Y’all… I am currently on the plane FINALLY HEADED ON MISSION!!! I cannot believe the day is already here, it feels like just yesterday I was accepted on The World Race. As of now, I am running of off 3 hours of uncomfortable sleep (shoutout the airport floor) and SO much excitement that I don’t even care how much sleep I’ve gotten. I am living my dream right now!

Besides being filled with so much adreneline and exhaustion at the same time, I am also filled with immense gratitude. These last few weeks in preparing to leave, I have felt an overflow of love and care from my community. So, this blog is going to be just about that - sharing all the ways my family and friends have shown me the love of Christ as a thank you and as a dedication to those who gave so I could feel loved as I go!

My Grammy and Grandpa took me and my family out to dinner to Olive Garden!

My sweet cousin Rachel took me out to get Starbucks and get pedicures, as well as gifted me a purple-themed basket with many different useful things for my trip!

My friend Victoria took me out for a coffee date!

My friend Emma-Kate and her family took me out for dinner and the Cheescake Factory!

My friend and coworker Ruth took me out for a late-night Yardhouse dessert after my last shift!

My kind friend Avery got In-n-Out with me (I will miss In-n-Out very much)

My friend Mrs. Carney bought me snacks for my trip!

My friend Cami came and visited me at the library and brought me a sweet treat!

My incredible friend Melody shipped me a sewing gun so I could hem some clothes before I left since she couldn’t do it herself!

All my friends, my people, who showed up to my goodbye party beach day to celebrate what God is doing in my life.

My second family, the Disney’s, made me my last meal in California, with salmon, rice, asparagus, and a delicious dessert bar!

My amazing mom who drove me all around town for so many errands I had to run in preparation for leaving, and who took me to get a massage so I could be relaxed before I leave!

This, my friends, is why godly community is so important. On top of sharing meals and desserts, pampering days, coffee, and being gifted treats, jewelry, necessities for my trip, and snacks, my community showed up spiritually.

My incredible friends from my first ever mission trip team, Victoria and Jaden, held a mini worship session, where for an hour and a half we simply praised the Lord, singing whatever song came to mind and the Holy Spirit prompted. It was a spiritually rejuvenating time, reminding me of why I’m doing this in the first place.

My sweet friend Megan gifted me a keychain with Joshua 1:9 on it, to remind me that God is with me always. It was a reminder to her when she went on mission, and she wanted to pass that on to me.

Victoria, my lovely friend, gave me a Jesus Loves You shirt with a Bible verse so that I may represent Christ with my clothing too!

I was gifted little cards with Bible verses on them from my kindhearted cousin Rachel and my friend Jacob, to look on as a reminder when things get hard.

My church family had leaders in the church and my 2nd-4th graders I serve pray over me and make me goodbye cards!

Every person who intentionally sought me out to cover me in prayer!

This one, however, stands out the most:

My wonderful friend Trinity and another friend gifted me bracelets to give to children and adults while in each country to share the love of Jesus. There are three different types of bracelets - one set says “WWJD” (What Would Jesus Do), one set has different Bible verses, and the third set contains bracelets for each of the 5 countries I am going to. They say “I love Greece”, “I love the Czech Republic”, “I love Thailand”, “I love Malaysia”, and “I love Guatemala”, and each has “Jesus loves you” in that countries language! What a blessing to have a community that understands the spiritual need in these countries and gives something not for me, but for them.

I truly am so overwhelmed with love and gratitude. Lately, the enemy and my flesh have been convincing me that I am alone, that I don’t really have friends, that no one cares if I leave, but GOD, MY GOD, THE ONE TRUE GOD SHOWED UP FOR ME!!! To wrestle with such thoughts, and then see God show up over and over and over again and prove His love for me and others love for me, it’s too much to bear. Thank you thank you thank you to every single person who showed up for me in any way - I love you all. I am so thankful to have a heart so full and to have people to miss!

So now, with 24 minutes until I land and start this mission trip, I will give you a little insight into my mind. These lines from a worship song keeps repeating in my head:

So lace up your boots, put on your backpack, IT’S TIME TO RIDE!!! I have decided I will follow Jesus, anywhere He leads me, that’s where I will go

My boots are laced, my ridiculously large backpack is on, and I am following Jesus everywhere and anywhere He leads me! Here’s to the start of 9 months on mission - God, I am so grateful for You, thank You for giving me this opportunity to serve You in this way. I love You with all my heart, my soul, my mind, and my strength!

Full of gratitude, Jenna :)

Prayer requests:

That this week of training camp would be fruitful, that my team and I would connect so well, and that God would already start doing an amazing work in all of us!

That God would continue to prepare our hearts and the hearts of everyone we will meet to serve Him and to accept Jesus as their Lord and Savior!

Praise reports:

I am 69% FUNDED!!! PRAISE JESUS!!!! Thank you to everyone who has donated to get me this far! GOD IS SO GOOD!