November was momentous for Sabrina and me in that it was our first Thanksgiving in the U.S. in over a decade. Our family thoroughly enjoyed spending the holiday with both sets of relatives. Christmas was extra special, as all three of Sabrina’s siblings with their spouses were together in her home area. The four families, including 14 children, surprised my mother-in-law with a new piano for her rebuilt house. Please pray that her home renovation from the flood damage will be completed soon.
It has been a great privilege for the first time in our ministry to have someone “fill in” for us on furlough. Bro. and Mrs. Sidney McGuffee arrived towards the end of July and stayed in our home through mid-December. At the beginning of this year, upon revealing in their home church a calling to become missionaries in Nigeria, they began raising support to come here fully. Bro. McGuffee had been a supporting pastor of ours from the beginning, was instrumental in starting our Student Missions Institute for Training in Evangelism, has preached at Truth Baptist Church and in school ministries for the last five months, and ultimately wishes to work with our ministry and help with church planting and the starting of more youth camps throughout the continent. We ask you to pray for Bro. Sonny and Mrs. Dianne as they continue deputation through June of next year.
Through over 40 meetings on this furlough, it has never gotten old for me to testify of how God has blessed our family and work, especially in the area of multiplication. To date, 32 churches have been started by those who have been trained and/or ordained by our ministry. The recent acceleration in this desire to multiply ministries has been made possible by organizations such as CORE Missions. Centered On Remote Evangelism works closely with missionaries to determine how they can be assisted in the cause of church planting. Currently CORE is desiring to support 8 national pastors through 3 missionaries in Nigeria, as well as working in 15 other countries. Your potential support of their group directly benefits our work, so I have included a brochure with this prayer letter, and you can visit www.coremissions.org.
Believing God,
Mark Holmes, written 30 January 2017