Friday 7 November 2014
The Maskeys in Nigeria
November 2014
Dear Fellow Laborers,
A Nigerian Thanksgiving Service...
On the first Sunday of November, I was invited to preach at the Eagle Island Independent Baptist Church, pastored by our first Bible Institute graduate, John Abili, for their Thanksgiving service. He started the church nine years ago in an outlying area of Port Harcourt called Eagle Island (it’s almost completely surrounded by a river), which has developed now into a good sized village, about 20 minutes away from our main church. The church has done well, in spite of some obstacles, and is steadily growing. When we arrived that morning , they received us very warmly, and as we entered the church, we found the altar lined with bunches of bananas and plantains, papayas, yams and other fruits of their harvests that the people had brought as a thanksgiving offering. By the time I got up to preach, the church was full with 315 in attendance, and God gave us a great service that day. As the invitation was given, many responded, filling the altar among the fruits, and 12 people came to receive Christ as their Savior. After the service we enjoyed dinner on the grounds with a big plate of chicken, native stew and rice. Everybody had a great time. We thank God for our graduates like Bro. Abili, who are being used of God to reach other Nigerians for Christ.
Other thanksgivings…
At the main church, we had a Missions & Leadership Conference the third week of October with missionary Mark Holmes from Abuja. We had pastors and members from eleven Independent Baptist churches attending, including our own. Bro. Holmes did a great job preaching in the conference and God blessed in a great way. We also saw an increase in our faith promise missions giving, and we are thanking God for that as well. Also during October, we had Youth Day and Friend Day, as well as our own Thanksgiving service, and all were very well attended. Our average attendance that month was 760, and thank the Lord, we saw a total of 1,164 souls saved in all our ministries. We are also thankful that Nigeria was recently declared ebola free, with no new cases in over two months! That’s a huge answer to prayer. However, the situation in the other affected African countries has worsened, and they are in much need of our prayers.
Other prayer requests…
1. Progress on the Omoku church building. The walls are up, and we are now working on the roof. Our target date to start this new church is April, 2015.
2. The 20th Anniversary of the main church is coming up in January. We are planning and praying for some great things to happen that month.
3. Our children, especially those in the States, for provision, guidance and God’s will in their lives.
To all of our supporters, have a Happy Thanksgiving, a Merry Christmas, and a Wonderful & Blessed New Year in advance. Most of all, thank you and God bless you for having a part in this ministry through your prayers and sacrificial giving!
Yours for His Service,
David Maskey & Family
The Maskeys in Nigeria
September 2014
Dear Fellow Laborers,
20 Years in Nigeria!
In July a new milestone was reached in our ministry, as we celebrated the 20th anniversary of our arrival in this great mission field of Nigeria. We have experienced so many blessings as well as challenges along the way, and God has certainly done some great and mighty things in those two decades. During that time we have seen over 150,000 souls receiving Christ as their Savior through all of our ministries in the three churches God helped us to start. Over 4,000 of them have been baptized and many are now growing in grace and serving the Lord. Some of you have been supporting us for all those years, and you have much “fruit that abounds to your account”! We are excited about the opportunities that we have to start more churches and to see many more souls saved in the years ahead with God’s help and your prayers and support.
More turmoil and blessings…
The Boko Haram terrorists continue to cause a lot of problems in northern Nigeria and are even taking over small towns there. The Nigerian military has had a hard time stopping them because they are well-funded and well-armed. Lately, another crisis has developed in the country with the arrival of the deadly Ebola virus in July. Since then, there have been 17 cases in Nigeria and six deaths, including one in Port Harcourt. As you can imagine, everyone here is very concerned. However, in spite of all this, God has continued to bless our ministry, and we are still able to move forward. In the last two months, we saw a total of 1,933 souls saved, including over 400 saved by our youth during our 3rd annual SMITE (Student Missions Institute in Training and Evangelism) the last week of August. It was a great time for them, and we had our highest enrollment so far, with 100 teenagers from four churches. We also had our highest church attendance for the month of August, and we were able to make a lot of progress on the building for the new church in Omoku as well. It seems like the devil is doing all he can to close the door in Nigeria, but God is still working here, and more than ever your prayers are needed, so that we can continue to reap the harvest while there is still time.
Also pray for…
1. Jonathon and Jenny, as they are expecting their first child in February….and our first grandchild! Of course, we are very excited about that and very happy for them, as well as looking forward to being grandparents.
2. Carissa, now in her final year at Hyles-Anderson College, and pray for God’s guidance and provision for her.
3. Joshua, for God’s intervention, guidance and restoration in his life.
4. Our health and God’s hand of protection upon all of us here in Nigeria.
THANK YOU again for having a part in our ministry, and God bless you all for your faithfulness!
Yours for His Service,
David Maskey & Family
Friday 11 July 2014
The Maskeys in Nigeria
July 2014
Dear Fellow Laborers,
Almost a Catholic Priest…
Although most churches here now
are Charismatic, there are still many that are Catholic. (They were among the first missionaries to
come to Nigeria many years ago). A young man, by the name of Innocent, was an
altar boy and servant to the priest in one of those Catholic churches here in
Port Harcourt, and was even preparing for the priesthood. However, in spite of being very devout in
that religion, he had begun to realize that much of it was just empty ritual and
there was something missing in his life.
He had also attended some of the many Charismatic churches here, but
they didn’t seem to have the answers he needed either. Finally
one day, a friend invited him to our church several years ago, and he
came. All of his life he had been
trying to work his way into Heaven, as he had been taught. That Sunday, however, for the first time he
understood from the Bible that salvation is not
by works or by doing rituals, but by grace through faith in the finished work
of Jesus Christ, and during the invitation he came out to receive that
salvation. Since then, he has become one of our most
faithful members and is now a student in our Bible institute. He is also a good soul winner, a bus captain,
and one of our best preachers….who almost became a Catholic priest! Pray for Bro. Innocent, and all of our Bible
institute students, that God will continue to do a great work in them as they prepare to serve Him.
Update on the Boko Haram…
Update on the Boko Haram…
The Muslim terrorist group,
Boko Haram, continues to cause havoc in the northern part of Nigeria with more
bombings, killing and kidnappings. On
the other hand, there are reports that the 200 kidnapped schoolgirls may soon
be set free, and some have already escaped.
We are praying that the situation there will be brought under control
soon and will not spread to other parts of Nigeria. So far, it has not affected us here in Port Harcourt, thankfully, but we still need your prayers for God's protection.
Praises and prayer requests…
1.
The Omoku church
groundbreaking was held on June 17th , so the work on the buildings
there has finally begun, and we are rejoicing about that. Be sure to visit our website (maskeysnigeria.blogspot.com) for pictures of the event. Please continue to pray for God’s
provision and strength as we prepare to start this new church plant. The other properties we were looking at did
not work out, unfortunately, but we are hopeful that more open doors to start
new churches will come soon.
2.
To God be the
glory, our annual “Visitors Month” at the main church was a big success, as we
saw a total of 462 first-time visitors come to the services, with 248 of them
receiving Christ as their Savior throughout the month of June. We also had some great attendances with a
high day of 796 on June 15th.
Our other churches have had some good reports as well,
but they still need your prayers for God’s provision, strength and growth.
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, Cayla & Justin
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)