Hi friends! I wanted to take this opportunity to share what God is doing in my life and I also want to thank you for joining me in this journey!
The past few months I have been pursuing an opportunity that will be taking me to a community in Kandern, Germany to live and grow with other believers as we build relationships with teens from all over the world. I have been accepted to be a missionary at Black Forest Academy which is an international Christian day and boarding school primarily serving missionary kids and their families. I will be a resident assistant in one of the school's dormitories and will have the privilege of living life alongside the students of BFA. My job will include doing so many different things throughout every day. I will be cooking, cleaning, planning and leading activities, helping with homework, taking kids on errands and doctor visits, going on weekend trips, and enjoying hanging out and relaxing in the dorm. I definitely won't be alone in all of this though! Each BFA dorm is led by a married couple who are the dorm parents and then two or three resident assistants who form each dorm staff team. This is a position that will require me to raise full financial support. Everyone at BFA raises their own support so that the cost for the families of the kids is kept low enough for them to be able to attend. If you want more info on how to pray or how to help partner with me financially you can go to my "How you can help" page. It will have prayer requests that I will keep updating and a link to my online giving form that will take you to Teach Beyond which is the organization that will be helping with training, managing support, and sending me to BFA.
The ministry at BFA is something that is near to my heart. I have spent the last 2 1/2 years working in a residential setting, caring for 12-19 year olds who were all in very different stages in life and with many who were working through some really tough issues. Growing up, my family and I had many situations with our neighbors where we had to choose whether to respond in anger and vengeance or to continually show them love and let them know we were praying for them regardless of how they treated us. During this time it was cemented in me that we were to show the love of Christ regardless of the circumstances that we were in. Show the love of Christ when we are treated well. Show it when we are treated badly. Be faithful to remind others the truths of the Gospel. Be faithful to share it with those who are confused, hurt, joyful, hopeful, despairing, or angry. Since Christ offered this kind of perseverance and devotion to me, I want others to know His love that doesn't fail. While we can do these things anywhere at anytime, I have loved striving to do these things the past few years while living in a house with a bunch of teenagers, living life together. Getting to work at BFA will combine many things that I have a heart for; being able to mentor missionary kids, being in another culture and learning about cultures from all over the world, residential ministry, being a missionary to missionaries, and working closely alongside other believers and being strengthened in the faith. So these are the things I am looking forward to starting in August 2017!
To wrap up, I recently discovered a song called "Find Me." It was a great reminder to me of what I want God (and others) to see when they interact with me. The chorus says:
"Find me grateful, find me thankful, find me on my knees
find me dreaming, find me singing, find me lost in your grace."
These things can be a real struggle for me sometimes but is a beautiful picture of what I should be asking God for. I titled this blog "Reasons to Sing- Jessica in Germany." This will help me to remember that I will always have a reason to rejoice, a reason to sing, to be grateful, and to be found praising God because I will never be without Him. I also want to record these reasons to sing for others to see what God does in my tiny corner of the world and to encourage others to seek Him wherever they are in life.
The ministry at BFA is something that is near to my heart. I have spent the last 2 1/2 years working in a residential setting, caring for 12-19 year olds who were all in very different stages in life and with many who were working through some really tough issues. Growing up, my family and I had many situations with our neighbors where we had to choose whether to respond in anger and vengeance or to continually show them love and let them know we were praying for them regardless of how they treated us. During this time it was cemented in me that we were to show the love of Christ regardless of the circumstances that we were in. Show the love of Christ when we are treated well. Show it when we are treated badly. Be faithful to remind others the truths of the Gospel. Be faithful to share it with those who are confused, hurt, joyful, hopeful, despairing, or angry. Since Christ offered this kind of perseverance and devotion to me, I want others to know His love that doesn't fail. While we can do these things anywhere at anytime, I have loved striving to do these things the past few years while living in a house with a bunch of teenagers, living life together. Getting to work at BFA will combine many things that I have a heart for; being able to mentor missionary kids, being in another culture and learning about cultures from all over the world, residential ministry, being a missionary to missionaries, and working closely alongside other believers and being strengthened in the faith. So these are the things I am looking forward to starting in August 2017!
To wrap up, I recently discovered a song called "Find Me." It was a great reminder to me of what I want God (and others) to see when they interact with me. The chorus says:
"Find me grateful, find me thankful, find me on my knees
find me dreaming, find me singing, find me lost in your grace."
These things can be a real struggle for me sometimes but is a beautiful picture of what I should be asking God for. I titled this blog "Reasons to Sing- Jessica in Germany." This will help me to remember that I will always have a reason to rejoice, a reason to sing, to be grateful, and to be found praising God because I will never be without Him. I also want to record these reasons to sing for others to see what God does in my tiny corner of the world and to encourage others to seek Him wherever they are in life.
Whatever God does in this time, whoever he brings into my life, and wherever He takes me I want to devote all of this to Him. I want to learn to love Him above all else and to walk with Him as He is everything I need. My sin still runs deep but by His grace He will make His name known among the nations through His people who are nowhere near perfect.
Thanks again for joining me!
