To Zambia!

I am in Zambia! At a school called Chengelo. It is a Christian boarding school and it is AMAZING! I am so happy to be here with all of the wonderful people I've met. Everyone is so kind and welcoming, I've made so many friends already! God has been showing me so many reasons why he brought me here its crazy. Some of them being that I will be involved in their primary school, which is exactly what I love doing! One of the most surprising reasons is sort of a funny story. For some reason in the past few weeks I started studying Chinese again pretty regularly. I have not studied Chinese in almost five years, but something (definitely God) made me start studying it again while I was in the U.K. My friends commented on how it was kind of funny that I was practicing Chinese again even though I was leaving for Africa in a few weeks. Funny enough I found out the second night I was here that there are about a dozen students here that are Chinese and that it could be useful to be able to talk a little bit with them since someone speaking your language makes you feel welcome and at home. Who would have though that I would use Chinese in Zambia! God has been really great and faithful and I am beyond grateful that He brought me here, even though the process was weird and confusing.

I am so excited for the children to come, but that will not be happening for a little while now. The school, now, can not open for the rest of this month because there has been an outbreak of Cholera in Lusaka. The government has taken precautions by not allowing schools to open until it is safe to- this would be when there has not been another case for two weeks. Don't worry too much about me, I am very safe in Chengelo since the school has a fence all the way around and security as well as clean drinking water and the tap water has chlorine in it. Obviously there is a possibility, but very unlikely that I would catch it. I promise I feel safe here where I am and it is best to stay put rather than travel at the moment. So, since I am very safe, the reason I am letting everyone know is not for me but for the country and all who have been sick. There have been deaths from the illness and it definitely can hit poorer communities very hard since they may not have access to treatment or good sanitation. Please pray for the country and the whole situation, it has taken everyone by surprise since we only heard about it in the past three days. Pray that people would take precautions to prevent it from spreading at that those who catch it could receive treatment. Prayer is so powerful, please pray!

Can you Spot the Giraffes? (Hint: There's 3)

Thank you everyone for your support and prayers! I trust that God will keep me safe and that He has me here for a reason.

"And the prayer of faith will save the one who is sick and the Lord will raise him up—and if he has committed sins, he will be forgiven." James 5:15

Merry Christmas from the U.K.!

Well, it took me a very long time to update my blog. I think I may have been a little ambitious to say I would update it weekly.

Working with Abbey Church in Gloucester was such a great experience! It was definitely hard and challenging at times, but God taught me a lot of humility through it all. I spent ten weeks with Abbey Church and while I was there I experienced a great church community that loved each other and was dedicated to serving Christ together. It was such a great example of a church, though smaller than I am used to, that served wholeheartedly and loved each other intentionally. I learned a lot about what it looks like to be a church community rather than expecting the Church to be your community. By this I mean that a lot of us expect to instantly be a part of a community by being a part of a church, but really it is each of us that makes up that community. It is not the Church that serves us, but us who serve the Church. I am forever thankful for my experience through Firstserve at Abbey Church and all the wonderful people I met there who taught me so much and who I will miss.

I left Gloucester on December 15th to spend the next 15 days with my friends Ella and Annalise. It has been wonderful to spend Christmas with friends here in England and to feel at home with a family who has made me feel like I am their sister in Christ. I am staying in Leeds with Ella and her family and I am having a wonderful time! It is amazing knowing that just about anywhere in the world I will have my Christian family who will love me and take me in. I am so thankful that God has worked this out for me and he has taken care of me every step of the way. He has been so faithful in sending me exactly where I need to be these next few months. I will leave for Zambia on the 30th of December and I could not be more excited! Pray that God prepares my heart and that I will adjust to the culture there well. Thank you to everyone for your prayers and support!

More updates to come... eventually!

Tilsley to Gloucester

I apologize for taking so long to write an update! I've been so busy and loving every minute of it! Because it has been about four weeks since I have, this on may be a bit longer.

Being at Tilsley College in Motherwell Scotland for a month was a great experience. I would tell anyone looking for a program where you can study the Bible and practically serve in the community to look into Tilsley. I am so thankful for my time there. I learned so much about God and who he is through the lectures and also through the people we lived in community with. I have made friends there that will be friends for life! I got to get very close to the other girls doing FirstServe along with many of the students at Tilsley. I also loved being given the opportunity to work with some children's clubs and invest in the children there even if it was only a month. Below is a photo of all of the students I got to spend time with. God taught me so much through these people and the staff.

Leaving Tilsley was very hard since after a month I was starting to really settle in and love it there, but on October 7th I got on the train and left for Gloucester, England. For all the Americans reading this, it is pronounced "Glosster." I made the mistake of saying it as it is spelled many times. Anyway, it has been great here! I have been working with a church called Abbey Church. I am involved in most of the church's activities like a mothers and toddlers group and their upcoming holiday club. The school here have a break for half term and we are doing a program for three days, which is similar to VBS.  I also am involved in some other groups that are part of the community here like world cafe, a multicultural/refugee social dinner, and Impact, a youth club that is put together by a few local churches that come together to meet. The people here are lovely and I am definitely feeling at home now that I have been here for a week. I am also getting to explore the beautiful parks here! The weather has been so nice, so I've been exploring the area. I also got to go into town on Sunday and saw Gloucester Cathedral, which some scenes in harry potter were filmed in! You know I was excited to see that!

Robinswood Hill

View from Crickley Hill

Robinswood Hill 

View from the other side of Crickley Hill

Gloucester Cathedral

Gloucester Cathedral- Corridor used in Harry Potter

Other updates about my trip are pretty limited. Since I will not be going to India anymore, we are looking into Zambia. It seems likely I will be going to a school there to work as  volunteer. This is something I would really appreciate prayer for! It is still not set in stone.

Week 1

Hi everyone! Sorry about the delay to get this posted. I arrived in Scotland on September 10th, so this is my third full day here. The few days before getting here were a little crazy.

 On Thursday (I was expecting to leave for Scotland on Saturday, so only days before leaving) I had still not received my Indian visa, so we decided to take a trip to DC, we being me and my mom. We spoke with the embassy and the company that helps process your visa application with no luck. It was then decided that I could not wait to hopefully get my visa, and that I would have to withdraw my application in order to get my passport back so I could fly to Scotland. So, on Friday my mom took another trip with me to DC to pick up my passport. Shout out to Mom for driving to DC with me twice! She's great. Love her. Anyway, after much prayer and nervousness I got my passport back in time to fly to Scotland the next day.

This means I will not be going to India during this program like I planned, but these were obviously my plans and not God's. It was so clear that all the doors were being shut to go to India and that God just did not have that in his plan for me. I am feeling so much peace about this. After all the stress and worries about getting a visa for India the past month, I finally feel like I am now on track to find out where God wants me and will use me. I know that where ever I end up will be exactly where God wanted me all along and that all of the stress and obstacles I went through this past month happened for a reason! God is so good, and I know that he will use all of this to better his kingdom!

Now, about Scotland. I am spending four weeks studying at a college called Tilsley. So far I am getting more and more excited for the courses I will get to participate in and the ministries I get to be a part of in the community. It is all a bit overwhelming though, to be honest. My first time experiencing jet lag was not easy, and I found the first few days really tiring, but I am so excited to see what I learn through these courses and from the many other amazing people here!

Prayer requests are just that I continue to trust that God has everything under control here and that I eventually will be where I was suppose to be all along when I go overseas. Also, prayer that I can recognize his guidance and remain at peace with everything.

Thank you for reading! I love you all! Please message me or talk to me! If you'd like to send me mail, let me know and I will give you my mailing address!
If you'd like to support me beyond prayer, you can click here!


"Trust in the Lord your God and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight." Proverbs 3:5-6

T-9 Days

Only 9 days until I leave for Scotland! I am so very excited for this chapter in my life. God has done so much these past few months in my life. A few weeks ago I just completed my third summer working at Black Rock Retreat summer camp where I do what I love, working with kids. The past two summers I have been a counselor where I was able to work alongside another counselor and lead a cabin for 9 weeks of my summer. This summer I was a program assistant, which was a little bit different for me. It took some adjusting and getting used to, but God did awesome things anyway.I had an amazing summer serving the campers, while forming close friendships with others on staff that will last a life time. God definitely transformed me a lot this past summer. He showed me many of my weaknesses I myself was unaware of. Since then, I have been praying God will continue to transform me and make me into the person he wants me to be, while continuing to use me for His purpose. I m so excited to see what God does with me this year!

 Just a great picture of probably one of my favorite days at camp ever.

This next chapter will be hard. I have been extremely excited for this trip for a while now but as it gets closer, of course, my worldly fears arise. Please continue to pray that God guides me throughout this trip! Pray that His will be done, and not my own. Other prayer requests would be for safe travels and that I remain content with what God has for me!

My next update will probably be sometime after I arrive in Scotland. I will try to update as regularly as possible!

If you would still like to donate to my GoFundMe, here is the link! $5-$10 goes a long way and is much appreciated!

https://www.gofundme.com/jens-gap-year-trip

Romans 12:2 "Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God's will is--his good, pleasing, and perfect will."