Videos!

While checking out a friend's blogsite I found two videos of a church who has done work in both the DR & Haiti. Please check out these videos!
The first video is taken in Ounanmenthe, Haiti- where I will be traveling to on a regular basis. You may catch a glimpse or two of Pastor Arcenio Jiminez preaching.

The second video is of a place that is very close to my heart. It is a church pouring the foundation for Moises' church. I had the amazing privledge to visit this church when I was in the DR in 2005. This pic. is me and a boy from Moises' church. Pastor Moises is truly one of the most humble and kind men you could ever meet.

Both of these videos will help give you a glimpse of what life in Haiti might look like and of some of things a short-term team might do on a trip with G.O. Ministries.
Hope you enjoy them!
Peace-
Jackie

KINGDOM OF ONENESS: HAITI (copy and paste the link in your browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a0cv7Hr3eYM

BUILDING THE CHURCH: (copy and paste the link in your browser)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x2lMxNK5RVs&mode=related&search=

The Way I See It

The Way I See it #196
"The greatest leader is a servant.
Don't be a boss. Be a real leader,
Be a servant leader. A servant leader
is a winner.
Even when he loses everything,
Even when he loses his life, a servant
leaders wins it all."
Pat Williams (Senior VP of the Orlando Magic)

I went to my dad's this morning to help him re-seal his slate floor. While we were waiting for it to dry we drove on over to the good ol' starbucks for a little coffee break. The words above were written on my coffee cup. I love to read them. Every now and then there is one that I can't help but wonder if the person who wrote it was a follower of Jesus. A servant of Jesus. That's what I want to be. A servant leader for Jesus Christ in the Dominican Republic and Haiti. I am less concerned about what I will be doing, how many people I will lead to Christ, and so on. I am more concerned with keeping my eyes on Jesus, my faith rooted and strengthened in Him, my obedience to His voice. Listening.

"The man who loves his life will lose it, while the man who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me"
John 12:25-26

Merry Merry Christmas!

"Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows" James 1:17

I had an amazing Christmas. After church on Sunday (Christmas eve) I came home to my mom's house and we opened our presents with my mom, Hank (stepdad), JD, Kyle & Matt (stepbrothers) and had dinner. My mom made ham, twice baked potatoes, fruit salad, and homemade cheesecake... seriously. She even bought me blackberries (my personal favorite when it comes to cheesecake toppings:)! After dinner we went to South Hills for their eveing service. It was so great to just go to church and worship. Honestly, sometimes I don't get a lot of time to do that on Sundays at Soulstice so it was just a nice time to just worship. After an amazing day I crawled into bed and passed out!






Christmas morning I awoke at 7am and my brother and I grabbed our presents for my dad's and we headed to his house. We opened presents there with my dad, Liz (his wife), and Gavyn (my step brother). Around 2pm, 2 uncles and 6 cousins came over for dinner. We had to rematch at Scrabble, from our Thanksgiving Tourney! I lost! But- I did find out I had scrabble on my phone... I am such an addict! Aaron, my cousin brought over his slurpee maker, and I helped make the kids slurpees- woohoo!!! It was a relaxing, fun, joyous day and after it was all over I had no trouble going to bed!

So, what did I get?

I am very very blessed to have parents and family who truly try to provide for me. It was amazing and I couldn't have asked for anything more.

-Digital Camera (Canon Powershot A630)- to take lots of pics. in the DR & Haiti with
-Portable DVD Player- to watch movies on my down time in the DR & Haiti
-My favorite bath stuff (Eucalyptus & Spearmint)
-Gift cards (Best buy, Family Christian Center, Amazon, Galleria Mall)
-Hiking/ Traveling backpack (This thing is huge- but so cool) for the DR & Haiti
(Are you sensing a theme?)
-Scarves for when I am in KY
-And of course new holiday pajamas from Victoria Secret!

I am really excited about all the things I got that will be of great use as I go off to the DR! I hope my gifts can be a blessing to others when I am down there! I hope you all had as fantastic of a Christmas as I did and you know the joy and peace that can only come from our Savior! I love you guys.

Peace-
Jackie

So Let Your Glory Shine Around

Psalm 63:2 "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory."
2 Corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight"
Last night I spent hours individually folding each letter and brochure, carefully putting each envelope together full of informaton on G.O. Ministries and my new role while watching Dave Matthews live in concert on TV. It really was a great night. If you know me- you know I love me some Dave Matthews!
Amongst all the joy that is surrounding this new journey I have to admit- I am scared. I am scared for this next step... FUNDRAISING! But I am also hopeful and trusting. I am trusting in the LORD. Brook reminded me the other day- THE LORD IS YOUR PROVIDER. (Thanks Brook- I needed that) So I say with as much faith and trust as I can muster... The LORD is my provider.
Jesus- I promise to give you all of the glory and honor and praise. For you alone are my provider. My strength. My joy.
I read this tonight in my quiet time- It is a book called "Jesus Calling" it is a Daily Devo., I picked up in LaGrange, KY on my initial meeting with G.O. I had no idea when I randomly picked it up that it was about enjoying the Peace of His presence and was written by a missionary... (I like God's sense of humor)
Anyways- here's what I read tonight:
"My plan for your life is unfolding before you. Sometimes the road you are traveling seems closed, or it opens up so painfully slowly that you must hold yourself back. Then when the time is right, the way before you suddenly clears- though no effort of your own. What you have longed for and worked for I present to you freely, as pure gift. You feel awed by the ease with which I operate in the world, and you glimpse My Power and My Glory.
Do not fear your weakness, for it is the stage on which My Power and Glory perform most brilliantly. As you persevere along the path I have prepared for you, depending on my strength to sustain you, expect to see miracles- and you will. Miracles are not always visible to the naked eye, but those who live by faith can see them clearly. Living by faith, rather than sight, enables you to see My Glory."

Psalm 63:2 "I have seen you in the sanctuary and beheld your power and your glory."
2 Corinthians 5:7 "We live by faith, not by sight"
So, today I pray for the Lord to make miracles happen fully anticipating giving him all of the glory. I am so weak, and so very dependant upon God. And it greatly comforts me to know that in my weakness he is perfect and strong, and glorious. I said a prayer over my letters and for those of you that would receive them. May God richly bless you, and may you give him the glory he deserves. May we together, live by faith, depending on the strength of our LORD.
Peace-
Jackie

How about a little prayer

This is a picture taken today after Alex called me up on stage... We announced to the church that I am going into full-time missions in the Dominican Republic & Haiti. Here he was praying for me... Priceless... (Thanks Ben and Laura for taking pics!!)

The Ball is a Rollin'

Well today we told the church that I would be moving to the DR & Haiti. I wasn't sure how I was going to make it through the morning. But- God is so good- and I was amazed by the outpour of the Soulstice Community! I am so blessed to be a part of such a loving and generous church.

The real challenge was not telling "big church," but telling the kids. I asked them if they knew what a missionary was and explained to them how we are all missionaries called by God to tell people about Jesus. The kids were so cute- Logan and Landon shared how the told a boy in the gym "who believed in science" about Jesus and after they told this boy they said "so... do you believe in Jesus?" and the little boy replied yes! I love how uninhibited kids are when it comes to sharing their faith. How I long for a child-like faith that is completely absent of fear & disbelief!

Anyway, I explained to them that God calls people all over the world, maybe it is to a neighborhood where you live, your school, a different state and sometimes a different country, and God was calling me to a different country. I showed them a video I had when I went on a short-term trip in October and they got to see the kids I worked with and places I worked at. It was so powerful... the kids were in full ideas mode as they began coming up with ways they were going to partner with me once I was gone!!! They even prayed for me and the kids in the DR & Haiti! I love my life!!

All glory to God for the wonderful ways HE brings glory to His name... we are simply here for the journey. I thank God for all the ways he has carried me, changed, molded, and shaped me for the work he will lead me in and all the wonderful people he has put into my life...
Peace-
Jackie

T R U S T

Psalm 37:4-6
4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
5 Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him and he will do this:
6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn, the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

It's verses like this that totally set me right. It is like a re-centering... re-focusing... re-setting of the switch. I drink in the words of the LORD and I suddenly feel whole. I feel at peace. The LORD is surely with me.

Tommorrow is a big day for me... Tommorrow my church family (Soulstice) will hear for the first time that God has definitely called me to the DR & Haiti. I have told a few close people and the response has been so humbling. But tommorrow Alex and I will stand together on the stage and break the news/ celebrate!!! I'm not so sure I will be able to make it through the morning. I will also be telling kid's church, which will surely be heart wrenching. Today I trust in the LORD, so tommorow he can carry me through. This is really happening!

Much too Much

These past two weeks have been a whirlwind of emotions for me. I find myself frequenting the rollercoaster of extreme emotions. There are days and hours where I am feeling truly on top of the world. I am about to begin living a dream I have felt God has been giving to me for quite some time, and other times I feel so incredibly low & like I am getting in way over my head!

I try to figure all of the details out myself, going over it and over it in my head, but then I am sit and I am quiet and a gentle voice reminds me of a verse that really gives me some peace: Proverbs 3:5-6 "Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight."

So with my shoulders back, and my head high I acknowledge the Lord, this is HIS dream for me, not my own. I trust in HIS promises for my future, promises to prosper and not to harm. He will make my path straight and clear & in HIS timimg he will reveal what I need to know. I am so grateful I can "let go" of all the junk I try so hard to hold onto... I am kind of a control freak!! But in all of my control freakishness- he still loves me & gently reminds me to trust in him...

My first post!

Well here we go... My first post on my new blog site! I suppose I will start with the purpose of all this. Many of you know that I went to the Dominican Republic on a missions trip in 2004. Ever since that trip I have felt a call to missions. In 2005 I returned to the DR, but I had the amazing opportunity to visit Haiti. It was while I was in Haiti (for only 4 hours) that I felt God capture my heart with his love for these people. I knew upon leaving Haiti that day that my life was to be forever changed.


When I returned to Las Vegas I hit the ground running as the Office Manager for a brand new church called Soulstice. I prayed a lot during that time about Haiti, but I knew it was not God's timing. My job at Soulstice consisted of pretty much everything "not pastoral" which meant all the office work, and there were only 3 of us on staff... it was a hard year! My passion was never Office work, but it was to see lost people come to know Christ as their Savior. Which meant, if office work was how I served God to accomlish those goals then office work it was.


After about a year, we were able to hire someone to take over my old job and I switched gears to run our Children's Ministry Program. It was an amazing experience and I have gotten to do all kinds of amazing things like take our kids to a local rescue mission,leading kids to Christ, watch movies with our church in the park, plan a fall festival and VBS's.


Amidst all of this, there was something missing. I knew I had to return to the DR and to Haiti. Last January (2006) I began to pray once again about going to Haiti full time, and I heard the Lord whisper Summer of 2007. I couldn't believe it. I thought I made it up. I told one person... just in case it really was God and not me :) I began to make plans to go on a short term mission trip by myself to the DR and Haiti with GO Ministries. And my prayer leading up to the trip was that the Lord would reveal his timing to me. I raised over $4000 for my trip an was able to spend over 3000 on Bibles for Haiti! God is sooooo good!!


While I was in the DR & Haiti the Lord confirmed it was time to pursue this dream. G.O. Ministries mainly works in the DR & they are expanding to Haiti, but at this point they only have the means to take people there for a day. I found out that the expansion would soon be ready and they were going to be able to bring teams there for weeks at at time beginning Summer 2007!!! What?? It's true!! I couldn't believe it. I continued to pray and the LORD continued to open doors.


I came home and met with my Pastor. I felt it was important to be open and honest from the very beginning. And with my Pastor's support I began to make plans to visit the President of G.O. Ministries in Kentucky.


3 weeks later I was standing in Brook's office knowing that my future was about to change,and by the end of our meeting I knew this was it! I came home and prayed about it for a few days and again met with my pastor and with his full support, I am now making plans to begin fundraising and join the G.O. Ministries staff in Haiti!


This is going to require a lot of prayer, preperation, and the LORD's leading... I am a little nervous because this is such a new situation. I have a lot of support to raise and a small timeline. I need to be in the Dominican by May 1st, so I can learn the ropes before all the summer teams arrive. They can sometimes have 3-4 teams there at the same time and it takes every person on staff to help coordinate these teams. They do all kids of things like preaching, medical clinics, teaching soccer to kids, vbs, drama ministries, worship, construction, and so much more. Here at Soulstice, there will be a lot to do in the next couple of months to help ease the transition, and I will be fund raising as well! So I am trusting in God to provide for me, give me energy, and His peace. We serve a mighty God, and he can meet every one of our needs without draining his resources or missing one step! I am so excited and plan to keep everyone updated with all that is happening. Please pray for the beginning of a new journey!