Trip to PR

A Long Summer

Nikki and I arrived back in Orlando last night. This is the first time we've been to our home since May 8th. It's been a long summer and God has done a lot in our marriage and in our lives. When we left on May 8th, we had no idea that we would 1. be pregnant and 2. be leaving staff with CO in September to move eventually to Puerto Rico with Multiplying Teams International. Tomorrow, we will leave for a short trip to Puerto Rico to get a lay of the land. We are both excited to see where we will be investing the next season of our life. In our next post we'll have more pictures from PR. We will be moving to Birmingham in a few weeks to raise support, work stateside with the MTI team, and have a baby. Our goal is to move to Puerto Rico next summer. The picture to the left was taken by my current boss Ken Foster on a recent trip to Puerto Rico.

Muchos Cambios…Many Changes

This summer has been one full of fun and exciting news from the Parmers. Everything is progressing well with Baby Parmer. We have another doctor’s appointment on August 14th and then in September we will hopefully find out if we are going to have a baby girl or boy!!!

In the midst of all the baby excitement we also began to re-evaluate where the Lord has us and where He might be taking us. We felt like we were being led away from ministry at UCF with Campus Outreach Florida. There were three specific things that we began to pray through as we sought out the possibility of having a new ministry opportunity. We knew we needed to be in a place where:

1. I could receive more theological training and personal development.
2. We could be heavily involved with the church as well as campus ministry.
3. We could be a part of a community where we are able to be mentored and have exposure to church planting.

Within a month God had brought before us an opportunity that would provide all of these things. In September we will be moving back to Birmingham, AL. We will be transitioning from CO Florida to Multiplying Teams International (MTI). This organization is based out of Briarwood Presbyterian Church much like Campus Outreach. MTI will be sending a team to San Juan, Puerto Rico to plant a church and begin a new campus ministry through our International Leadership Development Program (ILDP). Through this program I will also be able to receive a Masters in Missions through Briarwood Theological Seminary. We are excited about this new opportunity, but along with this change come many tests of faith.

We will continue developing a strong support team here at home that will allow us to begin this new work in Puerto Rico. Nikki and I will be living in Birmingham for roughly 10 months. We will spend the majority of our time communicating with you and also cultivating new supporters. I will be working part-time in the office helping the first wave of MTI missionaries prepare to leave for Puerto Rico. We will be departing later due to the pregnancy.

Below is our new Birmingham address (active beginning September 8th) and contact information. We would love to hear how you are doing!

Ben and Nikki Parmer
2132 Riverhaven Lane
Birmingham, AL 35244
btparmer@yahoo.com
nikkiparmer@yahoo.com