Matthew 19.

Tuesday May 18th.

I woke up at 6:30 and enjoyed yogurt and toast and read a little more of the book I am reading "the shack", I am almost done! It is such a great book. We had many different people in and out of the house this morning. We had people delivering cabinets and a desk that Chris and Lisa had made for their house. It is so crazy because everything is made by hand and they asked these pieces to made over 2 months ago! It takes that long. The word "convenience" is not spoken here. I am pretty sure they do not even know that concept. So while the workers were in and out and after eating breakfast and reading, I read my devotion :) and started the day!

At 10a.m, Lisa and I went over to Michelle's house, she is one of the other missionaries here, and had the womens bible study. I met 12 wonderful ladies all with different personalities but all of them compliment each other so well. I was telling Lisa on the ride home that when I think of British or England women, I think of them chatting and having tea...well thats exactly what happened this morning! We gathered and the women brought biscuits (cookies) and scones and we drank tea while having bible study. If I haven't mentioned yet most of the muzungus (white people) here are from England so they all have heavy accents. Then when I talk...I am sure people are thinking where is she from?! and what does "yall" mean. haha

I did not ever realize how much I say yall.. I get many weird looks but it is always a good laugh.

Well today in the womens bible study we discussed over Matthew 19 and it was amazing the conversation God brought into the room.

Many of the things we discussed even related to the book "the shack" so that was cool.

Matthew 19:26 "...With human beings this is impossible but with God all things are possible"

It is impossible to keep all the commandments by yourself, we would struggle and not succeed but the Lord made it possible through Him. And with that, ONLY with the Lord will you recieve heaven.

Matthew 19:30 was also a very good conversation starter.

It is almost presenting us that we should self sacrifice but it also telling us that in the end of the day when we are in heaven, we are all equal. In this world we have this distorted perception of authority so it is hard for us to grasp "equality" and not one person being in charge of the other. I sometimes even find myself having trouble realizing that in the trinity they are all ONE and equal and that one is not above the other.

It is God, Jesus and the Holy Spirit as one, not one over the other. and they work together with equality.

So lets just say it was a great bible study. After meeting new friends and having fellowship, Lisa, Chris and I went downtown and picked out fabric and a cushion for the medical table at Mtepani. I am still trying to get used to the driving here again. It is so crazy. There is no rules and every man for his own.

So after going on a crazy visit to downtown, we visited Fort Jesus and a few shops and got some baked chips and banana chips...they are so goood! The man makes them right in front of you and you get them warm..yum!

And then Finally! Lisa and I got to go to Shanzu which is a place for women with disabilities and they sew beautiful purses and bags and all kind of things. So I bought some cool gifts and all the proceeds go to Shanzu which is the housing place for these women. It is a great cause.

Once getting home after a long day, I took a nap and then woke up to an amazing beef tenderloin and greek potato dinner! Once we had dinner, we jumped in the car and went to see the Nyali singers perform at a local hotel nearby. Some of the women in the bible study from the morning were in this choir so it was cool seeing faces I knew.

And then we made it home at 9, just in time to shower and relax :)

It was a very productive day!

Oh! Also today, Lisa gave me a shot of B complex! So I felt great haha

Well hope everything is going great back in the states. All of you have a great afternoon and I am now going to bed so I can start my day early tomorrow.

Goodnight!

mi rafiki daisy.

mi rafiki: my friend. I made a new friend this morning, her name is Daisy. She is a monkey. They rescued her from the village and let me tell you she loves attention! so she is kind of like a dog...but a monkey :)

Today, Monday May 17th, I woke up to a beautiful day in Mombasa!

We went to the village of Mtepani and visited the kids in Mbewua Academy. The school has had alot of progress since I was last here about 9 months ago. They now have sidewalks, and in the process of building a feeding center. The classrooms are beautiful and I get the pleasure of decorating them! The clinic also looks really great as well!

Everyones donations are going so far! Chris and Lisa are very thankful for all that everyone donated to them and I just thank you all or as we say here, Asanti sana (thank you very much!)

It is crazy how much swahili I remember from last year but I find myself becoming timid when I am not sure exactly what I might be saying so I am learning from the bottom up. The teachers at the school are going to help me pick up some more swahili but as I teach the kids english, they are helping me tremendously with the language as well.

After visiting the village and seeing a few kids for fevers and things, we went and had some yummy pizza at a local area and now I am about to play some guitar :)

OH by the way the guitar made it in one piece and I will be playing for the kids at Mtepani and then donating it to them! I am so excited.

Everything is going great here. The first day was great and now we are just resting.

Enjoy the pictures!

Finally arrived. :)

So after 28+ hours of traveling, I have finally arrived in Mombasa, Kenya. I am so happy and full of joy to be here. I was greeted by Lisa, Chris, and Alfred (my new friend), Alfred helps around the house. I am so excited for what tomorrow brings but I got to get some sleep! it is already 1am here. so as I liked to say, I traveled to the future. haha

I will keep you all updated on my 30 days in Mombasa, it is going to be such a blessing.

With Love,
Jenny

and were off...

So after a long few weeks of finals.. I passed my classes, successfully moved into a house and now I am off to Kenya to do what the Lord has been calling me to do. I want to say thank you to everyone for helping me make this trip possible. I am so blessed.

So for now on my blogs will be telling you exactly what I am doing everyday and how the Lord is working in my life so lets begin.

I woke up this morning in beautiful Bulverde, Texas and my mom, pops (gregg), kynnie, and drewbee (aka my two best friends) took me to the airport.

:) before came to the airport though, I made sure I had a classic meal of breakfast tacos and dr. pepper.

I got through security with guitar and all and now am sitting at gate 32 waiting for my 1:15 flight to Houston! Once I get to Houston, I will switch planes and travel through Paris and then to Nairobi and then finally get Mombasa. I am about to endeavor through 28 hours of traveling but I am so excited for every minute of it.

As I said goodbye to the family and best friends, I realized how blessed I am to have people that support me so much. I have realized I sometimes take for granted what I have and need to thank the Lord for something so simple as friends and family.

Last year before I departed to leave for Kenya, I read the book crazy love by francis chan which I advise everyone to read, it is a tremendous book. So to follow tradition I read another book by francis chan called "forgotten God".

This book opened my eyes to my relationship with the Lord and how I truly let the Holy Spirit live through me and shine throughout me.

It taught me to not only be gentle but be kind and patient and loving in everything I do. To love the person I despise greatly or to be patient with family and different situations and to be kind to everyone, even people that I will only have an encounter with for a split second.

I shouldnt be overwhelmed or stressed because the Holy Spirit should be guiding me and leading me to be calm in all of my days.

I am going to Mombasa, Kenya not to be noticed but I am going because this is where the Lord is calling me. He calls me to mission. As much as I run and try to use my gifts for something else, He calls me back to the mission field.

I am tired of running away from my Lord. I am ready to accept my gift and live the life He wants me to live to the fullest.

and so, the journey begins...

With Love,

Jenny

live the life you love. love the life you live.

So I am going to be completely honest with all of you. The Lord has defenitely been challenging me this week to realize how to completely abandon my life for him. The Lord gave us life as a prize and I seem to overlook that.

1 Corinthians 1 explains it so well. The whole chapter explains how to pursue the Lord, how to depend on the Lord, how to comfort in the Lord, and then how to share to others about the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:7, "And our hope for you is firm, because we know that just as you share in our sufferings so also you share in our comfort."

The Lord wants us to stand firm in him because when we feel distressed then we should rely on him and when we feel comfort, we should also feel comfort through the Lord.

1 Corinthians 1:24, "...but we work with you for your joy, because it is by faith you stand firm."

To live the christian life, we should stand firm in our faith and rejoice the Lord in everything we do and it should not be a burden to wake up living for the Lord but it should be an enjoyment. You should enjoy and love the life you are living because you are living for a purpose and that is to be a servant of the Lord.

For, what you think about. is what you care about. and what you care about. is what you will chase after.

So surround yourself with Him and chase after Him and live for Him because when you live the life you love for Him then you will love the life you live because you are being a servant for the Lord Jesus Christ and that is truly amazing.

My friend Kyndall asked me a couple months ago, "Jenny, how are you going to keep your life on the right path and keep this going. How are you not going to go back? How do you know that you are not going to just go back to your old ways?"

At the time all I could say is that I just know but yesterday I was able to answer her.

I know I will not go back to my old ways because they are not filled with joy, happiness, passion, purity, love. I know I will not go back to my old ways because I have finally found the enjoyment with my relationship with the Lord. Back then I saw as reading my bible or doing my daily devotion as a burden and not fun. But now, thats what I enjoy to do. It is not a question of when do I need to talk to the Lord today because I want to talk to my best friend, Jesus every second I get. He is awesome and when I wake up, I pray that I can glorify him in everything I do.

That is the difference of my life now then what it was.

Back then the Lord was still second and Me and all the other stuff I wanted to do was first.

But NOW the Lord is first, the Lord is my focus and I come second.

That is how as christians we should be living. We should be living for the Lord and being a servant and disciple for Him.

So remember through Christ, live the life you love and love the life you live.

With Love,

Jenny

I want to hear your story.

I just want to share with all of you how blessed I am to have each one of you in my life. I am so excited of how the Lord is working in each one of yalls hearts and how He is moving all of you to serve and reach out and just do amazing things.

The Lord has again been calling on my heart about mission and outreach and I really want to talk to each one of you about what the Lord is doing in your life.

Please read Ecclesiastes 3. There is a time for everything. and I want to hear how the Lord is working in everyones life and where He is calling you in your time right now.

Please contact me at jenkins.jenny@yahoo.com and I would love to set a lunch, dinner, phone, skype, or email date up with you.

God gave us the gift to be disciples of Him so we could share our story to bring light on the Lord. God didn't send us here to save souls but just disciple them to the Lord. :)

Each one of you are in my prayers and thoughts.

Mungu Akubariki

With Love,

Jenny

finding a new perspective.

Tonight in this blog: I decided to do something different and basically share with you my journal entry for yesterday:

Wrote on April 19, 2010

"God has been doing some amazing things in my life and not just through mission but through many different people who have been in and out of my life.

I leave for Mombasa, Kenya in 26 days and still donations are coming in from so many different people and places. It is truly amazing.

So, last week I challenged myself to write down my blessings and write down my complaints. SO here are the main things I saw repeatedly happen:

• complained about the residence I am currently living at
• complained about how boring my political science class is
• complained about my computer going slow
• complained about having a small bedroom
• complained about my feet hurting
• complained about the food at my residence hall
• complained about my ankle
• complained about not being able to find an outfit to go out in
• complained about a little pimple on my forehead

These are many complaints that I have heard myself over the past week just repeating but in reality, I should have taken the different perspective and this is what I should have said:

• I am so blessed to have shelter
• I am so blessed to have the opportunity and resources to attend Texas A&M University
• I am blessed to have the financial support of family so I can have a computer for school
• Again, I am blessed to have sheltor and a room and bed to my own
• I am blessed to have shoes on my feet
• I am blessed to have food always ready for me so I will not go hungry
• I am so blessed to have a sprained ankle and not a broken ankle
• I am blessed for the great amount of clothes I am willing to have
• I am blessed with beautiful skin and I am blessed to be healthy and not have different diseases harming my body

These things I lose and we all lose perspective for. The little things that I complain about are uneccessary especially when I am healthy, walking and everyday graciously pursuing the Lord.

These complaint make me lose focus on Him and I need to work on keeping up with blessings and not the negative.

In Peter 1:3-5, in verse 5 it says:

'who through faith are shielded by God's power until the coming of the salvation that is ready to be revealed in the last time.'

We are tempted everday and given the opportunities to be drawn away form the Lord but if we have faith then we will be shielded by the Lord's power and not be drawn astray.

Follow the Lord through your faith and you will be protected"

That was my journal entry yesterday and reading back on it today, it rememinded me that I not only need to have my eyes on the Lord and be committed to the Lord but I need to challenge myself to seek out that new perspective and learn to view the world, people and myself a little differently.

I hope all of you had a wonderful Tuesday and remember to keep praying.

Again if you want to know how to help out more with my mission to Kenya or Real4Christ Ministries you can email me at

jenkins.jenny@yahoo.com

Thanks again for everyones support!

25 days!

With Love,

Jenny