Our time in Kenya was hectic; it was busier than usual. Paul ended his time there with two back-to-back intensive courses. Since being home, we have been catching up on tasks left undone while in Kenya and planning for the summer.

This summer has a “Go West” theme. We will be visiting supporters, churches, family and friends. Please let us know if you are in these areas or somewhere between; we would love to connect.

ITINERARY

Southwest
May 11-16 Clovis, New Mexico
May 16-30 Albuquerque, New Mexico
May 30-June 3 Phoenix, Arizona
June 3-9 Bakersfield, California; Las Cruces, New Mexico; El Paso, Texas

Africa
June 24-July 14 West Africa

Northwest
July16-31 Colorado Springs & Denver, Colorado; Jackson Hole, Montana; Clovis, New Mexico

Graduation

Graduation is always a joyous time. It is beautiful to see what God has done in the lives of our students. This year, 53 students graduated. One fun thing about graduation is the bling. Many Africans love bling. During the graduation ceremony, ATS strictly enforces academic regalia (i.e., no bling). However, as soon as the academic recession is over, some families rush to find their respective graduates and start loading them up (see the photo). Praise God with us for what He has done in the lives of our graduates.

Donna’s Class

Donna’s child development class went well. Many Africans have not been exposed to child development. During the class, there were multiple times when students publicly confessed to using inappropriate approaches for the age of the child. Pray for Donna’s students as they incorporate new approaches when they work with children.

I attended the Africa Society for Evangelical Theology conference. Donna nicknamed it the Greek Geeks Gathering, though not everyone there was a Greek Geek. The whole range of disciplines within theology and related fields were represented (Systematic, Biblical, and Historical Theology, New and Old Testament Studies, Anthropology, Sociology, etc.). I had fantastic interactions with some scholars on the Greek text, hence Donna’s nickname.

An African scholar once said: “The church in Africa was a mile long in terms of quantity, but only an inch deep in terms of quality” (Adeyemo, 2006: viii). At the conference, I heard, met, and interacted with Africans who think and write at the deepest theological levels. They are moving the needle in the right direction. I was very encouraged.

Donna’s class started on Monday. She has 17 students, and the class is going well so far. Also on Donna’s agenda for this trip is organizing and cataloging the children’s books.

Praise God with me for the great conference and the African scholars moving the needle in the right direction. Pray for Donna’s class, the children’s book project, and graduation (March 23).

Grace & Peace — Paul

Reference

Adeyemo, Tokunboh. 2006. “General Introduction.” In Africa Bible Commentary, edited by Tokunboh Adeyemo. Nairobi: WordAlive Publishers.

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.