Winter Makes It

Like much of the country, winter made it to Albany this past week. We called off Sunday services -- the first time in anyone's memory that has happened -- due to icy road conditions. The kids were out of school Monday and had late starts on Tuesday and Wednesday.

But Wednesday was the big day for the Parker household -- That's the day Jeremy and Jonathan got to play in the snow for the first time in their lives!

The only winter that Jeremy has spent in the States was when he was three years old, the winter of 2001-02 -- the year we adopted Jonathan. That year we missed the snow a couple of times because of our travels and the most we saw was a few flurries.

Wednesday morning the boys were so excited to get out in the snow. In keeping with the "You can take the boy out of Africa, but you can't take the Africa out of the boy motif," Jonathan just can't seem to accept that you just have to wear shoes in winter in America.


And to think that my boys' first snowballs were aimed at dad ...

Come see us in Albany and visit Shackleford county's historic restored court house just one block from our house. ______________________________________________________________
On a much less playful note, I extend my sympathy to all the friends and family of Adam Langford and Moses Kimeze who were serving God in Uganda when they were killed in a truck crash this week. One insightful commenter on Mike Cope's blog noted that, when praying for missionaries in the developing world, we need to remember that the greatest physical danger is not terrorists or disease (though these are real dangers), but traffic. Sadly, that has been my experience. First Nancy, then Cyndi, and now Adam and Moses.

Not long before his death, Adam had written in his blog quoting Mahatma Gandhi as saying, "Whatever you do will be insignificant, but it is very important that you do it." Adam added in his own comments, "...I am beginning to believe we need more people who are willing to enter into the suffering of others whether they can help or not. I want to choose suffering for the sake of others."

Adam and Moses, your service was not insignificant, and your suffering is over.

West Africa meets West Texas

Four things have happened this week that have made me think a lot about West Africa – well, really, there are more than four, but I’m going to talk about four here. On Saturday we had a gathering of former missionaries to West Africa at the Hollands’ home. Jeff, Brenda, Josiah, Ellianna, and Rebecca, our teammates from Togo, live in Abilene, about 30 minutes from Albany. Jeff is getting a degree in Marriage and Family Therapy. In addition to the Hollands and our family, the Wilsons (our teammates in Benin), the Baileys (who worked among the Aja in Benin), and the McVeys (20 yr. veterans to Ghana), were present. We talked some about Africa, but mostly we just enjoyed being together. There is a feeling of understanding and being understood when you’re with those you’ve served with.

Hanging out with old friends -- Andy Wilson & Dan McVey (but who was I boxing?)

The second incident was a couple of nights ago when Maureen made fufu for us to eat. Fufu is made from boiled and pounded yams and/or plantain – it sort of resembles sticky mashed potatoes. Of course, the secret is in the sauce. Our favorite is groundnut (peanut) soup, which Maureen made with the help of peanut butter. The boys jumped for joy when they heard we were having fufu. Jonathan announced that this was the first time he had eaten fufu in Texas—a truly momentous occasion!

You can taken the boy out of Africa ...

Today I attended a meeting of some of the CofC ministers in the area. We enjoyed a good time of fellowship. I discovered that one of them believes that God is leading him and his family—along with several others—to West Africa of all places. (I can’t say who because he is a preacher and his church does know yet.) We compared notes and shared memories and dreams. It was definitely a God-thing that we met.

Finally, today I was looking on the Blogger home page and happened to scroll down far enough to find this blog of a Peace Corps worker in Togo. He has some great video that gives you a feel for Togo, especially this one. (I still haven’t figured out how to link to/embed YouTube. Any help out there?)

Christmas in Dixie

I'm a little late getting Christmas pictures posted, and I realize that these may only be of interest to a small group, but these are some folks that are important to me.

Before that, the big news today is that Maureen has posted! Let's hold her to that New Year's resolution.

Me and my boys on Christmas morning

The greatest parents in the world!

Games are always going on around the Parker house. Usually, with my parents, its Rummy, UpWords, or Boggle. Here Maureen is playing Cranium with my sister Carla and her daughter Abby.

Music is always important. This year we discovered the musical talents of my newest brother-in-law, Tony Myrick. He has written some great songs that we think are professional quality. Left to right are Derrick Munson (a foster brother), Tony, my dad (Alton), Jeremy, and my sister Carla.

Jonathanloves to play the guitar with Pawpaw (he's the elf) and this year he got his own!

Here are Maureen and Jonathan with of my nieces (Emma Grace and Abby), my nephew Drew, and his girlfriend Amanda.

More young 'uns. My sister Ramona's sons, Wesley and Ethan, with Carla's daughter Ella.

Jonathan did a great job of playing with Emma Grace on this trip. She loves to follow him around and when he's not in sight she's always asking, "Where's Jon Jon?"

Somehow I missed out on getting pictures of my older sister Ramona and her husband Ken. I have one of my youngest sister Bridgette but she is very pregnant and probably would not appreciate my posting it!