Dear friends,
Many thanks for your prayers. Tomorrow we begin our one-week mid-semester break and we're looking forward to a change of routine although we will spend the time marking and studying. The students have to face the challenge of finding the rest of their school fees before returning so please pray for God's provision for them.
We're thankful to the Lord for the health and strength we enjoyed during this part of the semester. Please pray for that to continue and that we will have stamina as the workload increases in the months ahead.
Praise the Lord that David was able to get the freezer working on the 12 volt system. This will make a huge difference to our lives and remove some of the stress of preserving food especially in the hot season. Our electricity supply is still unreliable.
In October David will be involved in a series of meetings: meetings to plan the graduation, meetings of the Board and one of its sub-committees, a management meeting and a meeting with students who hope to graduate to make sure they have met all the requirements. There will probably be others he doesn't know about yet!!
My (Debbie) main pressure, apart from many papers to mark, is completing my own paper for the D. Min programme by the end of the month. Please pray for the ability to focus and to write even when there are so many other things needing attention.
Last week friends brought us some yams from their farm and yesterday our nieghbours shared some of their pepper soup with us (it was spicy enough to make my nose run!!). Thank the Lord for the generosity of the people we live among even though life is not easy for many.
The week before last there was violence in our nearest town resulting in loss of life. The town had a twenty-four hour curfew for three days but now no movement is allowed between dusk and dawn. Please pray for peace to be restored and for comfort for those who lost loved ones. The nation continues to need prayer as violence remains a problem in the north-east of the country.
We were blessed by a series of messages on Ephesians 1 and 2 during our Spiritual Emphasis Week when the speaker reminded us of our identity in Christ. May the Lord help us to remember Who we belong to and Who lives in us (Eph 1:18-20) so we can serve Him faithfully.
Thanks again for your fellowship in prayer.
Debbie and David
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
Sunday, 8 September 2013
September update
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord.
We have been back one month now and the semester is well under way. 367 students have registered for study this semester and that is the largest number we have ever had. Praise the Lord people are still interested in studying for Christian ministry (Eph. 2:10).
The last time I wrote I mentioned having to set up a battery-based freezer system since the Kerosene fridge isn’t working as well as it should. Thank the Lord the freezer section in the Kerosene fridge is working well enough during this rainy season to keep things frozen. (The ambient temperature is only 23C at this time of year.) As the weather gets hotter, though, we will need the alternative system. We purchased a small chest freezer and a deep-cycle storage battery locally, and brought a multi-stage battery charger and an inverter back from the UK. Unfortunately, the inverter just isn’t able to provide the high kick-in current the freezer motor needs so we will have to buy a more powerful inverter to get the system working.
I am enjoying teaching Galatians this semester. It is a level-4 class so the students are nearing the end of their degree studies and actively take part in discussion with some great ideas and observations to help us all learn how to apply the text to life here. There are 39 students in that class.
Pray that Debbie will be able to block off some hours each week for study in her D.Min. programme. There are always so many things to do here and teaching is very time consuming so it is hard to fit everything in.
A team from the National Universities Commission is coming to the Seminary soon since the accreditation of our degree programmes by the University of Jos is up for renewal. Pray that visit turns out well. Thanks.
Please keep on praying for Dennis Shelly who had surgery on his lower spine in the US. Though he is recovering from the surgery well, it was discovered his haemoglobin count is low and he is undergoing tests to try and sort that out. It looks like he will not be able to return to teach this semester but he is working on some things for the Seminary while he is in the US.
Thank you again for your prayers for us and the work here.
In Christ,
David and Debbie
Tuesday, 6 August 2013
August update
Dear Friends,
Greetings from Kagoro! Praise the Lord with us for a safe and smooth journey back. There were no problems getting through the airports, our luggage arrived safely and the road trip to Kagoro was uneventful. All of these details were answers to prayer. Thank you!
It was a real blessing to enjoy the sunshine in Northern Ireland!! We also enjoyed the warmth of God's love expressed through family, faithful friends as well as our supporting churches. It is such a privilege to be surrounded by so many caring and supportive people who are committed to praying and sharing their resources. We thank God for you.
Now it's time to focus on the new semester which begins on the 12th August. Next week David will be involved in the orientation programme for the new intake of students as well as the registration process on Thursday. We will have to travel to Jos on Thursday afternoon so David can attend the SIM Area Council meeting on Friday. It may be a public holiday which means more traffic on the roads and the need for much prayer for protection.
David will be teaching a new course and would value prayer for the Exposition of a New Testament Book. The other course he will teach, Acts and Pauline Epistles, has a lot of students which means a lot of work. This year he is the chairman of the Graduation Committee - an additional responsibility. Please pray for good health, strength and wisdom for the challenges ahead.
Thank you for praying for my (Debbie's) studies at the Irish Baptist College. I really enjoyed the classes but now have a lot of work to do by the beginning of December. I was able to spend some time in the library gathering information for my assignment but a lot more has to be done! The Academic Dean was unable to reduce my teaching load which means I will have two large classes and possibly one small one. Thankfully, I have taught all these courses before: Old Testament Introduction, Old Testament Poetic Books and The Pentatuech. I will need much prayer for strength and the ability to use the time well during the next semester.
Dr Dennis Shelly hopes to have surgery on his back on the 8th of August. Please pray for a successful procedure and a return to good health.
Thank for your prayers and fellowship in this ministry. Romans 15:13 is an encouragement as we trust the Lord for all that lies ahead.
Yours in Christ,
Debbie and David
Greetings from Kagoro! Praise the Lord with us for a safe and smooth journey back. There were no problems getting through the airports, our luggage arrived safely and the road trip to Kagoro was uneventful. All of these details were answers to prayer. Thank you!
It was a real blessing to enjoy the sunshine in Northern Ireland!! We also enjoyed the warmth of God's love expressed through family, faithful friends as well as our supporting churches. It is such a privilege to be surrounded by so many caring and supportive people who are committed to praying and sharing their resources. We thank God for you.
Now it's time to focus on the new semester which begins on the 12th August. Next week David will be involved in the orientation programme for the new intake of students as well as the registration process on Thursday. We will have to travel to Jos on Thursday afternoon so David can attend the SIM Area Council meeting on Friday. It may be a public holiday which means more traffic on the roads and the need for much prayer for protection.
David will be teaching a new course and would value prayer for the Exposition of a New Testament Book. The other course he will teach, Acts and Pauline Epistles, has a lot of students which means a lot of work. This year he is the chairman of the Graduation Committee - an additional responsibility. Please pray for good health, strength and wisdom for the challenges ahead.
Thank you for praying for my (Debbie's) studies at the Irish Baptist College. I really enjoyed the classes but now have a lot of work to do by the beginning of December. I was able to spend some time in the library gathering information for my assignment but a lot more has to be done! The Academic Dean was unable to reduce my teaching load which means I will have two large classes and possibly one small one. Thankfully, I have taught all these courses before: Old Testament Introduction, Old Testament Poetic Books and The Pentatuech. I will need much prayer for strength and the ability to use the time well during the next semester.
Dr Dennis Shelly hopes to have surgery on his back on the 8th of August. Please pray for a successful procedure and a return to good health.
Thank for your prayers and fellowship in this ministry. Romans 15:13 is an encouragement as we trust the Lord for all that lies ahead.
Yours in Christ,
Debbie and David
Tuesday, 2 July 2013
Update for July
Dear Friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
Thank you for your prayers for us at the 'Breathe' conference in Switzerland. We enjoyed the contemporary worship, focused messages, casual interaction with other cross-cultural missionaries, and the opportunity to see some of the beautiful Swiss scenery (Heb. 10:24-25). The weather wasn't as warm or the sky as clear as we would have liked but the weather is one of those things one cannot predict or change.
I (David) have been able to complete the marking I brought back to the UK with me through Debbie still has some marking to do. Debbie will also be working on her D.Min. module this month and would value your prayers for this study. She will spend some time in the library at the Irish Baptist College in connection with this study. I am planning to use this month to develop the material I use in some courses I teach at the Seminary and help one of my thesis students. He has sent me two chapters of his work by email so I will have to check those soon since he hopes to graduate in November this year.
Since coming to the UK I have been checking out whether the inexpensive 'Raspberry Pi' computer could be used in our Internet room at the Seminary for browsing and such. The 'Pi' uses very little power which is good given our lack of mains electricity at Kagoro but it runs on the Linux operating system and seems a little slow for our intended use. Netbook computers are, I think, the best option. One goal is to reduce the total power required to run the computers in the Internet room so we can run them using a battery/inverter system for some hours each day.
It has been great to catch up with family and friends here in the UK. There are some people we really need to see this month who are unwell and/or facing major challenges in life so pray our Lord will use us to minister to them. Thanks. We are booked to return to Kagoro on 31st July so please pray for a safe journey back.
Our colleague and neighbour at Kagoro, Dr Dennis Shelly, has had to go to the US since he is suffering from constant pain in his right leg and lower back. He had an MRI scan last week and is scheduled to see a specialist on Friday 5th July. Pray for an accurate diagnosis of the problem and effective treatment. He and his wife Coletta would like to return to ministry at Kagoro as soon as possible.
Yours in our Lord,
David and Debbie Colvin
Tuesday, 28 May 2013
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
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
Saturday, 27 April 2013
Update for May
Dear friends,
Greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
We are nearing the end of the January-May semester here at the Seminary. Though all of the teachers and our students are tired, pray that we will finish the semester well. The exam week is set for 6 to 10 May so there will be some more marking to complete after that week.
The provost of the seminary arranged for all faculty members to go away for a couple of days to the SIM-run guesthouse at Miango. While we were there we studied a devotional book together and it was a time of great blessing (Heb. 3:13). Thank the Lord for giving the seminary a provost who has a strong vision for the spiritual development of the faculty.
We are using a new generator purchased using a gift from Coagh Baptist Church. Though this gift was given before we returned to Kagoro last year, we didn't buy a new generator right away since the local mains supply was reasonably good back then. Unfortunately, the local supply is now very poor and we go for literally days without any mains electricity. This means we have to run the generator most evenings from about 7 to 10 pm. Thank the Lord for the provision of this new generator.
Over the last 14 years we have been using a kerosene fridge but it is not working well these days. This is not good news since the ambient temperature here is high and without a fridge to keep food items cold and a freezer to keep meat frozen, things go off very quickly. They say laying the fridge on its side, then upside down and on the other side for an hour each time can help so we tried that this morning. We have yet to see if it solves the problem. If not, then we will have to set up a different system.
Debbie has been accepted into a Doctor of Ministry programme of study. This part-time study is offered by the Irish Baptist College and the award is accredited by the University of Chester. Pray for Debbie as she studies. One module is being offered in early June so we will be flying back to the UK on 22nd May (D.V.). Our Lord is once again providing a vehicle for us to use and a place to stay in Northern Ireland. Praise Him. Pray that we will be able to get most of the marking done before we leave and pray for the people who will handle the work in the registry while I am away.
Thanks.
David and Debbie
Greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
We are nearing the end of the January-May semester here at the Seminary. Though all of the teachers and our students are tired, pray that we will finish the semester well. The exam week is set for 6 to 10 May so there will be some more marking to complete after that week.
The provost of the seminary arranged for all faculty members to go away for a couple of days to the SIM-run guesthouse at Miango. While we were there we studied a devotional book together and it was a time of great blessing (Heb. 3:13). Thank the Lord for giving the seminary a provost who has a strong vision for the spiritual development of the faculty.
We are using a new generator purchased using a gift from Coagh Baptist Church. Though this gift was given before we returned to Kagoro last year, we didn't buy a new generator right away since the local mains supply was reasonably good back then. Unfortunately, the local supply is now very poor and we go for literally days without any mains electricity. This means we have to run the generator most evenings from about 7 to 10 pm. Thank the Lord for the provision of this new generator.
Over the last 14 years we have been using a kerosene fridge but it is not working well these days. This is not good news since the ambient temperature here is high and without a fridge to keep food items cold and a freezer to keep meat frozen, things go off very quickly. They say laying the fridge on its side, then upside down and on the other side for an hour each time can help so we tried that this morning. We have yet to see if it solves the problem. If not, then we will have to set up a different system.
Debbie has been accepted into a Doctor of Ministry programme of study. This part-time study is offered by the Irish Baptist College and the award is accredited by the University of Chester. Pray for Debbie as she studies. One module is being offered in early June so we will be flying back to the UK on 22nd May (D.V.). Our Lord is once again providing a vehicle for us to use and a place to stay in Northern Ireland. Praise Him. Pray that we will be able to get most of the marking done before we leave and pray for the people who will handle the work in the registry while I am away.
Thanks.
David and Debbie
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