School

So, I have not blogged in ages. Today I had two really tough tests and I just had this deep urge to blog. Weird huh? I guess some things really don't go away. It is hard for me to believe that in one months time I will have completed a year of school. Wow huh? Me, who never wanted to go back to school is over my head in assignments! To make even more ironic I love it. (that is for the most part) :) For those of you who don't know I am in school to become a Paramedic or Emergency Medical Technician. I really didn't know how I would handle this line of work, but so far it has been fine. I haven't freaked out in the emergency room yet. But my life is so different than what it was a year ago when I was living in Germany working for Logos Hope. It has been so good for me to back here. ...To have to intergrate back into my culture and find who I am at "home". About six months ago I started working at the Olive Garden, an Italian chain restaurant in the States. I have always wanted to be a waitress for some odd reason and now that dream has come true. :) That job has been challenging for me cause I was not at all use to working in the secular world, but I have been so thankful for the challenge. It is definitely keeping me out of my comfort zone. I definitely have a much deeper apreciation for servers. I have enjoyed all the different types of people that come in and living life with my fellow employees. I still have that burning desire to tell people about Jesus! ( may that never go away ) but I am learning how to do that here. Life with God is so uncertain, yet certain. I know that statement contradicts itself but it seems so true to me. I don't know how people can say that walking with God is boring and predictable. It makes me question if they have truly experienced the walk! - cause nothing compares!

Flight Terrorism

I find that I am so surprised over this plot in England to bomb planes. Logoically the way our world is, I guess we should be at a place where we almost expect this type of behavior. Still, it saddens me deeply to think of the rippling effect this will have in the future. I still have not gotten use to all the new regulations that have formed since 9/11.

Bobby and I meant to be flying through Manchester,England on the 19th and 20th. Yesterday I spent the afternoon talking to my travel agent trying to figure out an alternate route, just in case. Right now I plan on sticking with our orignal travel plan. But it sounds like it will be quite an ordeal at the airport. They have advised that all passenger arrive at the airport 4 to 5 hours before their flight and no carry on items are allowed other than medications, travel documents and really that is about it. Please pray for us to have wisdom to know what to do.
Here is an interesting article that explains why they have banned almost all cary on items. check it ou - http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,207879,00.html

What have I gotten myself in to?

Becca, Sabine, and Monkia surrounding my brother at the airport in Croatia when we first arrived!

I think that is the question that went through my brother's head mutiple times this last week has met my different friends working on the Logos Hope!

We have been in Trogir Croatia for five days. The time is flying by! We are staying in an apartment off the ship. We are staying on third floor and the view is beautiful of the sea and the in distance you can see the mountains surrounding the city of Split. It really looks like a seen off the Lord of the Rings! The beach is a five minute walk away! Because of the heat we have been sleeping underneath musquito nets on the porch. It is wonderful going to sleep looking at the stars!! I will have to take a picture of it all and post it.



Bobby comes back each night with a black face covered in dirt! He was so tired his first night back he laid down on the wooden floor and woke up 3 hours later! :) Everyon kept walking by him and looking to see if was really sleeping!

It is amazing how natural it is for me to just pop back into this life. I find that I still call Germany home. Bobby kind of just raises his eyebrow at me when I do this!

We’re from the country and we like it that way!

That song kept rolling around in my head as I was walking around looking at all the people attending the Kalona, IA, Exotic Animal auction. The fact that I notice it is probably just another sign that I have been away for a long time. I so badly wanted to jump on one of the fence posts and sing that song at the top of my lungs! J Thankfully my better judgment held me back! There was an unbelievable assortment of animals and fowl. I saw a type of bird that I had not seen since I was in South Africa staying in a mud hut! Bobby, my brother loves animals. I knew before we went that I was in for quite day, but really I had no idea. It all started when I left him to find a bathroom. I got a call a few minutes later on my cell phone saying, “Jaylene, you have to come out here and see these geese! I think I am going to get them and may be some ducks.” (Note to self – don’t leave him alone at animal auctions!!) So I made my way to the fowl pens. To paint this picture more vividly you have to imagine this big barn with fenced in areas filled with all sorts of feathered creatures. A smell of sweat and chicken poop. People eagerly going from cage to cage pointing and commenting in every which way and my brother right in there with him. I was soon left to guard his ducks and geese to make sure no one else would take them while he walked around to make sure this was what we were going to get. I am not really a fan of feathered animals, so, standing guard I was silently scheming as to how I could talk my brother out of adding to our steadily growing bird collection. (We already have 20 guinea hens at home on the farm) My determination growing steadily each minute as I listened to the geese honk. My brother thought he was doing really good with only getting geese and ducks, he wanted chickens, a fox, a raccoon… and was even interested in a llama! So after much debating he opted on just getting geese. So we headed in the sale barn where they were starting to auction off animals. After a long while they brought out fawns. I wasn’t paying too close of attention so when Bobby told he was going down to get a closer look I did not really think anything of it. Several minutes later I watched in horror as my brother bid and purchased a deer. To make things funnier while I was waiting for Bobby to finish up the paperwork from his purchases I overheard someone talking about a St. Bernard they had just purchased. (A few days before we decided that we were going to get St. Bernard and Lab puppies to have on the farm) So I asked them about it. It turned out the man selling them was there at the auction. Not long after I was driving the truck down the interstate with two geese in the back seat, Bobby was sitting next to me attempting to control the little deer that was panicking and I had our new St. Bernard curled up on lap trying to hide cause she was afraid of the deer. What an experience! I will laugh for many days to come over that crazy day. And our farm… it gets funnier and fuller every day!!

Monday June 11th

I was just sitting in a park pouring out my heart to God over a difficult situation that overwhelms me – when I felt this peace, almost like the breeze that was blowing all around me, engulfing me. God is faithful; He has been and will continue. It is like that statement from Billy Graham, “Even though we can’t see or touch the wind we still know the wind is there. It is just a common fact. It is the same with God’s presence.” He is present and active!

Food Fight

What better way to get re-adjusted back into the USA than a massive food fight? :) Well, however useful it is or not, that is how I spent last Saturday afternoon. Imagine this - 180 junior high kids (ages 9 -13) running around, loud music pounding in the background and a bright sun shiny day. In a big lot there was all these different stations set up - eg. you had to slide down a strip of plastic covered in oil and then jump into a pool of BLUE mash potatoes and then hunt through the mush until you found a gummy bear! :) OR playing duck, duck, goose with mash potatoes! I was team captain for 10 girls. I urged them to come up with a team name to which we there was 100% vote for "Peach Fuzz"! So Peach Fuzz we were for the day! I am not sure if I have ever been so flithy in my life, but it was great! Seeing the kids faces was priceless! At the end they had us gather and gave a very visual gospel presentation. They compared how dirty we were to sin. The had one of the kids get up into the dunking tank and dumped her in and when she came up she was clean which was compared to Jesus blood! What an awesome way to share about Jesus! :)

Sorry, do you speak English?

Walking around the streets of Chicago I had a really freaky experience. I kept wanting to speak German to people. I mean it is not that my German is good by any means, it is just that when I am out away from my familiar surroundings, eg office and apartment - my mind goes to German. I keep getting surprised when the people around me speak English. It is so strange, really! I feel like a foriegner in my own country. I got so freaked out today when I met a friend of a friend. She at first meeting was so shallow and fake. Later on I learned that was not true, but that was my first impression! Well, this is day 2 of re-entry in the States! :) One day at a time! Tomorrow I fly back to Iowa! The cutlure shock continues. It has always been this way for me, returning to the states shocks me more than other place in the world I have been... and also takes the most adjustment!

leaving on a jet plane....

In a 6 1/2 hours I leave Mosbach...wow....the day has come! The past week has been a blur! but even in the crazyness of goodbyes and painting...etc, it has been fun. Surprising when I really don't like goodbyes! :) There has been so many goodbye parties... it has been crazy! The Logos Hope team took me to my favorite restaurant AND made me play some of the fear factor games that I had used for the youth event, Teenstreet! I had to eat Veggie mite... this nasty brown horrible tasting stuff out of a diaper! oh my goodness! ... they have to love me to do something like that! It was a good time after I stopped gagging! I seriously have been overwhelmed by the love I have been shown. Mosbach has really become my home, I can see that now as I am leaving. This marks the end of a chapter and the beginning of a new one. Thank goodness I don't go alone...God goes with me and His presence is what sustains me! :)