Yesterday, I spent the day in the attic updating wiring. If you own a home you understand that there are certain things that you just put off. For me the attic wiring was one of them. disconnect it, cap it, and walk away.
But, it will add to the atractiveness of the home if there is a light switch at the entrance and a working electrical outlet.
Last night as I was awakened with the Thanksgiving crud. It came to me via my mom from a toddler cousin. Tired. Intense heart burn. Lasts about a day and a half. No slinging lines in the attic today.
Even so, the for sale sign went up on the front lawn yesterday.
Feels realy weird.
Adam
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
15 Years of Clutter
Fifteen years ago, Marge and I moved to our house on 1512 Bank Street, Kalamazoo, MI. What a wretched beat up hulk this place was. Me as the erstwhile home improvement guy learned quickly that I would have to teach myself to do all sorts of things I had never done before. I also quickly discovered that it was going to be no quick nor easy task to fix this place up. It's been a money pit, but we've done some great things.
Our children have spent their entire lives here so far. They love this house. It is their home, and full of memories.
We tried to reach out to neighbors and friends, and show hospitality here. Several times our attic or basement became an extra room while a friend or two got "back on their feet." It was a place of family and to treat friends like family. This was a place to mentor kids and adults.
Sojourn practiced here, and lots of dreaming, planning, and learning music happened here.
Throughout all the years, we've worked to keep uncluttered, and to keep the house.
In less than a week our house goes on the market, and will sell sooner or later. While I'm hoping it sells quickly, it is the end of an era for our family. So, as we clean up what clutter we have, and repair the little things we had been putting off, it's a little tough, because it reminds me that this is the end of our time here.
As much as I hate all the work this place takes. It will be hard to say goodbye to 15 years of family and ministry, and the familiar Bank Street.
Adam
Our children have spent their entire lives here so far. They love this house. It is their home, and full of memories.
We tried to reach out to neighbors and friends, and show hospitality here. Several times our attic or basement became an extra room while a friend or two got "back on their feet." It was a place of family and to treat friends like family. This was a place to mentor kids and adults.
Sojourn practiced here, and lots of dreaming, planning, and learning music happened here.
Throughout all the years, we've worked to keep uncluttered, and to keep the house.
In less than a week our house goes on the market, and will sell sooner or later. While I'm hoping it sells quickly, it is the end of an era for our family. So, as we clean up what clutter we have, and repair the little things we had been putting off, it's a little tough, because it reminds me that this is the end of our time here.
As much as I hate all the work this place takes. It will be hard to say goodbye to 15 years of family and ministry, and the familiar Bank Street.
Adam
Saturday, November 15, 2008
From Cicero to Peoria
At 1pm on Wed I drove to Cicero, Illinois and presented at 58th Avenue Baptist Church. 58th is an old neighborhood church nestled in the midst of Chicago brick houses and apartment buildings. Thirty years ago it was a Czech neighborhood, and pastor Karrow to me to eat down the street at one of the remaining Czech restaurants. No surprise that dinner included gravy and dumplings. It was a great turn-out for a Wednesday night and the people were friendly and enthusiastic.
By 9:30 that evening I was back on the road and home with my family by 1:30 the next morning. It took lots of coffee, but I did fine. I don't bounce back from late night drives quite like I used to, but by Friday I was clicking on all cylinders.
Friday morning I took Marge and Maryellen to school from which they were going on a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. From there they took the Amtrack to visit early with Marge's family. It's also an opportunity for Maryellen to take a trip on a train. She's never been on Amtrack before. Michael and I are driving down today. We'll all be staying with Marge's sister, and presenting in the morning and evening serivces at Calvary Baptist Bible Church, Peoria. Sunday night we will do yet another late night drive to get back to Michigan. At least that's the plan.
After that it looks like we will be off the road for a week or two. That will get us time to finally put our house on the market. December first should be the day it goes up for sale.
Adam
By 9:30 that evening I was back on the road and home with my family by 1:30 the next morning. It took lots of coffee, but I did fine. I don't bounce back from late night drives quite like I used to, but by Friday I was clicking on all cylinders.
Friday morning I took Marge and Maryellen to school from which they were going on a field trip to the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago. From there they took the Amtrack to visit early with Marge's family. It's also an opportunity for Maryellen to take a trip on a train. She's never been on Amtrack before. Michael and I are driving down today. We'll all be staying with Marge's sister, and presenting in the morning and evening serivces at Calvary Baptist Bible Church, Peoria. Sunday night we will do yet another late night drive to get back to Michigan. At least that's the plan.
After that it looks like we will be off the road for a week or two. That will get us time to finally put our house on the market. December first should be the day it goes up for sale.
Adam
Sunday, November 2, 2008
My Trip To Pageland was Providential
My Trip To Pageland was Providential
O.K. goofy play on words. Providence Baptist Church is in Pageland South Carolina.
It's beautiful here in the land of pages. The landscape is like michigan with lots of open spaces and gently rolling low hills. Some of the leaves have changed color, but other than an overnight chill the daytime temps are in the high 60s and even low70s.
The folks at Providence Baptist are friendly and the worship service was rich and enjoyable. I enjoyed teaching in morning Sunday school and tonight I have the evening service. After church Scott and Angie took me to The Smoke House. I'm told it's world famous. At least the sign says so.
It was crowded and the food was plentiful. Southern cooking is good.
Adam
O.K. goofy play on words. Providence Baptist Church is in Pageland South Carolina.
It's beautiful here in the land of pages. The landscape is like michigan with lots of open spaces and gently rolling low hills. Some of the leaves have changed color, but other than an overnight chill the daytime temps are in the high 60s and even low70s.
The folks at Providence Baptist are friendly and the worship service was rich and enjoyable. I enjoyed teaching in morning Sunday school and tonight I have the evening service. After church Scott and Angie took me to The Smoke House. I'm told it's world famous. At least the sign says so.
It was crowded and the food was plentiful. Southern cooking is good.
Adam
Tuesday, October 28, 2008
Clean and Call
Monday, we spent most of the day cleaning the attic so that we will be ready to move, and so that we can be ready for the roofers. I discovered mildew inside the insulation and panelling that the former owner had put up on the roof line. I think he wanted to make the attic into an extra room. There's even carpet up there. With all of the leaking, it's just a bunch of mold and mildew.
So, not only will there be a new roof going on, but in December, I'll be ripping out all of the old panelling and insulation, tossing it out the window, and getting my own dumpster for all of it.
We talked about having a garage sale, but we buy so many used things, and a garage sale would have to wait until the spring, that we decided to donate to Good Will. As hard as we try not to have clutter, it wasn't hard to fill up the trunk and the back seat of the car with stuff to donate. We are getting rid of all the things we haven't used in 10 years. It might be different if we were moving across town. It's a good opportunity to lighten our load.
Today I spent much of the day talking on the phone with churches. Planning our next speaking engagements and making fresh contacts.
Video hilights below.
Adam
So, not only will there be a new roof going on, but in December, I'll be ripping out all of the old panelling and insulation, tossing it out the window, and getting my own dumpster for all of it.
We talked about having a garage sale, but we buy so many used things, and a garage sale would have to wait until the spring, that we decided to donate to Good Will. As hard as we try not to have clutter, it wasn't hard to fill up the trunk and the back seat of the car with stuff to donate. We are getting rid of all the things we haven't used in 10 years. It might be different if we were moving across town. It's a good opportunity to lighten our load.
Today I spent much of the day talking on the phone with churches. Planning our next speaking engagements and making fresh contacts.
Video hilights below.
Adam
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Change is a Constant
Tuesday of last week was my last full day at Pfizer. My job has been cut, and I'm in a sort of limbo. For the next 60 days I don't report to work, but I'm still technically an employee, and they could call me in. It's like being on paid lay-off.
So I'm using the time to make a lot of extra phone calls to churches, get the house ready to sell, and work on things we need for churches (i.e. Sunday school lessons, presentation, etc).
At the end of the 60 days, I'm officially cut from Pfizer, I get a severence Czech, and . . . it all depends on what God has in store. If support raising is going well enough, we'll just keep doing that. I will likely get some kind of part time work though.
Adam
So I'm using the time to make a lot of extra phone calls to churches, get the house ready to sell, and work on things we need for churches (i.e. Sunday school lessons, presentation, etc).
At the end of the 60 days, I'm officially cut from Pfizer, I get a severence Czech, and . . . it all depends on what God has in store. If support raising is going well enough, we'll just keep doing that. I will likely get some kind of part time work though.
Adam
Monday, September 29, 2008
Back In The Slammer
Here is video of day1 (27-Sep-2008) of our road trip.
Sunday we enjoyed leading Sunday school and in the morning service. Community Bible Fellowship is a friendly bunch and healthy growing church.
The church has "recycled" and is currently using a building that used to be part of a lumber company. Pastor Paully's teaching is both encouraging and challenging, and spending time talking him reminded me of that quote from Proverbs, "iron sharpens iron". I'm not sure how much I sharpened him though.
Pastor made it clear that we were stuck with our car and the congregation provided for our meals, The Slammer let us come back for another night(is that good?), and several members of the congregation helped us make arrangements for repairs. They have been an example of hospitality.
It was disapointing to find out that we would have to spend Monday in Aledo as I needed to get back to work. But, this morning we made all the necessary arrangements, and are preparring to go straight from Aledo, IL to Ludington, MI if need be.
God knows what's going on. This is a time to learn to just hang loose and treat it like an adventure.
Adam
Sunday we enjoyed leading Sunday school and in the morning service. Community Bible Fellowship is a friendly bunch and healthy growing church.
The church has "recycled" and is currently using a building that used to be part of a lumber company. Pastor Paully's teaching is both encouraging and challenging, and spending time talking him reminded me of that quote from Proverbs, "iron sharpens iron". I'm not sure how much I sharpened him though.
Pastor made it clear that we were stuck with our car and the congregation provided for our meals, The Slammer let us come back for another night(is that good?), and several members of the congregation helped us make arrangements for repairs. They have been an example of hospitality.
It was disapointing to find out that we would have to spend Monday in Aledo as I needed to get back to work. But, this morning we made all the necessary arrangements, and are preparring to go straight from Aledo, IL to Ludington, MI if need be.
God knows what's going on. This is a time to learn to just hang loose and treat it like an adventure.
Adam
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Parmenter's Back in the Slammer
We set out on Saturday for an easy 5 hour drive from our house in Kalamazoo, MI to Aledo, IL so that we could be rested and ready to speak about missions Sunday morning (today) at Community Bible Fellowship . Well, about 45 min. outside of Aledo our engine sputtered to a halt and we were stranded on the side of the interstate.
Thankful for cell phones, I called Pastor Paully from CBF and he brought over a trailer onto which we pushed the car. Check my blog in a couple days for video. The plan was to drop us at pastor's house and then Pastor Paully was going to drop the car and trailer at the mechanics. On the way to his home he said, "We've made arrangements to put you up in a hotel here in town. It used to be the local jail, but now it's a bed and breakfast that the locals call The Slammer.
We had a great day today telling the folks at CBF about the Czech and also telling them about missions all over the world. It was an opportunity to encourage individuals to consider a career in full time missionary service.
After church today, we were informed that we needed a new fuel pump, and that it should be installed and ready to go by late afternoon on Monday. Happily, it looks the full costs of the repairs will be covered by the offering that folks at CBF took up this morning. We will be able to pay for the repairs in cash. How God provides. They are also working to provide us with meals.
So after a lunch at Doug's Diner, Michael has run off with Pastor Paully's boys to explore the woods, and Marge, Maryellen, and I are back in the slammer for another night.
Lord willing we will be home sometime Monday night. We'll repack and head for Calvary Baptist in Ludington, MI where we are speaking on Tuesday and Wednesday night.
We wanted to give this quick update so that you can remember to pray for us and . . . well. . . I've never stayed in a bed and breakfast that also once served as a jail.
Adam
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Saturday, September 27, 2008
On the Road Again
Well, right now we are just West of Watervliet on I-94 heading for Community Bible Fellowship in Aledo, IL. I feel like it's our very first presentation. We went for several weeks with no presentations, then I spent two weeks painting and getting the house ready for sale, and then vanished into a time freeze the week my father died.
A week ago today was my father's funeral. It doesn't seem real yet.
Frankly, what I want to do is hide somewhere and watch TV.
Instead I'm doing a new presentation for the first time. It's called "God At Work Around The World" it talks about ABWE missionaries all over the place, and how individuals can be part of what God is doing. I'm excited about it, but not into it. If that makes sense.
I miss my dad. I'm not sitting and weeping, but I feel sapped of energy. I bet it's normal, but it sure feels weird.
Adam
A week ago today was my father's funeral. It doesn't seem real yet.
Frankly, what I want to do is hide somewhere and watch TV.
Instead I'm doing a new presentation for the first time. It's called "God At Work Around The World" it talks about ABWE missionaries all over the place, and how individuals can be part of what God is doing. I'm excited about it, but not into it. If that makes sense.
I miss my dad. I'm not sitting and weeping, but I feel sapped of energy. I bet it's normal, but it sure feels weird.
Adam
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
Changing of Times and Seasons
Late this past Monday evening, Adam's father, Allen Parmenter, passed away at the age of 86 and came into the presence of our Lord, Jesus Christ. He has had numerous health issues this past year and was in rehab at a local nursing home for recent surgery for an amputation of his leg. We believe that his heart just stopped and he quietly went home. He had recently rallied and was doing better, so it was a bit of a shock although we thought he was preparing for his final days. We are both sad and rejoicing at the same time that he is with the Lord and we will see him in eternity. The visitation is this Friday and the funeral is Saturday, both at the Church of God in LaGrange, IN. You may view his obituary, get details about the services and send condolences at www.fruripmayfuneralhome.com. Please pray for us as we walk through this time of sorrow, remembering and rejoicing in the godly life of our dad and grandfather. It has been tough to lose both of our fathers this past year.
We indicated in our last prayer watch that we may have roof problems. Well, after 10 inches of rain this past weekend, we know we have roof problems for sure as a number of other spots are appearing on our ceilings. We have two roof estimates this coming week, so pray for wisdom so we can be good stewards of our house and prepare it to sell. We will be having carpeting put in as well this week. It is strange to fix up the house, knowing our days here may be short. We are grateful that we did not get water in the basement as many others did around us. Adam and Michael went outside and dug a trough to drain a big puddle down our hill away from the house and saved our basement.
We continue to feel the challenge of pre-field activities amidst all this other stuff, so pray we can still focus on the needed tasks at hand. We have a number of presentations coming up in the near future and need to prepare for them. We will be visiting a church in Illinois the last weekend of September and also are doing two days of a missions conference in Ludington, MI at the end of the month. Pray that we can overcome all the distractions and concentrate on what the Lord wants us to share with these churches.
Michael and Maryellen have had a great start to their school year. Michael is taking three classes with other area homeschoolers and really enjoying it. That also relieves me (Marge) of much of the preparation for these classes. Maryellen has adjusted to middle school and is very motivated. She is also in band, jazz band and piano, so is busy practicing every day. Pray that they both can focus on their studies, especially as they grieve their grandpa's homegoing.
I am buried in the closets and corners of my house, trying to organize things into boxes - what to save, what to throw away, what to keep as we prepare to leave this house. After 15 years in this house, it is quite a job and a bit overwhelming. Pray that I can focus on what I accomplish in one day, rather than just look at what's not done.
We are continuing weekly to disciple a young couple and I am discipling a new believer. These times of bible study and prayer are rich, and encouraging to both of us as we watch others grow in their daily walk with Christ. We are studying prayer and learning ourselves to depend even more on our Lord. Phil 4:6 has become my life verse this month--"be anxious for nothing...."
We appreciate your prayers so much. We need them and desire to trust our Saviour as we go through all these transitions. Thank you for your support.
Marge
We indicated in our last prayer watch that we may have roof problems. Well, after 10 inches of rain this past weekend, we know we have roof problems for sure as a number of other spots are appearing on our ceilings. We have two roof estimates this coming week, so pray for wisdom so we can be good stewards of our house and prepare it to sell. We will be having carpeting put in as well this week. It is strange to fix up the house, knowing our days here may be short. We are grateful that we did not get water in the basement as many others did around us. Adam and Michael went outside and dug a trough to drain a big puddle down our hill away from the house and saved our basement.
We continue to feel the challenge of pre-field activities amidst all this other stuff, so pray we can still focus on the needed tasks at hand. We have a number of presentations coming up in the near future and need to prepare for them. We will be visiting a church in Illinois the last weekend of September and also are doing two days of a missions conference in Ludington, MI at the end of the month. Pray that we can overcome all the distractions and concentrate on what the Lord wants us to share with these churches.
Michael and Maryellen have had a great start to their school year. Michael is taking three classes with other area homeschoolers and really enjoying it. That also relieves me (Marge) of much of the preparation for these classes. Maryellen has adjusted to middle school and is very motivated. She is also in band, jazz band and piano, so is busy practicing every day. Pray that they both can focus on their studies, especially as they grieve their grandpa's homegoing.
I am buried in the closets and corners of my house, trying to organize things into boxes - what to save, what to throw away, what to keep as we prepare to leave this house. After 15 years in this house, it is quite a job and a bit overwhelming. Pray that I can focus on what I accomplish in one day, rather than just look at what's not done.
We are continuing weekly to disciple a young couple and I am discipling a new believer. These times of bible study and prayer are rich, and encouraging to both of us as we watch others grow in their daily walk with Christ. We are studying prayer and learning ourselves to depend even more on our Lord. Phil 4:6 has become my life verse this month--"be anxious for nothing...."
We appreciate your prayers so much. We need them and desire to trust our Saviour as we go through all these transitions. Thank you for your support.
Marge
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
Mission Failure
I took a four day weekend this week (as well as last) in order to do repairs and painting in preparation for putting our house up for sale. I painted for several hours and then took a morning coffee break.
Sitting on the front porch steps, petting the neighborhood cat and drinking my coffee, I thought about the home meth lab that caught fire several nights ago, and I thought about all the different people that pass in front my house using Bank street as a short cut for various neighborhoods. I still have a desire for these people and a passion for lost souls in Kalamazoo, specifically these urban neighborhoods.
As I thought about that, I considered the "failure" of that mission. My failure to not only see appreciable results in the last six years, but my failure to follow through on the work. I can tell you why. For one thing, it was too much for one person to pursue, and I was hard pressed to locate others to join in my passion.
Did I spend enough time trying to build and maintain a team? Initially, no. As time has progressed I have more and more adopted a style of training and building teams, but frankly, by that point, I was tired. I poured so much time into a few street kids that I exhausted myself. I would have been better served to build a team to reach street kids and develop multiple people within Bethel to support those kids.
I'm so much a doer, a man of action, that it was my down fall. Frankly, if I had been "successful", it might have been disastrous. I would have more energetically pursued the same course. The one-man-show would have proved the best way. Instead, by way of failure, I proved to myself, that a ministry leader needs to be an organizer and mentor of ministry doers. Also, the ministry leader must, as soon as possible, mentor new leadership to take over and replace the one who started the ministry.
In that sense, to say that we are preparing for missions is inaccurate, since for 5+ years I and my family worked to reach our street and to reach disadvantaged children in another urban area. I spent a lot of time, creativity, and energy, and my family joined in or dealt with my absence.
It's more accurate to say that, at least in my personal case, that on my own, I was a failure as a "tent maker" missionary, and a failure as a "home" missionary. Tent Makers go to a country, work a job and engage ministry on the side. Home missionaries are from the U.S. and minister in the U.S. I had no mission board or country/regional coordinator to monitor my progress, and no one else who had done what I was trying to do. I blew it.
It makes me sad to walk away from this town, as I have not achieved my objective. I don't know if I achieved God's objective, but I have a suspicion that I did.
Adam
Sitting on the front porch steps, petting the neighborhood cat and drinking my coffee, I thought about the home meth lab that caught fire several nights ago, and I thought about all the different people that pass in front my house using Bank street as a short cut for various neighborhoods. I still have a desire for these people and a passion for lost souls in Kalamazoo, specifically these urban neighborhoods.
As I thought about that, I considered the "failure" of that mission. My failure to not only see appreciable results in the last six years, but my failure to follow through on the work. I can tell you why. For one thing, it was too much for one person to pursue, and I was hard pressed to locate others to join in my passion.
Did I spend enough time trying to build and maintain a team? Initially, no. As time has progressed I have more and more adopted a style of training and building teams, but frankly, by that point, I was tired. I poured so much time into a few street kids that I exhausted myself. I would have been better served to build a team to reach street kids and develop multiple people within Bethel to support those kids.
I'm so much a doer, a man of action, that it was my down fall. Frankly, if I had been "successful", it might have been disastrous. I would have more energetically pursued the same course. The one-man-show would have proved the best way. Instead, by way of failure, I proved to myself, that a ministry leader needs to be an organizer and mentor of ministry doers. Also, the ministry leader must, as soon as possible, mentor new leadership to take over and replace the one who started the ministry.
In that sense, to say that we are preparing for missions is inaccurate, since for 5+ years I and my family worked to reach our street and to reach disadvantaged children in another urban area. I spent a lot of time, creativity, and energy, and my family joined in or dealt with my absence.
It's more accurate to say that, at least in my personal case, that on my own, I was a failure as a "tent maker" missionary, and a failure as a "home" missionary. Tent Makers go to a country, work a job and engage ministry on the side. Home missionaries are from the U.S. and minister in the U.S. I had no mission board or country/regional coordinator to monitor my progress, and no one else who had done what I was trying to do. I blew it.
It makes me sad to walk away from this town, as I have not achieved my objective. I don't know if I achieved God's objective, but I have a suspicion that I did.
Adam
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Tick, Tick, Tick
22-October-2008.
I'm getting layed-off from Pfizer. Not a temp thing. This is a termination due to company cost cutting. My last day is supposed to be 22-Oct-2008. I've written all of my remaining tasks/projects on my white board. I have six things left. One of them will take me weeks to complete.
With each task that I check off of the white board, I feel a little more tense. I have moments of peace, and trust. . . excitement over what comes next, and the sense that I have lately of a growing and deepening relationship with God.
Even so, the familiar is comfortable.
At home I am making some repairs and updates so that we can put our house up for sale. Each piece of trim that I paint and repair that I make, I can sense the clock tick some more.
It's like racing toward the edge of a cliff. I'm one of those base jumpers who parachute off of stationary objects like cliffs or buildings. I would have trained for it extensively, and would want to do it (no one forces a person to base jump), but the first jump would scare me silly.
Leaving my job, selling the house, living some place temporarily between then, trying to raise support. No guarantees that we will be able to raise support. No guarantees of anything.
Yet, I know that God has the end in mind. God is already aware of the steps, the milestones, and the ending. There's no reason to doubt. I do though, and it forces me to prayer and to struggle to exercises greater trust.
I'm making progress.
Adam
I'm getting layed-off from Pfizer. Not a temp thing. This is a termination due to company cost cutting. My last day is supposed to be 22-Oct-2008. I've written all of my remaining tasks/projects on my white board. I have six things left. One of them will take me weeks to complete.
With each task that I check off of the white board, I feel a little more tense. I have moments of peace, and trust. . . excitement over what comes next, and the sense that I have lately of a growing and deepening relationship with God.
Even so, the familiar is comfortable.
At home I am making some repairs and updates so that we can put our house up for sale. Each piece of trim that I paint and repair that I make, I can sense the clock tick some more.
It's like racing toward the edge of a cliff. I'm one of those base jumpers who parachute off of stationary objects like cliffs or buildings. I would have trained for it extensively, and would want to do it (no one forces a person to base jump), but the first jump would scare me silly.
Leaving my job, selling the house, living some place temporarily between then, trying to raise support. No guarantees that we will be able to raise support. No guarantees of anything.
Yet, I know that God has the end in mind. God is already aware of the steps, the milestones, and the ending. There's no reason to doubt. I do though, and it forces me to prayer and to struggle to exercises greater trust.
I'm making progress.
Adam
Monday, September 1, 2008
Powerless
It's about 4am and I've been awake for about an hour.
When I'm awake in the night (doesn't happen often). I try and pray for people. It's better than fretting. That worked for about thirty min. I prayed for all sorts of people and worshiped God, it was cool. I still couldn't sleap so I did a little Bible study.
I'm still awake, so I decided to get up and write.
There is so much changing right now. The clock is ticking on my job. My last day will be around 22-October. I'll have enough severence pay to keep us part way into next year, but leaving my job at Pfizer is a big change. It's unnerving to be at work and feel the days drawing to a close. It makes me tense.
As I paint the trim and get ready for the carpet, I sense the clock ticking on putting our house up for sale. I wanted to have it up for sale this summer, but it won't be until Jan 09. Even so, do I really fee like moving? No. In one sense I would love for everything to stay the way that it has been. The changes are unsettling.
I'm thinking about my dad a lot too. He had his leg amputated and is recovering in a nursing home. He's acting confused about why he is there and why he can't leave. It's difficult to watch my once strong, self sufficient father week and helplessly lying in a nursing home. I never realised how much of my confidence in life is based on my earthly father. That confidence has been shaken to the core, and I must transfer my confidence to my heavenly father.
It makes focussing on missions preparations tougher, but we are continuing to keep at it.
Thankfully, all of this has driven me to prayer. For that I am thankful.
Adam
When I'm awake in the night (doesn't happen often). I try and pray for people. It's better than fretting. That worked for about thirty min. I prayed for all sorts of people and worshiped God, it was cool. I still couldn't sleap so I did a little Bible study.
I'm still awake, so I decided to get up and write.
There is so much changing right now. The clock is ticking on my job. My last day will be around 22-October. I'll have enough severence pay to keep us part way into next year, but leaving my job at Pfizer is a big change. It's unnerving to be at work and feel the days drawing to a close. It makes me tense.
As I paint the trim and get ready for the carpet, I sense the clock ticking on putting our house up for sale. I wanted to have it up for sale this summer, but it won't be until Jan 09. Even so, do I really fee like moving? No. In one sense I would love for everything to stay the way that it has been. The changes are unsettling.
I'm thinking about my dad a lot too. He had his leg amputated and is recovering in a nursing home. He's acting confused about why he is there and why he can't leave. It's difficult to watch my once strong, self sufficient father week and helplessly lying in a nursing home. I never realised how much of my confidence in life is based on my earthly father. That confidence has been shaken to the core, and I must transfer my confidence to my heavenly father.
It makes focussing on missions preparations tougher, but we are continuing to keep at it.
Thankfully, all of this has driven me to prayer. For that I am thankful.
Adam
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
PA 2008 - Day 4 (Wednesday)
On Day one of training we discussed the core functions of church planters:
Preparing
Connecting
Gathering
Maturing
Those are the first four. Monday and Tuesday and part of Wednesday all focused on Preparation. The point being that effective preparation is of critical importance. Understanding the culture, and building the right team to meet the culture with the unchanging truth of the Bible is so very important.
The rest of the day was occupied with Connecting, Gathering, and Maturing.
Connecting or "pre-evangelism" is simply the process of building relationships within the community and earning the right to share your faith. Gathering grows out of connecting, and is the beginning of a church. It sounds simple, but many missionaries have held "Connecting" events that offend or simply don't interest the culture. At other times missionaries have held connecting events that don't lend themselves to starting close relationships.
It's also important that the connecting events "mirror" the Gathering style. If the intent is to start a church that is informal, lively and contemporary then the connection events should have that atmosphere. If the gathering or church services are intended to be more traditional, then somehow that must be reflected in the connecting events. In that way, there will be a natural transition into drawing people into gathering together for worship.
Maturing involves training the new congregation to stand on their own. Obviously no church group stands on their own. They stand in the enabling power of Jesus Christ, but it's important that the group be taught to continue in their growing faith without having a missionary team. We as missionaries "lead in view of leaving".
The end game of the vision is to establish churches that start other churches and ultimately that send out missionaries in their own country and around the world.
Preparing
Connecting
Gathering
Maturing
Those are the first four. Monday and Tuesday and part of Wednesday all focused on Preparation. The point being that effective preparation is of critical importance. Understanding the culture, and building the right team to meet the culture with the unchanging truth of the Bible is so very important.
The rest of the day was occupied with Connecting, Gathering, and Maturing.
Connecting or "pre-evangelism" is simply the process of building relationships within the community and earning the right to share your faith. Gathering grows out of connecting, and is the beginning of a church. It sounds simple, but many missionaries have held "Connecting" events that offend or simply don't interest the culture. At other times missionaries have held connecting events that don't lend themselves to starting close relationships.
It's also important that the connecting events "mirror" the Gathering style. If the intent is to start a church that is informal, lively and contemporary then the connection events should have that atmosphere. If the gathering or church services are intended to be more traditional, then somehow that must be reflected in the connecting events. In that way, there will be a natural transition into drawing people into gathering together for worship.
Maturing involves training the new congregation to stand on their own. Obviously no church group stands on their own. They stand in the enabling power of Jesus Christ, but it's important that the group be taught to continue in their growing faith without having a missionary team. We as missionaries "lead in view of leaving".
The end game of the vision is to establish churches that start other churches and ultimately that send out missionaries in their own country and around the world.
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
PA 2008 - Day 3 (Tuesday)
Building a CPT
In the adult sessions we studied building a Church Planting Team. Most of us entering a field of service at the invitation of an existing team leader, so we won't be responsible for forming our own team. The value of the training, however, was that we role played the various steps of discussing the field, the type of church to form, and what team members to gather. During that process there was disagreement, negotiation, and debate. The process of bringing different ideas together, even disagreement while keeping a loving atmosphere was an important learning outcome of the day.
The session also exposed us to the different kinds of churches that can be started, their benefits and limitations. We all think about a typical church which is a called a centralized church. It's based in a church building and the members gather in this building for services and various ministries. This type of church is more formalized, more expensive to start and maintain, and less flexible. In some cultures it is the only legitimate form of church that people will recognize, and because of its size it allows for types of ministry like youth groups, feeding programs, etc.
The opposite end of the spectrum is the house church. These are just what they sound like. A group that meets in homes. It's much more informal and lends itself to intimate gatherings. The house church is flexible in that it can change location easily, and adapt itself quickly to meet the needs of the members. In a country that is hostile to Christianity, this may be the best kind of church to start as it allows new Christians to attend worship services without as much risk of harm or persecution. It also works best in cultures that highly value this sort of setting.
In the middle is the hybrid church in which house or cell groups are the core of the church, and they come together regularly for larger celebration meetings or for large group ministries.
The key is to examine the culture in cooperation with the national (local) Christians to determine what best fits. It's possible that in a large enough area, several different kinds of churches could be started to fit different sub-cultures within a society.
This is all with a view toward starting vibrant churches that can continue after the missionary leaves, and who will start new churches and send missionaries themselves.
Meanwhile at STAMP
Michael and Maryellen's training focused more on what it will be like to live and grow up in another culture. Part of their training included a talk from Ben Loftis on being a Third Culture Kid. For lunch they went to a Chinese restaurant, but were only allowed to order using Chinese words. Michael took the video camera along. Enjoy the five min. video below. It starts with the bus ride from ABWE headquarters to the church where STAMP is being held.
Adam
In the adult sessions we studied building a Church Planting Team. Most of us entering a field of service at the invitation of an existing team leader, so we won't be responsible for forming our own team. The value of the training, however, was that we role played the various steps of discussing the field, the type of church to form, and what team members to gather. During that process there was disagreement, negotiation, and debate. The process of bringing different ideas together, even disagreement while keeping a loving atmosphere was an important learning outcome of the day.
The session also exposed us to the different kinds of churches that can be started, their benefits and limitations. We all think about a typical church which is a called a centralized church. It's based in a church building and the members gather in this building for services and various ministries. This type of church is more formalized, more expensive to start and maintain, and less flexible. In some cultures it is the only legitimate form of church that people will recognize, and because of its size it allows for types of ministry like youth groups, feeding programs, etc.
The opposite end of the spectrum is the house church. These are just what they sound like. A group that meets in homes. It's much more informal and lends itself to intimate gatherings. The house church is flexible in that it can change location easily, and adapt itself quickly to meet the needs of the members. In a country that is hostile to Christianity, this may be the best kind of church to start as it allows new Christians to attend worship services without as much risk of harm or persecution. It also works best in cultures that highly value this sort of setting.
In the middle is the hybrid church in which house or cell groups are the core of the church, and they come together regularly for larger celebration meetings or for large group ministries.
The key is to examine the culture in cooperation with the national (local) Christians to determine what best fits. It's possible that in a large enough area, several different kinds of churches could be started to fit different sub-cultures within a society.
This is all with a view toward starting vibrant churches that can continue after the missionary leaves, and who will start new churches and send missionaries themselves.
Meanwhile at STAMP
Michael and Maryellen's training focused more on what it will be like to live and grow up in another culture. Part of their training included a talk from Ben Loftis on being a Third Culture Kid. For lunch they went to a Chinese restaurant, but were only allowed to order using Chinese words. Michael took the video camera along. Enjoy the five min. video below. It starts with the bus ride from ABWE headquarters to the church where STAMP is being held.
Adam
Monday, July 21, 2008
PA 2008 - Day 2 (Monday)
Our first day of training was designed to help us learn to seperate the functions of church from the form, so that we would not mistakenly impose American forms on another culture.
There are essential functions of the church. Some of them are:
There are essential functions of the church. Some of them are:
- Regular gathering of Christian believers
- Worship and pray together
- Bible teaching
Those are a few. Sunday morning church services are a form or way to carry out the function of regularly gathering the believers. In some countries it is not practicle to meet on a Sunday, so the wise missioary will schedule services on a different day.
More from the short video below.
Adam
Sunday, July 20, 2008
PA 2008 - Day 1 (Sunday)
Day 1 started early in the morning. We finished up packing and hit the road by about 8am.
We enjoyed the trip, but with stops and traffic jams a 10 hour trip stretched into 15. Watch the five min. video below, to find out.
We enjoyed the trip, but with stops and traffic jams a 10 hour trip stretched into 15. Watch the five min. video below, to find out.
Saturday, July 12, 2008
Getting Ready For The Trip
Last year at about this time, Marge and I were recognized as ABWE missionaries to the Czech Republic durring a two week candidate seminar. I didn't blog about each day like I would like to have, but I tride to capture the rich depth of training, and the tension of being in the final phase of the . . . begining.
It's a year later and I feel like we are just starting in our pre-field ministry. Many have told us that one year in on pre-field is just starting and that 20% support is good progress, but I frankly don't intend to be on pre-field for four years.
I want to be sensative to what God's intensions are, but I am still working toward a late 2009 departure.
This week Marge and I are finishing up some required studies in preparation of EMC/CMI at ABWE. We do love our acronyms. EMC stands for Essential Missions Components and CMI stands for Core Missions Institute. It is intended for missionaries that are making progress in pre-field and the intent it to impart training and understanding on topics of church planting in other cultures.
That takes one week, and then before going home we are planning on spending several days in Washington DC. The children have never been there, and I'm excited about the whole thing. I want to take you (the reader) along for the trip. I plan on blogging each day, and including photos so that you can be part of the experience.
Keep your eyes on this blog!
Adam
It's a year later and I feel like we are just starting in our pre-field ministry. Many have told us that one year in on pre-field is just starting and that 20% support is good progress, but I frankly don't intend to be on pre-field for four years.
I want to be sensative to what God's intensions are, but I am still working toward a late 2009 departure.
This week Marge and I are finishing up some required studies in preparation of EMC/CMI at ABWE. We do love our acronyms. EMC stands for Essential Missions Components and CMI stands for Core Missions Institute. It is intended for missionaries that are making progress in pre-field and the intent it to impart training and understanding on topics of church planting in other cultures.
That takes one week, and then before going home we are planning on spending several days in Washington DC. The children have never been there, and I'm excited about the whole thing. I want to take you (the reader) along for the trip. I plan on blogging each day, and including photos so that you can be part of the experience.
Keep your eyes on this blog!
Adam
Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Parmenter Missions - May/June 2008 Update
SHARING THE CROWN OF LIFE
Parmenters and the Mission to the Czech Republic
UPDATE
In March, time seemed to stand still or perhaps evaporate, and suddenly it's July. As I've written earlier, in February, Marge's father, Henry Blunier, died and passed on to eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord. Marge has been healing emotionally as have the rest of the family.
Then mid March my father, Allen Parmenter, was getting treatment for a leg ulcer and leg pain. The pain medication made him dizzy and he fell and hit his head resulting in a head injury. I was there for two weeks at their winter Arizona home to help get him out of the nursing home and deal with some serious patient care issues. I'm happy to say that mom and dad are now in their summer home in LaGrange, IN and dad is receiving care in their home. It will take many months of recovery for both the leg wound and the head injury. It's possible that he will lose one of his legs.
Please pray that my parents will not only be able to focus on dad's recovery, but that they can enjoy their time with each other.
In May, Marge had outpatient surgery, an excisional biopsy of the breast. Praise God that it was all benign. She recovered well and meanwhile finished her first year of home-schooling with Michael.
In May and June, I've been making as many phone calls as I can to churches. I focused on Iowa for a while, but stopped when the area I was calling got flooded. Lately I've been making phone calls and sending information to Baptist, Bible and Community churches in central Illinois. People are friendly and I have plenty of follow up calls to make.
We are in the endurance part of our pre-field ministry. We have about 20% of our support, but don't have many church meetings lined up. It takes making many phone calls and sending out information to locate the churches that feel like we are a good fit for their missions program.
On The Road
We had the opportunity to minister at East Arlington Baptist Church in Lawrence, MI and we enjoyed a day of presenting at Alaska Baptist Church in Caledonia, MI. We shared our testimonies, the spiritual condition of the Czech Republic and our desire to share the gospel in the Czech Republic.
At Home
We are enjoying a weekly bible study with a young couple using the Story of Hope and the Way to Joy materials from ABWE. Marge is also discipling a new believer.
ONLINE
New at http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=9680012&msgid=152196&act=WB6Y&c=160848&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.sharethecrown.com is the "Meet the Parmenters" page. Now is your chance to find out who we really are!
Meanwhile Back on Bank Street:
Maryellen is enjoying our backyard habitat where she studies plants, bugs, fireflies, and other critters. She is also busily preparing for piano day camp. It's an exciting opportunity for her.
Michael spent two weeks enjoying public service as part of the Serve Kalamazoo event. It was organized by a group of local churches. He's also diligently keeping his trumpet skills sharp this summer and getting ready for his jazz band's next concert. His band is called The Shades. You can learn more about them at http://click.icptrack.com/icp/relay.php?r=9680012&msgid=152196&act=WB6Y&c=160848&admin=0&destination=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.shadestunes.com.
Marge is a wonderful wife and mother, and is busy getting ready for our trip to Pennsylvania for a week of classes at ABWE. We have studying to do on cross cultural church planting and on the Czech Republic in preparation for this training.
Adam is studying to prepare for the classes at ABWE headquarters as well as keeping up on pre-field ministry. My employer recently announced a 20% cut in work force. It is a sensible effort to get costs in line. I should know within a couple months if I'll be terminated from the company. It wouldn't be all bad as I might be able to use severance pay to support the family while spending full time raising support. We trust in God's timing. I recently went for physical therapy to deal with some hip pain. The treatment is helping. I want to deal with it now while I still have health insurance from a large corporation.
PLEASE PRAY
- That I'll be able to set up a full schedule of church visits so that we can share the exciting news that God is beginning to work in the hearts of Czech people.
- We still aren't ready to put our house up for sale, but need to do it soon. We don't expect to make much, because of the housing market. Pray that we will make enough to cover our financial obligations.
- Our weekly bible studies to raise up new disciples here in Kalamazoo.
- As always, please pray that each day our focus will be on Christ and that we would each have a desire to know and please Him.
PRE-FIELD PREPARATIONS
Church Meetings:
10-August Devon Church 1630 West Devon, Chicago, IL 60660
26-August 58th Avenue Baptist Church 2228 58th Ave., Cicero, IL 60804
5-October Bethlehem Baptist 2031 East Cork Street, Kalamazoo, MI
19-October Bethel Baptist 402 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo, MI 49001
MONTHLY SUPPORT
If you would like to help with our monthly financial support, send checks to:
ATTN: Parmenter Support #013408
ABWE, P.O. Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585
Remember to mark it as monthly support if you plan to give each month.
Thanks for taking the time to read and pray for us.
Kind regards,
Adam, Marge & the Kids
1512 Bank Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001
Cell (269) 762-2202
Home (269) 373-5402
e-mail: parmenters@abwe.cc
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Wednesday, July 2, 2008
Slogging Through
I think that we are at the part in pre-field where we learn endurance. I have a flexible working arrangement now at work so that I have each Tuesday off. The idea is that on Tuesday, I call Baptist, Bible and community churches in a region that I've zoned out on a map.
I make the calls and get some answering machines, get a few no-thankyous, and get a bunch of "yes, send us an information packet". One Tuesday in June I made 60 calls and totaled 80 for the week. Most other Tuesdays, I also am studying and doing other missions related work, so I make about 30, but still get about 50 calls in. The calls are either a first contact with church or a follow up.
I gets to be a bit relentless. I sent out a bunch of packets to churches in Iowa, but haven't called them back yet, because they might be under water. Right now I'm working my way through Illinois. My wish is that we would have a bunch of speaking engagements lined up. I love doing them. God is teaching me to trust Him, and rely on Him first and foremost.
So, yesterday (Tuesday) I got no calls made. I went to a physical therapy session to help deal with hip pain, and later had extreme pain for the rest of the day. Right now the cure is worse than what ails me. I decided not to force my self to somehow focus and start calling. Instead I went to bed.
All of these experiences give me a sense of comfort. It's hard to see how things will work out so that we are on a plane bound for the Czech, but I know it will. So, trying circumstances are an opportunity to trust and build my faith "muscles". It's a challenge, but I apreciate the excercise.
Adam
I make the calls and get some answering machines, get a few no-thankyous, and get a bunch of "yes, send us an information packet". One Tuesday in June I made 60 calls and totaled 80 for the week. Most other Tuesdays, I also am studying and doing other missions related work, so I make about 30, but still get about 50 calls in. The calls are either a first contact with church or a follow up.
I gets to be a bit relentless. I sent out a bunch of packets to churches in Iowa, but haven't called them back yet, because they might be under water. Right now I'm working my way through Illinois. My wish is that we would have a bunch of speaking engagements lined up. I love doing them. God is teaching me to trust Him, and rely on Him first and foremost.
So, yesterday (Tuesday) I got no calls made. I went to a physical therapy session to help deal with hip pain, and later had extreme pain for the rest of the day. Right now the cure is worse than what ails me. I decided not to force my self to somehow focus and start calling. Instead I went to bed.
All of these experiences give me a sense of comfort. It's hard to see how things will work out so that we are on a plane bound for the Czech, but I know it will. So, trying circumstances are an opportunity to trust and build my faith "muscles". It's a challenge, but I apreciate the excercise.
Adam
Saturday, May 17, 2008
Growing Old With Grace
Sitting at my mom and dad's house. Dad's legs are worse, and they hurt him at night. He has artherial sclerosis. It's serious, and could jeapordize him keeping his legs. Some nights the pain is worse than others. We are learning how much we love and care for each other, and how important our family is to us.
I'm sitting up with dad tonight. He is up and down a number of times and needs help getting out of bed and into his wheel chair.
Mom (her name is Grace) is diong o.k., but it's getting harder for them to manage in their own home. It gets a little comical at night when she has taken her hearing aid out, and we try to talk to her.
She says that she turns her hearing aids off when her boys (including me) are home. She says that we are loud enough that she doesn't need them. I think that means we're big mouths.
It's good to be home, and I realise how much I love my parents, and that they have been wonderful to me and to all of us children.
Adam
I'm sitting up with dad tonight. He is up and down a number of times and needs help getting out of bed and into his wheel chair.
Mom (her name is Grace) is diong o.k., but it's getting harder for them to manage in their own home. It gets a little comical at night when she has taken her hearing aid out, and we try to talk to her.
She says that she turns her hearing aids off when her boys (including me) are home. She says that we are loud enough that she doesn't need them. I think that means we're big mouths.
It's good to be home, and I realise how much I love my parents, and that they have been wonderful to me and to all of us children.
Adam
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Marge's "Procedure"
I'm sitting in the food court at Bronson Methodist Hospital, Kalamazoo, MI. I've spent the morning with my wife Marge as she is prepared for a surgical procedure to remove fibrous tissue from her left breast. It is not cancerous, but it is also not considered benign.
So, this morning she put on all of the hospital gown stuff, filled out paper work, and then had an xray so that they could exactly locate the tissue to be removed. Now she is in surgery. They are using a local anesthetic along with something to make her very sleepy.
Surgery should be done soon, and the doctor will give me her assessment.
--------------------------------
I'm very impressed with the folks here at Bronson. They show compassion and are meticulous in following safety procedure. I'm sitting next to Marge in out-patient post-op recovery. The surgeon said that the procedure whent well, and that the tissue looked good. They will do a full biopsy on the tissue to verify that it is not cancerous. They don't expect it to be, but it is good that they are making certain.
Marge is dozing while the sedative wears off. She doesn't remember a thing from the surgery. This is an odd sort of experience. Something that could have become cancerous was removed, so it's not as if Marge will feel better after she heals. Perhaps she will feel more at eases. Perhaps not. I'm sure that she will be even more vigilant now that she has had a breast cancer "scare".
From Marge: "Thank you for your prayers."
I was visited by a dear friend from Bethel, our home church. Edith Lepke. So, I had some company while I waited for Marge to come out of surgery. Marge's surgeon was a nursing student once upon a time and Edith was her teacher. So, they said hi to each other. I think that's what makes Marge's surgeon so exceptional: she was a nurse first, and then went back to school to become a surgeon.
Marge will have "light duty" the rest of the week. I'll be the house keeper, cook, and chofer along with working at Pfizer and continuing with our missionary pre-field work. The children are eager to help pick up the slack and do well at helping.
In fact, out of necessity, I've started Maryellen on a Microsoft Publisher tutorial so that she can learn to do the design and layout of our quarterly print newsletter. I'm hoping this summer the kids can learn web design too. It's great learning for them, and it takes a load off of me.
Adam
So, this morning she put on all of the hospital gown stuff, filled out paper work, and then had an xray so that they could exactly locate the tissue to be removed. Now she is in surgery. They are using a local anesthetic along with something to make her very sleepy.
Surgery should be done soon, and the doctor will give me her assessment.
--------------------------------
I'm very impressed with the folks here at Bronson. They show compassion and are meticulous in following safety procedure. I'm sitting next to Marge in out-patient post-op recovery. The surgeon said that the procedure whent well, and that the tissue looked good. They will do a full biopsy on the tissue to verify that it is not cancerous. They don't expect it to be, but it is good that they are making certain.
Marge is dozing while the sedative wears off. She doesn't remember a thing from the surgery. This is an odd sort of experience. Something that could have become cancerous was removed, so it's not as if Marge will feel better after she heals. Perhaps she will feel more at eases. Perhaps not. I'm sure that she will be even more vigilant now that she has had a breast cancer "scare".
From Marge: "Thank you for your prayers."
I was visited by a dear friend from Bethel, our home church. Edith Lepke. So, I had some company while I waited for Marge to come out of surgery. Marge's surgeon was a nursing student once upon a time and Edith was her teacher. So, they said hi to each other. I think that's what makes Marge's surgeon so exceptional: she was a nurse first, and then went back to school to become a surgeon.
Marge will have "light duty" the rest of the week. I'll be the house keeper, cook, and chofer along with working at Pfizer and continuing with our missionary pre-field work. The children are eager to help pick up the slack and do well at helping.
In fact, out of necessity, I've started Maryellen on a Microsoft Publisher tutorial so that she can learn to do the design and layout of our quarterly print newsletter. I'm hoping this summer the kids can learn web design too. It's great learning for them, and it takes a load off of me.
Adam
Monday, May 5, 2008
Sunday in the Meadow
I've been calling between 10 and 30 churches each week and sending out between 5 and 10 information packets to churches. I was speaking with pastor Pendell at Green Meadows Bible Baptist Church, and he said to go ahead and send him a packet.
We didn't have a church scheduled for Sunday, so we decided to take it ourselves and visit. Just ten min. from our house, this church was full of country charm. It was refreshing.
We're enjoying meeting new people and sharing in their worship services.
Adam
We didn't have a church scheduled for Sunday, so we decided to take it ourselves and visit. Just ten min. from our house, this church was full of country charm. It was refreshing.
We're enjoying meeting new people and sharing in their worship services.
Adam
Friday, April 18, 2008
Parmenter Missions - April 2008
SHARING THE CROWN OF LIFE
Parmenters and the Mission to the Czech Republic
UPDATE
In March, time seemed to stand still or perhaps evaporate, and suddenly it's half way through April. As I've written earlier, in March, Marge's father, Henry Blunier, died and passed on to eternal life with Jesus Christ our Lord. Marge has been healing emotionally as has the rest of the family.
Then mid March my father, Allen Parmenter, was getting treatment for a leg ulcer and leg pain. The pain medication made him dizzy and he fell and hit his head resulting in a head injury. I was there for two weeks at their winter Arizona home to help get him out of the nursing home and deal with some serious patient care issues. I'm happy to say that mom and dad are now in their summer home in LaGrange, IN and dad is receiving care in their home. It will take several months of recovery for both the leg wound and the head injury. Right now family and paid helpers are providing 24X7 assistance. Marge and I are going there tonight (Friday) to stay over night.
Please pray that my parents will not only be able to focus on dad's recovery, but that they can enjoy their time with each other.
On The Road
We had the privilege of sharing in the ministry at East Arlington Baptist Church in Lawrence, MI on April 13th in both Adult Sunday school and the morning service. We shared our testimonies, the spiritual condition of the Czech Republic and our desire to share the gospel in the Czech Republic.
ONLINE
Each week I try to post up something new at http://www.sharethecrown.com/. One new item is ShareTheCrown "Radio". We will regularly add new material, hopefully each month. Click here to listen.
God is Kind To Us
Even with the two week break in support raising, our support level went up to 17%. We are grateful.
If you aren't already part of our financial support team, we want you to join. Please send me an e-mail if you would like more information on how to be one of our financial supporters.
More important than the money, is our need for a team of people to join us in taking time each week to pray for us. This past weekend, two more couples joined our prayer team. We are excited to have the additional support. If you aren't already part of it, and are willing to take some time each each week to pray for us, please send me an e-mail. I'll add you to our prayer watch.
THE CZECH REPUBLIC - "Is Jesus Accepted in the Czech Republic?"
That was the question posted to a Czech message board. I have permission to post the response of an individual with the screen name of "eso".
This is my favorite topic, so I will answer with long post:
"Czech republic has very big number of atheists (or agnostics or somethingism). In 2001 census was all citizens of Czech republic asked about religion (and many other things) and 6,039,991 citizens (59 %) responded "no religion". Czech republic is often considered as most atheistic/secular country in the world and many Czechs are proud of it."
"Czech republic has very big number of atheists (or agnostics or somethingism). In 2001 census was all citizens of Czech republic asked about religion (and many other things) and 6,039,991 citizens (59 %) responded "no religion". Czech republic is often considered as most atheistic/secular country in the world and many Czechs are proud of it."
For the full article visit the Journey to Missions Blog. My thanks to eso for letting me reprint his posting. It is informative and interesting.
GIVING THANKS
- Safe travel around West Michigan.
- We are thankful that my dad is home
PLEASE PRAY
- That I'll be able to set up a full schedule of church visits so that we can share the exciting news that God is beginning to work in the hearts of Czech people.
- We will put our house up for sale when the children start summer break. We don't expect to make much, because of the housing market. Pray that we will make enough to cover our financial obligations.
- As always, please pray that each day our focus will be on Christ and that we would each have a desire to know and please Him.
PRE-FIELD PREPARATIONS
Speaking engagements:
*20-April Bethel Baptist Church, Kalamazoo, MI -- Morning Service
30-April Heritage Academy - Chapel
Financial Support
Currently we are at about 17.30% of our required $6,638.33 monthly financial support and 12.52% of our Outfit and Passage support.Send checks to:ATTN: Parmenter Support #013408ABWE, P.O. Box 8585, Harrisburg, PA 17105-8585Remember to mark it as monthly support if you plan to give each month.Thanks for taking the time to read and pray for us.
Kind regards,Adam, Marge & the Kids1512 Bank Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001Cell (269) 762-2202Home (269) 373-5402e-mail: parmenters@abwe.cc
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Thursday, April 17, 2008
Is Jesus Accepted in the Czech?
Is Jesus Accepted in the Czech?
That was the question posted to a Czech message board. I have permissions to post the response of an individual with the screen name of "eso". Eso lives in the Czech Republic. His perspective is informative.
Czech republic has very big number of atheists (or agnostics or somethingism /this term I will explain lately). In 2001 census was all citizens of Czech republic asked about religion (and many other things) and 6,039,991 citizens (59 %) responded "no religion". Czech republic is often considered as most atheistic/secular country in the world and many Czechs are proud of it.
Foreigners sometimes assume, that it's because communist past. This is wrong assumption, because our post-communist neighbours, like Poland or Slovakia (Which was up to 1993 united with Czech republic into one country) are despite similar comunnist expirience mostly Catholic (Slovakia 69%, Poland 75-90%). Roots of Czech scepticism to organized religion (no necessarily to specific god, goddess or gods) are dated since 15th century.
Key history moments (compressed - you can look up details via Google)
1414-15 Prague priest Jan Hus, who criticized bad things in church is called to church congreation in Kostnice, he is accussed of heresy and then he is burned to death. This act raised husite rebellion. Church reacted to rebellion with 5 crusades against Czechs. Army of husites fought with crusaders and allways won.
1611... - After death of emperor Rudolf II discords again started between Catholics and reformists.
1618-20 - Bila hora battle. Czech army is defeated and protestants are punished. 27 Czech lords are publicly executed. Thirty year's war (1618-1648) decimate Czech nation from 3.000.000 to 800.000 people. Many Czechs are forced to leave country. Forced recatolization started. Many books were banned and burned.
1918 - "First republic" - First really independent democratic Czechoslovak state is established. First president T.G.Masaryk, national hero, is outspoken rationalist and humanist. He considered catholicism as anti-national power, which suffocated everything positive and valuable in Czech history.
From 1938-1945 was country under rule of Nazi ideology.
From 1948-1989 under communist ideology, which continuously changed from stalinism to "human-face socialism" to "normalization socialism" with Soviet tanks intervention as bonus in 1968. Through these 50 years, when lived under permanent censorship, Czechs learnt to identify propaganda and to distrust to any ideology. During communism every church partially colaborated with regime in order to preserve its existence. In context of Czech history isn't big surprise, that Czechs are distrustful to church.
Last 16 years After fall of communism, church should have chance to change its reputation, but failed. Instead of spiritual subjects, church dignitaries were more interested in acquisition of land estates and realties. After long lawsuit, Catholic church won famous St. Vitus Cathedral. Imediatelly after that they started collect a fee for chapel visit.
That was local church, but what about foreign missionaries and evangelists? They came. Especially in late nineties they roamed in Prague - Jehova witnesses, Church of Christ, World Changers, ESI, Christian Associates Int, all of them. But they experienced some problems. Besides of mentioned history, Czech people are rather pragmatic, realistic, material and cool headed than emotional, spiritual or believing. If you will exclaim: "Jesus will save you!", they tend to answer with inappropriate questions like "From what?" or "Do you have proof?". Some missionaries don't understant, that there can exists someone, who allready know story about Jesus, last supper, Golgota and ressurection, but for all that he choose to not believe. Some find out, that if they dance and jump and cry in public: "Jesus is great!", common no-emotional Czechs see him like he is little crazy. And of course - language barriere is big problem.
Few actual quotes: Young Czechs have a physical reaction of fear when you bring up the subject of religion or faith. Church is not a good or positive concept in their minds. Religion has been associated negatively with each oppressive party over the Czech Republic. John Philpott, anglican vicar in Prague
When you say church in Prague it closes doors. Jonathan and Daniela Augustine (www.ProjectAntioch.com)
Czech Thinking: · Passive · Closed · Logical, sort of an engineering mind set Artie Sposaro - Grace Ministries Prague
I can post links to diaries of frustrated missionaries in Czech republic, if you want Of course, there is complete religion freedom in Czech republic. Everyone can believe in whatever he wants. But maybe he doesn't want Generaly in Europe, faith is considered as personal thing and majority don't talk about it in public very much. But if you want to loudly thank to God and prays publicly, the worst you can experienced may be surprised smile of passers-by.
What else? Oh, I promised to explain, what is somethingism - When ordinary Czechs identify themselves as atheist, they usually don't mean it in the strict sense. When pressed, most Czechs acknowledge they believe in something bigger than themselves to make sense of their lives, not directly connected to any official religion.
That was the question posted to a Czech message board. I have permissions to post the response of an individual with the screen name of "eso". Eso lives in the Czech Republic. His perspective is informative.
This is my favourite topic, so I will answer with looong post
Czech republic has very big number of atheists (or agnostics or somethingism /this term I will explain lately). In 2001 census was all citizens of Czech republic asked about religion (and many other things) and 6,039,991 citizens (59 %) responded "no religion". Czech republic is often considered as most atheistic/secular country in the world and many Czechs are proud of it.
Foreigners sometimes assume, that it's because communist past. This is wrong assumption, because our post-communist neighbours, like Poland or Slovakia (Which was up to 1993 united with Czech republic into one country) are despite similar comunnist expirience mostly Catholic (Slovakia 69%, Poland 75-90%). Roots of Czech scepticism to organized religion (no necessarily to specific god, goddess or gods) are dated since 15th century.
Key history moments (compressed - you can look up details via Google)
1414-15 Prague priest Jan Hus, who criticized bad things in church is called to church congreation in Kostnice, he is accussed of heresy and then he is burned to death. This act raised husite rebellion. Church reacted to rebellion with 5 crusades against Czechs. Army of husites fought with crusaders and allways won.
1611... - After death of emperor Rudolf II discords again started between Catholics and reformists.
1618-20 - Bila hora battle. Czech army is defeated and protestants are punished. 27 Czech lords are publicly executed. Thirty year's war (1618-1648) decimate Czech nation from 3.000.000 to 800.000 people. Many Czechs are forced to leave country. Forced recatolization started. Many books were banned and burned.
1918 - "First republic" - First really independent democratic Czechoslovak state is established. First president T.G.Masaryk, national hero, is outspoken rationalist and humanist. He considered catholicism as anti-national power, which suffocated everything positive and valuable in Czech history.
From 1938-1945 was country under rule of Nazi ideology.
From 1948-1989 under communist ideology, which continuously changed from stalinism to "human-face socialism" to "normalization socialism" with Soviet tanks intervention as bonus in 1968. Through these 50 years, when lived under permanent censorship, Czechs learnt to identify propaganda and to distrust to any ideology. During communism every church partially colaborated with regime in order to preserve its existence. In context of Czech history isn't big surprise, that Czechs are distrustful to church.
Last 16 years After fall of communism, church should have chance to change its reputation, but failed. Instead of spiritual subjects, church dignitaries were more interested in acquisition of land estates and realties. After long lawsuit, Catholic church won famous St. Vitus Cathedral. Imediatelly after that they started collect a fee for chapel visit.
That was local church, but what about foreign missionaries and evangelists? They came. Especially in late nineties they roamed in Prague - Jehova witnesses, Church of Christ, World Changers, ESI, Christian Associates Int, all of them. But they experienced some problems. Besides of mentioned history, Czech people are rather pragmatic, realistic, material and cool headed than emotional, spiritual or believing. If you will exclaim: "Jesus will save you!", they tend to answer with inappropriate questions like "From what?" or "Do you have proof?". Some missionaries don't understant, that there can exists someone, who allready know story about Jesus, last supper, Golgota and ressurection, but for all that he choose to not believe. Some find out, that if they dance and jump and cry in public: "Jesus is great!", common no-emotional Czechs see him like he is little crazy. And of course - language barriere is big problem.
Few actual quotes: Young Czechs have a physical reaction of fear when you bring up the subject of religion or faith. Church is not a good or positive concept in their minds. Religion has been associated negatively with each oppressive party over the Czech Republic. John Philpott, anglican vicar in Prague
When you say church in Prague it closes doors. Jonathan and Daniela Augustine (www.ProjectAntioch.com)
Czech Thinking: · Passive · Closed · Logical, sort of an engineering mind set Artie Sposaro - Grace Ministries Prague
I can post links to diaries of frustrated missionaries in Czech republic, if you want Of course, there is complete religion freedom in Czech republic. Everyone can believe in whatever he wants. But maybe he doesn't want Generaly in Europe, faith is considered as personal thing and majority don't talk about it in public very much. But if you want to loudly thank to God and prays publicly, the worst you can experienced may be surprised smile of passers-by.
What else? Oh, I promised to explain, what is somethingism - When ordinary Czechs identify themselves as atheist, they usually don't mean it in the strict sense. When pressed, most Czechs acknowledge they believe in something bigger than themselves to make sense of their lives, not directly connected to any official religion.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Hissing Cockroaches
This is from Maryellen Parmenter:
We went over to the Shertzer's house after attending East Arlington Baptist in Lawrence, MI. They had two parrots, a ton of cockroaches, and two Geckos as pets. We enjoyed having a nice conversation with them, and ate Mrs. Shertzer's delicious meal.
At East Arlington, Dad presented in adult Bible study and in the service. He sang in the offertory, and Mom and Michael played Be Thou My Vision.
At the Shertzer's I was rather revolted by the writhing mass of hissing Cockroaches in their cage. Michael actually dared to touch one. Though I can't say that for myself. I found the larger parrot, Ariel, quite amusing. If she was left alone in a room or was unhappy about something, she would make a shrieking noise. She also liked to eat jelly beans. If let out, the other parrot would fly around the room in circles.
I wish I could have taken some cockroaches home, but my dad said no. He says, when I grow up and get my own house then perhaps I can get some for myself.
Signed,
Maryellen Parmenter
We went over to the Shertzer's house after attending East Arlington Baptist in Lawrence, MI. They had two parrots, a ton of cockroaches, and two Geckos as pets. We enjoyed having a nice conversation with them, and ate Mrs. Shertzer's delicious meal.
At East Arlington, Dad presented in adult Bible study and in the service. He sang in the offertory, and Mom and Michael played Be Thou My Vision.
At the Shertzer's I was rather revolted by the writhing mass of hissing Cockroaches in their cage. Michael actually dared to touch one. Though I can't say that for myself. I found the larger parrot, Ariel, quite amusing. If she was left alone in a room or was unhappy about something, she would make a shrieking noise. She also liked to eat jelly beans. If let out, the other parrot would fly around the room in circles.
I wish I could have taken some cockroaches home, but my dad said no. He says, when I grow up and get my own house then perhaps I can get some for myself.
Signed,
Maryellen Parmenter
Thursday, March 27, 2008
A Different Mission
Last Saturday I arrived at Sky Harbor airport in Phoenix, Arizona. I'm here to help my mother make care arrangements for my father's health. Dad is 86. Several weeks ago, he fell and hit his head. The resulting injury has left him quite confused and weak.
He is in Springdale nursing home in Mesa, AZ and we aren't sure how long his recovery will be.
Last week my brother Mark was here, and this is my week to help my mom navigate the health care system. I've been busier here than I am at home and missions preparations have come to a halt, while I tend to this very important mission.
Please pray for Marge and the kids as I will be won't seem them again until next Thursday, and pray that my father will receive the care that he needs. Also, pray that my dad, mom and I will be an example of how a Christian lives to the people and staff at the nursing home.
I'm making every effort to thank the staff for all that they do, but also I'm persitent in getting the information that I need and getting dad treatment.
Some of you may know my father, and I encourage you to send cards to their home and my mother can take them to dad:
Allen Parmenter
Lot 110
300 South Val Vista
Mesa, AZ 85204
Adam
He is in Springdale nursing home in Mesa, AZ and we aren't sure how long his recovery will be.
Last week my brother Mark was here, and this is my week to help my mom navigate the health care system. I've been busier here than I am at home and missions preparations have come to a halt, while I tend to this very important mission.
Please pray for Marge and the kids as I will be won't seem them again until next Thursday, and pray that my father will receive the care that he needs. Also, pray that my dad, mom and I will be an example of how a Christian lives to the people and staff at the nursing home.
I'm making every effort to thank the staff for all that they do, but also I'm persitent in getting the information that I need and getting dad treatment.
Some of you may know my father, and I encourage you to send cards to their home and my mother can take them to dad:
Allen Parmenter
Lot 110
300 South Val Vista
Mesa, AZ 85204
Adam
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Saturday, March 22, 2008
Dad Parmenter in Arizona
I've lost track of when this started. About two weeks ago my dad, who was taking a medication for pain in his legs, got dizzy from the med and fell. We think he hit his head and suffered a subdural hematoma.
Essentially bleeding on the brain. No one is suggesting a surgical procedure, so hopefully that means it isn't as serious as it could be. Sadly, the added pressure on the brain from the blood suppresses brain function. He is often confused and can be combative with the staff at the nursing home where he is supposed to be going through rehabilitation and recovery.
My brother Allen who lives in Phoenix was there the first week, and my brother Mark is there this week. I'm flying out today to take the next week. My parents are both in their 80s and this experience is overwhelming for my mother.
Our job out there is to advocate for consistent and quality care.
It's been hard to sleap frankly. My father was always a kind man, strong disciplinarian, and he was definitely his own boss. It grieves me to see him confused and to see him upset that he just can't leave and go about his business.
I think back to when I was a child, his arms were the strongest and safest place to be. Now we are the ones who are comforting him.
I'm glad to do it, and will happily do what ever it takes to make sure he gets the care he needs.
This has been hard for Marge, just weeks after her own father died and went to be with Jesus. We are thrilled that he is with Christ, but it's lonely to be without him. All of that is brought back fresh for her now that my father is in the hospital.
Pray for our comfort, and for my father's recovery.
Adam
Essentially bleeding on the brain. No one is suggesting a surgical procedure, so hopefully that means it isn't as serious as it could be. Sadly, the added pressure on the brain from the blood suppresses brain function. He is often confused and can be combative with the staff at the nursing home where he is supposed to be going through rehabilitation and recovery.
My brother Allen who lives in Phoenix was there the first week, and my brother Mark is there this week. I'm flying out today to take the next week. My parents are both in their 80s and this experience is overwhelming for my mother.
Our job out there is to advocate for consistent and quality care.
It's been hard to sleap frankly. My father was always a kind man, strong disciplinarian, and he was definitely his own boss. It grieves me to see him confused and to see him upset that he just can't leave and go about his business.
I think back to when I was a child, his arms were the strongest and safest place to be. Now we are the ones who are comforting him.
I'm glad to do it, and will happily do what ever it takes to make sure he gets the care he needs.
This has been hard for Marge, just weeks after her own father died and went to be with Jesus. We are thrilled that he is with Christ, but it's lonely to be without him. All of that is brought back fresh for her now that my father is in the hospital.
Pray for our comfort, and for my father's recovery.
Adam
Tuesday, March 18, 2008
Parmenter Missions - March 2008
SHARING THE CROWN OF LIFE
Parmenters and the Mission to the Czech Republic
UPDATE
We are excited to announce our second supporting church: Heartland Baptist Church, Omaha, NE.
We visited with Heartland Baptist a little over a week ago on Sunday (9-March-08). Marge and I presented a Sunday school called "In The Potter's Hands". It discusses that God shapes the lives of believers, but if we allow it, the world around us can shape us instead. The class, then showed how historical events shaped the Czech nation and how they understand God.
That afternoon, I had the privilege of having lunch with the Omaha Czech Cultural Club and speaking briefly to them.
In the evening we were back at Heartland to speak more about our mission to the Czech. Each of gave our testimonies, and for the children it was the first time to do so in front of such a large group.
We were pleasantly surprised that before the evening was over, the congregation made a decision to become part of our monthly support team.We are eager to return to the Omaha area and revisit our new friends.
Our goal is to reach 25% of our financial support by the end of April.
We are excited that we are pretty much at 15% of our monthly support goal.
GIVING THANKS
- Safe travel to Nebraska
- Our new supporting church
- There is much to enjoy about pre-field experience. We are enjoying meeting new people, and sharing our mission to the Czech.
PLEASE PRAY
- I will be traveling to AZ 22-March through 31-March to help care for my father (85 years old).
- Pray that God will direct us to churches and individuals that have a passion for the Czech Republic.
PRE-FIELD PREPARATIONS
Speaking engagements:
We are beginning to get dates to present at churches and schools. We also still have plenty of open dates if your church would like us to come and speak.
| 13-Apr-08 | East Arlington Baptist Church Lawrence, MI 49064 | 269-674-3160 |
| 20-April-08 | Bethel Baptist / AM Eng Service 402 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 | 269-381-2080 |
| 27-Apr-08 | Open | |
| Wed 30-Apr-08 | Heritage Baptist Academy 6312 Quail Run, Kalamazoo, MI 49009 | (269) 372-1400 |
| 4-May-08 | Open | |
| 11-May-08 | Open | |
| 18-May-08 | Open | |
| 25-May-08 | Open | |
| 1-June-08 | Open | |
| 8-June-08 | Open | |
| 15-June-08 | Open | |
| 22-June-08 | Parmenter Family | |
| 29 -June-08 | Alaska Baptist Church 7240 68th St Se, Caledonia, MI 49316 | (616) 698-8104 |
| 6-July | Open | |
| 13-July | Open | |
| 20-July | Harrisburg, PA | |
| 27-July | Harrisburg, PA | |
| 3-August | Open | |
| 10-August | Open | |
| 17-August | Parmenter Family | |
| 24-August | Open | |
| 31-August | Open | |
| 7-Sep | Open | |
| 14-Sep | Open | |
| 21-Sep | Open | |
| 28-Sep | Open | |
| Mon 30-Sep / Tue 1-Oct | Calvary Baptist Church 220 North Jebavy Dr, Ludington, MI 49431 | 231-843-44600 |
| 5-Oct | Open | |
| 12-Oct | Open | |
| 19-Oct | Bethel Baptist / Missions Emphasis 402 S. Westnedge, Kalamazoo, MI 49007 | 269-381-2080 |
Adam, Marge & the Kids1512 Bank Street, Kalamazoo, MI 49001Cell (269) 762-2202Home (269) 373-5402e-mail: parmenters@abwe.cc
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