Well, here I am a year later sitting out in my hallway in the middle of some last minute packing. I reread the first paragraph of my last blog post August 11, 2011. Last year as I said goodbye to the people I'd known at the Word for the World headquarters in Chennai, I had silently wondered if God would bring me back to India some day. I remember having a lot of peace as I left that night half knowing that this wouldn't be the last time I would experience India...
As I've spent this last year at Northwestern I've seen God grow me in a lot of ways I had never anticipated, and I've watched a lot of the things I learned over last summer be challenged into a deeper sense of maturity, understanding, and humility. It's one thing to go overseas and transform into a missionary of sorts for the summer, it's another thing entirely to come back to the places and people we call home and seek to witness and further God's Kingdom in more familiar, perhaps even mundane, surroundings. I had a lot of things to figure out those first couple of weeks or months I was back at Northwestern and home. I encountered a lot of cultural and theological dissonance, and I was beginning to question a lot of previously unexamined parts of my identity.
As usual, looking back I can see that God was weaving together something beautiful despite my confusion and own inability to see His purpose. Throughout this past year, God has continued to bring opportunities into my life to speak and think deeply about Him and about what I learned throughout last summer. And (although somewhat frustrating at the time ha) He also brought the most beautiful people and responsibilities into my life which helped me to question and further explore what I thought I had already learned.
And now I'm here - getting ready to leave for Kolkata tomorrow morning. I was told by my advisor and some professors that I could really use an internship this summer to bolster my resume, so I began to pray for it immediately (all the way back in November) and I began looking around for potential internship sites which would offer me some experience working alongside women/children dealing with issues such as domestic violence, prostitution, trafficking, etc..
So, now that bring me to here - preparing for six weeks in Kolkata learning from the organization staff - an absolute dream come true! And I've just been so truly blessed by everyone who is praying for me even now and has stood behind me as I've prepared for this exhilarating opportunity! I will be staying with a host couple who also work with this organization and who are already hosting one intern. I plan to blog about my experiences in Kolkata as much as I'm able to, but I won't be sure how often I'll have internet access until I'm there.
I would love any prayers for health, growth in faith, and just general openness to everything I hope to learn (and also prayers for my family and friends because I love them and prayers are always awesome). I would also really appreciate payers for my boyfriend Zach and friend Jordan who are both interning with a missions organization in Kursk, Russia this summer. A lot of people miss both of them this summer (me included of course) and I just pray that everyone we know would be fully invested wherever God has us this summer or at this point in our lives so we can all best further the Kingdom of God as fully as possible in the here and now!
Thanks again, for everyone who has supported me - I hope to blog soon after I'm situated.
Peace!
- Jenni
As I've spent this last year at Northwestern I've seen God grow me in a lot of ways I had never anticipated, and I've watched a lot of the things I learned over last summer be challenged into a deeper sense of maturity, understanding, and humility. It's one thing to go overseas and transform into a missionary of sorts for the summer, it's another thing entirely to come back to the places and people we call home and seek to witness and further God's Kingdom in more familiar, perhaps even mundane, surroundings. I had a lot of things to figure out those first couple of weeks or months I was back at Northwestern and home. I encountered a lot of cultural and theological dissonance, and I was beginning to question a lot of previously unexamined parts of my identity.
As usual, looking back I can see that God was weaving together something beautiful despite my confusion and own inability to see His purpose. Throughout this past year, God has continued to bring opportunities into my life to speak and think deeply about Him and about what I learned throughout last summer. And (although somewhat frustrating at the time ha) He also brought the most beautiful people and responsibilities into my life which helped me to question and further explore what I thought I had already learned.
And now I'm here - getting ready to leave for Kolkata tomorrow morning. I was told by my advisor and some professors that I could really use an internship this summer to bolster my resume, so I began to pray for it immediately (all the way back in November) and I began looking around for potential internship sites which would offer me some experience working alongside women/children dealing with issues such as domestic violence, prostitution, trafficking, etc..
So, now that bring me to here - preparing for six weeks in Kolkata learning from the organization staff - an absolute dream come true! And I've just been so truly blessed by everyone who is praying for me even now and has stood behind me as I've prepared for this exhilarating opportunity! I will be staying with a host couple who also work with this organization and who are already hosting one intern. I plan to blog about my experiences in Kolkata as much as I'm able to, but I won't be sure how often I'll have internet access until I'm there.
I would love any prayers for health, growth in faith, and just general openness to everything I hope to learn (and also prayers for my family and friends because I love them and prayers are always awesome). I would also really appreciate payers for my boyfriend Zach and friend Jordan who are both interning with a missions organization in Kursk, Russia this summer. A lot of people miss both of them this summer (me included of course) and I just pray that everyone we know would be fully invested wherever God has us this summer or at this point in our lives so we can all best further the Kingdom of God as fully as possible in the here and now!
Thanks again, for everyone who has supported me - I hope to blog soon after I'm situated.
Peace!
- Jenni
