A Thought About My Birthday

Hey All,

This is the first time I’ve been on the internet since my birthday (which, really, it hasn’t been that long), but I want to tell you about something that has been on my (and all of our) hearts for a while now. Last Friday, we had the awesome opportunity of going to that UN meeting with Ruth as I’ve mentioned, but the most impacting thing about that trip was actually the tuk-tuk ride over there. We got to talk with Ruth a lot during that time—I think it was the first time we really got to hear her heart—and what she said about Daughters and the Center girls and all the trafficking going on into and (more commonly) within Cambodia will never leave any of us. I say all this with my birthday in mind, because I know without a shadow of a doubt what I would like for my birthday from anyone who has yet to give me a present (if you were already planning on doing so, of course ;). >>>>>SEND MONEY TO DAUGHTERS!!!<<<<<

Seriously. Whatever you were going to spend on me—don’t. Spend it on Daughters—Spend it on these girls, spend it on their salaries to keep them out of the brothels and away from the beatings of their own families. Spend it on these children and their food and shelter, that they may not be trafficked into the local brothels by their own parents or sold and shipped away as slaves. Spend it on Ruth and Sam’s salary—their family’s income, which is strictly whatever they get from sponsors of Daughters and only what is not invested in paying the girls and bettering the Center. Spend it on helping with their advertising for the amazing businesses they are attempting to keep going/start up. Don’t spend it on me. Spend it on ordering a bag. Don’t spend it on soda—spend it on ordering a necklace or curtains. I’m not just ranting and spending my words on a useless spark of passion—I’m trying to be an advocate for a mission, a heart, and a person who could be impacted profoundly by this change in where you place your money.

A good friend and mentor of mine has planted this following thought into my mind: “When you usher the Kingdom into even one person’s life, you usher the Kingdom into the world—because that life is inextricably a part of the world, and so you are most assuredly bringing the Kingdom into it.” Again, I am reminded that it is God’s mission to the world, and we are simply one part of it; but He chooses to use us in it to bring Himself joy and to bring us joy. We as a team must keep reminding ourselves to take joy in those opportunities. While there are challenges and sorrows galore over here, there are also joys to be found in the most unlikely places. Who would have thought that the most loved I’ve ever felt on my birthday would be from those who desperately need to understand how MUCH Love Himself loves them? Who would have thought that I would receive the most precious gifts of priceless effort and care from those who don’t even have a change of clothes for every day of the week? And who would have thought that the most honor I would ever receive from anyone in this world would come from those who are holding so much shame inside? I would have never thought it… And I would have never thought that having my birthday so far away from “home” would actually show me a comfort closer to “home” and a purpose of being born that is greater than any I’ve ever experienced before.

So don’t sell yourself short and think that your birthday, your money, or your home, are for you alone. Because you just might miss out on what having a GREAT birthday, enough money, and your true home really feels like. It is a joy beyond words. And on June 25th 2008, I was very, very glad to be turning 22 in Cambodia.


Please continue to pray. And thank you for your unwavering support.


Blessings and Love,
Jenna

"My grace is sufficient"

Hello there :)

This is Alisa and I thought I'd let you know a little bit about what I'm thinking...

It's easy for me to see the good in people. I look for things we may have in common or the way God is working in their lives, whether they see it or not. As I expected, being in Cambodia and at Daughters I feel comfortable with these people because they are God's children as well. They speak a different language, have a different culture, and look different than what I am used to; but they are people who need love and relationship; people who hurt and can get angry. They are the same as me. But there is a big difference. These women who we are spending our days with have been slaves; performing and giving themselves to people that they don't know and don't want to give themselves too. God has blessed me so much and its easier to put up a wall and not acknowledge the evil in their lives. I'd rather think that they are just like me, but there is a difference. I don't want to close off my heart to their hurt because I don't want to shut out the Lord. How can He use me to heal if I do not acknowledge the hurt and sickness? It breaks my heart, but it breaks His even more. God uses His people to bring justice in this world and if I am not willing to hurt along side the hurting when will there ever be restoration?

I hope this message isn't discouraging; the way God is speaking to me is encouraging. Gently helping me to understand his love and kindness. Helping me to understand what it really means to give my heart and help those around me.

I thank you all so much for your prayers, they are needed. And I love you all who supported us to come to Cambodia. We are priviledged to be apart of God's plans and praise Him every moment of every day. Thank you so much.

2 Corinthians 12:9 "My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is perfected in your weakness."

Love you all :)

Alisa

Some more thanks

Hey all,
Well, as Cassie said, we're safe here in the Kingdom of Cambodia (awesome)! And as today is officially our second full day at Daughters...things are becoming a little more at peace in our spirits I think. Not that we are becoming less "affected" by all that surrounds us here, but God is assuring us each hour that He is in this place, and that we are most assuredly in His hands.

Oh my gosh--we met the girls yesterday--they are LOVELY (that's my new favorite word, as the Daughters director, Ruth, uses it to describe them!). They are ever-so curious about us and even more accepting than I had anticipated--perhaps that was my American egocentric side worrying about that. But they asked us to pray for them yesterday, shortly after we got to sing a few songs to them at their church service (which, the services happen on Fridays at 1 every week). It was awesome, because they didn't care about the language barrier, they were just so hungry for love and prayer, they just wanted us to speak to God over them! It's humbling to hear questions like, "Can God really change me? Can He really change my life?"--they are so desperate for Him to do that... while sometimes, I really don't want want Him to.

Oh, and Ruth took us to a UN meeting/panel thingy last night, where representatives were talking about the issues of elections and human rights in Cambodia. I can't say it was most exciting time (at least, not until the MONSOON HIT AND ALMOST STRUCK THE BUILDING WITH LIGHTNING! we loved it ;), but it was fascinating to listen to how those kinds of issues are talked about here... especially human rights. We look around and judge, thinking, "Do they even have any?" But God knows it goes so much deeper than we see.

Anyway, our time here in the internet cafe (with stalls of bamboo) is almost up, and I wish I could tell more stories (there are already so many--so many blessings, so many challenges), but here's a shout out to my life group (thanks for the comment meghan!), and some love to my dear dear friends (you know who you are), and much much more thanks to everyone who is thinking about us and praying for our time here!
PLEASE, keep the prayers coming. We are so aware of how desperately we need them everyday.

Peace to you our family of Christ,

Jenna

We've arrived!

Hey everybody! We've arrived safe and sound in Cambodia :) As you heard from Libbie's last post, getting here was a little shaky, (and comical) but God pulled us through. Overall we are feeling pretty good, but I think our bodies (namely stomachs and sleep cycles) are totally confused...lol. It will take a few days to adjust.

Ruth, the director of Daughters, picked us up at the airport. She is absolutely wonderful! I think culture shock hit all of us as soon as we stepped out of the airport though. Namely, we passed a few brothels on our way to the Daughters center, and it was pretty heart-wrenching. If Ruth hadn't of said anything, we would have never known the difference. But just becoming aware of their existence made us all pretty sick to our stomachs. We've been preparing for this trip for months, but nothing can prepare you for that. Nothing.

Ruth is absolutely amazing though. She has been working tirelessly to get so many details worked out for us. It turns out she rented an apartment flat for us for the month, which is right next to the Daughters center (complete with 3 bedrooms, 2 bathrooms, and a kitchen). We feel so spoiled, as we will have our own cook (so cool) and a personal driver that will take us wherever we need to go. Ruth also arranged for a male staff person to accompany us home every night and on any excursions we make. In the mornings at the center we will also have a staff person, to show us around and direct us for whatever needs to be done. Ruth has also worked out a detailed schedule for us, I'm sure loaded with things to do around the center. Tonight we are going to sit down with her and share what we have prepared, and then work with what she has in mind to come up with a ministry plan, of sorts. We've only been here a few hours and yet we feel welcomed into this amazing ministry. Such a blessing!

On saturday two volunteers from the UK will be joining the Daughters ministry, and will be living in one of the other rooms in our apartment. We are excited to get to know them and have some more housemates!

Well, I think that's it for now. Thank you for your prayers for safe travel and logistical details to be worked out. God was definitely working on it all from this side :) Continue to pray for discernment and the Holy Spirit's leading. Also as a team leader I ask that you pray for my girls! :) They have already seen and experienced a lot just in the short time we've been here. So pray for healthy processing and comfort from God's truth and spirit. We love you all and thank you for your unending support and love. We'll post again soon!

In His Grip, Cassie

We're almost there...!

So..We are currently in Hong Kong! (My first time overseas!) We are here in the airport waiting..or should I say leisurely taking our time and awaiting our 8:30 flight tomorrow morning to our final destination..Cambodia!! It is just right around the corner!! It is about 11:30pm here and the date is June 18th. We lost quite a few hours and are somewhat delusional after the total flight of about 15 hours...we haven’t even made it to Cambodia yet! (and we didn’t get much sleep on the plane...)

But thank the Lord for His grace on us. We barely made it to our first flight to San Fran because of the traffic and such ("emergency road construction" is what cal trans called it) on the way. Me (Libbie), Alisa, Pakou and Jenna were all in one car-and were planning on meeting Katie and Cassie in the airport. Our flight was flying out at 2:00pm so we planned to meet at the airport a couple hours earlier to have plenty of time to get going. We were running a little late, and then were informed we had to check in at 1:00 in order to be able to get on our flight—it was 12:38 on the clock in the car as we were miles from the airport...Jenna’s talented, aggressive, pro-race car driver mom(Chris)-got us there about ten minutes till! She saved the day pretty much. I'm not gunna lie…I was a little stressed ….Jenna’s like "Libbie. its okay! Hold my hand!!" I ended up holding her pinky..and shes like "uhh…alright. you just keep squeezing that pinky!!" Needless to say-we made it on the plane. We are glad we are safe...and ready to spend the night here in Hong Kong—Im pretty sure ill never forget this night and the hours that have led up to this.

Random funny stories/things: 1. Jenna made us steal airplane plastic cups: (What? they throw them away anyways. :)
2. This airport has fun go cart /cars that beep and the people driving them have big smiles on their faces-and they will run you over.
3. When we arrived in the Hong Kong Airport, we were sitting down waiting for Cassie and Jenna. Me, Alisa, Katie and Pakou see 3 guys dressed in airport security uniforms…but not just any security uniforms...they had guns. We all sat there with our eyes wide open. And Pakou goes “Um..those guys are pretty intimidating. but they look like boys with toys.” We didn’t want to stare them in the eye...they kind of walked with a strut as well. It was funny because you can tell they really were intimidating the way people would avoid them. But we know we are protected.
On that note, we are going to get some sleep.
Pray for Health, strength, and provision.
Thank you all for your prayers. But our trip is just beginning….goodbye!

--LibbieAnn--

what is going on??

So I should be landing in San Francisco in about half an hour, but instead I'm sitting here on my bed in Jersey after saying goodnight to my family like every other night.

I learned something today: I don't always know what's going to happen. My plan was to fly to CA tonight and stay with my aunt, uncle, and cousins for a couple days until we all met in the airport on Tuesday. Then I had problems checking in and waited in line for about 30 minutes to check my bag. And then I thought I was going to miss my flight so I just about ran to the gate to find that the plane was overbooked and they couldn't fit everyone. So I was one of the few willing to change my flight and that's how I ended up back home for the night (and with a nice airline credit!)

Not at all what I planned! But I know God was behind it all. I got to talk to another woman who had also given up her seat. We started talking about Cambodia and what our team will be doing and the expression on her face was so humbling. When I told her we simply wanted to build relationships and show the girls they are worth so much she looked so happy that someone would give up their summer to do what we're doing. And for a minute I was proud. I mean who doesn't love to be a part of something that could make a difference? But then I caught myself. I don't even know specifically what I'm doing over there! I don't know what's going to happen. And whatever does happen is in God's name, not mine. But the unknown scares me to death. I like to have control. I like to know what the plan is and what will happen. But if there's one thing I've learned in the past few years it's that I have no control over most things. Some stuff is just too big for me. If I try to take it on by myself there's no way it'll work. If I try to do it with God there's no way it won't work! How exciting is that?

I don't know what will happen in the next few weeks. Even what I thought was set in stone didn't turn out the way I planned so far. But one thing I do know is that no matter what does happen, as long as it's in God's name, it will be amazing...even if we can't see the results of it in this lifetime.

So tomorrow I'll say my goodbyes again, drive to the airport once more, pray that I can actually get on this flight, and begin my journey to do what I can for God's will. I might be scared to death but I'm also more excited than ever before :)

Katie

STOOOKED!!!!

Tonight, Alisa and Libbie and I will pack up my car, leave Redding, and head down to Oakhurst (my hometown by Yosemite) for the remaining two days before our trip! Then my mom will drive us to the SF airport on Tuesday where we'll meet up with Pakou, Katie, and Cassie...
I am stoked! It all seems so surreal as I sit here in my cozy Shasta Creek apartment... but this morning, reality is creeping closer in, and it surprises me that I'm meeting it with more joy and excitement than stark-raving-mad fear! (amazing how God can change your heart over the course of time). Sure...there are a few frightening things...and a few things left to do (like... PACK!!! -mom knows, I hate packing-), but overall, it's like the clicking of a roller-coaster car's safety restraint... coming down agonizingly slow but once it's finally in place, you know it's all for the better. Then what can you do but be stoked?! (unless you have a phobia of roller-coasters...you probably have no idea what I'm talking about and are thinking, "Jenna, you're nuts--GET OFF THE ROLLER COASTER!!!) haha, but I like roller coasters, and this is my analogy, so just go with it. ;). Anyway, I can't believe it's actually being set into motion tonight...

But for all the support we've gotten from those here in Redding, oh my gosh, THANK YOU! Simpson as a whole, of course, but Simpson Central and the Student Development office, Spiritual Formation, Student Outreach, Student Activities, Student Missions, the ever-encouraging faculty and staff, Rich, Donna, Joe, Grethe, the RD's, the Carters, Lorene, Emily, and on and on the list goes... Also, the Redding Community that we are each a part of--the Stirring, Yaks, the Hoffman household, Little Country Church, Risen King, Castle Craggs, Starbucks (we've spent a lot of bonding time there), even the lady in line at Michael's... And our friends and mentors within many of these places... Nate, Erica, Derrick, Becky, Wendy, Sarah, Kandice, Jamie, Josh, Kristena, Meghan--our LIFE GROUPS (here's a shout out!)... To you ALL, we are so grateful. And I'm only speaking for about half of our team! Pakou's in Merced, Katie's in New Jersey, Cassie was in Sac. and is in Georgia right now...I know they have had encouragement and prayer from supporters there as well.

SO. When I say I am "stoked," I mean it! Because there's nothing quite as "stoking" to a fire as heaps of supporting coal being thrown onto it. Again, my analogy. You may have a phobia of a certain element in it... but you get the picture.

Now, I need to stop delaying the inevitable for today.
Here's to packing! (Woo hoo...)


Blessings,

Jenna

In just a week...

In just a week we will be getting off a plane in Cambodia where what we call "our mission trip" will finally be taking real form, but since it's not really our mission that we'll be getting off that plane for, what happens from there, only God can say...


I've been in a weird sort of tension between anxiety and peace over that last statement these past few days--the anxiety bordering a sort of obsessive-compulsive "control freak" syndrome, and the peace bordering something like lethargy with a hint of futility mixed in... both of these borders are extremes which let me, for a moment at least, pretend like the "only God can say" part of this whole thing doesn't really exist. It makes my thoughts god rather than letting me think about God... it makes my picture of what the trip will be (or won't be) the focal point of my eyes and vision rather than having those two things land on Him. I know that each member of our team has some sort of concern or another, and it's good that this concern causes us each to act on the things that we can act on (preparation is o-so-important and not to be neglected here!)... I also know, though, that we each may begin to despair should we start making our goals, visions, thoughts, and abilities our gods and then start tying them inextricably into the "destination" of this trip. Because we all like to picture ourselves as little saviors, don't we? As if we just rush in with our "put-together" things to "un-put-together" places and make all the difference in the world...

...Of course, rest assured, we definitely DO make a difference--it's just, I think sometimes we forget that it is God's difference we are longing to make here, isn't it? And what if we don't get to say exactly how that will play out? He sees all the differences made in the world--and He sees how, eventually, all the world could be different. But, I want to be the one that sees those things sometimes--I want to be the one that can say how this or that will be better because this or that is going to happen and I'm going to do this and that to show them and they the way the world should be... etc., etc...

So when it comes down to the fact that I'm faced with the question of "Who can say how this is all REALLY going to play out?" I think I might die of an anxiety attack over my true lack of control--or, the opposite, from a futile attitude giving into all my doubts and despair about the pointlessness of "doing good" in the world (of course, this is all so dramatic... as am I ;). Honestly, I can't deny that I want to KNOW what I'm doing is worthwhile, and that while I'm doing it, I can see it's worth, in all it's glory! (Woot Woot! Hallelujah, Amen!) And if we can't plan right, prepare our minds right, convince our supporters, impress our overseas contact, MEET EXPECTATIONS, then what the heck are we supposed to say about what will even happen over there?!! (Ah! Such an outrage!!!)



But the more I think about it.... the more I realize that, yes--only God can say...

and I actually like that about this trip.


So, in just a week, we will be getting off a plane in Cambodia... and, from there, well...

only God can say :). (Awesome. really.)



Peace to you all tonight,

Jenna