Jeremy and Sandra Barker Prayer Letter: We Are Here!

We all landed safely in Port Harcourt, Nigeria, around 8:00 p.m. (local time) on January 28. Due to a delay in the first flight, we needed to catch a connecting flight from Frankfurt, Germany, to Abuja, Nigeria, that was set to depart in just 15 minutes, despite needing to ride a bus to get to the correct gate. God was with us, and we made it.

Because of the very short layover, our bags didn’t make it to Nigeria right away, but God gave my wife the wisdom to pack enough items in our carry-on luggage, which lasted us the three extra days it took for our checked-in bags to arrive. I am also happy to say that all of the items we had with us—five carry-ons, one personal item, eight checked bags, two car seats, and one Pack ’n Play—made it.

We have a three-month visa; however, they only stamped us for one month at the airport. We will need to renew it a couple of times in order to stay for our desired duration.

The day after we arrived was the 28th anniversary service for Port Harcourt Independent Baptist Church. They had 817 in attendance, with 170 first-time visitors, 60 saved, and 6 baptized.

The people here are very receptive to the Gospel. It has been my privilege to lead 46 people to Christ through personal soul winning in the last 15 days.

Please pray for the economic situation that is affecting the church, along with the entire country of Nigeria. The government has decided to introduce new currency and make the former notes no longer legal tender; however, there is not enough of the new notes to go around. Although the Maskeys and the church have the necessary funds, they have been unable to make any withdrawals from the bank in over two weeks, and their supply is running low.

Prior to our leaving, we were able to attend the Missions Conference at our home church, First Baptist Church of Hammond, Indiana. To our surprise, the church took up an offering for us on Tuesday night, which was a tremendous blessing. There was also a Walk-Up Offering for the missionaries officially part of the conference, and even though we were not one of those missionaries, many of our fellow church members gave us cash to help out with the expense of this three-month survey trip, which is mostly self-supported.

Lastly, the New Grace Sunday School Class, which Sandra and I were members of for almost four years, took up an offering for us as well.

Please keep these matters in prayer. We are pleased to announce that we are expecting a baby boy mid-June. I plan to contact churches this week to schedule meetings, beginning April 30. Please pray for our daughter Carina; she has contracted malaria and is currently taking medication to treat it.