Mum’s address: 29 Woodvale Crescent, Moneymore, Co. Londonderry, BT45 7PT. Thanks.

Graduation

Our last few weeks here will be busy as we try to finish teaching, marking and packing some things away. The graduation is set for 3rd December and the semester ends just one week later. It is always great to see our students graduate and go off into full-time service. Pray for them as they each seek God’s guidance for the next step (Psalm 31:3).

Curriculum review

Thanks for praying for the curriculum review. Our committee of eight spent three days at the SIM guest house in Miango to work on this. We were able to finalize the contents of the new post-graduate diploma (PGD) in theology and the PGD in Christian Education. These are for people who have a first degree in another discipline and want to switch their specialization. For those who want to study at the master’s level, the PGD can bridge the gap between previous study and the MA programmes offered at the Seminary. The committee also streamlined the design of the five MA programmes. While we were doing things like this, Debbie was catching up with some marking.

Building projects

A Nigerian businessman is sponsoring the construction of a new multi-purpose hall. (It hasn’t made it onto Google Earth yet but you can see some Seminary buildings at 9º, 26”, 25N and 8º, 23”, 15E.) When it is finished, we should be able to hold the graduation services inside. The Seminary Chapel seats only 500 people and the attendance at the graduation is over 1,000 people. The two-storey, 16-unit, married students’ dorm is still under construction and a recent gift from the US should finish the walls. If you want more information on these and other projects check the Seminary’s web page www.kagoroseminary.com and its links.


Visitors

We are happy to receive visitors here at Kagoro. Malcolm and Liz McGregor of SIM International were here earlier in the year. Recently Mary Crawford, who is one of the regional representatives for SIM in England, was here to see the work of SIM in this country. Dr. Paul Todd was also in Nigeria at the same time. He is back with SIM and works with the Africa Christian Textbooks (ACTS) ministry. Debbie is on the ACTS Board, by the way.

As always, thanks for your prayerful support and please keep on praying for us as we travel and take meetings in the next few months in the UK (Acts 14:27).

Thanks again,
David and Debbie Colvin

September update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord.

Thank you for praying for the start of the August-December semester at the seminary. We had 318 students register for study this time which is above average. Debbie has three classes to teach and I have only one (but with 80 students!) since I will be extra busy in the office this semester. Our seminary catalogue needs to be updated and we have scheduled the curriculum review for the 'mid-semester break' in October. As the secretary for the academic committee I have some work to do in preparation for that review and, no doubt, much more work to do after it.

SIM is concerned about security here and is using various methods of keeping the missionaries up to date with information about disturbances in Jos, for example. The latest channel being tried is Twitter since 'tweets' can be sent and received from ordinary mobile phones. The recent bomb at a UN building at Abuja marks an extension in the violence here and we would appreciate your prayers for peace and stability in the nation.

During the semester we have 'chapel' services at 11:00 am Monday through to Wednesday and then group prayer times on Thursday. The seminary also runs two services on Sunday. This semester the theme is 'Make every effort ... to be holy' from Hebrews 12:14. Our Lord has been using the speakers thus far to challenge us in this area and some people have been staying after services for counselling. Please pray this trend will continue as we all want to pursue holiness.

Thank you for praying for the SIM area council meeting. We had both the international director of SIM, Malcolm McGregor, and the SIM Deputy International Director for this region, Joshua Bogunjoko, with us. The main focus for discussion was strategy for the work of SIM in this country and good progress was made. We were delighted Malcolm and his wife Liz were also able to visit the seminary yesterday. Malcolm spoke on 'Jonah the reluctant missionary' during the chapel service to encourage everyone to have concern for the lost (cf. Jonah 4:11). Though only a few of our students are specifically training for mission work, everyone should be missions-minded.

Thanks again for your interest in us and the work here.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

August Update

Dear friends,

Greetings from a very cool and wet Kagoro. We are hurtling towards the beginning of a new semester at an alarming rate! We can't put on the brakes but we know with the Lord's help and your faithful prayers we will do all that's necessary to get off to a good start.

Praise the Lord that I ( Debbie) have finished my marking. It's a great relief. Thanks for praying. Please pray for David as he still has some papers to mark. Thankfully his secretary is back from leave which reduces the workload in the office.

This week we have been enjoying the company of Rick Creighton who hopes to come to Kagoro with his wife and family in January. Rev. Alan Purser, the director of Crosslinks mission, was with us for two days at the beginning of the week. Please continue to pray for the Creighton family as they make preparations for this new adventure in serving the Lord.

Yesterday afternoon we had a meeting of all the SIM missionaries in our region. A grand total of seven! We had a good time of prayer and fellowship together which was definitely enhanced by the consumption of a terrific selection of donoughts made by Donna Pridham, our Canadian friend and master baker!.We were discussing some strategy issues so that David could present them at the area council meeting on the 26th August when the International Director will be visiting. Pray for beneficial discussions and wise decisions.

A Theological Educators' conference will be held at the Seminary from this evening until Saturday morning. Many of those involved in the various levels of Theological Education in the denomination will be attending. Please pray for safety in travel and helpful presentations. The time of interaction with teachers from other institutions should also be encouraging.

Next week the orientation programme for new students will be on Monday and Tuesday. The registration process for both the new and returning students begins on Thursday. This is a very busy time for David and his secretary as well as others involved in the necessary administration. Classes begin on 15th and we all need prayer as we start the academic year. Pray especially for a peaceful environment. We are so thankful that our area is still calm. The beginning of the semester means a steep learning curve for new students so pray for them as they adjust to the discipline of study and the routine of Seminary life. Pray along with us that they will have teachable hearts and that we will too (Matthew 22:37-40).

Thank you again for standing with us in this ministry.

Love and God bless,

Debbie and David

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. We have seen the Lord at work in some difficult situations in the last few months.

During the elections David preached on ‘Surviving the Storms of Life’ from Mark 6:45-52. We were challenged to think about who we turn to in times of crisis and reminded to turn to Christ who alone can help us. Then we were tested to see if we put it into practice. The next day, there was a lot of violence in the far north of the country and in our local market town, Kafanchan (see the picture of the burnt out market). Some of it reached the outskirts of Kagoro. There have been hot spots elsewhere in the country and both Christians and Muslims have been affected. Please pray for the nation and for our local area that peace would reign and that those who plan and carry out acts of violence would come to repentance and faith in Jesus Christ. The recent events have certainly hindered the work of spreading the Gospel.

We were thankful to the Lord for His protection and help as we finished the semester and then had a lovely one month holiday in Northern Ireland. However, we are concerned about the health needs of our mothers. Pray they would know the Lord’s help.

Presently, the storms we are facing are the usual ones that go with the rainy season, making the temperatures cooler and everywhere muddy. We are trying to complete our marking and get ready for the new semester which begins 15th August. David is in the office each day as his secretary is on leave. His office will be busy with the registration both of new students and returning students the week before we formally resume.

Rev. Alan Purser and Rev. Rick Creighton from Crosslinks mission will visit us at the beginning of August. Rick, his wife and their three preschool children plan to come and serve at the Seminary in January, 2012. Thank the Lord for this answer to prayer and please pray for them as they prepare. We are also expecting two more new faculty members to join us in August.

Micah Bulus, a former student we mentioned in our previous prayer letter, called us yesterday. He is adjusting well to the ministry and was excited to report that 28 people made decisions for the Lord after he spoke at a week-long programme in a different church. Praise the Lord for how He is using him. He will have two more week-long programmes in the next two months so please continue to pray for him.

In December we will return to Northern Ireland for our official home assignment and will be available for meetings from January, 2012.

Thanks again for your prayers.

Debbie and David Colvin

July prayer update

Dear friends,

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

Many thanks for praying for our time in the UK. It was great to visit close relatives and some friends in the four weeks. The time just flew past and we were not able to visit everyone we wanted to see but should be back in the UK for some months early next year on home assignment. Pray for our mothers both of whom have ongoing health concerns.

While in the UK, we purchased about fifty books for the library and put them in the two extra suitcases we mentioned last month. We thank the Lord that someone in the US has promised to send a sizeable donation (about £3,000) to the seminary for library books so we hope we can reclaim the cost of the books we purchased from that gift once it comes through.

We would also like to thank people for their generosity. Several people gave us financial gifts and Debbie's home church paid for our flights to and from the UK. This is especially touching since we know the economy is not as strong as it used to be in the UK (Phil. 4:19).

My secretary is on leave in July so I will have to spend quite a bit of time in the office running the registry. Both Debbie and I have a lot of marking to do and need to get that completed this month. This is an aspect of teaching we do not particularly enjoy but it needs to be done. Pray we will be consistent in marking the assignments. Normally it would take several working days to mark an assignment since the classes are so large. The new semester starts in mid-August and we need to take time to get ready for that.

This morning the service at Fada Gospel Church lasted three and a half hours. That is longer than usual but it reminded us we are definitely back in Africa!

Please keep on praying for peace and stability in the nation. On our way back to Kagoro from the airport there were noticeably more 24-hour police and army check points along the road.

Thank you again for your prayers.

In Christ,

David and Debbie

June prayer update

Dear friends,

We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus.

We are going to be in the UK for June on holiday. Pray for a safe journey on 30th and 31st May. Hope the weather isn't too cold. It will be good to see our relatives again and renew fellowship with many others. While we are in the UK we are not planning to take any meetings but will be buying some books for the library since the travel agent (Thirftway Travel) arranged with British Airways to let us have two extra suitcases free of charge. This is granted as long as we put things for the library in them so we want to get some up-to-date books especially for the post-graduate programmes.

Things have been tense at Kagoro since there was trouble in Kafanchan. Some people were unhappy with the way the elections went and responded by destroying property and killing those who supported the winning party. The situation is still volatile and many people are afraid of what may happen next. Pray people will trust in our Lord for protection rather than relying on human resources or charms to keep them safe. Pray also for peace and stability in the country and for the government officials being sworn into office on 29th May.

The Summer Programme at the Seminary has started with registration. During the next nine weeks our colleagues will be teaching about 300 students in three intense, three-week modules. Pray it goes well.

Our second year students will be starting their two-month long practical placements at churches and mission stations this coming weekend. Please pray that they will have opportunity to use their gifts during this time and that they would be growing in the grace and knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ as they serve Him (2 Pet. 3:18).

Many thanks again for your faithful prayers.

God bless,

Debbie and David

Prayer Update for May

Dear friends,

Greetings from Kagoro in the name of our Lord.

Thank you for responding to our urgent prayer request. Praise the Lord for the way we felt the impact of those prayers as we experienced the Lord's peace and protection. Classes were cancelled last week and many students travelled home. Classes resumed this week but most of the students have not returned. They should be back by Monday now that all the elections are over.

We never expected the post-election violence to come so close to our area. In our local market town of Kafanchan, 85 people are said to have lost their lives and many properties, including churches and mosques, were destroyed. Hundreds were killed in a town about 20 miles from us and close to Kagoro, others were killed. In this region, reportedly those who initiated the violence came off worse. Pray with us that there will not be revenge attacks. The level of security has been strengthened in the past week and now there is an army checkpoint on the main road just outside our gate.

Further north, many churches and Christian homes have been burned. Some lost their lives because they refused to renounce their faith. The nation still needs much prayer now that the elections are over.

We were thankful that we had planned to spend Easter weekend at Miango, the SIM-run guest house outside Jos. The Shellys and about a hundred other missionaries were there. We really enjoyed the break from the tensions in Kagoro as well as the fellowship and good food.

Thanks for praying for the various speaking engagements last month. They all went well. Please pray for David as he will be preaching on Sunday, 15th May at the Seminary church.

There are only two more teaching weeks before the final exams. There is a lot to get through as we need to do some extra classes because of the time we lost.

Please pray for wisdom for the Seminary Board which is next Friday, 6th May. David and the Provost are busy getting things ready for that.

It will be great to have the opportunity to travel to Northern Ireland for our month's leave. We plan to arrive on 31st May and we'll be glad to be back whatever the weather!

Thank you again for standing by us in prayer. Pray for all of us at the Seminary that we will keep trusting in the Lord, Nahum 1:7.

Yours in Christ,

Debbie and David