They were wild

“They were wild, roaming the jungle destroying many lives and you have given them hope, healing and forgiveness.”

The last night of our Festival in Kakata was unusual in many ways. Many local Muslims were gathered near the site listening to the message. Previously, the Muslims had tried to keep people from attending. A heavy tropical rain had poured down all over Kakata and yet the Festival ground was completely dry. Various large flying bugs and bats that had swarmed over the site and stage and into the light and sound equipment the previous two nights were not as noticeable. The music and testimonies the last night were powerful about God alone as the one who can heal and provide hope and forgiveness. When team member, Julie Wright of OrphanAge and Grace Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota shared her testimony everyone in attendance was listening with rapt attention. Many of the people have known Julie from her several previous visits to Kakata.
As I finished my message I expected mostly woman and children to come forward based on the evening’s emphasis. Instead, something I have never witnessed before happened – mostly late teenage boys and men in their early twenties responded to the Gospel. Pastor Singbe, one of the lead pastors for the festival, shared that many of these young men had been child soldiers. He then said “they were wild, roaming the jungle destroying many lives and you have given them hope, healing, and forgiveness.”
Watching the counselors begin to minister to and pray for these young men, I found myself very quiet pondering what the Lord had just done. These young men come from very broken lives. They were used by adults to rape, burn, kill, smash babies and destroy. They had been forcibly drugged and pushed toward the evils of bush magic (traditional West African religion and demon worship). Many had never been to school and had no employment. Yet, here they stood, almost 70 of them, confessing, responding to Christ and the Holy Spirit, broken and yet being healed. And, more importantly, the local churches were engaged with them. So many of these young men were now about to receive love, forgiveness, counsel and help to move forward with their lives. Pastor Coastboy told them that they could “now be a part of helping heal their broken nation and have lives of meaning and productivity.” God is amazing!

"Lord, where are you?"

“Lord, where are you? These orphans need food and they are your children.”

One repeat ministry from last year was to visit three orphanages that OrphanAge works with to provide food, medical exams and medicine. One of the orphanages is run by Peter and Marta Seclan. During the war, they began to collect children who had lost their parents and found them hiding in the jungle. Over time, the number of children grew to over 100. As the war in Liberia ravaged the country, Peter and Marta eventually found a nice area of land outside of Kakata to safely settle with the children. They have worked hard to farm for food and provide education for the children.
Our team arrived with a truck load of food, medicine, and soccer balls. Marta came up to greet us, excited to see us return for the third time in the past couple years. She was so excited to see the food and began to tell an amazing story. The children were hungry. They were between harvests and had run out of food and money. While hoeing the farm she began to desperately cry out to God saying “Lord where are you? These orphans need food, they are hungry and they are your children.” She then told us she felt the Lord tell them they should fast and pray with the children. Then God sent them an amazing sign!

Marta, the staff, and children began a three day fast and prayer vigil that the Lord would provide food for them. At the end of the vigil, Marta, several children and staff saw in the sky the words written “I love you and I love the children.” With great excitement they felt that God had heard their desperate pleas for food – especially for dried fish. So, they then held an all night praise and thanksgiving time trusting that God had given them an amazing sign that he heard their cries and would provide food. Just a few short weeks later our truck arrived with a three month supply of rice, cooking oil, and amazingly, dried fish. It was a privilege to be a part of an answer to prayer. In fact, my daughters’ school, Sisters Christian Academy, was used by the Lord to provide the food. The children in the school spent six months raising funds for the orphans. The Lord is good and he does hear the cries of the orphans!

"Can God forgive me?"

As we entered into the men’s prison in Kakata, we could hear the men shouting at each other for a variety of reasons. Two local pastors that represent the local chapter of Prison Fellowship had arranged with the warden for ANM Board Chairman, DC Lundy, and me to speak to the prisoners and provide practical aid.
As we entered into the cell holding area, we were struck by the absence of any provisions for the men. They were living in a 20’ by 20’ cell with 25 men to a cell. They had no beds, mattresses, blankets nor even a toilet or water to meet basic needs. We were allowed to speak to the men through the cell door to each cell. DC, a Liberian pastor named Coastboy, and I each took a cell to speak to the men. As we began to ask questions and listen, one man cried out “can God forgive me?” What had been a very noisy prison just minutes earlier had become very quiet. The men in each cell crowded around the cell door and sat down to listen to the reply to the desperate plea of one inmate.
We began to share with the men how God can forgive them and how He can restore them and give them a sense of nobility and dignity. It was amazing to see their responses – from tears, to joy, to a profound sense of need for Jesus as Savior and Lord of their lives. When we gave the men a chance to pray to repent and believe in Jesus Christ we witnessed a mighty move of the Holy Spirit – 95 of 99 men wanted to trust in Christ.
Later that night, as we reflected on the day and the experience at the prison we spent time thanking God. We thanked Him that Prison Fellowship will care for these men. We thanked him that so many wanted a new life. We also were greatly moved that for the first time in prison, these men had blankets to cover themselves and sleep on. The men had no idea we had a truck full of practical material aid prior to our speaking with them. Each man received soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, a blanket and the Gospel of John. They are now eagerly reading John and discussing what they read.

Rejoice Liberia Video Link

Here is a link to the new DVD for ANM created from Mike's March trip to Liberia. It is a great example of the work ANM is doing currently. If you would like a copy of the DVD, please contact us and we would be happy to send you one.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XfOo5YPzTLY

Lives touched in Liberia

Mike and his travelling partner Marc had a very successful trip to Liberia last month! There are many amazing stories of how God's hand was upon this trip and Mike will be sharing these with you in the next few weeks. Since his return he was hit with a nasty bug he picked up while in Liberia and it ended up being the final straw for his already compromised gall bladder. He had surgery yesterday to have it removed. Needless to say, he has been lying low since returning and hopefully will be back up to speed soon! He is excited to share the amazing ways God was at work on this trip.
In the meantime I will post for you more of an impersonal list of ways God was able to use them while there.

Orphans: 3 orphanages ministered to with a 3 month supply of food for each orphanage. 267 children medically examined and treated. One boy provided for a hernia surgery.

Pastor's Conference: 134 total attended. An average of 105 were in attendance daily. They were each supplied with two books and one bible.

Women’s Conference: 130 total attendance. An average of 115 attended daily and they received two books and a bible.

Children's Ministry Directors Conference: 40 attended daily. They also received two books and a bible plus children’s ministry tools.

Prison Outreach: the prison was built to hold 60 but had 105 men. The day we were there a few were working at a prison farm. There were 25 men to a cell that was 20 by 20 with nothing in the cell. 95 of 99 responded to the Gospel. We also provided one month of food, soap, toothbrush and toothpaste, socks, a blanket and the Gospel of John for every prisoner and guard. The prisoners did not see nor know about the gifts until after the gospel was given.

Children’s event on Saturday afternoon: 236 responded to the gospel. 900 attended!

Festival: 3 nights. Total attendance (conservative) was 3700. Total responses to the gospel accepting Christ was 340 adults/teens and 276 children. The last night it was 55 young men and late teen boys and the rest were a few women and then children. More young men responded as we left for the hotel - about 20 total so the final count was 70.

And then there was the 16 that responded to Marc Andresen’s message on Sunday in church!

Our total for all evangelistic events: 4699 (not counting Marc’s church attendance) and total responses including the church service was 963.

The Lord blessed in response to 2 years of praying, planning and preparation - even miraculously holding back the rain.

Ministries that partnered with us included SIM, OrphanAge, GEEF, Samaritan's Purse and Desiring God Ministries and Calvin!

God is good!

Rejoice Liberia!

Mike leaves Saturday, February 27th for Kakata, Liberia to spend a week in ministry there! Included in this time will be children's ministry, a women's conference, a pastor's conference, prison ministry, providing food and medicine to several orphanages, and a 3 day outreach festival where Mike will be preaching! It will be a packed week of ministry! Mike will be telling you all about their time there upon his return so you can look for that in a few weeks!

A Difficult Loss

It is with a heavy heart that we share with you that Mike's mother-in-law, Virginia Riggs, unexpectedly went home to be with her Lord on Sunday, December 20th. She had been battling breast cancer and was undergoing chemotherapy but apparently developed an infection that lead to her sudden passing. Fortunately Stephanie, Mike, and Stephanie’s dad and brother were all with Virginia in her final moments. They were able to have a meaningful time of prayer, scripture sharing, and singing with her prior. They are heavily grieving as Mike’s family has always spent significant time each week with grandma and grandpa. The significance of why Jesus did come to this earth for us is definitely being demonstrated for them, particularly during this time of year. It is a blessing to know that Virginia is “home” now and they will see her again. She did love the Lord with all her heart and was very involved with her church both as an elder and as a member of the missions board.

As Mike and Stephanie have been overwhelmed with all the details to be attended to, Mike has asked me to convey some information to folks in response to the inquiries he has been receiving. He has been asked if the family had any designated memorial funds set up in lieu of flowers as is often done. The answer is yes, two funds have been set up based on two of Virginia’s passions in life.

One of her primary passions, as many of you know, was music - having played a major role with the Central Oregon Symphony for 40 years. She was a gifted cellist and a passionate proponent of the Symphony. She was also an enthusiastic teacher who especially loved exposing young people to classical music. Because of this, one fund is set up to provide scholarships for young people wanting to study classical music.

Donations to this memorial fund can be given to:

The Central Oregon Symphony Association
Supporting Music for Children in Our Community
P.O. Box 7953
Bend, Oregon 97708
*Please be sure to mark on your gift that it is in memory of Virginia Riggs.

Her other passion was for missions. She and her husband Bob have both served on a number of missions boards over the years. In fact, she was still an active member of the missions board at their church right up to the time of her passing. Since Mike and Stephanie have dedicated their lives to mission work, the other opportunity for giving would be:

All Nations Ministries
P.O. Box 921
Sisters, Oregon 97759

Again, be sure to designate the gift is in her memory.

Please know there is absolutely no request for gifts being made here. It is simply in response to those who have inquired.

Virginia’s memorial service will be held at the Community Presbyterian Church of Redmond on Sunday, January 10 at 2:00. The church’s address is 529 NW 19th St, Redmond, OR.

The family has very much appreciated all the e-mails, cards, phone calls, etc. The outpouring of care and sympathy means a lot to each one of them and they are comforted by your kind words, thoughts, and prayers.


Anne Rudinsky
Assistant to Mike Parker