29 is going to be the best year EVER!

Birthdays are a great time to reflect and to look forward. Here's a few photos from birthdays past!

28th Birthday - Celebrated with CSBS Los Angeles friends

27th Birthday - Superhero Extravaganza @ the Wellman's Secret Hideout

26th Birthday - In Kona, my friend Emily dressed up as Jesus for my birthday dinner

25th Birthday - Pirate Parrrty @ the Wellman's Cove, complete with Pirate Ship

In case you didn't guess... Birthdays are kind of a big deal to me! I love having parties... especially costume parties! 28 has been awesome, but I've decided that 29 years old is a great age to be, so I'm going to make this the best year I've ever had (so far)! My party this year is going to be a ROCK BASH in Hawaii... we're going to play Wii Rock Band and dress up like rock stars. EPIC!

So, why is 29 going to be so great?

WELL... here are some fun things that are happening in my 29th year:

• June 28 // I turn 29 and get a free drink from Starbucks :)
• June 30 - 3 // Honolulu - Teaching preparation & Transition Time for SBS students
• July 4 - 28 // Fiji - Teaching Christians how to study their Bibles in Nadi & Suva
• July 28 - August 28 // Samoa - Teaching Bible in Churches, Prisons, Schools & YWAM
• August 28 - October 28 // Samoa - [SBS Team leaves] I stay 2 months to serve YWAM
• October 28 - November 5 // Los Angeles - Friends in SoCal & Mexico
• November - December // Washington - Thanksgiving & Christmas with Family
• January - March // Kailua Kona - Teaching Bible with SBS MobileWord Ministry
• April - December // Hawaii - Staffing SBS & gearing up to head back to South Pacific!

Of course, these are tentative plans & goals... after all, Proverbs 16:1 says,

The plans of the heart belong to man,

but the answer of the tongue is from the LORD.

Furthermore, in addition to what God is allowing me to do for this year of my life, there are some neat things that I already have [besides Jesus, of course]:

• A new "nephew" named Roy, born to my dear friends Ryan & Angela
• Skype! My parents & I can now keep in touch affordably, even when I'm in Fiji & Samoa
• A home & car in Hawaii! I won't have to wonder where I will live when I return in January
• Some of the best friends & family a girl could ask for, not only where I'm from, but all over the world
• An awesome job! I get to teach people how to study God's Word, which transforms lives!

So instead of thinking about what I don't have or [might not] be doing at the age of 29,

I've decided to enjoy and look forward to what I do have and what I will be doing!

What about you? What are you looking forward to this year?

Love you all...

Jillian

The race marked out for us

TEAM PACIFICA: (From Left to Right) Mike, Catherine, Simon, Jillian, & Rachel

Teams are leaving for outreach in 2 weeks to teach the Bible in [East Asia], Brazil, and Fiji & Samoa!

And while we are so excited for what is to come, we are exhausted. The CSBS students are tired. Their staff are tired. We have been studying the Bible for nearly nine months now and the finish line is finally in sight! But what is interesting is that the New Testament books we are studying (in Chronological order of course) are increasingly emphasizing the need to persevere, to endure, to not give up. Since the beginning, our students have been relating to the original audiences of these books... and it seems God knows the messages we need to hear and the times when we need to hear them. Though heavy homework loads cannot compare to the persecution of the early church, we still face the temptation to give up. And the message of encouragement and challenge is the same: Endure. You can do it.

As we near outreach, our Pacific team would appreciate prayer for a few specific things:

• Finances - As a team we are still short about $1500 USD. We are trusting God to provide as He always has and always does, we have done a team fundraiser as well which brought in $125, but... I'm a firm believer that prayer is powerful and effective, so we ask for prayer that as we do the possible, God does the "impossible."
• Visas - The four of us who are non-Fijians need permits to "work" in Fiji. Though we are volunteers, this is still considered work by the government. We applied over 2 weeks ago and are still waiting...
• Teaching Preparation - Our students are still busy doing homework, but in addition to their homework, they are preparing to teach Bible Overview (the story of God's Redemptive Plan from Genesis to Revelation), Inductive Bible Study Seminars, Bible Storying (Teaching the Bible for oral cultures), and 2 books of the Bible per student. Pray that God gives them grace and wisdom as they try to fit more into their already packed schedules.
• Outreach Contacts - Pray that we will have clear communication with our contacts in Fiji and Samoa before and during our outreach, so we may serve their needs well, and at the same time meet the goals and objectives of an SBS outreach.
• Our Audiences - Pray that God would be preparing the hearts of those in Fiji and Samoa whom we will meet and teach, that they would be receptive and impacted by the Bible and God's power to transform lives through His Word!

Thank you! Love you!