Newsletter

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

This fall and early winter has been wonderful for the ministry, but a little rough for me. The Lord has been good and faithful through everything.

I went to the doctor for my 6 months diabetic check-up in November.  My A1C level had doubled in numbers. It was quite a shock because I had not cheated on my diet. They gave me a stronger dose of my medication and another pill to go with it. This was too strong and made me feel pretty lousy for about 3 weeks. It was hard, but I was still able to preach.   After my experiments, we finally got the medication right.  My blood sugar is back to normal. Prase the Lord for that! 

Mary is doing very well. She just lost her 45^th pound!  She is looking good and feels a lot better. She wants to lose about another 45 pounds.

The meetings have been going very well. We did a revival meeting in Indiana, traveled to a church in Ohio, and preached in two churches in Wisconsin. We even had the privilege of speaking at a youth rally and in a Christian school.

Our last speaking engagement of the year was a little different. We preached at two churches that had the same pastor. We preached at the first church, then traveled to the second one right after the service.  God blessed both meetings.

We are presently on our Southern preaching tour in Florida and Alabama.  At the first church, we had prison night. One of the members was a Florida correctional officer and set up his prison display next to mine! The Lord really worked in the hearts of the people.

Please pray for us this year as we have many more churches to preach at. We do not take your prayers or our safety for granted.

May the Lord find us all faithful in serving Him till He returns! 

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

This Summer was very busy but very exciting. God has been really blessing our meetings with great decisions. We will tell you some of the highlights.

I had the privilege of preaching in a church camp in eastern Pennsylvania.  We saw 4 Junior campers come to Christ that week. One boy they had been praying for six months.

I also did a Vacation Bible School in Wisconsin. The theme was Military. At the end of the week everyone got a chance to shoot plastic army men with rubber bands. The adults enjoyed that just as much as the kids.

I preached at a church in Michigan where we had many visitors. In the afternoon after church, we had one of the best Bible question and answer sessions I have seen in a long time. 

People also have been watching us on-line.  As a result, we a have shipped out many books and was able to preach in a new church for us!  Many people are getting excited about memorizing verses.  How wonderful it is to use technology for the Lord!

We also traveled to churches in Illinois, Ohio, Minnesota, and Indiana.  Everywhere we go, we have been selling many books and are seeing great decisions.

Please pray for us this fall as we have many more churches to preach at. We do not take your prayers or our safety for granted.

May the Lord find us all faithful in serving Him till He returns! 

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

We are finally home long enough to write an updated prayer letter.  We have been blessed with a very busy schedule this year. What a privilege it is to serve our Saviour and teach His Word!

My model trains have been very busy also this year.  We used them for a train revival in Northern Wisconsin and in several Vacation Bible Schools. Five children were saved at one of the Vacation Bible Schools in Wisconsin!   I also used my O scale trains for the last VBS.  The theme at this church was Western this year.  I built a western town out of my American Plastic Bricks.  It even had a ghost town and a cemetery!  I told out-law stories every night such as Billy the Fibber, Light-Fingers Larry, and Pete-the-Sneak.  Who says you can’t have fun serving the Lord?

This year we have also been to Florida, Alabama twice, Northern Minnesota, New York, Pennsylvania, and Iowa.  We always thank the Lord for our safety in traveling.   

Our health is doing wonderful.  Mary is getting better every week.  My last medical check-up was great.  My A1-C was 5.9!  This means I have not gotten any worse in four years of being a diabetic.  It pays not to cheat.

This year we also had to do some upgrading on our home. The hot water heater, furnace, and air conditioning unit all had to be replaced.  This is to be expected with a 20 year-old house. 

We have many more churches left to preach in this year. We will be traveling to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, (several times) Michigan, and Missouri.

We did, however, have to cancel our New Mexico Missions trip to the Navajos this November.  The price of gas and rental car is just too expensive right now.  We are hoping to reschedule this trip for next year.

May the Lord find us all faithful in serving Him as we can.  Please pray for us as we serve Him, presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!      

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

A happy new year to all of you.  We hope this prayer letter finds you all doing well.  We had a good set of meetings last fall.  God has been blessing our efforts with many good decisions.

Last fall we traveled to Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Illinois, and several churches in Wisconsin.  One of our favorites was the church in Watseka, Illinois. My father once pastored here. It was wonderful to see some of the people from that era. It brought back many memories.  One couple gave us a jar of raw honey, straight from their bee hives. Believe me, it sure is tasty!

In one of the churches in Wisconsin Dave did a mini piano concert by special request.  The people loved it! As most of you know, Dave only plays by ear. He does not read music.  

We were able to squeeze a two-week vacation to northern Wisconsin and upper Michigan.  Even on our vacation Dave was asked to preach at a church we attended. The pastor was not felling well so Dave filled in.  This church also paid for three motel nights of our trip.  What a blessing!

While we were at home on Christmas break, Dave received a call early one Sunday morning from a pastor a few miles down the road.  Once again, we were pulpit supply for the day.  This unexpected love offering helped pay for a new battery for our van.  God is so good!

We are starting out the new year with our southern preaching tour to Florida and Alabama.  Please pray for safety as we travel and that God will use the messages to speak to hearts.

 We always count it a privilege to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!      

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

It is hard to believe we’re looking at fall already.  My dad used to tell me that the older you get, the more time flies. I believe that more and more.

In April we traveled to South Dakota to a church near Mount Rushmore.  This was a new church and they were very excited about learning Scripture. While we were there, we went to Custer State Park.  We had a lot of fun! Donkeys actually come right up to your vehicle to be hand fed!

We then traveled to Missouri to one of our supporting churches. They are very dedicated people and love the Word of God.

After a weekend of preaching in Illinois in May, we traveled to northern Minnesota, near the Canadian border. I had the privilege of preaching their high school graduation.   I also preached a three-day revival meeting.  One of the families made me a beautiful quilt. It has Bible verses and Bible stories all over it.  We stopped in Superior, Wisconsin on the way back and I preached a mid- week service. My nephew, David, was with us on this trip and got see his first 1,000-foot freighter ship close up. That was exciting!

The next weekend we traveled to Michigan, where they had a King James Bible Day.  It was fun teaching the Biblical truth of the Word of God.

June thru August we traveled to Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Ohio, Chicago, and Indiana.  Everywhere we went we saw a great desire to learn the Word of God.

We also did two Vacation Bible Schools this summer. One in Indianapolis, Indiana, and another in Osseo, Wisconsin, with my model train layout.  There were many good decisions, and some were for salvation.

We also have a busy fall ahead of us. Please continue to pray for our health. I am doing fine, and Mary is having good days and bad days.  We’re getting older, but we believe that we have some years left to continue to serve the Lord in this ministry!

Please pray that the Lord will continue to supply our needs as we travel to churches, and for our safety on the roads.   What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!      

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

Happy Spring time to all of you.  We finally had a little time to give you an update of how things are going.  God has been so good and faithful to us.  Our goal this year is to see the Word of God convict hearts more than ever.

Our Southern preaching tour went very well.  I preached in eight churches all together.  Our tour began in the panhandle of Florida. I even had the opportunity to be on the radio. What a blessing to share with thousands of people helpful ways to learn scripture!

We then traveled to southern Alabama to three more churches. One of those churches had us preach a four-day revival meeting. God really moved among the people and we had visitors for every service.

Our travels then took us to mid-Florida to the city of Ellenton, near St. Petersburg.  It was nice and warm there!  Once again, the Word of God convicted the hearts of the people.

Afterwards we traveled back to the panhandle and finished our tour in Crestview with a four-day mission revival conference. Everywhere we went, we saw a conviction and desire to learn the Bible and allow it to order the steps of life.

Three days after returning from our southern tour we traveled to Indianapolis, Indiana for a four-day train revival meeting.  Afterwards we traveled to Wisconsin twice, and to a church not far from home.  As you can see, we have been very busy!

My blood test came back normal, thank the Lord.  The doctor said I need to donate some blood every two months.  The Red Cross will be happy about that.  Mary is doing well and wants to lose 50 more pounds this year. Pray with us that she meets her goal, and that God keeps us both healthy.

We are looking forward to the rest of this Spring with anticipation of what God will do. We will be traveling to South Dakota, Tennessee, Michigan, and Pennsylvania in the next few months.

Please pray that the Lord will continue to supply our needs as we travel to churches, and for our safety.   What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!    

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

We hope this prayer letter finds you all doing well.  We are back on the road again traveling to churches. The Covid 19 restrictions vary, depending on where we are.  We have been to Chicago, Wisconsin, Minnesota, and Indiana.  The meetings have gone well with many decisions, including salvation.

We were able to get two VBS programs in this summer.  One of them was at our home church.  Everyone loved the model trains I set up for the stories.  

God was very good to us when we had to stay at home.  Many of the churches that had to cancel still sent us a love offering.  That certainly helped with finances.  We were able to complete our new book, The Bible Way of Soul Winning.  It has been a big hit in all the churches we have traveled to.

Mary is still doing very well on her diet.  She has now lost 55 pounds!  She feels so much better and is able to do a lot more.  Her surgery that was scheduled for September 3^rd was postponed.  A raccoon got into the main transformer at the hospital and the power was off about 14 hours.  The hospital was running on emergency power and had to cancel all operations.   Mary’s surgery has been rescheduled for October 1^st. 

I also had surgery done on my left ear.  They found a small cancer spot and removed the cancer cells before it started spreading. When the doctor put the bandage on my ear he said I looked like Dr. Spock from Star Trek!  My ear is healing nicely.

The Lord also has answered a big prayer as we were able to purchase another minivan.  We got it used and with low miles.  The other one was beginning to give us problems and getting expensive to repair.  We hope this van will last another 6 years like the other one did.

Please pray that the Lord will continue to supply our needs as we travel to churches.   What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!    

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

I Peter 3:15

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

Greetings to everyone during these unusual times. We have had several meetings canceled, but we are enjoying our extended time at home.  We are doing fine in spite of the Corona Virus emergency. We are both well and are getting a lot of things done at home.  Mary has a list of all those things I said I didn’t have time for!  A lot of you are probably experiencing the same thing.

Last Sunday I was still able to keep our speaking engagement. I preached my messages over the phone from my living room easy chair.  Mary keeps on teasing me about becoming a “rocking chair preacher.”  Just before the stay-at-home went into full effect, a church in Michigan was able to streamline the messages I preached. That worked out well.

Our winter southern tour went very well. I traveled to Florida, Alabama, and Texas, 5,400 miles altogether. Praise the Lord for His safety. Mary stayed home for most of it because of the strict diet she is on. She joined me for two weeks in Alabama.

Speaking of Mary’s diet, she is doing very well.  She has lost 22 pounds working on number 23! She has to lose 40 pounds altogether before she can have her operation. She is now more than half-way there. Please keep praying for her. This has not been an easy task.

We will also be introducing a new book!  It will be titled “The Bible Way of Soul Winning.”  We have had plenty of time to work on it in the last few weeks.

Please pray that the stay-at-home order will be lifted soon so we can continue to travel to churches.   What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!    

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

I Peter 3:15

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

It is hard to believe that this year is almost over!  My dad told me when I was a boy, “The older you get, the more time flies.”  He was right.

We had a wonderful fall.  Our meetings took us to Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, Missouri, Wisconsin, Texas, and New Mexico.

The preaching tour to Texas consisted of three churches.  Mary spoke to the ladies at one the churches. She was a big hit.  The night I preached at the church, Mary was so swamped with ladies around her that the pastor and I had to take down the back table, which is normally her job.  I’m not complaining, it was a wonderful sight!

Another church meeting in Texas was a mission’s conference. It went very well.  The pastor bought us a heavy-duty ice chest.  It really works well and is a big blessing to us with all the traveling we do.

Our missions trip to New Mexico was a blessing.  I preached in seven churches, two jail ministries, and two senior center meetings.  One of the churches was an evening service with three speakers.  A lot of the Navajo people traveled over 70 miles to get there. They stayed for all three preachers and a fellowship afterwards.  Now that’s dedication.  

Please continue to pray for Mary’s health. She might have to miss part of our southern winter tour because of it.

We are home for the holidays enjoying family and our home church.  We hope you all have a very merry and blessed Christmas, and a Happy new year!

We continually thank the Lord for His safety and protection as we travel so many miles each year.  What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!    

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

I Peter 3:15

Dear Praying Friends in Christ,

We have had a wonderful summer this year with the trains and Vacation Bible School.  We traveled many miles and saw some great decisions.  One of our Vacation Bible Schools was all the way down in Florida.  I took a young man with me, named Jared, from a church in Indianapolis.  He was a big help running the trains.  This gave me liberty to mingle with the children and answer their questions.  A lot of the church adult members also came out every night to help and see the trains.

We also had Vacation Bible Schools in Illinois and Wisconsin.  Some of these churches went all out with their decorations.  A church in Chicago even had a train skit which kept you in suspense so you had to come back every night! The theme was “Under the sea” at a church in Wisconsin.  Mary was able to find some gummy sharks to pass out to children who answered questions.

God has given us a special assignment this year.  We are preaching in a lot of small churches.  These churches average any where from 5 to 15 in attendance. We want to be a blessing and an encouragement to these small ministries.  Please pray that these churches will grow.  Some of the pastors are a little discouraged. I have said many times from the pulpit, “We go anywhere.” Please pray that God will give me wisdom to work with these special people.

We have meetings yet this year in Michigan, Missouri, Texas, Wisconsin, Iowa, and New Mexico.  The trip to New Mexico is our missions trip this year.  We will be working with the Navajo people.  Last time we were there, they begged us to come back.  A lot of them are hungry to learn God’s Word.

Please continue to pray for Mary’s health. She has improved some but has a long way to go. She will be getting some more tests done soon.

We continually thank the Lord for His safety and protection as we travel so many miles each year.  What a privilege it is to serve Him presenting our ministry and getting people back into their Bibles!    

In His Service,
David and Mary Barker   

I Peter 3:15