summer is coming to a close

I can’t believe the summer is almost over! It’s flown by so quickly. I had so many things I wanted to do this summer, people I wanted to see, and books I wanted to read and I didn’t get to even half of them.

I started out the summer working at I Love Evelyn full time. Half way through I switched to part time between ILE and Randy Sams’ (that’s another shelter in Texarkana). These last few weeks though, I have mostly spent some time resting before life gets hectic again. I am going to be back in OKC in 3 weeks and I cannot tell you how ready I am for that! I am so ready to get started on my senior year and be back in my routine there. I have enjoyed being home, though. I have seen good friends and spent some quality time with my family. It’s been a good break.

I leave for Baltimore on Monday and I am really excited about that, too! I’m going to visit an old friend for a few weeks. We’re going to New York City for a day and Ocean City, MD for a week. I am really looking forward to singing “Good Morning Baaaaltimore!” everyday. Seriously. It’s going to be a great vacation!

I am living in an on campus apartment this coming year with my friend, Audrey. We aren’t real close yet, but I’m sure that we will be. She is really fabulous and I’m excited about getting to know her better. She’s a senior theology major, too. I think we are going to get along great! I am mostly excited though about having my own kitchen (and bathroom, actually). This summer I have developed a love for cooking and baking this year… so please invite yourself over for dinner anytime!

One more thing:

I am leading a small group this year on campus and would love for you to be a part of it! When I get more details, I’ll let you know… but please… come! I promise there will always be snacks. Please, please come.

That is all.

a few changes

how’s everyone doing?

I thought I’d be updating more than this throughout the summer, but I guess I’m not that great at remembering… or executing my thoughts to blog. One way or the other, sorry for the lack of updates. I appreciate you reading and responding though. It’s been very encouraging.

Last week I talked to the people at ILE and made a decision to make a few changes for the rest of my summer. ILE is still very much alive and kicking. People in the community, homeless and otherwise, are becoming aware of what’s going on and are spending a lot of time downtown with us. It’s been a beautiful sight to see people from all walks of life walk into those doors and feel comfortable. We watch movies, hand out drinks, sometimes eat, and always love. It’s been the greatest time. I have loved meeting so many people. It’s one of my favorite things to be driving or walking down the road and see someone I recognize and stop to talk with them.

I am still continuing the women’s Bible study, also. That has been great! The past few weeks we have had about 5-7 women that come and spend the afternoon with us. I have loved fellowshiping with them and learning more about them and the women God has created them to be. They are so eager to share about how God is working in their lives and learn about how to be women of purpose in God’s kingdom, no matter our circumstance. It’s a beautiful, beautiful thing. If you ever want to come, please let me know. We’ll make it happen!

As far as the changes go, I have decided to migrate a little. There is a shelter in Texarkana called Randy Sams’. It is an emergency shelter that houses 80 people a night. They primary serve the homeless by helping them to apply for housing, heath care, social security, etc. On Thursdays and Fridays, I will be over there helping their case worker. I am basically her assistant and help her with finding and printing applications, meeting the clients and assisting them with their application processes. I really enjoy this work because it feels like I’m doing something really tangible to help people get on their feet. I have also enjoyed working with Amber (the case worker) and getting to know her a little more each week. She is a fantastic woman with a heart for these folks and it’s inspiring to work with her.

Another great thing… last week three people that we’ve been spending time with downtown gave their hearts to Jesus and were baptized this morning! God is moving and I feel so blessed to be a small part of it. I just wonder if I feel so blessed by all of this, how in the world am I possibly blessing others? God is so good! That’s how.

Thank you for reading my blog. Love you guys.

sorry folks

I’ve been kinda (when I say kinda, I mean really) lame with updating my blog. I’ll work on it.

The first few weeks of I Love Evelyn have been great! I have loved working with the other folks there and watching everyone radiantly love on everyone that walks in our doors. God has brought so many people in our paths and it is so cool to see the changes take place in a person’s life when you simple love them. I have enjoyed getting to know names, faces, stories, lives, and hearts. I miss my friends! Not only the folks I’m interning with… but Brian, Donald, Jane, “T”, Becky, Roger, and of course Judy…

Let me tell you about these people.

Brian is so great! He is so nice and really knows a lot of the homeless population in town. He comes by often when he isn’t working. Brian’s laugh and smile are so contagious. I just love being around him. We threw him a birthday party last week. We gave him some cool accessories for his bike. He was thrilled. What a great dude.

Donald is a good friend of Brian’s. They usually come by together. They each have a bicycle and I love seeing them ride around town. They are just happy guys. Donald hardly asks for anything other than a good conversation and a smile.

Jane, T, and Becky are three women that are living at the Randy Sam’s shelter in Texarkana. They’ve been coming to the Women’s Bible Study I host on Wednesdays. They’re so on fire for the word of the Lord. They love digging in and discussing what God has done for them and why he is worthy to be praised. I love being around these women. They are so encouraging to me. They love Jesus with all they are and all they have! They have unfailing trust in Him.

Roger has come by a few times looking for some tennis shoes. For the longest time we didn’t have his size. Then finally I found some! Though I would have loved to have had them sooner, I loved each encounter we had when he’d come back each day asking for them. He’s a sweet man who just likes to be around other people. He’s the happiest guy ever now that he’s got a great fitting pair of sneaks.

Judy is an interesting women, but I love her all the same! She has a few mental issues, but she is very capable of living on her own. Right now she lives in a small apartment close to downtown, but it isn’t the best place to be, so we’re trying to help her apply for other income based housing.

Pray for these people. Pray they stay cool in the heat, eat good meals each day, and sleep well at night. But most of all, pray that they experience the love of Jesus in a deep way that could never be taken from them. Pray that they are never shaken in their faith, but rather they radiantly love Christ everyday. Pray that we at I Love Evelyn are able to love them from that love that Christ first gave to us.

And come hang out! Obviously there are many others I haven’t mentioned. We would love to hang out with you and for you to get to meet our friends. 10-5 everyday. M-F. Corner of Texas Blvd & Broad St. See you soon!

Love,

Janette

(p.s. I had a great vacation with my dad. It was nice to get away for a while and spend some time with him. Now It’s back to the real world with plenty of distractions from my homework….. but I really, really need to do it!)

alleluia sing

(this blog is titled “alleluia sing” because that’s the title of the NEW david crowder*band song I just downloaded for buying presale tickets for their tour this fall. I’m listening to it now and it’s awesome. I’m in love.

…on to the blogging)

A few days ago, we (I Love Evelyn) went walking around downtown to a few places we know the homeless sleep each night. They usually aren’t at their “camps” during the day, but we were able to see their living conditions. This is one of their beds. Can you imagine?

A few weeks ago we had a show called “Shoes for Evelyn.” The price of admission was a pair of tennis shoes. The response was great! We received over 100 pairs of shoes. Yesterday, we served lunch at our building. We had sandwiches and watermelon, plus snacks and drinks. As people came, we made them sandwiches and ate with them. I met a few people that I can tell I’m really going to love being around. We ended up giving out about 20 pairs of shoes. I wish you could have seen the looks on their faces. These people were so excited. Jane said, “Nike! I’ve never had a pair of these before!” It was beautiful to see how a simple pair of shoes can make a difference.

Let me tell you about some of the folks we met:

Jane is a thin woman with blond hair. She told me that she’s from Linden, TX (about 45 minutes from Texarkana). She left a few weeks ago because her sister’s boyfriend hit her. She didn’t want to be around them anymore, so came to Texarkana looking for something different. Jane said she went to the Battered Women’s Shelter but they turned her away. She’s been on the streets for 3 weeks. Pray for her.

Becky and Sonia came in together. They weren’t there for lunch, but came because they heard we had free tennis shoes. They’re both probably in their 40s-50s. Becky told us she’s been clean for 13 days and ever since she found Jesus, her life is dramatically better. She said she wishes she had turned to him when she was younger. They got some shoes and socks and were thrilled with them. It was great. Pray for them, too.

Starting next Wednesday, I am leading a lunch Bible Study for the women of downtown. If you would like to come join us, you can! (you have to be a female, of course.) I also wouldn’t turn you down if you’d like to provide food or lead a Bible study. Let me know!

Be praying for these women. There were others we met, too. Brian, Jesse, Donald, Mark. Pray for them as well.

The I Love Evelyn team is leaving for a 36 hour trip to Dallas tonight to go see the homelessness in Dallas and talk to a few of Chad’s friends on the streets there. I’ll blog when I get back!

One last thing…

Tonight we’re having a show! The Glorious Unseen is coming to play. They’re signed on Tooth & Nail (other bands on t&n: Hawk Nelson, Emery, Family Force 5, MeWithoutYou) and will be here with Free Micah! The show starts at 8 PM and is only $7. That money goes directly to help the homeless downtown.

recap:

The Glorious Unseen/ Free Micah

$7 / 8 PM

300 W. Broad St, Downtown Texarkana

See you there!

I Love Evelyn

Over the next few months, I’m going to be interning for a growing ministry based out of my hometown Texarkana, Texas, called I Love Evelyn. The majority of my summer will be spent here doing my best to help expand the phenomenal things that God is already doing. Along with building relationships and spending time with people in need, I will be co-directing a group of interns who will be helping us with our efforts to share God’s love creatively. I will also be working to create a specific program for the homeless women of Texarkana. This will include worship events, Bible studies, luncheons, and spa days. I will also be spending a few weeks this summer on the road, traveling to cities through the US to raise awareness for I Love Evelyn and the movement of radical love.

I Love Evelyn is a ministry that that seeks “to love the homeless, hungry, hurting, naked, thirsty, broken people that are found on every corner, every alley, within every neighborhood and on the sidewalks of every road” through spreading the radical, unconditional love of Christ. Jesus spent a lot of time with the social outcasts of his day – prostitutes, poor people, drunks. He explained his actions by simply saying, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” Jesus’ continual building of relationships with those society marginalized is the best example we have of how to love those who seem unlovable. This summer marks the beginning of what I hope will become for me a lifestyle of radical love, love that seeks out relationships with broken people and restores souls and lives by simply being Jesus to whomever has need. “Being Jesus” to people who have no one to turn to means filling enormous shoes, a task I cannot even begin to complete on my own. Here is what I need from you:

PRAY for me this summer. The ministry I’m going to be doing in Texarkana and around the US is like nothing I’ve ever experienced, and at times it will seem overwhelming. I don’t take the prayer support of my family and friends lightly, and I would hope that above all else, you remember the I Love Evelyn family and me this summer.

EDUCATE yourself. The need is vaster than what any of us realize, and much of that need goes unmet. I Love Evelyn’s website is iloveevelyn.org. There you’ll find a video and some articles explaining why the ministry exists. Take some time to watch the video, read the articles, and discover what is at the heart of the ministry. (There’s a link to the website on the right of this page!)

SUPPORT what God is doing through me and through I Love Evelyn this summer. I really wish things like this could go without money, but it’s something that we have to have. My position this summer doesn’t pay much at all, but money isn’t why I’m here either. I do, however, need to raise some support for the summer, and I’ve made helping me out with that shockingly easy. All summer, I will be updating this blog faithfully. I’ll be able share through words, pictures, and videos what God is doing throughout the summer, and on the right-hand side of this page is a link to donate support to our cause. Please prayerfully consider doing so.

ACT upon what you have heard and seen and learned. While I hope you can support what I am doing this summer financially, the last thing I want is for you to pray and give and not go do anything to be an agent of change. James says, “What good is it, my brothers, if a man claims to have faith but has no deeds? Can such faith save him? Suppose a brother or sister is without clothes and daily food. If one of you says to him, ‘Go, I wish you well; keep warm and well fed,’ but does nothing about his physical needs, what good is it? In the same way, faith by itself, if it is not accompanied by action, is dead.” It is my conviction that in order for anything to really change, each of us has to in some way impact the world around us by the way we live our lives. I hope that this summer provides me with opportunities to learn how to effectively make that happen, and I hope to let that become the outflow of my heart so that God will continue to use me to fulfill his call to save the people of this world.

Thank you for your time, prayer, and support. I love each of you and appreciate you more than you will ever know!

extraordinary experiences vs. extraordinary love

hi friends. there are only two more weeks of school this semester. that is FABULOUS. what are you doing this summer? here’s what I’m doing….

I have job this summer in Texarkana. It’s kind of funny to me the way God works things out. Living at home wouldn’t have been my first choice, but doors opened and I walked through them.

I am going to be working with I Love Evelyn this summer to reach out to the homeless people of downtown Texarkana. I am so, very excited about this opportunity. I’m really looking forward to working with the folks I’ll be with. Plus, I’ll get to spend some time with my friends and family from home. It will be a good experience.

We’re mostly focusing on loving people right where they are, no matter their circumstance. We’re going to be planning events for both the homeless and the community in order to build relationships and raise awareness. If you want to be a part of what we’re doing, let me know! We’re hiring 4 interns for the summer to help us get this ministry up and running. If you feel passionate about this sort of thing and want to plan, create, love, wash feet, talk, listen, hug, and build relationships with people on the streets, this is a great opportunity to do that. If you’re looking to make money.. this is not to route you’ll want to take because it won’t pay very much. But if you’re looking for a way to humble yourself and grow in your relationship with Christ, all the while loving on people the way He did… hit me up. I’ll give you a few more specifics and what your next steps should be.

I’ve been reading some of the writings of Mother Teresa in hopes to prepare my heart a little more for what I’m going to be experiencing this summer. I want to share some of it with you.

“If you want to pray better, pray more…. You cannot give what you don’t have. That is why it is necessary to deepen your life of prayer.”

This really struck me. In order for me to pour out my heart on the people I’m spending time with this summer, I have to fill my heart with things of the Spirit. I have to fill myself with joy, patience, kindness, and the LOVE of God in order to have enough to share with others.

“We shall not waste our time in looking for extraordinary experiences in our life of contemplation but live by pure faith, ever watchful and ready for his coming by doing our day-to-day duties with extraordinary love and devotion.”

This really is what ILE is all about. We are not here to seek out huge experiences, but to do small things with an extraordinary amount of love. We must take the opportunities God gives us and commit the best we can to those and love the way he did. We must extraordinarily love.

Please be in prayer for what God is doing already and what he is going to do through us this summer. And again, if you want to be a part either as an intern or a volunteer or just to come hang out this summer… don’t hesitate to let me know. Here’s my contact info.

bparker@mail.snu.edu
AIM: lovelyjanny

I don’t want to post my phone number here.. but if you want to call, comment me or email me and I’ll call you!

love.

I need…

…to take a sabbatical from life.

haiku pt 2

spring break is so close
orlando calls out my name
only three more days!

magical, magical, MAKE YOU BLINK

Bryson, originally uploaded by Jannyface.

In the past, I always have looked forward to spring break, but never have I needed it as much as I do now. These past few weeks have been insane and I am just ready to get out of here. Not that I don’t love what I do here, but a break right now seriously is the best thing.

I was going to go to Roller Rag tonight but instead I am sitting here on my bed, in my pajamas, about to fall asleep as I type. I am the walking dead, I promise you. This has been one of many long days and I am just ready for that BREAK!

Okay.. enough complaining. More than enough. It’s story time… the whole reason for the post.

As you may or may not know, I am the Director of After-School Tutoring at Lakeview Park Church of the Nazarene. This means I see a set of kids every Tuesday and Thursday. Lately, I have had the privilege of working with Bryson (see above photo). He’s in kindergarten and is absolutely precious. His smile is so big and so sincere. He loves to play with flash cards and the dry erase board. This week, I taught him how to play pick-up sticks. Since we don’t have any “sticks,” we were playing with paint brushes.

I just want to give you a glimpse into this silly boy’s head. We were playing and I taught him how you can use one stick to flick another so that it doesn’t touch or move any other sticks. So he’s trying to do this… (really good at it, actually), he’s looking around for the perfect one to pick up and he starts singing to the sticks! “Bad boys, bad boys… whatcha gonna do? whatcha gonna do when I come for you…”

love it.

Second story…. He had a pile of paint brushes building up and was very proud of his work. He then found a paintbrush in the pile that was a little different than the others and decided he wanted that one because it was magical. As soon as he successfully picked it from the pile he pointed it at me, waved it around in my face like a wand and said, “Magical, Magical… MAKE YOU BLINK!” And as he said that… what do you know.. I blinked. He was so proud.

I love him. I’m about 110% sure you would, too. Come up to LVP sometime. I’ll introduce you.

p.s. Erik (5th grader at tutoring) got beat by a girl today in basketball. Who’s that girl?

that’s right. ME.

i hate reality tv.

for so many reasons! right now, though.. my reason is because it successfully SUCKED ME IN!

seriously. why do I care about Jason Mesnick’s decision to be a jerk to Melissa? Why do I care?

WHY DO I CARE?

Couldn’t tell ya.

I guess the only thing I can point to is the community. I started watching it for the fun of it with a few girls, I got hooked on figuring out and predicting who would go home, and then I was sucked into that dumb finale and after the rose ceremony where Jason totally lost my vote. He’s a jerk. I don’t care how happy he is with Molly.. I don’t like her. He should not have broken up with her on national television.

WHY DO I CARE?
Couldn’t tell ya.

I don’t even agree with the premise of the show. it’s sleezy. Over night dates with 3 girls one night after the other? Uhhhh hey, that’s not cool. I totally don’t agree with it. I certainly would not want to be one of those girls… especially the 2nd one. right in the middle. WELL AWARE of what’s going on on previous and subsequent nights. it’s lame.

WHY DO I CARE?
Couldn’t tell ya.

My life was not enriched in any way by watching the bachelor. not at all. oh well.

at least it’s over and I can have my monday nights back.