cJunior Brooklyn Par ke r had always been interested in doing mission work, b ut her only pervious international exper ience was one week in Guyana, South America four summers ago. So when she got the opportunity to work in Africa for three months. she took it. On Sept. i , Parker began her journey to Africa, with full support of her pare n ts as well as many prayers on her behalf. "1 was supposed to go to Greece in the fall and that fell through," Parker said. "So I looked into other options and connected with two missionaries in Mbale , Uganda . I decided to go take a semester off to make the trip possible." Parker, who had never teen to Afr ica, sea rched for missions organizations online. She was interested in' either going to Australia or Africa. Once getting in contact with Mark- Berryman through Mrica interest meet ings, he was able to get her connected with a' mission !itam in Mbale , Ugan da , W!lO was looking for an intern to come during the school y~' . Little did she know that her skills as an ar t major would assist her in the mission work, as she painted a mural for the Mbale Church of Christ in the first month of her journey. During this time she also assisted in the local eyeglass clinic. "I literally got to witness the blind man see," Pa z'ker said. Parker said she loved the whole experience, but it didn't always come so easy. Sh e said one of the hardest things was being alone. For th e first few days in Kenya she stayed with the locals and was the only white person for miles. Parker said it was hard to be so different and stand out so much all the time. After spending a month in Mbale, Parker traveled to a children's home in Ke– nya for a weekend and then moved on to Sudan where she worked at a local Bible school and painted a building. Du ring the time in between her travels, Parker had some time for activities such as rafting the Nile and climbing Mt. Wanale, a mountain in Uganda. Parker soon returned to Kenya where she was left with a famil y for some bonding time. " I was the only Caucasian person so it was awkward for a little whil e, but I learned so much about their culture," Parker said. "It was a great experience.-' Although she enjoyed her entire journey, Parker sa id that the Kenyan chil– dren's home was h er favorite experience . " Jpainted two murals - one for a nursery school and another for a primary school," Parker said. "I got so attached to the kids and actually shared some of my artistic ability with them ." Parker saw a lot of poverty along the way. "The b igger the lOwn, the more poverty there is," she said. " It's tr uly heart– breaking." Parker returned to the U.S. on Dec. 2 with hopes of possibly returning to do more mission work. She said she realized that sh e could use he r love for art to do miss ion work, whether it be in America o r overseas. .. "The trip was life changing, and I will never forget my African experience," """ slle sa id. Emily Gaste/fum " I went to Mbale in Nove b ~ miSSionary f" d m er. 2008 and had a . Tlen about the build' Conversat ion with a artI st to Come paint murals M lOgs there and how th ey wanted a her situation w: d ' . onths later Brooklyn ca n k . e Iscovered that h me to me about tas . It was obViously orchestrated sb e whas rt~ e perfect perSO n for this y t e l...Qrd." /It~ ~'7''' • Mark Berryman - second semester 125
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