I love my staff!

This is the staff I've been working with in Kona!

(A break-down of all the staff in the top photo)
Samuel-from Finland, and one of my good friends from DTS last year
Kelsey-one of my beloved roomies, from Oregon
John (whom I like to call "Juan")-personally, my favorite staff member (but don't tell anyone)
Jenni- straight from San Jose, California
Clint-from Texas (but born in Indonesia!), who often goes on 6 mile runs with Juan
Jo-our other "Brit" and another dearly-loved roommate
Mo-born in Mali, Africa now from Seattle, Washington (and another good buddy from my DTS last fall)
Cliff-Kelsey's big brother and an aspiring entrepreneur
Cynthia-our Native-American-blooded sister from the Western side of the USA (various states including Arizona and California)

Last weekend, the YWAM base had a staff "Love Feast", which was a special dinner held in honor of all the people that work on campus...I think over 300 people were there! It was incredible. Of course, we like to take advantage of any opportunity to get dressed up, gussied up, done up, or decked out...and this night was no exception. For this particular occasion, John and I went for a retro theme, while others chose more modern attire for the evening. We ate delicious food, had thoughtful attention from students (who had volunteered their time to make the evening happen), and also got to do some dancing. Honestly, we could not have asked for a better way to be blessed as a staff. Have fun looking at the pictures!

Love you all so so so very much...

Send me

Tonight was so significant to me. God is definitely calling me to step beyond what I think is possible, and actually mean it when I say "Here am I! Send me," (Isaiah 6:8). We had our Thursday Night gathering tonight, a weekly time when everyone from campus gets together for worship and also to listen to a speaker.

Tonight we had the privilege of hearing from a woman named Susi Childers. Her message to us was so profound, yet so simple, and it really made me think. She challenged us with a story about a group of people being changed by the influence of one person, and reminded us that God is using ordinary people to change the world. There is so much hurt and destruction in the world; am I willing to be sent to those places? Will God be able to use me?

Susi and her husband, Paul, are part of a ministry called Voice for the Voiceless. She has a tremendous gift for photography, and travels around the world to take photos of people. She's got an amazing ability to capture the deepest emotions in her subjects, and she uses the photos to give a voice to those who are voiceless. This is a little blurb from her bio:

"I love people, not just taking their pictures, but spending time with them. I'm not an evangelist but I use my camera to approach people. I'd spend two or three hours with one person and I'd hear their stories and that was the part that changed my life. There are so many people out there who are suffering and nobody knows about it. That's why we call this whole ministry a Voice for the Voiceless. I believe that's what God called me to be, to use my photography to speak out for those who cannot speak for themselves."

If you have a minute, you can explore this website a little bit. I'm trying to track down a more recent site for the Voice for the Voiceless, but haven't found it yet. But go here for now:

http://www.ywamconnect.com/sites/childers/a%20voice%20for%20the%20voiceless

I love you all. Blessings to you!
-j