My December Newsletter

This is what I sent out for my latest newsletter. I hope you enjoy!

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my friends and family! I miss you all very much and think of you often during this holiday season. I hope you are blessed as we approach the time we celebrate the birth of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ!
There have been many things going on in my life since I last wrote to you and there are many new things coming up in my near future. Changes are around the corner and personal boundaries and limitations will be broken as God grows and stretches me. But none of it could be possible without the love, prayers, and generosity of all of you! Thank you so much for investing in my life and my first steps in ministry. Thank you for your partnership in ministering to others, and also for your ministry to me.

Apologies…
I want to take a few sentences to address a few things that you might be wondering about: First, I want to apologize for the newsletter drought I’ve left you in. I realize my last newsletter was sent out in late April, and I am extremely humbled by the fact that you have still continued to pray and give to me and the ministries I am involved in. Where most people in my situation would see their support dwindle with the lack of communications I have given you, you have blessed me with increased support! It is an extreme blessing but is also extremely humbling. Thank you so much for sticking with me!
Second, I’ll update you on a couple of logistical things. I am no longer pursuing a Visa. We decided that it wasn’t completely necessary this far into my term. Things didn’t get underway soon enough and turned into more of a distraction. I am still here legally, but as always, prayer for favor with the government is always appreciated.
Third, I am also no longer searching for a vehicle. We spent several months looking and couldn’t find anything in the price range we needed, and our time frame for maximum effectiveness was missed. I have become efficient at getting where I need to be on time by foot, bus, or taxi when I need to, which is quite often!

Ministry Updates
Over the summer we moved our feeding program to the new church building on our campus. We now have a full kitchen space with running water and gas stoves, and a new dining area where we can feed more than 100 kids at a time. At one point we fed 120, but we are regularly serving around 70 kids a day, 5 days a week. Plans are also under way to open a second kitchen closer to the center of Shutka that will only be serving soup for the next 3 months. The second location will expand sphere of influence that we have in Shutka and will help us reach one of the poorest areas of town. It will be tied into the church so the kids will be able to plug into our other children’s programs at our main campus.
Our church body has seen significant growth. Only a few weeks ago we saw 30 people coming to the evening service. We’ve had some of our teenagers come, as well as several new families. Pastor Toni has also begun a Bible study from the Global University courses, and Colleen Thomas has had a lot of success with a women’s prayer meeting on Wednesday nights where they’ve also been able to teach a bit of English and Macedonian and Colleen has picked up some Roma. God truly is growing this church!

Coming Up…
There are a lot of changes coming up for me. First, I recently found out I will have to move before I finish my term. My landlady sat down with me and told me that she wants to sale the apartment and that I’ll have, at the very least, 2 months before I’ll have to move out. The up-side is that I’ll have a chance to move to a better apartment for the last part of my time here. I have learned a lot from living here and I now know what to look for, so it’s not at all a bad thing. Second, I am excited to be planning a trip back to the U.S. for my brother’s wedding in March! I’ll only be there for about 5 days, but I’m really looking forward to seeing all my family and maybe a few friends too!
The spring will be full of hosting short-term ministry teams from the states, holding outreaches in Shutka and other cities around Macedonia, and will be capped off with a retreat in Spain with all the AG missionaries from around Europe! The early summer, however, will see the Thomas family returning to the U.S. as their term here comes to an end. In the middle of June, I will be seeing them off and they’ll be heading to North Central University in Minnesota where their oldest sons are attending. They will be serving the university as Missionaries in Residence the next year or two teaching missions courses. There will be other missionaries here, but instead of starting other work, I will continue my work in Shutka.

Personal Updates
One of my biggest struggles lately has been in thinking about and planning for my future. Prayer would be greatly appreciated on this topic! I am quickly approaching the end of my original 2 year term here (which ends in August) and am seeking God’s plan and direction for what my next step will be. I have been invited to stay another year to continue what I’ve been doing in Shutka, but I still am not sure if that’s what God wants for me to do. I am also unsure about any other direction to take. I have a lot of ideas about what I could do, but am waiting for God’s direction and it’s not easy. When you pray for me, please keep this struggle in mind.
I have recently been inspired to get into more regular blogging to help people stay updated with what I am doing and the things that I am going through. I want to start doing a weekly blog reflecting on each week’s happenings so keep an eye out for it. If you have specific questions for me, email them to me and the blog would make a great place for me to address them! You can read my weekly blogging either on my site at www.crparky.blogspot.com or on Facebook.

*Attached Story…
I am attaching a story that I co-wrote that is a testimony of how God has been working in the lives of several of the Gypsy kids in Shutka. It was originally written to help report to Samaritan’s Purse about how their support has affected our ministry there, but I think it is more appropriate for you all to read because your support in prayers and finances has had an even bigger impact on the kids in this story, and many others whose stories cannot fit in this short newsletter. I hope you know that when you invest in me you’re also investing in the lives of the people I come in contact with. You are an integral part of this ministry, and I hope you are blessed by the attached story.

Prayer Requests
Please remember to pray for the ministries that are going on weekly in Shutka and the other ministries that are being planned in the rest of Macedonia this coming Spring. Pray that God will present us with opportunities to share His love and that our work would have a life changing impact.

Continue to pray that God will bless my finances and that I would have wisdom with where I spend my money.

Pray for my trip back to the states in March that God will protect me and that all the travel plans will fall into place without too much hassle.

Finally, pray for my future. Pray that God will show me the next step to take, and in the meantime that he would give me peace while I wait for His direction.

Final Thanks
I am thankful beyond words for all of your love and support. Please remember that nothing I am doing would be possible without each and every one of you. I’ve received a few cards and letters and each one is greatly encouraging. I would love to hear from you personally whether it be via snail mail, email, or whatever other way you can think of to communicate with me. I love you all and miss you very much, especially during this season. Again, be blessed this Christmas!


Yours in Christ,

Christopher Parkinson


*The story mentioned was posted on a previous blog, so to read it go back about 2 blog entries.

Christmas Music

The last month or so has been flooded with Christmas music for me. I've found a lot of new music that I can listen to that gets me thinking and smiling about the season and I've been playing a lot of music on all three of my instruments for the first time ever. I had played some on sax when I was in high school, but have never been able to play Christmas music on my guitar and on bass also. It's busy, but it's a blast. I couldn't escape the music of the season if I wanted to, but it's fine because I'm truly enjoying it!

I've been able to transpose songs from an old hymnal to play on my sax, and have found the chords for most of those same hymns so I can play them on my guitar. It's really exciting for me. Both of these things means more stuff for my music students to play so other than just playing them on my own, I get to play them when we meet weekly for lessons. My sax student and my bass student get Christmas music, and I hope it is helping them to enjoy the season a bit more too. I'm also participating on the bass and sax for the International church's Christmas eve service this week. Don't get too excited, I'm only doing sax on one song right at the beginning (so if you're planning on being there and want to see/hear it, don't be late!). It's honestly the first time I've performed on sax since my sophomore year at Bethany when I played with a Latino worship band for the 24 hour worship chapel! It's exciting to get to play again though. I'll be playing all the other songs on bass though. Did I mention playing with this band is an amazing experience? I think if we really wanted to, we could record a pretty amazing worship album! That's how good it feels when we play together!

I've never really paid this much attention to Christmas music before though. I'm enjoying the Christian and secular music alike, some of it just makes me smile (like Brian Setzer singin' about Santa and his big block Chevrolet!). Others remind me of my childhood (like the chipmunks Christmas album!). Others are just beautiful to listen to (like Celtic Women's version of "Carol of the Bells"), and some just compel you to sing along like many of the traditional Christmas carols. I'm finding new favs left and right and mixing them with old favs.

I love this time of year, and living where I am on my own, the music really sets the tone for me. I love Christmas music, new and old, because all of it ultimately brings joy to my heart and reminds me constantly of the blessings of Christ.

What's your favorite Christmas music?

A Testimony of How God's Working In Shutka

Brian Thomas and I co-wrote the following as a testimony report to send to Samaritan's Purse for some money that they donated to help pay for drinks for the soup kitchen during the summer. I think it puts some good perspective on what we do, why we do it, and some of the results we're seeing already. I hope you enjoy!

"Shutka is a suburb of Skopje, Macedonia, and is reported to comprise the largest “settled Gypsy” population in Europe. Part of our evangelical church outreach in this community is a children’s feeding program. We are currently averaging around 70 kids a day, five days a week. The purpose of the feeding program is to fill hearts with the love of God and stomachs with a meal where they may have gone hungry otherwise. The program functions as a draw to the church, and nearly 80% of the children come from Muslim families. They come, they sing Christian songs, they pray, and they eat, but in the process they get to know some Christians who want nothing more than to share God’s love with them. As a result of our seeing the children on a daily basis at the Kitchen, and the on going to a weekly Children’s ministry, kids have committed to following Christ and some of the parents are attending our Sunday services.

One such family includes 5 siblings. They have been coming to the feeding program from the beginning. They range in age from 14 down to 4. Their names are Erstref (14), Ramiya (13), Bajram (11), Jujemon (8), Zunka (6), and Adlan (4). They live with their Muslim parents and grandfather, as well as two younger siblings. Ten people living together in a house smaller than most American’s garages. The running water is outside, and so is the outhouse. The kids are bright but school is not priority one with so many mouths to feed.

Let me tell you what our programs have meant to these children’s lives. Erstref has begun to help with the feeding program. He used to be just another rebellious teen that gave the leaders nothing but trouble. Now he is setting an example in serving other kids and helping to set up and clean up. Ramiya, the oldest girl of the family, has changed drastically over the last year. For a time, she was rebellious as well, but then her parents sent her to live across town with other relatives. When that happened, she seemed to become angry and depressed, but she knew that she had a safe place to come to at the church and soon returned. Her attitude has since changed. Teenagers are still teenagers, and the same is true with Ramiya, but most of the time, she is joyful and longing for some way she can help. Bajram was awarded with the children church’s Student of the Year award last year. He is our most attentive listener when it comes to the Bible lesson, and he puts a lot of work in at home to memorize verses he learns at children’s church. Jujemon is still quite young, but he used to be quite a bit angrier towards others, but you can see God is softening his heart. Zunka, the younger sister has always been very timid. She would keep adults at a distance, hide behind her siblings, and would rarely speak. Now, God has given her a peace and joy where she will approach any adult at the church and walk hand in hand with them. She has one of the best smiles imaginable. Adlan is young and doesn’t talk much but has started showing some of the same signs of changes that Zunka has.

God is at work in their lives. And our expressions of love are making a difference. Each of these children stays as long as possible at the church each day, they know there’s something they get from the church that they don’t get often, if at all, from their home lives, and that is love. It’s not uncommon to see this group of kids waiting at the gate to the church before the workers even get there, and they are always the last kids to leave. They are being changed by God’s love, through the feeding program and through the love the workers pour out on them. It’s exciting to watch them grow up, physically due to better nutrition, but also spiritually due to the love of God. And their family is just one of many. Thank you for being a part of changing lives."

My Latest Newsletter - Mailed Out In lLate April

Newsletter: Spring 2009

• Growth In Macedonia

The Lord is doing great things in Macedonia. Outreaches have taken place, a team has already come and blessed the church, and growth is happening not only in nature but in our church! Life has been busy but such busyness is quite necessary in times of growth. Thank you all for your love and commitment to my ministry and spiritual growth through your giving. I have indeed been blessed to have such a group of family and friends supporting the ministry that God has allowed me to be a part of here in Macedonia

• Recent Activities

In the past two months we have hosted a lot of activities a the church in Shutka. First, we held an outreach where we invited the parents of all the kids that we see at our feeding and children's programs. We wanted to show them just what they let their kids come to and also how much fun we always have. We had a turnout of over 130 people! It was a hugely successful outreach! We even saw some of the parents start coming to our adult service on Sunday nights.
The next outreach we held was on the International Day of the Gypsy. For this holiday we had a musical group from another gypsy church come and put on a concert. All the songs were in Romani, the gypsy language, and they were all Christian praise songs! It was powerful! The church was packed and everyone had a good time praising God in Romani. After the concert we also offered free food to everyone that attended the concert. At this outreach we had over 170 people attending!
In mid to late April we hosted a building team from a church in Naperville, Illinois. They worked with us for about 10 days and were busy the whole time working towards finishing multiple projects on our church campus. The team hung sheetrock in our church building and built a kitchen and classroom into it. The kitchen will give us room to grow in our feeding program and the classroom will be used for a multitude of things including an English class that I will get to later in this letter.
At the end of the Naperville teams time here, we held a large Convoy of Hope outreach where we put on a carnival and passed out groceries. Me and another MA were in charge of organizing carnival type games, and we had a bounce house and a merry-go-round. Some of the kids had never seen such things as they've never been out of their small community. There was also a band, and a short message was given. We had too many people there to count but we know it was a blessing to the community. Shutka is quickly learning that there are people here who care about them and God is slowly starting to grow His church amongst them.

• Personal Ministries

I have continued managing the finances and helping out at the Soup Kitchen. We recently saw a new record of 90 kids come to be fed. We have recently been approved and are getting ready to move from being budgeted for 70 kids - 3 days a week, to 100 kids - 5 days a week. It will be a big change and will definitely keep us busy, but it will be worth it because we know that we will be able to love on and bless even more people. The new kitchen mentioned above couldn't have come at a better time!
I have launched the fist phase of our new youth ministry in the form of an English language class. As I am not yet fluent in Macedonian, and we dont have someone to start a full youth group, this seemed a good first step. I have been teaching English every Friday for the last 5 or 6 weks to between 10-20 young people. It's already showing results as we have all been able to build better relationships with the kids and that is the first step towards discipleship.
I am giving saxophone lessons to Sam, Brian Thomas' 13 year old son. He's doign well and soon I'll have my sax to be able to help teach him. I'm planning on starting bass lessons with another missionary kid, Caleb White. We'll probably start in June. On another musical note, I am scheduled to lead worship at our South Eastern Europe Area retreat in Greece. At this point, I'm scheduled for 2 sets, but I was asked to be ready for more. For one of them, I will be accompanied by Caleb's sister, Daniella White. So even though I'm in Macedonia, God is still using music as a large part of my ministry life.

• Coming Soon

My parents will be visiting me from May 12th to May 21st. I will finally be able to show them at least a glimpse of how life is for me here. It will be my dad's first time traveling internationally and both of them will have to rely on me to get around as most people, if they speak any English, speak very little. Besides a little role reversal, it will just be great to see them again. I wish I could have all of you out here to see how God is using me here.
When summer comes, Brian and I will be traveling a little more than normal doing some evangelism ministry in the surrounding countries. We will be traveling with a team of Macedonian young people putting on a musical drama geared towards telling children about the love of Jesus. It's a powerful ministry and the proof is obvious since there's even a team member that was saved when she watched the drama as a child. We'll also be hosting at least 2 more American teams before the summer is up. One will be here for another Convoy of Hope outreach towards the end of May. It will be called "Days of Hope" and God has already used events just like it here in so many ways. Many of the newer Macedonian believers were either saved or baptized the last time such an event was held. It's a 3 day event so there will be plenty of time for all kinds of ministries.

• Finances

I am going to need to make a trip to the states for my Visa soon. I'll be going to Detroit in the next month or so, hopefully, to complete my Visa process so I can stay a full 2 years. In order to do this, I will be needing a few extra one-time donations. This isn't optional for me. When I arrived, the laws changed here and foreigners will have to go the Macedonian embassies in the countries they are from to complete their Visa processes.
As my abilities increase with the language my responsibilities increase. One of the main things Brian would like me to do is to be able to multiply the things he is able to do. In other words, he needs me to be able to do things in his place if he is pulled to other responsibilities. In order for us to meet this need, we have decided to get me a vehicle. The vehicle will be purchased with money from a former MA's vehicle so that won't be an issue. As we all know though, having vehicles costs money. I will be needing money for gas and basic maintenance of the vehicle.
The trip to Detroit would only cost me airfare and food as lodging should be taken care of already. This means I will need around $1,000 US to go. The vehicle costs will only be around $30 US a month so any increases in pledges would be helpful in covering that. If any of you haven't given and would like to give a one-time donation towards my Detroit trip, please do so, it would be a blessing! If any of you that already support me on a monthly basis are able to increase your pledges a few dollars a month, or if you would like to pledge and haven't yet, that would be greatly appreciated as well. You are able to send pledges or donations to: AGWM 1445 N. Boonville Ave. Springfield, MO, 65803-1894. Please write the account number 2943561 in the memo line of your checks.
I hope you all know I am extremely grateful to all who have supported me thus far both in prayers and in giving. Without God using you in that way I wouldn't be able to do any of the things you've read about in this letter. You are all a tremendous blessing to me. Know that God is growing me in so many ways!

• Prayer Needs

1. Pray for favor from the government. I am in process of getting my Visa and it is nerve-racking. I know if God wants me here, and it seems He does, He will keep me here.
2. Pray for my finances. My monthly funding has been solid and I thank God for every one of you that have given so that I can be here. Pray that they keep coming so I can stay here and do the work God has brought me here to do.
   
3. Pray for the ministries that we have going on weekly and the outreaches that are coming up in Shutka and the rest of Macedonia. Trust me, the effects of your prayers on the lives of the people here are tremendous!
4. Pray that God will continue to grow my understanding of the Macedonian language that I may be able to make an even greater impact in people's lives for Christ.
5. Finally, pray for my parent's trip here that they are kept safe and that they will be able to take a great testimony back to you all about the things God is doing here.

I can't tell you how much of a blessing you all are for supporting me while I'm here in both giving and prayers. You are making all of this possible. Thank you so much! I love to hear from people back home; it never fails to be encouraging. Please feel free to write me or email me. If y ou have Skype, you can find me on there and we can talk! I would love to hear from you and give you more details about my life here. You can contact my parents for my mailing info or send me an email and I will get it to you. I love you all, and miss you greatly!

Yours in Christ,

Christopher Parkinson

I recently watched an episode of House (season 3 episode 13 if you’re interested) where the patient being treated was a Roma, or Gypsy. Most of the complications in the diagnosis of his condition had to do with the fact that he was Roma and the many implications that came with that fact. The main implication being that they didn’t trust outsiders, and thus didn’t trust the hospital. I am currently working and ministering in an area outside of the capitol city of Macedonia that is well known as a Roma area. We minister there by providing food for around 50 children (some of these 50 are teenagers also) every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. We hold a children’s church service with somewhere close to 75 kids every Saturday. We are also making plans to launch ministries aimed at reaching and discipling youth, and hopefully grooming some of them for leadership in the church.

The Roma are a people that you can find all over the world, hence their appearance in the hit TV show mentioned above. Unfortunately, they are severely oppressed everywhere they exist. As a culture they are looked down on. We all know that some people tend to cut themselves short and put up walls and limits around what they can do or accomplish in life. Working to break down these walls and limits you put up around yourself is a hard enough task. What happens though, when you have walls and limits that other people or entire cultures put up around you? Now you have to work to overcome these walls and limits. Most people typically come to a point where they have to face one or the other of these walls and limits. They either have to overcome something they put up or something someone else put up around them telling them that they cannot advance beyond this defined point so they shouldn’t even try.

The Roma in Shutka, as the area outside of Skopje is called, face a tough cultural dilemma. They face both sets of walls and limits. The adults couldn’t get a full education because it costs too much, and they can’t get decent jobs because they don’t have the education for it. What do they do then? A lot of them go and beg for money or food. Most of the beggars you’ll see in Skopje, if not all of them, are Roma. Some of them have somehow learned to fix minor appliances and will go looking through the garbage to find such appliances, try to fix them, then resale them. Some of them go through garbage to find bottles or cardboard that they can take to a recycling center and trade them in for a small amount of money. Often times, if people need workers for a day, they know they can find Roma to help because there’s always Roma that need work.

One of the walls and limitations the Roma have put up for themselves is a lack of a desire to work. They know they need to in order to feed their families so they take the random odd jobs they may be offered. As far as a regular job though, they don’t want it. I don’t quite understand why as I myself am an outsider, but I do know it doesn’t make sense. If you need a job, and you are offered one, wouldn’t you want to take it? Well, most of them don’t. This is simply a wall that they have put up. They don’t really want to work.

One of the walls and limitations that has been put up by outsiders is that they perceive the Roma are liars, beggars, and thieves. They see them as being dirty and poor. Nobody wants to hire them for regular jobs because they think they can’t rely on them. Ultimately, people look at them as if they are worth less than everyone else.

If you think about it, the two sets of walls tend to share bricks in a way. The walls were built so long ago that the two cultures have become deeply rooted in their views of what the Roma are capable of. Part of why the Roma believe they are limited is because of what the outsiders think of them, and part of why the outsiders perceive the Roma the way they do is because the Roma have been told so long that this is how they are and this is the only way they can be. They have become stuck by their own acceptance of the walls.

Now, there has been ministry in this area amongst the Roma for maybe 10 years. Missionaries have worked with the national church to try and establish a Roma based congregation and have invested much into the church body and its facilities, both monetarily, physically, and spiritually. It seems, however, that there is little to show for all of the work amongst the people of Shutka. Or is there? Has the ministry effectively brought around cultural change? Can the results effectively be measured by change that can be seen? Should that even be a projected goal of such ministry? This is the question that has been churning in my mind for this past week and as I approach new ministries and begin planning such ministries, this question will help shape and guide my thoughts and plans.

I am a firm believer of helping those that need help; and I am also a firm believer in the age old lesson that if you give a man a fish he can eat for a day, but if you teach a man to fish he can eat for a lifetime; but most importantly, I am a firm believer that God changes people from the inside-out.

As I have been struggling to find my place in the ministry here in Macedonia, I believe that this last belief needs to be the focal point of my heart and mind in everything that I do. I have not been sent here to single handedly break down the walls that have foundations hundreds of years deep between two cultures. I don’t believe that I nor the ministry energy and money that have been invested in Shutka are here to bring around social change. Will it do so? I believe that it will, in time. Should it be our goal? I strongly believe it shouldn’t. It will come, eventually, but only after God changes the hearts of people on both sides of these walls. When the walls come down, it may be very subtle and gradual, or it may be quick and news of its fall may be bigger than that of the fall of the Berlin Wall. Only God knows. All I do know is that God wants me to share His love with people, and I’ll do that on either side of the wall.