lookin at some very blue ocean!

Jill and Chelsea

every cousin has a cousin that picks their nose for them right?

Lunch at Kiwi's Cafe in Chester- New Zealand!

ok, just kidding about the New Zealand part...

Chantal counting tips at Second Cup...yes it can be long and tedious, but it is free money!

who else wouldn't want to get a bumblebee from a strange white person?

HAVE A GOOD TRIP SHEIL AND KELT!

Sheilagh and Keltie.....we miss you!! Maybe you could come back for just a little mid tree planting vacation????? haha just jokes! Have a safe trip.

Green waters at Cape Split

I think this picture explains itself!

kristin raising the roof??????

myself with the sisters

Isaly and Sarah

another scenic view...so beautiful!

don't think too hard guys....it's a holiday!!!

Our Good Friday Hike at Cape Split

It was the perfect amount of foggyness to still be cool.....kind of enchanting

Hmm...wouldn't it be nice to have some pics from our hike??? Everyone can harass David Marsh to email me the pictures....

Have you ever ordered a Crap a chino?

well I have, and it was very funny. Last night I went through the Starbucks drive through (this is the first time I have ever done this by the way). I don't know if the new experience made me nervous, but I was wondering if I should order a cappachino or a frappachino. I couldn't get it out right. I tried three times and all that came out was a combination of the two drinks...crap a chinno. It was a good laugh with the drive-thru people (on my behalf)!

What I do in my "spare" time

Well, it definitely has been a little longer than what I would have hoped for...but I have an excuse. I do not have a digital camera. I use my uncles camera. Unfortunately it got lost/stolen/left in Cuba never to be seen again. Fortuntately, it was his birthday and my aunt bought him a new one. So, once again, I am putting up a picture. This is my hammock that I bought in Ecuador. I hung it from my bunkbed and it works perfectly. It is a great spot. I spend a lot of time in my hammock reading or sleeping....I should be doing some school work, but the hammock usually wins over doing homework! See ya!

Favourite Childhood Game?

Ok: this is how it works...
post a comment of your favourite game or any game that you played when you were a kid and explain what it is.
1. "My french fry is bigger than your french fry"
This is a game that Emily, Jill, Daniel and I played. WHoever got the biggest french fry on their supper plate won. The only prize is the fact that you have the biggest french fry and everyone else wanted it.

The Adventure Begins!!!!

The airport before we left.

Killing time in the New Jersey Airport

Our Tourist Moments

Saturday and Sunday we did the typical tourist things in Guayaquil. This was a view from 400 stairs we climbed. You could see a very far distance.

A really cute girl in Iguana park

A deck shot

Estella and Anjelica

This is Anjelica. Her mom was Estella and she was the counsellor of the cabin Sheil, Julia, and Robin and I stayed in. During devos Shiel translated. Even without the translation this woman was such an encouragement to me in how she lived her life. Her husband is trying to start a Chineese food restaurant and they cooked for us when we were working at the school.

erica- this girl was sweet

Beach Time!!!

Beach time at any camp is the best! Except this beach time was a little more exciting than at Mali. The waves were very big and these kids can't swim! I'll let you do the math, but it was the highlight of the day....because it wasn't 40 degrees!!!!

Janna, "Jefferson" and .....

Christiane-this one is for you!

Chillin on the deck enjoying the sun burn! HAHA

Alejandro- This kid loved the waves!

The New Campamento!!!

This is the new camp! It really is just so neat what God is doing and to see this camp be put up and know that the Lord will use it in so many different ways. This is where Josh, Dave and Sean have been living for the past few months and where the College and Career group worked.
p.s.- i don't know if I spelled campamento right...

The Church

A view up the Road

This is a view up the road from the school and church. We all stayed with families in this neighborhood.- Block 6

The School in Bastion

This is the school! It is right in Bastion and attatched to the church. It was kind of like our home base when we were staying at people's houses in Bastion. We also painted there on Sunday and Monday.

After a Day of Painting at the School

This was after painting waiting for the taxi bus to come bring us back to the hotel for our final night in Alberado. I guess I was tired...

I am guessing there is an inside joke for this pic...I don't know it but I will post this picture anyways! :-)

The Scarf

Another Airport shot- I just thought this was a really funny piciture because everyone is doing something different and Emily is wearing that halarious scarf.

MOrning time at the airport!

At the airport in Quayaquil- Lisa, Kristin, and Robin

Running with Fire works

this is a story just to tie you all over till sunday when I got some pics of Ecuador hopefully! TOnight at 10:30 I went running. I live in a fairly safe town not known for any use of random explosives. I was approaching my favourite part of this run-the top of Basinview where you get to first of all run down a big hill, and second of all see all the lights and even the stars too. BUT...before I knew it there were 2 cars behind me honking their horn- nothing different than the usual :-)....(haha just jokes!) and then there was a roman candle on someone's lawn very close to me! It was going down the string and I was like "Oh no! what should I do?" I thought it was going to blow up. So i turned around and ran the other way. but then it didn't blow up anymore so I just sprinted till I cleared the area. and, i still have my hair and eyebrows, so it must have been a dud.

Pictures...

I will be putting up pictures when I can download them.....oh the suspense!!!!!

O Man!

I am going to be processing this for a while, but I will try to tell a bit about our trip to Ecuador and what God taught me. First thing: How have i not gone before? I say this kind of with some humor, but also with a grain of salt because I wish this experience could have happened earlier in my life. BUT, i know that God's timing is perfect and what I learned He will use for the rest of my life.
Ah, where to start...some experiences:
It was so hot! I didn't see my ankles the whole time. They were proportioned to a 400 pound lady. It was nice to see them return yesterday!
Bed Bugs-They must be common, or the few that are there are very hungry! We all got bites. By the last night I was so sick of getting eaten that I slept in a long sleeved shirt tucked into my underwear so they couldn't feed off my back anymore which they seemed to like.
What do cochroaches, band-aids, and cat fights have in common? Ask Robin Baldwin!!! It was late the last night and I was trying to fall asleep. Robin was writing some letters and pointed out that there was a cochroach coming out of a hole in the wall. i jumped out of bed and ran to another corner of the room. We didn't have any tape, but I had some band-aids. So after spraying some bug spray in the hole, Robin used the bandaids to tape a picece of paper over the hole to make sure we wouldn't have any visitors. In the midst of the commotion there was a cat fight outside our window that made it more scary.
Ahh, I don't even know how I can communicate this experience. There really was so much that was so stretching for me. I loved the kids, playing endless games of rock paper and scissors, swimming in the waves and playing with the kids. Not being able to communicate, but making do. Seeing how God has changed so many Ecuadorians lives and their families from gangs, alcoholism, and has clearly brought hope to them. They don't have money or power or material things to put their security in, only Himself. This was the biggest thing I was confronted with in my life. Security, and how the biggest challenge is not to orchestrate things in my life to create security in them- but to look past those things, which are fruitless and void and to put my security in God. I realized it so many times at camp and in Bastion staying with my host family. I didn't have communication to put my security in. I didn't have what I did or what I looked like to put my secuirty in...not saying that I am good looking :-), just that presentation isn't real security). What I mean is that it is easy to make ourselves feel "secure" by what we do and how we do it. But when these things are stripped away you realize how much you need to put your security in the Lord because that is real security.
I would like to think that life is just easy and everything falls into place that needs to. One day Glenn and I were sitting on the deck and he started talking about a passage in Matthew 11:12. "From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been forcefully advancing, and forceful men lay hold of it." We were talking about how much God was doing in Ecuador and how exciting it was. The truth is is that God is doing that work, but He needs workers who will work hard. "Forceful" is a strong word that holds a lot of meaning, alot of energy and alot of committment and dedication. Tim and Lil and their family, the missionaries there who live with these Ecuadorians encouraged me so much in how they love people. They adapeted the same lifestyle and live like the people do. By loving people and letting God do the changing, they have seen so much hope brought to people and the truth of Jesus do what it is meant to do :-)
So although there are moments where I had to give myself mental prep talks that I liked the smell of garbage and sewage, I liked bed bugs, I liked being dirty, and I loved chicked heart/intestine soup, I wouldn't trade this for the world and I would go again in a second. Let's get this life started. "Let's go Lord."
And to top this section of my journey off I really was encouraged leaving Ecuador because I know that God does have a purpose and call for His people. For the last 11 months I somewhat have felt like I have been wondering what I am doing. Actually I really have wondered and felt very lost at times. I put my application into nursing by faith, not because it made sense. I don't like needles, bad smells or blood really. No one in my family is a nurse, but for some reason I am filled with passion to be a nurse and to serve the Lord and people with it. When I was in Ecuador at the hotel I found out I got into nursing. And so the journey has begun and I am so excited. (those who were there can testify the level of my excitement!) I can't wait to go to school again. I can't wait for the day where I learn to give needles and will be praying so hard that I won't faint, or cleaning up throw up praying i won't barf myself! God doesn't call us to be comfortable. Walking by faith seems to be a risk, but secuity in Him makes this exciting and possible.
"He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created." James 1:18
"Not to us, O LORD, not to us but to your name be the glory, because of your faithfulness. Why do the nations say "where is their God?" Our God is in heaven and does whatever pleases Him. But their idols are silver and gold made by the hands of men. They have mouths but they cannot speak, eyes, but they can not see, they have ears but they can not hear, noses but they can not smell; they have hands but can not feel, feet but they cannot walk, nor can they utter a sound with their throats. Those who make them will be like them, and so who all who trust in them." Psalm 115:1-8. May we be the opposite of this.
Thanks for reading about my experiences.
Love Jenn

And then I did something cool....

Before I made a blog I thought, "Why would I make a blog, I don't go anywhere exciting these days"...... well today that is now officially not true because I am going to Ecuador until March 14th!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! When I get back I will promise some good, quality blog posts. See ya later!

It's Valentine's Day!

Some people think that pink is the colour for airheads...i wonder who that could be Sheil? Some people think Valentine's Day is only for romance....but we say it is a night for a cookie decorating party at anna's house (Girls only!!!) So, here are the pics, well not all of them...........

This is Anna and I setting up for the party- i ate "some" of the m&m's!

Jill...how many fluffy bunnies do you have in there?

Keltie saya, "It's Valentine's day. I feel alone and sad. Please take my picture."...was it something like that Kelt?

you know what is really good? biscotti and m&m's!!!

Julia says this picture is better than the other one on this blog, and i said "julia I think you are right."

once there were two girls who were joined at the head....sarah jennifer and jennifer louise. They don't get out much...

Isaly and Ally decorating some cookies

The lochness monster!!
The End

Daniel and Jenn make Cheesecake

Daniel made the cheesecake for our Ecuador Fundraiser....I helped by sampling, just to make sure it was good

Our family cat- the sumo wrestler

this is our cat pinning me down....daniel trained him to do this

3 Funny things at the Gym...

Over the past few months i have concluded that the gym can be a very entertaining spot. And so for your reading pleasure I will inform you of a few of them...
1. When people feel their muscules when they are on equipment running....or maybe they are feeling the pounds just drip right off...???
2. When men accidentally walk into the girls changeroom and are really embarrassed
3. When people use the wipes that are intended to be used to wipe off the equipment as towels...Sheilagh can tell you all about this one.

Another Second Cup Story...

Vernon is his name, and the first thing that comes to my mind when I think of him is not poor. Vernon is old, but I don't know how old. He comes in often and today he came in behind a mother and her daughter. When I was ringing him in the lady said, "you put that money away because i would like to buy you whatever you want" and she did. it was one of those moments where i didn't know what to say, but I just wanted to tell her thank you for the encouragement for treating someone else that way the CHrist would. that is something so rare because people hold on to every cent, and this woman demonstrated something so unselfish to me. maybe it was small to her, but it wasn't to vernon and it wasn't to me. that is something we are wanting to be molded by God to be more like- unselfish. Vernon came in half an hour later to ask us a question. He said that just before he came into the coffee store someone gave him four dollars which was the money I was going to take for his coffee. Then he looked at us with concern and asked, "Do I look really poor?" and my boss said "everyone knows that it is "Appreciate Vernon Day!"
The End
This really is a true story