September/October '22

On the first weekend in September, I had the honor of preaching in the church Missionary David Maskey [pictured with graduates from a previous SMITE] started nearly thirty years ago in the southeast part of Nigeria. That Friday was the conclusion of our 7th Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism for that church. 130 young people from 16 churches enrolled to learn about how to conduct children's Bible clubs; they ran 26 five-day clubs with over 1300 children enrolled and nearly 700 professing salvation. On Sunday, a baby dedication was held for the family of the church’s national co-pastor; Pastor Royal and his wife are both graduates of our seminary.

Every semester for the last two years, our Providence Baptist College & Seminary students have done a concentrated evangelistic outreach to benefit a local church outside of Abuja. Earlier this year, they went to Praise & Glory Baptist of Makurdi, Benue State. Their soul-winning, street preachings, and film showings yielded 105 salvations during the week; that Sunday, ten of their converts visited the church, and six were baptized. The pastor, our graduate, remarked that “the vision of the college to have these outreaches is very instrumental in church planting.” This semester, for six days in October, our students traveled to Cross River State to help our graduate, Pastor Michael Solomon, at IBC Ogoja. These trips have proven to be great experiences for the current students [pictured after a soccer match] and are mentioned often by our graduates.

Our four new missionary couples [pictured at our home for Thanksgiving] have fully jumped into being involved in our ministry training schools and local church plants. They are busy with soul-winning, pulpit supply, church visitation, school outreaches, prison ministry, Bible clubs (and follow-up on parents of the Bible club kids), discipleship programs, home Bible studies, youth meetings, and college chapel preaching, along with our regular schedule of attending church services, staff meetings, conferences, and camps. The most exciting to me, though, is the number of new institutes that have been started this year with their involvement. In nine different Bible-believing churches during 2022, our Temple Baptist Institute curriculum has been introduced during weekend programs, mainly conducted alongside Evangelist Tunde Ajayi. The weekend program consists of outreach with the church members, sermons that encourage more members to train for the ministry, planning sessions with the pastor to determine the best course schedule, and sample classes to introduce the institute concept to everyone. We are already seeing the effectiveness of these programs to get more people equipped for service.

Now that the roof is on our seminary dormitory building, we are moving to the next phase of our plans for the second floor. Recently, about $8300 came in, allowing us to do some finishing work on the flooring and walls [plaster work pictured] to get the building ready for the ceiling (estimated at $7000) and floor tiles (likewise costing about $7000). The remaining windows and doors will cost about $5000, and then we will move on to the various plumbing and electrical works. Already we can begin using some of the space, but we would be glad for any additional donations to help us complete the project. Thanks so much for praying!

July/August '22

On August 18th, we returned to the field to begin our 18th year as FBMI missionaries in Nigeria. For the first time as a family, we endured four flights, but everyone adjusted well, and God has kept us healthy. Missionaries Graham and Olivia Young were waiting for us in our home, having arrived about five days before; they quickly found a vehicle and place to stay, yet we were glad to have them around for a few weeks of good fellowship prior to their move into an apartment.Before our departure from Louisiana, several milestones were recognized. Birthdays for Brian (15) and Ladonna (8) were celebrated, and, upon our arrival, Aaron counted down the days for his 4th birthday on September 10th. In July, Sabrina and I with our three teens traveled to the church where I was ordained 19 years ago for their 50th Youth Conference [pictured]; I was honored to give two “Missions Moment” testimonies at the same meeting where God called me to preach 28 years before. FBMI held its Missions University during the week of youth conference, and I had the privilege (for the 6th time) of teaching multiple classes while Sabrina had her first opportunity to address the missionary ladies in a split session. 

With contributions from our sending church and five other meetings where I reported during our last two months of furlough in July and August, the need I presented concerning the roof of our dormitory has been more than fulfilled, and we are moving forward with plastering the walls on the second floor [pictured]. Once the roof is actually attached, I will give more details on what it will take to add windows, doors, electrical, plumbing, ceiling, and tiles in the next phase of work. Thank you for partnering with us in this project.
A new semester of Providence Baptist College & Seminary [student body pictured] with five new students started the day before our arrival to Abuja. The next week, our 11th Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism was held at Truth Baptist Church. At the beginning of August, the 5th Annual S.M.I.T.E. in Ogbomoso was organized successfully in my absence. Between the two youth camps, there were 234 campers from 54 churches; they conducted 48 Bible clubs with 2293 children enrolled and 1370 who professed salvation. 

May/June '22

The main reason for this furlough, Joseph’s high school graduations, took place during the third week of May after a brief “senior trip” in our nation’s capital upon our arrival from Nigeria. Mark Joseph, Jr. [pictured with our sending pastor] walked with Abeka Academy and also took part in our sending church’s school graduation. On the second day of May, I was happy to receive my Master of Education degree from West Coast Baptist College through their online program. Our family took the opportunity to have a vacation in California that week, including revisiting the area where Sabrina and I honeymooned over twenty years ago. In the middle of the month, our family enjoyed time in Houston with Sabrina’s father and his family. 

Our furlough travels have been productive for the ministry and pleasant for my wife and kids. I have taken solo trips to Florida, North Carolina, and Iowa [host pastor and guest preachers pictured] to preach missions conferences and emphasis days. Our kids have taken part in the Summer Missionary Institute for Training and Evangelism in Louisiana, along with three weeks of Bible club blitzes, and different members of our family traveled for junior camp and youth camp with Sabrina’s home church in Baton Rouge. Sabrina and I were thrilled to travel alone to take part in three mid-week services and a training class for Vision Baptist Missions in the Atlanta area at the end of June.

In my absence, our Nigerian staff completed the 3rd Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism in Kumasi, partnering with FBMI’s Ghana Team. Also, in partnership with our new missionaries, our deacons and staff have conducted several big days in Truth Baptist: Police Appreciation Sunday with 30 visiting officers [pictured], Friends of the Deaf Anniversary with over 20 visitors, the church’s 16th Anniversary with many special activities, and a Friend Day with around 115 guests! For Grace & Glory Baptist, a Family and Father’s Day brought many visitors, our first Vacation Bible School is scheduled, and a month-long Sunday School program has promoted outreach and faithfulness.

As this prayer letter is being written, I have sent off the money needed to buy the materials to add the roof to the second floor [pictured] of our Providence Baptist College & Seminary. God has allowed for most of that money to be raised during our furlough, and we are trusting him for the $8000 remaining to pay for labor and any remaining materials. Our mission board still has a special page for this project if you wish to learn more: fbmi.org/mpg/holmes. 

Missionary Ted Speer included and update on Ghana S.M.I.T.E. in the following prayer letter: 

One aspect of Missionary Mark Holmes’ ministry is training young people how to evangelize children through the use of Bible Clubs. This training ministry is called SMITE, which stands for “Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism.” Camps are held to train teens and young adults how to conduct these Bible Clubs. Mornings are filled with teaching and training. In the afternoons of the camp, the campers go out, organized by groups, to conduct Bible Clubs in the local neighborhoods. In the evenings, they have singing, games, and preaching. Camps are held yearly, and there are different levels of instruction based upon how many years a camper has participated.

In 2018, our church first partnered with Missionary Mark Holmes’ ministry to conduct a SMITE camp in Ghana. This was a great help to our church and to all who participated. We held our second SMITE camp the following year. Due to COVID restrictions, we were unable to host a SMITE camp in 2020 or 2021. But then last month, we had the joy of conducting our third SMITE camp. Brother Holmes sent three men from Nigeria to help us conduct the camp: Pastor Adewale Adesina, Pastor Peter Akinwumi, and Evangelist Babatunde Ajayi. Our team missionaries, Charles Osgood and Micah Christiansen, were also involved in the teaching. Brother Osgood and our staff man, Stephen Opoku, helped organize the entire week.

Seventy-one of our own teens and young adults attended SMITE camp. They were joined by 39 more campers from Lighthouse Baptist Church in Tema, pastored by Missionary Fredrick Kearney, and from three of our daughter churches, which are led by our graduates Jonas Osei-Owusu, Rexford Aning, and Kingsley Addai. In the afternoons, these 100 campers divided into teams and conducted 18 Bible Clubs all throughout the community. Because of their efforts, about 971 children attended the various clubs, and 427 children made professions of faith. In one of the featured images above is one of the campers, Felicia Owusuwaah, with some of the children who have started coming to our church as a result of one Bible Club held during SMITE camp.

In addition to God blessing the efforts of these campers, He also worked in their hearts during the week. Many of the campers made life-changing decisions for the Lord. Several Bible Clubs have already been started as a result of the training that was received. Thank you for your continued prayers!

March/April '22

We were truly privileged to help three new missionaries adjust to living and serving in Nigeria last year. In 2022, the Lord is adding a fourth couple, this time from Vision Baptist Missions. Graham and Olivia Young, along with their Africa field director [all 3 pictured at our Abuja airport], took their survey trip in early March, and they are planning to move here fully in July. They have been blessed during their deputation process, and we are thrilled about having them here soon to begin working with us.

Our independent Baptist movement in Nigeria has an interesting history in that the first churches in the late 70’s and early 80’s were planted by Nigerians who trained in American Christian colleges, raised their support in the U.S., and returned to their home country to eventually become “patriarchs” for dozens of missionaries and pastors who would follow their lead. Over the years, God has given me the privilege to befriend, serve with, and be influenced by these seven founders in various ways. In the middle of March, I was given the high honor of being the funeral service preacher for Dr. David Jacobs, who ended his 80 years [burial picture below] on earth in January and left behind four strong churches, numerous graduates who were mentored by his teaching, and a wonderful family with five children. Even though he had already been serving here for 25 years before our arrival, Dr. Jacobs greatly intreated me with opportunities to preach his first church’s anniversary service, to train one of his preachers at our college, and to join us for a recent seminary commencement. He was truly “apt to teach,” and I join others who will miss his great spirit and inspiration.   

In early April, both churches in which our family are involved honored us with special services for Joseph. In anticipation of us bringing him back to the U.S. for college, our deacons and pastors had a “send-off” prayer over our first-born at the end of the morning services on the first two Sundays. Joseph was showered with gifts [pictured] and well-wishes, and our whole family felt truly loved by our members. On April 12th, our family departed Nigeria for a four-month furlough. We will attend three graduations in May, and much of June and July will be spent visiting family and helping Joseph to settle in for life in America. For now, his plans are to live with Sabrina’s mom and attend a local community college in the fall. 

January/February '22

With this ministry update, I am completing 20 years of writing prayer letters; we sent out our first mailing four months before starting full time deputation. Throughout our initial two years of fundraising and communicating in the U.S., we made it clear that our goals were ministry training and church planting, but we certainly could not predict that we would be able to report that 47 churches have now been started through those trained in our ministry. 12 more potential church planters [pictured bottom] received their degrees and diplomas as Providence Baptist College & Seminary conducted its 7th Commencement [pictured above] in January, bringing the total number of graduates through our institutes and college to 160. Missionary Evangelist Curtis Hall of BEST Missions did us the honor of being the keynote at the graduation, held at Truth Baptist Church, and then preaching a Missions Sunday [handbill pictured] for Grace & Glory Baptist Church. 

Bro. Hall also helped us to put on the first of six Soul-Winning & Leadership Conferences planned for this year. Independent Baptist Church of Calabar welcomed 18 different ministries for their semi-annual Sunday through Wednesday meeting. In February, Missionary Evangelists Jim Belisle and Don Wattenbarger [pictured] conducted a Pastors and Workers Conference in Ogbomoso. There is no host church that works harder than Faith Baptist, and they always have the most preachers present. Lastly, our Truth Baptist Church in Abuja held the 13th Annual Soul Winning & Leadership Conference with both guest preachers. We were thankful to have about 35 churches represented, and, unique to this year, each session was interpreted into both sign language and Hausa. 

Right after Christmas, I traveled with our co-pastor, Adewale Adesina, to conduct the funeral service of a trustee and founding member of Grace & Glory Baptist Church. The family was very happy that we were able to make the flight and additional two-hour drive into Abia state for the burial. That weekend, I had the privilege of preaching at a fairly new church plant of one of our graduates. Then, Pastor Thomas Adesoye gave me the honor of preaching at his Grace Independent Baptist Church in Uyo. Finally, it was a joy to visit the home villages of Truth Baptist’s co-pastor [pictured] and his wife, Bro. and Mrs. Emmanuel Okoh, before flying back the next day.  

November/December '21

As is the case with many of our prayer letters, this one begins similarly with a report of two successful Soul-Winning & Leadership Conferences in Port Harcourt and Ibadan. Evangelist Jeff Walters flew directly to Port Harcourt and preached for the Maskeys [pictured below] on the last Sunday of October, while Evangelist Craig Bryan arrived in Abuja for his first visit to Nigeria. Bro. Bryan preached in both churches where our family is involved, and then we traveled together for the conference in the southeast region. Upon their arrival back to Abuja, Bro. Walters and Bro. Bryan conducted an Open House [pictured] for Providence Baptist College & Seminary. They preached and presented their ministries, and then we had a special time of prayer for the ongoing work on our dormitory building. At both conferences and during the Open House, Bro. Bryan enjoyed meeting the pastors whom he helps to support through the Ron Middleton Missions Outreach, which not only partners with us in church planting, but also has contributed greatly to our building program and assists an orphanage with whom we are associated.

A unique aspect of having our ministry in the capital city is that the great majority of our members are not from Abuja. Therefore, we do not host many funerals here; instead, the church will normally send representatives to the home village of any of our members who have passed on. So, when one of our trustees unexpectantly passed away in August, our church was shaken, but we were also thankful to be able to honor Dr. Wole Ajayi’s life in November at the church where he was a founding member and served faithfully for several years. On the night before the burial, a touching service of songs was held with plenty of singing, moving tributes, and messages by two pastors from Ibadan (where Dr. Ajayi also had filled the office as a trustee in two different churches). I had the honor of preaching the funeral service at Grace & Glory Baptist, and then we went with the family for the internment at a cemetery in town. Many thanks go to our co-pastor, Bro. Adewale Adesina, for his communicating with the family and officiating ministers, printing of programs, setting up at each venue, and planning of the orders of service.

In late December, after a two-week delay because of Covid complications, we were thrilled to welcome Caleb [pictured on institute advertisement] and Emily Christiansen with their daughter Emma. They’re the last of three missionaries that we’ve been expecting to arrive this year. The Christiansen family reached in time to take part in our traditional family activities of opening presents on Christmas Eve, a special Christmas Day service at Truth Baptist, a few days of recreation at a local hotel, and a New Year’s Day fellowship for Grace & Glory Baptist.

September/October '21

During our 17th year of service in Nigeria, we continue to see encouraging firsts throughout our ministry. On September 16th, 25 pastors joined me to dedicate with prayer the first-ever fully equipped production studio [ribbon for our independent Baptist churches in Africa’s most populous nation. Christian Media International raised the funds and sent a representative for the setup; then, a pastors’ fellowship [pictured left] was planned at Independent Baptist Church of Ibadan with singing, preaching, testimonies, and prayers. Announcements were made to let the preachers and church workers understand that the studio was for them to use media to get the Gospel out more effectively to their area and around the nation.

In October, Daniel [pictured with converts for baptism] & Erin Lang, along with their two children, became the first FBMI missionaries to arrive to Abuja since our family came in June of 2005. They have already found a home in the same estate where we reside and will be working with our staff at Truth Baptist Church until they start a ministry of their own. Missionary Lang has been preaching at our seminary chapel, participating in soul-winning and visitation, and speaking in TBC’s weekly youth meeting.

Since our inaugural enrollment in 2009, October of this year was the first time that Providence Baptist College & Seminary welcomed such a large group of new students. Our biggest-ever student body of 26 undergraduates includes eight young men beginning their first semester. The orientation had been delayed for nearly two months because of our building project, but all the seminarians were excited to see the progress. The second floor of the dormitory has been completed, and enough rooms on the ground floor have been restored for accommodating the students. At the time this letter is being written, we have started extending the pillars and constructing the walls [pictured] to reach the roofing level while we are trusting God for the remaining $25,000 that is needed to add the actual roof. For more information, go to fbmi.org/mpg/holmes.  

We were pleased to witness both a Vacation Bible School and the last of our three 2021 Student Missions Institutes for Training in Evangelism conducted successfully at Truth Baptist Church in September. 42 churches total were represented by the 241 youth who attended the three SMITE camps in Nigeria. 55 bible clubs were conducted, 2607 children were enrolled, and 1540 were saved! We also had nearly 40 young people graduate from the four-year child evangelism training program.

July/August '21

Miraculously, we are well on our way to pulling off six pastors’ conferences, three youth camps, and two seminary semesters in 2021. The fourth of our scheduled Soul-Winning & Leadership Conferences was successfully held during the second weekend of July. Our assistant pastor, a deacon, and Ms. Pat Hamburg joined my whole family and Missionary Evangelist Don Wattenbarger of Bibles Beyond Boundaries for the second-ever SWLC in Jos [handbill pictured]. Multiple pastors and staff members came together for the preaching services, teaching sessions, and an introductory meeting to plan a full-time institute for Hausa-speaking pastors and their members in the region.  

Many of our supporters continue to ask about how the worldwide talk of vaccines and restrictions is affecting Nigeria. Thankfully, there have not been any new protocols, and the only major challenges to our ministry are some lingering effects of the changes to the school schedules from last year, which impacted the attendance at our three S.M.I.T.E.’s this year. We were thrilled to resume the Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism in Ogbomoso, and I was honored to preach their first graduation during the first week of August. 86 students registered, and 14 young people received four-year completion certificates on the last evening of the five-day camp. It was our privilege to host Missionary Evangelist Denton Bell of International World-Wide Evangelism to preach at both of our Abuja churches on the weekends before and after the 7th Port Harcourt S.M.I.T.E. Bro. Bell and I traveled together to Port Harcourt where we both preached multiple times to the 58 young people who enrolled [Bible club pictured]. Evangelist Tunde Ajayi conducted a Bible club Blitz in Ibadan with several S.M.I.T.E. graduates during the week between the two camps. I will share the totals of the camps and the blitz after the conclusion in September of our Abuja institute, which we delayed because of our building project.

Also in August, we celebrated the arrival of the first of four new missionaries, all coming fully in the next twelve months, who will work with us in some way as they get setup in Nigeria. Garan and Anneliese Patrick [pictured with Calabar pastor and wife], serving with Baptist International Missions Incorporated, will be ministering alongside Pastor Adewale Adesina at Grace & Glory Baptist Church while working with our college students and getting experience in various other ministries. Already, they’ve secured an apartment, purchased a vehicle, and processed necessary documents for becoming residents of Abuja. 

The Truth Baptist Church property has taken on a new look, as pillars were added and a foundation was poured [pictured] for the second floor of the Providence Baptist College & Seminary dormitory. Information about the project can be found at fbmi.org/mpg/holmes, and we covet your prayers, as more funds are needed for the walls and roofing. Simultaneous to that, we are continuing the development of our City of Refuge project, working towards the completion of the property fencing and a kitchen and toilet building.

May/June '21

The month of May allowed me the first opportunity to be a part of two of the six pastors’ conferences that we have planned for this year (I missed one in February before we returned to Nigeria). Truth Baptist Church hosted the 12th Soul Winning & Leadership Conference with nearly 35 pastors attending [pastors' wives session pictured at our home], many bringing workers and preachers from their church with them. Missionary Evangelist Jim Belisle’s 10th visit to our work proved to be the most urgent one for us as he was the only invited guest preacher who was able to have a valid visa to make it out here. The Pathfinder Foundation, started by Grace & Glory Baptist Church’s co-pastor, Adewale Adesina, honored Bro. Belisle and me (along with Ms. Pat and a few former missionaries) with plaques to commemorate our years of service to Nigeria. Our mission board’s Field Service Coordinator and I then flew to Aba for the third conference to be held in that city and the first hosted by Faith Baptist Church, started by Missionary Ken Gill close to 25 years ago and pastored for nearly 15 years by a faithful national pastor and friend. We had 18 churches represented in this three-day meeting, and all three area pastors surprised me with honorary plaques and gifts of clothing from their churches.

Exam week for our seminary was immediately before our Abuja conference, and, the week after, all but four of our students traveled for internships at various independent Baptist churches. This allowed us to begin the project of adding the second floor to our dormitory rooms. As I write this letter, the roofing has been removed, new pillars are in place, and the pouring of cement for the decking will begin soon. We have updated the page that our mission board had started for this fundraising opportunity: fbmi.org/mpg/holmes. Please visit and consider helping us with the remaining balance that is needed to do the walls, windows, doors, and new roof. 

As the seminary continues to grow and our students get more and more opportunities for evangelism and service in the local area, the need for a van has become more essential. With the favorable exchange rate recently, I believe that we could buy a very reliable 18-passenger “bus” at around $10,000. We would greatly appreciate your prayers and potential assistance towards this additional project for our schools that have now been a part of producing nearly 150 graduates who are serving all over Nigeria, West Africa. 

March/April '21

Our ministry was happy to welcome in March a guest preacher for the first time since January of last year. Pastor Dan Callaghan of First Baptist Church of Yuba City, California, preached Truth Baptist Church’s 6th Spirit Renewal Meeting. The revival services included a greatly needed and well-attended Saturday teaching, soul-winning, and testimony time; Grace & Glory Baptist hosted the Sunday evening preaching hour, and the combined service received many of our Truth Baptist members and college students. Having kept in touch with Bro. Dan since we were bus workers together in Bible college, I was glad for our whole family and many co-laborers to finally have the chance to fellowship with my good friend.  

This seems to be the smoothest transition back to the field we have ever experienced. We want to thank God for blessing our return, and we also wish to give credit to our church leaders and college staff members for skillfully handling all our ministries. A special thanks goes to Missionary Pat Hamburg [pictured in our kitchen], who stayed in our home during our time in the U.S., welcomed us with wonderful meals during the first few adjustment days, and generously put time and money into numerous thoughtful projects that put a smile on my wife’s face. 

Four days after our arrival in February, Merci Cepeda and Kristin Muldrow landed in Abuja for a nearly six-week visit. Our oldest son and daughter, Joseph and Victoria, were traveling partners with them in Louisiana on a Bible club blitz team for a few weeks last summer. Merci and Kristin conducted Bible clubs [pictured], helped in children’s church and Sunday school classes, sang specials, participated in our school ministry, brought gifts for a visit to an orphanage, and helped to fund a widows’ meeting hosted by one of our deacons. Two weeks of their trip were spent at A Place Of Hope Africa, a large orphanage home in the East.  

I had imagined that adding the second floor for our seminary dormitory would be the only big project for this year, but the Lord has seen fit to put the following additional new works on our ministry plate over the last twelve months: a continuing television ministry with Christian Media International, a fully-sponsored prisoner discipleship ministry, a new day school at Truth Baptist Church, the Friends of the Deaf ministry that just celebrated its first anniversary in April, and the growth of our last church plant (Liberty Baptist of Azunu) which Truth has adopted as its own like no other new church before. We are blessed beyond imagination!

January/February '21

 I am writing this letter having my whole family with me in Abuja. We had several delays in our return due to required tests for travel, but, thankfully, we finally arrived on February 19th. The longest furlough of our ministry was fruitful on both sides, with several goals accomplished in the U.S. and our work continuing to mature in Africa. 

On January 20th, the first day of class was held for the new semester of our Providence Baptist College. We welcomed four more students for a total of 23 men that are training for the ministry; in addition, there are 14 enrolled in Temple Baptist Institute. This is the first time that I have ever missed back-to-back orientations for our seminary, yet it is so rewarding to see our faculty and staff work together to make the classroom teaching and student activities successful in my absence. From the beginning, an inspiration for our training center was Blue Mountain Baptist College in Ogbomoso. In January, Blue Mountain’s founder, Dr. Solomon Owolabi [pictured], went to Heaven. He was truly the patriarch of our movement in Nigeria, and I was privileged to call him a friend, mentor, and co-laborer.

In 2008, when we held our first Soul-Winning & Leadership Conference (SWLC), there was no other annual multi-day pastors’ meetings of which I knew in Nigeria. In 2019, we held six SWLC’s, and they have been conducted so far in 9 different venues. We can now see that at least four churches would be determined to continue these annual meetings even if an American missionary were no longer there helping to host them. The strongest of these four is Faith Baptist in Ogbomoso, led by Missionary Pastor Timothy Ojo [pictured with his daughter at our 1st SWLC], which conducted their church anniversary and three-day Pastors & Workers Conference during the first full week of February while I was still in the U.S. Missionary Evangelist Don Wattenbarger of Bibles Beyond Boundaries contributed toward the feeding of the delegates, and our ministry made sure that all the attending preachers received boxes of Bibles and New Testaments. We are grateful for our partnership with churches like this. 

We are glad to report that we received donations and purchased new motorcycles [pictured] for the three ministries mentioned in our previous prayer letter. Please pray for us as we progress through adding a second floor to our seminary dormitories. Updates for this building project can be found at fbmi.org/mpg/holmes. Thank you for your investment in prayers and finances for our work.

November/December '20

The first three weeks of November were full of activity as I rounded up a month-long solo trip to Nigeria. On the 1st, I preached in special services at three churches in Ibadan for an ordination, an  anniversary celebration, and the kickoff to a revival meeting. That Tuesday, a Pastors & Workers Fellowship was conducted, and over thirty preachers [pictured] each received boxes of John/Romans, New Testaments, Bibles, and Gospel tracts. The week before and after my Ibadan trip gave me the chance to teach a full course in our Providence Baptist College & Seminary. 

The 3rd Regional Soul Winning & Leadership Conference [hosts and speakers pictured] miraculously took place at Independent Baptist Church of Calabar on November 15-18. This conference was postponed in May because of restrictions; violent protests shook the area in October, and a curfew in the city was lifted just days before we arrived. The Lord blessed with another ordination service launching the special meeting, a record number of pastors attending from the region, several in the host church proclaiming that it was their favorite conference, and each church represented receiving boxes of scriptures and resources from a container that had been cleared last year. The Friday before flying back to the U.S., I enjoyed hosting the seminary students [pictured below] at our home for supper and testimonies with the help of our single lady missionary, Ms. Pat Hamburg (she has a new update that I will include with the email of this prayer letter); this time of fellowship has become a tradition to which all of our students look forward. Both congregations at Truth Baptist and Grace & Glory were happy to see me on the 2nd and 4th Sundays. Grace & Glory planned an Encouragement Sunday with refreshments and an afternoon service; during the Holidays, this church had a record Sunday evening attendance for its first-ever Christmas Chorale concert. Of course, our members long to see my whole family, and we now have our paperwork complete for all of us to return to the field together in January. 

Thankfully, after three itinerary changes, I was able to make it back to the U.S. in time to celebrate Thanksgiving with my family and my father-in-law’s family in Houston. The Christmas week was commemorated by a couple of get-togethers with relatives of my mother-in-law, and that weekend was a nice time to be with my mom, my brother and his wife, and our sending church. A special Sunday before Christmas was enjoyed in Maine as Sabrina and I were able to “get away” to meet the family and sending church of Caleb & Emily Christiansen, who will be working with us long-term starting at the end of next year. 

Our supporters have been so kind to meet this particular need for other preachers in the past, so I feel confident in presenting it again. A pastor who recently started a third-generation church needs a motorcycle to be able to conduct an institute there, and another pastor overseeing two churches could use an “okada” for his works. Our recently formed deaf ministry has two seminary students serving fervently, and a motorbike would aide in their visitation efforts. A new quality motorcycle costs $600 and would be a great blessing to these worthy servants.