Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord.
Many thanks for your prayers as we finished the January to May semester. We thoroughly enjoyed teaching the courses we were allocated and the interaction with the students was very positive. What remains to be done now is the marking. As many of you know, we are back in the UK for a few weeks and I have brought marking with me to do. Debbie, however, will complete her marking after we return to Kagoro. We are also supervising some degree and master's students who are writing theses as part of their programmes of study. Some of them hope to graduate in November this year so the pressure is on to complete these theses on time. Please pray for Timothy Kafang who is filling in for me as registrar at the seminary this summer.
There are several reasons why we are back in the UK again this summer. Debbie is trying to complete one module of her doctoral studies and hopes to start another one which has to be finished by October. Access to materials whether in print or electronic media is easier here. Pray for her in this task. We also have some medical things to check while we are here and, of course, it is good to renew contact with family and friends.
Many of you have expressed concern for us in the light of recent violence in Nigeria. We are touched by your concern, thank you for your prayers and ask you to keep on praying for the situation there. Some events have made the mainstream news here in the UK and we hope this will encourage more people to pray about the insecurity in the country.
After we returned to Northern Ireland, two bombs were set off in Jos. Debbie is on the board of the SIM-run conference centre and guest house at Miango called 'MRH' and knew one of the people who was killed. Our SIM Director wrote the following about that lady:
“Sadly, we in SIM Nigeria lost one of our Nigerian staff, Mrs. Ngozi Christopher, who was the head of the housekeeping service at MRH. She, her 6 month old baby, and her sister were all killed in the blast. Her husband is a staff of Kent Academy. Please pray for this family. She has left behind two sons and a daughter.”
Apart from these terrorist attacks by members of Boko Haram, we have also seen inter-tribal violence close to where we live at Kagoro. This is not as well reported in the international media but is also a concern with many lives being lost. Please continue to pray along with us for peace and stability in the nation.
We thank the Lord for the provision of a car to use while we are here in N. Ireland and a place to stay in the Gilnahirk region of Belfast. Debbie's UK mobile number (07810203459) is back in use but my number stopped working so I have a new one: 07513583581. These will be valid until we return to Kagoro on 15th July (D.V.).
My home church, Coagh Baptist Church, is holding a gospel mission right now. The speaker is Pastor Victor Maxwell and the mission continues until Sunday evening. Pray that many will come to know Jesus as Lord through this mission effort (Rom. 1:16).
Thanks again for your partnership in the gospel.
In Christ,
David and Debbie
Wednesday, 28 May 2014
Thursday, 10 April 2014
April prayer letter
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Travel and study
We are planning to be back in the UK for a few weeks this summer mainly to see parents but also so Debbie can work on the next module in her D.Min. studies. She did well on the first module and we appreciate SIM for helping with some scholarship funds for Debbie. We are due to take our Home Assignment starting at the end of the year and will be available for meetings January to June 2015.
Water project
Thanks to those who sent us some money for a borehole pump and water tank. These have been installed and the next stage will be to put in some more pipes to distribute the water to our neighbours (who also work at Seminary) and a secondary school dorm also connected with the Seminary.
Team from Northern Ireland
We were delighted that a team of people from Northern Ireland were able to visit Kagoro in early March. They were Mike and Shona Ewan (Mike is the SIM Director for Ireland), Mark Morrison (a media expert recording video for SIM) and Paul and Tricia Todd. Paul and Tricia have been in the country before and Paul comes here several times each year in connection with his work for ACTS (Africa Christian Textbooks) but he normally travels on his own so it was good Tricia could join him this time. It was Mike, Shona and Mark's first time here so they were able to see what our Lord is doing in this area through SIM and also see some other SIM ministries in places like Jos.
NUC visit
The degree programmes of study offered at the Seminary are accredited by the University of Jos and that accreditation needs to be renewed. In connection with this a team from the National Universities Commission is visiting the Seminary in the middle of April so pray the visit will go well and that they will approve the renewal of the affiliation. The accreditation is especially helpful for those students who want to teach Christian Religions Knowledge in government-run secondary schools.
Trouble in Southern Kaduna State
You may have noticed in the world news that some villages were destroyed in the southern part of Kaduna State not far from where we live. At least 100 people were killed. Survivors have fled the area with some now living in the Kagoro area. Pray for those who have lost loved ones and for the government as it tries to bring those responsible to justice. Our local church and other churches in the area have been collecting clothing and food items to help those who lost everything they possess.
The Jan to May semester
Thank you for praying for our teaching here. It has been another busy semester and we have enjoyed the teaching. We have more students to supervise in their thesis writing than before since the Seminary is a little short of teaching staff right now. This is the hottest time of year and the heat and humidity just drains your energy. Pray that teachers and students will be able to cope until the rainy season comes and reduces the temperature.
Meetings
Thanks for praying for us as we take meetings here and there. In March I had the opportunity to give the messages at two weddings. These are always such happy occasions with bright, colourful clothing, plenty of singing, loud music and good food.
The other types of meeting we attend have to do with administration. Debbie has been voted onto our SIM local Area Council so both of us are on that these days. Not that we are short of meetings at the Seminary, though, since our Provost likes everyone to be involved in planning and decision-making processes.
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 planning to be back in the UK for a few weeks this summer mainly to see parents but also so Debbie can work on the next module in her D.Min. studies. She did well on the first module and we appreciate SIM for helping with some scholarship funds for Debbie. We are due to take our Home Assignment starting at the end of the year and will be available for meetings January to June 2015.
Water project
Thanks to those who sent us some money for a borehole pump and water tank. These have been installed and the next stage will be to put in some more pipes to distribute the water to our neighbours (who also work at Seminary) and a secondary school dorm also connected with the Seminary.
Team from Northern Ireland
We were delighted that a team of people from Northern Ireland were able to visit Kagoro in early March. They were Mike and Shona Ewan (Mike is the SIM Director for Ireland), Mark Morrison (a media expert recording video for SIM) and Paul and Tricia Todd. Paul and Tricia have been in the country before and Paul comes here several times each year in connection with his work for ACTS (Africa Christian Textbooks) but he normally travels on his own so it was good Tricia could join him this time. It was Mike, Shona and Mark's first time here so they were able to see what our Lord is doing in this area through SIM and also see some other SIM ministries in places like Jos.
NUC visit
The degree programmes of study offered at the Seminary are accredited by the University of Jos and that accreditation needs to be renewed. In connection with this a team from the National Universities Commission is visiting the Seminary in the middle of April so pray the visit will go well and that they will approve the renewal of the affiliation. The accreditation is especially helpful for those students who want to teach Christian Religions Knowledge in government-run secondary schools.
Trouble in Southern Kaduna State
You may have noticed in the world news that some villages were destroyed in the southern part of Kaduna State not far from where we live. At least 100 people were killed. Survivors have fled the area with some now living in the Kagoro area. Pray for those who have lost loved ones and for the government as it tries to bring those responsible to justice. Our local church and other churches in the area have been collecting clothing and food items to help those who lost everything they possess.
The Jan to May semester
Thank you for praying for our teaching here. It has been another busy semester and we have enjoyed the teaching. We have more students to supervise in their thesis writing than before since the Seminary is a little short of teaching staff right now. This is the hottest time of year and the heat and humidity just drains your energy. Pray that teachers and students will be able to cope until the rainy season comes and reduces the temperature.
Meetings
Thanks for praying for us as we take meetings here and there. In March I had the opportunity to give the messages at two weddings. These are always such happy occasions with bright, colourful clothing, plenty of singing, loud music and good food.
The other types of meeting we attend have to do with administration. Debbie has been voted onto our SIM local Area Council so both of us are on that these days. Not that we are short of meetings at the Seminary, though, since our Provost likes everyone to be involved in planning and decision-making processes.
Thanks for your prayerful support.
In Christ,
David and Debbie Colvin
Wednesday, 1 January 2014
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord and wish you a happy new year.
December
Thank you for praying for the various meetings we had in December. All went well. It has been good to have a break from the teaching but we have been busy marking. I have almost completed mine but Debbie still has quite a number to mark. We spent the Christmas season here at Kagoro and got together with the other expatriate missionaries on Christmas Day. The Creighton family hosted the main meal with everyone bringing different items for the meal and we moved to Dee's home for dessert. Debbie bought me a tablet computer with a ten inch screen for Christmas and that was a total surprise. One great thing about these devices is you can use larger fonts to display text and that is going to be increasingly helpful as time goes on.
SIM conference
Each year the SIM missionaries and associate missionaries meet at Miango for our annual 'spiritual life conference'. There should be about 100 people present and we are looking forward to the times of worship, good teaching, and just catching up with our colleagues. The conference is from Friday 3rd until Tuesday 7th. We have been asked to lead small discussion groups again this year. Being at the conference means Debbie and I will miss the entrance exam and interview process at the Seminary which take place on Monday and Tuesday. The Seminary normally processes about 150 applications to study on those days so pray the process goes well and admission will be given to those who should study here.
The new semester
I expect there will be an Admissions Committee meeting on Wednesday followed by the registration process on Thursday and Friday which will keep me busy when we get back. Then we both start teaching on Monday 13th January. We have both been assigned new courses to teach so that will involve extra work. Mine is a course on homiletics (preaching) and Debbie's is on Theological Education -- a course she wants to teach and an area of particular interest in her D.Min. studies. We are also supervising students who are writing theses at the master's level so that will be another new challenge. It seems like there is always some extra thing to do here which keeps us depending on our Lord to get through each new semester. Debbie will also be working on another module in connection with her doctoral studies so continue to remember that also in prayer.
Meetings
Debbie has been asked to speak on 21st January from Ephesians 4:1-6 so please pray for her as she prepares that message. I don't have any preaching engagements scheduled for January but we normally have some administrative meetings to attend such as a Faculty Board (all the members of the faculty) and a Management Committee meeting and I am the secretary for both meetings. I have asked the Provost for additional help for the Registry and he is planning to employ another secretary who will work for the new Graduate Dean and my office. That should help and one job I would like him to do is be the recording secretary for some of the meetings I attend. Two of our faculty members are leaving us this month. Dr. Ayuba Bako was our Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) but has been promoted to the Education Director for ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All). Pray for the Seminary as a new DSA is chosen. The other person is Dr. John Habu who has been appointed a District Church Council secretary in his home area. Changes like this mean some reshuffling of courses and administrate positions so pray for wisdom for the management. Now that Debbie and I have been here for 15 years, we are two of the few people who have worked here that long.
Thank you again for your prayers. May this new year be one in which our Lord is glorified in all we say and do (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
We send you greetings in the Name of our Lord and wish you a happy new year.
December
Thank you for praying for the various meetings we had in December. All went well. It has been good to have a break from the teaching but we have been busy marking. I have almost completed mine but Debbie still has quite a number to mark. We spent the Christmas season here at Kagoro and got together with the other expatriate missionaries on Christmas Day. The Creighton family hosted the main meal with everyone bringing different items for the meal and we moved to Dee's home for dessert. Debbie bought me a tablet computer with a ten inch screen for Christmas and that was a total surprise. One great thing about these devices is you can use larger fonts to display text and that is going to be increasingly helpful as time goes on.
SIM conference
Each year the SIM missionaries and associate missionaries meet at Miango for our annual 'spiritual life conference'. There should be about 100 people present and we are looking forward to the times of worship, good teaching, and just catching up with our colleagues. The conference is from Friday 3rd until Tuesday 7th. We have been asked to lead small discussion groups again this year. Being at the conference means Debbie and I will miss the entrance exam and interview process at the Seminary which take place on Monday and Tuesday. The Seminary normally processes about 150 applications to study on those days so pray the process goes well and admission will be given to those who should study here.
The new semester
I expect there will be an Admissions Committee meeting on Wednesday followed by the registration process on Thursday and Friday which will keep me busy when we get back. Then we both start teaching on Monday 13th January. We have both been assigned new courses to teach so that will involve extra work. Mine is a course on homiletics (preaching) and Debbie's is on Theological Education -- a course she wants to teach and an area of particular interest in her D.Min. studies. We are also supervising students who are writing theses at the master's level so that will be another new challenge. It seems like there is always some extra thing to do here which keeps us depending on our Lord to get through each new semester. Debbie will also be working on another module in connection with her doctoral studies so continue to remember that also in prayer.
Meetings
Debbie has been asked to speak on 21st January from Ephesians 4:1-6 so please pray for her as she prepares that message. I don't have any preaching engagements scheduled for January but we normally have some administrative meetings to attend such as a Faculty Board (all the members of the faculty) and a Management Committee meeting and I am the secretary for both meetings. I have asked the Provost for additional help for the Registry and he is planning to employ another secretary who will work for the new Graduate Dean and my office. That should help and one job I would like him to do is be the recording secretary for some of the meetings I attend. Two of our faculty members are leaving us this month. Dr. Ayuba Bako was our Dean of Student Affairs (DSA) but has been promoted to the Education Director for ECWA (Evangelical Church Winning All). Pray for the Seminary as a new DSA is chosen. The other person is Dr. John Habu who has been appointed a District Church Council secretary in his home area. Changes like this mean some reshuffling of courses and administrate positions so pray for wisdom for the management. Now that Debbie and I have been here for 15 years, we are two of the few people who have worked here that long.
Thank you again for your prayers. May this new year be one in which our Lord is glorified in all we say and do (Philemon 6).
In Christ,
David and Debbie
Saturday, 30 November 2013
December update
Dear friends,
We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
Thank you for praying for all the events in November. The graduation went well with 116 students graduating from the various programmes offered by the Seminary. Many will go into, or return to, pastoral work while some wish to teach the Bible in Religious Knowledge courses taught in primary and secondary schools. A few graduates also studied missions. Thank the Lord for all these graduates and pray for them as they take the next step in their lives.
Debbie and I were at the ACTS (Africa Christian TextbookS) celebration. That work was started by Sid Garland 20 years ago and has met a need by providing sound theological books for people to buy. The event was well attended and we met many Mission Africa people there as well as Paul Todd who is with SIM. (Paul brought some items we needed from the UK. He is always willing to bring things out for us which is just great.)
We still have a few meetings this week. Debbie will be at the ACTS Board meeting tomorrow (Friday) and is its secretary. Debbie has also been elected to represent the SIM missionaries engaged in theological education at the SIM Area Council also meeting on Friday but since she cannot attend this meeting. I am also on the Area Council as an area representative so I will be at that one (D.V.).
This week is the last week of classes and the exams are to be given next week. After that, it will be back to the marking. We have literally stacks of marking to do so the break from teaching will not be a break from work. We have also been assigned the task of supervising an MA student each. We have supervised students writing theses at the undergraduate level before but this is a step up from that and will involve more work. These students have to present their proposals at the end of January so they need to get started. Pray for us in this new, additional task.
Our local church divides its members into zonal groups and our group (A) is taking three services at the church scheduled for 6, 7 and 8th December. They have asked me to speak at two of those meetings so please pray for me as I prepare those messages.
We have not been thinking much about Christmas yet since we have been so busy. We will probably spend Christmas here but get away for a couple of days in middle of December. It is a good time of year to remember God's matchless gift to us: His Son (2 Cor. 9:15).
Thanks again for your prayer support.
In Christ,
David and Debbie Colvin
We send you greetings in the Name of Jesus our Lord.
Thank you for praying for all the events in November. The graduation went well with 116 students graduating from the various programmes offered by the Seminary. Many will go into, or return to, pastoral work while some wish to teach the Bible in Religious Knowledge courses taught in primary and secondary schools. A few graduates also studied missions. Thank the Lord for all these graduates and pray for them as they take the next step in their lives.
Debbie and I were at the ACTS (Africa Christian TextbookS) celebration. That work was started by Sid Garland 20 years ago and has met a need by providing sound theological books for people to buy. The event was well attended and we met many Mission Africa people there as well as Paul Todd who is with SIM. (Paul brought some items we needed from the UK. He is always willing to bring things out for us which is just great.)
We still have a few meetings this week. Debbie will be at the ACTS Board meeting tomorrow (Friday) and is its secretary. Debbie has also been elected to represent the SIM missionaries engaged in theological education at the SIM Area Council also meeting on Friday but since she cannot attend this meeting. I am also on the Area Council as an area representative so I will be at that one (D.V.).
This week is the last week of classes and the exams are to be given next week. After that, it will be back to the marking. We have literally stacks of marking to do so the break from teaching will not be a break from work. We have also been assigned the task of supervising an MA student each. We have supervised students writing theses at the undergraduate level before but this is a step up from that and will involve more work. These students have to present their proposals at the end of January so they need to get started. Pray for us in this new, additional task.
Our local church divides its members into zonal groups and our group (A) is taking three services at the church scheduled for 6, 7 and 8th December. They have asked me to speak at two of those meetings so please pray for me as I prepare those messages.
We have not been thinking much about Christmas yet since we have been so busy. We will probably spend Christmas here but get away for a couple of days in middle of December. It is a good time of year to remember God's matchless gift to us: His Son (2 Cor. 9:15).
Thanks again for your prayer support.
In Christ,
David and Debbie Colvin
Wednesday, 2 October 2013
October update
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
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
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
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