Saturday, October 5, 2013

The Darkness is Lifted .

Thank you to all of you who have been praying for us these last couple of weeks.  Thank you for all of the encouraging letters.  It was over whelming to have so many letters come flooding in.  I am so grateful to God for putting so many wonderful people in our lives and for giving us such a great support system.  Thank you all so much for loving us and our mission.  

Just now as I am trying to get my thoughts in this letter the tears are flowing down my face.  Not because I am sad but because I am in awe of the love that God has for us.  Because I know that He has answered all of our prayers.  He has lifted my darkness.  He has given me a clear mind with a real mission.  I have seen God's love coming through to us from each one of you and your letters. (except one, there is always that one!)  But all of your letters were exactly what I needed.  Now I say "I needed" but Jamie was feeling this way too but he just leaves the writing to me.    I was so down in the dumps.  I have never felt so bad since we have been here and I am so glad that I wrote that letter to all of you.  Some said that it was bad for me to write such negative things but I have no regrets.  I believe that God wants us to lean on each other.  I also believe that when you are working everyday on the front lines in another country with such a different culture as a missionary that we need encouragement we need those extra prayers.  It is not easy here.  But I can honestly say that God took away all those awful feelings.  I can honestly say that I am loving life again, even being in Chad.  It didn't happen over night but God worked with me everyday and I believe that I am happier now than I have been in a long, long time.  

God not only had all of our friends and family write us but random people from around the world, like Australia.  People who we do not know that found our blog and wrote us saying that they are praying for us.  What a wonderful, wonderful God we serve!  He is so much bigger than we give Him credit for.  

We are also going to be giving bible studies out of our home with some of the young adults we are close to here.  It just kind of happened.  I am actually very excited about it.  I can't wait to share what I know and learn on top of that.  This is really not something that I  thought I would be doing but God knows what we are capable of.  I am just trying to be willing to do what He wants me to do.  

I have a pretty big story to tell about the school but I am not quite ready to tell all yet.  I will know more after this week.  Before this week is over I will have all the answers in order to be able to share my story.   I can say though that I need everyones prayers, again.  I am making a really big move against what is going on at the school and I need prayers that when the mission president comes here this week to make a vote on it that things will swing God's way.  That God will be in control of His school and He will use me to change things that need to be changed but also that He will give me the right spirit, the right words and the strength at this big meeting.  

This week I will also be following Jamie around.  I will get some pictures and some stories of what he is doing.  He has been very busy.

We want you to know that we love all of you and I can't thank you enough for being there for us during our dark days. 
   
Tammy Parker


Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project" 

Tuesday, September 24, 2013

Why are we here ?

Sometimes I ask myself, do I really know anyone here?  Is there anyone here that can be honest?  How can they validate their wrong actions?  How is it that if someone sees a crime they just turn their face and act like nothing happened.  Is there anyone here that considers us their friends?   Does anyone here feel like they have a real friendship toward us with certain dedication, at all?  Can anyone be honest and do the right thing here?  Does anyone want to know who Jesus really is?  Is there anyone here I can reach? Do they see anything different in me?  If so, do they see that it is Jesus?  Is anything I am doing making a difference?  Am I just saving a child from death to put them in a life of corruption, suffering and abuse?  I have to ask, would that child be better off to die and maybe grow up in heaven?  What are we doing here?  I need answers!  I need God to remind me what in the world am I doing in this place?  

All of these things may seem harsh.  It may seem like I am over exaggerating.  But this is a very hard place to live in.  You can be surrounded by a thousand people and feel so alone.  I haven't been writing blogs because I am so discouraged.  I know that satan is attacking us.  But I need God to talk to me and tell me how to handle all of this.  I don't have any of the answers.  It seems like the work is too much and we are too small.   But the corruption here is getting to be too much.  We have had so much stuff happen in the last month that it is just overwhelming.  I haven't been writing about it because no one wants to hear about some of the bad realities here.  All of the things getting stolen by the people we trust the most in our inner circle.  Or our friends getting married to little girls UNDER the age of 14.  This is such a hard job to work with the people here.  Just take everything that you have been raised to know.  Now, throw it up in the air and turn it all upside down.  That is how the people believe here.  The police are people to be afraid of.  They are not here to help but to give anyone a hard time and threaten you to get money from you.  Not being able to tell if even the pastor is converted.  Who do we go to for help?  I know God is the answer.  

Right now, if any of you have been following our stories, we need you.  We need you to pray for us.  We need the prayer to be specific.  Why are we here?  How can we reach the people?  Does God still want us here?  What does God want from our mission?  We want to do what God wants us to do.  But what is it?

We need encouragement.  I have been afraid to be so rawly honest.  Sometimes I get people to write back and judge us for not being good enough.  We are human and right now are discouraged.  Please, help us get the answers we need from God.  I believe if we pray together God will make it all clear.   Right now I am reading the book, Power of Prayer, written by Ellen G. White.   I know that through faith I can hear Gods voice for our lives.  He can and will show us what to do.  But I also don't think that there is anything wrong in asking for help, help from all of our friends.  

Please keep our health in prayer as well.  Right now I have typhoid and Jamie continues, off and on, to have problems with his heart.  

Thank you all for all of your support.  We appreciate you. 

Love and blessings, 
Tammy Parker


Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project" 

Sunday, August 25, 2013

Couple more heaven pics

Too good to not share.  Hope you enjoy them as much as I did.  It made me think of the second coming.  Are you ready?





Tammy Parker

parkers4bere.

Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project" 

Visited by a Piece of Heaven!


This was such a gift, especially here.  We never get to see anything so beautiful in Chad.  I hope those here in Bere that may have been discouraged looked up and found some hope.  This was the most beautiful breathtaking thing I have ever seen.  If you would like to see more like these you can look in Facebook in one of my photo albums.  What a great way to end the sabbath! 






Tammy Parker


Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project" 

Friday, August 23, 2013

I AM GIVING YOU MY CHILD!


Today was a typical day.  Working with the malnourished babies, the sick, the hungry and then those that said that they were giving me their child.  What do you say to that?  Talk about being put on the spot.  This lady came with her three children and told me that her husband said that she should bring her kids to me so I can see them all and then tell me that this one child is for me.  In the past I had helped them when he was sick.  I paid for his medical bill at the hospital and he got better.  I have helped this family in a few different ways and I guess this was the way they wanted to pay me back.  

When Naomi interpreted this to me I just thought that maybe this was a gesture, something she was just saying to show me how much she was grateful.  But then I caught on that she was seriously not going to leave my property with him.  What do I do?  As I am speaking English to Naomi I am telling her that I can't believe that this lady is going to leave him.  I knew that Naomi was equally freaking out and Naomi said that she was shaking inside.   I was so glad that God brought to my mind what to say.  Because I realized that this is a serious situation.  I looked at this woman and told her that I thank her so much for the offer but a child belongs with his parents.  There is no love like that of a parent.  She seemed to be okay with that.   I asked her if I could take their pictures to remember them and then she left.  

I keep thinking that I can't be surprised by what this place brings my way but I continue to have eyebrow raising situations.  Keep us in prayer.  




Tammy Parker


Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project" 

It's a Girl! .

    Olen and Danae Netteburg are the proud parents of 
                   
                       Addison Noel Netteburg! 

                              August 13, 2013 


Lyol and Zane Netteburg are the proud brothers! 

Wednesday, August 21, 2013

"Unclean" .


I went out into the village to meet people that need help.  I met a couple of old ladies that can't work any more for their food because they are just too worn out.  I saw a young guy cutting the okra for one of them because her hands hurt so bad from working so many years in the rice field.  But the story that really got me was the one of this man.  I turned the corner to meet the next person and the two men before me where already greeting someone in the doorway of a house.  But as I turned the corner I could not see him yet.  But all I knew was that the men in front of me gave this man their hand to shake to say hello.  As I look inside I immediately recognize him as the beggar that use to be in the market.  He would wear bags over his feet because they had been eaten away by leprosy.  I had a moment of freaking out inside myself and I was secretly praying that God will bless me and not let me get this awful disease.  I have been told that it is not all as contagious as everyone thinks.  But from reading all the stories in the bible about the lepers having to cry out "unclean" just stuck to my first instinct not to touch him,  but I did.  I offered my hand to him as I was thinking to myself "I can't believe I am doing this".  The poor man is starving to death.  He says that it is too hard for him to get up and go to the market and beg anymore because he no longer has the power.  He looked just miserable.  I just couldn't digest his desperate situation.  I walked away from there completely uneasy, wondering what can I do?  I am going to try and get some rice and things together for him but just not sure if it will be enough.   I did talk to him about God and asked him if he believed in God and he told me how active he use to be in church.  

When I see people like this I just can't help but thank God for my health and how He takes care of my every need.  Its things like this that I need to think about more often whenever I get in that mood of being consumed with frivolous things.  


Tammy Parker


Jamie phone: +235 93 46 46 35 
Tammy phone: +235 95 25 86 58 

Jamie & Tammy Parker 
Hopital Adventiste de Bere 
52 Boite Postale 
Kelo, TChad 
Afique 

All donations can be sent to: 

Harrison SDA Church 
P.O. Box 969 
Harrison,  TN  37341 

Make Checks payable to: 
Harrison SDA Church 
Earmark:  "The Bere Project"