Friday 9 October 2015

                                                                                                               
  Missions & Leadership Conference 2015



             

Dr. Mike Cox
Missionary Mark Holmes
Pastors and Wives
                      The Maskeys in Nigeria

October 2015

Dear Praying Friends, 

Missions & Leadership Conference 2015
This year we held the conference on September 27-30, and it was a great success.  We also had pastors, their wives and people attending from 12 other independent Baptist churches in Nigeria, and it was a great blessing and encouragement to all of us.  Once again we had Dr. and Mrs. Mike Cox from the States, and Missionary Mark Holmes from Abuja speaking in the conference here in Port Harcourt, and God used them in a wonderful way.  The preaching was powerful and convicting each day, and the altars were full with many decisions for Christ.  The Sunday morning service was especially great with 938 in attendance, 66 people receiving Christ as their Savior, and 26 were baptized. Our Faith Promise Missions Giving commitments also increased over last year, so we are praising the Lord for these good results (see pictures of the conference on our website,maskeysnigeria.blogspot.com). 

Last year, Dr. Cox had to cancel his trip to Nigeria at the last minute because his father, who is close to 100 years old, became very ill.  This year it looked as if the same thing would happen again, but because many people were praying, his father’s health improved enough for them to come.  We thank God for answered prayers!

Prayer Requests...
1.  Our other church plants.  The Eagle Island, Igwuruta, and Omoku churches and pastors are all doing fine.  However, there have been some difficulties, especially in Omoku where there has been some community clashes and even loss of life.  Please pray for peace in that place, and for the provision and growth of all these new churches.
2.  Open doors for more new church plants.  We are looking at two locations right now, and we need to raise about $10,000 to purchase the land.  It would be a wonderful blessing if 20 churches and/or people could give $500, so that we could start a much needed new church soon.  Please pray for God’s provision.

Once again, THANK YOU for making this ministry possible by your prayers and support and gifts. You have been a great encouragement to us!  God bless you all. 


                                                                 Yours for His Service,
                                                                 David, Rose, Carissa, Cayla & Justin
                              The Maskeys in Nigeria

August 2015
Dear Fellow Laborers,    

“I was in prison, and ye came unto me...”

Twice a month our church is permitted to hold services in the Port Harcourt prison, and we have about 15 of our people who are now helping in this ministry.  Recently we added some of our ladies, who visit the female inmates, and they have been seeing a lot of good results.  Our men have a certain group of inmates they are assigned to visit, called the “CC” men (condemned criminals), and one of our men, Biye Uzi, usually preaches to them.  Last month, however, they let us have a much larger group with most of them hearing from us for the first time.  When Bro. Uzi started preaching to them, one of the inmates in the front row had a seizure and caused a commotion.  Unsure what to do, Bro. Uzi just stopped and began praying for the man.  By the time he finished, the man seemed to be OK and Bro. Uzi continued preaching, but this time he had everybody’s attention.  When he gave the invitation that day, 44 of the inmates received Christ as their Savior!  So far this year, 229 have been saved in this ministry, which is the most we’ve ever had.  But it’s not only our prison ministry that God is blessing this year. In all of our ministries in our four churches, we’ve seen a total of 6,150 saved and 151 baptized.  To God be the glory, great things he hath done once again!



A word from Carissa...
“It’s so good to be finally home again!  After graduating from Hyles-Anderson College in May, I was able to come back to Nigeria with my family for a two-month visit and I’m enjoying every minute of it.  I’ve had the joy of teaching a teen girls Sunday School class while here and visiting them during the week.  It was also an encouragement to see the same people in the church still serving God faithfully after five years, and new members on fire for God.   Whatever God has for me in the future, I know that a part of me will always be home in Nigeria.”

Praises & Prayer Requests:
1.      We arrived back in Nigeria on June 25 after a short time in the States for Carissa’s graduation, and it was a blessing to see everything still moving forward in our absence, and a blessing to have Carissa with us again for a little while!  It was an added blessing to see the main church in Port Harcourt have their highest attendance ever for the month of July as well.
2.      The new church plant in Omoku is doing well in spite of some difficulties there, and in their first three months they have been averaging around 30 on Sunday mornings, with a good number of souls being saved also.  Continue to pray for Pastor Osueke and the Grace Independent Baptist Church.

Once again we thank you for standing with us in prayer and your faithful support of our ministry.  You are a blessing to us!

                                                       Yours for His Service,
                                                                                           David, Rose, Carissa, Cayla & Justin