Day 5 - Friday

They have been keeping us going non-stop.  Up early every morning and up late every night.  One of the biggest things that I have noticed so far is lack of prayer among the groups...other than prayer night Tuesday night.  Both Tammy and I have noticed that lack of prayer in our group.  There is no evidence of a relationship beyond them saying they believe in Christ nor in the personal desire to be in the word.  It's been hard for us (Tammy and I) to sit down and study on  our own because they have been keeping us going non-stop.  We have  a team "devotional".  With the exception of  this morning all of the devotions have been reading maybe one verse from the Bible and  that's it.  There's no meat to it and it is causing me to be starving to be in the word.  Since we are kept very busy during the day I have been staying up late at night so I can sit down and study which is causing me to get very little sleep but it's well worth it to be in the word.  So prayers would greatly be appreciated!!

 

Today we have been sitting through sessions learning more about "M's" and their beliefs.

 

Have a great day everyone!

 

-Jenn

Day 4 - Thursday

Actually, I'm going to share pictures later.  Not much to report here. 

 

We did our first book table today.  It is quite interesting.  I enjoyed it much more than I thought.  We were by a market and were able to walk through it.  We couldn't hand out many tracts in the market itself because a lot of the females were with their husbands.  We also walked all over the area passing out tracts too.  One time I asked a lady as she was passing by me if she wanted something to read and I had a tract in my hand.  She looked at me as if I had two heads, took the tract, and continued staring at me as if I had two heads.  It wasn't as intimidating as I thought it would be.

 

Some of the people from the group got in to some lengthy discussions.  "S" was talking to a "M" for an hour and a half or so.  Then at the end we couldn't find "M" because he was deep in the market carrying on a conversation with someone.

 

I did find a skirt that I like and I bought it for 4.50 pounds ($9).  Not bad.  Yes, I know that I was supposed to be passing out tracts.  :)  We were allowed to take short breaks throughout the day.  "J" helped me and bartered for a lower price because she told me never to pay full price for anything in the market because they will barter.  They originally wanted 7.50 pounds ($15) for the skirt.

 

Love to all,

 

Jenn

 

 

I'm sorry

I'm sorry for the delays in updating the blog.  They have been keeping us going non-stop and haven't had too much time to post to my blog.  I have updates that I'll be posting in a few mintues with a recap of what we have been up to on a daily basis.

 

Love you all!!

 

-Jenn

Day 3 - Wed.

Today we had a day off.  We had a bit of confusion this morning because of miscommunication and it was an adventure.  It all came out well.  T, K, and I spent the afternoon together walking in the city.  We had a blast!

 

I'll upload pictures to the blog.

 

* A note from today (Friday)*

 

There has been very little time to do anything other than what they have scheduled for us.  So I'll get a little more detailed later but I've gotta run.

Day 2 - Tuesday

We spent most of today stamping information on literature and then spent the afternoon distributing it. The first couple of places it was hard for me and then I realized it was just like coffee night without a physical gift to give them.

Then in the evening we had praise and prayer night. It's NOTHING like at Riverside. We sang 3 songs and then prayed the remainder of the two hours. The prayer sessions were great. We spent time around tables to pray for individual countries. We had specific prayer requests for the countries.

Tonight I also got my computer approved to connect to the internet at the center. There's a place set up for people who have laptops. So we should have more time to check our email and actually update the blog.

We do need prayer here among our groups. It's not as much as with the group that the guys are in but the one we are in is a different story. We don't pray as a team and even when we are all together at TC we don't pray as a group.

Day 1 - Monday

We got in to London about 8:35 AM London time.  A little bit behind schedule.  We get through customs without a problem.  As we were leaving the airport we came through the exit where everyone is waiting and lo and behold "J" was waiting for us!!!  Oh it was such a blessing that he came to get us at the airport.  We were quite surprised.

 

It took us forever to get to TC and we arrived right as the second session was beginning so we were quickly ushered in to it.  They had them the remainder of the day until 9 PM with an hour break for lunch and dinner.  We were all falling asleep by the end of the day.  There's internet acess there but there are only a couple of computers and time is very limited so I haven't had the time to update the blog.

 

Pastor Mike I saw "R" today and he smiled when I said that you told me to tell him hello for you.  He says hello too.

 

Plane Ride

10:00 PM US Time

 

Greetings everyone!!  We are currently in the air.  By the time you read this we will be in London.  We got to the airport about 4ish today and checked in.  They didn’t have to bump us again (yeah!!!).  It’s a pretty full flight.  It looks like every seat in First Class is occupied.  They have a ireless Access Point at the airport and I checked my email before I left.  I was in the process of typing an email when I get a phone call from David.  He told me that he was sitting at the TGI Fridays at TIA with my parents!  What a surprise!!!  Tammy, Chris, Kendall, and I were already airside with all of our stuff and it would take forever for all four of us to go back through security with everything.  The guys were sweethearts and stayed with all of our stuff so Tammy and I could go over.  Before Tammy and I left we got hugs again from the moms.  By the time we got back to airside there was 5 minutes before they were going to board us and so the guys couldn’t go over but David was able to say good-bye to them on the phone.

 

It has been great getting to see the experience of flying through somebody who has never flown before.  My first airplane trip was so long ago and I can’t remember it.  Also, the First Class experience is great.  This may sound crazy but I can’t see playing the extra money for it. 

 

According to the website our model airplane was supposed to have both the airplane adapter plug for laptops and the regular power source to plug our chargers directly in.  This plane only has the airplane adapter ports.  It is 68 pounds for the adapter…give or take $140 US dollars.  Both Kendall and I said no thank you.  I don’t have much juice left on mine and Kendall’s battery died.  So I may wind up having to finish this later.  We were thinking if it wasn’t too expensive that we would split the cost.

 

Here is our selection of food from the dinner menu.

 

Starters

 

Grilled king prawns (shrimp) with papaya drizzled with rocket dressing.

 

Or

 

Glazed Goat cheese and heirloom tomatoes dressed with balsamic olive oil.

 

Fresh seasonal salad served with vinaigrette

 

Main

 

Grilled fillet steak with asparagus, baton carrots and rosti potatoes

Or

Chicken korma with wilted spinach, pine nuts, basmati rice and Indian bread

Or

Portobello mushroom tortellini with a creamy mushroom sauce topped with grated Parmesan cheese

Or

Poached salmon salad with new potatoes and fresh salad leaves

 

Dessert

 

New York cheese cake (came with some blueberries and raspberries)

Or

Aged Cheddar and Brie cheese.

 

They also have a well-stocked larder that we are allowed to raid that has a variety if crisps and dips, choice of sweet biscuits/cookies, assortment of chocolate bars, and a selection of whole fruits.  They have also given us a travel kit that contains toothpaste, toothbrush, stuff for our lips, lotion, the eye masks and sock among other things.  They also came in a neat little carrier too.

 

I’ll write more later.  It’s pretty late and I need to get some sleep.  The end of this flight will come sooner than I know.  We’ll be shuffled right into a day of training (which I am looking forward to.)

 

Before I go I would like to thank everyone that went to the airport yesterday and today.  It meant A LOT to us!!  Also, thank you for the sweet cards and goodies that people sent!!!  A few individuals as well as a couple of small groups sent cards of encouragement for us and they were very much appreciated!!

 

I pray that all is going well for everyone at home and I can’t wait to be able to update everyone on what’s going on during the trip!!

 

Now I’m off to get some shut eye!

 

I love you all!!

 

-Jenn

Greetings!

Greetings!! We are here safe!! I have stuff for the blog I'll send later but I wanted to let everyone know that we are here safe and sound!!!

We had a very nice surprise at the airport!! "J" met us there!! We were shocked and pleasently surprised & greatful he was there and took us where we needed to go.

It's time to head back for our next session.

I pray all is well!!

Love,

Jenn

Surprise!!

First, I would like to thank those who came to Carolyn's house to pray with us this afternoon and those who were at the airport!! It meant a lot to me as I'm sure it did to the rest of the team.

I'm sure it be a surprise to all of you later on today when our team walks in the door! Yes, we were supposed to leave yesterday. However, we were bumped from our flight. During one of the training meetings I atteneded for Lakeshore, MS last year we were taught about the need to be fluid and flexible. When the agents at the check-in counter explained the problem we were all like okay and what's the next step.

The guy at the counter had two options for us. We could either be bumped to another flight and be upgraded to First Class or we could be bumped to another flight and be offered $400. Both options including putting us up for the night at the hotel free of charge. We decided to be upgraded to First Class on the flight. I'm sure some of you would have said, "Are you crazy? I would have taken the $400." The $400 was probably in vouchers (as most airlines give) that we all would have had to use within a certain amount of time and we'd probably never get an opportunity to fly in First Class and we decided to go that route. We decided not to stay at the airport so we could go to church since our flight was not an early flight.

What originally happened was that they sent a plane that held 60 less people for the flight. They were in the process of bumping us up to First Class on the original flight since all the coach seats were taken and there were some First Class available. While he was in the process of doing that people that had First Class tickets for the flight showed up and naturally the seats were given to them. He was very appreciative of how we handled the situation and did apologize a few times as did another gentleman who I believe may have been a supervisor who came out with our new reservations.

They had to go retrieve our luggage which had already been sent over to the plane. While were waiting close to the ticket counter there were two ladies at the counter. They were visably upset and yelling because they were bumped from the same flight. Someone overheard what they were saying and I also saw them gesturing over our way a couple of times. They asked why didn't you bump those American kids over there? They thought the agents were showing favoritism to us because we are American and they were not. The agents calmly explained that we were bumped from our flight too and waiting for our luggage. It took a good hour for them to get our luggage. As we were getting our luggage from the cart I had an opportunity to hand the gentleman that was handling everything for us one of the Two Ways to Live tracts.

We see it as the Lord has His reasonings for everything happening the way it did. We may find out and we may not. It's all part of His perfect plan.

In Christ,

Jenn

I figured

I figured that what I had was pharyngitis...strep throat. I'm on antibiotics (yeah) and I am starting to feel much better. My PCP couldn't get me in until Monday and so I had to call the insurance company to see where was the closest walk-in clinic I could go to. I hate the ER's around here and the $25 that I had to pay for the Immediate Care Center is much better than the $75 I would have had to pay for the ER. It wasn't busy at the immediate care center and the staff was very nice!! Well worth the extra $10 and minus the stress of my PCP's office.

Praise the Lord for insurance companies. The generic form of my medicine cost nearly $100 and I only had to pay $7 for it!! I don't want to see what it cost for the immediate care center.

Prayer Request Please

I have a prayer request. I woke up sick as a dog this morning. I need some prayer that the Lord heals me so being sick won't cause a problem on the trip. I started the Mississippi trip in April the same way...with a fever and then it turned in to an upper respratory infection and I lost my voice for most of the trip. I feel the fever coming on and I'm just feeling plain miserable...even after taking medicine an hour ago. I know that He used being sick on the MS for a good purpose! You can read a little bit more about that trip in one of my earlier posts on my blog called "Missing Lakeshore".

Also, a praise report!!! I was house sitting for the past couple of weeks and I got paid yesterday for it. It was enough to allow me to use the money that I had set aside for the trip to be able to now take some of it and continue my Gideon payments and actually pay some extra! I'm taking the last week of the month as non-pay and so I didn't have the extra money to pay the additional payments that I have been giving for Gideon. I'm excited!!

Have a great day!

-Jenn

Probably the Last Update Before I Go.

Sue and I had fun Friday night. We made it to about 4:30 am at the all night crop. I was surprised that I made it that far because I haven't been able to do all-nighters since college. I worked mainly on cards. I didn't have time to print my pictures that I wanted to scrap beforehand. I also sorted some of my pictures from college.

I am nearly all set on the trip. I have seen our schedule and am excited. We will spend a lot of time in workshops that I am looking forward to attending. I took a class in college that dealt with some of the same topics and am looking forward to refreshing my memory and learn new things. I can't wait to see what the Lord has to show & teach me on this trip!! I have found all of the skirts that I'll need!! Praise God!!! My money is exchanged. I have to return one item and purchase a power converter and a backpack. I think that's about all that's left of getting ready except for packing which won't start for another couple of days and I'll finish the morning of departure. :) I'm enjoying my last few nights with my friends & family.

There's a team that's in the field right now. Here's a link to Scott's blog. On his Discipleship - The Need post I started crying when I read about his daughter Kendyl. She has accepted Christ as her Savior!! Praise God!!!

Another update and a praise!! Jen updated Madison's webpage. She said that she doesn't have to have more surgery at this current time!! The family is doing well and settling down in Texas. Jackson's crawling now!! Dallas is doing well too!! I'm glad to hear that the family is doing well and is settling down in their new home!

The work in the office is coming along well. We have the wall is completed and painted. The door for the storeroom and the door between the wall and counter are getting ready to be installed. The carpet will be installed next week while I'm gone. It will look different when I get back. We'll be having an open house early next month.

I probably won't post again until after I get on the field so for everyone not going to the airport talk to you later and I'll see those of you who are going there!!

Have a great day and God Bless!

Jenn

Go Tampa!!

Tampa won the NCAA Div II Baseball Championship this weekend! If FSC couldn't make it then at least it was kept it in the conference! I had a feeling from early on in the season that Tampa would win the NC. They have been dominating from the beginning. They are one great team! Congrats UT!

Oh my gosh there is so much to do to get ready for this trip. There is more stuff that I have to buy. Crazy, crazy, crazy. I have found another skirt so now I have two to wear. It's starting to get a bit overwhelming. It's getting close enough to the trip that things I didn't even give thought to before I am now thinking about. It's the little things and the unknown I'm fretting about. Like only being able to take one check-in bag and fit everything that I'll need for two weeks, including a sleeping bag, in to it. It wouldn't be so bad but it's the sleeping bag that takes up so much darn space (even as small as it is). Then, I'm concerned about our group being split up while there out on the field. It's one thing for us to be split up but as small as our group is if we are split up we may not be with anyone that we know. It's being by myself without knowing anyone is what I'm scared of. Please be in prayer about that! I'd prefer to be with at least one member of the team that's going over but if it's the Lord's plan for us to be separated it's His glorious plan.

Jeremiah 29:11
'For I know the plans that I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope'

I do look forward to tonight as I will be watching the boys! It's been a while since I have baby-sat them.

One of my best friends is coming to visit this weekend. I'm excited as I haven't seen her in a few months. We are going to scrapbook and hang out for the night.

Have a great day!