A Ripple

Okay, so its a "Hey Tricia, I am going to speak to you through Disney movies" kind of month and I have absolutely no problem with that. While in Tallinn with the first American team that arrived for their mini training I became really sick. My stomach was so bloated that I looked pregnant and nothing would get rid of it. Then the pain started... waves of it. It was definitely one of the most excruciating feelings I have e

ver felt. In an attempt to ease my mind of the hurt I began to watch Pocahontas. Mother Willow speaks to Pocahontas and John Smith about their about to be quarreling cultures and creates ripples in the water by dipping her vines. John Smith asks "What about them?" and Mother Willow's response is: "So small at first but look how they grow. But someone has to start them."

"How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can they preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How Beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'" Romans 10:14&15

This is my prayer for all of my brothers and sisters in Christ tonight.

Start the ripple.

Start the revival.

Camp Mode

IT'S HERE!

I'M HERE!

BACK IN KURESSAARE!!

Camp felt like a dream the first day, I couldn't believe I was seeing all of those familiar faces again. It felt like the 11 months in between this time and the last time I saw them flew by.

This year camp is different. Due to multiple things that didn't go according to our plans we are hosting a "city" style camp. Instead of English Camp its more relational. We stay on the kids' home turf. During the day we play games, do activities, go to the local beach, etc. We eat at least a meal a day with everyone from camp. Then, at night, we do main sessions where the stories about God are told. After main session we break into small groups then hang out some more until it gets dark.... at midnight. Haha

40 KIDS CAME THE FIRST NIGHT plus some other people from the church!

30+ the second night!

Old friends AND new friends... new friends EVERY day!

Two weeks before the camp all of us were slightly panicked when registration for camp was still in the single digits. We started messaging kids like crazy trying to encourage their participation but due to the economy a lot of kids couldn't afford it this year. For those of you that don't know, Estonia switched from their own independent currency, Kroons, to the Euro. With this change an increase in price has also come about. Well, after talking and praying about it we were all led to the "city" style camp which would cater to more kids and kids' needs in general. English Camp just wasn't in God's plan this year for Kuressaare. He knew city camp would be bigger.

Early last year I wrote a post about being graceful in a time of panic; the way a deer always look graceful even when running from a car that almost hit it. I talked about how, as believers, we should be able to do the same: MAINTAIN GRACE. Well, I actually got to LIVE in a situation where our plans were far from ideal and where we had to depend on God. He gave us such peace about the situation and we all remained graceful, through him, in a time of panic.

My team is a blessing.

This "city" camp is a blessing.

Thank you God for showing us the perfectness of YOUR plans especially when we choose to follow you, putting our plans aside.

Renewed.

UNTangled

Man, its been a blog week already and its only Tuesday. Well, I already watched the movie Tangled twice. IT IS SO GOOD! And its even better when you look at it from a Christian perspective. Josh brought this to my attention about the most important song in the movie, the song above. The song talks about living in a fog, not really seeing the light. And the part of the song says "And its warm and real and bright and the world has somehow shifted. All at once, everything is different now that I see you, Now that I see you." So much truth. Life before God is not necessarily a life of darkness but its definitely not filled with light. The song can be viewed as the instant where a person's heart is changed and they accept Christ into their life; the moment they start seeing clearly. Once they see him.

But it doesn't end here. If you keep watching, the end scene mesmerized me. The princess, Rapunzel, had been stolen at infancy by a wicked and selfish woman who took advantage of the girl. In the last couple of minutes the girl returns, at the age of eighteen, to her parents, the king and queen. After being reunited it said "The kingdom rejoiced for the lost princess had returned." We do this when someone accepts Christ. We rejoice for our body has grown and our sister or brother is no longer lost. It also says "At last Rapunzel was home and she finally had a REAL family. She was a princess worth waiting for; beloved by all she led the kingdom with the grace and wisdom her parents did before her." I just loved what it said looking at it from a Godly perspective. She found a real family; we find real family in the body(family) of Christ. She was WORTH waiting for; God thinks all of us are worth it. She was beloved. We are His Beloved; He is ours. Then it goes even further by saying how she led her kingdom.... We are suppose to lead the body with the grace and wisdom of our father. Well, the grace and wisdom that it is possible for a person to show.

Disney just makes my heart so happy.

God makes my heart even happier when He uses small things like this to teach me.

Whoever said fairy tales aren't true... Well, I think you are a liar.

With Christ fairy tales were made possible.

I am living in mine.

Meet Betti

Well, this is my dear friend Betti! Isn't she gorgeous? AND you haven't even heard her voice yet. I will eventually get a video up sometime. But let me tell you something about Betti... She is one of the sweetest people I have ever met. Even when she speaks in Estonian I know she is speaking with the most tender and caring words possible. She loves serving the Lord and is definitely a rockstar in God's eyes when she is leading worship or just playing in her spare time. Plus, she is a great teacher. I had my first lesson with her yesterday... It was great. Encouragement flows from not only her lips but just from a simple smile flashing on her pretty face.

I love my intern team.

More to come!

And a Mystery it will Remain

Yesterday was just like every other typical day.

(Ignore that fact that most people aren't in Blestonia doing a missions internship)

But we were on the bus on the way to the office when this sweet older woman got onto the bus.

Let me tell you something... this woman was RAVISHING; grey hairs, wrinkles, etc.

Well, she tenderly grabbed my arm and began to speak in Estonian.

I simply smiled a big smile from cheek to cheek and politely said "Sorry, I don't understand"/

Welp, she unfortunately didnt speak English..

But she kept speaking in Estonian with a big smile on her face almost to the point of tears..

And then we had to get off.

Its like the story in John 8 about the adulterous woman.

Jesus bent down and wrote in the sand.

Gahh, sometimes I wish the bible would elaborate on that part.

BUT we just aren't suppose to know some things.

That gives us room to find peace in God and in our faith that we put in HIm.

When I think about it though...

I feel like nothing but encouragement or compliments came from the older woman's lips.

I felt so blessed afterwords.

And forever a mystery it will remain.

Prayer for Kuressaare

The camp that stole my heart last summer.

The camp was moved this year from the end of July to the end of June.

The American team can't come.

A lot of the kids from last year can't come because it was switched so late.

Some kids can't afford it.

Pray that God will provide for the kids that can't afford it.

Pray that God will bring who He wants to the camp.

Pray for the new relationships that will be made.

Pray that we do not get discouraged if the things don't go how we were planning.

Pray for God to work in HUGE ways.

I think He will.

Romance Me, Oh Lover of my Soul

A Widow's Might

Luke 21:1-4

I love this passage.

A widow giving her two mites, all she had, to the Lord.

(Sorry in advance Mom for mentioning it)

But thanks to Mere I think I might have figured out what I want a tattoo of.

Two Mites.

On both of my wrists.

One in almost perfect condition.

One eroded and weathered.

Of course, I haven't gotten them (Take a deep breath of relief Turd).

I am waiting to see what profession God actually ends up leading me to.

But I would get them on my wrists because I couldn't ignore them.

They would be a reminder to work hard.

When you are at your most joyous moments in life (the close to perfect condition)

or

In the biggest struggles of life, the storms (The weathered mite).

Plus, if you have read my other posts then you would know I grew up around coins.

My father and grandfather are Numismatists and own a coin store.

Multiple Meanings close to the heart.

BOOM.

Maybe one day.

Psalm 16:1-2

"I love the Lord because he hears my voice and prayer for mercy.

I will pray as long as I have breath."

Stormy Weather

Estonia has been storm central this week.

Its been rather enjoyable though, a good break from the heat.

In church this past Sunday in Tartu, Craig, an American

Missionary living here, gave the lesson about Matthew 8:23-27. He spoke about how the storm of life; about how just because there is a storm around us does not mean that there had to

be one internally. That was like a slap to the face. I guess you could say I had my own personal storm this past semester. I let the storm around me become one inside of me instantly. "You of little faith" was unfortunately something God could have said to me. Luckily, God is doing great things and providing opportunity to heal while here in Estonia.

Storms vary per person though, so now is where I ask that you

pray for two of my dear friends who I met through my Estonia experience last

year: Sam Sam and Bethany.

My prayer for them is that they believe with their hearts what Psalm 9:10 says about how the Lord never forsakes those who seek Him. That in the midst of chaos and situations that our minds cannot grasp understanding that we hold onto Him. That we choose to maintain light in our lives despite darknesses' attempts to invade our joy.

Meet Carolyn!

Another newly found friend from my prayer group in Malenovice.

Carolyn is is beautiful both on the inside and outside.

Her heart is clearly that of a servants.

She is serving in Czech this summer.

She is from Colorado and has a much larger family than mine, which is crazy awesome.

One thing Carolyn asked for prayer about is a group called Inner Varsity the she is involved with and that there is growth in the ministry!

Predestination

is honestly something I have never understood. So, I have committed to myself that I am going to research about the different views on it and become as knowledgeable as possibly on the topic. In the end, although it is only the beginning, I feel like I will come to the conclusion that maybe it is something we, as humans, were never meant to understand. My search has started by reading the bible, looking up calvinism, arminianism, etc., and by reading Love Wins.

I just want to be enlightened.

Meet Jimmy

Well, here we go.

This is the first of this years introductions for the people I meet.

This is Jimmy or James is his real name!

Jimmy was in my morning devotional prayer group while in Malenovice.

He is a fellow Josiah Venture intern serving in Poland for the summer.

He, like myself, served for two weeks last year on a temporary team and returned as intern this year after completely loving the work being done over here.

He has a great heart, makes people laugh, and is from California.

We totally bonded over raspberries.

Jimmy asked for prayer in terms of perseverance for when the summer gets tough.

He also asked for prayer in reference to guidance from God about if he should serve full time in the near future. Pray that God lets him focus on the tasks day by day this summer and when his summer service is completed that God makes it evident if full time missionary work is where Jimmy is suppose to be!

Write Me!

So I have the address of my summer apartment:

Jenny Djupsjobacka

Turu 29a20

50106 Tartu

ESTONIA

Keep it titled to Jenny

Write your information in the top left hand corner so I know its for me!

If you write me, I promise to write back!

Colossians 4:2-6

"Devote Yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful. And pray for us, too, that God may open a door for our message, so that we may proclaim the mystery of Christ, for which I am in Chains. Pray that I may proclaim it clearly, as I should. Be wise in the way you act towards outsiders; make the most of every opportunity. Let your conversation always be full of grace, seasoned with salt, so that you may know how to answer everyone."

Amen

G.R.A.C.E

God's

Riches

At

Christ's

Expense

Ephesians 1:7

Seated, Not Standing

Everytime I open up my laptop to blog about the information I am learning, my mind draws a blank. Because I cannot think of anything off of the top of my head? No, because there is TOO much going through my head. We open up the morning with a devotional followed by two lessons related to the components of the English Camps we will be hosting and wrapped up at the end of the day with the main study of Ephesians.

This morning Nate Hughes spoke about Ephesians 2:11-22. The past couple of nights Dave Patty, one of J.V.'s founders, has been speaking about where we were before Christ and who we are with Christ. Before Christ we were dead, disobedient, lost, alienated, and alone. Because of Christ we are holy, redeemed, blessed, chosen, blameless, sealed, predestined, forgiven, included in Christ, etc. We are deemed these things not because we actually earned them but because they were characteristics given to us from our Father. Verse Six goes to say "And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms." At this point we were given a visual of two chairs, one of which we are suppose to be seated. Dave talked about how we are seated there because of Christ and we can choose to turn from God but we are still always seated the same distance from God... right next to Him. So, now that you are with a little background the lesson of this morning: We are all seated on the same throne next to God. In saying this it is meant that we are all sharing the same seat; that we are all one body and never, ever alone. Nate then gave five places where there should be "profound difference" in our lifestyle.

1. Comparison/Inadequacy: Because we are one our gifts belong to our brothers/sisters just as their gifts are ours so celebration should be had instead of comparison.

2. Competition: In Christ, we are all winners in every situation.

3. Independence: We were built to work in cohesion. Romans 12 speaks of the church as one body with many members each functioning in a different way but when not in unison failure is the result. We have to depend on one another and need to learn how to embrace it just as we are completely dependent on God.

4. Opennes: Through Christ's security we can trust Him and our body with our vulnerability.

5. Distance: We are "seated corporately in Christ" so that protective barrier of distance that so many of us latch onto needs to be diminished.

Nate wrapped up the lesson by saying that in Christ these things should fade away. I know there is work that I can do in each of these areas as I am sure is the case for most of you as well.

End Note: In the bible most of the time Christ is with people and is rarely alone. Aren't we suppose to strive to be like Him?

Paint a Picture

Let me paint a picture of what I saw tonight.

A picture can't/wouldn't capture it so my hope is that words can do it a little more justice.

After training/dessert(Yes, we get rewarded with dessert after the main session every night. Deliciousness.) a few of our group members walked out on the balcony. Gah, I need to get pictures up of it. You would absolutely die of jealousy.

Okay, so look at the picture in the middle of the paragraph.

The small portion in the lower right hand corner of the hotel is where the balcony is. So, like I was saying, we go out after training. Training starts around 7 PM and by the time we got out there it was a little past 10. The sky is that in between. The sun is no longer visible but blackness has not yet taken over. A deep, rich, and royal navy blue, if you will. I wish I had a picture of

the view looking the opposite way.

Imagine endless rolling mountains that almost look like rippling waves. Well, at night, their outline is evident against the navy sky. The surrounding cities' buildings at this time are only noticeable due to the specks of light illuminating each of them. So, I stepped on this balcony, took in a deep breath of the cool refreshing mountain air, and a rush of giddy, joyful emotions overtook my spirit. Due to the air separating me from the scenery I was gazing into, the lights glistened gracefully in the night's peacefulness. It was a scene most girls dream about, especially growing up in the Disney Realm. I told Andrus it would be the perfect place to have a first dance after a wedding. God's intricately painted canvas right in front of me. Finally, I got my chance to bask in His glorious creation. And to think, this is only is Earthly masterpiece.

Armas

Or "Sweet" in Estonian.

Vahur, Riina, Betti, Andrus, and Innar are teaching us random words in phrases.

That in itself is sweet.

Plus, I didn't know what to title this blog post.

There is so much information flowing through training that I do not even know where to begin.

I think I am going to keep this one simple because I really want to go to sleep.

I have lied to you.

Yup, I said it.

But this lie was unintentional.

As we are sitting in the training room the first night for the Josiah Venture story they give the summer interns a few facts overall as the opening.

This post is just about the opening.

We were told the average percent of the populations in Eastern Europe that J.V. serves in of believers in 1%.

In my letters I wrote of how that is the case for Estonia as well.

Welp, it is a mere .3%

So, my dear friends, you can see how my heart was a little broken.

Good thing the facts are straight now.

The difference between nonbelievers (not in all cases, but in most) in the States and in Estonia is drastic. I feel as if hearing the good Word of God back home is so much easier. The resources are abundant; with churches around every corner. I also feel that those resources are taken for granted because many Americans know of God even if they choose not to KNOW Him. Here, these resources are lacking. Most Estonians haven't chosen to ignore Him or believe in something else but, they do not have enough sources for that light to be shed to them in further depth. I think this is why I love serving here so much. Although Estonians have shells that are much harder to crack than then average American, they have such a willingness and open heart when it comes to hearing about Jesus. So, when you put the two together how can it not tug at your heart? These great and beautiful people want to know more they just need the resources whether it be in the building of churches, the printing of bibles, the serving of people, etc. If it doesn't break your heart I am sure it breaks mine enough for the two of us.

Goodnight my friends.

Another long and intense, yet wonderful day here in Malenovice, Czech Republic awaits.

Finally Here

We landed safely.

The past two days were spent in Prague and Poland.

We had an almost nonstop Amazing Race from the moment we landed.

Lessons Learned in the Czech Republic:

1. Finding Nemo lied. Fish are NOT your friend... they are solely food. Just ask the one who were biting my blister during my FISH pedicure.

2. Harry Potter make trains look way cooler than they really are. Maybe it was only because we rode it for five hours in the middle of the night... our only chance to sleep the second night.

3. Sketchy people are even sketchier when you cannot understand them.

4. Gamecocks fans are EVERYWHERE. Chase helped a sister out during our Kofola challenge.

5. Whoever invented the Stairmaster definitely did so after visiting Eastern Europe.

6. Czech has Burger King, McDonalds, Subway, TGIFridays, Starbucks, and Hooters.

7. Meredith secretly wants to be Avatar.

8. I have never been this physically, mentally, and emotionally exhausted in such a short period of time. NOT KIDDING.

9. God, you are too funny.

10. Its okay not to shower for four days.