Mele Kalikimaka

This past weekend we received a wonderful gift from the Lord in Hawaii: SNOWWW!!!! The summit of Mauna Kea is 4,205 m (13,796 ft) above sea level. However, when measured from the base of the dormant volcano, it is over 10,000 m (33,000 ft) tall. (Significantly taller than Mount Everest, I might point out.) From Mauna Kea you can clearly see the rest of the Big Island, neighboring Maui, and at night you can see stars and planets more clearly than anywhere else in the world. (Which is why there's all those funky telescope things at the summit.) Anyway, when it snows on Mauna Kea, Hawaiians go a bit crazy! Everyone who has a 4x4 is heading to the mountain to play in the snow, borrowing jackets, beanies, gloves, shoes... and everyone who doesn't have a 4x4 is asking around if they can get a ride!

My roommate Bridget is an awesome photographer (all photos by Bridget Kaleki Butler, gotta give credit where its due!) and being from Moku Nui (the Big Island), she wanted to capture the uniqueness of her island home by bringing snow from Mauna Kea to Sea Level where the temperature is an average of 82 Fahrenheit. So we loaded up 5 coolers into her parents' Ford Explorer and headed out at about 4am so we could pick up her friend Kelsi from Waimea at the base of Saddle Road and get up to the Summit before sunrise. We made it! With a bit of headaches from the rapid change of altitude, but we made it! We packed the coolers full of snow and headed down to Hapuna Beach State Park by 9am as the tourists and locals were slowly trickling in.

We found a spot that wasn't too crowded and began building. Then we realized we needed to build faster! We ended up with Aunty Frostina and attracted numerous tourists asking where we got the snow, could they take pictures with it for their christmas cards, etc... It was so much fun, but by the end of the project we were pretty exhausted and the sun was hot... so we jumped in the water to cool off (so crazy!!!) Then we said goodbye to Frostina and went home and promptly took long naps!

So, with all these pictures, I want to wish you a very Merry Christmas from Hawaii! I'll be in Washington in a few days where the snow doesn't exactly go hand in hand with swimming in the ocean, but these photos I hope give you a sense of joy and wonder which are emotions I think Christmas naturally evokes...

Thanks to all of my family, friends, and supporters for all of your love and support throughout this year and I pray that you would be so blessed during this Christmastime and in the New Year to come.

Mele Kalikimaka & Akua Ho'omaika'i oe!!! Merry Christmas and God bless you,

Love,

Jillian

Ink Drop

Today we began a week long celebration here in Kona - YWAM turned 50... We had flags to represent the 209 nations from which we have come, and a time to pray for the nations not yet represented... It was touching to see closed nations represented... from the Middle East, Central Asia, all over, really! But my heart really came alive when the brought it home to the last group - Oceania! We were encouraged to cheer for the nations for which we have a passion, or we are from... and I feel such a LOVE for my Pacific Island family... I was jumping up and cheehoo-ing for Samoa, Fiji, Tonga, New Zealand, Australia, Tahiti, Guam, Federated States of Micronesia, because I have been to these nations... but then I was jumping up and cheehoo-ing for the other nations I have not yet visited, because I still have been praying for them!

Then, as we turned to a time of worship and prayer, I felt like God gave me a picture of the Word going from the Pacific to other nations... It was like those cool pictures of Ink drops in water with backlighting... You know the ones... But it was this drop into the ocean surrounding the Islands, and it wasn't long before the color had been mixed in throughout the entire world, but it was still most concentrated in the Pacific, and from there it was coloring the rest of the waters - all the way around the Pacific to the Indian Ocean, the Atlantic Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Mediterranean, the Caribbean... every body of water was stained from this one little ink drop in the Pacific. I know it sounds a little airy-fairy and crazy, but I really feel this picture is from God! I really believe that if Pacific Islanders catch a fresh passion for the Truth of God's Word, it will spread to the rest of the world! Lord, let it be.

And speaking of God's Word... Our books we will be teaching next quarter are out, and I am pleased to share that I will be teaching Zephaniah in February and Esther in March!

Looking forward to being home for Christmas holidays, but I'm also really grateful for the family I have that is called YWAM... Youth With A MISSION!

My love affair with food

I have to confess something...

I have a crush on food. Good food, that is.

I seriously love food so much, you might call it infatuation, but it is L-O-V-E love.

However, living as a missionary, I don't always get to spend quality time with the object of my affection... I eat cafeteria food most days that reminds me of Adam Sandler's SNL song, "Lunch Lady Land." But, since I moved out of dorm living and into a house with a wonderfully large kitchen, I've been indulging a bit! I still try to eat most meals on campus to save money, but my stomach was begging me to make something fresh and semi-healthy at home.

Tonight on campus was leftovers and crap (oops, I mean crab) salad. I don't mean to sound ungrateful... for the amount of people the campus feeds, its amazing the food turns out as good as it does. But, the crab salad is just not one of their specialties... So, I skipped everything from the dinner line except a plateful of lettuce, picked up some chicken breast and a jalapeno from Sack n Save, and home I went.

I had leftovers in the fridge of different things, so I added it all together and came up with these amazing tacos that made my heart skip a beat they were so beautiful. I was so giddy as I browned the chicken meat in glorious butter and chopped leftover tomato and onion up for the pico de gallo...

I have my roommate Bridget to thank for having us over to her parents' coffee farm yesterday where we were loaded up with lemons, oranges, lilikoi, and fresh herbs. I used some lemon and cilantro from the farm in my tasty pico de gallo.

Okay, you might be thinking... "Jill, these are just tacos!" It's true.

They are just plain old chicken tacos that anyone could make.

But, to me,

they are a slice of heaven.

Want the recipe?

Judges

I taught in the Chronological School of Biblical Studies this week on Judges 4-5! I was super nervous, but I think it went well... I guess you'd have to ask the students. Next quarter I will be teaching one or two books, but we haven't divided them up yet. Anyway, here's some photos from my teaching time.

this post is dedicated to my awesome parents!

Stan and Iris Wellman married 32 years ago... love you two!

***

my new kitchen!

our FREE table & chairs (not bad, eh?)

Our FREE lanai (deck) furniture and living room furniture

Sunset from our lanai

I have a new place I'm renting in the community with two other girls. It's awesome. Every day God brings more things to fill up this home... today I found a perfect trash can at the "boutique." The boutique is a place on our campus where everyone gives away all their old stuff they don't want anymore and then other people can come and take whatever they like for free. Its always stocked with so many people coming and going. But in the middle of the quarter, it is usually hard to find good stuff, so a perfectly good flip-top trash can for my shared bathroom was a pleasant surprise and will replace my plastic grocery bag hanging from the door handle quite nicely.

I also was given $70 yesterday from another SBS staff, along with a note that she was glad I was staffing with her... the money meets a very real need, but the encouragement was much more valuable to me. I've been feeling kind of like an outsider because everyone in our staff team have been in school together for 9 months already, they have inside jokes and funny stories from last year's school... and I just was kind of feeling sorry for myself, to be honest. So... the note and the money was a real encouragement that I am not on the outside, and a kick in the pants to stop the pity party!

SO, ANYWAY...

to the point of the post:

Honestly, I say it is only God who provided my new place to live, which is true! However, there are many people who have been God's hands in meeting my needs for years as a missionary. And I would not have been able to pay the first months rent and deposit if my parents had not helped me out. They are seriously such an encouragement and reflection of God's heart to me, and they constantly bless many others also, for that matter. They love the Lord, they love each other, and they love ME! They recently celebrated 32 years of marriage and I am so blessed to be their daughter.

Mom and Dad, I love you SO much!!!

God answers prayer!

Just need to share about God's faithfulness displayed in my life recently!

Prayed for transportation - God blessed me with a car!

Prayed for a home in the community - Just moved in to a house last night!

Prayed for more opportunities to share God's love in the community - this will take bit longer, but he is answering this one in MANY ways!

One opportunity was yesterday when I went to open an account at Central Pacific Bank (we don't have banks from the mainland in Hawaii.) After sorting out the account stuff, I asked the lady who dealt with new accounts where she was from. She shared she was from Thailand, and I said, "I was just in Chiang Rai a few months ago!" Then she said, "I used to live in Chiang Rai!!!" Her name is Pulichan and she has been in Hawaii for many years, got married and raised her children here. She said she loved what the University of the Nations students do around the world, and also here in Hawaii, and asked what I do at the University. I said, "I am a staff teacher in the School of Biblical Studies," and she shared that her brother in law had mailed her and her husband a big New King James Version Bible, but it was hard for her to understand. We then talked about why the UofN students and staff help people around the world.... she said her big concern was young girls in Northern Thailand being trafficked into prostitution, and then also how there are kids going hungry here in Kona. I said, "the Bible has a lot to say about loving God and loving people, so we (in YWAM/UofN) do what we do because God loved us and so we respond in love to him and other people. There's plenty of opportunities to get involved in giving back to the community if you want to know more. I think we would have kept talking for an hour, but there was another new account customer waiting to meet with her, so I said, "Sawadeekah," and bowed to her (wai) and she said, "Its so nice to talk with you, please do come back so we can talk more." I could tell she wanted to talk longer because her face was so lit up and full of excitement, but she changed her expression, shook my hand and said, "If you have any questions about your account, give me a call!"

How's THAT for God answering prayer?! Who would have thought I would have a chance to share God's love during a "tedious" bank session? Pray for Pulichan and her family! I don't know what sort of relationship (if any) they have with God, but it seems God is really reaching out to her.

Also, I asked for prayer for our CSBS students to get a heart for the community in Kona, and this morning we had a time of prayer and intercession for the Hawaiian Islands, and many students felt God wanted them to give out as they receive so much from the Word. So cool!

Conclusion: God answers prayer. I know there might be some "buts" running through your mind and you are right.. sometimes the answer we receive is not what we expect or want... but nonetheless, God is faithful. He hears and answers our prayers.

The Community

God has been putting it on my heart to get involved in the greater Kona community while I am living here. Not just by attending church, although that is part of it, but I really want to be able to be a light and encouragement to locals.

Last weekend, I had a rather traumatic experience watching a 16 year old boy fall onto lava rocks while jumping off cliffs at a place here we call "The end of the world." But our group got him out of the water, carried him to the road, called an ambulance, and prayed for him. (I posted the full story on Facebook Notes if you want to read more.) Then, the next day, a few of the people in our group went to visit the kid at the hospital and he was doing much better, bones we were certain had been broken were not, and he was so grateful we were there. He shared that he didn't ever believe in God until that day.

Then this week I finally was able to arrange my schedule to help at the "Meet & Eat" program at Kealakehe Intermediate School. I am hoping to make this a weekly commitment - every Wednesday. The program serves meals to homeless and/or low income families and individuals... The majority of these people are children. I was talking with one kid after we had cleaned up about trick-or-treating. I asked him if he was bringing a pillow case to stuff full of candy. He laughed and said, "Not even! I did that once but then had all this sticky melted candy in my pillow and ants on my face! Now I use a trash bag!" I suppose trick-or-treating in Hawaii is a bit different from in Washington where its FREEZING usually... not to mention, I just assumed the kid would have more than one pillow case, you know?

So, anyway, even though for this season, I am called to minister to the students in the CSBS, I know that I am also called to be a light to the community around me... and I pray that more and more from YWAM in Kona will have that same heart calling and we will see more and more locals come to know God and make God known.

Here are some things I am praying for that would help me to be in the community more--please join me in prayer for God's provision!

• A place to live off-campus and the right roommates
• A new Buoyancy Compensator (BC or BCD) and weights for scuba diving
• For the CSBS students to feel God's heart for the lost and hurting here in Kona
• For more opportunities like the "End of the World" incident to share God's love with locals whether at Walmart, the beach, or just walking down the road.

Mahalos for the prayers!

Jillian

You shall love the alien as yourself...

***

For you were aliens in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God. Leviticus 19:34

Yes, friends, the students are studying Leviticus in the CSBS this week!

The teacher this week, Jo Faringer, has been going through the Canaanite pagan mindsets that surrounded the Israelites in the wilderness... it puts this book into such a different perspective. For example... all the stuff about babies and women who are on their period not being welcomed into the assembly for a time, or men with "discharges" not welcome in the tabernacle... these laws were there because the Canaanite worship practices included using sexual relations (and fluids) as a way to somehow bribe or manipulate their "gods" to give them rain for crops, fertility, or whatever else they wanted. Blood and Semen were sacred spiritual tools for worship in the Pagan system. God wasn't saying menstrual cycles were sinful or babies were evil, or that a husband and wife having sex was wrong... he was saying that the Israelites were not to use their sexuality to manipulate him! They weren't to worship him like the Canaanites worshiped their idols.

The biggest difference was the heart motivation.

Worship for Canaanites was for bribery, appeasement, and manipulation.

--But--

Worship for Israelites was to be for remembrance, repentance, and celebration.

I encourage you to not shy away from books like Leviticus... its part of the Word of God. There's a reason this book of the Law is in there. We can learn truths for today out of what God was teaching the Israelites back in their day... the festivals, the regulations, the laws, the offerings... God was teaching the Israelites that he wanted relationship with them, he wanted to bless them so they might be a blessing to the nations around them. He wanted all nations to know that he was the Lord!

Remember to read the book in CONTEXT! It makes such a difference!

And now, I leave you with some photos of the Tabernacle Model Project made by CSBS Students based on Exodus 36-40 for your viewing enjoyment.

***

Aloha ho'omaika'i oe!*

*God bless you!

Genesis - The book of beginnings

* A L O H A *

Our students in the Chronological School of Biblical Studies (CSBS) here in Kailua-Kona have been studying Genesis since last week, and it has been a fitting book for not only the students, but the staff as well. We are all starting out in a new journey. This is the first CSBS for Kona, this is my first time staffing an SBS, and also it seems God is doing new things all around the YWAM Campus.

For me, I am settling in and starting to feel at home once again in Kailua town. Here are some new things God is doing in my life.

• I am blessed to now have a car - a 1993 Camry I bought for $900 from my friends who have moved to the mainland. Now I can get around town, take students out for coffee, etc.
• I am working full-time in my volunteer staff role in the CSBS which includes grading, leading a small group, having one-on-one mentoring time with three students, coordinating Worship times, running the sound board during class, some teaching (Judges will be my first official teaching time) and other responsibilities.

I'm excited how God is already working in the lives of these 24 students from 10 different nations and 24 different family backgrounds! They have such an eagerness and determination in their studies already, and it has only been one week! From Barbro, the widowed mother of three from Norway to Catherine, the Indo-Fijian girl with a long-term call to Turkey; these students are amazing and I'm so blessed to be a part of their lives for the next 9 months.

Now, with this new season of new beginnings, I do have new expenses. As you know, I am a full-time volunteer missionary... This means I, like other YWAM Missionaries, rely solely on the financial support of others to be able to continue serving in missions.

As you also probably know, Hawaii is not a cheap place to live. (Slight understatement!) Yet, I am here because this is currently the ONLY place where the Chronological School of Biblical Studies is offered in the Pacific, and I want to be a part of taking this school TO Pacific Islanders. So I am committed here for two years and need monthly financial support to be able to staff this important school.

How much does it cost for me to live and serve in Hawaii? I'm glad you asked!

Here is my proposed budget for the next 2 years - from October 2010 to September 2012.

I currently have about $450 committed in monthly support, and need an additional $400 per month to be able to have these needs met. I don't normally talk about money or ask for funds, but I feel that I need to be honest with where I am at because this is what God has called me to and I should not feel ashamed about that calling.

I have online giving now available to people interested in supporting my ministry with the School of Biblical Studies. You can even set up automatic monthly payments if you want. I also still receive donations through Hockinson Community Church in Washington and both methods of giving are completely tax-deductible.

Please prayerfully consider supporting me financially and being a part of teaching the Word of God to the nations! If you have ANY questions about giving, the CSBS, or University of the Nations and YWAM, please feel free to email me anytime: jillwellman@hotmail.com

Love you all and mahalo for taking the time to read this!

Staff Training

View of the campus from the SBS Building at the bottom of the hill.

Ocean View from outside the SBS Offices and Classrooms

Being back in Kona has been amazing, despite some cold and allergy symptoms I've been fighting. I've been able to see many of my friends who were here when I was in 2008-2009 and also other friends from different parts of the world that have happened to come here to Kona at the same time as myself! And then there is the new group of friends I am starting to become acquainted with: the C-SBS staff. We have had staff training this week every morning, and I have also been a part of a work crew painting new bunk beds in the wood shop on campus. This quarter will bring in more students and staff than the campus has ever held, so it's "all hands on deck" to make enough beds and get enough rooms available to house everyone who is coming in two weeks time. Its an exciting time to be in Kona as this year is the 50th anniversary of YWAM, the missions organization of which I am privileged to be a small part. There's an atmosphere of celebration as people look back and remember everything that God has done over their years in YWAM, honor those who have gone before them, and look to the future of the mission. I could write more about this, but for now, I need to get ready for staff training meetings this morning.

This weekend I am going around the island with some of the women I will be staffing with. I think this will be an awesome time of getting to know one another as we enjoy God's beautiful Creation together. I'll be sure to take some pictures and post them!

Aloha for now!

Jill

Home again, Home again...

Where is home again? They say it is where the heart is... so I suppose that means my home is not one place, because my heart is so many places!

But, my family lives here in Washington and this is where I spent my entire life up until I was that grown up 18 year old girl moving out into the great wide world with wanderlust in her eyes. So for the sake of clarity, I will call Washington my "home."

I've enjoyed being home... its been relaxing and refreshing. I have done a bit here and there, but really, I've done a LOT of resting and spending time with my wonderful parents. I guess I didn't realize how exhausted I was after doing the SBS.

Anyway, I have 12 more sleeps before heading to Kona, Hawaii, where I will be for 2 years... so I suppose that means it would be my "home" for that time. =)

Take care all and until next time!

Thailand Recap in Photos...

So.... Not much to say right now... just a bit jet lagged and still awake at 1:30 am... so... here's some photos from Thailand and a great big thank you to all who took the time to read my updates, pray for me, or even just look at the pictures. For more photos, check out facebook... I'll be adding more soon!

Cheers!

Jillian

Playing Ukulele at the Akha Village... Amazing place, amazing people... and they liked my teaching on Colossians!

Lon qam (or however you spell it) and dragonfruit - yummy!

Emily, our youngest team member, also participated in outreach

Yes, I got to ride an elephant!

One of the little girls from church... she loves to dance and sing... and have her picture taken!

Lighting paper lanterns to fly off into the sky

Myself, Ajan ("teacher") Suwat, and Ajan Bobby

Teaching at English Camp - this is at my teaching station, where the students learned about daily routines and verb tenses!

Akha Village

As promised, here is an update!

As with most of the outreaches I've been a part of, our hosts really started to see our hearts toward the end and now they want to utilize us as much as they can before we leave. So... we've had the opportunity to teach several seminars to church staff and pastors, and we just went for 3 days in the Akha Hill Tribes.

We stayed in a village that was breathtaking and beautiful (caves, streams, houses like Samoan Fales), but the landscape was not nearly as beautiful as the people. I know that sounds cliche, but God just connected our hearts with theirs. I had the opportunity to teach Colossians finally, and though we had double translation (from English to Thai to Akha, and the reverse for response) I think it went well.

Something that was really neat and I think is why I connected so much to the family there was some not so neat things we hold in common. Our Akha translator and host, Dao, lost her brother 3 years ago, just like me. His family's house burnt down and he didn't make it out. She shared that she still couldn't believe that he really died, and I could definitely relate. I was able to pray for her and the rest of her family (most of the church is all part of the same extended family) and I was also just encouraged to see how real they were. They didn't pretend like it didn't still hurt them with the pat "God is good," but at the same time, the way they lived, served, and smiled, it was easy to see that they still believed this to be true. In Thai culture there is this thing of "saving face" which is very important, so I have not seen much real emotion here - anger, rediculous joy, sadness, etc. So being among the Akha was a blessing because they were very genuine and not held back by the culture of saving face.

Now, we are back in Chiang Rai and this weekend we will be teaching the staff of the Dormitory where we are staying (about 30 staff who are in their late teens or early 20s.) We are doing a theme of Identity, so first Emily is sharing an overview of the entire Bible, then Jeremy and Ange are teaching Genesis and Exodus - the birth of a nation and it's identity as God's people (Israel) and the next day Mike and I will be sharing Ephesians - the identity of individual believers in Christ. Our host, Pastor Suphot, has seen what we've been teaching and wants more of it! He says his people know the basic concepts of the New Testament, the Gospel and Salvation... but they don't know the Old Testament and how it all fits into this ONE STORY. Soooo... its pretty cool that we get to teach this weekend!

And after that, its DEBRIEF for 3 days and back to the US of A!!!

Love to all,

Jillian

a non-update-ish post

So... I've been a bit melancholy lately. Don't get me wrong, I'm loving Thailand and definitely believe God is using our team to bring His Word here.

But I've had some mixed emotions lately. I got online a few nights ago at Wawee Coffee (our internet connection of choice) and my friend, Vikki, had posted photos of their family vacations this summer - just the four of them... Their son Luke is with Jesus and being so far removed from the situation, I almost forget that he's not with us anymore - in the literal sense of the phrase. So I was reminded with these photos and it just made me cry and cry, even though I know its so good God is giving them special times with their other kids, Tori and Jake. It just was a dose of reality.

Then, add a layer of missing my brother too. He would have LOVED Thailand. I've been thinking a lot about him lately, so I decided to watch a movie we both enjoyed and could quote most of... Monty Python's "And now for something completely different." I laughed and could imagine my brother quoting the same lines of the "How NOT to be seen" sketch or the "How to defend yourself against a man armed with a piece of fresh fruit" sketch. We had it on VHS when we were in middle/high school and would fast forward to and replay all our favorite sketches!!! But... I couldn't quite hear his laugh, anymore. And, my teammates who were so kind to watch the movie with me didn't laugh at most of it... Monty Python takes a rather twisted and odd sense of humor I suppose.

I miss my brother. And though the following stuff is just that: stuff... I feel like I'm losing him more and more. I lost my phone, and my parents were planning on canceling their family plan anyway. My mom tells me that AT&T said I might not be able to have my old phone number, which was actually my brother's old phone number. Its just a phone number, why is it such a big deal, right? Then my friend in Hawaii emails me telling me she's received all my scuba stuff (also formerly my brother's) but that the BCD is bust. She took it into the shop and the guy said it was getting old, so the inside bladder had burst and it was not worth repairing. So I have to get a new BCD... and while it is just stuff.... I kind of liked that my gear was too big on me and it still had a hint of stale salt water and cigarette smoke... it reminded me of him... more specifically, it reminded me of him enjoying life doing something he loved.

One of the questions for the English Camp students to practice was "Do you have any brothers or sisters?" And sometimes they would ask me the question back. With their limited English I didn't know how much to say. Sometimes I just said, "Yes, I have one brother." Sometimes I ventured to say "I had a brother but he passed away." But euphemisms we find so comforting in English don't do well with Thai students struggling to learn English... I would have to repeat, "He died" or "He's dead." As their sweet little Thai faces would finally express their understanding, it was all I could do to keep my smile and move to the next question.

Yesterday, one of my teammates, Mike, gave a message on Jeremiah 29:11 and the context of it... that though it is one of the most quoted verses, it is often taken out of context, and most people don't realize that these were God's words to his people in EXILE. Mike gave a brief overview of the Old Testament, and basically tied it into this: Even in exile, even in hard times, God has good plans for his people... he did for Judah, and he does for us.

While I feel I should somehow be "over" missing my brother by now - its been over 3 years... I know I will never "get over it." But I do know that God has good plans and I do know that I can and must trust him in hard times.

So... Anyway... I do realize this was a very ME-centered update... but I thought I should share a bit more about how I'm really doing than just give a play-by-play of the ministry we have been involved in here. If you would rather the non-personal play-by-play updates... Facebook is good for that! (But seriously, sometimes you just don't have time to read a novel!!!)

Love to all, and I will be sure to post one of those play-by-play updates soon. We leave on Wednesday for an Akha Hill Tribe, so I will be out of touch for at least 3 days, but don't fear, I shall return to civilization and the wonders of the internet!

short post - English Camp Update

We've been involved with teaching English to 19-21 year old students from Chiang Rai Vocational College for the past week. During the day, it is non-stop English teaching, and I am learning lots of... um... patience. Yeah. I think all the non-English countries I've been in in the past have still had plenty of young people who spoke English. Here, though they've been studying it for a few years (these are in their 5th year of vocational college) and still they have very little understanding. I mean, we are asking questions like, "What time do you eat dinner?" and getting responses like, "Yes." Or... "Vegetable." But, nonetheless, after they participate in the 2-day camp, they usually have a much greater understanding and ability to communicate in English.

Okay, so the nights have been an opportunity for us to share about what we believe as Christians, so we have shared stories from the Bible that have been real big hits with them (for learning English, learning stories that are acted out seems to be a good tool.) And we have also shared testimonies, stories from our own lives of how God has changed us.

We are more of a seed-planting team, if you like. If kids want to know more about what we believe, or if they want to believe in Jesus and accept him, or if they just have questions about life, they give the local guys here their contact info so that there is follow up (watering in the analogy!) We aren't forcing anything on them, just sharing the joy we have found in knowing Jesus and offering the same to them, if they are dissatisfied with their lives, their religion, etc. What is awesome is that we've already seen one girl VERY interested and asking all sorts of questions... "Can I believe in Jesus if I am Buddhist? Do I have to give up Buddhism to follow Jesus?" Tough questions from a genuine seeker. Pray for this girl and many others who may not be bold enough to ask the questions yet. Many young people in Thailand are questioning religion and are coming to faith in Jesus, and in doing so, they are influencing their entire families.

Okay... I've got to run, we're leaving the internet connection spot!!!

Thanks for your prayers and support, photos to come soon!

Love,

Jillian

A side street in Bangkok... its about 100 degrees here and Rains Daily. NICE.

Thanks everyone for praying for Ange, she is feeling much better! Unfortunately, myself and another guy, Mike, on the team are having some cold or possibly allergy symptoms, so please keep us in prayer... we need our health so we can keep doing what we're doing!!!

Our team is settling in great, and everyone LOVES baby Emily. She's like a piece of food thrown into a fish pond... the Thai people swarm around her!!! The Thai girls are also very fond of Jeremy, our Korean heartthrob... hehe... so are the ladyboys. (If you don't know what a ladyboy is... well... google it. It's a sad, but true reality here steeped in the striving for merit found in

Buddhism.)

The Reclining Buddha

We are staying in boarding houses that probably host 100 children from ages 5-18ish... These kids are from the Hill Tribes mostly, though some are Thai. Very few speak any English, but they are a lot of fun and once we get past the shyness, they are very friendly and outgoing! They live here at the dorms during the school year so they can attend school in Chiang Rai, as their villages don't have schools.

Our team has a translator named Mon, she is staying in our girls' room and is like one of the team. She did her DTS (Discipleship Training School) in Montana and has been translating for YWAM teams for a few years now (she does this through YWAM Bangkok, which is where we met her and picked her up.) Our outreach coordinator is Bobby Bo, an guy from Chicago who came to Thailand on his DTS outreach 3 years ago and loved it so much he moved here. He's a great go-between for us with our host, Pastor Suphot, and you can tell he really loves the people and cares for them... Thai is a hard language and he's got it pretty much down, so I've gotta give him props!

Emily, Mon, & I in Bangkok

This week we are teaching English at Chiang Rai Vocational College (yes, we're using the Bible as our lesson material!) And in the evenings we are having chapel-type services for the children in the dorms. Our host, Pastor Suphot has asked us to focus on a theme of "Obedience."

Next week we will be hosting an English Camp for students from the college (Three 2-day camps in a row).

Our third week, we will be teaching pastors in the Akha Tribe in Northern Thailand on the Burmese border. We will also be teaching the staff of the Dorms where we are staying.

Then we have 3 Days in Chiang Mai before heading back to Bangkok to fly to LA. So... its going to go fast, I have a feeling!

Before, I had mentioned we would be going to Mae Sot, but I guess that didn't work out logistically, so we're going to spend the whole outreach here, focusing on teaching here in Chiang Rai. I'm okay with that. We traveled 17 hours on planes to get to Bangkok and another 12 hours overnight on the bus up to Chiang Rai. I'm okay with staying here for a while!!!

Well... that's all for now... I have to get cracking on some prep work for my lesson plans!

Sawadee Kha from Bangkok!

Hi friends... our team of 5 students, 2 staff, and a baby arrived early this morning in Bangkok. We are staying at YWAM Bangkok tonight and tomorrow evening we will take an 11-hour bus ride to Chiang Rai, northern Thailand.

We just finished eating lunch, and can I just say... Thai food is the BEST! I loved it all. It was ARROY! (Delicious!)

Nothing much to report yet, except one of my teammates, Ange, is sick - possibly with strep that was going around when we were in Los Angeles... so please keep her in prayer!

And please pray that we adjust fast to the time change, the climate, and culture!

Much love from the land of Smiles,

Jillian

GRADUATION & THAILAND

We've graduated finally (last Saturday) and my team will leave on our teaching outreach to Thailand on Tuesday!

Thank you, everyone for your support and love... and PATIENCE these past nine months of me studying my brains out and not being the best communicator. I hope to improve now that I am somewhat less busy!

We are preparing teaching for pastors (each of us is choosing a book and teaching it), bible stories for children, and seminars on how to study the bible inductively for different churches in Chiang Rai and Mae Sot, using the books of Philemon and Titus. I'm very much excited!!!

Love you all and please keep in touch! I'm not sure I will have internet access everywhere in Thailand, but I'll do my best to update weekly with photos and news! For now, here are some photos from our last few weeks in the C-SBS!

Jillian

David from Germany, Priscille from Switzerland, and myself... We laughed that this photo captured our nationalities so well. (This is at my birthday dinner)

Myself, Synnove from Norway, and Emily from Indiana singing for a benefit concert

Emily (my roommate), Cliff (our school leader), and myself at Graduation

Cliff gave us all awards... mine was "Best Hollywood Scuba Dive"... yes, I dressed up in my scuba gear (fins and all) for Halloween and hit Hollywood... it was awesome!

Myself, Lez from Nashville, and JK from Los Angeles (Bonfire @ Huntington Beach)

Myself, Jeff, Dan, and JK in Hollywood

Martin from Nigeria and myself... Graduation Night Worship

2 Peter Application Essay - The Prosperity Gospel

I must first preface this essay with saying I wrote this very quickly... I only have a week left, and I'm getting tired!!! There is much more to be said on the subject but I hope this is a sufficient "taste" for now.

2 Peter Application Essay

False teachings are rampant throughout the world today, just as they were at the time of Peter writing this letter. However, what is even worse is that these false teachings creep into the church and masquerade as being Christian doctrines from the Bible. The false teaching that I am going to focus on in this essay is most commonly known as “the prosperity gospel.” Though those who preach it or adhere to it do not label it, one can see the influence of such teaching throughout many church denominations, but especially Pentecostal or Charismatic churches. As a part of YWAM, an interdenominational and international Christian missions organization, I have had the honor, privilege, and challenge of working with people who have different views than me on many areas of Christianity, yet all share common beliefs in the foundational truths of the Gospel. And with traveling to many different countries with equally varying cultures and working with various denominations in those countries, I have seen the influence of this teaching at times. My heart’s intention in addressing this false teaching is not to call out or label any particular person, denomination, or ministry, but rather expose the wrong thinking of this teaching itself as I compare it to what I view as the standard for truth, the Bible in context.

So what is the prosperity gospel? It is also known as Prosperity Theology, the Word of Faith, Wealth and Health, or Name it and Claim it, and by my own summary definition, it is any teaching that says if believers have “enough” faith, they will have physical safety and health and material or financial success. Though as we see Prosperity Theology today is a fairly recent teaching of American Protestant Origin, ideas that we can somehow manipulate God to give us what we want (namely, material wealth and physical health) have been around since the fall of man and were present in pagan worship mindsets since the ancient world until today. I have seen the prosperity gospel preached on a certain American TV station that is broadcast in the Pacific, teaching Fijians surrounding a TV in the sugar town of Lautoka that if they just “sow a seed” and have faith, God will release their healing, God will bless them financially, and they will have happiness. Likewise, I have heard an islander pastor in a particular village preach this same concept to his congregation, with the testimony of how he received a brand new truck from his church denomination’s leaders in the USA because he had faith, while the church members listening to his sermon walked to church that morning, as the buses don’t run on Sundays. Perhaps they just don’t have enough faith, for if they did, by their pastor’s logic, they would also have cars.

This teaching that God will bless us physically or materially if we have enough faith is not only contradictory to the teaching of Scripture, but the danger is it appears to be Biblical, because it stems from the truth that God is the God of Life and Jesus did come to give us abundant life. But did he have BMWs and perfect physical health in mind when speaking of that abundant life? I don’t think so… he wouldn’t have promised suffering if he did. God doesn’t promise material wealth or physical health 100% of the time. If you read the whole Bible, you will see stories where God healed (Naaman the Syrian in the Old Testament, Blind, Lepers, and a Hemorrhaging woman in the New Testament) and stories where his people suffered and even died (Job, John the Baptist, the Apostles throughout Acts.) You will see stories where God provided finances miraculously (oil and flour that didn’t run out until a famine was over, a coin in a fish’s mouth), and times where Jesus honored those who gave everything with no promise of recompense (the woman with the alabaster box of perfume, the woman who gave two small coins which were all she had.) …So what are people to do when they pray with all the faith they have, they fast, they tithe, they give out of their need, just as those who teach the prosperity gospel told them, and then God doesn’t give them what they were seeking him for? If they believe that it was based on their faith, they will walk in self-condemnation and guilt for not having enough faith. Or worse, they will turn away from God because everything they knew about him turned out to be false. I spoke with a friend last year that used to consider himself a Christian but would rather call himself Agnostic now. He had been very involved in a church that preached that if you have enough faith, God will heal you physically, or those for whom you pray. He prayed for his mother who was fighting cancer and was very sick. He fasted, he tithed, he anointed her with oil and had the elders of his church lay hands on her and pray for her. But she still died. Because of this false teaching of the prosperity gospel, he completely missed God’s heart and is still in a lot of pain from a church that didn’t know how to associate with him, a failed believer in their eyes. On the other hand, much more recently I have watched my cousin and her husband go through the death of their nine-year-old son to Leukemia. Still heartbroken and grieving, their faith is as strong as ever (even if they don’t feel like it right now.) What is the difference? This family knew from the start that God’s promises for life were eternal promises, not just for the here and now. They held on to those promises even for the last three years of battling this horrid cancer and watching their beloved son die. Is God still the life-giver? Yes! Is he still the source of hope? Yes!

I wish I had more time and more pages to use to write of all the stories from the Old Testament where people tried to manipulate God with their worship, but he said he didn’t want their worship if it was empty… many of the prophets spoke against this mindset that God existed for the sake of people’s comfort and happiness. And I wish I could tell you everywhere in the New Testament where Jesus and his Apostles did not promise an easy life, but promised that God would be with them in whatever they went through. I think I would end up using the entire Bible, because it ALL speaks against the prosperity gospel, if you read it in context of course. But that is the problem of the prosperity doctrine… it doesn’t take into consideration the context of these scriptures, but uses them to fit into it’s teaching.

At the end of the matter, I just want to say, I don’t believe people who teach prosperity theology are all intentionally false teachers, and I don’t lump them all together. There are those who promise financial success if you will just give to their ministry which obviously raise red flags of heresy, but then there are those who just want people to live their lives fully for God, and they truly believe that means being healthy and wealthy. My stomach churns as I listen to those of the first group, but my heart hurts for those of the second… both are missing out on God himself, and the fact that the greatest wealth we could possibly have is having a relationship with God. If they could only see this, they would see that true prosperity already belongs to those who simply love Jesus and believe in him, no matter their income or health, no matter if they drive a Benz or walk several kilometers for water each day, no matter if they never face losing loved ones or have lost their entire family.

Oh God, please help us to grow in our knowledge of Your truth and communicate that truth alone. Help us to examine our lives and our motives in seeking you. Thank you for the abundant life we have simply because we know you and are known by you.

Team Thailand

Here we are! Photo taken today at YWAM LA by Jennifer Kwan.

Guys from Left to Right: Jeremy Park, Dave Skinner, & Michael Ausherman

Girls from Lef to Right: Emily Skinner, Bridgette Skinner, Ange Miracle, Emily Yoder, & Me!

The COUNTDOWN has begun!

24 sleeps until my birthday!

25 sleeps until we leave for THAILAND!!!

Thailand!!!

I'm leaving for Thailand on June 29th!!!

I'll be there for one month with a team of 5 students and 2 staff teaching the Bible in Chiang Rai and Mae Sot!

Here is a link for some current news regarding the protests in Bangkok.

I wanted to add some photos of the areas where I will be, but to avoid copyright issues, I have included the links to their owners' flickr pages. This is the bummer of never having been there yet!!!

Here is Chiang Rai and here is Mae Sot.

We will be staying in Bangkok 2 days for cultural orientation, then we will head to Chiang Rai for the majority of our trip, and also will spend several days in Mae Sot.

In Chiang Rai we will be staying at a boarding school, where we will be serving, teaching, and learning I am sure! We will also be traveling to various hill tribes in the north.

In Mae Sot we will be working with Burmese and Karen Refugees near the border of Thailand and Myanmar.

Until then, I've got less than 3 weeks left of School, then I will have studied all 66 books of the Bible!!! We graduate June 19th, then have some prep time to get our teaching stuff together, then we're off to Thailand 10 days later!

Bless you all, thanks for your prayers and please keep in touch!

La la la la life goes on...

Not to say I have forgotten the events of the past few weeks, or that I am not thinking constantly of the Jensens, or my mom and dad... but it's true: life does go on... and whether I want to keep going with it or not is of no importance. Life goes on just the same. And for that, I am grateful. I have life today and I have people to love today, and I have things God put me here on earth to do... today.

SO... What's today hold? Well this week we've been studying Ephesians. I'm quite happy to say I actually completed the homework for this book (the last few weeks I didn't come close to finishing... couldn't focus, I guess.) And, while I did learn a lot about the historical background of Ephesus during the AD 60s and why this letter was so significant to the people then, the thing that I want to write about is this: it reminded me of when I was a sweet and [not-so-] innocent 19-year-old living in Orange County, CA. I realize not everyone knows this story, so I'll share a bit.

I had just moved back from Orlando, Florida where I had worked for Disney World (no comments, please!) and had started attending a church college group in Irvine as an attempt to reach out to God... I knew he had been reaching out to me, but I had put him on the proverbial shelf for a while. I still believed in God, but couldn't understand why he had let some things in my life happen, if he was all-powerful AND all-loving as I had been told. So I did things "my way" for a while. Anyway... the party life of the disney college program didn't seem to offer any lasting happiness, and actually, all I left with was remnants of a bad case of mono and cynicism.

So here I was in 2002, at a bible study group in Newport Beach with all these girls my age and older who seemed to be genuinely secure in who they were... and they were normal girls... we surfed together before work, we all had "normal" jobs... nobody was a crazy fanatic as I judged most Christians to be. (Like I said, I was cynical!) We studied a letter written by the Apostle Paul to the church in Ephesus... Its one of the books in the New Testament, Ephesians... the book we studied this week in class. The letter laid out the identity of God's children and I realized I didn't have security in who I was like the other girls in my group. I wasn't a size zero like my roommate, I drove a 92 two-tone blazer that parked next to her latest BMW 5 series... and I lived in the land of constant comparison - the OC. I even compared myself to these girls who cared for me and loved me through my cynicism and self-loathing. And I still had issues with God... didn't really know if he was good, if I could trust him...

I'd like to say things changed overnight, in one instance. But... it was the constant love and genuine care from those girls and also many other people in my life who had prayed for me for years... I began to see God's goodness in the different events of my life that had shaped my childhood and teen years - even the ones that had hurt me so deeply. I began to see that I really COULD trust God, and that he really loved me. REALLY.

As I began to understand God and his heart, I began to see myself as God saw me... not as the world did, not even as I formerly saw myself. I saw that in Jesus, I was CHOSEN... I was ACCEPTED... I was MADE NEW... I was LOVED... I had PURPOSE... and I was more MYSELF if that makes any sense.

That's the message of Ephesians to me.

You'd all know I was a liar if I said life was easy from that point on. The last few entries are evidence enough of the pain I've still experienced as a believer and follower of Jesus. But, I'm so grateful that God reached out to me, that he loved me through my crap, and that he gave me friends to help me see him more clearly. I'm grateful that he has given me comfort and hope in a way no one else could, through things I never imagined I would experience, but know I would not have survived had it not been for his presence in my life.

Has God used a particular message from the Bible to reach out to you? Has he used people to draw you to him? I would love to hear your stories...

Love you all,

Jillian

Loss...

What a week...

The three year anniversary of my brother's death...

Flying home for less than 24 hours to attend Luke's memorial...

And more death and more cancer in the families of my friends...

It's been a tough week for a lot of us.

This is going to sound ridiculous: I feel torn between who to feature in my profile picture on Facebook... Lukey or my brother. So I've been sort of switching them out. Stupid, really... Facebook... But I just want to somehow honor them both, and, well, Facebook is the best I can do right now, I guess. Luke's face is still fresh in my memory. My brother's is starting to blur a bit, so I have been looking at photos a lot lately... I never thought it would happen. I was trying to think of how he looked the last time I saw him alive and I can't remember. It's driving me insane. I remember he had stopped by for a sandwich and cup of coffee on his way to work, and I was heading to Hawaii that weekend and wasn't going to see him for a few weeks... I remember standing in our driveway talking while he was sitting in his car... but I can't remember what we talked about, can't picture his face or what he was wearing... maybe its not important.

I was talking with one of my roommates the other day about loss... the pros and cons of knowing one might die vs. sudden death. I can't say I like either. And I can't really compare.

I hated watching Luke suffer, and I wasn't even there for the half of it. But, I loved that his cancer made him want to make the most of his life, and made others want to as well. I loved when he gave me hugs, knowing how precious a commodity they were, and I told him I loved him every time I saw him, even that last time back in March... in a weird and horrid way, it was actually a blessing to know he might die.

With Jeff, I have to be honest, I took those things for granted. I thought he'd be around forever. He had had several car accidents where he totaled the car, yet walked away... I'd come to think he was untouchable. I think he thought he was, too. I don't know if I said "I love you" the last time I saw him. I think I did, but I can't remember. I know he knew I did, but still... I don't know. Its not that I have regrets... well, maybe I do, but I regret having them. Schmeh.

A friend of mine commented as he drove me to the airport (to fly home for Luke's service) that he hadn't lost any close family members or friends. I think he said this to say, "I'm sorry I can't comprehend what you are going through, so I'm not going to lie and say I can." I appreciate honesty, and I seriously dislike when people try to say they do know what I am going through, or they try to give me some sort of spiritual pat-answer.

But as this friend pointed out his lack of comprehension of grief, I realized... we are a different breed. Those of us who have had close loved ones die. Its like a club nobody wants to be a member of, but the members are grateful there are other members in the club. I know when I became a member, I was glad there were already others in the club who I could talk to and process my crazy emotions and thoughts with.

However, ultimately, even those in the club can't relate to everything... each loved one is different, each relationship was different. I've spoken to friends who lost brothers much longer ago than I, and one who lost two brothers more recently... but it's different. Their relationships were different. My brother and I had our unique parents, and we ourselves are unique... Nobody can quite understand the loss I feel. And as much as I hate the cliche-ness of the following statement when used by someone with no understanding of its truth, I've come to realize that it is, in fact, truth, and I've come to experience the comfort of it: Only Jesus knows exactly what I am going through. He knows. He is my source of comfort, my source of hope. He knows.

I guess this was a lot of rambling... but I just felt like expressing some of the thoughts running through my brain that are keeping me from doing anything productive in my homework.

I posted some photos of my brother and I and also Luke and I.

That way, I don't have to feel bad which one I choose for Facebook.