Jesus

Hi everyone!

If we’re not friends on Facebook and you didn’t hear – I was fully funded for my outreach!!! Thank you again to everyone who helped make this possible. I am beyond grateful. God is such a faithful provider and your generosity showed me this. THANK YOU!!

I am writing to you from Ireland!

I am absolutely loving it here.

We have jumped straight into it and started plugging into churches, homeless ministries, doing projects to help different christian ministries with the renovation of their buildings and, street evangelism.

There are so many homeless people in this city, at almost every corner there is a homeless person sitting and begging but we are finding that they are super open to talking – they’re just lonely. We talked to a guy that opened up about having depression and just feeling totally hopeless. We got to tell him that there is a God who loves him and we got to pray for him! It was so awesome. His name is Kevin – send up quick prayer for his salvation!

Praying for people on the streets in Dublin

We also get to help out at this amazing homeless ministry called Lighthouse.

It is such a blessed ministry and sees so much fruit – it is so cool we get the opportunity to serve there. I got to hang out with a homeless couple, Dan and Jenny for about an hour and a half. They opened up to me that they were both heroin addicts and I just got to sit and listen and chat with them. It was so amazing. They told me that at all the other food shelters they’ve been to, they always felt judged and like no one valued them or even wanted to talk to them. They said that at Lighthouse they always feel loved and valued – so in other words, they can see Jesus in us! I so believe that God is moving in their lives and I am excited to get to know them more.

PLEASE pray for them as Jenny is starting Teen Challenge, a Christian rehabilitation center and Dan is going to a different treatment center in about a week. Pray for the power of God to move in their lives and that they would be healed from all addiction and more importantly, know that God loves them and has a plan for them.

Feeding the homeless , and looking fab in a hair net.

It is seriously such a blessing to be here. I have found it pretty stretching as a leader but I feel the Lord guiding me all throughout the day, which is such a beautiful thing. I have never done something so challenging and rewarding. I feel so close to Him and it gives me strength and courage as a leader when things get hectic. God is teaching me to have grace with my students as they are still learning and growing so much and this is a whole new thing for them.

My prayer is that God’s word would be so engraved on my heart that I would live and love out of a place of truly understanding the way God lives and loves.

I just want to be the woman that God wants me to be and in every stretching moment, I feel refinement happening – taking steps closer to understanding what it means to be a woman of peace and love. Praise God for the strength that truly only comes from Him. He is way too good.

PRAYER POINTS:

– Pray for unity in my team – that we would show Christ by the way we love one another.

– Pray for me – for wisdom, humility and the Lord’s guidance. I want to lead like Jesus would.

– Pray that we would see tremendous fruit in the relationships we are building.

Thank you all for taking the time to read my updates – it means so much to me.

Please let me know how I can be praying for you.

God bless!

Jasmine

Hi everyone! January 2016

I am so sorry for my lack of updating you guys. It was very difficult to find time and a computer to write these updates in Cambodia as I don’t have a laptop of my own.

Cambodia was so amazing and fulfilling. The people were so beautiful and loving!

My team and I had a number of different ministries including English teaching, various different children’s ministries, evangelism on the streets of Battambang and in the slums and helping out at different churches every Sunday encouraging other believers. We explored different parts of Cambodia also, including Seim Reip and some remote villages about 2 hours away from where we live and God has taught me so much along the way!

First arriving in Cambodia was a little bit crazy – everything there is so different than anything I’ve ever experienced before and I was quite shocked. I knew I loved Cambodia so much (the joy of the people is infectious!) but it took about two weeks to really start to settle in. I had to learn to really rely on God and although I seemed so far away from home as I just leaned in on Him more and more, I began to find my comfort and rest in Him. He’s the best Father and wants to be a home for us – we just need to trust and let Him!

“Those who live in the shelter of the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty. This I declare about the Lord: He alone is my refuge and my place of safety; He is my God and I trust Him.” – Psalm 91v1-2

This passage became so real for me in those first few weeks and I am so thankful that in every situation He has the opportunity to teach us something new. Go God!!!

After settling in more I really started to fall in love with Cambodia. I have become very good friends with a Khmer* girl, Sopheak and on the back of her moped (the transportation of choice in Cambodia) she took me on adventures around Battambang and the surrounding area and I loved experiencing true Khmer culture. Spicy (VERY spicy) noodles from a slightly dodgy looking side of the road food stand, 400 stairs leading up to ancient temple ruins on the top of a mountain, eating fried rat, snake, cricket and grasshoppers, market places with stenches I wouldn’t wish upon my worst enemy and sooo much more. It was all so much fun! There are so many crazy things to do and I did my best to try it all. Praise the Lord that I never caught some strange illness or parasite after eating so much dodgy side of the road food and drinking unfiltered water with my Khmer friends. Food is such a way of bonding with people and such a good way to experience culture and I knew I couldn’t turn down food offered to me because it “wasn’t up to standard”, instead I just prayed that God would strengthen my immune system and He was faithful!

One of the best experiences for my team and I was staying in a remote village for a week. There was very little access to electricity, no running water, no beds – true Khmer style! It was some of the most fun I’ve ever had! I had to put away my “western princess tiara” for that week and really rough it but it was so worth it! During that week we stayed at a tiny church and during the days we did house visits in surrounding villages.

It was a crazy week! We saw 10 salvations, baptized 10 people and saw a handful of healing’s! So, so, so cool! I was praying for one lady whose eye sight was very poor and as I was praying I specifically prayed for colour to be restored and when she opened her eyes she began to touch her grandsons bright green jumper and said that she’d never seen colour like that before! It was so amazing! God is so amazing!

Through everything I just fell so much more in love with Jesus. He taught me that my role or job is not to see hundreds of healings and salvations but my role is just to be His child and have fun with Holy Spirit on the adventures He takes me on. From that place of personal encounter, my prayer is that God will use me to help lead others to a place of encounter with Him – this is my prayer forever and in whatever journey He takes me on next.

DTS has been so life changing and looking back on it now makes me feel so incredibly thankful. GOD IS SO GOOD! I am so confident in His faithfulness and He is so tangible and real in my everyday life. I am determined not to let DTS be something I look back on in years to come and think, “I was so happy and close to Jesus then”, NO! DTS has launched me into the rest of my life – His love is all that I need and as I have now finished DTS I will still be seeking after knowing Him and the ways of His heart more. I am so excited to do the rest of my life with Jesus!!!

Thank you again to everyone who has supported me financially through this. Not only did your gift of money enable me to go on this incredible journey and learn more and draw closer to God but it ALWAYS came in such perfect timing – I would be freaking out one day because I needed a certain amount of money in and then the next day I would get a call from my mum saying that the exact amount of money had been donated! Crazy! God used your generosity to teach me so much about His Father-heart, so thank you, thank you, thank you for listening to Him and being obedient. It is more appreciated than you know!

And thank you so much for supporting me through prayer. I can truly tell you that I always felt the effects of your prayers on the other side. You are all so awesome!!!

If you EVER need prayer for anything please let me know and I will pray for you or we could catch up for coffee and pray together! I would love that so much.