Category: Prayer Blog

Home in Denton, Texas! After a hectic summer of traveling, reporting to churches, visiting friends and supporters, we are home in Denton. This month, we have spent some time finishing our summer projects and gearing up for the Fall.

In addition to teaching, an aspect of Paul’s duties is to research and write as part of Africa Theological Seminary’s accreditation process. Paul currently has two articles in the pipeline for publishing and is working on a third. He hopes to make significant progress before returning to Kenya next month. Pray that the two articles will find favor and for the writing of the third. While in the States, Paul also grades field assignments. Sadly, there is an ongoing issue with plagiarism. Paul wrestles with dealing with this in a culturally appropriate, gracious way while not compromising academic integrity. Prayer is appreciated as ATS navigates this issue.

As many of you know, I was in Honduras last month. It was a great trip, though significantly stretching in many ways. The people we worked with were gracious, generous, and welcoming. They gifted me with lots of homegrown coffee! Over and over, God revealed himself as we traveled the mountainous roads doing workshops and evangelism. We came home with a list from teachers of desired resources and ideas. I am currently assembling this. Pray for me as I work on this.

Upcoming Schedule:

September 8-10 First Ever Couples in Ministry Solitude Retreat at B-Still Ranch (email donna.carol.cox@gmail.com) for more information

September 13-17 Minnesota for the Jon Just Get’er Done Memorial Motorcycle Ride (raising funds for motorcycles for pastors in Kenya)

September 24-November 19 Paul teaching in Kenya

October 17-November 7 Donna teaching in Kenya

At the moment, we are home in Denton, Texas. We have just returned from a whirlwind trip as far North as Ontario, Canada, and as far East as South Carolina. Along the way, we spoke to churches, small groups, and visited with supporters, family, friends, and co-workers. I had the chance to see a friend that I had not seen in 38 years. Many of these visits were insightful and encouraging! We also did a lot of listening. “Please do not tell anyone,” “I don’t know who else I can talk to,” and “Please pray for me” were responses we heard often. In reflection, we came up with the phrase “known, safe outsider.” We spent many hours driving through America’s back roads praying. We saw God’s hand move in many ways.

People have asked us many times this summer if we are still raising support, if we are fully supported, and why do we not ask for money? Yes, we are still support-based. No, we are not fully supported. There are many ideas about raising support. We prefer building relationships, discussing what God is doing, sharing opportunities, and praying for God’s provision. If requested, we will talk about our needs. Time after time, people tell us that God laid on their hearts to support us or a project. If God has laid on your heart to pray for us or help us financially, we would be grateful. We are thankful and blessed for God’s provision thus far.

Paul will travel to Colorado this week to visit family, supporters, and ministry partners. Please pray for Paul’s conversations. I will head to Honduras for seven days at the end of the week. I will be traveling with Sammie, one of my college roommates, who heads up the deaf education program for Tarrant County College. We will be training parents and teachers of deaf students. I am excited to see what God will do. Your prayers for my Honduras trip are appreciated.

At this very moment, I, Donna, am looking out the window at the beautiful Sandia mountains in Albuquerque, New Mexico. I am completely in awe of God’s creation. Let me catch you up:

Paul arrived home from Kenya in early May after teaching two additional courses (since our March blog) and participating in graduation.

Four days later, our daughter, Micah Joy, married in a beautiful small ceremony in Oklahoma.

The following week we started seeing supporters and hit the road for New Mexico, seeing Paul’s family and spending time in the Albuquerque area where Paul grew up, and we had lived in our early years of marriage. We have been so encouraged in so many ways. Here is a schedule of our summer travels. Let us know if we will be in an area near you and if you would like to get together. Below is our travel schedule.

The goal of our travels is to connect and share what God has been doing in the ministry in Africa and increase the number of our prayer and financial partners.

Please pray for our travels as we drive many miles, for rest that only God can give, and that our hearts stay focused on glorifying God.

Travel Schedule

Trips to be scheduled: California, Phoenix, Colorado, and El Paso.

One of the highlights of my recent trip to Kenya was delivering new and gently used children’s books to the children’s section of the Africa Theological Seminary’s Library. The children’s library was started several years ago through donations from several churches as part of their vacation bible school’s mission projects. Children’s libraries are not a common find in most African countries, not even in schools. When I delivered several new books a few weeks ago, Emmy, the Librarian was so happy. She stated that the children’s section is often quite busy and that many books are being checked out. Quite a few of the children have read all of the books and are asking for more.

Would your church be interested in helping with this as a VBS missions project? We are looking for new or gently used Christian or fairly conservative books that will work cross-culturally such as Bible stories, good fiction (please no cartoon books with exaggerated features, in the African context they are scary and evil.) and non fiction science or historic books such as Usborne. The children also enjoy biblical coloring books and up to 150 piece puzzles. We would also take donations to buy children’s bibles and books from the Kenya Bible Society as well as colors, markers and to help pay for extra bags. We would deliver these on our next trip in October.

I would love to share with your children about missions as well. I heard a missionary speak when I was 6. That was the start of my missionary journey and passion for sharing the gospel with children!

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