One of my favorite Christmas songs is “The Little Drummer Boy”-a song that tells of a poor little boy who was asked to go and honor the newborn King. He inquired, “What shall I bring him?” He thought he had no gifts fit to offer the King. However, he used his drum and played his best.
In return, the Babe smiled.
What a blessing to know that the Lord Jesus wants our hearts, obedience and willingness to be our gifts to Him. Even when we think we don’t have anything to fit for our King, we know that He takes pleasure in our faithfulness. May we not grow weary in giving the King of Kings, Lord of Lords our best.
In return, He smiles.
We have been very busy saying farewell to friends and family from one side of our state to the other this month. We are getting closer to leaving for Ethiopia and the packing becomes more detailed and intense. Please continue to pray for us as we prepare for the change of jobs, culture and location. We will fly out when our house is sold and financial support is at 100%. We have such blessed peace!
Merry Christmas!
Rejoice in the Prince of Peace in 2006!
Twelve Days of Christmas
(Parker 2005 Version)
12 dozen cookies to make (Jon says he will miss chocolate chip ones while overseas so we better enjoy them while we can!)
11 gifts to buy (most shopping is done-we are sure Naomi will LOVE receiving two bottles of anti-diarrhea medicine in her stocking!)
10 bags to pack (Mattie says she can’t live without praise music while Lauren insists on taking cuticle oil!)
9 time zones to travel (or 8 hours ahead of Eastern Time)
8 shots in one arm (ouch!)
7 shots in the other (YEAH-we’re finished with all our immunizations. It was hard to convince the girls that they will be very thankful for these life-saving shots, but a trip to Starbucks helped ease the pain!)
6 recipes for goat to learn (got any to share?)
5 Visa applications to be approved (Praise God that our passports arrived in record time!)
4 more days of school (yeah…from students and teacher!)
3 kids with excitement for a new world
2 parents trying to keep it all together (When we are weak, HE is strong!)
1 sold house! (OK, so we haven’t sold our house yet, but we are praying that the Lord will bring just the right person who will love it as we have.)
Prayer Requests
*Work visas to be granted.
*Adequate financial and prayer support. We have seen many miracles happen to provide 88% of our up-front and 75% of our monthly financial support. We still need about $3000 in up front costs and about $700 in monthly support.
*Sale of our house.
* Bingham Academy still needs staff!
Praises
*Faithful supporters like you! We praise the Lord for how He has joined us together. Our financial team consists of over 50 individuals/families and 5 churches. We are encouraged knowing that our family is being prayed for daily.
*Continued good health and strength as we prepare to serve as missionaries at Bingham Academy in Ethiopia for the next 2 ½ years..
We love to hear from friends and family! Please feel free to contact us at our permanent email address: jon.parker@sim.org
3 comments:
G'day from Australia. My hubby and I are with SIM in western Australia and will be starting as the State Directors for WA in Feb. I've added you to my blogroll and will be reading your blog and following your journey. May the Lord bless you and continue to provide for your family.
Think of you so often, Julie...just checking to see how the plans are progressing. I know how hard the "hurry up and wait" thing can be.
Praying for you always,
Sarah
Checking in also, Julie. Like Sarah, I think of you quite often. You all are on the prayer list of my Sunday School class, as well as my own list
Love ya!
Cheri
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