in Kona
Hi again!
I’m still working on getting those posts up from NYC, Japan and Cambodia. Thanks for your patience, they’ll be posted soon! But in the mean time, just wanted to let you all know that we have found a place to stay in Kona. God is so faithful and always provides. We are more convinced than ever that his goodness has no end. We’ll spend our first few nights here with some friends who have been incredibly generous, and then we’ll be renting a room in a home for the rest of the month of March. And it looks like in April we’ll move back into the place we used to share with the Byrds…we are excited and so thankful! Thank you for taking the time to pray with us and trust the Lord for his provision.
Much love, J+j
Technical Difficulties
Hey, just want to let you know that while we’ve been traveling I’ve had some challenges with updating the blog. Sorry about that! I think it’s mainly the internet that’s the problem. I have posts from our time in New York City and Japan and also Cambodia (where we are at the moment) but might not be able to post them for a few more days. Stay tuned, and we will get more posted soon.
We are loving our time visiting all the DTS outreach teams and we are so encouraged to see what God is doing all around the world. It has been an incredible time! Right now we are in Cambodia, having lots of fun with the team here and riding bikes all around. We head back to Kona soon, which we are excited about. Please join us in praying for us to find the place to stay that would be best for us upon our return to Kona. We’re confident that God will lead us, He always does! Thank you for all your love and support!
Love, j+J
Cairo, Egypt
Oh my goodness, how we loved Cairo, Egypt. We arrived there early in the morning on a one-day layover before getting to South Sudan. Our Canadian friends, Josh and Janelle, live in Cairo so they met us at our hotel and took us out for the day. They even arranged a driver to take us all around. The driver, Hanna, was a great guy who we became fast friends with. He’d actually been the driver for one of our teams that had been in Egypt right before we got there (we were bummed to miss them by only a couple days!). We went to a place called Garbage City and were given a tour of the Cave Church. Then we ate delicious Egyptian food. Seriously, some of the best food we’ve eaten on this trip was in Cairo. Oh my gosh, I’m drooling a little bit just thinking about it. Ok, so, then we went on a boat (I think its called a faluka) on the Nile River which was amazing. Next we went out for Egyptian tea, then stopped by Josh and Janelle’s apartment and prayed for each other. It was a real blessing. Hanna took us back to our hotel and we flew to South Sudan early the next morning.
Then we had our wonderful visit to South Sudan (which you can read about below), and on our way back we had a layover in Cairo again. Johnny had booked us a really nice hotel for our second time through Cairo because he figured we’d be pretty weary after traveling from Yei. I’m so thankful he did that! We needed some good rest. We arrived later than we had planned because our flight was late, but the hotel staff was gracious enough to give us a very late check out the next day. We went to our room and got squeaky clean again (I don’t know if a shower has ever felt that luxurious), we ordered some food, watched some TV, and slept so deeply. The next morning we woke up and went to the most remarkable breakfast I have ever had in my life. Whoa. It was really, really good. A little later on we met up with Josh and Janelle again, they came to our hotel to hang out and then we all went out for dinner. Again…the food…words just can’t explain. Sorry. I’m salivating again. I think everyone should go to Egypt just to experience the food. After we filled up on delicious things we headed back to the hotel, packed up, and went to the airport for our late night flight that would take us to our next destination…NYC. We hope to see Cairo again sometime soon!
Pastoral Visit #2 South Sudan
J+j with the South Sudan team
(below-Johnny with the base leader,
Augustine, in Yei)
After our amazing time in South Africa we headed to see our next DTS outreach team, led by Esther Rich and Lindsay Cartensen, in South Sudan. This country was formerly part of Sudan but is now independent; it actually just became a nation in July 2011. We were excited to be routed through Cairo, Egypt on our way there. We have both wanted to see Egypt for a long time. Our layover there was only a day on the way in and a day on the way out, but we enjoyed it so much! I think I’ll have to write another post just about Cairo because we loved it that much. Stay tuned for more.
Anyhow, traveling to Yei, South Sudan was an adventure at every turn. We landed in Jubba, the capitol and it was SO hot. Our communication with the team had been sporadic since they don’t have much internet access there, so we weren’t sure if someone would be at the airport to meet us. Little did we know that our first hurdle would actually be at immigration before we even entered the country. In December we had been issued visas from the embassy in Washington DC but when we arrived in Jubba on February 1st the immigration officer said that our visas were not valid and we needed to buy new ones. It’s quite a long story, so ask Johnny to tell you more about it sometime, but to sum up I’ll just say that we had to pay a good chunk of change in order to get new visas and then we were allowed to enter the country. Big sigh of relief.
Once we grabbed our luggage and made our way out we realized that no one had come to meet us, and we only had vague instructions about how to get to the taxis that would take us to Yei (where the team is staying, 100 miles away). Thankfully (seriously, only by God’s grace) we had made a friend on the flight. Nicholas, from England, helped get us to the taxis and his friends helped us arrange a price. Our drive to Yei was far from boring. Again, a long story that we’d love to tell you if you ever want to hear! To summarize: nearly 20 people packed into the van, 100 miles of dirt road, countless pot holes and bumps, 5 hours of driving, and one failed brake. Yes, it’s true, a couple hours into the trip we had to pull over and the driver discovered that his front left brake was done for. Somehow he MacGyver-ed some sort of solution and we carried on driving. We reached the team late that evening, and it was so good to see them.
Since our travel took quite a while to get to Yei we only had three full days with them. It was such a great time, but it went by so fast. In short, the team is flourishing. They are staying on a YWAM base (very different from Kona, though…think squatty potties, bucket showers, very little electricity) and there are surrounding villages nearby. They live in mud huts. And they love everything about it! Seriously, they are so full of joy, and they aren’t complaining about their rustic conditions at all. They really love the people of South Sudan and they are serving and loving that nation in every way they can think of. A few of them were trained in Kona to build a rain catchment tank, so they are building one for the base. They are gathering people in the villages for Bible Studies, sharing the love of Jesus in town, and a few weeks ago they got to run a youth camp. It was incredible to see what they are a part of. Johnny and I were so proud of them all.
One more story from our time in South Sudan that would be worth telling is the saga of our departure from Jubba. I’m not going to share all the details here but if you ever want to hear the story, just say, “Jubba airport” and we will tell you all about it. Let’s just say we were so thankful that we actually made it to Cairo that night!
our shower stall, we’d fill up a bucket of water at the well and bring it here for our shower
jenni with the South Sudan
leaders, Esther and Lindsay
Community Transformations, South Africa
Johnny’s sister Beth and her husband Jeff (and their three boys, Elijah, Carter, and ‘Riah) live in Cape Town, South Africa and we stayed with them while we were there visiting our Community Transformations DTS outreach team. Jeff and Beth and a group of friends are pioneering a few different initiatives in the nearby community, their main focus is the people of Masiphumelele (we call it “Masi” for short, it is the same place where we have a DTS team currently doing outreach, and it’s the same area where Johnny and I led a team about 4 years ago). Here is a rundown of just a few of the things that are going on there!
False Bay Hospital
South Africa has very different health care structure and standards than the states, and shortly after arriving in Cape Town, my friends Debbi and Hannah found out that the nearby hospital offers free care to expectant mothers. The only problem is that there is such a high volume of women who need this support but very limited resources for them. One morning a week the hospital offers free appointments for these ladies. Many of them get there very early in the morning, wait for hours, and never see a doctor. They are all ages, many of them are teenage girls. So Debbi and Hannah go there on that particular morning each week and get to know the ladies, whoever God highlights to them. I was able to go with them once while I was in Cape Town, and Hannah and I got to pray for a girl named Charity. We felt like there wasn’t much we could offer her, but it’s so evident that prayer moves God’s heart and so we believe our prayers had an impact on her, and on the precious baby she is expecting!
Discipleship and Bible Studies
Our friends in Cape Town just continue to meet people, share the love of Jesus with them, and invite them to learn more about living life as a disciple of Christ. Through relationship, they disciple new followers of Jesus and include them in lots of community gatherings. It was amazing to watch so many of our friends meet with local people, grow in friendship with them, read Bible stories with them, pray with them, and show them what it looks like to walk like Jesus.
Community Eats
A few of the crew who moved to Cape Town with Jeff and Beth are ridiculously skilled in the kitchen. They inspire me. They have started a blog that features the recipes from meals that they share as a community (and step by step “how-to” details). Their intentions are to begin training people in Masi, equipping them with skills to feed their families nutritious and affordable meals. Check it out!
Scrubs
Bethany, and her friends Isaac and Debbi Aho (who are originally from the states but moved to Cape Town with Jeff and Beth last year) are in the process of launching a line of designer scrubs. Yes, that’s right, hospital scrubs for nurses and doctors that will actually look flattering on them and will be made from high quality materials. They are currently refining their design, looking for the fabrics they want to use, and building a team of skillful sewers. The sewers will be people from Masi who will be provided with job training to teach them the trade of sewing. They’ll be paid for their work making the scrubs. It’s an amazing way to create jobs for people in the midst of tough economical circumstances. And the Aho’s are looking for buyers in the states who will order these scrubs and use them in their hospitals. Join us in praying for this initiative!
Here are a few photos of their progress (click for larger image)
More from South Africa
Four years ago when Johnny and I led an outreach team to South Africa we met a young guy named James who had recently moved to Masiphumelele. Johnny got to know him, his story, how he had moved there from Malawi, and he also led him to Jesus. Throughout our time there in 2008, Johnny met with James regularly, really pouring into him, and they became great friends. Over time, their contact became sparse and we didn’t know how James was doing but we continued to pray for him. Johnny returned to Masi in 2011 for a short trip with Jeff and then again in 2012 with me. Both times Johnny was so encouraged to find that James was still living his life for Jesus! James is now married and he and his wife have two children. We got to spend some time with them while we were in South Africa and it was a major blessing. God is so faithful.
Here’s a photo of Johnny and James.
Pastoral Visit #1 South Africa
We currently have 9 outreach teams from the Community Transformations DTS in 8 locations all over the world: Cambodia, Japan, Nepal, Jordan, New York City, South Sudan, Mozambique, and South Africa. It has been an amazing privilege to travel around the globe and visit them! Johnny and I will visit 6 teams, and our friend Steve Schallert will visit the other 3.
We began by visiting our team in Masiphumelele, South Africa, led by Steven Conant and Miriam Steiner. We spent almost the entire month of January there, and we were able to spend time with friends and family that also live and serve in that area. Our time with the team was amazing, and they are all thriving. They live in a black community, the people there are Xhosa, and I am pretty sure the team represents the entire population of white people who live in the township. Sometimes when one of them walks by, the local kids point and say, “Mazungu! Mazungu!” which is the Xhosa word for, “white people.” It is hard to miss them anytime they go anywhere.
They are getting to know local people everyday, sharing with them about the love of Jesus. They pray for anyone who wants prayer, and they constantly have neighborhood kids in their home. It’s so evident that they are shining the light of Jesus into every corner of that community. We are so proud of them! During our time there we had a few opportunities to just gather and worship the Lord together.
Here are some photos of our time with them!
(Click on photo for larger image)
We Are in Japan
Hi Everyone!
Just want to say hello from Tokyo. I am going to be posting a few updates here, but it might be confusing because they will be from previous weeks before I get caught up and am able to post what is current. I just have so many things to write about from South Africa, South Sudan, Cairo, and New York City that I feel like I need to post some stories from those places first. So, come back over the next few days to read about what we’ve been up to!!
with LOVE from Japan, 
J+j
(with Mika on the train in Tokyo)
A Day Documented: South Africa
Sorry I haven’t posted anything in, uh, forever. We have been full speed ahead for quite some time while leading this DTS, and I slacked on the blogging. We are in South Africa now, and I’ve had some more down time lately. Hence, I am able to post something new here!
We are staying with our family here and having a fantastic time. Johnny’s sister, Bethany, opened her home to us. She and her husband Jeff and their three sons live in a great house along with three of their friends, Jake, Hannah, and Kirsten. I wanted to document one of my days here in this community, to give people a glimpse of what it’s like, so I brought my camera around with me all day. On this particular morning I woke up just before the sun…
Morning lights. Best time of the day.
Quiet moments in the early morning
On the way to Elijah's school- Carter and Riah in their pj's
carpooling, a wild ride
The drive to Elijah's school in Kammetjie is really nice
Tobago Way
back at home, baking bread
Johnny with Steve, Di, and baby Margot in our friend Jake's car, in Masi to visit the team
Masi! This is where our team is living.
Our FAVORITE market. Stopped by after we visited the team.
we love fresh, local produce
back at the house, time for lunch
a lunch worthy of documentation
My sandwich=really, really good
out and about running errands and me meeting girls for one on ones...love those cheeks
We love Carter boy!
later that afternoon, Johnny skyping Jason in the middle east
A very documentable dinner...chicken, sweet potatoes, salad
gathering to eat
brothers!
Family dinner
Well, that pretty much wraps up our day. I hope you enjoyed getting a little peek into what it has been like for us here so far.
We send you our love from South Africa! J+j
Kona Moped Rentals! I just launched a site!
Kona Moped Rentals
Just thought you’d like to know….
After the last couple years of renting mopeds out on the side, I just launched a website to draw some business from the Ironman even that will happen out here next month! Thought you guys might like to check it out at www.konamopedrentals.com!
So far it’s been fun for me to work on this mini-business – it’s a change of pace from my day-to-day stuff and I love working to maintain the bikes and tinkering! This is a turn toward a bit more of a serious business model, so we’ll se how it goes! In the meantime, let me know what you think of the site, follow it on twitter, and tell your buddies!
(PS. I rent to anyone at the UofN at a much reduced rate – the posted rates on the website are for the public, which I haven’t rented to much before! So, if you’re from the UofN, call me and we can work something else out!)