Summer missions to Nigeria...

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We, Shedrick Barrow III, Elizabeth, and Shedrick IV were in Nigeria from July 3 through July 19, 2007.  We spent our time working in the Diocese of Okigwe-North which is in Imo State.  While there, we formed many friendships that we expect to last a very long time.

It is hard to put a finger on the thing that effected us most because there was something new every day.

One thing is the welcome that we received every where we went.  It started with Bishop Alfred Nwaizuzu and the ministers in his diocese meeting us on the tarmac in Owerri.  Imagine getting to the door of the plane and seeing a large group there just for you.  Any time that we went to a church for the first time, we were greeted by a band or a parade.  We were given so much Kola nut! 

It didn't stop with the welcome.  The people in Nigeria did every thing that they could to make sure that we were comfortable.  They didn't have much, but they shared it all with us.  Ven. Christopher of Christ Church even ran his generator in the middle of the day just so that we could have fan!  Everywhere that we looked, we saw great need, but we were afforded the best...even when we said that it wasn't necessary.

The 12 missionaries were broken into 3 groups to work.  We, Ivy Onyejekwe, and Nicole Dunmeyer, were assigned to the seminary at Christ Church in Ezihe.  A seminary is a boarding school for middle school and high school age boys.  This seminary is science and computer seminary whose students do quite well on their exit exams.  They had many needs, but highly educated teachers was not among the list!  Their largest need was a well.  Their only sources of water were rain water and stream water, and the stream was no where near!  This was okay during rainy season, but it was a serious concern any other time.  We are very grateful to our Women of the Church for donating $10,000 for the drilling of a well.   Their other need include funds to finish the third floor of their dorm to help with their overcrowding, and more working computers.  For a computer school with 280 student, they really need more than 3 working computers.  We feel that we are now forever connected to this school and hope to do more for them in the near future!

Being forever changed by this trip, the Barrow family has founded a nonprofit organization.  www.brighterdaycharities.org

Though the trip is over, the Barrow family still owes the Board of Foreign Missions for the tickets, so they need your financial support.  Here is the letter that they sent out for support.