My dearest ones,
As I write this I am back in Colorado, going through what is called Transition Training, looking out from my cabin onto a mountain that is covered with pine trees. They declaim God’s creative and artistic heart. I have met one of my teammates and reconnected with another family who are on my team in Asia. It has been good to bond and ask them all my crazy questions. I came here not wanting to open my heart to any more people because it is so hard to say goodbye, but I am so glad and blessed that I continue to interact and desire friendships. I am learning how to best manage crises, what my personal culture style is and how it will or will not fit with the culture I will be entering, and that the number one way to be successful is to be continually connected with my Heavenly Father.
As you read this though, I have hopefully already departed for and landed in Asia. I imagine that as I unpack and get settled I will be going through many emotions. Transitions are never easy but ones to a different culture are even harder. Let me share with you some of my prayers.
*That God would provide an integral national woman who would befriend me-to assist me with cultural questions and to give me emotional and language encouragement.
*That I would quickly learn in culturally appropriate ways, how to say no, so that I don’t become overwhelmed and over stressed by doing too much.
*That I would strive to be Holy and not just Happy.
Your continual and faithful prayers for me are greatly appreciated and needed. As I begin to look for school, house sit, look for apartments, determine if I do or don’t want a roommate, discover where to buy vegetables, what places sell good quality meat, and get used to eating sea weed again; the knowledge that there is such a cloud of witnesses interceding for me when I am sleeping and when I wake will give me strength when I feel afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down.
Yet, let us rejoice in the Goodness of God our Father !!! He has taken me in and out and around to bring me to this right place at the right time with the right people doing the right thing to glorify His name and bring His kingdom come. Through out the years that He has been preparing me for this time I was nawing at the bit wanting to be there, doing the work I knew I could do for Him. However, I look back on the years and I see that He orchestrated and guided me in ways that at times felt like crawling, to bring me to this place now. For had things been done in the swiftness that I wanted to go out into the world many of you would not know me let alone be a large part of this ministry. Praise the LORD for fulfilling His promise to give me a hope and a future using you.
Love, Denise
P.S. For the safety of those I work with and myself I will no longer use Christian-ese. God=Father, Church=family, prayer=think or talk to, Holy Spirit=helper, Jesus=Teacher, Bible=the Book. Any future communication with me in anyway, needs to avoid Christian dialog and phrases. Thank you for your sensitivity and support. Please change my mailing address to oci. They will get any personal notes or letters to me in Asia. My skype name is denise.jasmer. My email is now DeniseJ@worksmail.net xoxo Dj
Thursday, September 10, 2009
Wednesday, August 5, 2009
Back in the Mother Land!!
8/5/09 Nebraska welcomed me home with open arms and much activity. I have was involved in Nikki's wedding, which was encouraging, enjoyable, and creatively thought through. Thank you for letting me a part of your very special day.
I spent all day on the first of Aug packing, weighing, unpacking, repacking, reweighing and sorting and shreding. It was a very full and exhausting day, but I felt very productive and on the second and third I was significantly sore from lifting 50-70lb luggage and steping on a scale and holding still until a weight was logged. Those of you who know how fidgity I am know how hard it must have been to stand still.
I had a nice dinner with Joyce and Bill Ross on the fourth and was able to connect and hear some of their life stories.
I leave on the 6th to go to Wyoming. Hopefully I will get to speak at Highland Park or at least talk to Pastor Milo before I leave Casper to come back to Lincoln.
The great part is that I have my plane tickets bought and my visa has arrived. I am for sure leaving Sept 13th. All is very exciting!!!
I spent all day on the first of Aug packing, weighing, unpacking, repacking, reweighing and sorting and shreding. It was a very full and exhausting day, but I felt very productive and on the second and third I was significantly sore from lifting 50-70lb luggage and steping on a scale and holding still until a weight was logged. Those of you who know how fidgity I am know how hard it must have been to stand still.
I had a nice dinner with Joyce and Bill Ross on the fourth and was able to connect and hear some of their life stories.
I leave on the 6th to go to Wyoming. Hopefully I will get to speak at Highland Park or at least talk to Pastor Milo before I leave Casper to come back to Lincoln.
The great part is that I have my plane tickets bought and my visa has arrived. I am for sure leaving Sept 13th. All is very exciting!!!
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Colorado!!
7/21/09
I am so thankful that God created Colorado!! It is so beautiful here. I have had the joy and privilege to meet one of my teammates at training and be reacquainted with one of the families on my team here. The enthusiasm and encouragement I received from them was so wonderful. I began training on the 15th and have so far learned:
*Crisis Management
*Theology of Suffering
*Revisited Family/Single issues
*Personal Culture vs. Corporate or Communal Culture
*Ethics and Identity
and
*Beginning to learn skills on how to
train my mouth to make non English sounds.
The long and short of it is that I have been pretty busy and my brain is very tired.
I have 9 more days left before I return to Nebraska. I intend to continue to make the best of it. Please visit my prayer link to see what you can pray for.
I am so thankful that God created Colorado!! It is so beautiful here. I have had the joy and privilege to meet one of my teammates at training and be reacquainted with one of the families on my team here. The enthusiasm and encouragement I received from them was so wonderful. I began training on the 15th and have so far learned:
*Crisis Management
*Theology of Suffering
*Revisited Family/Single issues
*Personal Culture vs. Corporate or Communal Culture
*Ethics and Identity
and
*Beginning to learn skills on how to
train my mouth to make non English sounds.
The long and short of it is that I have been pretty busy and my brain is very tired.
I have 9 more days left before I return to Nebraska. I intend to continue to make the best of it. Please visit my prayer link to see what you can pray for.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
At the Center of the USA
March 20-22, 2009.
So for the last 2 years at least my friend Suzanne and I have been talking how we were going to get together since her move to Clay Center, KS. We finally made good on that discussion. It only takes me leaving to make it happen. Suzanne was a pivotal part on mym journey to get to China. When I went to China in 2001, she was one of the people who I went with. We, together with several other American's, went to a university and participated in a cultural exchange with Chinese College students. So, needless to say it was AWEsome to be with her, re-live some memories, meet her daughter, see the zoo!!!! and talk with her and Grant about my future plans. The joy of being a part of a faith family that is scattered through out the United States as well as the World is so real when I am constantly reconnecting with sisters broters.
I loved seeing the tiny zoo that is smaller than Lincoln's. One of the joys was seeing Tori point at each animal and say "cat" or "dog" and the other was the squirrel exhibit. :) see photo.
