F.R.O.G.

Hello my dear friends.

It is currently 7:45 on monday evening. Today was my "day off" so I spent my time listening to the new Hillsong United album (amazing), napping, and just thinking about life in general.

Things here are going well. Still waiting for that monsoon to come and bring some cooler weather with it. I can guarantee during the first week, i will be outside dancing and splashing in the rain as much as possible.

The majority of the kids have come back from their short "mission trips" to their families. It's good to hear so many loud voices worshiping with everything they have in them once again. It's funny how I feel almost like a parent to all of these kids. When they left, even just for a few days, I would get so sad, and when they returned, I felt the joy dancing around in my soul like after your own child leaves for a while then returns (maybe how my mom has felt/will feel).

I've been thinking a lot lately about my purpose for being here.
I was so convinced that I was going to come here and change lives. I am gifted with computers and doing administrative work, and that's what the board had said OAFA needed. However, it is much more complicated than that, and I haven't really been able to do any, because I don't understand any of the reports or receipts (because of the language).

So I've been left with...nothing? I didn't come here with a degree in anything specific. I'm working towards education, but I still don't even know if that's really what I want to do with the rest of my life. I love kids, but do I love teaching?

I remember talking to Brooke at the boiler room in Grand Rapids months ago, and she told me that she had come into her year of being an intern with all these expectations of what she was going to do. Little did she know that God had other plans and ended up being the one showing her things and teaching her things.

I've decided that coming into experiences where God is calling you, you might as well take your expectations and throw them out the window.
Once I began to let go of my assumptions of what I was going to do for everyone else here, I really began to see the work that God was doing in me.

I have begun to actually accept the fact that I may be more changed and will learn way more than I will change or teach others.
One of the biggest things I've began to learn is my need for Jesus, and having Him be ALL I need.

I've struggled a lot here with loneliness. Sure I have people back home to talk to over the internet and occasionally the phone, but when I am really homesick or just having a bad day here, it's not the same as having someone here. Peter speaks English, but occasionally it's a little bit hard for us to communicate because he speaks it a little bit differently than I do. On top of that, he is gone much of the time running errands for OAFA and doing business-related things, so I really have NO ONE who can clearly understand me.

This has forced me to spend a lot more time praying and talking to God. Even though He isn't here in physical form, I know I could not even say a word and He would still understand me.

What's awesome though is that even though a lot of the time we don't think so, He is ALL WE NEED. He is sufficient enough to fill every spot of loneliness that's looming around inside of us.

Isn't that amazing?

Each time I am having a hard time, and go to God with it, something happens. Either my mood just changes for no actual reason, or one of my babies here will bring me joy, or someone back at home will send me a message or have a great bible verse that seems to be meant exactly for me.

It's such an encouragement knowing that even though I feel alone because no one speaks English, I am NEVER alone. I think I've always known that in the back of my head, but never really understood that concept until I came here.

Remember after the WWJD bracelets came out, FROG bracelets came out? Fully Rely On God. That's all there is to it.

I am learning so much and am being stretched to my limits.
I still wake up everyday in disbelief that I am actually living in India.

The challenges keep coming, but so do the blessings.

I hope everyone back home is doing well.

I miss you so very much, and am so grateful for the prayers and encouragement.

Grace and Peace,

Jenna