Jenn's Journalings

If you’re interested, here’s Wycliffe’s 2017 Year in Review.

We’ve had two pretty heavy rains this past week…and actually it seems another one is starting as I write this.

The ceiling in my bedroom has been leaking a little during the extra heavy rain. It’s nothing serious yet, but we’ve alerted the landlord. Hopefully that will be able to be fixed soon.

I am thankful that my street doesn’t flood much when it rains. The other streets in my subdivision flood pretty badly. I have several friends who’ve been cleaning up after the floods that get into their homes. This can be very frustrating and time consuming for them, especially when it happens regularly. I know they would appreciate your prayers.

Below I’ve included two pictures of my street from this past week. This was after the second heavy rain. Just before I took the pictures someone was walking through the flood waters, and all of a sudden he started walking more quickly. I wondered why. I found out why pretty quickly – a vehicle was coming. Vehicles splash and also make the water slosh around more, so the man was trying to get out of the way.

Words don’t hold the same meanings across cultures. Bible translators have to work carefully to ensure that the meaning of the words used communicate the same meaning as those used in the original Greek or Hebrew texts. Check out this video to find out how this relates to John 3:16 and the word love.

This video was originally posted on Wycliffe’s blog.

We just returned from a few days away at Eden Nature Park and Resort for our FIA staff retreat. Eden is one of my favorite places to go here in Davao, for two reasons: 1) it’s beautiful, and 2) it’s cooler since it’s up on a mountain.

We had a Sunday morning devotional time at the amphitheater, and I enjoyed the opportunity to worship the Lord in His creation.

Thank you for praying for us as we start the school year this Wednesday, August 2.

Following up on the previous post, here are some pictures I’ve been taking as I open packages and track what I’ve received so far. I label the days as I receive/process the books, so it’s more than 5 days in duration since I don’t receive packages every day.

DAY 1

DAY 2

DAY 3

DAY 4

DAY 5

I am thankful for reliable mail services and internet; both of those things make this a much smoother process.

This post shares one of my responsibilities at Faith International Academy (FIA).

As the Curriculum Coordinator I lead the textbook / school supply ordering process for the school, K-12. I volunteered to do this while on furlough this year as well. I am thankful that we work with an organization that works with international schools for many of the orders. I send them our orders and they coordinate with the publishing companies. They also organize the shipping.

We also do some of our own ordering on sites like Amazon. I am taking care of those orders: placing them, having the items shipped to my house, tracking the shipments and ensuring receipt of all items, and then shipping them over to Davao. The first set of items arrived today. Here’s a picture I snapped before I opened everything and documented what we’ve received so far.

If you live in the Philadelphia area, then this event might interest you.

You can find out more information by clicking HERE.

“I can only ask that God give him the same as he’s given me.
How can I ask for any less than what God’s given me for every other man?
I’m no better than they.” ~George Cowan

George Cowan, an important leader in Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International, would have turned 101 today, February 15, 2017.
He passed away on February 11, 2017. We celebrate his life and service to the King of kings!

“George joined Wycliffe and SIL in the fall of 1942. He spent many years living and working in Mexico, where he met his wife, Florence. George’s many invaluable contributions to Bible translation in Mexico include publishing a description of the now famous whistle speech of the Mazatec people, serving as director of SIL Mexico and helping complete the Mazatec New Testament translation.” (This paragraph was copied from a Wylciffe email I received.)

Back in the summer of 2011, when I had my Equip training in Wycliffe’s Orlando office, George Cowan came and spoke to us. He shared some of the whistle speech referenced above as well.

The video included above shares his heart for Bible translation growing out of his love for people. That heart is why I serve with Wycliffe Bible Translators. I want to support the work of getting God’s Word to people who haven’t heard/read it in their heart language, the language they understand best. God’s Word is what changes people’s hearts and transforms lives!

“And I just hope that no one will ever be able to say, in heaven, that they stopped before they’d come to my language.” ~ George Cowan

*If you’d like to read more about George Cowan, please see this post.

Again…I know this is late (I returned to the US back in June), but I think it’s still worth sharing. 🙂
Here are some of my somewhat funny observations/experiences during my first week back in the US after four years in the Philippines.

Traveling in the Car #1: It’s so quiet – the engine, the turn signal, everything.

Traveling in the Car #2: It feels like you’re flying – it’s so smooth! (this is a combination of the car & the road conditions)

Traveling in the Car #3: You have to wear your seat belt – always – even if you’re crammed in the back seat with 2 other people.

Toilet Paper: I CAN flush it (as opposed to throwing it in the trash can) & I don’t need to provide my own when I’m out (mall, restaurant, etc.).

Potable Faucet Water: I start brushing my teeth, pause for a few seconds – Oh no! Is this water ok to use to brush my teeth with?   …   Yes, ok. – continue…

Using Words (as opposed to nonverbal communication): The day I returned my brother asked me a question and I responded with a yes. However, he was still looking at me, waiting for an answer. I realized that I had answered in the Filipino way (not with words). In the Philippines one way to say yes is to raise your eyebrows. I quickly explained that I said yes in that way; he understood (and is already used to me doing this).

Weather: I woke up my third morning back realizing that you need to check the weather here because it’s actually different each day. Now, this isn’t to say that things are always the same in the Philippines, but they are pretty much always hot. You don’t really need to question whether it’s ok to wear shorts or not.

Cold Water in the Faucet…always: I get goose bumps when I wash my hands! I’m used to lukewarm, room temperature water from the faucet.

A few weeks later…

Fast Food: I was out with friends from Indonesia about the 3rd week of June – When we sat down at Chick-fil-a we were discussing how we don’t throw our own trash away when at a fast food place in Indonesia or in the Philippines. Despite having just discussed it, I completely forgot when we finished eating. If it hadn’t been for my friend starting to clean up our trash I would have walked out and left it all on the table. Oops! 🙂

Now four months later…

While I’ve adjusted to being back in the US in some ways…it’s still very different. I still say yes with my eyebrows, point with my lips (sometimes), and will probably forever be adjusting to the colder weather. However, I am thankful for the time to visit with family, friends, and ministry partners here – even if I don’t quite fit in the US like I did four years ago.

I went to Bukidnon for 4 days during this school break. I really enjoyed all of the scenery (mountains & clouds) while being out of the city.

As I looked at the clouds I was reminded of a song that I really like (“I Will Look Up” by Elevation Worship), and for the rest of the trip the clouds were reminding me of HIM.

The two lines that kept repeating in my mind were “I will look back and see that you are faithful / I look ahead believing you are able.” I hope you enjoy these pictures of God’s handiwork & can also be blessed by this small reminder of his faithfulness.

All the worries of this world
I will lay them at your feet
Surrender every anxious thought
For perfect peace
Your perfect peace

All the loved ones I hold dear
All my hopes and dreams and all my fears
I will choose to trust your name
In everything
With everything

I will look up for there is none above you
I will bow down to tell you that I need you
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of all

I will take you at your word
Jesus you have taken hold of me
All my life is in your hands
You’re my strength
You’re my strength

I will look up for there is none above you
I will bow down to tell you that I need you
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of all

I will look back and see that you are faithful
I look ahead believing you are able
Jesus, Lord of all
Jesus, Lord of All

Prince of Peace
Perfect Healer
All my life, all my cares on you
King of Kings
Mighty Savior
All my life, all my cares on you