Johnny and Jenni » Uncategorized

Cairo, Egypt

jennigillespie — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 08:09:40 +0000

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!

Here’s Hailey! and the September Staff family

jennigillespie — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 23:40:40 +0000

As we get ready for the DTS in Kona this September, we find ourselves surrounded by amazing friends who will be staffing with us. It’s a rich blessing from the Lord. Kinda like the way you’d feel back in the days of high school when you showed up to your biology class on the first day of school and found out that all your favorite friends were in the same class with you. Also, fun to mention that we have a staff team with representatives from 6 nations: Australia, Jamaica, United Kingdom, Denmark, Canada, and the USA. That’s really cool.
Our friend Hailey Bland, from Texas, is a part of this team. We’ve known her since 2007 when she was fresh out of high school and came to Kona for her DTS. Johnny and I were on staff, and her school was the first generation of Community Transformations. It’s really fun to have that history together. Earlier this year, Hailey and I took the School of Photography (SOP) together, here in Kona, and we began talking about her coming on staff for the Comm Trans DTS. We were thrilled when she decided to come on board (that’s an understatement- we felt like we had just been given first pick in the NFL draft). We’re beyond excited with the opportunity to run alongside friends like her. To go visit Hailey’s website, click here.

And if you want to get to know more of our staff, go watch the “Meet the Staff” videos we’ve been posting (Hailey has been the one working on these- filming, directing, and editing!).

More news from Huntington

jennigillespie — Thu, 25 Aug 2011 02:16:42 +0000

As I type this we are flying over miles of the Pacific Ocean, headed for home. We’ll be back in Kona in just a couple hours. Our time in Orange County was so amazing. Life-changing. Formative. Exciting. Challenging. We spent just one week there, it flew by, but so much happened in the span of 7 days.
In Huntington we were accompanied by over 100 Circuit Riders from Kona, and then another 120 staff and students from a YWAM base in Denver, Colorado. We slept on the floors of churches, or in motor homes, and a few families took some of us into their homes for this short outreach. We also have nearly 40 friends who have committed to staying in Orange County for 6 months or more, to continue more of what we’ve been doing there.
Every morning we’d get up and have breakfast, then everyone would come together at a Calvary Chapel church called the Refuge. We’d have a time of hanging out, some worship, and then share stories about what we’d seen God do in people’s hearts. In the afternoons we all went to areas throughout Orange County (one of the main spots was Huntington Beach) and meet people, hear their stories, share about Jesus, pray for them, etc… Then each evening we gathered in a large tent across the street from the beach and invited people to come worship with us and hear the good news.
One of our first days there, Johnny and a couple friends form Denver met a group of young guys who were currently homeless. When he started sharing with them about Jesus they got really angry and refuted everything Johnny and his friends said. Two of them walked away but one of them stayed and even let Johnny pray for him. We didn’t see them make a decision to follow Christ, but Johnny continued to pray for them throughout the day. Apparently, a lot of other YWAMers talked to them tat different points in the day, and they got invited to the tent by a few different people. They recognized that God was trying to tell them something, so they actually came to the tent and that night all three of them gave their lives to Jesus! One of them really wanted to continue learning and going deeper with God so he met up with Johnny everyday, and even went around with him and told others about Jesus. This young guy came to the tent every night and let the Lord do so much in his heart. It was really a gift to us that we got to be part of it.
Well, even though we’re headed back to Kona there are still a bunch of people in Orange County continuing with the outreach, so please be praying!
So much love, J+j

94 days, and counting

jennigillespie — Mon, 27 Jun 2011 23:33:24 +0000

It’s hard to believe that it’s only 94 days until the Community Transformations DTS begins here in Kona. I never understand how it happens but time seems to go by faster and faster. Regardless of how awe-inspiring I find this phenomenon, I can’t stop to ponder it for too long because the fall quarter is rapidly approaching.
So, where are we at in our preparation for September 29, 2011 (also known as Arrival Day for the Fall quarter in Kona)? We have accepted over 20 DTS students already, and anticipate accepting at least another 50. Whoa. Our Comm Trans staff team is growing, and at this point there’s about 14 of us ready to welcome these students in September. On July 7th we begin a 5-week seminar in Kona called ‘Circuit Riders’ and we have nearly every member of our Comm Trans 2011 staff enrolled to take this course with us. We have recently gotten to spend some time connecting with ‘Comm Trans-ers’ from back in the day, including Aria Arthur who met up with us for a speedy lunch in Corona del Mar while Johnny and I were in Orange County for a wedding. It was a great opportunity to hear about what God’s doing in people’s lives years after their 6-month DTS.

We consider it a tremendous privilege to be preparing to lead this DTS in the fall. It’s a dream for us to walk so closely with people and watch what God does as we surrender our lives fully to Him. What a thrill. Thank you for continuing to pray for us; we graciously ask that you would continue to pray over the next 94 days (and beyond, if you feel led).
Thank you, and be so blessed!

If you are looking for specific ways to pray, here are a few ideas:
〮pray that we would continue to have the right staff team come together
〮pray that we steward our time well; with other simultaneous responsibilities it has been
challenging to spend time preparing for the DTS this Fall
〮pray for God’s continued provision for us, our staff team, and our students preparing to come
〮pray that we will trust God in the midst of our housing transition (we may be moving by the Fall)
〮pray that we’ll have even deeper understanding of God’s love for us and others

Thank you… whoever you are!

jennigillespie — Tue, 17 May 2011 20:02:43 +0000

Here is a simple truth for you today: a magazine subscription is a gift that keeps on giving. Every month the recipient is reminded of the gift-giver’s thoughtfulness, and every month the recipient receives a new magazine with page after page of treasures to be uncovered. The gift-giver doesn’t even have to wrap the gift, or figure out how much postage is needed, it just appears, monthly, at the home of the person receiving the gift. What could be more perfect?
So, a couple years ago, as a very special gift, my mom gave me a subscription to my favorite magazine. I looked forward to a new one every month, and as soon as it arrived I would vigorously search through the pages for interesting recipes, home decoration ideas, even workouts. What a thrill! That subscription ended in January this year and I expected my beloved magazines to cease appearing each month. But somehow, someway… a new issue continues to show up in our mailbox every month. I don’t know if it’s a mistake in the magazine company’s system, or if some generous person has anonymously continued my subscription, but whatever the case, I am so blessed. I just got the May issue today, and was delightfully surprised. Again! Now I just have to restrain myself from flipping through it’s glossy pages until I’m done with work for the day. This might be tough.

Well, I’m sure you’d agree, I feel like I need to thank someone for this special treat! If you are the person who has arranged for this magazine to continue coming to me every month -or- if you work for the magazine and decided to keep my name on the distribution list for some miraculous reason, thank you… whoever you are! I am very grateful!

What we are up to…

jennigillespie — Sun, 15 May 2011 02:43:51 +0000

Writing to you on a very overcast afternoon here in Kona, sitting in the Ohana Court (our typical campus meeting place), and wondering if we might get a little rain. Just wanted to write a bit about what the two of us have been up to lately.

It has been a great Spring quarter here so far. In addition to serving as one of the three DTS Area Team leaders, Johnny has been leading the Student Services/DTS offices, and he is really making an impact there. He leads a team of about 10 staff who work on reading student applications, processing paperwork, and contacting prospective students to help them complete their applications. He has been helping this group set goals and attain them. It’s fun to see the team take on the challenge and work towards the goals they’ve set. The challenge this month: get 100 more students accepted into DTS and other schools here on our campus for the Summer and Fall quarters. They’re making incredible progress, and Johnny’s really been seeing the Lord’s guidance as he leads this crew. Also, he is the DTS Quarter Point Person, which means he is in a behind-the-scenes role, supporting the current DTS School leaders, making sure that Outreach leaders get trained well, and other similar things. He always does a really good job as Quarter Point. In his “spare time” he’s making preparations for the DTS we’ll be leading in Kona this September. So, yeah, he’s not bored.

Below- a photo of the Student Services crew, out to dinner to celebrate their progress

As for me, I’ve been doing a little bit of this and that. I’m often in the DTS office calling students, or reading student applications for the DTS we’ll be leading this September. I am working on forming our staff team for the Fall as well. God is already leading an amazing group of people to staff with us when we lead the Community Transformations DTS this September. This quarter I’m also meeting with a few young ladies weekly, meeting with each of them one-on-one to talk about their lives and learn together about authentic relationship with God. I’ve been leading a DTS small group too. Six students from the PhotoGenX DTS (a DTS that teaches photography skills along with the normal DTS topics), and I love them so much! I’ve also gotten an opportunity this past week to sub at the pre-school on our campus, so I’m hoping there will be more of that before the school year ends.Throw in a couple weekly group workouts that I lead, and I’d call that enough to keep a girl out of trouble

Thank you for your love and encouragement! Hope you are all well!
Love, j+J

Oh. My. Wow….

jennigillespie — Mon, 28 Feb 2011 04:39:56 +0000

…so sorry it has been OVER A MONTH since our last Blog update. That is just plain rude of us. The good news is that things have been exciting and fun and crazy-super-awesome for us, so that’s why we haven’t had lots of time to Blog lately. Johnny is actually traveling at this very moment, on a trip to South Africa and Mozambique with our brother-in-law, Jeff. He is having an incredible time! Our correspondence is somewhat limited, especially while he was in Mozambique, but I have gotten to hear short updates from him- almost like teasers- and I can’t wait to hear even more when he gets back this week. Please pray for him when you feel led.

So what have I been doing without my husband around at the moment? Well, besides missing him, I’ve been immersed in activity (see scattered photos for a glimpse of what my world has been like)! I had a couple friends here from the mainland (it was so great to see you Katie and Sarah! Love you lots!), I’ve been working on photo assignments left and right, my photography class even took a two-day trip around the island (a non-stop extravaganza of snapping photos every which way!), and I’ve had beach trips and a sleepover with Bethany and her boys (since her husband Jeff is away too!). So I’ve been knee-deep in good, clean fun.

In the mean time, please pray with me that Johnny’s trip will continue to be amazing. Pray that he’ll stay healthy, that he’ll be an encouragement to the teams he is visiting, that God will speak lots of things to him in this time, and that he’ll return home safely. Thank you so much!

We love you all very much and thank you for your endless support and encouragement!  Blessings…

jenni

Second Stop: Kansas City

jennigillespie — Mon, 03 Jan 2011 18:34:57 +0000

Happy New Year everybody, everywhere!
  Today we write to you from our second stop, Kansas City. It has been a wonderful few days here, spending time with family and friends, and also attending the One Thing conference. We arrived on Tuesday and each day has been terrific. We have been staying with Johnny’s cousin, Leslee, and her wonderful family. In our time here we’ve visited with three cousins, their spouses and kids, two aunts, an uncle, and the one-and-only Grandpa Gillespie. Throw in a couple trips to Jack Stack (really famous Kansas City BBQ restaurant) and Chipotle (possibly the most heavenly food this side of eternity) and you’ve got the makings of a very memorable, and delicious, trip.

Here we have Johnny, his Aunt Nell, and Grandpa Gillespie. Below that one is some more family snapshots!

Here are a couple shots from a trip to Jack Stack. Johnny enjoyed the rib sampler platter, a carnivore’s delight, with meat from several different four-legged creatures. He had to loosen his belt part way through the meal. I had soup! Yummy!

Our excitement only grew when we were reunited with some of our students from the call2all DTS, whom we hadn’t seen since September. Kellye, Nate, Vincent, Michelle, Cham, Jackie, Paul, and Vanessa (did I miss anyone?!) all joined us at the conference, as well as other good friends we’ve known from our time with YWAM. It was such a special time. We really loved being there, and it’s such a blessing to reconnect with friends. Check out a few more photos below. 

Now we are on our way to Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Should be a bit colder, but still very *epic* (that’s for you, Leslee!).   Love you all! Stay tuned for more travel adventures.

First Stop: Florida

jennigillespie — Tue, 28 Dec 2010 02:25:49 +0000

Johnny and I are on a bit of a tour right now, traveling to three destinations on the mainland over the next twelve days. Woo hoo! We flew out from Kona late on Christmas night, and are currently at our first stop: Florida. We’ll have just about a day-and-a-half here, visiting Johnny’s Grandma Hines (his mom’s mom- see really happy photo below). She lives half the year in Ohio, and the other half down here in Florida, just about an hour outside of Tampa.

We arrived late last night, and here is what we have done so far:
⋅ate some delicious home made soup
⋅visited for a while, and then went to bed
⋅ today we’ve spent some more time catching up (Johnny hadn’t seen this Grandma since 2004!)
⋅ shared photos
⋅ went out to lunch
⋅ called Johnny’s parents on Skype
⋅ drove around Zephyr Hills (the city she lives in)
⋅ went for a nice walk in the very crisp air
⋅ basically just hung out together for the afternoon & evening

Tomorrow morning we fly to Kansas City. Stay tuned for more adventures.

New Photos

jennigillespie — Sun, 24 Oct 2010 06:26:19 +0000

hi!

We just posted some new photos from our first week here in Australia. Take a look here!

Love, J+j