Category: Prayer Blog

Here is a video where my New Testament Biblical Theology students introduce themselves and share prayer requests. (For those with limited bandwidth or those who just prefer reading text, the prayer request are summarized below the video.)

Link to video:  https://vimeo.com/thecoxfamily/ats-ntbt-2016

 

Rev. Obillo has a passion to continue with his education by pursuing a masters degree. Pray that God will give the grace and resources to accomplish this dream.

 

Bro. Isige requests prayer in changing people’s thinking and culture.

 

Pray for Rev. Naibei as he lays down structures for his new church. There are many challenges (finances, man power, etc…) Also pray that the Lord may strengthen Rev. Naibei and give him the vision to lead the church in the right direction.

 

Pray that God may give Rev. Khaemba grace and favor in ministry.

 

Pray that Rev. Aluda may have a vision to reach more people.

 

Pray for the protection and provision for this missionary and her family as they try to reach muslims.

 

Pas. Ashivaga requests prayer for strength that he may serve the church with all his heart. Also pray for him as he would like to find a way of helping his church members attend ATS so that they can also learn.

 

Pas. Wambia request prayer for help so that his church can stand. Pray for church members, children and others so that God can grow the church according to his purpose.

Thanks for praying.

Grace & Peace — Paul

Tomorrow (Nov 15) Paul will be at Honor Congregational Church in Honor, MI. You are very welcome to join Paul for some time in God’s word and for some stories of Africa. The service starts at 11PM. See map.

We praise God for all the great visits that we have had with churches and friends. Pray for us as we try meet up with all the people we have missed or not been able to see. Also pray for wisdom as we start to think about wrapping up our time in the States.

Below is a recent picture of some dear friends, Joe and Edna Miller, and our table at Orangewood Presbyterian Church. Joe taught me how to work on short wave transmitters and Edna helped Donna with our children when we first started our missionary journey as a family in Swaziland back in 1999.

Tomorrow (Nov. 8) we will be at Orangewood Presbyterian Church. We will give greetings in the 9:00AM and 10:30AM service. At 11:45AM after the second service we will give a presentation about our ministry. If you are in the Phoenix area please drop by and see us. See map.

Praise God with us for the great opportunities that we have had to share from God’s word and about the work of Africa Theological Seminary. Pray with us as we continue to share with more churches and people. Pray that we will be able to help people catch a vision for what God is doing.

Paul

If you are in the El Paso area please come and see us at Calvary Chapel Sun City (services at 9 and 11 – www.ccsuncity.org). We are looking forward to a great day worshiping our Savior together. See map.

Thank you for your prayers over the past several weeks. At the beginning of October we asked for prayer for working through some relationships. Distance and time away had taken its toll. Praise be to God that He worked in some of these relationships beyond what we would have ever imagined. We are (once again) amazed at what God did.

Pray for us as we work on figuring out ways to minimize the distance and time in all our relationships.

Paul

Donna and I are very excited about tomorrow (Oct. 25) and the opportunity to preach Matthew 28:16-20 at New Covenant Church (NCC). Some 16 years ago, NCC sent us to go and make disciples in Africa. Tomorrow, I will share some about our journey, Africa and, by God’s grace, encourage others to go and make disciples. If you are in the Albuquerque area, Donna and I would love for you to come. There are two services, one at 9:00AM and one at 10:45AM. See map.

After the second service, there will be a Fall Fiesta at NCC with a cookout, Mariachi, fresh roasted green chili, jumpers, and activities for the kids. The event is free and all are welcome. For more info see: nccabq.org/upcoming/2015/10/25/fall-fiesta

Paul

Donna’s mom, my mom and Thuy (who worked with us in Benin) have all been to Albuquerque to stay with us. It has been wonderful. This weekend is Nehemiah’s Fall Break and Donna has a family reunion in Texas. So both Nehemiah and Donna are in Dallas. Tomorrow I will share about our ministry in Kenya and preach at First Baptist Church Belen. This is the church in which I grew up so I am very excited. If you would like to come, the service starts at 10:30 and is at 401 Becker Ave., Belen, NM 87002. See map.

Next week Donna and I have lots of appointments to see people. Pray that the Lord would help us share about what He is doing in Africa. Also pray for endurance. We love to meet with people and share, although it is tiring. Please continue to pray for our relationships.

Paul

There are many things for which I am grateful: spending time with Nehemiah and friends at OC (photo below), a couple of days in a cabin in the woods, a second car for Albuquerque, a wonderful place to stay in the Albuquerque foothills with a gorgeous view of the Sandia mountains, seeing Andy Mineo in concert with my son, the ability to catch up with many friends, the chance to make some new friends and a great birthday celebration with my wife.

I am also grateful for the opportunity that the Lord has opened up for Donna and I to develop a new relationship with Center City Church in Albuquerque. We will be speaking there about what we do in Africa for about 10 minutes tomorrow (Oct 11, 2015). If any of you are in Albuquerque and would like to come hear us share, the service starts at 10AM. Center City Church is at: 5202 2nd St. NW, ABQ 87107. (Shares a building with a TV repair shop and garage). See map.

While I am truly grateful for what God has done, there are some difficulties that Donna and I are working through with some relationships.  Sadly, distance and time away sometimes takes its toll.  We would covet your prayers and wisdom concerning these.

Paul

If we could sum up our time in the states thus far in one word it would be thankful. All your prayers over the past few weeks are greatly appreciated. Praise God with us that the girls made it back to Kenya without incident and have settled back into life at boarding school. Rejoice with us that Nehemiah is loving university and has plugged in with the Third Culture Kid program at Oklahoma Christian University (OC). Give thanks with us that Donna and I have been able to share with churches and individuals what God has done and what we hope to see Him do.

In the next couple of weeks Donna and I are trying to meet up with a number of people in the North Texas area, spend some time with her parents and get a trip to OC in before we head off to New Mexico for the month of October. Please pray for the scheduling of meetings and the meetings themselves.

Your continued prayers for our transition to International Christian Ministries would also be appreciated. Pray that God would continue to grow our prayer team and our giving team.

Since our last prayer blog, we have seen six countries, two Canadian providences and five US States; granted for some of these places we only saw the soil/tarmac from an airport window. Donna and the kids were detained twice by Home Land Security and subsequently missed two flights (they were detained because their travel itinerary included a two hour layover in Turkey). Four bags spent eight days wandering through Airport Neverever Land. We have arrived at the wrong airport for a flight, demonstrating that it is not only the airlines who make mistakes. We have attended two conferences, hosted one graduation party and one reception for the Cox kids. We have experienced reverse culture shock. (Since when did churches have the stage lighting match the background color of the video screen during worship?) We have had sweet reunions and fellowship with friends and family members, made a few new friends, been encouraged by many and discouraged by finding some doors locked to places we thought were home.

In a week and half we will take Nehemiah to Oklahoma Christian University for him to start his college life. The next day we will put Micah Joy and Miriam on a plane to return to Kenya to continue high school at Rift Valley Academy while we remain in the States to share the vision of our work with Africa Theological Seminary and what the Lord has done the last three years with TWR. Then the following day, we half jokingly and half seriously say, we will cry.

Praise God with us that for all the miles and snafus we are well and God provided a few helpful people in the midst of Airport Neverever Land bureaucracy who were able to help us get on our way (special thanks to Edna in Houston who searched, found and forwarded our bags to us). Pray for Nehemiah as he starts university, pray for Micah Joy and Miriam as they travel and pray for Donna and I as we launch our kids different directions and then focus on sharing what God has done and the new vision of what He will be doing at Africa Theological Seminary.

Below Nehemiah and friends at graduation:

 

Below Nehemiah just after receiving his diploma:

Many thanks to those who prayed for Miriam’s passport. Praise be to God that Miriam received today an emergency passport and re-entry pass. We are thankful for the help we received from the US Embassy in Nairobi and Kenya Immigration. Soon (like really soon) we will be on our way back to the States.

Keep praying about us being in the background (see my last prayer blog for details) and glitches. Both seem to be on the rise.