A piece of the Story

Here is some version of my testimony which I wrote out the other day for some "official" business... figured I could make use of it here :)

I was just three years old when I sat with my Daddy and asked Jesus to come into my heart. Because of that fact, I used to think that I did not have a very “impressive” testimony, one that was worth telling, one that would help people see how awesome God is. In the last several years, however, I have seen more and more how precious my testimony is because it is this: God has kept me. He has kept me from so much that destroys so many. I ask why, why me? My only answer can be His amazing grace. I am grateful and only hope that I do not take for granted His favor on my life.

I believe that it was in my home-educated middle school years that my faith, though verbally expressed at 3, truly became my own. I began to really understand what it meant to follow Jesus and two very important and deliberate things happened in my life which solidified in me who I was as a Christian: 1) I began writing in a journal which eventually became the fruit of my friendship with my Lord, and 2) I chose to be baptized as a declaration of my identification with and obedience to Christ. When I went back to public school for high school, I was able to put that faith into practice in tangible ways, for example, praying on the bus in the mornings and afternoons to drown out the stories of the weekend and chatter littered with profanity.

Since then, there has been so much growth and I am amazed to look back and see what God has done...
As a part of my faith journey, He led me to attend Eastern Nazarene College and in those formative college years, I learned much more of the world than simply academics. I learned of people, of my own weaknesses, of the faithfulness and constant provision of the Lord, of His grace which can pour both over me and through me to others, of the love of true friendship, and so much more. It was in these past few years that I learned of my total dependence on God and what it means to truly trust Him with all of me.

January of my freshman year at ENC, I went on a one-week trip to the Dominican Republic with a team from Holden Chapel to serve with New Missions in Sosua. There was the seed planted in my heart. The morning of our departure day, God told me clearly that I would be back. I thought that meant the same kind of thing – another week, maybe a year from then. Little did I know that the Lord's plans were far bigger and more perfect than my own hopes and dreams. Last year, I returned to the DR through my connection with the missionary family I met in Sosua but who are now serving in Jimani, Indepencia, Dominican Republic, with the Chadasha Foundation. I stayed and served with them for ten weeks at the Chadasha Children's Home where they love-on predominantly Haitian kids by providing for a range of needs, from a home to a meal. As my time came to a close, I knew that this would be a part of my life beyond my initial “plan.” It was told to me that God had planted a seed the first time I went to the DR and that He had transplanted me to a larger pot this time around, and that the next one would be even bigger. I had no idea that “one year” would be my next-sized pot, but it was what the Lord revealed to me last summer. And the more I prayed on it, the more clear it became that this is what I would be doing next. I am so grateful that I have the steadfastness of the Lord to lean into because, as I tell people all the time, “This is not Jenna. This is not something Jenna would do.” But here I am, saying now, “Yes, Lord. Your will be done. May I be faithful in it.”

I go to pour out the love of Christ into the lives of children who have been abused, forgotten, left behind, neglected, and unloved. I want them to know that they are precious in God's sight, that He sent Jesus to save them from the wretchedness of the world, that I love them so much but that Jesus loves them more. Every day I want to speak those words so that we are constantly reminded of the Love of Jesus – Te amo mucho, pero Cristo te ama mas! I want to see these children discipled and growing in the knowledge and wisdom of God that they might be a light which shines in the darkness and brings hope to others who have none. I pray for an endless ripple effect to go out from these children.

I go to serve. What the specifics are, I do not yet know because God has not yet told me beyond the going and loving on the kids, but I go with open arms and ears, praying constantly that He will give me to do whatever it is He has for me.