1. Mosquitoes eating me alive making it look like I actually have holes in my legs and arms
2.Thousands of flies swarming me all the time, especially in the morning and during the day and covering my food and just having to swipe them away.
3. Ants. Everywhere
4. Showering by pouring buckets of water on myself
5. Having my clothes washed by laundry ladies which means washing my clothes in water/soap, hitting them on the ground, then putting them on our dirt-filled roof to dry, therefore making them sometimes seem dirtier than when I gave my clothes to them.
6. Living with spiders.
7. Becoming pretty much a vegetarian, not by choice because they don't really eat much meat except chicken every couple weeks...this is a huge thing if you know me and how much i loved eating my massive burgers with EVERYTHING on it like 3x/week.
8. No Air conditioning
9. The way people here drive, especially since I usually get extremely car-sick in the US. There are basically no rules for driving here except bigger/faster cars honk and go around the slower cars, sometimes becoming EXTREMELY close to accidents. A lot of death happens here because of their way of driving.
10. Geckos crawling all over the place (i HATE reptiles)
11. Getting looked at like I'm a martian from outer space everywhere I go, and having men here look at me in a way that no woman would want to be looked it.
12. Taking care of myself when I'm sick (i'm usually a HUGE a baby and am very needy when it comes to that)
13. Not having my friends to call everytime I'm having a hard time
14. Not having a community like Crossroads or Third Ref. or the Boiler Room where worshiping God is set right in front of me. Here, they worship God in a different language which makes it hard for me to stay focused or really enjoy worship since it's so different from what I would normally like. God is teaching me and stretching me in that way though.
15. Balancing time here so I can make sure I make time for people here and stay focused, but still make time for certain things back home.
16. Waking up at 6am everyday.
17. Being sick with something different all the time.
18. Mounds of rice 2x/day everyday.
19. The Heat.
20. Not being concerned about how I look because no matter how much makeup you wear or no matter how good you make your hair look, once you step outside, it'll all be ruined. Natural is way more beautiful here anyway.
21. Putting EVERYONE else here before myself. I was a very selfish person so this has taken some work, but it's an awesome thing.
22. Hugging the babies as tightly as I can, or letting them sleep next to me if they're scared, no matter how much lice (almost all of them have it) or scabies they have.
I was sitting here thinking about how different life here is from life back in the US and how I had to get used to certain things that I never thought I would be ok with, but I have. I think if we rely on God, we all are much stronger than we thought.
It's hard here. All of the things above took me a while to get used to. I didn't think i would be able to handle it when I first got here, but God has proved so faithful. It's exciting for me to see the change that He is making in my life after such a short time. I'm definitely becoming stronger and appreciate things in my life back at home So much more now.
I guess it took for me to go to the other side of the world and lose most of my "nice" things in order to see how much I had before. That's pretty sad. I am truly blessed.
Monday, May 25, 2009
Monday, May 18, 2009
The Joy of the Lord is my strength.
I arrived to the orphanage exactly a month ago. It went by so fast and looking back, I've already experienced more than some get to experience in a lifetime.
Although I am much more used to being here now and living the way they do, it is still challenging. Actually I am faced with more and more challenges everyday and they just keep on getting bigger, but for every challenge God puts in front of me, He sends me a blessing equally as large so they seem to balance out.
I am becoming strong. Not physically but realizing with God's help, I can handle anything that comes my way. It doesn't mean that it will be easy or that I will enjoy it, but I will get through it. The saying really is true that God will never give you anything you can't handle. That is being proved to me everyday.
I was thinking back to my old life; you know the one where I wasted money, time, and pretty much wasted everything good I had to live a shameful life without the Love of God? Most of you know what I'm talking about. I remember towards the end of that downward spiral I was on, I was thinking that there had to be more to that life I was living. I can not tell you how thankful I am for that time of brokenness. Or the time last summer/fall where I thought I was an example of what walking dead was. Isn't that the time in life, where we are living in the desert place, that we almost feel God the most even though we feel so empty and alone? I think it's because we know something is missing, and in the same way I felt it, there just had to be something more to life. Does that make sense?
I was talking to someone recently and was telling them about the kind of life I used to live, and it was so difficult for me because I am so ashamed of the choices I made, but at the same time, I couldn't wish to change anything, because I would not be living this amazing and beautiful life that I have been given today.
It's so awesome to look back and see how God is so faithful, even when you feel that He's absent. He never is. He does not leave. We do.
That doesn't really have much to do with anything I'm doing specifically here, but is just something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Even looking back over the past few weeks it's so apparent to me the work God is constantly doing in my life. It's hard to believe He's working just as hard in everyone else's life as well.
It's so awesome to hear people pray here and even though I have no idea what they're saying, God does. We all worship one God no matter where we are or what language we speak. Isn't that incredible?
It's small lessons like that, that I am learning everyday, making my appreciation for God's Greatness expand even more.
Yesterday was really difficult for me. I learned some things that upset me greatly and ended up just sitting and letting tears flow like the Niagra Falls.
Immediately, all of the kids kept asking me why I was crying, and I couldn't really explain it. I think a lot of built up emotion just came pouring out.
I was laying upstairs on a mat with my pillow and Aasha (Ah-Sha), who is teeny and just 3 years old, and doesn't talk much, came up to me, wiped my tears away and kissed me on the cheek. She then proceeded to put heat powder (to make you not sweat) on my face and neck and just looked at me and smiled and laid her head on my shoulder while she played with my hair.
Swathi (Swa-tee) came and sat by me and saw that I was upset, and because the power had been out for a while, the fans weren't working, therefore making it unbearably hot. She found some thick paper laying around and just sat there fanning me and telling me it was ok and not to cry, with the most compassionate look I've ever seen on a child.
I don't like crying or feeling weak around people. But between those girls and talking to a few people back home, all of my problems seemed to fade away and I found myself actually full of joy once again.
It's crazy to see how faithful God is to heal the deepest parts of you after you decide to surrender your life to Him.
Mondays are my designated day off. This means I get to sleep in past 530. I woke up when the kids did out on the covered roof (does that make sense? I dont know what else to call it) and went to my room and fell back asleep for a few hours which felt SO nice. Mounika (4-years-old) came in and saw my feet sticking out of my sheet and pulled it down so I would be fully covered. Then she found some of the bangles that I had just bought, sitting on my bed. (Remember, I am pretty much passed out and couldn't move or talk because I was so tired.) She tried to put them on my wrist but she couldn't get them on because I was no help. Then she would kiss me and after me not saying anything to her because i was sleeping, she would say "I am fine thank you" and walk out (that's pretty much all of the English she knows.) She came back about 4 more times and did the same thing. A kiss and "i am fine thank you." Even though i was basically sleeping, it was so funny. The last time she came back she found my brush, brushed through my hair once, kissed me, said "i am fine thank you" and then said "i love you."
Those are just a couple specific examples of why all of the challenges here and sacrifices are worth it. I am absolutely in love with these children. I love them like they're my family and they blow me away everyday with their joy and love for God and others.
So things are good. It's easy to get frustrated and irritated here especially in this heat, but God is here, along with us every step of the way.
Thomas is leaving tonight to go back to America, and Breana leaves on Wednesday. Please pray for them as they try to get readjusted to a lifestyle so completely different from here.
I apologize for this update being so random and going all over the place, but it is late here, and I'm tired and get distracted extremely easily. :)
Thank you for your continued love and prayers throughout my journey.
Grace and Peace,
Jenna
Although I am much more used to being here now and living the way they do, it is still challenging. Actually I am faced with more and more challenges everyday and they just keep on getting bigger, but for every challenge God puts in front of me, He sends me a blessing equally as large so they seem to balance out.
I am becoming strong. Not physically but realizing with God's help, I can handle anything that comes my way. It doesn't mean that it will be easy or that I will enjoy it, but I will get through it. The saying really is true that God will never give you anything you can't handle. That is being proved to me everyday.
I was thinking back to my old life; you know the one where I wasted money, time, and pretty much wasted everything good I had to live a shameful life without the Love of God? Most of you know what I'm talking about. I remember towards the end of that downward spiral I was on, I was thinking that there had to be more to that life I was living. I can not tell you how thankful I am for that time of brokenness. Or the time last summer/fall where I thought I was an example of what walking dead was. Isn't that the time in life, where we are living in the desert place, that we almost feel God the most even though we feel so empty and alone? I think it's because we know something is missing, and in the same way I felt it, there just had to be something more to life. Does that make sense?
I was talking to someone recently and was telling them about the kind of life I used to live, and it was so difficult for me because I am so ashamed of the choices I made, but at the same time, I couldn't wish to change anything, because I would not be living this amazing and beautiful life that I have been given today.
It's so awesome to look back and see how God is so faithful, even when you feel that He's absent. He never is. He does not leave. We do.
That doesn't really have much to do with anything I'm doing specifically here, but is just something that has been on my mind a lot lately. Even looking back over the past few weeks it's so apparent to me the work God is constantly doing in my life. It's hard to believe He's working just as hard in everyone else's life as well.
It's so awesome to hear people pray here and even though I have no idea what they're saying, God does. We all worship one God no matter where we are or what language we speak. Isn't that incredible?
It's small lessons like that, that I am learning everyday, making my appreciation for God's Greatness expand even more.
Yesterday was really difficult for me. I learned some things that upset me greatly and ended up just sitting and letting tears flow like the Niagra Falls.
Immediately, all of the kids kept asking me why I was crying, and I couldn't really explain it. I think a lot of built up emotion just came pouring out.
I was laying upstairs on a mat with my pillow and Aasha (Ah-Sha), who is teeny and just 3 years old, and doesn't talk much, came up to me, wiped my tears away and kissed me on the cheek. She then proceeded to put heat powder (to make you not sweat) on my face and neck and just looked at me and smiled and laid her head on my shoulder while she played with my hair.
Swathi (Swa-tee) came and sat by me and saw that I was upset, and because the power had been out for a while, the fans weren't working, therefore making it unbearably hot. She found some thick paper laying around and just sat there fanning me and telling me it was ok and not to cry, with the most compassionate look I've ever seen on a child.
I don't like crying or feeling weak around people. But between those girls and talking to a few people back home, all of my problems seemed to fade away and I found myself actually full of joy once again.
It's crazy to see how faithful God is to heal the deepest parts of you after you decide to surrender your life to Him.
Mondays are my designated day off. This means I get to sleep in past 530. I woke up when the kids did out on the covered roof (does that make sense? I dont know what else to call it) and went to my room and fell back asleep for a few hours which felt SO nice. Mounika (4-years-old) came in and saw my feet sticking out of my sheet and pulled it down so I would be fully covered. Then she found some of the bangles that I had just bought, sitting on my bed. (Remember, I am pretty much passed out and couldn't move or talk because I was so tired.) She tried to put them on my wrist but she couldn't get them on because I was no help. Then she would kiss me and after me not saying anything to her because i was sleeping, she would say "I am fine thank you" and walk out (that's pretty much all of the English she knows.) She came back about 4 more times and did the same thing. A kiss and "i am fine thank you." Even though i was basically sleeping, it was so funny. The last time she came back she found my brush, brushed through my hair once, kissed me, said "i am fine thank you" and then said "i love you."
Those are just a couple specific examples of why all of the challenges here and sacrifices are worth it. I am absolutely in love with these children. I love them like they're my family and they blow me away everyday with their joy and love for God and others.
So things are good. It's easy to get frustrated and irritated here especially in this heat, but God is here, along with us every step of the way.
Thomas is leaving tonight to go back to America, and Breana leaves on Wednesday. Please pray for them as they try to get readjusted to a lifestyle so completely different from here.
I apologize for this update being so random and going all over the place, but it is late here, and I'm tired and get distracted extremely easily. :)
Thank you for your continued love and prayers throughout my journey.
Grace and Peace,
Jenna
Saturday, May 9, 2009
Home
I left from Michigan over 3 weeks ago. Although days here have seemed very long at times, I can't believe I've been here almost a month.
I have experienced a lot so far and every day look outside and think, "I can't believe I'm in India."
Dana left this past Wednesday, and seeing the tears coming down the faces of all the kids after her being here for 3 weeks, made me realize how hard it's going to be for me to leave them. I decided that I definitely will be coming back because you can't start connections and relationships with kids like this and then leave with no follow-up.
It's funny how we get so used to things we never thought we would be able to handle.
I live with spiders, I pour buckets of water over me for a shower, and I think 80 degrees would be perfect for cooling me down.
Living here so far has been such an amazing experience. I will never forget some of the things I've seen here. These kids have changed me. I don't know if I mentioned this but my first week here when I was so sick, I awoke from a nap with all 58 kids in my room with their hands on me praying for healing. All 58 were praying out loud and it was the most amazing thing.
During prayer time everyday, after the bible lesson, one person prays and then someone goes into the Lord's Prayer, but during that first prayer, numerous kids will stand up, not knowing the others are up, because they want to be the one to pray. When they pray, they yell. Their veins pop out and passion comes over their whole bodies as if they want to make sure God hears them.
I have never had a passion for praying like that, nor have I seen many kids back home from the ages of 3-13 have such a desire for God.
It's so different than what I'm used to to have every kid rush to get me a chair whenever there isn't one just so i won't have to sit on the floor. And they will not let me go get my own water. We don't see kids have so much respect for others very often.
I miss home though. Especially with hearing about a lot of hard times for people back there. It's so hard for me to not be able to just go over to see them. It's very fortunate for me to have the internet here and the use of a cell phone to keep in touch with people.
I don't have many specific things to talk about right now. I just am trying to update frequently.
I've been fasting for 4 days, and it has been a little bit more difficult to sleep because of my hunger and because of the heat. I would give anything for some American food! But at this point, I would appreciate any food. :)
I am finally getting used to it though. Like this is my home.
Thank you for your continued emails, messages and prayers.
Blessings!
Jenna
I have experienced a lot so far and every day look outside and think, "I can't believe I'm in India."
Dana left this past Wednesday, and seeing the tears coming down the faces of all the kids after her being here for 3 weeks, made me realize how hard it's going to be for me to leave them. I decided that I definitely will be coming back because you can't start connections and relationships with kids like this and then leave with no follow-up.
It's funny how we get so used to things we never thought we would be able to handle.
I live with spiders, I pour buckets of water over me for a shower, and I think 80 degrees would be perfect for cooling me down.
Living here so far has been such an amazing experience. I will never forget some of the things I've seen here. These kids have changed me. I don't know if I mentioned this but my first week here when I was so sick, I awoke from a nap with all 58 kids in my room with their hands on me praying for healing. All 58 were praying out loud and it was the most amazing thing.
During prayer time everyday, after the bible lesson, one person prays and then someone goes into the Lord's Prayer, but during that first prayer, numerous kids will stand up, not knowing the others are up, because they want to be the one to pray. When they pray, they yell. Their veins pop out and passion comes over their whole bodies as if they want to make sure God hears them.
I have never had a passion for praying like that, nor have I seen many kids back home from the ages of 3-13 have such a desire for God.
It's so different than what I'm used to to have every kid rush to get me a chair whenever there isn't one just so i won't have to sit on the floor. And they will not let me go get my own water. We don't see kids have so much respect for others very often.
I miss home though. Especially with hearing about a lot of hard times for people back there. It's so hard for me to not be able to just go over to see them. It's very fortunate for me to have the internet here and the use of a cell phone to keep in touch with people.
I don't have many specific things to talk about right now. I just am trying to update frequently.
I've been fasting for 4 days, and it has been a little bit more difficult to sleep because of my hunger and because of the heat. I would give anything for some American food! But at this point, I would appreciate any food. :)
I am finally getting used to it though. Like this is my home.
Thank you for your continued emails, messages and prayers.
Blessings!
Jenna
Tuesday, May 5, 2009
Tough Stuff
Let me be honest: my first couple weeks here have been hard. Very hard.
I feel like I’ve been constantly sick, tired and just unmotivated. Depressed is a word that accurately describes the majority of my time here so far.
I’ve felt discouraged and almost worthless not coming with a specific gift.
I’ve cracked a couple times and have cried and asked God what I was doing here.
Throughout the discouragement however, God has answered me swiftly.
Every morning when I get up I have all of the kids reaching for me to give me a hug and say “Praise the Lord, Sister.”
Little Naked Johnny runs up to me and wraps his little baby arms around my leg and looks up with his big, white-toothed smile.
Prasad walks up with his limp which just gives him so much character and adds to his cuteness, and jumps into my arms, kisses me on the cheek and just smiles, wide-eyed with his huge, teethy grin.
I will be the first to say that I haven’t thrown myself into this trip. But after talking to Thomas, Dana and Breana, I have felt very encouraged, and I have to think of back to why I felt God was calling me to be here in the first place.
What was God teaching me during this time of severe hardship?
Today it all came together for me, and hit me right in the face.
I have been hearing of the terrible conditions here, and I’ve been seeing it and living it. Although I have my own room and a toilet and a “shower” and get enough food to feed an army (I have it real good compared to most people who live here), I wouldn’t call living here luxurious. But it’s ok because I did not sign up for luxurious.
On our way home from day trips, late at night we see the trucks stopped on the side of the road to pick up the prostitutes. We’ve had to turn away the most beautiful little children who come up begging us for money to bring back to their mother’s. We’ve seen the sick and elderly, so helpless with no one really to care for them.
Dana has been gone quite a bit doing medical clinics in the villages. I only went with them once. Medicine is not my thing. I don’t know what to do, and can’t handle the littlest bit of blood. Therefore, I’ve stayed back here with the kids, and stuck to my hobby of editing photos and putting them up on my Flickr site and have let the girls play with and braid my hair while tossing a ball with the boys..
Over the past couple of weeks, Dana, Breana and Thomas have been going to the house of Mahdu (sp?), one of the staff members here. His dad has had extremely large open wounds on his leg and they recently found out (after seeing him a couple times) that he has AIDS, which is why he is so sick and not really getting any better. When they would come back and talk about “draining” the wounds and the smell, just those words made me feel sick and I decided I would rather do anything than go put myself in that situation.
But God decided to change my heart. Last week after talking to Dana, I asked her if the next time they went to visit him, if I could come with them. Today was the day.
I put on my sari, got into the car and after stopping at the local clinic to get a tour and meet the doctor, we headed over to see the man who was told he basically had no time left to live.
He was in the back of the hut laying on a cot, flies covering him like he was a decaying animal.
His family put him in the back because they thought he was going to die and apparently if someone does in a home, it is considered cursed and they have to leave for 6 months before it’s ok to live in again.
I just saw this man laying there and immediately, Dana started caring for him, squeezing out the infection of the leg wounds while Breana assisted. I was surprisingly not grossed out. The only emotion I felt was sadness. I saw the agony in his face as Dana tried to clean out what seemed like deep holes in his legs.
I sat on a chair up by his face and didn’t know what to do, so I just took a plastic fan and fanned him to try to cool him down and keep the flies away.
Because he had AIDS, no one in his family except for Mahdu would touch him or even come near him.
Can you imagine that? Your family member is dying and you just neglect them because you’re embarrassed and don’t want to catch what they have.
After all of his wounds were changed, we prayed for him.
As I saw the tears coming down his face, I felt my own face covered in tears as Dana and Breana spoke words over him and asked God to heal him both outside and in.
In his language, he looked up at Tom and said all he wanted was Jesus.
Something changed in me. All I wanted to do was hold his hand, stroke his hair and put lotion on his loose, extremely dry skin.
This is what God does. He swoops down into your life and just blows you away when you least expect it.
It’s so sad seeing people have to go through what they do here.
I’ve come to realize that I am so spoiled, and selfish and prideful, and I need to start counting every single blessing I have because compared to people here, I have so much, but yet always have felt so unsatisfied, wanting more.
However, when I look at the faith and passion that Christians here have for God, I see that they are rich with the Holy Spirit, and I am ashamed that I came here following God’s call for me, thinking I was going to teach them, and I am the one being taught about his Faithfulness by 3-year-olds.
I left for India almost three weeks ago and already so much has happened.
This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I will come back a changed person. You can’t come to a place like this and see and experience things here and not be.
Please pray for these kids. Half of them are gone with their families spreading the gospel. The others are here on summer break. If you go to the website (www.openarmsforasia.org) and read some of their stories, your hearts will break. But they have the joy of the Lord and seeing that joy is what is encouraging me here daily.
Pray for Dana as she departs to go back home tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6).
Pray for me to keep trusting in what the Lord has for me, especially as I deal with physical sickness and home-sickness. I am fasting for 5 days to remind myself that God is sufficient for me and will fulfill my needs.
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, support and encouragement.
A special thank you to my Mom and Jamie for the books that each of you gave me for while I’m here. They are already a huge encouragement to me and has become a part of my daily routine to spend time reading both.
Feel free to email me privately if you have any specific questions or comments.
Grace and Peace to you,
Jenna
“NEVER BE LACKING IN ZEAL, BUT KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL FERVOR, SERVING THE LORD. BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER. SHARE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED.”
[ROMANS 12:11-13]
I feel like I’ve been constantly sick, tired and just unmotivated. Depressed is a word that accurately describes the majority of my time here so far.
I’ve felt discouraged and almost worthless not coming with a specific gift.
I’ve cracked a couple times and have cried and asked God what I was doing here.
Throughout the discouragement however, God has answered me swiftly.
Every morning when I get up I have all of the kids reaching for me to give me a hug and say “Praise the Lord, Sister.”
Little Naked Johnny runs up to me and wraps his little baby arms around my leg and looks up with his big, white-toothed smile.
Prasad walks up with his limp which just gives him so much character and adds to his cuteness, and jumps into my arms, kisses me on the cheek and just smiles, wide-eyed with his huge, teethy grin.
I will be the first to say that I haven’t thrown myself into this trip. But after talking to Thomas, Dana and Breana, I have felt very encouraged, and I have to think of back to why I felt God was calling me to be here in the first place.
What was God teaching me during this time of severe hardship?
Today it all came together for me, and hit me right in the face.
I have been hearing of the terrible conditions here, and I’ve been seeing it and living it. Although I have my own room and a toilet and a “shower” and get enough food to feed an army (I have it real good compared to most people who live here), I wouldn’t call living here luxurious. But it’s ok because I did not sign up for luxurious.
On our way home from day trips, late at night we see the trucks stopped on the side of the road to pick up the prostitutes. We’ve had to turn away the most beautiful little children who come up begging us for money to bring back to their mother’s. We’ve seen the sick and elderly, so helpless with no one really to care for them.
Dana has been gone quite a bit doing medical clinics in the villages. I only went with them once. Medicine is not my thing. I don’t know what to do, and can’t handle the littlest bit of blood. Therefore, I’ve stayed back here with the kids, and stuck to my hobby of editing photos and putting them up on my Flickr site and have let the girls play with and braid my hair while tossing a ball with the boys..
Over the past couple of weeks, Dana, Breana and Thomas have been going to the house of Mahdu (sp?), one of the staff members here. His dad has had extremely large open wounds on his leg and they recently found out (after seeing him a couple times) that he has AIDS, which is why he is so sick and not really getting any better. When they would come back and talk about “draining” the wounds and the smell, just those words made me feel sick and I decided I would rather do anything than go put myself in that situation.
But God decided to change my heart. Last week after talking to Dana, I asked her if the next time they went to visit him, if I could come with them. Today was the day.
I put on my sari, got into the car and after stopping at the local clinic to get a tour and meet the doctor, we headed over to see the man who was told he basically had no time left to live.
He was in the back of the hut laying on a cot, flies covering him like he was a decaying animal.
His family put him in the back because they thought he was going to die and apparently if someone does in a home, it is considered cursed and they have to leave for 6 months before it’s ok to live in again.
I just saw this man laying there and immediately, Dana started caring for him, squeezing out the infection of the leg wounds while Breana assisted. I was surprisingly not grossed out. The only emotion I felt was sadness. I saw the agony in his face as Dana tried to clean out what seemed like deep holes in his legs.
I sat on a chair up by his face and didn’t know what to do, so I just took a plastic fan and fanned him to try to cool him down and keep the flies away.
Because he had AIDS, no one in his family except for Mahdu would touch him or even come near him.
Can you imagine that? Your family member is dying and you just neglect them because you’re embarrassed and don’t want to catch what they have.
After all of his wounds were changed, we prayed for him.
As I saw the tears coming down his face, I felt my own face covered in tears as Dana and Breana spoke words over him and asked God to heal him both outside and in.
In his language, he looked up at Tom and said all he wanted was Jesus.
Something changed in me. All I wanted to do was hold his hand, stroke his hair and put lotion on his loose, extremely dry skin.
This is what God does. He swoops down into your life and just blows you away when you least expect it.
It’s so sad seeing people have to go through what they do here.
I’ve come to realize that I am so spoiled, and selfish and prideful, and I need to start counting every single blessing I have because compared to people here, I have so much, but yet always have felt so unsatisfied, wanting more.
However, when I look at the faith and passion that Christians here have for God, I see that they are rich with the Holy Spirit, and I am ashamed that I came here following God’s call for me, thinking I was going to teach them, and I am the one being taught about his Faithfulness by 3-year-olds.
I left for India almost three weeks ago and already so much has happened.
This is going to be the hardest thing I’ve ever done, but I will come back a changed person. You can’t come to a place like this and see and experience things here and not be.
Please pray for these kids. Half of them are gone with their families spreading the gospel. The others are here on summer break. If you go to the website (www.openarmsforasia.org) and read some of their stories, your hearts will break. But they have the joy of the Lord and seeing that joy is what is encouraging me here daily.
Pray for Dana as she departs to go back home tomorrow (Wednesday, May 6).
Pray for me to keep trusting in what the Lord has for me, especially as I deal with physical sickness and home-sickness. I am fasting for 5 days to remind myself that God is sufficient for me and will fulfill my needs.
Thank you all so much for your continued prayers, support and encouragement.
A special thank you to my Mom and Jamie for the books that each of you gave me for while I’m here. They are already a huge encouragement to me and has become a part of my daily routine to spend time reading both.
Feel free to email me privately if you have any specific questions or comments.
Grace and Peace to you,
Jenna
“NEVER BE LACKING IN ZEAL, BUT KEEP YOUR SPIRITUAL FERVOR, SERVING THE LORD. BE JOYFUL IN HOPE, PATIENT IN AFFLICTION, FAITHFUL IN PRAYER. SHARE WITH GOD’S PEOPLE WHO ARE IN NEED.”
[ROMANS 12:11-13]
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