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Excellent – the 1st one to post on your blog!!
I’m so excited to be your prayer partner next week & a little (ok, a lot) jealous that I won’t be there myself.
Have a wonderful trip & stay healthy.
Will miss your awesome sax @ church on Sunday.
Love ya,
P-Squared
Dear Jenna,
Have an awesome week of serving the Lord! Just watch and see the blessings you will receive! it will be amazing. We’ll be praying for you.
Larry and Mary Molegraaf
Jenna,
Have a wonderful time in Guatemala! I know you are going to love every minute of your time with the kids! Praying for you!
BJ and Jillian Maas
Jenna
I’ll be praying that all goes well in the airports!
I hope you have an amazing trip ~ I know that God will be with you and He will use you in amazing ways. So glad you get this opportunity!
Jenna –
Praying that you had a good night’s sleep & for safe travels today! Will be thinking of you at 11:30 for an uneventful customs experience.
Thanks for giving & serving this week!
Love,
Karen
Jenna-bo-benna,
You’ve arrived. God’s there preparing the way. I’m praying for you. God is Good! Woohoo!!
Jenna boo -
-
I pray all went well with your travel and customs didn’t even see you
I am so excited for your first building day tomorrow. I pray the family that you are building for will fill your heart. I pray you will soak it all in and continue to be a blessing!
Love you kitten
Hey Jenna-
Just wanted you to know that you guys are in my thoughts and prayers. I am so excited for you to see what God has in store for you this week! Keep your eyes open because He will be doing great things through you!
Love,
Sarah’s Mom
Dear Jenna,
I hope this experience is amazing for u. I’m so glad to have u in my life and as an influence and i’ll leave another message when i can. Hope ur doing ok. i’m pray for you. I love like a sister. Please try and enjoy yourself. Hopefully you don’t stay there too long so we can hang out soon. May God bless you.
Jenna
Just wanted to let you know how much we have been praying for you on this trip. We know that God has given you safe travel to Guatemala and that so far so good. We pray that this trip will be one of the most wonderful experiences of your life and that you will never forget the things that God will show you. We will continue to pray for you everyday as you give your all for him.
Bill and Lisa
P.S Does this mean we will not be able to hear you play a cool sax solo in church this Sunday?
Jenna –
A great answer to prayer that all of you are there safe, sleeping (most of you), & ready for tomorrow’s adventure!
I’ll be praying for you & the team tomorrow as you begin to build relationships with the village & the family that will receive your gift of a home. One of the most awesome memories of my Guate trip is standing on the cement slab & praying for our family before we started building…very powerful.
Thank you for being a faithful servant! Serve WITH God this week
Love & blessings,
P2
Sax-Girl,
Have a fantastic adventure.
Hey Jenna –
I hope all goes well today – seeing the village, meeting your family, seeing where you are building and the ride to the building site. I will pray that EVERYTHING goes well. HMMM – too bad you couldn’t bring the sax. You know a little building music might have been good
Have fun – oh wait thats not what the prayer on Sunday was … Anyway, I can’t wait to hear about how today went. Lotsa love, Aunt Melinda
First I would like to thank everyone for posting something. It means a lot that you all spent time out of your day to write me something. Customs went smoothly, and it went so fast I didn’t know that I was done and just kinda stood there like a gringo. haha Today began our building days. It rained. A LOT. But, we all still managed to get our work done and leave at a decent hour. After learning how to sing part of “Singing in the Rain” in spanish, I made the most out of the rain. And couldn’t stop laughing. The kids here are so cute, and they can fight for their “dulce” if need be. Today I managed NOT TO INJURE MYSELF! minus a few minor cuts on my fingers. Thank you all for writing me, and I can’t wait to see what God has in store for me over the course of the week!
God bless!
Jenna
Jenna,
Glad to hear you had fun in spite of it! I can see you having fun with the kids there! I’m excited to see what the next couple of days will bring for you and your team and the family you are building for!
“Singing in the rain” is probably a great song to know during this season in Guatemala!
Brenda
Hey Jenna!
Glad to hear you guys made it out there safely! I hope you guys stay safe and have the strength to keep goin! Ill be prayin for you guys!
David K
Glad you are having fun and working hard. Next time it’s raining and Max has to go out, I know who can go out and sing in the rain in Spanish…. ;?) Stay safe and injury-free. Love you.
Jenna –
Glad to hear that you are fairly injury free! Enjoy day 2 of building – the kids love to help with the stucco.
Praying for so many things – a great night’s sleep, powerful personal devotion time in the morning, good weather tomorrow, and that your family will see Jesus in you & be ready for dedication day.
Your P2,
Karen
Jenna,
Take care of yourself and have fun with the kids!
I am so glad to hear that you are having a blast! This is such an amazing adventure and one that I am thrilled you are making. Thankfully Kevin will not have any bikes for you to ride down the mountains!
Praying for you today,
Kristy
Its good to know that you are mostly injury free
and its good there are no BIKES to ride. Thats a bonus. It probably best Jordan isn’t there to hear SINGING IN THE RAIN. But I’m sure he will enjoy it when you get home (haha) I KNOW Max will … oh wait I think Dad will enjoy it most when you are out in the rain with Max. Have fun … maybe there will be a new song you learn today as long as its not something to do will sunburn or injuries that will be good
Can’t wait to hear how today went. Aunt Melinda
Thank you so much for keeping me in your prayers. It means a lot and its encouraging that all of you have me in your thoughts. Today it didn’t rain! But, in consequence, I got a very red sunburn on my neck after applying sunscreen. Thankfully there is aloe.
The kids were so cute when we put on stucco. They just kept saying “Mas?” and just walking around with massive globs of pink mud on drywall plates. We finished the stucco quickly and then we were able to play with the kids for most of the evening. My favorite part was when I was able to put on nail polish and tatoos on the little kids and even the moms. They have opened up to us so much, and its amazing to see their contentment and happyness with so little. Thank you again for writing encouragement, and I can’t wait to see the transformation God has in store for me and the people of this little village!
God Bless!
Jenna boo -
It’s great to read your updates. I feel like I could be right there with you! lol. I’m praying the weather is decent and you can finish your houses. It’s amazing that slab of cement you started with could become a beautiful pink house. I’m thankful that you have been injury free – for the most part. Enjoy painting the inside of the house tomorrow. Do you think they would appreciate a painted musical note here and there? I’m praying your feel the power, presence and love of God during dedication.
Love ya!
Mom
Jenna-
So good to hear that things are going well. Keeping you in my prayers and hoping that God fills you this week!!
Aunt Sandy
Jenna –
Glad to see that you didn’t need the raincoats today. I was so happy to read that you spent time with the moms!!!! The kids are always SO adorable & receive SO much attention that I often wonder if the moms feel left out – thank you for being a special part of their day!
I’ll be spending loads of time thinking about you & praying for you tomorrow – more good weather, inspiration as you paint & decorate the homes (I love Mom’s music note idea), & that the families will accept the greatest gift ever!
Have a wonderful day tomorrow.
Love,
Karen
Hi Jenna
I love looking at the pictures and see how each of you are using your talents. The base looks really nice and adding a porch on the homes..what a great idea. I am sure that is alot of extra work…but so nice and well worth it. Thinking of you tomorrow as you dedicate your homes. Praying for a life changing experience for you.
Hey Jenna!
Just wanted you to know we are following you this week on this website. Looks like its been a good week so far! Know that we
are holding you up in prayer. Cant wait to hear about it when you get home!
Laurie
Hey Jenna – you could do the musical notes around the door way. I even have a verse – He will rejoice over you with singing … Zephaniah 3:17 (the end of the verse) You are on your own to write it in spanish
I am glad that all is going well … except for the need for aloe. I hope that the decorating tips I gave you helped (LOL) I will pray that you have good weather and that you get your work done early so you can go do more nails and tattoos
Sounds like you are having a blast. How is your spanish working for you? besides the singing?
How’s it going? We are missing you, and we check all day long for new pictures and news. Glad you are having a good time, we are doing ok with just Jordan here. Talk to you later…
Hey everyone! Today we dedicated the homes to the families and to our Lord. For those of you who have never done such a thing, it is like no other. The preacher down here (Hermano Jesus) is filled with the holy spirit every time he preaches about Jesus. The thing that impacted me the most today was the first home that we dedicated. I understood a little from what Hermano was saying, and I could clearly hear him asking if the family wanted Jesus in their hearts. Also, there is a woman who had incredible faith that came by that house, saying thanks to Jesus just weeping hoping that the whole village would come to know Christ. Just these few things are so impactful that they just make you so emotional. When we finished dedicating the homes, all of the families for the houses we made and another household accepted Jesus into their hearts. We had a pinata for the children, and it was just a mass of people moving in one direction when that thing hit the ground-children, women, and men. Sorry everyone, there are no music notes on our house, but there are a lot of flowers. Our family was a widow with her 4 children, 2 daughters and 2 sons, so we made it very feminine. Just as we were leaving, the woman crying and asking Jesus to save the whole village gave me a little flower pot type thing. It is evident that they worked so hard on it, and I’m blessed to get one. I have no idea how its getting home, but its definetely leaving the country with me! Medicine clinics tomorrow!
God Bless!
Jenna boo -
I’m so overjoyed that all the families accepted Jesus into their hearts and homes. I can’t wait to see pictures of your home. I love to read your updates – it is clear that God is working through you in great ways this week. Sounds like the flower pot type thing is very special and should be a carry on? I pray that God will continue to challenge you and use you in ways you could not have imagined. I pray the medical clinic continues to open your eyes of your heart and that many people accept Jesus! Bless you Jenna. I miss you tons!
Love Mom
Good morning Jenna,
I love reading your posts! It is very apparent that you made an impact on this family! Your love and joy come through everything you do, whether it is playing your sax or building a home. Thank you for being willing to be his hands and feet this week. Tonight is the beginning of something entirely new and at the same time a continuation of what you have already been doing… playing with kids, building relationships with the people of the village and being joyful. Today I am praying for safe travel. Keep Psalm 121:8 in the forefront of your heart today, “the LORD will watch over your coming and going both now and forevermore.”
big hugs,
Kristy
Buenas dias, Jenna!!
Sounds like you had a fantastic day yesterday!!! How exciting to read that all of the families accepted Christ.
At one point as I was praying for you in the afternoon, this song came to mind:
Lord you are good & your mercy endureth forever
People from every nation & tongue, from generation to generation
We worship YOU….hallelujah, hallelujah
We worship YOU…for who you are!
For you are good!
What an awesome day of worship yesterday. Praying for you today as you head out to the clinics – I’ll be praying for safe travels and that you & your team will be used powerfully to heal many people, both physically & spiritually.
Love & blessings!!!
Karen
Jenna, I’m so proud of you! I could feel the Holy Spirt as I read your logo this morning. What an amazing experience to be able to give a home to a family! WOW! I talked to your Mom this moring and she is so very proud of you! We love you!
May God continue to bless our mission trip
Gloria
I miss Hermano Jesus! Give him a hug from me, will you? Tonight he will be even more on fire when he gives his message at the end of the medical clinic. Wish I could be there to hear him—he preaches the Word with everything he’s got! I hope that tonight goes well for you guys. Too bad you can’t play the song Karen just wrote (You are Good) with the band and sax tonight…that would be something!
Praying for you every day!!
Jenna -
We are so proud of you. We are keeping you close in our thoughts and prayers.
God bless you!
Love,
Grandma and Grandpa Kitty
Hey Jenna,
I’m not very good with these kind of things but good job! I’m very happy that you could go on this mission trip and spread God’s word! Keep it up!
God Bless,
Luke
Jenna, glad you had such a great day yesterday, and we hope today was just as blessed. I am glad you are doing well, and quit hiding from the cameras, so we can see what y0u are doing…
)
Good morning!
Last night was another amazing day! We travelled 3 hours to a very remote village to have a med clinic. I got to pass out meds, and it was a little stressful at times. We had some trouble with the glucometer (is that right?) and after a half an hour just used a different machine. Unfortunately, I didn’t get to play with any of the kids yesterday, but when the Jesus film was done, I went to sit down by a group of people all by myself and immediately I got a little girl to sit on my lap, someone I’d never met and I wasn’t even able to get her name. There were two moms by me also, and it was hard to tell if they were even listening. When Hermano was done preaching, I put my hand on one of the moms to pray for her, and immediately she stood up to accept Jesus. I immediately had tears. The little girl in my lap also stood up, and I was just praying the whole time Jesus would come into her heart too. When I was standing by those accepting, I asked Morgan if she would go and pray for the other mom, because it did look like she was listening and curious. A few minutes later, Morgan came back with the woman. It was so powerful. I’m really glad I can understand spanish now, because I was able to partially comprehend what Hermano was saying. I really have no idea how many people came to Christ last night, but it was a lot. Thank you so much for your prayers and thoughts and posts of encouragement! Today we are going to the coast and a 3 and a half hour drive awaits us. Please pray that I stay healthy. I’m feeling a little under the weather today.
God Bless and happy padres day!
Jenna
Jenna-
I saw some wonderful pictures of you. Sounds like your trip has been incredible. Just a note to let you know that I’ve been praying for you guys and will continue to do so. Work hard these last days and keep showing God’s love in all you do.
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers,
Sue Koetsier
Jenna -
We are so happy to hear you are doing well in Guatemala and that God is using you for his purposes. It is quite an honor to work in him kingdom and be able to see the results of your efforts. May you grow in grace and grow closer to him through this experience. We miss you a lot and we pray you have save travels back home. Can’t wait to hear all about your adventure.
Love,
Grandma Jackie and Grandpa Russ
Jenna-
So good to read your posts and know how God is using you. Keep trusting Him and stepping out in faith. He will bless your faithfulness. May the people of Guatamala continue to sense God’s love through you!
sj
Hey there again,
Just wanted to say hi again. I’m still praying for u. Hopefully you’ll come back not only in one piece but in better condition. It’s so wonderful what you are doing and God will most definitely bless you for many days as long as you keep such a good heart for him. Love you and hopefully we can talk soon. U can tell me all of the stories about what happened. Have a good day. Pce homie.
Jenna –
I miss you and I hope you are having a good time
I pray you have a safe trip home.
Keeping you in my thoughts and prayers.
Jordan
Jenna, I hope that you are feeling better now. But, could you please make a mental note to not put down that you are not feeling well if you think that your mother will read it? She is now all worried about your health. Hope you had a great day, and enjoy the last full day in Guatamala. Love you.
Love the updates! It’s good to hear about last night and how it went for you! Hope that you are feeling a little better, and that tonight is going well—especially that the gospel of Jesus Christ would be received with open hearts. Praying for you!
Jenna –
So sorry to hear that you aren’t feeling well! I’m sure you are exhausted – mentally & physically. I’ll be praying for strength as you finish this week strong!
Looking forward to hearing how you, the team, and the Holy Spirit worked in the village tonight & praying that all of you arrive home safe.
Enjoy the day at the market tomorrow!! I have great memories spending time there with your mom, even though the diet Coke was kind of warm
Honored to have walked alongside you this week as your prayer partner.
Love,
Karen
Hi Jenna
Sorry to hear you are a little under the weather. Hopefully today you are doing better…I know Mom will worry about you and certainly say an extra prayer for you. May the Lord help you and give you strength so that you feel great today. It will be a big trip today and sounds like the travel will be challenging…our prayers are with you and NO Rain to make the roads worse. Your Mom and I laughed about you sorting meds….when we sorted meds there…it was posted on U-tube…..LOL. God bless you and you are a blessing.
Jenna -
What an amazing travel adventure the team was on last night, I can’t wait to hear how it went. I love reading your recap of events. I pray you continue to feel God’s presence with you every step of the way. Don’t forget about your gift of math when you are at the market today. Enjoy! I pray you will continue to share God’s love when reconnect with your building village.
I pray you are feeling better today
I also pray tonight you feel the spirit move you like nothing you have ever experienced before, it will be amazing!!!
We sang this song yesterday at chuch and I thought about you and the team….
Keep our eyes open as we look to Jesus,
Help us to reach out to those who may need us,
and as we listen to your Holy Spirit,
may the world see us becoming like Jesus.
Love you Boo!
Mom
Hey Jen -
Maybe something to pack around your flower pot. Or maybe some diet Coke to tell Mom about
In my thoughts and prayers, Aunt Melinda
It sounds like you have had an AMAZING time. I can’t wait to see the pictures (that you NEVER seem to be in) and hear the stories. I hope that the market was fun and you got some great bargins
Hey everyone! Comin at you from a mcDonalds. Seriously, if one of these was in Michigan, I would have no problem working there. Its huge and very elegant. Yesterday after many possible problems getting to the village, we made it. At first I didn’t have a connection with ANYONE. The first woman I asked if I could paint her nails said that she didn’t like it. Aka no. Great way to make a good connection in a village! (Mom I feel a little better. DONT WORRY) After the Jesus film, Hermano Jesus was going at it with everything that he had (It was awesome, even though I only could comprehend everyother word) there were these 3 young women and a pregnant woman. I prayed for the preg. woman and she stood up to accept Christ. The other women on the other hand, took a completely opposite direction. They laughed at the people crying out to Jesus, and they just didn’t take any of it seriously. I prayed over one, and according to others it looked like she was going to go up, but because of peer pressure she didn’t go up. It is probably one of the most discouraging things I’ve done in a long time. I still wonder why God wouldn’t want her to go up. So anyways, we left the village pretty early, and we were conserned about the hills and getting out onto the pavement. The second hill comes. We got stuck. So after 2 hours of putting stones on the road and scraping off mud, we got out. One of the other missionaries, Vicky, and I walked about a 1/4 mile to see if there was a junction in the dark. Its one of my bigger fears, so I was freaking out. The phrase that I kept saying was that I was a big screamer.
Luckily, there was no one to scream at. (I’m safe Mom) We got home about two last night, so I’m a little tired, but I still managed to get a lot of shopping done. Can’t wait to see you all in two days! God Bless!
Hey Jenna -
I’m glad you feel better. AND got some shopping in. Its too bad peer pressure is every where. You should keep praying for her that way she will be ready the next time. Love the (mom notes) I’m sure Dad will too
Jenna, The website has been so fun to see and you are so excited when I see you on there….thanks so much for serving and for being involved in life change for so many people in Guatemala. We will continue to pray until that van pulls into the Ivanrest parking lot ! See you then, The Pettijohns
Jenna-
Great to hear how God is working! Praying you home!!
Aunt Sandy
Jenna -
I am praying for safe travel for you and the team today. Thank you for being our hands and feet this past week in Guatemala! Can’t wait to see you and hear about those “priceless” moments.
Love,
Mom
That McDonald’s rocks! It’s 10 times better than any McDonald’s in the U.S. that I’ve ever seen. Hope you guys had fun shopping and touring the city. And I’m praying that last night was a good time of worship and renewal for you, too. Keeping you in our prayers today as you travel home!
Jenna –
Praying that today is smooth sailing for your trip home! I’m anxious to see you, to hear your stories, & see your pictures.
When I let Crazy Kristy talk me into the Women’s Trip a couple years ago, I had no idea of the impact it would have on my life & the things it would prepare me for. I’m praying that you have been incredibly blessed by loving & serving with God this week.
Also praying for you as you return home. No lie, it will be difficult at times but remember that God is as close to you here as HE is in Guatemala.
Thanks for letting me walk alongside you this week as your P2.
Well done, good & faithful servant!
Love,
Karen