This has been a year of transition for FBM. God has brought new people to our team and has led others away. We have worked to better organize our team and, in doing so, have filled some key positions. Since January, we have filled several key positions here at FBM.

First, Rob Ernst has begun serving as our Director of Member Care. If you know anything at all about FBM, I hope you know how highly we value Member Care. It is essential to everything we do. With his Pastor’s heart and his training in Biblical Counseling, Rob is uniquely equipped to care for our missionaries and their families.

Here is an example of Rob in action. Many of our missionaries ask us to pray for their adult children. Often these adult children have significant spiritual needs. One of our missionaries recently talked with Rob about their adult son. They asked if Rob would be willing to speak with their adult son. Rob said, “Yes.” Since then, he has been talking with this adult son on a regular basis and has been helping him thinking Biblically about the situations in his life. This is Member Care! Every day, Rob works diligently to care for ALL of our FBM family.

Our second key position was filled earlier this year when Nate Osborne agreed to serve as our Director of Recruiting. Nate has been working fervently to identify, recruit, and onboard career missionaries. He has been meeting with pastors, churches, and their prospects for missionary service. God has gifted Nate with the unique ability to connect with people of all ages. He inspires people and encourages them pursue God’s
will for them.

Here’s an example of Nate in action. Just a few weeks ago, he was invited to speak at a Youth Mission Conference in Washington State. Nate knew very few of the people at the event. He was given two main speaking times. God used Nate to convict and inspire those young people. One young man received Christ. Several young people confessed sin and sought restoration with God and others. Several others publicly declared that God was leading them to the mission field!

I praise God for how He is using Nate to stir people’s hearts for missions. He is using him to ignite a passion for Advancing the Gospel around the world.

Finally, many of you prayed with us for an Executive Operations Coordinator (EOC). God has answered our prayers. Edward Nurquez has agreed to serve in this role and has begun coordinating all of the information that flows in and out of FBM. If you contact us with a question, Edward is most likely the one who will respond to you. He is on the front lines of FBM handling the phone calls, emails, and letters that come our way. I praise God for Edward and his willingness to serve in this unique role.

In addition to these staff changes, God also allowed FBM to do something special earlier this year. In February, we hosted our first ever FBM Missionary Retreat. Roughly 35 of our FBM Family joined us here in Central Florida. We had a wonderful time getting to know each other and learning more about what God is doing through FBM. Our prayer is to make this an annual event and have already confirmed next year’s retreat for February 5-8, 2026.

God is doing unique things at FBM. In many ways, it feels like He is preparing us for something. I do not know what the future holds. But, I know who created the future. To God be the glory for what He is doing
through FBM!

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Richard Marshall – A Faithful Servant of God

On March 24, 2025, God called FBM Missionary Rich Marshall home to heaven. Rich and Anna were in Mali wrapping up 40 years of faithful service to Christ. Just ten days later, on April 3, they had plans to leave Mali and retire to the US. Instead, God said, “Well done, thou good and faithful servant” to Rich and brought his time on earth to a close. Today, we would like to share some of Rich Marshall’s story with you and also bring you an update on what God continues to do in Mali.

Rich was born in 1955 in Timbuktu, Mali to missionaries Frank and Eleanor Marshall. His birth was not a worldwide headline. However, the impact of his birth is impossible to put into words.

In 1977, Rich married Anna and they began their life together. They spent several years in the US attending college and getting additional training. In 1982, they started raising support to return to Mali as missionaries. After a few years of support raising and language school, Rich and Anna returned to Timbuktu in 1985.

Upon returning to Timbuktu, Rich’s mindset was, “We’re here to share the Gospel!” What a simple, and yet profound, statement! Rich was not there primarily to look for adventure or to add a stamp to his passport. He went back to the desert because souls were lost and needed a Savior.

In Timbuktu, Rich & Anna began focusing their attention on the Tuareg people group. They helped start “The Living Water Project” (LWP) as a way to reach the Tuaregs. LWP was a 50-acre project where a wide variety of crops were grown to meet the needs of the people. Cold rooms were built under the desert sand to store crops. For 27 years, Rich & Anna worked diligently on the LWP. The story of LWP became known all throughout Mali.

While working on the LWP, Rich also started drilling wells and eventually drilled nine wells on the LWP alone! In 2012, due to political unrest and rebel groups moving into town, Rich & Anna were forced to leave Timbuktu and the LWP. Those were days of uncertainty and disappointment. Yet, as God closed the doors in Northern Mali, he opened other doors in Southern
Mali.

In 2014, Rich & Anna settled in Bamako, the Capital of Mali, and began looking for ministry there. Very quickly, God opened doors for ministry. They began partnering with the main evangelical Baptist church in Bamako to assist their church planting efforts.

The church would identify an outlying village, secure land for a church plant, and then install a pastor there. Rich would take his well drilling crew to drill a well on the church property. Once the well was finished, Rich & Anna would show the “Jesus” film. Then, the national pastor would take over the church planting efforts from there. Over the years, God used these efforts to spread the “Living water” of Jesus Christ throughout many villages in Southern Mali.

In 2019, God provided a roughly 25 acre piece of property in Mounzou, Mali. We often referred to it as the Mounzou Camp. Many of you have partnered with us on this project. Wells have been drilled. A guard house and dormitory has been built. Rich and Anna worked tirelessly on this project. At the time of his homegoing, Rich was welding a large structure for a covered basketball court that will ultimately double as the main meeting space. Because of his unique connection to this project, special permission was granted for Rich to be buried on the camp grounds. At his burial, a special announcement was made renaming the camp to Centre Richard Allen Marshall (CRAM).

Since Rich’s passing, many have wondered if the work on the camp would continue. The answer is a resounding “yes!” The churches have formed a committee to oversee the work on the camp and have prioritized building a security wall around the perimeter of the property. A total of 1,200 meters (3,937 ft.) of wall needs to be built. This concrete block wall will be over 7 feet high.

In just the past few months, the team in Mali has built roughly 200 meters of wall. Lord willing, we hope to complete this wall by the end of 2025. Our initial estimates were that $40,000 was needed to build this wall. So far, God has provided $10,280 which has been sent out to the committee.

We still need $29,720 in order to complete the wall. Will you help us finish the wall around the perimeter of the CRAM Camp project in Mali?

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Annual Fund Progress

Our Annual Fund is one of the most foundational ways you can partner with FBM. It provides for both the expected and the unexpected expenses that we incur throughout the year. Your partnership enables us to fulfill our mission to “Glorify God by obeying the Great Commission and Caring for those we serve.” So far, in 2025, God has provided nearly $60,000 towards our goal of $100,800. These funds have come from monthly partners, annual partners, and one-time gifts to our Annual Fund.

We currently have 11 ministry partners who support our Annual Fund on a monthly basis. In 2025, we are asking God to increase that number to 25 monthly ministry partners. We are looking for 14 new monthly partners. I invite you to join this team today. Partner with us as we Obey the Great Commission and Care for those we serve!

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Mission Trips

Bill Donnan, our Mission Trips Coordinator, has had a busy year! In January, he led a team of 9 members to Nicaragua for a week of light construction and evangelistic meetings. In February, he went with two others on a survey trip to Mali to visit the CRAM Camp project. Finally, in April, he led a team of 22 to Mexico for a week of work at the CETyM Seminary.

Our next FBM Mission trip is scheduled for October 4-11. An electrical team is headed back to Mexico to tackle some projects at the Seminary. However, there is still room for more to join this team. If you have never been on an international mission trip, our trips to Mexico are a perfect entry-level mission trip. They are affordable and easy logistically. At the same time, they provide a wonderful cross-cultural experience and allow you to get your hands dirty doing work that has eternal value.

If you are a seasoned Mission Trip veteran, I encourage you to consider joining this trip. God could use you and your skills in unique ways as a part of this team!

Other trips are being planned for early 2026. Trips to Mali, Mexico, and Nicaragua are being discussed. Visit our Mission Trips website TODAY if you have any interest in going on a mission trip.

Finally, while team members cover their own costs for these mission trips, funds are needed to purchase the supplies and materials they need to do the work. For example, we purchased roughly 120 gallons of paint for the team that went to Mexico in April!

Consider a gift to help us purchase materials for our upcoming trips.