On social media, several chain posts are going around where you post a picture that does not need an explanation. By looking at our pictures, can you guess what we are doing? If you said heading to Kenya, you are absolutely correct!

Several times a year, my office becomes a staging area for packing to go to Kenya. Our neighbors know when we are about to go because of the many Amazon deliveries. Paul and I will fly to Nairobi together. I will be there for three weeks. In those three weeks, I will teach a Child Development course, help with a children’s workers workshop, work in the children’s library organizing the new books we sent, help with graduation, and try to spend as much time as possible with students and co-workers.

Paul will be in Kenya for seven weeks. He will attend a conference in Nairobi immediately after our arrival while I head to Kitale (where the seminary is). Paul will also help with graduation, teach two classes, coordinate with colleagues, and spend time with students and graduates (continuing their discipleship).

We are so excited to be back in Kenya working together. Thank you to all who make it possible through prayer and financial gifts. We will let you know how it is going!

Blessings,

Donna

At the beginning of January, we spent time reflecting on 2023, the things we are thankful for, and praying about God’s leading for 2024. We felt a deep sense of continuing what we started last year of working together based in Denton, Texas, and making trips to Kenya. We also felt a strong sense to be more intentional in deepening connections with God and those in our lives. We want to share our 2023 highlights, 2024 preview, and thankful list.

2023 Highlights

• Donna left UNT to serve with Paul at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS—a ministry of International Christian Ministries).
• Paul and Donna made two trips to ATS to teach courses, participate in graduation, do workshops, and engage with students. (Paul for two months each trip and Donna for three weeks each trip.)
• Donna and Paul spent months traveling to visit supporters as far west as New Mexico, North to Canada, and East to the Carolinas. It was great reconnecting after several years of restricted travel.
• Donna collected and shipped hundreds of books for the Africa Theological Seminary Children’s Library.
• In addition, Paul spent time writing (one article was published, and another was recommended for publication with revisions) and took trips to New Mexico to help with his mom. Donna wrote, researched, did workshops, cared for her mom, and helped with solitude retreats.

2024 Preview

• We will continue going to Kenya several times yearly to teach, do workshops, and disciple students.
• Donna will finish updating the Children’s Library in Kenya, and Paul will continue writing.
• We will take a trip West to visit supporters this summer. Let us know if you would like a visit.
• We will facilitate a couple’s retreat May 3-5, and Donna will continue helping with solitude retreats designed for Women. For more info on Spring retreats, visit http://www.joybeless.org/

We are thankful for:

• Our children enjoy their work and are adulting well (most of the time).
• God provided the needed prayer and finances for Donna and Paul to work together again in ministry.
• The churches and individuals who donated books and money to the Children’s Library project.
• God’s hand and blessings in courses and workshops taught in Kenya.
• Amazing travel in 2023, visiting friends and supporters.
• Many friends, family, and visitors were around our table this year.
• The second granddaughter is arriving any day. Thanks, Miriam and Kade!

A huge thank you to all who participated this past Summer in the Africa Theological Seminary Children’s Library Project. I wanted to send a quick update letting you know that the books arrived at the seminary this week! Praise be to God that they made it without issues. I dropped the boxes off in Dallas, they were loaded onto a container, shipped to Kenya, cleared customs, and went overland for many miles to the library.

I will be in Kenya for most of March. I will teach a course, help with graduation, do workshops, use the rest of the library money to buy books in Nairobi and process the books. Would anyone like to join me in working in the Library?

Blessings,

Donna

Staying on top of support is not our strong point. We desire to depend on God. We also know the importance of a support team. So let us cover two support team aspects:

1. End of the year giving.
2. Significant Changes at ICM.

End of the Year Giving

We are incredibly grateful that churches, friends, and family support us through encouragement, prayer, and financial giving. A big thank you! If God is prompting you to give an end-of-the-year gift or regularly support us financially, below are two links:

Give Online

Printable Form for Post

Important Changes at ICM

In the last quarter of 2023, ICM significantly changed how it receives gifts for our support. Previously, donations were processed in Colorado. Below is the new mailing address for financial giving. Be sure you use this address for gifts:

International Christian Ministries
PO Box 9071
Bakersfield, CA 93389

In making this change, we know several checks were lost. Please let us know if you have a check for our support that has not cleared the bank.

We also know several people for whom the new system did not pick up their gift designations. Please ensure that the receipts you receive from ICM indicate: “Cox, Paul & Donna” and let us know if this is missing.

Here is a video with our hope for you this Advent.

Merry Christmas!

Link to video: https://youtu.be/O2ZeM2bJHmM

I am super excited. The article that had many challenges and has been in process for over a year and a half was published. It is “online first,” and the editor will assign it to an upcoming issue of Missiology. Here is the DOI:

https://doi.org/10.1177/00918296231206593

I cannot distribute soft copies at the moment. There are a few options if you want to read it and do not have a subscription to Missiology or institutional access. (Be forewarned, it is a pretty technical read.) Option one: Email me your physical address, and I will put a hard copy in the mail. Option two: Wait a year (or so) until I can distribute soft copies of the final edited submission. The formatting and page numbering are different, but the material is identical. Option three: Purchase the article from Sage; this is quite expensive. However, it helps the article’s metrics (and gets me a tiny royalty).

As I write, I am en route from Kenya to the USA with a five-hour delay in Nairobi. On this trip, I taught two courses: Pentateuch and Synoptic Gospels. There were great discussions in both of my classes. Non-Christian scholars have made concerted attacks in both these areas. I enjoy watching students go from lack of knowledge and denial to having (mostly) passable responses.

I orientated a new adjunct and teaching assistant at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS). They did a great job teaching Missions. Below is a picture of the new teaching assistant, the new adjunct, a Kenyan who served as a missionary in Asia, an ATS alumnus who does much for ATS, and me. The five of us had an excellent conversation.

In a few minutes, I will board the first of three planes as I journey from Kitale, Kenya, back to Texas. My three weeks have been very full. Here are some highlights:

It was wonderful spending time with Paul working side by side. He starts teaching Synoptic Gospels on Thursday. He returns to the States just before Thanksgiving. I am so thankful that we can minister as a couple again!

I taught an intensive Children’s Ministry course to pastors. It was amazing to see the pastors engage in what the scripture says about children and why the church should invest in them. It was a paradigm shift for many of the pastors. The response was that the course was heart-changing and practical.

 

A few days after I arrived, I ran into one of my first students in the Children’s Ministry program that I taught seven years ago. She is now working on her degree in counseling. It was so great to see her and catch up. I am thrilled that she is continuing her education to work with children.

 

I also had the opportunity to facilitate a workshop for 20 Sunday School teachers at a local church. The teachers are hungry for training. They want the Sunday School time to be meaningful with their limited resources.

I also spent time preparing the Library for the arrival of the books that many of you donated. Everyone here is so excited about the updated Children’s Corner. More updates are coming in the future.

Thank you! Thank you for praying! Thank you for supporting this ministry! We are so humbled and honored.

The last several weeks were hectic for both Donna and Paul. Praise God that Don and Kathy are back home in the USA, and Kathy is doing well. (In case you missed all the excitement, you can read about it here: Urgent Prayer Request, Prognosis is Good, Kathy is out of the Hospital.)

Donna has helped her sister with solitude retreats, attended a class reunion, put 12 boxes of books on a cargo ship for Kenya, traveled to Kenya, and is currently teaching Children’s Programs here at Africa Theological Seminary (ATS). Please pray for her class, and thank God that Paul and Donna are together for a few weeks.

You might remember that we collected books and money over the summer and fall for the Children’s Library at ATS (Vacation Bible School Missions Project). Donna has sorted, read, and packed hundreds of books. They are now on their way to Kenya—a huge THANK YOU to all who participated. We will buy additional books and furniture in Kenya.

In the meantime, Paul helped Don and Kathy get all the clearances for Kathy to fly and got them on a plane home. He joined his Pentateuch class via Zoom for the first two days of classes while he was in Nairobi with Don and Kathy. Afterward, he was able to teach in person at ATS. Praise God for a great Teaching Assistant who stepped in and helped.

Since March 2022, I have discussed an article examining a cross-cultural database. This article has been a challenge and a long process. After months of waiting because of a technical issue—while teaching Pentateuch—I received a proof for the article that required a five-business-day turnaround. Praise God that the article is getting close to publication. However, getting the proof done while teaching Pentateuch was taxing.

Lastly, please pray for some expectations that we are navigating. Pray everyone (including us) will have rightful Christlike attitudes.

Praise be to God that Kathy is out of the hospital and at the hotel. The doctors want her to stay close to the hospital for several days to ensure her stability. Hence, Don and Kathy will not travel to Africa Theological Seminary before their departure.

Kathy has follow-up appointments early next week. Given that all looks good, she and Don will depart Kenya mid-week.

Thank you for your prayers and emails during this challenging time. Continue to pray for Kathy’s health and that Don and Kathy can depart as scheduled. Pray for their travel home. Pray for me as I transition from helping Don and Kathy to teaching Pentateuch.

Thank you for your prayers and emails. Praise God that Kathy is much better and out of the ICU and in a step-down unit (less care than ICU but more care than a general nursing unit). The doctors ran many tests and treated Kathy with medicine. The prognosis is a full recovery. So, she is out of the woods but not out of the hospital.

Kathy spent four days on her back with limited nutrients. Hence, she will need to regain her strength and have some physical therapy to get her up and walking. In addition, the doctors must work through and assess a couple of non-life-threatening issues.

Please continue to pray for Kathy’s full recovery.