Resting in Bakersfield before the big trip!

Sorry for not posting sooner. :( I am now in Bakersfield, CA, staying with my grandparents for almost three weeks, and then I will be returning to Papua New Guinea on July 13th. While I'm here, I need to fill out college applications, practice flute, buy a fancy dress, run, and spend time with my family. Please pray that I would be faithful to do everything and that I would do it well. I have already gone shopping since I've been here, as well as swimming at my aunt and uncle's house. This is supposed to be my summer vacation, but there are so many things to do that it's not really a vacation, just time off from school! The time my family spent in Irvine was more of a vacation, but we went out to eat every day with my parents' friends, and that got to be annoying. The house that we stayed in was beautiful, though. I especially loved the garden in the backyard. It was so pretty!

Anyways, here in Bakersfield, I love the walks that I go on with some or all of the family every night. I'm also enjoying the heat and the ever-present sunshine. So far, my stay has been great, and I hope the rest of it goes well. :)

The day has finally arrived!

The day is here! My family is leaving Ohio today! I have mixed feelings. I love my Grace church friends, and I am going to miss them terribly, but on the other hand, I am so excited to spend three weeks with my grandparents, in warm, sunny, Bakersfield, CA. Thank you to everyone who prayed for my family's support. My faith has been strengthened by God's great provision and also by your loving encouragement. Thank you for all of the ways that you have helped me feel at home this year! I will be praying for all of you, and think of you often! Would you please pray for safety as my family travels to California today? We leave Cleveland at 3:10 PM and arrive at LAX at 10:05 PM (Cleveland time). We'll be staying in Irvine, CA, for a week, visiting friends of my parents there, and then traveling to Bakersfield to stay with my grandparents for three weeks. On Monday, July 13th, we'll leave the US and fly through Hong Kong and Cairns, Australia, before arriving in Ukarumpa, Papua New Guinea, on Friday, July 17th. Thank you once again for everything! Please feel free to email me! I'd love to keep in touch. :)

Much love,

Jessica

Jude 1 :24-25

²⁴To him who is able to keep you from falling and to present you before his glorious presence without fault and with great joy— ²⁵to the only God our Savior be glory, majesty, power and authority, through Jesus Christ our Lord, before all ages, now and forevermore! Amen.

Packing and Saying Goodbyes

My room is so messy right now, not because I am disorganized, but because I am moving in 12 days! I have mixed emotions about the whole process. I will miss my friends here with all of my heart. Their love and kindness to me have encouraged me during this year in the US. My friends have blessed me in so many ways. I can't even say how thankful I am for all that they have done for me. The Grace Church Senior High Youth Group has also been such a blessing to me. God has used Pastor Steve to teach me so much and everyone has been so friendly. The youth group is overflowing with love and God is using them to impact the lives of others in a variety of ways. It won't be the same next year without Wednesday Night Live and Sunday Morning Son Life, but I know that God wants my family to return to Papua New Guinea. I am excited about visiting my grandparents in California and then seeing all of the friends that God has given me in PNG. I am looking forward to a great senior year, before I come back to the US for college, but I wish I had more time with everybody in Ohio. If only I could take all my friends to PNG, one of my dreams would become reality. But I don't think that's what God wants, and God's plan is best, so I strive to follow it. I wish that even just one friend would come visit me. Maybe somebody's up for a new and invigorating experience. I'll just wait and see. For now I only have 12 days left with all of these wonderful people, some that I have known for many years and others that I have only recently met, and I want to make the most of them! God bless you guys!

1 Thessalonians 1:2-3

Thanksgiving for the Thessalonians' Faith

²We always thank God for all of you, mentioning you in our prayers. ³We continually remember before our God and Father your work produced by faith, your labor prompted by love, and your endurance inspired by hope in our Lord Jesus Christ.

Time is ticking away!

My time here is evaporating into thin air. The school year is coming to an end, and I am leaving Berea. I am going to California for a month, and then I will return to Papua New Guinea. I am not going to miss the city of Berea, but I am going to miss my friends who live here. They have made my time here very satisfying. I am so thankful that God is providing the money my family needs so that we will be able to return to PNG in July. We are up to 93% and a little more trickles in every day! God provides for his children. He gives us everything we need.

Genesis 22:14 (New International Version)

¹⁴ So Abraham called that place The LORD Will Provide. And to this day it is said, "On the mountain of the LORD it will be provided."

Five more days of braces and a decent mock interview!

I only have five more days left of wearing braces! I am really excited about that!

My mock interview for my Career Success Skills was today, and I was slightly nervous, but I prayed to God and asked him to help me do my best. I dressed up, and several people asked me why I was wearing what I was wearing. A couple of them said they liked my outfit. I went into the interview, not knowing what to expect. I have never had a real interview. When I got there, I went to the teacher in charge, signed in, and was prepared to wait for a couple of minutes, but I was immediately directed over to the table where my interviewer was sitting. I was relieved to find the lady who interviewed me to be very friendly and courteous. Most of the questions that she asked me I was able to reply to quickly and adequately, but a couple of times I couldn't think of a good answer, and I felt like I should have been more prepared. Thankfully the interview was fine. My interviewer told me that I need to speak up, and share more about my experiences living overseas. She said that with the world becoming more globalized, companies are looking for people who have experienced different cultures. My interview was not too difficult, and I learned a few important things to prepare me for when I have a real job interview. It was a good experience!

Joy comes in the morning

For quite a while, I felt somewhat depressed. I couldn't be perfect. I wasn't beautiful enough. I wasn't skinny enough. I was sick. But I went to God and asked him to heal me. I questioned him about my worth. And he answered my prayer, in ways I had never imagined. He took away my sore throat. It was amazing how much better I felt a few hours after I had prayed. He also gave me joy. I can hardly describe the feelings I am experiencing right now. God brought me through the long night, and blessed me with a glorious morning. I was feeling so depressed about the way that God made me, but he made me this way for his purpose. I will never be as gorgeous as I want to be here on earth, but I can only imagine how amazing I will look in Heaven, and that is what really matters, because that's the way I will be forever! God has to remind me often that I am exactly the way he created me to be, and that I am making an impact in the lives of others. My life is a work in progress. Every day, my story is being written, word by word, page by page. God already had the blueprint for my life. He has certain things that he planned specifically for me. He will use me to bring people to him in whatever way is needed. That brings greater joy to my life. I've made it through yet another valley of depression, and my heart feels light again. God never leaves me, and he provides me with strength to make it through everything. The joy of the Lord is my strength!

Psalm 28:7

The LORD is my strength and my shield;
my heart trusts in him, and I am helped.
My heart leaps for joy
and I will give thanks to him in song.

God is doing great things!

God is so good! I had been doubtful for some time, not really sure what exactly I believed. I don't know exactly what I was doubting, but I do know that Satan, the enemy, was planting lies in my heart. He was trying really hard to drag me away from God, but God wouldn't let him. I sought to draw close to God. I began reading The Power of a Praying Teen. I started praying more often, especially during school, sitting in classrooms full of people blinded by Satan's lies, living in darkness. Their conversation often discourages me and pours doubts into my heart. Satan laughs as my mind tells me that God is distant and that I might not be a Christian, but God is not content to leave me there, fighting the spiritual battle. God used his Word, the Bible and my parents' Bible study last Friday night, to strengthen my faith and encourage me. He also proved to me that I am not alone in what I am going through with Bekah Harper's testimony tonight. She shared that she even doubted God's existence after He had told her that he would use her in a mighty way in the next four years. God is showing that he is in this place, with me, and he will be with me wherever I go. He has me here for a purpose, and he has chosen me to be his child. My name is written in the Book of Life, and I know where I am going to spend eternity. God spoke to me through 2 Peter 1, and Esther 4:14. This is a testimony that God is real, he has forgiven me and I am his child, and the purpose of my life is to bring glory to his name.

2 Peter 1 (New International Version)

¹Simon Peter, a servant and apostle of Jesus Christ,
To those who through the righteousness of our God and Savior Jesus Christ have received a faith as precious as ours:

²Grace and peace be yours in abundance through the knowledge of God and of Jesus our Lord.

Making One's Calling and Election Sure

³His divine power has given us everything we need for life and godliness through our knowledge of him who called us by his own glory and goodness. ⁴Through these he has given us his very great and precious promises, so that through them you may participate in the divine nature and escape the corruption in the world caused by evil desires.

⁵For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; ⁶and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; ⁷and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. ⁸For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. ⁹But if anyone does not have them, he is nearsighted and blind, and has forgotten that he has been cleansed from his past sins.

¹⁰Therefore, my brothers, be all the more eager to make your calling and election sure. For if you do these things, you will never fall, ¹¹and you will receive a rich welcome into the eternal kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Prophecy of Scripture

¹²So I will always remind you of these things, even though you know them and are firmly established in the truth you now have. ¹³I think it is right to refresh your memory as long as I live in the tent of this body, ¹⁴because I know that I will soon put it aside, as our Lord Jesus Christ has made clear to me. ¹⁵And I will make every effort to see that after my departure you will always be able to remember these things.

¹⁶We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."^{a]" style="line-height: 0.5em; ">[a]}¹⁸We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹And we have the word of the prophets made more certain, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet's own interpretation. ²¹For prophecy never had its origin in the will of man, but men spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Esther 4:14

14 For if you remain silent at this time, relief and deliverance for the Jews will arise from another place, but you and your father's family will perish. And who knows but that you have come to royal position for such a time as this?"