jjjenni and the wwwindmill

Hey everyone!

So I'm still alive and well in Holland. :-)

Classes have started and we just today really got into it. We're reading through the whole Bible in these 3 months, so we have specific Bible reading days and today was one of those. Me and the 2 other people in my English speaking group read the books out-loud and then afterwards we answer questions. Also, before we read the book, we have these little introductions to each book that give us more information about when it was written, to whom, etc. So, so far today we've read: 1&2 Thessalonians, 1&2 Timothy, Titus, Philemon, James, Ephesians, Colossians and we will read 1&2 Corinthians tonight. And I'm pretty sure there is something that I left out. It's pretty intense, but I'm sure it will only increase in intensity... like when we read 1&2 Kings and it will supposedly take 6+ hours...!!!

I have a great roommate named Sonja from Germany. We get along really well! And I just really like all the people in my school, students and staff.

The weather has been really really beautiful this last week (I've been here for a week already!), but unfortunately it looks like it's going to get colder and possibly rainy. :-( But I'm grateful for the nice weather we've had. :-)

Well, here's like one of the only pictures that I've taken since I've been in Holland... I know that's pretty lame. But you wouldn't believe how hard it is to take pictures when you're riding a bike....


It's Jenni and a giant windmill!! This is the first Dutch windmill that I've ever seen in my entire life that was not on a coloring page or in some cultural Christmas pamphlet thing. :-)

holland is da bomb.

Hallllooooo!!!

I'm in Holland and I'm really really loving it! But I have heard that the first stage of being in another culture is the "honeymoon" part where everything is amazing and beautiful and you love it-- and then you begin to see all the negative things. So I'm just really praying that I won't get to that part. I only have 3 months and I don't want to waste it on having a bad attitude and getting offended about different cultural things that I can't control or change. Really praying!

Our course will start on Wednesday and so these days I'm just kind of getting introduced to living here. I've rented my bike (which is super amazing-- I'll have to take some pictures and show you!) and that's my transportation! The place where we live is kind of like a village, but a modernized-ish one, but quaint and quiet and cute and green and beautiful! And the base is in a neighboring village, so I ride on a bike trail through the forest to get there! We'll have most of our lectures, etc. at the base. I think pretty much the only negative thing about the bike is that my bottom is reallllllyy sore...! But I think after a few days it will get used to it! :-) And also I have yet to ride in the rain... but I'm sure I'll experience that soon enough. BUT I pretty much love my bike.

The town is also very cute. Lots of cute shops. Lots of things calling at me to buy them because they either don't exist in Georgia, aren't as good quality or are cheaper here-- but I'm trying to remember that my happiness is not birthed from an abundance of cute possessions. :-) I'm sure I will buy some things, but I'm definitely having a challenge in self-control and keeping my perspective in tempting times!!

So, yeah! I'm really enjoying it here! I feel like it's really a gift from God! I'm sure though that when I start studying I will be more focused on that than on being continually amazed at my surroundings!!!-- but for now I'm enjoying it. :-)

Thanks for all your prayers and interests!

i love

I HAVE MY PLANE TICKET TO HOLLAND.

not that i'm excited or anything... or maybe I AM!!!!!!!

So that's some great news to share with you! Really, it's a miracle. Just like a couple of weeks ago I thought that maybe I wouldn't go-- but now I have a plane ticket. I really see through this God's power and active-ness in our lives and concerns. He is really amazing. Thank you Lord for leading me and helping me to this Bible school in Holland!!

Also as I was walking downtown today post-ticket-buying, I saw some of my street kids from the center. They were so sweet!!! And I was super encouraged-- one of the street sellers was telling me how good of kids they were. Once they wanted to buy some earrings but didn't have money at the time, so they sort of took out a "loan" (for a couple of cents) and said they'd bring the money the next day-- and they DID. So this lady was saying how good they were and how much she trusts them, and I was standing there with my arms around them saying how good they were too-- and I think the kids really liked that. People valuing them. And I was filled with so much hope! There are many people who say that these people groups (Kurds&Gypsies) will always be liars and thieves and beggars-- but I can see that they are wrong. These children can change. They can be "normal". They can be respected and show respect. How cool is that. Again, God is pretty amazing. Because He cares. He wants to teach them and help them out of the situation they're in. I absolutely believe that. And I just pray that I really can be a part of it.

new songs

Hey all! Well, I seem to have made decent use of my time since I got back from Kiev and wrote that last blog post. I recorded 2 of my newer songs. You can go ahead and listen-- think of them like "rough drafts"! :-) But I hope you enjoy them. Here's the PLACE YOU CAN LISTEN & lyrics:

It's Not Heavy
I am yoked to Freedom
I am yoked to Love
And maybe you won't believe it
But it's not heavy at all
(repeat)

Is it possible
To live this life alone?
I have come to see
That the answer is, "no"

I have spent so many days
Walking under the weight
Of this world and all its worries
And I could hardly stand
With my broken back
But You came
You came
You came...


Easier & Easier
Lord, please reveal
All the things that I've thought
That were not true at all
Lord, please heal
All these wounds that I've got
And the ones that I've caused
Lord, please hear
My prayer and my cry and my song

'Cause it's not always easy
To trust in what you can't see
But I know You're real
I can feel it
Yes I can feel You inside
And I know You're right
I know You're right
I can feel it

Lord, I have come
Pretty far on my way
But I don't want to stay
Where I have been
So please hold me close
And take my hand
And lead me
Lead me
Lead me...
Where You want me

And it gets easier and easier
To trust in Your good character
I believe You'll do
What You've promised

i'm so patriotic (to georgia, that is)

Well, I'm back!!!

The conference was pretty much AWESOME. There weren't 500 people there though, more like 300. But I was not as socially awkward as I had expected myself to be. The worship times were really quite incredible, God really revealed some new things (new to me) about worshiping Him. Before (and I guess it probably will still happen sometimes, I'm not completely transformed in my thinking yet, but in process...) if I had like some mistake that I'd made, or if I felt not so good, or a lot of different things, it was so hard for me to sing worship songs to God. Like really hard. Even after I repented of my sin or whatever it was, it took me quite a while to get back to feeling normal and being able to sing to God. But God really quite continually spoke to me about the fact that He doesn't change, no matter what I do/have done or what I'm feeling-- He is always the same and therefore He is always worthy to be praised. And He always loves me. His love for me does not go away even when I make mistakes, so I can really still sing about His love in the midst of my incorrect feelings of being unloved because of my mistakes.

Also had a great time just getting more connected with people in our organization-- ones that I'd met before and ones that I met for the first time. And pretty much I love my life and I love that I'm a part of an organization that I feel is really seeking to know God more than any organizational type thing. And out of relationship with God, everything else flows. It's so cool to see people up to like 70+ something years old, who have the same vision and ideas as me, who aren't all like "super holy", but confess that they are on the same path to getting to know Jesus. Old people that don't make me feel small. Old people that make me feel like I can actually do something and succeed in this life. I LOVE IT. (www.ywam.org)

I'm just continually amazed at how increasingly exciting my life has become once I really decided to give it to Jesus. I love it. I love it. I love it.

So, getting ready to go to Holland. This begins my last week of craziness in Georgia before I head out. I still don't have my plane ticket & 1000 euros that I need to have toward my school fee before I buy my plane ticket in my bank account yet although people have said it's on the way. What can I do?-- but Lord, you know what I need.

At this conference I became acquainted with a new song that I really really like a lot and feel like my heart will explode when I sing it (out of love and meaning, of course):

This is my prayer in the desert
When all that's within me feels dry
This is my prayer in my hunger and need
My God is the God who provides

This is my prayer in the fire
In weakness or trial or pain
There is a faith proved
Of more worth than gold
So refine me Lord through the flame

CHORUS:
I will bring praise
I will bring praise
No weapon formed against me shall remain
I will rejoice
I will declare
God is my victory and He is here

This is my prayer in the battle
When triumph is still on its way
I am a conqueror and co-heir with Christ
So firm on His promise I'll stand

All of my life
In every season
You are still God
I have a reason to sing
I have a reason to worship

This is my prayer in the harvest
When favor and providence flow
I know I'm filled to be emptied again
The seed I've received I will sow

dun dun dun

Well, I'll be heading off to a University of the Nations (www.uofn.edu) conference in Kiev in just about an hour. There will be... 8 of us from the Youth With a Mission Tbilisi base, and 5 of the 8 are Georgians!! That is a first for us! So I'm pretty excited. There will be about 500 people there. So I guess that makes me a little nervous too (I sometimes can be really awkward in large social settings). But I'm trying not to think about it. My latest received advice about that problem: "Just focus on the other person"... so that's what I'll be trying to do!

Also some good news about Holland, it looks like I WILL be going! I've talked with a few people and it looks like I will have enough support coming in to buy a plane ticket, pay for my rent in Georgia while I'm gone, and begin saving up to pay the course fee. So that's actually quite a miracle. Because I went from probably not going to pretty much yes going in like 2 days. Over $2000 raised in 2 days. That would be God's work.

So I'm excited about that, but am foreseeing that it will be a very stressful time for me when I get back from Kiev. I'll have just one more week in Georgia to get my plane ticket, pack up my bedroom, pack for Holland, finish whatever responsibilities I need to, etc. and then leave. So you can be praying for me if you think about it.

:-)

Well, off I go on another adventure!

I love my life.