As 2015 comes to a close and I prepare to head to Dagenham in just 3 short weeks, I wanted to share a little more about how I got here! Hope everyone had a very Merry Christmas!!

Exactly seven years ago God began opening my eyes to the broken and hurting world around me that only He can redeem.  As I felt my heart breaking for people I had never met and places I had never seen, I also began to feel the tug to be a part of God’s plan. In 2008 God lead me to East London, South Africa where I was able to be a part of His work at First City Church, then in 2012 God allowed me to be a part of the amazing acts He is doing in Cochabamba Bolivia through the Casa De Amor orphanage. Since then I have been actively pursuing God here in Mckinney and seeking what He would have for me next and after much prayer and counsel, God has called me to Dagenham, England. 

Dagenham is a working class community in east London that, in the past, has had an average population of aging residents who found their way to Dagenham after the destruction of London at the end of WWII. However, over the past decade Dagenham has seen a huge influx of younger immigrant families from all over the world. This increase in families has boosted the population in Dagenham up to 180,000 residents. Bethel Christian Centre makes it a goal to visit 1500 homes throughout the course of the year to try and reach these families with the love of Christ. The changing demographic in the Dagenham area presents new obstacles to reaching the community. Over the years the area has become a somewhat impoverished area which has led to lower levels of education for the children, who in most cases don’t continue on into college and University, and as a result teen pregnancy, hopelessness and domestic violence are on the rise in this once thriving area.

It is undeniable that darkness and despair have covered the landscape of Dagenham.   However, the Lord has begun to move powerfully in this region.  Bethel Christian Centre, through London City Mission, is working to share the hope of life found in Christ by offering children’s, teen and family programming in the community center weekly.

            I believe God has uniquely prepared me to join Bethel and London City Mission and I want to invite you to go with me on this journey. Even though this might feel like a calling specific to me, I would never be able to do it without the prayer and support of fellow believers who want to see the fire of Christ's salvation spread to all nations and to all people. Your prayers for me and for the people of Dagenham as I begin this journey are the heartbeat of this entire mission and your financial gift will become the feet that make this mission possible! I’d like to take this opportunity to ask you to prayerfully consider partnering with me financially at $25, $50 or $100 a month. You can make your tax deductible donations at https://secure-q.net/Donations/gemissionorg/9241 . You can also find my blog at http://thebeautyandwonderwithin.blogspot.com , I’d love for you to follow me as I work with LCM and Bethel over the next year.

Saved to serve,

Jenn

The days are long. . . .

Most parents know the saying, "The days are long but the years are short."
Well, I'm not a parent but in this season I feel like I'm learning the truth in that statement. As I prepare for my year in London with LCM and Bethel Christian Centre, as I watch more and more pics of gatherings and outings that they take I feel like January is a lifetime away! Then there are other days when I stop and think, 'Oh my gosh! It's already November!!!'
As I ready myself to join Bethel in January 2016 please continue to pray for the families in the Dagenham area and all the last minute details I have to take care of here before I leave, finances, visas, packing and trying to be present in the time I have left with my friends and family! Here are a few pics of some of the happenings at Bethel in the last few months and some of the things I'll be helping with upon my arrival!






Saved to serve
Jenn

Anticipation

As most of you know by now, my gap year internship with Greater Europe Mission has been moved to January 2016. As I use the extra time at home the Lord has given me to prepare for the year ahead, I continue to stay in touch with the staff of Bethel Christian Centre and grow more anxious by the day to join them in the incredible kingdom work they are doing there in Dagenham. If you don't already, I'd love for you to like their Facebook page so you can share in my excitement and journey next year! They have some great pictures up of recent outings and a picture I LOVE that illustrates the shared anticipation we have for my January 2016 arrival that I'm sharing in this post! If you'd like to know more about my internship or would be interested in partnering with me either financially or in prayer you can check out my GEM page at gemadventure.com/donate (ministry number 09955) or my TYW page at fbcmckinney.com/give TYW13. You can also comment here or email me directly at jmc2180@gmail.com! Can't wait to share this kingdom journey with you all in the coming year!!

  My inbox set up and waiting patiently for me at Bethel Christian Centre in Dagenham!!!!

A Match Made in Heaven!

Updates, updates, updates! Even though it's only been a few weeks since my last blog this one is full of all kinds of fun updates!! 

God continues to humble and bless me as I walk this journey with Him. On top of being a GEM intern, I'm excited to announce that my home church, FBC Mckinney, has re-activated my TYW missionary number with them! I am beyond ecstatic to prepare and leave for the next year with the full support and encouragement of my home church body! 

In my last blog I gave some background information on LCM, I'm thrilled to now be able and give everyone even more details about the specific ministry I've been matched with while in London! And as the title of this blog states, I truly believe it is a match made in Heaven! Bethel Christian Centre has been working in the Dagenham area of London for over 10 years with a wide range of established outreach activities. The ministry has recently been resourced with more team members who are excited with the possibilities of taking the ministry forward and I can not wait to join them! I was able to speak with Jeff, the team leader at Bethel this past week and throughout our conversation God showed Himself in amazing ways! As we talked about the needs they are looking to address and the strengths God has blessed me with, it was as if I was specifically made to fit into this ministry, which is probably more true than even I realize at this point! I'm excited to be able and use all the experience I've had over the past 11 years working with children's and youth ministry and apply them to the awesome work God is already doing at Bethel!

Thank you for praying for me, keep it up! God has blessed me beyond belief so far in this journey and I don't expect Him to stop anytime soon! I'd like to ask for continued prayer for funding, for preparations and Visa procedures and for the hearts and minds of all the people who have and will be affected by the ministry at Bethel and my time there. 

If you'd like to partner with me monthly at $25, $50 or $100 (or provide a one time gift) you can donate in 2 ways, both tax deductible,  either through GEM at www.gemadventure.com/donate and use my # 09955 or through FBC Mckinney at www.fbcmissionallife.com/missionaries and use my name or my TYW #, TYW13.

Thank you again to everyone who supports me in so many ways as I attempt to ". . .run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." -Hebrews 12:1b-2 

New beginnings. . .

"When God gives you a new beginning, it starts with an ending. Be thankful for closed doors, they often guide us to the right one."

I'm not sure where I heard that quote, but man does it hit home! If you've read my previous blogs or talked to me at all in the last year, you might know why. Just in case you don't fall into one of those two groups, let me catch you up.

It was just about a year ago that I began the process of applying for the World Race, I would get accepted, I would fund-raise, I would attend training camp, I would fund-raise some more and in January 2015 I would leave on the race. . . at least that's what I thought. I did get accepted, I did fund-raise, I did go to training camp. . . and then something changed. I wasn't sure what to do, I had said yes, I had come this far, surely God wanted me to continue and leave on the race, at least that's what I wanted. From that point on things got harder and complicated, you see, that's what happens when you try to push open a door God is closing. Finally in December 2014, 4 weeks before launch for the World Race, I said yes to God again and stepped away.

That was the ending, this is the beginning. Shortly before I stepped away from the World Race I was having a conversation with someone at Greater Europe Mission (GEM) about my journey with the World Race, they told me they looked forward to seeing me the day after what would be my launch date. What? Really? I'll be gone! Those are things I thought during that conversation. . . a few weeks later though, I found myself in his office, the day before my would be launch. I thought, it's too soon to be here, I need time to "grieve". But Bryan (the best dreamer of Kingdom dreams I've ever met) told me something that day that struck me, "Missions doesn't happen on accident" in that moment, everything that God had been teaching me through my World Race journey came into focus, intentionality. I left that day and began praying about GEM and all the different countries and ministries they work with and if I fit into one of those. A couple weeks later I went back into the GEM office with 3 ministries God had really drawn me to, to my surprise GEM had a ministry in mind that they felt would be a fit for me as well, but didn't want to place me somewhere God wasn't calling me to so they asked about my 3 ministries first. . . and because God is an amazing and good God. .  the ministry GEM had in mind was also one of the 3 ministries God had shown me!

So here I am, at the beginning of this new journey with God! I'm taking the lessons I learned through the World Race and am being very intentional in all my preparations with GEM. I'll be partnering with London City Mission (LCM) in London starting in August. LCM is an amazing ministry working in London to see more people across the city come to know Jesus Christ as their Lord by serving the least reached of London. You can learn more about LCM at their website, www.lcm.org.uk

Thank you for reading my ramblings, thank you for praying for me and thank you for being on this God journey with me! If you'd like to donate to my GEM partnership you can visit the GEM website at http://www.gemission.org/ and click the Donate tab, you can find me by my name or my ministry number of 09955. Excited for what God has ahead and excited to be able and share it with you. . . and remember, before you can have a new beginning, there has to be an ending!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. "The Lord is my portion," says my soul, "therefore I will hope in him." - Lamentations 3:22-24