Author: admin

Donna arrives in Kenya in a few days. I am very excited to have her rejoining me at ATS. Praise God that Donna can rejoin ATS. Pray for her as she travels and adjusts to the rhythms of Africa and the time difference. Pray for wisdom and relationships as she rejoins the Children’s Ministry team.

Praise the Lord with me that my Hermeneutics class went well. There was some administrative confusion on my end, and I arrived the day before class started prepared to teach Exegesis (a similar but distinctly different course). After a few late nights reviewing and updating my Hermeneutics notes, everything was good.

Last year there was an administrative issue, and some students who had completed all their courses could not graduate (last years prayer blog). Thank God this issue has reached a point so these students can graduate this year. Please continue praying for this issue, as there are a few more steps to a complete resolution.

Graduation at ATS is in a few weeks. However, the death of Seth (the firstborn son of the chairman of the ATS board) is overshadowing graduation. Please pray for the entire ATS family as we mourn Seth. Pray for graduation as we celebrate what God has done in the lives of ATS students amid our sorrow.

Map by: TUBS, CC BY-SA 3.0 <https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0>, via Wikimedia Commons

Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!
Isaiah 30:18

The emotions ran deep this week as I read Isaiah 30:18 as part of my Lent readings. Gracious, compassion, justice, blessed…wait. It has been over 5 years since I served with International Christian Ministries and Africa Theological Seminary. In the two weeks of being back with them, I have often felt overwhelmed by the graciousness, compassion, goodness and yes justice of our good, good Father. The to-do list sitting on my desk is long but not overwhelming. I feel very blessed to be the one chosen to work through it with His help.[1]

Just over two weeks ago; Paul returned from West Africa. We saw many family members, went to two memorials, and traveled many miles. I helped repack Paul and put him on the plane to Kenya. He arrived at the seminary without any delays and started teaching the next day. He is thankful to have the weekend to rest. Please pray for Paul as he teaches and looks forward to the upcoming graduation of many of his students.

I will be joining him in Kenya for a few weeks toward the end of March to attend graduation and for meetings concerning the Children’s Ministry Certificate and curriculum.

We are very clear that we could not do this without your prayer and support! Thank you for partnering with us on this journey as we have taken a leap of faith!

If the Lord leads you to financially partner with us, you may do so online at: rpc.bz/give. To give via check please download the response card: rpc.bz/rc.pdf.

Blessings,
Donna

Footnotes:

[1] Just in case you missed the big news…I rejoined ICM and ATS. Here is a link to our January newsletter: https://cox-net.com/pdf/2023-01_Cox.pdf.

I am finishing my three-week trip to West Africa. I came to orient a new engineer to the high-power radio transmitters at this site as well as reconnect with and encourage the team. The high-power radio work metamorphosized some, but I helped the team achieve some of their goals.

The trip’s high point was taking part in the dedication of a new training center. During the dedication, it was my honor to present Lazare with his certificate from ATS. Lazare (who lives and works in West Africa) and I worked together when I served full-time in West Africa. I helped facilitate his studies at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS). The presentation was a surprise to Lazare. It was a sweet time. Here is a link to a short video with the highlights from the dedication. Toward the end of the video is my presentation to Lazare.

youtu.be/xOeWk0ey6-o

Praise God for a successful trip to West Africa. Praise God for a sweet dedication and presentation to Lazare. Pray for my travels and recovery. I am home for two weeks before leaving for Kenya to teach at ATS. Lastly, Pray for Donna and me as we navigate her departure from the University of North Texas and her entry back to ATS.

The end of the year provides an opportunity to reflect on what God accomplished in the last year. 2022 was a travel-intensive year. I made five international trips: one to West Africa, one to Rwanda, and three to Kenya. I taught: Old Testament Introduction, Elements of Greek, Exegesis, Pauline Epistles, Old Testament Biblical Theology, and New Testament Biblical Theology. I introduced one new adjunct faculty member to ATS and got him started on teaching Church History.

Throughout 2022 I mentioned an article I worked on analyzing a cross-cultural database. For those who read the updates closely, you know this article had some ups and downs. Today (December 30), I received word that the editor has approved the article for publication with a few minor edits. This is an exciting way to end 2022.

On the family front, the arrival of Samantha May McComas (Miriam’s first child) was the year’s highlight. The other Cox kids are OK, but Samantha eclipses news about them.

Donna and I look forward to 2023 and to some changes in how we develop leaders for the future with ATS (more news on this coming soon).

For those who want to make an end-of-the-year contribution, you may do so at:

https://secure.etransfer.com/ICM/SupporttheCoxes.cfm

Thanks for your love, prayers, and support.

In the ancient world, the winter solstice was an important holiday. Different ancient cultures had various beliefs and celebrations. They revolved around the darkest day of the year and the hope for longer days, more sunlight, and the new life Spring brings. This provided a beautiful backdrop for the early church to introduce Jesus as the light that has come into a dark world, which is the origin of Advent.

Many people focus their Advent and Christmas celebrations around the account of Jesus’ birth in Matthew and Luke. However, when considering Advent’s origins, John 1 beautifully conveys the truths of the Word becoming flesh (verse 1)—and just as important—the light shining in the darkness (verse 4) and the light coming into the world (verse 9).

The early church’s celebration of Advent focused on not only Jesus’ First Advent but also Jesus’ imminent Second Advent. It was a time to reflect on the incarnation and prepare for the second coming.

May your celebration of our Lord’s First Advent be joyous and prepare your heart for His imminent Second Advent.

(And may you consider John 1 for your Christmas readings.)

1. Still going to Kenya: The Lord has kept the door open for me to travel to Kenya, teach at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS)—for four months a year—and work remotely with students and research from the USA—for eight months a year.

2. Family times: What is not to love about time with a new grand-baby? In addition, I am thankful for times with our moms, kids, and their significant others. (Albeit there were some challenging discussions.)

3. Support account only slightly in the red: This year, our support account is only a few hundred dollars in the negative. A huge thank you to our supporters. In the last few years, it was thousands of dollars in the negative. (Those interested in giving can visit: cox-net.com/get_involved.htm)

4. Teaching assistants: I had two wonderful teaching assistants this year. They were a blessing to the students and me. Lord willing, they can continue their studies and development; this will better equip them to develop the next generation of leaders.

5. Donna’s impact at UNT: Through Donna’s role as an advisor at the University of North Texas, she can help students navigate their degree plans and life.

6. Working with college students: Donna and I are blessed to be involved with our church’s college ministry. We regularly bake for them, entertain students in our home, meet for breakfast, and mentor them.

7. Peaceful elections in Kenya: In past elections, there was the loss of life and property. Praise God that the 2022 elections were peaceful.

8. New opportunities with ATS in 2023: Donna and I have been praying about new opportunities with ATS in 2023 and are excited about the possibilities. More on this is coming soon.

9. Trips to Rwanda and West Africa: I am thankful for two successful trips beyond Kenya this year. One to Rwanda to help license a student and one to West Africa to help TWR. (Although this made it a travel-intense year.)

10. New Adjunct teacher for ATS: This year, the Lord opened the door for me to introduce a fantastic adjunct faculty member to ATS

Grace & Peace — Paul

Thank you for praying for my time in Kenya. Praise God that the election dispute was resolved peacefully. I taught three classes at Africa Theological Seminary: Pauline Epistles, Old Testament Biblical Theology, and New Testament Biblical Theology. Praise God that all three went well.

I am grateful for your prayers for my Rwanda trip. Thank God with me for a tremendous licensing service for one of my students. I also encouraged some churches and led a few workshops. Pray for Africa Inland Church Rwanda. They are facing some difficult struggles.

In my last update, I mentioned an article I wrote on a missions database used in training. The article’s reviewers are willing to consider it for publication with substantial revisions. All the requested revisions are reasonable and will improve the article. Praise God that the article is one step closer to publication. Pray for me as I make the revisions.

I am writing from Gisenyi, Rwanda. I will, Lord willing, make my way back home via Kigali, Nairobi, London, and Houston between now and next week. I spend a few days in Nairobi for meetings. Pray for my travels and that my time in Nairobi will be productive.

Below is a video update. The update includes: birth of first grand baby; Samantha May, working on course material, near completion of article on cultural database used in missions training, upcoming Kenya trip and Kenya elections.

If needed, the YouTube link is:  https://youtu.be/ffsA__DXeq8

Praise God with me for a successful trip. The two classes that I taught at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS), Elements of Greek and Exegesis, went well. My courses are in constant evolution attempting to better clarify areas where previous classes struggled. These courses were two steps forward and one step back. The changes brought more clarity, but they came at the expense of time, which is in short supply with ATS’s in-service model[1].

In addition to teaching two courses, I helped a new adjunct teacher from Houston get started at ATS. As I write, the new adjunct is teaching Church History I. Lord willing, he will be able to teach one history course a year. So far he is doing great and the initial feedback from the students is exceptionally positive. Pray for the new adjunct and Church History I.

By God’s grace, I made significant progress on some administrative issues. Lastly, I rock climbed with a dear friend. We enjoyed God’s wonderful creation, had wonderful fellowship, and climbed some great routes.

I am looking forward to a joyous reunion with my family, some rest and getting back to writing.

Footnote

[1] ATS’s in-service model endeavors to keep church leaders in ministry while they become better equipped for the ministry. To this end, the classroom portion of a class is only 8 to 10 days with practical ministry assignments to supplement and reinforce the material.

After a very short four weeks at home, I am en route to Kenya again. On this trip, I will teach Elements of Greek and Exegesis at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS). Both of these courses are very demanding on students and teach valuable skills for interpreting the Bible. Please pray that God’s grace would abound to the students. Pray that I will have wisdom and clarity in teaching.

I helped to recruit a new adjunct faculty member (who is from Houston). Lord willing, he will be able to teach one church history class each year. On this trip I will also be helping him get started at ATS.

Typically I spend a couple of months at home before taking another trip. However, this year I have an unusual schedule. My departure to return to Kenya came way too fast. Pray for Donna and me as we adjust to this year’s schedule.

In March I mentioned that I could not contact the author of a cross-cultural database based on guilt, shame, and fear. The hope was to get permission to use the database for an article. After a careful examination, how I will use the data can be used under “fair use” (no permission needed). As I worked on the article, I found some surprising results. I am in the process of tidying up my work and documenting how I did the analysis. A friend who is a statistician will double check my work. Before I get too excited, I want someone else to double check my work. Pray for this process and clarity with my results. If any of you are proficient with the R system for statistical computing and would like to look over my results, let me know.