I went with Bro. Maskey and a group from the church at Port Harcourt for village soul winning and visitation for the church plant in Igwuruta in advance of their anniversary service. Even in the rainy South, Nigerians don’t like being outside in the rain over fear of getting sick, so having 19 people show up for this on a Friday morning in spite of the weather was heartwarming.
Pastor Ohwojero is a very patient soul winner, taking a turn to be the silent partner while I witnessed to an adult man for over a half-hour before he accepted Christ.
God helped our family make it to Abuja and back. While in line to purchase the tickets, there were at least two potential customers in front of us who had their debit cards declined despite showing the clerk on their phones that they had the necessary funds in their bank, and then they were still charged for the transaction. Unfortunately, this has been a common occurrence over the past three months.
In Abuja, I was able to spend time with veteran missionary, Mark Holmes, as well as Daniel Lang, Graham Young, and over 40 national pastors. Drawing from their wealth of knowledge and experience was a tremendous help. I also had the opportunity to:
• Attend an inaugural Prison Ministry seminar.
• Preach in chapel at Providence Baptist College.
• Teach an adult Sunday school class.
• Preach with a Hausa interpreter at the City of Refuge, a shelter for Christians escaping persecution in Muslim-occupied areas of Nigeria.
• Tour the facilities of an orphanage and meet with the children and staff.
• Go soul winning with a group of nationals.
• Visit two different churches.
• Visit various church members in their homes.
• Sit in during the discipleship of a newly converted Christian who wanted to get baptized.
Next week, I will be teaching Sunday school and preaching the morning anniversary service for Pastor Abili of Eagle Island Independent Baptist Church.
Our return flight leaves from Port Harcourt on April 27, which is when we will begin full-time deputation. With the four children, we will need a minivan, so please pray that God will lead us to a reliable one at a good price. Many other decisions need to be made as well, so please pray for God’s leading and wisdom.
Praise
- Bank restrictions on withdrawals are loosening.
- We were able to travel to Abuja and back.
Prayer Requests
- Return trip to raise support
- Minivan for deputation
- God’s leading and wisdom for various decisions
Thank you for your continued prayers and support,
Jeremy, Sandra, Carina, Barrett, Henry, and Baby Barker
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- With Missionary Mark Holmes and a group of his church members
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- Teaching Sunday school