While I wouldn’t say that not seeing any snakes sums up my African experience…it sure does make me feel a whole lot better!  We have successfully finished our ministry in Africa and are currently in Bangkok, Thailand getting ready for three months of ministry in Southeast Asia.

So what can I say to sum up my three-month journey in Africa?  How could I even begin to sum up my incredible experiences on this wonderful continent?  I think the one word I would use would be Powerful.  I saw God power displayed in Africa like never before.

In Kenya, God broke my heart for the street kids – orphans who had no home and no hope.  Armed with a few hundred dollars that three of us girls raised (mostly donated by our wonderful Israeli mother, Tirza!) we set out to cloth and feed what we thought was going to be only about 15 children.  After a long and stressful trip to the grocery store, Martha, Ashley and I arrived at the church…along with about 50 children.  Knowing we had only purchased things for about a dozen of these precious children, we were at a loss on what to do.  So what would any good World Racer do in that situation?  Impromptu VBS!  Needless to say, God demonstrated his power and his love for the street kids as every single one of them went away with full hands.

As I reached Uganda I had no idea for the amazing month that I was in for. Uganda has been one of my favorite months on the race so far.  It was here that I became very away of the spiritual climates of places, and literally saw people operating under the worship of demons.  I watched God continually demonstrate his power as He set his children free!  One of my favorite memories was going into the schools, many of which were held outside under the trees for lack of buildings.  Here, as I presented the Gospel message, I watched as entire schools of children bowed their heads and accepted God as the Lord of their life.  Talk about powerful!

Arriving in Tanzania, I was exhausted to say the least.  We ran hard in Uganda, and saw God appear like never before.  The Lord displayed his power to me in a much different way this month.  We were blessed with wonderful contacts that provided us with a lot of time to rest and to spend time with God.  I learned what it means to truly rest in the Lord and to be quiet before him.  It was difficult for me at first to not be in 24/7 ministries, but the Lord spoke powerfully to me this month.  He spoke both to me, and through the incredible community around me.   I am so thankful that God provided me with time to rest in Him and learn to hear his voice more clearly, especially as we set out for our last leg of the Race.

God was so present and powerful in Africa.  I saw him perform many miracles and melt countless hearts with his love…hearts including my own.  I watched as things I had only read about happened right in front of my eyes…. things that I always hoped were possible, but never believed could happen in my life.  God is so powerful and so loving!!  I am now in Asia trying to shift gears and get acclimated to an entirely new culture, but I still find myself rejoicing over the wonderful things God did in Africa, and looking forward to the incredible things he will do in Asia!

“And the King will put the sheep on his right and the goats on his left. Then the King will say to those on his right, Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me. I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.” ~Matthew 25:34-36

As I was walking back to the clinic where we stay, I passed by children who don’t have shoes or pants…little boys no older than 10 begging for their next meal…sick people who cannot afford a doctor…lonely hearts without any hope.

And then it hit me…

Simply, Jesus is all around me!

I think so often we Christians like to think the Bible is more confusing than it actually is. We like to think that what the Bible actually says isn’t what it actually means. We do think so we don’t actually have to do anything about the great need that surrounds us. We use phrases like, “Don’t give a man a fish, teach him to fish” as our mantra. Our great excuse. But Jesus didn’t say, “When I was naked, you taught me how to sew.” Dear friends, there is such a great need all around us. Jesus even told his disciples that the poor we will always have among us. They are God’s heart. The lost, the poor, the sick, the broken – They are God’s heartbeat. They are Jesus.

God is calling us to a simple life. When we see someone hungry – feed them. Visit those in prison. Give clothes to people who don’t have them. How can we ever profess to love Jesus if we are unwilling to get out of our comfortable lives and clothe ourselves with the scent of poverty?

So I set out to begin living life with the eyes of helping Jesus. I never want him to say that I didn’t give him food when he was hungry. Here in Bungoma, the need is great – at times it seems overwhelming, but God is greater! So Martha, Ashley and I set our minds to always stop for the one…to look at everyone with the eyes of Christ…to not be so consumed with schedules that we pass someone by…and to seek God in every situation. We have been trying to live this way for only a week, but we have such incredible Kingdom stories so far!! I cannot wait to share these experiences with you.

May we each strive to live the Simple Life. May we not be so focused on our own plans for the day that we miss what God is leading us to. May we be willing to sacrifice our time, our money, our possessions for Jesus. There is always someone who needs the Jesus in us. May we be available so Kingdom can come on this earth!

This week we got the chance to go to Ephesus, Turkey.  Yes, Ephesus, like the book of Ephesians, Ephesus.  Don’t worry; I had no idea it was in Turkey either.  Anyway, today I had two of the most powerful revelations that I have had on the trip thus far.  The first began when my team did one of the coolest things I have ever done.  We were sitting in the ruins of the main theater in Ephesus and decided to read the book of Ephesians out loud.  We were the only ones in the theater; so we decided to each take a turn reading a chapter out loud.  And I was up first.  To be honest, I was a little nervous.  I was scared that someone would see us and we would get kicked out.  Even though Turkey is not a closed country, it is still very unpopular to be Christian and to preach about Jesus.  I feared getting in trouble with the authorities; and that was my problem, I feared man.  Timidly, I stepped down from the theater seats onto the main stage. 

Hands slightly shaking I turned to Ephesians 1 and began to preach.  It was an incredible moment for me.  Thoughts of Paul standing on the same spot preaching to the Ephesians thousands of years ago flooded my mind as I read.  I envisioned the theater seats full of Jews and Gentiles, listening on the edge of their seats as they heard the good news of Jesus Christ for the first time.  As we each took our turn on the stage, various tour groups made their way through the theater, each silently listening to the words being spoken.  We got to preach where so many spiritual giants had stood before us.  The best part is, we just did what we wanted to do in that moment.  We didn’t set out to preach on the street corner.  We didn’t go searching for converts or beating people with the Bible.  The moment was truly organic.  Who knows how many seeds were planted that day.  I was amazed that people actually sat, listened, and some even applauded as the Gospel was read out loud in a 99.7% Muslim country.  I learned that day to never fear the acts of man.  Instead, my calling is to just fall more in love with the Lord daily and allow him to move me when he wants me to move, and for me to rest and be when he wants to love on me.  It truly is wonderful that the Lord is calling us to just be still and know that He is God.

While we were sitting in the theater I began thinking about Paul’s visit to Ephesus as recorded in Acts.  Acts 19 says that while he was there, Paul basically went in front of the temple of Artemis and declared that “gods made my human hands are no gods at all”.  It angered the people so much that they all gathered in the theater and for 2 hours yelled, “Great is Artemis, god of the Ephesians!”

Let me provide a little background…During this time, Ephesus was one of the biggest cities in the world.  It was a port city, and was therefore was home to many different types of people.  Artemis, their god was one of the most worshiped gods in all of Asia, as well as the rest of the world.  The influence of the Ephesians stretched far indeed.  The temple built for Artemis is one of the ancient wonders of the world today.  This town was completely devoted to their god.  Paul and his companions caused such an uproar that the crowd was ready to kill him.

Paul’s friends prevented him from going into the theater, for fear of his life, but they stood boldly before the crowd.

This story really stuck me hard.  Paul and his friends basically, in today’s equivalent, walked up to the Hagia Sofia and yelled that Allah is no god at all and that Jesus is the only true God.  If they did that today, they would probably be killed instantly…but that thought never worried the Early Church.

I wonder if today we hold on too dearly to our own safety.

I wonder if we think quantity is greater than quality and that we will be able to “reach more people” if we keep on living.

I wonder what would have happened if Jesus thought that way?

I think sometimes we wait and do not do radical things like Paul because we don’t “get a vision from God” to do it.  So we keep on waiting for an absolution that may never come.  Hasn’t he already told us in his word that we will be persecuted on account of his name?

Scripture tells us that the Ephesians believed they were the guardian of the temple of one of the greatest gods in all of Asia.  Artemis was the most powerful and most worshiped god.  They loved their god so dearly that they yelled adoration for Artemis for two hours. That seems like an impenetrable religion.  Yet Paul kept tilling the hard ground.  He may never have seen any results….

And yet, No one worships Artemis anymore….

I wonder if during the riots Paul saw any hearts changed.

I wonder if he was concerned with his ruining his witness in those moments.

I wonder if he was worried about offending people.

It seems as though he merely preached the Word and let God do the rest.  Too often I think I am scared to speak about Jesus because I fear it will hinder the fragile relationship that I am building with non-Christians.

But who am I to get in the way of God?

If He is passionately pursuing hearts like I think he is, I doubt I am going to be able to prevent it.  Maybe God is just waiting for me to boldly tell people about him, and then he will move in hearts.  John 6 says that the Father draws people to Jesus.

So are we called today to till the ground through consistent friendships?

Or are we still called to preach boldly everywhere we go like the Early Church did?

The whisper still remains…

No one worships Artemis anymore.

The room was packed with Super Heores.

Capes were flowing.

Powers were flying.

Villains were shaking in their boots.

A fun time was had by all.

Our guys went over and above the call of duty and made this year’s next blockbuster hit, which I now include for your viewing pleasure.

Super Heroes and Villians from Jennifer Mitchell on Vimeo.

The next day we found out that our squad would be changing some.  We found out that our new squad leaders are Mike & Denise Murphy and Tamica Sloan would be our new squad leaders.  This meant that our teams would be switching around a lot.  The move was bitter sweet for me.  Team Petra is no more, but I am still so blessed to still have Martha, Tim and Joel on my team, but I am no longer going to be with three other parts of my heart.

Lauren and Danielle are now part of team Fanatic who is ministering in Istanbul this month.

I will miss laughing with these girls till all hours of the morning

Liz is part of a new team, team Sofia,

which is in Easter Turkey studying a people group that has never seen Americans before.

I am going to miss the constant knowledge and whit that exudes from this wonderful girl.

Team Petra’s last official family picture.

Even though it is hard being away from my 3 other sisters,

I am BEYOND excited about the two AMAZING new girls that I get to be on a team with for the rest of our Race.

Let me introduce you:

Meet Ashley.  This girls is absolutely the most genuine and giving girl I have ever met.  Not to mention she is hilarious.

She also has an unusual love for honey, oreos and Lost.

Needless to say, we were instant friends.

And this is Lindsay.  Lindsay is by far the funniest girl I have ever met (which for me to say is definitely saying something).

She is also the wisest and most discerning woman I have ever been around.

I have so much to learn from her and am so excited to spend a year with her.

Needless to say, I am mildly obsessed with her, and I can’t wait for you to be as well.

So now we are six…and out of the ashes arises….Team Phoenix…

Which we feel is a very appropriate name for all of us.  I mean, we do all have a firey side.

Not to mention, Phoenix tears heal people…

This month has been one of the most trying months for me so far.   It has been wonderful, yet very tough at the same time.  This month our teams were given the assignment of Asking The Lord (ATL) about which country we should go to next.  We were supposed to be in Egypt this month, however, we were not able to get our whole squad to the Middle East until December.  So Petra Asked the Lord and we felt him calling us to Croatia.  We went with Kingdom Unity and arrived in Osijek, Croatia with no place to stay and no contacts.  We were blessed to find a church that was willing to house us for a night, so we all packed into their youth center.  The next day we learned that another church about 3 hours away was in need of a small team for a week.  So Petra and Kingdom Unity decided to merge and then split up again, so I was with Tim, Liz and Lauren from Petra and Matt, Heather and Lauren Williamson from Kingdom Unity.  We worked at a small church for the most wonderful old couple who are so in love with God.  It was wonderful to get to paint, cook and serve them.  It was a great week for us.

We went back to Osijek and joined up with the others who had been doing youth ministry for the week.  We all went to Pula next, a beautiful coastal city on the Adriatic Sea.  Even though our teams were in the same location, the squad leaders felt that we should continue to be separated.  So I ended up the same team, but Liz and Tim were traded for Tamica and Joel.  So we had our new teams, and then set out to find contacts and build relationships with the people of Pula.   This part of the month was hardest for me because I did not have a tangible ministry to work on.  Each day we were not sure about what we were doing until we were actually doing it.

The first expectation I learned to lay down was my expectations of having the same 6 people around me for a year.  Petra had just begun to act like a family, and then we were all separated.  Being apart from them helped me see how much I was relying on them for support and comfort.  I was blessed with so many new and wonderful relationships because of the separation, and I am so thankful that we were able to do that.  I learned a lot about leaning on those around me, whether they are on my official team or not.  I also learned to lay down my expectation of the race in general.  Coming on the race I thought I would either have a clear ministry objective for the day, or would be given an entire day free to ask the Lord what he wanted us to do for the day and then do it.  This month was neither, and it was hard for me to adjust to that.  Instead, I learned to be very flexible and stay in the Spirit at all times.  We had to be ready at a moments notice to give testimonies, pray, or speak life into someone.  There were not many moments that we had “off” (as if Christians ever really have an off day).  Because of this, I learned how to draw my strength from God alone and how to submit my will and all of my desires to him, no matter what.

While this month was a difficult transition for me, I am thankful for it and excited about the next steps!  Right now I am on a train back to Osijek then on to a smaller city.  They split our teams up again and I am with Danielle and Lauren Williamson is our leader.  Our entire objective for the next 5 days is simply Ask the Lord and follow his leading.  I am really looking forward to what he is going to lead us in!  I am so thankful for the hard lessons that I learned this month, and I look forward to our next step of ministry.

May we all continue to lay our expectations down, and in return allow the Lord to move freely in our lives.

~ Jennifer .

Oh, and, speaking of expectations, I guess I should have laid down my expectation of only going to 11 countries a long time ago.  It’s only month 3 and we’ve already been to 6 countries (Ireland, Northern Ireland, Romania, Hungary, Croatia and Serbia for those who are counting).  We had the opportunity to go to Serbia for a day, and here are some highlights from our trip.  You can view the whole album HERE.

God totally has a way of bringing things full circle…and I love it!  We ended our month in Romania on a wonderful (yet very tearful) note.  I miss the Stoica family greatly.  They really made a big impact on my life.  I updated all of my fun pictures from Romania on my facebook, which you can see HERE.

I also uploaded my photography on my website, HERE.

Here’s a snapshot of a few of my favs.

From Romania we rode a bus to Brashov, Romania where we met up with 3 other World Race Squads and tons of staff for the Awakening conference.  We had 4 days of Solid teaching from Andrew Shearman and Seth Barnes and absolutly amazing worship.  I will for sure be blogging all about that later this week.  For now, I only have time for a quick update.  After the conference, we jumped a train to Budapest, Hungary with Croatia as our destination.  We were not sure what city we were supposed to be going to in Croatia, so we decided to find cheap lodging and stay in Hungary and pray until we heard where we were to go next.  I still can’t believe we got to spend 2 days in Budapest.  I went there when I was in high school with my church.  It was my first over-seas missions trip.  I honestly never thought that I would be back in Budapest.  I love how God brings things full circle!!  We were supposed to be in Egypt this month, and now I find myself in one of the most beautiful cities in the world!  Praise God!!  When I was first in Budapest, my team worked with a YWAM base.  We did lots of construction on a coffee shop they had.  So, I decided that I wanted to search all of Budapest until I found that small coffee shop on the corner of some street I vaguely remember from 7 years ago.  I honestly never thought I would find it, but through the Lord’s leading, we were able to find the building!!  It was Sunday night at like 7, so we didn’t think anyone would be there, but I thought it was worth ringing the bell.  To my surprise, someone answered the door!  A YWAM student welcomed us in, gave us a tour and invited us back the next night for worship.  Petra, along with Kingdom Unity, went to worship with all of the YWAM DTS students.  It was amazing to be able to worship with them and pour life into them.  I still can’t believe I was in the same coffee shop that I worked in 7 years before.  I love the Lord so much!!  I love how he brings things to completion, and how he sets up divine appointments!  I was able to connect with a wonderful girl from my church back home.  She had just started the DTS School, so I got to speak with and pray for her.  I am very excited about her amazing journey and the Kingdom that she is bringing in Budapest.  I love that the Lord is moving and stiring in his people all around the world.

We made it into Croatia, and through the Lord’s leading, we are now in a youth center in the middle of a beautiful city, working with the youth of the city.  I’ll post more about this ministry later.  For now, enjoy my trip back into time in Budapest!! The first picture is of my in 2004 working in the coffee.  The second is what the room looks like now!  Love you all!!

I also have some exciting news! Our original race route had us going to Egypt next, however that is not going to work out.  So as of right now we are Asking the Lord for our next month of ministry.  Each team is spending the next two weeks searching after the Lord’s will and listening for his voice.  AIM has a few contacts that we may meet up with, but many of us will be praying and following the Lord’s leading completely.  I am very excited about this next step!  All we know is that we will be in Eastern Europe somewhere.  From there we were supposed to go to Jordan in November, but it’s looking we will be headed to Turkey instead!  From there we will hopefully still be heading to Israel in December! I hope that this is the case!!  Please be in prayer for us this month as we learn in to God’s voice.

Also a quick update about support, I still have about $4,000 left to raise.  My next deadline is November 1st, for which I need $1000 more and then the finial deadline is January 1st for the rest of the amount.  I thank you all so much for all of your wonderful help and sacrifices in getting me on the field.  I am SOOO excited about the ministry God is doing here and through all of your gifts.  Be blessed knowing that He is up to great things.  Ok, without any further delay, I present a snapshot of my life in Romania so far:

This past Sunday I had the absolute honor of speaking with the wonderful people of Talking Rock First Baptist about missions.  This was my first time speaking before a congregation that I did not know.  I was a little nervous, to say the least.  While I was sharing my heart about missions, I felt the Lord speaking to me that I would not be a stranger to speaking before crowds of people.  This thought began to terrify me, all I could think was – I’m not ready, and I don’t have anything to say.  However, God’s peace came over me and I heard him whisper, “Good, I don’t want you to say anything.  Let me speak through you.”  The pastor and the congregation of Talking Rock were so gracious and kind to me.  I have never felt such encouragement from people that I had not known before.  My wonderful Aunt Janice set up the speaking engagement for me, and I could not be more grateful to her.  She has been a huge support in this adventure, and I am so blessed to have her.  Her daughter, Christy, has also been a great encouragement to me.  She has a powerful blog, saturated with scripture and messages of support.  You can check out her blog HERE.

I really felt like this opportunity was the beginning of something big for me.  I enjoyed sharing my heart for missions and for those around the world.  I spoke about Philip and the Ethiopian and how “missions” moments are ready to happen everywhere, we just have to be listening and obedient.  After the service, a quote came to mind that I felt was so true in my life – “There came a time when the risk to remain tight in the bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom” ~ Anais Nin.  Sunday I began growing, and I am looking forward to the growth that will happen on the field.  I know at times it will be painful, but in the end it will be worth the risk.

In other news, the Photo Contest for missions will be ending in a few days.  You can view all of the portfolios HERE and my personal pictures HERE.

I am really excited about the new look and feel for this blog.  I want to say a huge thanks to my friend Chris who has helped me come up with this site.  I also have my friend Eric to thank for the wonderful header.  Eric is the visionary behind Creating Color, a website full of stories about people who are bringing new life to a black and white world.

May we all be attentive to the Lord this week as we look for ways to make ordinary meetings miraculous, and as we take the risk to blossom.