Happy New Year!

Today is New Years Eve and I am sitting her in a house with 3 of “my girls” and we just bought a bunch of food, and fire works, and we are ready to party!!! So I will cook them dinner (God help me!) and then we will just hang out and enjoy each others company and set off fire works at 12:00!

So I will say Happy New year as it will be new here before it will be new there! ;)

May Jesus be our focus Tonight, Tomorrow, NOW and Forever!!!!!

Lovin’ life, lovin’ you, loving JEEEEEESUS!!!!!

Happy NEW YEAR!!!! ….Jaycee Leigh Jensen

BIGGEST PRAISE TO JESUS!! and THANK YOU- to you!

December 27th 2006 I received the clearance to live in Latvia!

I have my Residency Visa in my Passport!!!!

I can stay in Latvia!!!

Praise Jesus!!!!

Thank you so much to all who have prayed so diligently and for all who have sent so many words of encouragement and strengthened my lack of faith. You all have touched me deeply during this very difficult time of waiting for the unknown!

Jesus is Lord of all, and may I have the understanding in the future to say these same words when it does not work out the way I would have hoped!

But for now I will enjoy the Glory of my Father and my Savior for meeting me, and answering so many prayers!

I am Back from the Orphanage...

My biggest apologies to those who have been checking this waiting for an update on what my Christmas was like at the orphanage! I have been home for 4 days now, and I have just had not found the time to write out all I have experienced. You know those times in life that you wish you could bottle up and keep forever? Those times when you wish you could explain in words so that others could understand the beautiful thing you have just experienced? But you cant! There are no words, nothing humanly possible to explain the gift that God has blessed you with through a time in your life!!

I am there!

Christmas this year was different, really different. Yet so much of what I wanted it to be!

December 23th, 2006

I arrived in Saldus, a larger town outside of where the orphanage is located to meet some of the kids who would take me the rest of the way to the small town of Lutrini, where the orphanage is located.

Once I arrived at the orphanage I was greeted with hugs and love from all the kids. It was great. I put my stuff in my room and then just spent the evening with the kids.

You probably should know that at this time in this orphanage there are not really any young kids. The youngest is Ernests and he is 9. The kids range from 9 to 18.
And if you know me that is my heart for orphans! Ever since I met Endija God has been burning this passion for teen orphans deep within my soul.

Anyway we spent the rest of that night cooking peparkukas (gingerbread cookies) and pidagi (a meat filled traditional bread from Latvia).

It was a good night. Then later I took “my girls” for a walk. We walked forever! But it was great just spending time talking about life wit them.

December 24th, 2006

A BEAUTIFUL DAY! Well, at first the kids were a bit depressed due to the fact we had yet to have snow. They just looked out the window and were bummin’ around. When I went to the window I felt the same for a minute and then it hit me!

No snow? No problem!

I told them to get there jackets and shoes on…we are gonna go make a snowman!!!! They all looked at me like I was crazy. But I told them to think hard. What else could we make a snowman out of other than snow?
They started thinking and started getting a little light in their eyes. So I helped think and we thought we could make on out of old branches and leaves!! Yeah!!! Lets do it!

Well it did not come out exactly the way we had hoped to, but it was fun nonetheless!
Check it out!

So after that we needed to clean up because I would take “my girls” and Ernests to Saldus for the Christmas eve service. I would have taken all of the kids but… there are no busses that go on Sundays let alone on Christmas eve! So… we…(don’t kill me, yet!) …..Hitchhiked!

Now before you freak out, step outside of North America for a minute and try hard to understand that hitchhiking is very normal in Europe! Trust me! It is pretty safe. I never encourage any of the kids to do it (especially by themselves) but sometimes it is necessary (and quite normal!)

So we finally got to Saldus. We decide to go to the Church where we knew the pastor because his wife was actually the first director of the orphanage in 2003 when I met the girls for the first time! She is a Christian and had to leave the orphanage because she was running it more like Christ and less like what the State wanted. I had a great relationship with her, and it was so hard to see her leave, because that is when my struggle started with building any type of relationship with the orphanage after that moment. (until now!)

So we wanted to go to that church but we were quite early, as the hitchhiking was faster than we expected ;)

So we went to a park to let Ernests play on the playground, but it was quite cold. Then something really cool happened! Two of the girls wanted to go see their mom! Yes I said mom. Most kids in this orphanage are not orphans because of death of parents; most are orphans because of neglect, alcoholism, laziness, selfishness, (you name it!) of their parents.

So we went to go see their mom. They were very embarrassed and were sacred to show me because they were afraid she would be drunk. I, fo course let them know they didn’t have to bring me, but I also let them know I would not judge her or them by what it was like there. So we went!

It was a very interesting situation. Sad to say the least. But I was happy to meet their mom and see what she looked like and why in the world she would choose not to have these beautiful, wonderful girls with her. The apartment and her appearance explained everything. I would not want these girls to have to live in that kind of place and environment. For the first time I saw the blessings of God in the midst of them being ‘orphans’. It was eye opening and it made me love my Jesus so much more kowing he knows better than we ever will!

After meeting their mom we went to the church service, but unfortunately the previous director, Inita, was not at the service, but her husband was there and he told us at the end of the service to go see her has they live in the back of the church. We knocked on the door and one of her children answered and then she came to the door. Her eyes lit up when she saw the girls, Ernests, and I. she was so happy to see us. She invited us in and the minute we walked in the aroma of Christmas filled my heart! Food and candles and music. It was such a warm feeling. And she then did something that I am not sure if I would have done in her position… for their Christmas dinner she invited us to dine with them!!! 5 extra chairs, plates, cup , and mostly MOUTHS to feed!!! And she did it in a way that was so loving and so inviting! She and her family made Christmas for me so very special. It was enchanting, being there with a Christian family who seemed to love these kids just as much a I did, and it was just perfect!!

When we arrived back at the orphanage that evening we had everyone together and we sat in front of the Christmas tree and had a little ‘family time’. In Latvian tradition when the children are ready to get their gifts they have to sing, recite a poem, or do something special before they get their gift. (I think it is a great idea and I will take that one with me for years to come!) so as you can see I also had to join in the tradition, with a little help from “my girls” ! (we sand happy birthday to Mr. Jesus!)

I gave all the gifts I had to al the younger kids, but I saved my gifts for “my girls” for later. I had a special something I wanted to do with them as I know that they have Christ inside of them, we needed to make Jesus the center of our celebration.

So later that night we sat together and talked about Jesus, talked about the past year, talked about the good and bad times, and talked about what it was in our lives this past year that has kept us from having a more intimate connection with our Jesus. Then we went into our separate rooms and we wrote letters to Jesus telling him what we would like to give him from our last year so we could have a closer relationship with him. Then we came back together and prayed. Then we went out side and gave our gifts to Jesus by burning all of our letters together. We said happy birthday Jesus. Then we went in and finished giving gifts to each other. Then went to bed. It was a beautiful day all in all!

December 25th, 2006

We didn’t do much this day because most of the celebration happens on Christmas Eve here. So we just sat and watch Christmas movies that were on the local TV stations (which was special for me because they were all dubbed with Latvian, so it was fun trying to watch and not trying to translate and learn…which I did more than watching)

And then I went to watch one of the girls play basketball in Saldus. Which was really cool because me and her connect well because our love for sports so it meant a lot to her for me to be there and watch! It was sweet!

December 26th, 2006

The whole orphanage came to Riga, the capital city, and where I live, to go to a very large restaurant/amusement park. Where we ate a great meal and then spend the rest of the day ice skating!!! I wish I had pictures to share with you for this day because it was a very special day, but I forgot my camera in the bus that day! Bummer!

After that was over we had to part ways as I would stay in Riga and they headed back to the orphanage.

So that was my Christmas! Very different but very special!

Merry Christmas!

Hey,
This is way too short and quick for it being the holidays and how much I really want to write…but…. I am running out of time!
I get in a bus in less than 2 hours to go to the orphanage. I will be there until Tuesday!!! It is exciting for me to know I get to spend this time with kids I care about and that usually don’t have many people around for them during this time of year. So my (huge) bag is packed full of presents for all the kids, and I am just anticipating the struggle of carrying that bag to the bus stop…ride the bus for 30 min to the edge of town…take it from the bus to the tram…get on the tram and ride it for another 40 min to the center…. and then hauling it across streets and tunnels to get to the bus station!!! Oh, the joys of public transportation!!!
But it is worth it!!! This will be a good weekend!
About this weekend can you pray specifically for the staff and me? I know I have good relationships will most, if not all of the kids… but I have a hard time connecting with the staff, as most of them do not speak English, and I think there is much more of a trust issue with them…so can you just pray that I take the Spirits lead in how I interact with them this visit? Thank you sooo much!

On another note! MY VISAAAAAAA!!!!
I had an appointment to go get it yesterday. I waited in line for 2 ½ hours… when I finally got up to the desk to see if all was well and if I was approved for my Visa…well the inevitable happened! I was in the computer….but no paper work?!!!

THEY LOST MY PAPER WORK!!!!?

So after an all day ordeal, I am here sitting at my computer with yet another day to go and see if I have been approved!
So, Dec 27th is the day now that I will go back and do it again!!!
I have been sooo stressed about this because my 90 days is almost up…if I do not get this approved before January 6th I have to leave the country!!!

Please pray for all to work out according to the Lord plan in this, and that I am willing to accept the outcome, trusting HIM!!!!

Thank you!!!

I promise to write bunches about Christmas at the orphanage and much more when I return home!

MERRY CHRISTMAS MY DEAR FAMILY AND FRIENDS!!!!

May Jesus be lifted to the HIGHEST place in your hearts and homes during this wonderful season!

Will i Go?...Will i stay?...

So they have received the papers here in Latvia that I had submitted in Estonia last week and told me to come back down to the same office where we sat for hours on end just to be sent to Estonia! And…. sit again! Wait… for them to call our number again! But this time they said that they will make the decision whether I can will get the visa for residency or not!
So on the 22nd of December I will be going back, and finishing up (what I hope to be) the last process in this fun paper work process!

In the mean time I will be just praying that the Lord works out all the details and that I can rest in his timing and his plans.

Me?...Teach English?

Haha!!! Oh how God has a sense of humor! I am back from the orphanage and back from the much anticipated “big meeting” wit th regional director of the orphanage I want to be a part of.

It went amazingly well. They are excited about me coming and are looking forward to me helping the kids with English, seeing that the teachers/caretakers, and the director are very limited in their English.

And get this! The director herself asked if I could personally meet with her and help her with her English!!! And then on Friday’s meet with the staff and have English lessons with them!!!

Soo exciting, yet sooo scary for me! I have never really taught English (other than in fun camp setting!) so we will see what God has for me in this!

So I will be going to the orphanage every other weekend to spend time with the kids, and teach English! I am sooo excited about this opportunity. Thank you for your prayers!

I also will be spending Christmas at the orphanage also…so please pray that Christ would be completely reflected in all I say and do during that time! Thank you soo much for all your love, prayers, and support!

Here it Goes!

I am off o the orphanage today (Saturday morning) this is the day that I will meet with the regional director of the orphanage and give hem my papers, and see what happens!

My hope is that they will let me freely come and work with the kids there. I am sure me speaking English is a benefit, as most everyone would like to learn English! But in return I get time with the kids and I also get time speaking and listening to a lot of Latvian, which I need desperately!

So I am praying yet again that Jesus goes in my place to this meeting and that His light and love would just shine through me! Can you pray that in all I do and say, Jesus would be the first name on my lips, the first joy that springs from my heart?
Thank you!

I will be home Sunday night! Have a blessed weekend with our Jesus!

Back from Estonia...

So I am back in Latvia! And… well it looks like things went well! I will not really know until they call me and say that all my paperwork is correct and that I have been approved to have residency in Latvia. That will come “10 business days” from now! So we are looking at mid December before I will know if I can stay!
But the trip was a success! We had no problems at all, from car problems, to crossing the border, to finding the Embassy in Estonia, to submitting papers, to parking, and the 10 hour drive…all went amazingly well!
Thank you to all who prayed! Thank you to all who gave words of encouragement! Because of you I went into this day feeling like I had the army of Christ right by my side! Nothing to fear! Praise Jesus for his protection and for allowing me to be blessed by such an amazing family of Christ!

I will let you know more when I know more about the outcome of it all!


here are a couple shots of Estonia!

Going to Estonia!

If you are reading this on December 6th or 7th I am asking that you take a minute and PRAY! I am in the process of trying to submit my papers for residency here in Latvia. So I am on my way to Estonia! Yes I said Estonia! It is the country just north of Latvia. After two days of waiting at a place here in Latvia (that I thought I was suppose to submit my papers) I found out I was in the wrong place!
Because I am representing Josiah Venture here in Latvia, for some reason I have to submit my papers outside of the country!!! Sweet!

I am almost positive most of you have experienced really long waits before, right? Like the DMV?!!! Well that is like a cakewalk compared to the waiting I just went through! …That is a story in its self! (I will write about it in my monthly update that will be out in about a week!)

So now that we got it all squared away that I was in the wrong place, I will head to Estonia with Baiba (my dear friend, translator, language helper and much more) and Lelde (my co-worker, translator, pretty much my saving grace here!) and we will try this again! But the issue comes that since this will be a 5-hour drive one way, I am praying that I will have all the papers I need, and that all goes smooth!

I am kind of running out of time to be here in Latvia without these papers too, so if you could also pray for a speedy answer also, that would be beautiful! I have been here for some odd 50 days (including the 2 weeks I was here during this past summer) and I can only be in the country legally for 90 day without that residency! The paper work usually takes about a month!!! OH SHOOT!

But cool too, cause I get to see the Lord work, yet again!

So that’s the prayer request! Be ready in a week or two for my monthly update! I am planning on sharing some funny stories, and more!

(I love when I get comments on these blog post, just to see if people actually read them, so if you have a minute, drop a comment my way!)

Thank for reading, AND PRAYING!!!!

Best wake up call!!!

So I awoke this morning the sound of my cell phone ringing… no number on the display means it’s a call from the other side of the world…I thought about ignoring it, cause I hate talking to people in the morning…but I picked up…and what a blessing it was!!!

One of my dearest friends, Raelynn Bailey announced to me that she is engaged!!!! Congratulation my dear friend!! My heart longs to be with her and give her a hug and just sit and talk for hours on her bed!

This is hard to be here at times like this, but more than the sorrow if feel that comes with my absence from this special time, is the JOY that fills my heart, because I know she is happy!!

Sweet day! LOVE YOU RAE!

Never Mind!!!

So it was rescheduled for next weekend. I will leave Saturday morning for the orphanage to go meet with the directors boss. I am guessing he is the regional director or something like that. We will see! So today and tomorrow are a beautiful surprise of rest and relaxation.
I feel like last night I took a deep breath, and this next day and a half is just a long exhale. I did not realize how tired I was! I have been so consumed with everything going on that I hadn’t taken anytime just to be still.
So that is what I am doing, being still, crawling up in my fathers lap, and resting.

May you also have the time to do the same this weekend!

My heart longs to be with you all, and yet I know I am here completely because of him, and because of that, I am content!

So I just got a call from Endija…

The director said that her boss would like to meet with me on Sunday to talk about working at the orphanage!!!

Ahhhhh!!!

I am sooo nervous!

I don’t know what will come of this but can I ask you to pray?

I am excited about the opportunity to be a part of this, because honestly it is God doing it, that I am sure of! But where does this fit into the ministry that I am a part of here with JV? What is it that the Lord is doing through this?
Also can you just pray again that what is seen during this meeting is Christ and not me?!! I desire that more than anything!

I will let you know what happens!

Orphanage Visit

So I am back from my four day visit to the orphanage and I can tell you that I felt your prayers!!! And they were much needed, and answered!
I arrived in Lutrini (the small town where the orphanage is) and was brought to where I would stay.
There was a former orphan that has moved out on his own and had an apartment that he was willing to share while I was there.

These apartments are given to the orphans by the government when they are to old to stay at the orphanage. Yes, I am sure you are saying what I said…”wow, that is nice!” right? Well, not exactly! The don’t give them much. This apartment consisted of a sink in a kitchen the size of a small walk in closet with nothing in it except corroded floors and wall, will holes and wires hanging out, the bathroom was even worse, just a toilet to say the most! And then a little living room with a couch to sleep on.
Not that I am complaining about staying there because it was an absolute blessing from God to be able to stay there. But I say this just to give you an idea of what the orphans are dealing with.

I was welcomed by the staff at the orphanage, even though I was told I could not stay there with the kids. It was very cool just to hang out and play with them hug them, eat with them, just do life with them!

BUT SOMETHING HAPPENED THE NEXT DAY!!!!
I was walking up the stairs to the orphanage to go take a shower thinking everything was fine just to have the girls run down the stairs telling me to run and go outside… then I heard a word that I understood quite well that stopped me in my tracks; “Vaditai” which means director.
They were running from the director? Why? I thought everything was fine? I mean the teachers welcomed me, let me hang out with the kids for two days, why would we be running from the Director???
So she came to the stairwell and started to yell at the girls.
Some cried, some yelled back!
It was a mess!
It was not how I wanted to meet the new director, and it was definitely not the first impression I wanted to give her!!! Dangit!

So I sat downstairs waiting to have the girls come down and I would have to give them hugs and say goodbye, because I knew now that I was not a welcome there as I thought! I sat and prayed and prayed that Jesus would intervene somehow, and somehow make something good out of this terrible confusion. About an hour later some of the girls came down (the one who were not crying) and asked if I wanted to talk to the director. “she wants to talk to me?” I asked. So we went upstairs my heart was beating so hard, and I went into her office. She did not understand much English and I could only speak a little Latvian…so I had the girls help.
I apologized for the misunderstanding and told her my story of how I came to know the kids, I told her my reason for being in Latvia, and told her I really want to learn the Latvian language. She told me she wants to learn English also. Then I said I would love to come help the staff anytime and she asked if I would teach English to the kids. I said I could help them as much a possible.
She said that she would talk to the “big boss” and if he said it was ok , I would be welcome to stay at the orphanage during the weekends and be with the kids!!!

Oh Jesus is good!!!! So good!
Thank you for your prayers…I can honestly say without a doubt that this was JESUS at work! I felt it in a way like nothing else! So cool!

So that is the biggest part of the four days, but there was so much more!!! Just hanging out and loving on the kids was more than I could have asked for! I miss them already!

Click here to check out pictures of the time there: Orphanage Visit

A much-anticipated visit

So tomorrow I will be traveling to Saldus to go visit the orphanage. There are many kids there that I have come to know and love and have yet to see and spend time with. This trip will give me that very chance I have been waiting for.
There are a lot of details that I am not too sure how they will work out, such as where I will be staying!!! Ha-ha, I know, I am crazy… oh well! Can you just pray for me and that Jesus would be the only thing that these kids see this week? That is my desire! That is the reason Jesus has allowed me to go anyway. May I not take this as “my trip” but a trip with the purpose of showing the light of Christ!
Also could you pray that I will know how to use the time that the Lord has given me there? I have 4 days there and I want to be used to the fullness of what Jesus has planed.
Yeah pretty much any prayer through these four days would be a great blessing, and to be quite honest…it is a huge need!
Spiritual battles are not a maybe… it will be a battle!
Please stand with me!
Thank you!

Today was a GOOOOOOD day!

A complete blessing from the last entry! Jesus blessed me with a day that I cannot really put into words. (But I will try!)
So we celebrated Thanksgiving today. Yes Saturday instead of Thursday, but none the less, we celebrated it! And it was perfect!
Going from the feeling I had the days before this was a true gift from my Jesus. We spent the day hanging out, Scott and Brennen cooked pies in the morning, which set the mood for a great day because the smell sent me back into memories and just happy time together with loved ones.
Something happened this morning when I saw them cooking when I saw everyone around me who I love and who I have come to call family. Yes, this is going to be a good day!
And that it was.
Not only that, I was blessed to have Endija with me during this time too. Which made it more than I could have asked for. She is such a part of my life I could think of not having her with me. So it was such a great time just being with the Runzo’s, Paul, and Endija.




Thank you, My Jesus for the day!

Thank you to all of you who are reading this, who are supporting me, and loving me.

I am Blessed!

HAPPY (late) THANKSGIVING!!!

Spot of Reality...

Thanksgiving day came and went for me like every other day thus far here. I have been away from home more than once during holidays and special times so I knew the feeling I was having was about normal. Yet I found myself so lonely. Lonely with so many people around me, lonely when I had people I loved and I knew loved me right by my side!
To say the least Thanksgiving Day was difficult for me.
I could not stop thinking about my family and my friends, and the traditions, the smells, the food, the hugs, the jokes, the ladies in the kitchen, the guys watching football… all of it! It just played in the back of my head all day. Then even thinking of the crazy day of “shop till you drop” the day after! All of it!!!
It was hard.

School of Leaders

I am back from the first experience of the training program called “School of Leaders”! it was a great time just to see how things work and meet all the youth workers around Latvia.
I was taken back by the great battlefield these young leaders face daily! There are so many stories of these few faithful children of God and the way they have given their all for the sake of the youth of Latvia! If it encouraging and heartbreaking in the same breath!
This weekend a verse that I have heard over and over again rang clearer than ever before;

He told them, "The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Luke 10:2

And that is what I ask of you!!! These young leaders need this so desperately! I wish I could explain in words the great works they are doing here for Christ!! It was a blessing to see!

Here is a few video clips of the weekend!
The first is just an idea of the training sessions (keep an eye on the end with Scott and his computer)

The second and thrid video clips are of our :
"Specail ED"ition of School of Leaders!!!
Featuring non other than
SCOTT RUNZO!!!!

And the thrid clip just clips of time spent together in worship to our Jesus!

Labdien! ("good day!")

It has been a minute or two since last update. So I thought before for I leave for the weekend, I would let you all know how things are going.

I am still in the same position I was last time with apartment searching…which is very discouraging, yet there is a peace that I did not have last time I write on this subject. Which mean someone must be praying for that ;) thanks!
Every morning I take my hour travel into to town for work, I ride a bus for about 30 minutes and then a tram for another 20 and then walk for about 10. I swear I pass about 1000 apartment buildings and I just sit/stand (depending on how full the bus and tram are!) in complete amazement that is it so difficult to find an apartment! How can it be? Well a couple of factors make it a bit difficult.
1. I will have a roommate, which means I will need to rent an apartment with more than one bedroom. And when you look at apartments here when it says 2 rooms that means a bedroom and a living room, which is quite normal for Latvian to live in. they have no problem sleeping in (what we would call) the living room. And honestly that still would not be an issue for Lelde (my future roommate and co-worker) and I, but because of the type of ministry we are in (youth work) we will need to have that living room free for a meeting area. So if we are out and want to come home and invite others over for tea, or a movie, or just hanging out we can have the freedom to do so…So that means we need to rent a “3 room” apartment. Which is not so common in Latvia.
2. Because of the first reason it causes the price to rent to raise considerably, but we have a budget of about 250ls, which translates to about $500. This seems like it would be enough, yet Latvia for some reason is getting SO expensive! To give an example of what most apartments we have seen so far for that amount look like:

But there are some good ones too… I have faith it will work out!!!

3. Because we will be working mostly in the center of Riga, that again raises the price, and there are many people who also are looking for apartments in this location because it is very central to everything. So the demand is huge! Which means we spend a lot of time calling and then just getting shut down because the apartments have already been taken. (Especially the good ones!)

So that’s a little bit about the struggle of the apartment search! Not only is it hard to find one, it is also hard to be here in Latvia, knowing I am here, but feeling like I am just visiting since I have been living out of bags, eating other peoples food, sleeping in someone else’s home, etc.

If you can just pray that I would engage even in the midst of that feeling? I was talking with one of my dear friends about life last night and she was talking about school and struggles with just not feeling like life is worth anything right now. And I was encouraged to know that no matter where we are, school, work, home, America, Latvia, your own place, or someone else’s, we are not here for “us” we are here for him! At that moment I realized the more I concentrate on “me” in this place, I will get down and depressed, feeling sorry for myself, hating life! But the moment I look at “me in Him-and Him in me” it changes everything! I can live in the struggle, in the pain, in the frustration, knowing it is not about me in Latvia, it is about

HIM IN LATVIA,

and he has got me here to use me for HIS purpose!! Wow, I am not worthy, but I feel blessed to be chosen to do it for him! May I surrender continually to him!

So this weekend I will be gone. I will be going to my first experience with “School of Leaders” which is one of our main ministries that happens during the “non-summer” ministry. I am not too sure what to expect, but I will tell you how it goes! Check out this link for more on this:

http://jvlatvia.com/index.html

Thanks for reading, thanks for showing your support and love! I would love to hear from you! Whether that is through a comment, or e-mail!! I wanna see pictures too!!! I miss you all!

I dimmed "my light"...

Many may know, many may not know, but I have been bumming about finding a place to live for a while (ha-ha, well two weeks). I have been complaining and feeling sorry for myself. I have had so many thoughts that are not glorifying to my Jesus.
During our weekly meeting a verse was brought up about the very thing that I have been guilty of, and I am convicted.

Do EVERYTHING without complaining or arguing, so that you may become blameless and pure children of God without fault in a crooked and depraved generation, in which you SHINE LIKE STARS in the universe.
Philippians 2:14 +15

Through my unbelief that my Jesus is in control of this, that his timing is better than mine, I have found myself not content. I have found myself depressed and unmotivated. Through my complaining I have expressed outwardly my disbelief that God is in control.

And because of that my light has been dimmed.

I am embarrassed, I am humbled.

I have come to shine the light of Christ and in the battle of spirit and flesh I have allowed my sinful desires to cover the very light I have come to shine!

May this be an experience that will stay with me throughout my years of following my Jesus, so that I will be more aware of the subtle yet fierce battle to allow Christ to shine through me!

I Got A Ticket...already!

Sunday afternoon, not much to do. Had a great idea to go just hop on buses that goes to who knows where, get lost, get found, and do it again! Yeah sounds fun!
Then I even had a better idea, I would go on the busses but bring my language tablet, my dictionary, and my personal “language helper”, my daughter – Endija. Yep, sounds good!

So we were off! Found a bus that neither one of us knew where it went and hopped on! It was a great time of learning and just enjoying each other, the Latvian people, and Latvia!
After a while we realized that everybody had gotten off of the bus and we were heading to a pretty deserted area.
Oop, the end of the road for this bus. Problem was is that that bus was the only one we could take back (30 minutes later) so we sat at the bus stop in the freezing cold (sounds familiar!) and waited for the bus that we were just on to drive up about 20 feet just to let us back on.
When we got back on I was waiting for the lady to come take my money to get my ticket, but she saw that we had already been on this bus, so she just let us go without paying.

Cool.
Well… not so much!

About 15 minutes later a very large gruff looking lady came up to me, and in my broken understanding of Latvian, I knew she was asking for my ticket. Hmmm. Now what? I tried to explain what had happen, she didn’t care and seemed to get more upset when she realized that I was American and spoke English. Endija tried to explain she still didn’t care, and just got more upset! Then she just threw out her hand and said 2 lats.
What?!!! 2 lats? That’s 4 dollars! The bus ride cost 20 santiems! That is 40 cents! Man this sucks! Well I gave her the money because obviously I was not going to get her to understand! And then she took out her little ticket book and gave me a ticket!!! Ha ha! This is priceless! I got a ticket for not paying, and I am here to be a missionary! Sweet!

I couldn’t help but laugh as I was being issued the ticket (which did not make the lovely lady any more happy with me) as we were getting off the bus Endija told me that she was still talking bad about me and how it is like this all the time with people like me!

Hmmm… now I just need to find a frame that will fit the ticket!! ;)
Fun times!
Oh and I did learn a lot of Latvian that day too, thanks to Endija!

Good shoes…

So I learned yet another lesson last night! Good shoes in cold weather are a must! ;)

So yesterday morning I woke up to snow! And it snowed most of the day! Very cool. So I was prepared! I layered up and I was thinking about what shoes to wear and well I have these shoes that are quite old, but I love them and if I double socked I would be fine. But when I went to put them on I realized the sole was cracked all the way across the bottom. Hmmm that is a bummer! How can I fix that? * Bing! * DUCKTAPE!!! So I taped up the inside and outside of my shoe! That will keep the wet out…or so I thought!

When about my day, quite warm for the most part. I was proud of my Arizona born, yet taking on this COLD day with gusto!!! Yeah I can do this I can live here! Later that night I was in a church attending their youth night with some youth, and then we decided to go get coffee after. We walked for a mile or so and then sat and had some coffee. At this point I realized my feet were pretty cold (one more than the other) and I just though, guess these shoes are not gonna hack it for this cold weather…* note to self*.

After coffee it was time to take the bus journey home! From the center I have to take two different busses both taking about 30-30 min. yet tonight it took much longer… the traffic was terrible, I think there were a few accidents on the road I was on. Anyway, I was late catching my bus at 10:39 pm… I got there at 10:45!!! Yes..welp next bus: 11:55pm! -0 degree weather, one hour, yep I am gonna die! Actually many things during that hour kept my attention. A lot of drunk people, a fight with the drunk people, a group of guys (who were drunk) coming to and trying to talk to me. Then trying to speak English. A drunk guy throwing up about 2 feet away! Yeah time flew by! Ha-ha!

Anyway about 15 min in I started feeling a lot of pain in my foot. I just thought it was cold, and that went on for the whole hour I was there. When the bus finally came I really couldn’t feel my foot, but I figured it would thaw out in the bus. When I got on the bus I realized I couldn’t move my toes! I thought, FROST BITE!!! I don’t even know what it feels like or how you get it, but I have seen terrible things in movies! So as I was sitting next to a grumpy old woman just glaring at me I took off my shoe and my socks…they were soaked!!!!! Oh man stupid Duck Tape didn’t work!

So all that to say, my favorite pair of shoes have been retired :(

*Note to all the cold weather people
Laugh all you want, and yes I know this is not a cultural thing. But in a way it is to me so… yeah! Whatever ;)

I am not in “Kansas” anymore!

Well how do I explain how crappy feel right now! Hmm I guess the first sentence takes care of that!!!
Welp, today, not soo good! I mean I was a good day in the way that I am breathing, and that the sun came out (well enough to make it look like dusk!). I woke up to a rainy day, yet again. Which is fine because I was warned about this time of year and the weather. But me being me, I wore a pare of shoes that any sane human being would know that would not work for such cold wet weather, yet I didn’t give it a thought! Hmmm, and as I sit here and type this, my feet are now thawing, and unwrinkling from being soaked all day! Sweet!
On to my day at “work”.

Today’s task:
find apartments to go look at!

My thoughts:
exciting! No problem. Just looks some up, give um a call, go check it out. If I like what I see, MOVE IN!!!

Reality:
sat on my butt all day, looked…oooh too expensive! Looked some more… oooh definitely not livable!!! Looked some more…oooh this one is perrrrfect…sorry already taken!
Yup and we did that for the whole workday! Neat!

Funny thing is, I got “home” to Scott’s house and I was taking to him, and he asked me what I wanted to do, and in my most amazingly sweet demeanor I said without the least bit of sarcasm, “ hmmmm, what would I like to do? I would like to go on the Internet, find an apartment, rent the apartment and then MOVE IN!” but you know what Scott? I would actually be happy just taking the list of things I had to do today other that look for an apartment and get in my car and go complete the tasks and come back feeling like I accomplished something! But instead I come home without one thing accomplished and about 10 other things to do on top of that!! I guess that what I would like to do!”
His reply was so encouraging! He just looked at me with the utmost compassion and said, “it gonna be hard for you here!”

Oh yay!

Pray for me! (and my atittude!)

Happy Halloween!

On Sunday night we celebrated Halloween with the kids! It was awesome. They all dressed up and I guess I did too ;)
We carved pumpkins, played games, the kids put on a concert, and then I ran to Paul house and stood at the back door while he was at the front and let the kids trick or treat!
Latvia does not really celebrate Halloween so it was the best we could do! Yet I think I was better than most Halloweens I had as a kid! The Runzo kids are blessed by very amazing parents!

Check out the pictures! You will love them!

Sleepover!

Well Friday night the Runzo’s left for the weekend, and I stayed and looked after the house and Blue, their horse…I mean dog!
So 3 of the girls from the orphanage came over for the weekend and we had a sleep over! Whoo hoo! Nothing like jumping right in!
It was a really good time of just spending time and hanging out! As you can see!

Check it out!!! They decided to have a little photo shoot!
(click on picture for more!)

I made it!!!

I have landed in Riga Latvia!!! My emotions are still very mixed due to the very difficult part of letting go of people I hold so dear to my heart, yet holding in my hugging arms the one here in Latvia I have longed to be with!!!
The flight was none eventful (EXCEPT the beginning! See the below posting for that story!) Very LONG though. While writing this I realize that I have been up and moving since Monday morning (with a short nap between last minute packing at 2am to 3am on Monday night!) now it is Wednesday afternoon…hmmm I should rest! (it is Wednesday at 12pm here!)
When I arrived at the airport my whole Josiah Venture team was there! Scott, Paul, Edmunds, Liva, and Lelde! And then I had 5 other welcomer's too… my orphanage girls!!!! So sweet!
So the team took my stuff left me there and I spent the rest of the day and evening with my girls. We went to coffee, then to a movie, then to dinner. It was just what I needed to “re-engage” my heart to what God is doing here! So praises to our Jesus for meeting me there (and for giving me the energy to do it!)
Then Scott came and picked me up and brought me to his house, where I will be staying until I find an apartment. I got more welcomes and hugs there as I saw Lisa and the kids! Spent the rest of tonight talking with Scott and Lisa about so many things. All I can say is that I am overwhelmed at the blessing I have in their guidance and wisdom, and especially their love for me! I feel at home! And I need that right now!

Thank you to everyone who has prayed me here thus far and for your continued prayers! You ready?...

Let the journey begin!!!!

Only the beginning

So I get to the airport with a fully loaded cart of 6 bags, get up to the desk and start to check in.
The lady asks me when I will be returning, and with joy in my reply I said, “I am not, I am moving there for full time mission work!”
I was expecting a different response than the one that was given. She said, as she looked through my passport, “you cannot leave with out a visa or proof of residency in that country”
Now I thought, come on this is not true! Nobody told me about having to have a return ticket!!! There has got to be a way around this. There wasn’t! She was dead serious! And as I sat there trying to figure out what the heck to do, I sensed a blow to my joy from Satan, right then and there!
Well a lot of talking later and a purchase of a $3300 one-way ticket back to the states (which was promised to be refundable, hmmmm…. I will be praying hard about that!) And thanks to my amazing parents and a wonderful thing called a credit card! All seems to be ok! Of course we have not tried to refund the ticket just yet (since I am still sitting in Washington DC, awaiting the LONG flight to Germany, and then on to Riga.)

I had an amazing group of loved ones at the airport to send me off, and I will just quote some of their comments that helped me realize and awaken me to the reality that this will be a battle! This is only the beginning of the work God has planned through us!
If you ever have a chance please remind me of this truth! It is a necessity to the heart of making others glad in God!

So as I sat and wallowed in my self-pity, my unbelief of the provision of my Jesus, this is what my dearest friends and family were saying (not to me, yet spoke truth to my heart):

“Someone doesn’t want her to go”
“ It is so obvious that she is right where she is suppose to be!”
“This is only the beginning of complete reliance on Jesus, it will only get worse…. and by ‘worse’ I mean better!”
“Oh man! How exciting it is to be a follower of Christ!”


All I have to say is I am ready, but I will need many days of training! This was a good start!

7 days and counting!

Packing until all hours of the night…
...up at 5:30am…
...can’t sleep...
...mind is full of thoughts of saying goodbye, saying hello, leaving the beauty of Arizona, entering the cold and dark of Latvia, thoughts of what my apartment will look like, thoughts of freezing to death, thoughts of failing, of disappointing, of falling short of expectations, of packing too much, of packing to little, of not having enough warm clothes, playing in the snow, meeting the youth where they are at, sharing the joy of Christ, wanting to go, not wanting to leave...JAYCEE!…why are you still laying in bed?… ok I think I will get up!

Get ready, head out the door, get a letter notarized for residency, go to the capital to get paper work apostilled for residency, go get passport pictures for International drivers license, go get an international drivers license, cancel my phone, cancel my gym membership, home for a minute, go to starbucks meet with a friend for the last time, say goodbye, go home grab a bite to eat, pack some more, need to buy a bigger bag! Go to the store to return bag, buy different one, to another friends house for a visit. Go home pack some more.
(Now when I say pack, I mean move things from my closet to the floor, then the floor to the bed, then from the bed back to the closet and then do it again!)
How do you pack your life up?
Any helpful hints?
I am down for any suggestions at this point!

I'm Leaving...on a jet plane!!!!

I am Going!!!!! I finally have reached full support!
10 days!!! And I will be on an airplane to Latvia! (October 24th to be exact) This is so surreal to me. My stomach has never felt so weird. My emotions are so erratic and strange. I have a felling of utter joy, and the next deep sorrow. I start to think about the future with expectation, yet the next minute feel a huge sense of loss when thinking about the life I am leaving here. I then feel stuck with fear of the unknown, and then a sense that I am in my Jesus’ tight grip.

For the full update go to this link: http://jayceeleighjensen.com/index_1.html?XTIME=1160819648


I am in Canada right now and have been for about 3 weeks. I have visited many friends and seen many beautiful things. This trip was nothing sort that a huge blessing from God that I did not deserve but enjoyed more than words could ever say. Thanks to all my friends for loving me here in Canada! Especially the two who made it possible, Susan and Danielle!

To see the people and the indescribable beauty of Canada go to this link: http://inotherthanwords.blogspot.com/

Making the "rounds"

Well if anyone was interested in reading my updates probably is not any more! Thank you for checking in even though it has been over a month since my last entry into my blog. My biggest apologies!

Right now I am sitting in Minneapolis International Airport. I just flew out of Winnipeg Canada, and now I am waiting to get back to Arizona, just to leave in a day for Canada again!

The Lord has been so amazingly gracious to me during this transition to Latvia. I have been waiting to see how finances would work out, and in the midst of the waiting the Lord just gave me probably one of he best gifts I could ask for at this time! I was offered a trip to Canada to visit many many dear friends before I leave for Latvia! What?! Oh man, I cannot even tell you how this has blessed me!

So I will be in Vancouver Canada for the next two weeks! And I just returned from the most amazing time with my dearest friend Raelynn Bailey in Winnipeg Canada. My heart has been aching deeply to see her and all of my dear friends from Canada that I came to know so intimately during my time in Sweden over a year and a half ago. I will have the opportunity now to go visit the other side of Canada and even get to attend one of my dearest roommates wedding!!! Is God amazing or what?!

On to what is happening with Latvia… I think it looks like I have finally arrived at full support! It looks like it may be pretty possible for me to leave home to start this journey by the end of October! This is looking really good! Praise God!
I know you are probably thinking the same as I am… it was April, then July, then mid-September, and now we are looking at the end of October! Trust me as much as I have hoped for each of these dates, I feel the confusion and frustration, and even disappointment in not coming to pass as soon as I would have thought!
Yet, sitting where I am at right now, I can see how much my Jesus has already stretched me, taught me, and molded me. And all of this would not have been as beneficial if I would have been granted my desire to leave when I wanted to! His ways are not the same as mine! That is for sure. But His ways are definitely what I want, no matter the confusion, frustration, or disappointment. I am content in his arms even though I am a little bit squirmy these days!
I feel like a little girl in her daddy’s lap! She wants nothing more to be in his arms, yet there is so much anticipation of life, that the father has to tell her over and over, my child if you want to sit in my lap, you will have to sit still! BUT IT IS SO HARD!!!!

An update letter will be out soon I promise! If you do not know if you are on my list please take a minute to sign up! (on the right hand column of this blog, just enter in your e-mail address and it will take you through the quick painless process) so you can get the monthly updates! They should be pretty enjoyable ;)

Circling the runway…

I thought it would be good to give a little update on what is going on, just in case there are actually people who read this thing!

I am in a waiting pattern as we speak. I am working on raising monthly support. I am in need of people to come alongside this ministry and me and commit to monthly support. This is difficult to ask for! (Well all of the support raising has been a difficult and humbling time for me!) But all that to say I am definitely in need of more than just one time gifts. Please contact me if you feel lead to do so, or if you may know of people that would like to join this work of the Lord in Latvia.

I do have major news though! I am fully funded for my out going cost!! I am ready to fly, as soon as I have all the monthly support raised! Praise Jesus! I am so excited to see the hand of my Jesus just providing in amazing ways! Thank you to all who are reading this that have already given!

Other than that I have been so, (man, I don’t even know the word to describe it!) just Pumped (weak word for what I feel, sorry!) about this Jesus I am following and learning from! What an amazing blessing to be his disciple!!! I wish I could tell you the privilege it is to be called to follow Christ! I know some of you know exactly what I mean, and others are on their way to finding out!!

All I know is this homeless Jewish Rabbi, who is the incarnated GOD, the creator of everything I love, has called me out! Has called me to come, drop what I was doing, let go of what I was holding on to, and come follow him!!! And for the first time in my life, there is depth to that calling! I understand the ramifications of that call! Jesus himself believes I am capable of being his disciple!!! What?!!! All I feel like saying is,

“are you sure Lord? I am a pretty big mess of life. I am not sure you want me.”

But that is not my place to ask!

He is the Rabbi, he is the one who chooses who gets to follow him! So I am keeping my mouth shut and I am just going to trust that he knows more than I do what he is doing and who I am!

So, from this point on I want to be one step behind Him everywhere he goes! I want to soak him up, I want to learn his ways and follow! That’s it! And he says that I got what it takes!

This is crazy, but I am loving it!!!!!

Check out this amazing exerpt from a book I just finished reading! It is so true and puts missions in a better perspective for me and I hope for everyone!!! Check it out!



Missions then is less about the transpiration of God from one place to another and more about the identification of a God who is already there.

Perhaps we ought to replace the word missionary with tour guide, because we cannot show people something we have not seen.

It is almost as if being a good missionary means having really good eyesight. Or maybe it means teaching people to use their eyes to see things that have always been there; they just did not realize it. You see God where others don’t and then you point him out!

Have you ever heard someone say they were going to “take Jesus” to a certain place? What they meant, I assume, was they had Jesus and they were going to take him to a place, like China, or India or Chicago where people apparently didn’t have Him.

I would ask them if people in China and India and Chicago are eating and laughing and enjoying things and generally being held together? Because if they are, then Jesus, in a way that is difficult to fully articulate, is already present there.

So the issue isn’t so much taking Jesus to people who don’t have him, but going to a place and pointing out to the people there the creative, life-giving God who is already present in their midst.

It is searching for the things they have already affirmed as real and beautiful and true and then telling them who you believe is the source of all that. “I am here to tell you where I think it comes from…”

And if you do see yourself as carrying God to places, I can be exhausting.

God is really heavy.

Some people actually believe that God is absent from a place until they get there. The problem with this idea is that if God is not there before you get there, then there in no “there: in the first place.

Tour guides are people who see depth and texture and connection where others don’t. That is why the best teachers are masters of the obvious. They see the same things we do, but they are aware of so much more. And when they point it out, it changes the way we see everything. (68-69)

Rob Bell, Velvet Elvis

Home?

I am home!
Well home is relative I guess! I am back in Arizona for now! I just returned from the two-week whirlwind of a trip with the high school youth group from Red Mountain Community Church. What a great trip is was too!
God was working so obviously throughout the whole trip! I am so amazed by his Grace and his willingness to work through us to do his work! And that he did!
We ran a weeklong English camp in a small town out side of Riga called Usma. Most of the kids that went to the camp were from Riga though. We put on this camp for a church in Riga who is trying to start a youth program in Riga. It was a great camp. We only had about 20 students attend this camp, which is much less than we are used to, yet after it was over I was very happy that God sent that number to us! It was a beautiful time of building amazing relationships with amazing kids who are very interested in a life with Jesus Christ! It was go go go the whole time, yet not once did I feel overly tired or exhausted. This was Christ in me for sure. I averaged about 4 hours of sleep a night for over 8 days straight and I felt more alive, more ready for the day than I have when I have had plenty of rest and sleep! It was truly inspiring to sense the presence of Christ filling my mind body and soul to complete His work! And his work is summed up in one word LOVE!!!! And that is what we did!
If anything was accomplished this trip it was that the Love of Christ himself was manifested in us and flowing out of us right into the hearts of these kids! It was a beautiful sight to see!

So that’s it! If you want to know more sign up for my newsletter (to the right) and I will be sending out an update letter very soon!

Thanks for all your love, support and prayer! It was evident that someone was praying during this time, and for that the kingdom of God has grown! God bless!

(There is a link two entries down if you would like to see some pictures of this trip!)

done!

Today was the last day of our English camp. We had an amazing group of students from Riga and also from other areas around Latvia. Comparing to some of the other camps that have been going on this summer with Josiah Venture, this was a small camp. Yet I was very happy to see that the group was smaller than usual.
I was so proud of he high school group from Red mountain that I was so blessed to be a part of and blessed to have a chance to lead. They are an amazing group and my heart is overjoyed at the life changing experience that they have expressed.
Check out the link below in my previous entry for more on the students and their experiences so far. They have been trying to keep up a blog of their own and it also as pictures and information on each of them.

Yet I would have to say the best part of my trip was and is at this moment, my girls from the orphanage! They made a last minute disiion to come to the camp. what an amazing gift from God to have the people who I love so dearly with me during this short trip.

Yet I feel my heart already breaking at the thought of yet again saying goodbye. I do not know why I put myself in such a hard poison to feel so much love and then allow it to be ripped away again and again… please pray for that!

On the other side of this sadness I am feeling though is a huge excitement knowing that when leaving this time, it will be the last goodbye, and the last time I will have to say I did not have enough time. I am so excited to be here and to share the love that Jesus has given me with these girls, with the youth of Latvia and whoever God brings into my life!




So that is it! We are here for a couple more days and then it is back to Arizona for as long as it takes to raise the rest of the money needed to be a full time missionary here! So, again another big prayer request!

Thank you all for your love and your interest n what God is doing here!

For way more updates and pictures go to:

http://latvia06.googlepages.com/

Lovin' It!

July 15, 2006 at 12:15 pm….

I have enjoyed two full days of hugs and reuniting with all the amazing people I have come to know over the past 8 years! Every time I come back here I feel like there is a huge piece of me that is pt back in place. I am so blessed!

So, we have been just training and preparing for the camp and enjoying the cultural differences of Riga (he capitol of Latvia). The students have enjoyed many different Latvian foods, sights, sounds and much more! They seem to be willing and ready to serve! I am so excited to begin the camp starting on Monday.

Tomorrow we will go to two different church services to give the student an idea of what “church” is like here in Latvia, then we will finish up getting the final stuff done for the camp. And then early Monday morning we will board a bus with all the campers and head out to the campsite and start this crazy 5-day English camp!!!

Please pray for the hearts of the students to be willing to lean fully on Christ, and that the hearts of the campers would be soft and ready to hear the gospel.

Thank you for all your prayers!

July 13th 2006 @ 2am….
Well I am finally sitting on a bed waiting to sleep for a few hours before it all starts…again!!!
Yes we made here, we made it in one piece, yet our luggage did not! After arriving from our long haul, we awaited in anticipation our luggage coming through those beautiful black strips of plastic on the conveyer belt.
It started off quiet well! Then slowly but surely we hit the point of dread as we just watched as the same bags kept gliding past us over and over and over…then we heard the announcement!
“Any passengers that have just arrived from Copenhagen (that’s us!) And do not have their luggage please come to the lost and found office to make a report.”

Hmmmm…that was definitely the case for us, seeing that 15 bags had yet to be accounted for! Crap! So we rummaged through our ticket and got the luggage tabs (that always seem to be such a unnecessary thing, until something like this happens and then it clicks, “ah, this is why they stick these things on my ticket cover!”)
And start making the LONG report of bag, size, color, weight, brand, etc.

We found out that they were on the next flight to Riga that would arrive at 11pm (at this time being 6pm and none of us had really slept for over 24 hours).
They said that they would deliver the bags to where we were staying; so then we left in hopes of seeing our bags, and our sleeping bags later on that evening!

We hit the town for some yummy Pankukas and then just came back and rested and waited for our sleeping bags to arrive so we could get some sleep!
1:00 am could not come sooner! They arrived and we had all of our stuff! Praise Jesus!

(Not bad for a lost luggage story! God is so good to us!)

The next few days are days to acclimate and train for the camp that starts on Monday.

I wil write more when I get the chance!

I am off again!!!

Ok just a quick update….
I am on my way to Latvia for two weeks with the high school youth group to do an English camp. I am so excited to take such a great group of students to where my heart is! I am so blessed! So we leave in the early morning tomorrow and will arrive in Latvia on the 13th at 5:30pm.
I will try my best to keep this blog going while I am there…but Internet is sparse… I promise I will try so keep checking in!!!
You can also go to our web site for the high school group and we will be trying to keep a three-day blog there too.
Hmmm… I will have to give you the link next time, I cant remember it!!!
Sorry!
Please pray for us when you think about it!

DONE!...what now?

I am done! It is over! And I am having mixed feelings. I am happy to be done and ready to head off to start the rest of this journey, yet being at a place like this for 5 weeks has really impacted my life! Having missionaries from all over the States and Canada, going to places all over the world, gave me for the first time, a sense of belonging! Weird, I know, but these people became family. It was so nice to have this community and hear all of the amazing passions that God has given these people! I am just in Awe of Gods heart for the world! Neat Stuff!

So that’s it…done with training!

Today I will be going back to the Kolb’s to spend the holiday weekend with them and my whole family!!!! (They don’t know I am coming, so it will be a fun surprise… not only that this will be the last time I will see my Sisters kids, my two little joys, for a very long time) I will be staying there until July 5th then I head back to Arizona for a week then head to Latvia with the high school youth group for a short-term trip to Latvia for two weeks. Then it is home for the rest of support raising!!!

So Thanks for checking in and I pray that all of you will have a great 4th Of July!!!


Lots of love!

4 weeks down...1 to go!

I have been pretty bad at this lately …I am really sorry!

This class is amazing! I have learned so much about learning a new language; I would have been completely sunk if I had not been made aware of all of this! My mind is so tired though.. I am ready to go! I have been here for four weeks and I am now on my last week here. Five weeks of training is enough for me! But it has been amazing to say the least!

It is Monday and I just spent the weekend with my best friend, and her family. And I got to see Marcia also! (Trisha’s beautiful mom) it was so good to see her and spend time with them all. Tade seems to be getting bigger by the second! I will leave you with one more picture of the cutie pie, and then on of Avery their daughter posing for the camera… what a little poser!










Oh Oh OH! I almost for got to tell you the coolest news of the language training so far…
I CAN (or at least I think I can) ROLL MY “R’s”!!!
Now if you have known me for a while I am sure you know how BIG this is!!!
Whoo hoo…be happy with me! It is a joyous day!

Monday - Thursday

Well there is not much to talk about concerning this part of training…
This is Thursday morning, and well I have learned a lot, yet I feel like I cannot give adequate information on what I have learned so far.
I have realized some things that are pretty amazing…like the fact that the English language has approximately 44 sounds that our mouths, tongues, and lips are used to saying, yet there are thousands of sounds from all over the world!
Needless to say I have some adjusting to do if I am going to speak another language without sounding like a fumbling fool!!!
Oh how exciting!
Yet this training is doing just that, and I am so blessed to have the opportunity to start understanding language and sounds in a way that will be a benefit on the field! So it is good, it’s allll goooood!

(it is almost the weeeeekend! whooo hooo!!!!)

Here we go again!!!

I am back for another week of training! This week we start our Language training. Yet I will not be learning any Latvian. What’s the point, you may ask (as I did). Well, this training is not language specific, it is more language acquisition techniques that will be universal for any language. It is more like a preparation time for the actual language learning we will be entering into on the field.

I myself, where I sit, if I am honest, it feels a bit like a waist of time. (Sorry MTI) Yet this is being said without one day of classes yet! So we will see! I am here, so I will take advantage of every possible tool to help me transition.

I will keep you updated!

I am sure you will enjoy me eating my words, as I am sure I will eat them!!!

On another note! I spent the weekend with my LONG TIME best friend, Trish Nave (Reddin, whatever!) ad she just had her baby boy on June 9th! So it was just a great time of spending time with the Family!




Check out my web site for more pictures! http://www.Jayceeleighjensen.com

Thanks for taking the time to check in with me! It means a lot!

reality of it all

I am tired. I am sad.

We talked about goodbyes today, and I am overwhelmed at the loss that accompanies this move toward missions.

I don’t want to go.

I want to go.

I am torn. I am sad.

I love you all. And do not want to say goodbye…at all!

I am Sorry...

I realized some things for the first time today about being a missionary, and I think that I need to apologize to everyone who I love and who has invested interest into what I am doing. (And since you are reading this, I can guarantee that I owe you an apology also)

When I decided to be a missionary it was my decision. I was willing to give up the things of this world to follow Christ into other parts of the world to be his hand and feet…yet, through this decision I have in turn made a decision for you also! A decision that you had no part of, yet are affected by! Wow!

Whether you are family, friends, co-workers, kids I mentor, prayer supporters, financial supporters, or my church community, you are invested in this! I am sorry that this is the first time that this has come to full realization on my part. Don’t get me wrong. I always have felt that you all are a HUGE part of what God is doing in this. I just never thought about the personal side of it!
Me choosing to go on the mission field, also forces you to accept that. Yes, I may be ok with the trails, the tribulation, the possible danger, or suffering, but did I think about you? Did I think about what you may feel about all of that? Not so much! And for that I am deeply sorry.

I don’t know if we really ever think fully about the ramifications of our choices. But I have found myself in a place that seems a bit uncomfortable. Knowing that you are invested in me. Invested financially, spiritually, emotionally!! Oh, my heart cries out to God, that he would give me all that I need to honor you for investing in this! Thank you for your amazing support! I am speechless.

This may not make much sense, but it does in my heart. And please know that you are valued and loved by me, and I am more than blessed to have you in my life and to be such a HUGE part of what our God is doing in Latvia!

Be blessed today and always my friends, my family!

A day of REST??? nah!!

A Much needed day of…Rest? Well maybe not rest in a “not doing anything” kind of way…but rest from the intenseness of the training for the past two weeks!
So I went White water rafting for the first time ever!!! So much fun!!! Everyone needs to do this at least once in his or her life!
I will let the pictures speak for themselves! Check them out.. Go to:

http://jayceeleighjensen.com/MTI.html

So tomorrow I will go to church, and then Monday starts the last week of cultural training and then it is time to dive into language training for the next two week! Oooh goodie!
Miss you all. God is good!

Takin' Hostage today...what did you do??

So pretty crazy day today. Yes I know I say that almost everyday, but today was the most intense day so far. We came in the classroom this morning and there was a sense of tension already present right from the start. Robin, the facilitator of the training here got up and read an e-mail from a missionary couple that was previous missionaries that came through this same program. Their e – mail stated a tragedy that has just happened during a hike up a mountain. Long story short, they were mugged the husband beaten and the wife raped and beaten. Right after that Robin gave us specific instructions and we when right into a real life scenario where we were in the middle of a rebel war and we were hiding in an attic (this being in the basement of the training facility, in a cardboard boxed in room about 8 by 8, and about 5 feet tall. This with about 15 people in this scenario. It was hot, dark, and very cramped. There was loud noise of machine guns, bombs, sirens, then every once in a while the rebels would make patrols of the area, and we would have to be completely silent. During this time there were opportunities for a small number of people to be evacuated. We had to figure out who should go and who should stay. There was a proposition of two more missionaries and three nationals needing somewhere to hide, with not being sure if the nationals could be trusted since no one knew them, and the issue of food, and space, and our own safety. Then we heard the evacuation fell through and now the rebels had decided that they were going to execute two of us so they would get the attention of the US to send ransom money. We had to decide who would be executed. 4 people volunteered, myself being one of them due to the fact o was single and had no significant other. Only two were to go so we picked numbers between one and one hundred. I was not chosen. There was one other single girl, and own husband that were chosen. When they came to get the two the leader of our group surprisingly was resistant and when they asked for the two he kept saying “we are on, we are one” they grabbed him and took him out and we heard LOUD gunshots. They killed him. Then they came for the other two, they grabbed them and then… more gunshots.
This is when I lost it. Then the scenario was over.
This lasted for about 45 minutes. It was highly emotional and I did not realize the thoughts that were possible in the “after shock” of this experience.

But so much about this was good! I am glad I could experience this. It was needed. It was hard and I am sill processing much of this. But I have been blessed to have this brought into reality for me, and realize some of the reactions that I had during and after it that has helped me “learn me” a bit more.

All I could do at the end of this was pray. Pray that the Lord would prepare my heart further for me to be prepared in any season to handle this. And by handle I mean be honoring to Him, to not question his ability to protect, or to question why, but embrace Him and look to him for strength, wisdom, and comfort. This is my prayer!

Crazy day. I know I did not express my feelings well or explain all that happened, but I am having a hard time figuring it all out myself right now.

Can you please pray that the Lord speaks to me and I take all that he is trying to show me through this?

Thank you family! I love you and miss you all more today. I am blessed to be Alive, and serving my Lord so freely! May we try not to take that for granted!

CoNfLiCt!!!!

So I missed yesterday, and quite honestly the way I feel and how much information and thinking I have done in the past two days, I feel like missing today’s entry as well. But I won’t for your sake!

So our topic for the past two days has been conflict! Yes! Such a comfortable subject isn’t it! Well it has been very insightful, yet I am feeling very very tired from the thought process involved in such a complex issue. I had no idea how many types; styles, personalities, and issues are involved in distinguishing between healthy conflict and unhealthy conflict!

Do you know that 80% of missionaries do not return to the same field of service because of conflict? No, not with the Nationals, but with none other than their other teammates, fellow Missionaries from the same culture!!! Wow! This brings yet another aspect of missions that really had not played out in my mind until now!

So that is what I have been learning and working through the past few days.

On another note, IT’S MY BIRTHDAY! Yes, I am yet one year older and well I am feeling pretty ok with it. I turned 26 and feeling a bit odd, yet happy and more content than I thought I would at this age! God is good, and I am looking so forward to my future with him in whatever endeavors he brings me to! So be happy with me!

I LOVE YOU ALL! Thanks for reading.

Round #2

So I am back from a wonderful weekend with the Kolb’s! It was a very nice break in the midst of the intense training of the past week. Now here I am back at the Training Center, ready to take on another week! Pray for me! This training is not exactly what I expected, and I mean that in a positive way for the most part. But it is stretching me to say the least.

So all is well with me. I think I am getting over an ear infection though. Praise God it is getting better! Oh yeah, for all my dear friends and family in Arizona…
I checked out the weather there and man you guys have it rough. I think the high here today was 85 degrees! I don’t think I should say that out loud…sorry! Well stay cool, and I will think of you all when I have to put on a sweatshirt to go outside in the evening! ;)

ok I am dine bragging! I know you all hate me now. I will go!

Do I really want to do this?????

Well today was hard, and very challenging. We were blessed to be able to hear many stories of missionaries on the field. Yet they were hard stories. Sad stories. Stories that hit home. That brought this journey into uncomfortable reality for me. I am definitely in a place of uncertainty right now. Thinking to myself, what if this happens to me? What if I am challenged in these ways? Will I make it? And by make it I mean, will I be used by God and not faulter and question his faithfulness and goodness in the midst of the struggle, in the midst of the fear. Yeah. It was a hard day!

Tomorrow is Friday and I will be leaving to go visit the Kolb’s (close friends that may as well be family) for the weekend. So I probably will not be updating this until Sunday night. (Just in case you care)

Thanks for reading, thanks for loving!

May 31st 2006...first day of training.

Well it was long day. I am tired and ready for bed. But it was cool too. We talked about cultural differences and value systems and the difference between them here and in other cultures. For example the speaker pulled two women up front and then told them he was going to ask a question, and all they need to do is answer it....
He then asked them " how much do you weigh?" ... oh man, that is just a bad question, well it got the ball rolling on how we can offend and be offended and it went deep and it was really uncomfortable at times...but good none the less. Then we did some role-play and evaluation of situation that we may encounter. So all in all a very good day of insight I would say!

Another step in this LONG Journey!

Well here I am in Colorado for the next 5 weeks. I am here for training. Multi cultural training and language acquisition training. Highly exciting... I know! But so far it looks like it will be a great time!
I arrived today at noon, and we start tomorrow with the training. I will let you know more as it occurs.
Personally I am struggling right now. Just with being here when I feel I should be there!!! I am in my Jesus’ arms, this I know. But I am feeling anxious. Please pray for my focus to be where I am instead of where I “feel” I should be! Thank you my family! I will update you when I can!

Hurting Inside

So this week has been very interesting for me! I have been experiencing a feeling that I have yet to feel unlit now. I feel a pain in my heart. A pain that hits hard every time I think about leaving. I feel like my heart is screaming, “stays here Jaycee!” But why? Why would that be even happening now? I have no doubt in my mind, heart, and soul that being a missionary is what Jesus has called me to be. I have no hesitation with following that because I am so sure…but the pain is still there!

I think about life when I have returned home from being away in the past and it makes my stomach turn. I can’t even tell you the feeling of disconnect that happens when I return from a time away from “home”.
The feeling that I have been forgotten. No, not forgotten as Jaycee, but forgotten as a part of “life” as we all know it to be happening!

I know this is unrealistic and absurd, I can’t help but think “life” here and now, the minute I leave, in some way pauses, stops, and waits for my return!

I expect my Nieces and Nephews to stay the same size, saying the same cute things, running into my arms when they see me saying “Aunt CECE!”
I expect my parents to look the same way.
I expect my dearest friends that I have turned to in times of need to still be so accessible and willing to drop every thing to be my friend.
I expect that all my friends will not make any new friends that I don’t know.
I expect my beautiful 8th grade girls that I mentor to stay in 8th grade dealing with the same issues, and me still having the honor of sharing life with them.
I expect all to stay the same and wait for me to return so we can get on with life again!

Man just writing that makes me laugh at the insanity of the thought, yet at the same time cry because I know.
I know all those expectations are not only unrealistic, the opposite of my expectation is reality! All of that will inevitably happen in my absence! And it hurts! It hurts so bad that my heart has been heavy and just plain different than ever before.

Something big is changing in my life, but it is transforming me spiritually as well!
I am leaving “home” as I know it. To go to a “home” that is unknown.
That is what has been hitting me at the core of my soul…
”HOME”
What is that? I am learning quickly that I really will never have a “home” if I make this move into the mission field. But something that I did not realize is that I am already home! I am home now as I sit in this country, state, and even house I grew up in, but I will be just as much at home in Latvia, in a City that I only know at a glimpse, and an apartment that…well, who knows! But I will be home. Even if I find myself in Africa, or the Middle East, or the moon, I will be home!

It is not about the place, it’s about the person!

I am at Home because Jesus lives in me, and more than that I LIVE IN JESUS! He is my home!
Wherever I go is where I want to be because He is there!

So getting back to the point of me spitting all this to you…the pain I am feeling has been good, and will be good! Something that I want to share with you really quick that just hit my heart when I read it…

He who goes out weeping,
carrying a seed to sow,
will return with songs of joy,
carrying sheaves with him.
Psalm 126:6

I am encouraged tonight as I write this! Yes I am still hurting, and will for some time. But I know that I have seeds to sow…and look forward to the joyful return, whenever that is wherever that is! All that matters is that it is IN JESUS that I go…and return!

Thanks for reading my random thoughts!

HURRY UP!!!.....and wait.

How do I even begin to express in word what I feel right now?!

I am here, in mesa Arizona, waiting….waiting for a miracle that I know is going to happen. Raising financial support is probably one of the most interesting, confusing, humbling, and awkward feeling I have yet to have in life!

Why can’t I just earn the money? It would be much easier! Ah, there I go, much easier, right! Easier to rely on my own ability than to rely on the uncertain timing of My Jesus’ provision! Oh, I have so much to learn, so many areas to grow! Can you pray for that?

So here I am with my first update.
I sent out my letters for supporters about two weeks ago, now it is time to wait to see what is in the plans of this crazy plan!

Something big mixed things up this past week. I have set a date! I am actually putting in on the line and going for it! To explain a bit… I have wrestled with God this past month and it has been very disorienting in so many ways, yet this time in the desert brought me to where I am right now. I have had many people come up to me in the past few months asking me when exactly will I be going to Latvia. I would always respond by saying, “well, I am not too sure, but I am hoping for the middle of July sometime, but that all depends on when God provides the means of getting there, so it could be July, or maybe 6 months, maybe 2 years, it is jus in Gods hands.” and yet this seems like a good stance, a good way of showing that I am willing to follow His plan, something really weird would happen when I would say it…every time! It was almost like I was not trusting God by saying it. This is hard to explain. But it is like when I would say July it seems unattainable, and almost irresponsible just because it is so close with such a large amount of money to raise, so then I would say 6 months and then all of a sudden I felt like I could trust God more with that statement, then even more when it came to saying two years!
Then it hit me I was not trusting him more with the longer time of raising money, I was doing exactly the opposite! I was putting more trust in the circumstances of this world and less in God with every statement of a further date. Of coarse god could provide the money anytime he wanted to, but in my feeble mind July was a Big step of faith, actually impossible if I am honest. Six months was definitely more attainable, just send out more letters, talk to more people, yeah it could happen in six months! Oh and two years, no doubt I would be gone before that! But it sounded so good, you know, to be so willing to stick it out and wait on the Lord!

COME ON JAYCEEE!!!! You are called to Latvia for cripes sake!

Funny thing is that something happened about a week ago that has put quite a spin on this whole thing. I was out having coffee with one of the high school students in the youth ministry at Red Mountain Community Church and we were discussing a lot of different things, mostly to do with missions and Gods unknown plan for our life’s and how we all just seem to want to something extraordinary in this life.
The subject of coarse aroused about Latvia. Ashleigh, the young lady I was meeting with mentioned that she was going with the high school group from RMCC to Latvia this summer and was SO excited. I asked here when she is planning on leaving and she said the middle of July. “Whoa, cool!” I said. Cause well that is when I am hoping to leave for Latvia myself…(God providing of coarse!)

“God Providing”

That was the key! It was like I was punched in the face! Jesus just spoke to my heart and convicted me to the core. He spoke and in my heart he asked me why am I such a chicken? Why don’t you just set a date and watch me provide?

Set a date and watch him provide? When I heard that in my heart, something exploded inside of me and my heart was racing and I got so excited/nervous at the same time and I knew it was Jesus speaking to my heart, I knew this was what he wanted!

All this being said, during my talk with Ashleigh she mentioned a need for a female adult leader…wait… “you need a leader, and I am planning on going at the same time, to the same place?” hold up! Jesus is up to something!

So I am going! I have set a date, and now I am going to watch him provide! And now I am going to lead a group of amazing student to the place I love and the people who Jesus’ heart inside me has fallen in love with!!!! Wow!

Isn’t our Jesus the coolest?!! Yeah!