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!

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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...

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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.

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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!