Wow I just wrote a rilly long up date but just lost it and now I'm geting rilly sleepy so I guess I'll have to we write it later..
Sorry and I love you!!

HEY!!!!

Hey,
I can write to much. I'm in a internet cafe in Namibia. I'm doing rilly Good. We are working at the Beautiful Gats school... Keep me in your prayers. We are in the last lage of our time hear. Its not always easy. But I know God is giving me strangth to get threw every day..
With love Krista,

My Up date!!

Hey,
Wow, We are now finished our Working in Beautiful Gates, Cape Town now we are off to Beautiful Gates in Namibia. We head out to our next destination at 8:00am in the morning and have a 21 how. bus ride... That should be lots of Fun (just kidding)!
The time hear in Cape Town had been life changing for me. One of the biggest lessons I have lirned while being hear is that you can have Joy in the midst of struggles. That true happyness is not about what you have but who you have(God, family and friends). Life is beautiful don't waist it.
I have fallen in love with many beautiful children. I wish I could tack home and mack them my own. I don't know if I'm the one that has benefited more by loving on these children then they have. Because as I love my heart is growing bigger and I'm lirning from each one of them.
To give is so much beater then to receive. To give to the neddy even when you don't have much to give but to give it from you heart with love attached.
I worked next to individuals that have No place to lay there head but on road side bench. And fight to just mack a nuffe money to survive.
Our team reach out to the broken man of South Africa and shire the love of the one who has seat us free. That there soles don't have to be held in chains and forced in to a prison even if there body's are. Because God can set them free. Praise God!! I was so privileged to shair with the men just a taste of what God has for them and to shair the life I have found in Him.
I have Seen this Beautiful Country The munitions, Ocean and even pengunis.. Yesterday I watched the most beautiful Sun set...
Well this is onley a taste of every thing that I have been doing.
. I'm not shore if I'm going to be able to write so keep me in your prayers as I go in to a new Journey.....
Love you so much Krista Rose Parker

Team up-date

Goeie dag, Molo (Good day in Africaans and Xhosa)Our bodies are slowly getting used to South Africa and we're doing better. Different people catched infections, food poisonings, diarrheas, sicknesses, cramps, colds and headaches. Saturday was the worst day when 3 of us has been staying in bed and one person got hurt before the ministry had started . We then weren't able to do anything on Saturday. In the evening we met as a team, prayed together and listened to what God wanted to say us. We realized, that we had been neclecting our daily team time.Except on Saturday, our ministries have been going quite well. The time with the children in the slum was great. Language differences meant we had to skip some parts of our program like stories and devotions but we were still able to do a lot of things with them like games, crafts and songs. Three women from the slums were helping us and also served as translators. Initially we expected about 25 children, at the second day more than 50 came to join our program. It was crowded in the modest container but the atmosphere was really good. We had a lot of fun with them and were able to recieve love as well as give it, even when it was hard to see all the misery in the slum we were surprised about the joy, hope and energy these children have.On Sunday we visited our first African church where we had communion and, of course, a lot of dancing. We were invited afterwards by people of the church to eat lunch at their houses. We then split up in teams of two and gained a lot of funny experiences...In the afternoon we had street ministry with the local church and two other DTS Teams from Hawaii and Orlando . We as a team performed two skits, gave testimonies and danced with the children for hours to worship music.This week we took part in a project called "Straatwerk" (Streetwork). It gives homeless people a chance to work and make a little bit of money. We joined them as volunteers and helped to clean the streets by picking up all kind of garbage, covering grafiti and cleaning the drains. We heard a lot of sad and unjust stories but could also learn from their work attitude. Following this we visited a children's hospital where we played and prayed with some of the children.After all those things we really enjoyed our day off yesterday with a tour to the coast and time in the shopping mall. During the next days we're going to an orphanage, to a juevenile detention centre, to the prison Mandela stayed in and again to the hospital. Thank you for thinking of us and all your prayer, we're glad to have supporters like you!Stayed blessed,loveyour Africa Team

HEY,
I cant say much right now But just want you to know that Our team is geting back on there feat. I'm fighting but I still am not well. But God is giving me the strangth to get threw every day.. So for the past 2 days where able to go on the out reach prais the Lord!!
Thanks for all the prayers..
Love Krista :)!!!

Keep me and my team in your prayers I'm so not feeling well. And yesterday they took a girl to the hospital. But she is doing good to day thow..
Pray for health protection on this trip!
Love you all Krista,

Up Date!

First of all: Thank you for your prayers; we had a safe journey and were already blessed in many ways!To those who don't know all of us: Our outreach team consists of eight people which 8 different nationalities, 6 students and the leader couple. The students are Kimberley, Barbadian, Krista, American, Julian, Jamaican, Justine, Canadian, Suzie, English and Sarah, Swiss. The Leaders are Samuel, Korean, and his newly married wife Kezia from Saint Lucia. Eight hours after leaving Barbados we arrived in London on Saturday morning. There Suzie's parents picked us up to their house were we spent a good time, hanging around and enjoyed internet access and good food. They were very kind and brougt us back to the airport later on. So we entered the airplane for a 2nd time and landed early the next morning, safe but tired in Johannesburg. AFRICA! Except Sam we all stepped on the african ground for the first time and one girl was so excited that she even kissed the ground...We could really feel the time difference (6 hours ahead from Barbados) and were quite exhausted. Fortunately, Julian has a friend in Johannesburg and we could enjoy abundant hospitality again! He picked us up and invited us into his home to be refreshed and well fed:-) So now there was only a long bus journey left. We drove in a nice bus through a hilly, nearly vasted area to the other end of South Africa. At 1.15pm we finally arrived in Cape Town. Arno, one of the Beautiful Gate's staff member, picked us up and brought us to the base called Beautiful Gates; our new home for the next two weeks. Our accomodations are really comfortable and make us feel blessed.For New Year's Eve we went to a public concert in Cape Town. A lot of people were there and it was a multicultural society. Today we all slept (too) long. Later on, we were introduced to the Beautiful Gate's project and what we are going to do here in Cape Town. We then started preparing for the childrens program, which we are going to run for the next 3 days. It is similar to what we've already done in Barbados. But we just learnt that the kids we're working with cannot speak English! So we have to see, how we are going to handle this. Please keep praying for us. Some of our prayer requests are:-Strength, protection and health for all of us-A good interaction with the children (communication, response, able to bring love and fun)-personal growth-discovering and using our spiritual gifts-stepping out in faith
Love From the Africa Team!!!

my Jurney!

To Day Is New Years eve. I find my sealf siting in South Africa in amasment. This year has been the most life changing and painful year of my life. Its heard to find the words to say. The emotions that I feal in this moment is joy but yet the deapest pain I have even fealt. I want to cry but the tears wont come. I came in to this year of 07 as a broken lost little girl running in the dark. I longed for some one to wisper my name and say they love me. FOr some one to hold me and never let me go. To fill that empty void that could never be satisfied. I was so broken and shatered with scals over my eye. I tryed to make the pain go away I pushed it far in side of me and locked the door. I tryed to for get to be numb to the pain in side. So I serounded my sealf with smocking,drinking, drugs, and sex (so called love). But theys where all so fack,If you blow they would brake and crumble in your hands.
In the midst of all this my sole was screaming for something more. For a love that would not run dry and that would never again leave me alone. Some times I would wisper a prayer hoping God could still lision, "God, Pleas dont give up on me." I know he never stop bleaving in me. As I walked the road blind God was still there. He was holding on to me even when I had let him Go..
Finly I had reached the end of the roap so I desided to run away from it all and try to start again. One day I fould my sealf with a sigeret in my mouth sitiong on the frount steps of my house with the bible opened up on my lap. I Wanted something more but had lost sight of how to reach it... But God Knew how to get hold of my heart..
A few days befor I was to run to Texas to start over again. God brought me an Angle that I will never for get. The first day I meat him he light a fire in me that started to mealt my heart.. For the first time in a long time I was able to cry. THat night with the moon shining on my tear stained face I look up in to its glow and heard a voice wisper. Krista, I love you and want the beast for you. In that moment in time I knew there was a God that rilly caired for me. The folowing months where the most transforming and beautiful.. I did not move to Texas to run away from my mustacks. But in sted whent back to my parients and found unconditunal love and suport. They did not turn ther back on me even if I had broken ther hearts by the way I had left them. They stood by me even when they fould out about my life stile. They cared for me and held me at a very vonerable time. I grew to love and respect them in a way I had never had befor.
I bleave God gave me an angle he was so amasing and beautiful he taught me how to feal , cry, laugh, smile, play, sing, He bleaved in me, He held me threw the most painful times, He never let me go even when he could have but most of all he taught me how to love like I have never loved be for. He showed me pashon that I had never seen. He showed me how I deserve to be treated and he was not ashamed of me... Threw him God alowd me to experience love and pashion that could last a life time. A Love that will never be for goten. He helped me find God again. He showed me how to have pashion and a true faced relationship with God.. I lirned that God was not all about how Good you where but that he loves you the way you are. That every time you fall down he is there to pick you up..
my family and friends watched as I when threw this healing and growing time,they could barly bleave there eyes. I was lirning about God in a knew way. God showed me love threw others. A Hunger and thirst for God grew in me.. I started to serch for God with all that was in me. I wanted to live my life no longer for me but I wanted him to write my life story. Because I could see how much more beautiful it is when he is in controal...
I knew I wanted to go somewhere to lirn more about God. So I prayed and God gave me a heart for Africa. I looked in to Youth with a mission and I found Barbados DTA right away and knew in my sprit that was where God was Calling me... So for the last 3 months I have been seeking God and lirning about His heart for the lost. when I arived in Barbados .. I knew I was where God called me to. It has been the most amasing yet the most painful time of my life.. I lirned so much about God and fell more in love with Him. God started slowly taking every thing that I was holding on to and making them unsterdy. So the only thing I could hold on to Was God. Then God started riping open all the closed doors I thought where cleened out. But to find that I had only cleaned out what I could see. So God started cleaning out all the hiden and forgoten things. There was barly a week that when by that was not full of God polling something new out of me. It was so much pain but God was always there to carry me when all I wanted to do was give up. God was always there to filled all the empty places in me and showd me how much he loved. He would overwelme me with his love and speek sweet words in to my ear. He showed me how he truly saw me.God was and is puting me threw a time of braking so that all the crap in me in being taken out and replaced with some one Beautiful.
If I am in sickness, my sickness may serve him, If I am in sorrow, my sorroow may serve Him, He does nothing in vain, He knows what He is about. (by. John Hanry Newman)
So,Hear I am with nothing leaft to brake every part of me is week,tired and brokem... God, you have taken every thing from me. God I'm so unperfect, I dont say things right . And somtimes I'm totally lost in who you are but in thows times I just have to rember where I have been and where I am now. one thing I do know is that you will never let me go.. That you will never give up on me and that you will never stop teacking me.
Looking back I came in to this year blind and broken and I end it With new eyes to see but a compleatly new broken heart. But threw this brokenss I will find holeness threw God. God take my weakness and make tem your strangth... I feal as if I dont have a heart any more so God give me your heart. Give me a heart that wont run drie as I love the broken and the hurt. Hear in South Africa and every where you take me. Give me your hand that will tenderly love and cair for the needy. Lord in this next year I lay all of me at your feet. I long for you more every day. Be my lover and friend.
God thank you for all that you have given me this year. God I'm sorry for all the mustakes that I have mad and the mess that I keep making, DADDY I GIVE UP! Take my paint brush from my hand and paint my life story for me. I dont know what to do Daddy I give up I cant do this any more...
Well the South African Sun has gawn down and The New Year is coming in.. I'm going to spen myn with my Love Jesus!!!
"Be patient toward all that is unsolved in your heart and try to love the questions themselves, like locked rooms and like books that are now written in a very foregn tongue. Do not now seek the answers, Wich can not be given you because you would not be able to live them. And the point is, to live everything. Live the questions now. perhaps you will then gradually, without noticing it, live along some distant day into the answer. By. Maria ranier Rilke
May God Bless your New Year and may God teack you to see God for who he truly is! And May you see who you truly are by Gods Eyes!
With Love Krista,

Hey Every one!
Wow its been a long time coming but hear I am. I made it to South Africa and I'm in one peace:)! It took 3 days to het hear but it whent past fast so that was Good. WE arived on the 31st. To day we got a chance to sleep in then did prep for the Next 3 days. We are going to have a Kids camp. We just found out that they don't speek very much english so that ist going to be a intresting... I'll keep you all updated on how every thing is going..
Its about 11:25 pm and I'm so not sleepy its the jet lage. I hope I can fall asleep soon thow.
God bless Love you so much!