Jenn's Latest Letter

ALOHA pink bucket of death ohana just wanted to keep you posted. My apologies for not being more on it with the updates...its been a crazy 4 weeks.

Please bear with me. This is pretty long but please take sometime to sit down and read it. It's encouraging how the Lord works! It's worth reading.

6th week of DTS
It’s been a crazy 4 weeks. It all began with us going “Holoholo” (mobile) within the Philippines on an 8-hour overnight bus ride from Naga City to Manila, a 5 in the morning (20 minute) jeepney ride to a Youth With a Mission base in Antipolo. The Antipolo Training Center (ATC) was our new home for our 6th week of Discipleship Training School (DTS) joining and fellowshipping with another DTS as we learned “Inductive Bible Study” together. . The highlight for our students was the hands on bible study they got to do with others and discover the bible for themselves and the day of outreach where they were tested with their boldness in proclaiming Jesus Christ with sandwich boards and signs making the most of every opportunity they had to share the gospel with those who wanted it. The students learned to appreciate what they had at the Naga base and appreciate diversity between ministries. It was also a week of discovering gratefulness in differences and treasures in new friendships. Sadly it took until the last 3 days for the students to finally feel comfortable enough to really get past the shyness and make friends…the only regret was not starting to get to know others sooner. I on the other hand felt very much at home at the ATC being a student there for Introduction to Biblical Counseling last July through September of 2006. I had the privilege of being able to teach a sign dance “I Can Only Imagine” which I learned from friends from InterVarsity at Manoa and be a funnel of God’s imparting the heart of worship through dance not just to the DTS but also to Mildred, a friend, who has the same passion for dance as I do and was hungry for more of it. I was really blessed to be a part of that and have that time with her.

7th week of DTS
Then off we went to another base in Manila called Balut base. This was a hard week for me but it was the week I really saw God move as my strength, the One who upholds me and be real with my staff of where I was really at…broken, weak, and hurting. It was the week I felt God ask me of my family and to trust Him with my dad and my family. It was the week I learned my dad was sick for a week with Bells Palsy. The same week we merged as the “Lokahi (UNITY) DTS,” where the Hawaii side of the team joined the Philippines side of the team for the 7th week of our DTS our “Team Building Week.” Also, in God’s steadfast love and faithfulness, kept a student from being sent home because of self-centered decisions he or she made without regard for others and his/her leaders. His grace truly was sufficient for me. It was His grace that sustained me through an emotionally, mentally, spiritually, and physically draining week. This person chose that day who he/she will serve, to have witnessed this person choose God and take responsibility for his or her action was worth it all. I even saw God move for my family and me. I was released to go home by my leaders and staff yet I felt that I was to stay in the Philippines. It was confirmed when I called home and my dad though one side of his face was droopy was doing well. They said to not worry and I didn’t need to come home and they released me to stay where I was.

This week was the week where staff and students learned about spiritual warfare, working as a team, learning both to lead and follow, and doing one another’s part for the team to work as one. As a team they had 5 rules to follow, and 20 items to do and catch on picture while making the most of every opportunity to pray for others as a whole team, share the gospel with people as a team, and seeing people come to know the LORD as a team as their bonus points. They learned how easy it was to make Jesus known wherever they went. I was blessed to witness one team pray with a guy in the middle of the road, on a basketball court after sharing the gospel to him. The ultimate highlight for me was what one of the 3 teams did to do not only what was required but get their bonus points and get the angels in heaven partying like crazy. One team went to a school in Naga and asked permission from the school officials to take picture of fifty kids with their team. They went further and asked permission to share something special to the students as a team. What they did was they did a program with singing, acted out a bible story, shared the gospel message and did an altar call as a team to the fifty kids and all fifty accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior that day.

Our 8th week was on “Plumbline.” It was the week of freedom and healing from past hurts that kept their heart walled up from God and others. It was definitely a week of fighting for people through prayers. We have seen breakthroughs in the lives of students as they chose to be transparent with God and others, chose to forgive and trust God, chose to break lies and receive truth, and learning how to daily and actively apply Romans 12:2 “be transformed by the renewing of the mind.” We played a basketball game last Sunday afternoon against a village team called Santo Tomas. Thought we lost the game 96-86, we won over the village. They made us dinner and Aunty Doreen (my leader) and Luana (one of our staff) shared Christ with them at the end. Throughout the game, the girls, led by Aunty Doreen was doing all this cheer stuff. Kept the crowd buzzing along. It was crazy, the whole village was there. They didn't know whether to cheer for their village team or us. Ended up cheering for both. It was awesome. One of my personal highlights was seeing God use me in a small way to speak truth into the lives of about 4 young children, their names are Jonard, Keykai, Juliet, and another little girl. They are use to finding names to put each other down and was asking me for a name that people used to tease me so they can do it to me. I asked them to find good things about each other to say and as long as I was with them to not tease one another because we were made to lift one another up, encourage one another not tear each other down and that’s what they did for the whole time. When one of the kids did, they recognized it and corrected each other and kept themselves from putting each other down. I got to lead one session of worship too. I usually lose it because of the people but this week I wanted freedom for all of us and wanted so much to be in His presence. So from the beginning I prayed Lord, I want to worship You and I will I pray that as I do people would want to come where You are with me. It was a fight to get to the place but we got there and we felt His presence with us. Where the Spirit of the Lord is there is FREEDOM! Yay God!

We are now on our 9th week. We are seeing both staff and students challenged to put truths they’ve receive from last week put into action this week, while God takes them deeper as they learn “The Cost of Discipleship.”

This past two weeks for me has been quiet humbling. Seeing more and more of pride in my life that had kept me relying on my self, my own strength and understanding to the point where I think I’m on my own when I’m the one that placed myself in a situation where I’m doing it all on my own when I have people around to help me. With the help of my leader, I realized that I needed to renew my mind in my believing that giving staffs work is burdening them when in actuality it gives them a place in the team, worth, and authority to lead out as they take on responsibilities. It showed me that I don’t trust as much as I thought I did because I’m too busy doing things others could do and end up not doing the things I needed to do. I also deceived myself into thinking that I got where I am out of my own doing, my serving, my faithfulness, my works and realizing that it was in no way any of that but because He placed me there out of His grace, His faithfulness His love, His promises, His word and for His name. It had nothing to do with me but everything to do with Him, by Him and through Him. I was also reminded that grace is to be given as much as it has been given me or until He says His grace is lifted. I cannot judge or expect more than what God asks of them (the students) as I was once where they were others learn quickly others takes a lot more time and I need to deal with people according to where they are at with the Lord and not my own expectation of where they should be or where I think they should be. I am learning a lot about surrendering control and truly trusting God who is worthy of trust. It is a daily dying for me. A daily surrendering of control and of self-reliance and choosing to trust God and trust the people He has entrusted. A daily asking of God how do I walk out trusting you today? The answer for me is trust your brothers and sisters. Not as easy as it sounds…but if God asks of it, He enables me and makes it possible. That’s where I’m at! In the midst of all this, I can still smile and smile at the days to come and only by His grace!

Coming up!
We are doing a camp for high school kids from April 2 to the 4th and preparing to do ministry with a team of 20 coming from Hong Kong. Then one more week of teaching and off we go for outreach continuing to build the relationships we built last year in Malabon and Ilocos Sur. Then to Thailand and Malaysia we go.

I would like to thank you for your prayers and partnership in the Gospel. Rest assured that my mission here is also yours. I appreciate all your love, prayers, encouragements, e-mails, care packages and financial support that you have invested in me in the past years. Again thank you for your friendship and trust. I do hope that this update has encouraged you too. Please keep me up to date with what’s going on with you. You are also in my prayers! God bless you in return.

By God's Grace,
Jenn