Nothing like food to bring people together… i got to start meeting some international students this weekend and sample some fantastic food from India, Lebanon, Germany, and of course, some good old Louisiana gumbo! My personal contribution was teaching everyone the electric slide…how else are they going to survive in America??!!

Hey guys! Check out the old school picture I added to the bottom of my last post. Ok fine, so it is only like a year and a half old. But it was pre-marriage, pre-graduation, pre-Kenya….so, I think it counts as old school. And, I would just like to point out, that when compared with people of many nationalities, my husband is the one who is abnormally tall, and I happen to blend right in…..

Dear friends and family,

Wow, what a year it has been! Literally, we’ve been around the world and back, and God has been truly faithful through all the twists and turns.

Sam and I spent the last year in Nairobi, Kenya pouring our hearts into two separate ministries. He worked with a Christian development organization called World Concern, where he helped communities set up village banks, so that they could grow sustainable businesses.

I worked at a Christian school called the West Nairobi School, teaching history to middle and high school students. And teaching was the only the beginning! I was also a friend, an adviser, a fund raiser, a supporter of sports events, a shoulder to cry on, a prayer partner, even a member on panel about sex for the high school girls! I had no idea the many roles I was signing up for when I took that position as history teacher. Most of you know that I love academics, but what I enjoyed most were the relationships that I built with some of those young students. I don’t think I realized that my biggest contribution on the mission field would be as a mentor to teenagers.

As many of you know, my mother was diagnosed in the spring with bladder and kidney cancer. I came home early to be with her as she went through several surgeries, not realizing that God would eventually lead Sam and me to stay in Ohio for a time to support our family during this trial. I definitely grieved hard at first for the loss of these relationships, this ministry I had poured into. But, as always, God is faithful, and has provided a way for me to use the skills and lessons of this past year in Kenya, RIGHT HERE in OHIO!

Bowling Green State University’s Campus Crusade staff (my alma mater) has invited me to join their staff team to work full time on the university campus to bring the gospel to and mentor college students. And even more, they are asking that I work primarily with the international student community! One of the neat aspects of Bowling Green’s international student population is also that there happens to be a HUNDRED Kenyans studying at BGSU.

Campus Crusade is a world-wide organization whose mission is to turn lost students into Christ-centered laborers. At BGSU our goal is for every student to have an opportunity to hear and respond to the gospel, and see as many students go from unbelief to a place of belief in God so they can find the hope and purpose they are so desperately seeking.

I cannot believe how God has put the pieces of the puzzle together for me. He asked us to come back home to be with my family, yet he put this passion for the world and for mentoring students in my heart. Now, he is bringing them all together in one place!

Now, as you may know, Campus Crusade missionaries raise their full financial support through a team of individuals. Because I am joining staff at such a late date, my Campus Crusade staff team asked that I raise financial support through my local church in Bowling Green, BG Covenant (bgcovenant.org). The church has agreed to facilitate and is excited to be involved in international student ministry, as well.

So basically, BGSU school year starts on August 25^th, and international students start arriving at the end of July. The first few weeks are a critical time period for international students as they are coming to a completely foreign place, and they need people to pick them up at the airport, help them navigate campus, set up bank accounts, grocery shop, and just show them a whole different way of life! With all of this being considered, I plan to be on BGSU Campus by the end of July to start work with Campus Crusade.

Clearly, this gives me a very short time frame to raise financial support, but we are trusting God that He will provide, just as He always has. For this year, I will need to raise just over $2,100 a month. Thankfully, this is less than if I had gone the traditional route and raised support straight through Campus Crusade.

Would you prayerfully consider joining my support team with Campus Crusade for Christ with a monthly financial commitment? (As always, the donations are tax deductible!) Monthly support commitments, large or small, are especially helpful for sustaining a ministry. If it works better for your family, we would still joyfully receive a one time gift.

Your support check can be mailed in an envelope addressed to my address in Bowling Green listed below made out to “BG Covenant Church” with “Amanda Parks” in the memo line. If you choose to support us monthly, please let me know, and I will then send you a monthly newsletter with an envelope addressed to BG Covenant Church for you to send your monthly support.

I look forward to talking with you soon about this exciting new venture. Feel free to call or e-mail me with any questions.

God Bless,

Amanda Parks
BGSU Campus Crusade

1124 raven dR, bowling green, oh 43402-8766

1.419.419.9468 AJHOOPs@GMAIL.COM

Livingtheadventure.discoverly.com

“Make me to know your ways, O Lord,;

Teach me your paths.

Lead me in your truth and teach me,

For you are the God of my salvation;

For you I wait all day long.”

 Psalm 25:4-5

This is a photo of Sam and I with the international student lifegroup we were a part of when we were students and a part of Campus Crusade.  For those of you who know us well, Campus Crusade made a HUGE impact in our lives, so we are really excited to be a part of it again in this new role!

We spent a week visiting Sam’s family for the first time in over a year.

This has to be the highlight. Our new nephew! How cute is he???

So, I think we have mentioned this before, but I unfortunately visited a dentist in Kenya. Which turned into a nightmare. Not only could I not chew on one side of my mouth for two months, but now we are trying to get him to pay the bill to fix his mistakes and he is refusing. So, it has been a really unfortunate mistake, to the tune of several thousand dollars. I have been in conversation with him, so if you could just pray that God would just pray that God would change his heart (he is an American missionary dentist). Otherwise, add this to your book of wise quotes;

Thou shalt not goest to the dentist whilst in third world countries unless it is to get your tooth yanked!

P.S.  Happy fourth of July! It is actually the first one Sam and I ever spent together. Last year, I was in training in Mississippi for Africa, and the year before I was on a missions trip in Australia. And since we are out in Philly visiting our new nephew for the first time we called my husband “Uncle Sam” all day (ironic i thought).