El Roi Mission Trip, September 2011, Heart for Africa

El Roi Mission Trip, September 2011, Heart for Africa

Heart for Africa Missions Trip

Heart for Africa Missions Trip

CLick on the Heart for Africa Mission trip above to see an incredible video that our friend Laurie put together of our amazing experience in Swaziland. Paeton and I were so blessed to be a part of this team last month to serve the people, getting the El Roi baby home painted, and sharing the love and hope of Jesus Christ.

In Search of a Christian

www.thesimpleway.org/shane/

The Irresistible Revolution, Shane Claiborne

Recommend this book, would love to know who has already read it and your thoughts. Just took these notes from Chapter 3, In Search of a Christian.

One of the most sacred places I went was to a leper colony outside of Calcutta. Leprosy is a disease of numbness. The contagion numbs the skin, and the nerves can no longer feel as the body wastes away. In fact the was it was detected was by rubbing a feather across the skin and if the person could not feel it, they were diagnosed with the disease.

To treat it, we would dig out or dissect the scarred tissue until the person could feel again. It's a disease of the outcasts, the untouchables. One leper explained that often times lepers don't even know the words, thank you, because they have never needed to say them. They had rarely experienced occassions when they used language of gratitude.

John 14:12 "Very truly I tell you, all who have faith in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father."

'The greater things', not just the miracles-- but to see that the miracles were an expression not so much of Jesus' mighty power as of His love. What had lasting significance were not the miracles, but the love Jesus showed. Yes, He raised Lazarus from the dead, but he died a few years later. Jesus healed the sick but eventually they became sick again. He fed thousands but they became hungry again. What we remember is His love. It wasn't that Jesus healed a leper but that He touched a leper, because no one touched lepers. The incredible thing about this kind of love is that it now lives inside of us!

Jesus assures us that the Spirit now lives in us. Jesus says He is going to the Father but will also remain inside of us and we in Him. We are the body of Christ, the hands and feet of Jesus to the world. Christ is living inside of you and me walking the earth. We shall do even greater things because the love that lived in the radical Christ now lives within millions of ordinary radicals all over the planet.

As I left Calcutta, it occured to me that I was returning to a land of lepers, a land of people who had forgotten how to feel, to laugh, to cry and a land haunted by numbness. Could we learn to feel again?

Orphanology

Christianity Today just reviewed this book, Orphanology, by Tony Merida and Rick Morton, it received 5 stars. I bought it and have started reading it. You will want to get your hands on a copy. Here is what they said, ""adoption and orphan care is not just another fad movement but a robust response to God's first love of us. Christians approach orphan care not as mere humanitarians but as people adopted by God through the work of Jesus Christ."

In his introduction, Tony writes," Adoption is a real-life illustration of the gospel.It shows us how God transfoms spiritual orphans into family members. He changes our names, identities, and families by His grace. Orphan care is acts of mercy that flow from the heart of one who has been changed by the gospel."

July 4, 2011 Home 2 years

Paeton and Phelix cooling off after a terrific 2 year anniversary of being home. So hard to believe 2 years ago we stepped off a plane we took from Africa with 6 month old twin sons. God is so good, we are so very blessed. . . so blessed
Phisher and his Daddy whoop! whoop! after Daddy tossed him up high in the air!!

A couple of proud Ethiopian/ Americans! Too cute outfits created by Heather at Momma Mia Chic! Thank you Ms Heather my lil' firecrackers looked so cute on our big day!
It just doesn't get any better than this . . . sweet Phelix smile. . . it just melts me, that smile and those gorgeous brown eyes at the same time. . . yep I'm mush
This kid is more fun than you have ever thought of. Phisher is constantly cracking us up, he is so charming, so smart he is the biggest party in a 30lb package. I love you boys!

Been a bad blogger hope to post more soon about our fun summer. The big P's are great, we are all doing great, we are blessed what more can I say HIS plans are so great!

Twins 2 year photos

Sweet, Sweet, Phelix. This little guy steals every heart he comes into contact with. Simply a beautiful little boy.

Phisher really enjoyed his photo shoot and was hamming it up for Carrie. The shots she got of him and his hat are a crack up! What a C U T I E ! !

The twins turned 2 January 25. February and March were not well months for us. In April I finally was able to get their photos taken after several rescheduled appointments and one attempt that was just plain miserable. . . for me. . . the boys. . . and especially our wonderful photographer! These are proofs and have her copy right letters through them but had to give you a peek into this handsome duo.

8th grade GRADUATION!?

Here is my first born, my son, Parker. The school he will be graduating from in a couple of weeks he started as a second grader. This is what my sweet little guy looked like as he grew and learned academically and spiritually.

2nd grade

3 rd grade

4 th grade

5 th grade

6 th grade

7 th grade

8 th grade

It really does not seem possible that he will be attending High School this fall. But as I think back on all of these photos and the achievements and trials he went through each year I know that he is more than prepared. I am so thankful for the Christian education he has had. He has been blessed with Missionaries as teachers who poured into him. Now it is his turn to go out and be HIS in the world. High school will be a very different environment for our son. He will be a light in the darkness, clothed in the ARMOR OF GOD, Ephesians 6: 10-20.

For His glory alone!

The Armor of God

¹⁰ Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. ¹¹ Put on the full armor of God, so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. ¹²For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms. ¹³ Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand. ¹⁴ Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, ¹⁵ and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. ¹⁶ In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. ¹⁷ Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God.

¹⁸ And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.¹⁹ Pray also for me, that whenever I speak, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, ²⁰ for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should.

CAUGHT! on hidden camera

We have been wondering this last month how ELMO, with whom Phisher sleeps with ends up in Phelix's bed in the morning. Then a couple of weeks ago Phisher began opening his bedroom door and coming back downstairs after he had been tucked into his crib safely for the night. Parker couldn't stand the suspence any longer so he decided to do a little investigating on his own. Phisher has no idea he is being watched and caught on hidden camera until the last few seconds of the video when he looks up at Parker and grins through his foo-foo. (aka pacifier)

out of the mouths of babes. . . .

Phelix and Phisher have been attending pre-school three mornings a week for a couple of months now. They are really enjoying their class and have been blessed with terrific teachers who have gone above the call to reach and teach the boys.

This morning one of their teachers told me what happened on her way to school this morning. . . she had her two children in her car and drove through Mc Donald's and bought them a breakfast burrito to eat. Her 4 year old daughter took one bite of her burrito and wouldn't eat any more. Mom said to her daughter, "please eat your breakfast, you know how sad it makes me when you waste food. There are children all over the world, children in Ethiopia who have no food at all and are starving, they would love to eat this burrito." To which her precious 4 year old daughter replied, "Mom, you have two children in your class from Ethiopia, why don't you just give it to them."

Missionary update from Ecuador

Time in Quito

TUESDAY, MARCH 22, 2011

After getting back at 1:00am to Quito on Saturday night, we spent Sunday and Monday recovering from our time in the jungle and got to play a little in Quito.

We spent Sunday morning at church with Tim Anderson (our missionary host) and his Teen Challenge ministry. Tim works with young men who have been involved with drug and alcohol addition throughout Quito. It was a really neat experience for our team to worship with these guys and see the power of redemption only found through Jesus. Two of our guy got to share their testimony as well.

After church, the guys played a little basketball....Ecuadorian style. Our team found out really quickly that there are no rules or fouls on this court.

After leaving Teen Challenge, we grabbed a quick burger and headed to the Indian Market for the guys to buy some souvenirs from the trip. Later that evening, we took two gondolas up to the top of the volcano Pichinchia. We couldn't see the lights of Quito because of the fog, but it was still a great memory for the guys.

On Monday, we headed to the equator. We just happened to be there on March 21st which is the spring equinox. So, at noon the sun was directly above us with no shadows. The guys got to watch water spin both ways, balance eggs, walk the equator, and enjoy other fun science tricks.

For lunch, we were able to finally enjoy the Ecuadorian delicacy of Qui...or guinea pig as we know it. The guys were a little skeptical at first, but soon devoured the entire thing.

We finished our final day with a great dinner at Tim Anderson's house with his family and other missionaries from Quito. We also spent some time talking about what the Lord did in our lives this week. It was really neat to see the impact that this trip had on each team member. The Lord's hand of blessing and protection was so evident the entire week!

The Jungle

The Jungle

MONDAY, MARCH 21, 2011

After four incredible days in the jungle of Ecuador, we have finally made it back to Quito. I'm sorry there have not been more updates as the internet has been very hard to find where we are staying.

There are way too many stories from our time in the jungle, but here are a few highlights...

On Wednesday, we left Quito early for our 5 bus ride to Shell where we hoped on several bush planes that took us on a short 25 minute plane ride to the jungle village of Kutsuka. It was incredible to see the vast beauty of the jungle and hundreds of rivers from above.

Once we got unpacked and situated in our very basic guest hut, the guys found themselves playing soccer and throwing wild grapefruit with the village kids.

Of course, after a long day of travel and a few sweaty games of jungle soccer, it was time to clean up in the river. Who thought it would be so fun to bathe in the river!

On our first full day in the jungle, we made a 3 hour hike through the jungle to the village of Timias with our packs full of medicine and new boots for the kids there. To say that it was an average hike would be an understatement. We found out very quickly how challenging it is to travel through the jungle. With our packs on, we hiked our way through pouring rain, lots of mud, across several rivers and streams, up several steep climbs, and even over a cable car. Not to mention our 3 hour hike back.

It was a long hard day for all of us, but our time in Timias was very special. We had to chance to wash all of the village kids feet and put new boots on them. It will be a moment that we or they will never forget.

Our second day in the jungle was spent doing some service projects. Half of the group went to another village nearby to help build a platform and repair their church while the other half of the group stayed in Kutsuka to help with a landscaping project. It was a hot day full of hard work, but really fun to see our projects come to completion.

With this being our last full day in the jungle, we got some really fun playtime with the kids before we left.

The next morning (Saturday), we were up and packed at 5:00pm to start our 8 hour hike out of the jungle. Words will not be able to describe what a feat this was as we walked through tons of muddy swamps, flowing rivers, up cliffs, and over bridges to reach the nearest bus. All of this in rubber boots. Once we reached our bus...we were exhausted, dirty, and ready for a good meal. Fortunately, several of the native Shwar indians in the village carried our packs out of the jungle for us. It was such a blessing. I'm not sure what we would have done without them.

We are back in Quito now and recovering from our time in the jungle. There are so many memories and friendships that we will never forget. There was not alot of comfort in the jungle, but it was so fun to see the Gospel going forth even in the most remote parts of the world. We will never be the same after experiencing life with the Kutsuka people!

first update from Ecuador

Hello all, we just received this email from Collin's wife. She was able to speak to him briefly last night. It is not much of an update but it is so good to hear all safely made it out of the jungle and back to the capital Quito. As soon as we get another update I will post it here. Thank you for continuing to pray for this team of missionaries until all arive safely home tomorrow. Parker has truly been missed this week. Jamie and I can not wait to wrap our arms around him tomorrow evening at the St Louis, MO airport. For HIS glory!

Hello from Branson,

I just wanted to send you guys a quick update with a little bit of information about our guys in Ecuador. I haven’t gotten to many details, but I do know that they made it out of the jungle safely. They actually spent all day Saturday hiking to get back to Quito. They started hiking at 5:30 am and finished up around 8:00pm at night. Then they had a bus ride back into the city. They got back to Quito around 1:00am and were quite exhausted, but from the small amount I have heard, they all did great on the hike. I only talked to Collin for a moment last night and then we got cut off. I think they must be having problems with the internet because I know Collin was working hard last night to get a post on www.Barn13.com but there isn’t anything new posted as of today.

Since there was not a new blog post, I thought you would appreciate knowing your boys were out of the jungle. Please feel free to call me if you have any questions, or if I can do anything for you!

I can’t wait to hear about all the adventures this trip has held!

Grace and Peace,

Rachel Sparks
(Collin’s Wife)

8 hour hike out of jungle

We haven't heard from Parker or his team since the bush plane took them into the jungle. Today they should have conquered the 8 hour hike out of the jungle. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer over this team. We are very proud of Parker's desire to serve others and share the gospel all over the world. Prayerfully we will post an update and pictures tomorrow.

Little Dudes

It's no fun being in trouble with the Auntie! These are for you Aunt Wendy, sorry it's been a while since I have posted pictures of the fellas.

It was a beautiful day here today, sunny and 70 degrees. Perfect day to play at the park. Phelix went down the slide.
Swinging is still a Phelix favorite! He has such a terrific smile but wouldn't show it for my camera today :>(
Phisher loves to be outside so today was his kind of day. He is so strong and can climb and play like a big kid!
First time climbing up this kind of climber. Did it like a professional!

Happy St Patrick's Day 2011, happy birthday to cousins Brook and Cassie!

Missionaries in Ecuador

Parker is out of the country! He is in Ecuador again this spring to serve and share the gospel. Here is the update we received last night. Please partner with us in prayer for this team. Prayer for safety, health, strength, that they would have HIS eyes, be HIS hands and feet while sharing the love of Christ.

TUESDAY, MARCH 15, 2011

One of my highlights each year is taking old K-Kountry kids on a mission trip somewhere in the world to help expand their vision for the Kingdom and love for God´s people. It is always so fun to watch the Lord impact and change these guys lives each year.

This week, there are 10 of us in Ecuador, South America serving the native Shuar Indians. After several plane trips, and a night in Miami...we have arrived in Quito and settled into our hotel for the night. At dinner tonight, we were able to connect with K-1 staff and Kanakuk legend, Caleb Freeman, who is studying here in Ecuador for the semester.

lunch at the Miami airport

waiting on the shuttle in Miami

The fellas

Tomorrow, we are up early and on the bus for a 5 hour drive over the Andes Mountains as we head into the jungle. We will get dropped of in Shell and then Missionary Avaiation Fellowship will fly us into the jungle village of Kutshka on a bush plane! I think all the guys are really excited for the adventure ahead.

In the jungle, we will be delievering medical supplies to these remote villages and helping build a platform for a school playground. I´m sure we will fit in a soccer game or two while we are there.

Obviously, there are no computers or internet in the jungle...so this will be our last update until Sunday. We are scheduled to hike out of the jungle (8 hour hike...yikes) and then another long bus ride back to Quito...so it will be a long day. We are scheduled to visit the Indian Market, the equator, and the volcano on Sunday and Monday. We will post video and updates once we get back to Quito.

Please pray for our time in the jungle as we litterally take the gospel to the ends of the earth.

"Children Of God" - Official Music Video

Love this group, love this song. Profound words in these lyrics. So blessed to be His child. So very thankful for the blessing of adoption. So very thankful to have been adopted by Him.

Fostering a new perspective

Ever thought of all the children in your community that need foster families? In our neck of the woods we have no available foster homes for children in need. This means a child in our community may have to travel several hours north, west, or where ever there is a county in Missouri that does have an opening. Can you imagine being that child. Not only are they abruptly pulled from their house but then you are moved away from your friends, school, family, and everything you know and are placed into a completely foreign place.

Foster children really have a bad wrap. They're the one's who suffer most from the poor decisions and lack of responsibility of their parents. Let's face it, there is not a huge back log of paperwork at the children's division because they have an abundance of families applying to be foster parents. I know this is something that most of us feel is way out of our comfort zone. We are struggling just to keep our own families on track. There are MANY reasons or excuses we can come up with to not even entertain the idea of what it must be like for these children and for sure we don't even want to consider putting our selves/our family out there to provide a home for these kids. It's scary, way scary right? Guess what? Fear is not from God. There is one good reason to open ourselves and our families to helping others in need, God commands us to. And when we serve Him in this way, we meet HIM. He is right by our side and the Holy Spirit fills us up. We become more like Him when we serve the least of these. Read this first hand account from a mom/family who meets with Jesus daily through providing their home, their family to other children without.

What do you think?