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."