Category: Prayer Blog

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.

A few days ago, I mentioned that I am orientating two new American adjunct teachers to ATS. Don (former Bible college president, radio host, author, and pastor) and Kathy, his wife, came to Kenya with me. Don was going to teach Evangelism and Discipleship. Yesterday (Sept 27), we were scheduled to fly from Nairobi to Eldoret. However, Kathy had a medical emergency. Kathy was admitted to the ICU at Aga Khan University Hospital in Nairobi (one of the best hospitals in East Africa).

We are thankful that Kathy has received good care and is a little better today. However, she is very ill, and the doctors are unsure what is wrong. Please pray against the evil one, for healing, wisdom, and the logistics of being seriously ill in a foreign country.

Picture of Kathy, Don and I on the way to Kenya

Donna and I recently attended the “Just Get’Er Done” Memorial Ride in Minnesota. This motorcycle ride commemorates Jon Just and raises money to purchase motorcycles for African pastors who do not have motorized transport. Jon died in a motorcycle accident on his way to church—where he worked with the youth. It transforms a pastor’s ministry from walking and using public transport to having a motorcycle. Because of this ride, Africa Theological Seminary (ATS—www.atseminary.ac.ke) gives alums and students 30 or more motorcycles yearly. You can learn more about the ride at www.jonjust.com. Praise God for this ride and its transformational effect on the ministries of ATS students and alums.

As I write, I am en route to ATS. The dynamics of this trip are different. In addition to teaching classes, I am orientating two new American adjunct teachers to ATS. I am excited about these adjuncts and believe they will significantly bless the students. Pray for these new adjunct teachers, their adjustment to ATS, and the logistics involved.

Lastly, pray for Donna. She is organizing the transport of all the books received from the Vacation Bible School Mission Project. She is also developing a new course for ATS and will come and teach it in mid-October.

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