“The scales of life seem so radically off balance and I don’t even understand where I should begin.”

I wrote that quote this summer after spending my first day in Honduras on a medical missions trip with Mission Lazarus, the ministry Cross Point supports in San Marcos.

I’ve been on a lot of mission trips in my life and each time I go I get overwhelmed by the disparity between my world and theirs.  I often really don’t know where to begin. Every attempt seems so feeble in the grand scheme.

I waffle between the extreme emotions of an utter meltdown to calloused indifference.

Today I head back to Honduras for a week.  We’ll be delivering Christmas gifts to many of the same children I first met this past July.  I’ll reconnect with Emely who I met on that trip and absolutely fell in love with.

She stole my heart so much that I began sponsoring her meals and education each month.  My gift from her will be seeing that beautiful smile in person once again.

Honestly I don’t know what I was thinking by booking a mission trip in December.  It’s such a crazy month to be away.  I second-guessed myself every day leading up to this trip.  How could I add another thing to my already unbalanced world?

But really how could I not?  To stay home, amidst the hustle and bustle – the parties… the shopping… the decorating… the baking – would actually feel more out of balance this year.

How do you balance the craziness of the Christmas season?  What helps you have a balanced perspective amidst the madness?  It may not be as extreme as leaving the country for five days, but be sure to pause and reflect to find some sacred moments.  I hope to find some this week!

The school where I served this summer in San Marcos, Honduras.

On Sunday, President Porfirio Lobo declared a state of emergency in southern Honduras following torrential rains that have caused severe flooding in several departments, especially Choluteca and Valle which are under red alert status. The departments of Atlántida, Colón, Comayagua, Copán, Cortés, La Paz, Intibucá, Lempira, Ocotepeque, and Santa Bárbara are under a yellow alert, as is the city of Tegucigalpa. A total of 14 people have died thus far as a consequence of the floods and 10,394 have been evacuated from their communities.

from Honduras Weekly

This is all happening in the heart of where Mission Lazarus, the ministry we support in Honduras, is located.  As I see pictures and hear reports from the missionaries we partner with there, my heart aches… I was just there this this summer.

Fortunately or unfortunately I understand the devastation of a flood.  It’s no longer just news, it’s personal and painful.

You can click here to read a more detailed report from Seth & Rebekah, an amazing couple who are missionaries there.  They were trapped in their home which was partially flooded and has sustained significant damage.

Cross Point is sending funds to support the relief efforts of the Mission Lazarus team.  Would you join us by:

1) Praying for the people of Honduras who are displaced.  Many of them already have so little, so this loss is really painful.

2) Praying for the Mission Lazarus team.  They are working all hours to provide relief.  This group of mostly 20-somethings are remarkable leaders.  I’m so proud of them.  They need our prayers and encouragement.  The days are long and exhausting.

3) Giving to the relief efforts.  Your gift will go a long way towards rebuilding.

Mission Lazarus team – much love and prayers are being sent your way.  Stay the course.  You guys are amazing!

Today I had the privilege of catching up with a dear friend and co-worker.  While I was in Honduras a couple of weeks ago, Miranda was in the Dominican Republic with another one of our teams.  I guess it’s no surprise that our conversation drifted towards our experiences on those trips.

Miranda shared one insight from her trip that I haven’t been able to shake since we talked.  She said, “Jenni, I didn’t feel despair for the people we served, I felt hopeful.”

Isn’t it true that we prepare ourselves to experience the extreme when we go on foreign mission trips? 

While I was in Honduras I couldn’t help but process those extremes…

Honduras is one of the most beautiful countries I have ever visited but the beauty of God’s creation is so radically distorted by the tragedy of the disease and poverty that is common in most developing countries.  I felt like for the first time I caught a glimpse of the beauty of God’s original design for creation as it collides with the consequences of our sin and frailty.

It seems hopeless in a way.  The needs are too vast to really meet them all.

As excessive Americans we lament over the primitive lifestyle of those who live in the developing world, but I wonder if it’s really all that bad?

Our excess has only served to expose the ugly sin within our hearts.  We mask it by our beauty and perfection, but the consequences are no different.

We have so far to go to restore the beauty of God’s original design and sometimes I wonder why we try so hard?  In our effort to restore perfection, I think we focus on the wrong things.  We quickly want to scoop up the sweet young children and rescue them back to America where they can have all the luxuries our lifestyle affords.  I’m not sure I want to impose this madness on those who don’t take for granted a single blessing.

This is my sweet friend Emily.  Look at that smile!  I really did want to pack her up and take her home, but more importantly what I needed to do is share God’s love with her, support the school and ministry organization that provides her education and two meals a day.  Emily needs to be right where she is with her family and community that love her and some passionate people who feel called to serve her day in and day out.

I believe that one day God will restore the beauty of creation, but I don’t think He has tasked us with that job.  Sometimes I think we get more focused on that than on the goal he actually gave us.

Go into all the world and preach the Gospel to all creation.  Mark 16:15

That’s the the calling Jesus left us with.  That’s the goal we should be pursuing.  I don’t think He would have said it if it wasn’t possible.  Our job will never be to make sure the entire world lives as comfortably as we do.  That’s the wrong goal.  Our goal is to make disciples of all men, to show the love of Jesus and draw all men to Him.

Sometimes that starts with food distribution, providing clean water, education and medical aid, but may we never forget that those things aren’t the end goal.  They are the beginning.  I can’t make it all perfect, but I can lead people to the one who can.

When we understand our real purpose and goal there is no despair, there is hope!

I’m so very proud of our Honduras team.  They accomplished some amazing work this week… they shared the love of Jesus in such tangible ways.  Please keep them in your prayers as the rest of the group travels home Sunday.

Here are a couple of videos put together by the amazing Mission Lazarus team.  This will give you a glimpse of our week.

Cross Point Field Report – Duyure from Mission Lazarus on Vimeo.

Cross Point Church Field Report – San Marcos from Mission Lazarus on Vimeo.

Hey friends!  I snagged a few minutes of good internet time so I thought I would share with you all some thoughts from Monday at the Medical Clinic where I got to work in the pharmacy.  (Btw, there are many reasons why I shouldn’t be trusted to hand out drugs, namely because I don’t know the difference between Tylenol and Ibuprofen!   But fortunately there were many more qualified individuals checking my work.  Seriously, I came here to help people, not kill them!) 

This mission trip has been a bit sentimental for me because my very first mission trip 19 years ago was to Honduras.  I fell in love with this country then and it only took a step on Honduran soil for me to rekindle that feeling.  This is an absolutely beautiful country.  I truly think it is the most beautiful country that I’ve been privileged to visit.

I’ve taken many missions trips all over the world since my first trip at the age of 16 and yet every time I do this I am immediately wrecked by my selfish, obnoxious, American self.  I just have so much trouble reconciling the extremes between my lifestyle and the reality of every day life for people here. I wish I could say that I’m broken and humbled but today I spent my day trying to avoid a little girl who had some kind of skin rash.  This little girl wanted to play and she wanted to be loved and hugged repeatedly.  But my ugly heart couldn’t love her for fear of acquiring whatever disease she was plagued with – a disease of inconvenience for me but a disease she doesn’t have the means to cure.

I love missions trips and I hate them for this reason.  I can’t avoid my prideful, petty heart that cares more about myself than showing love to others.  Trips like this force me to face that.  I can’t control the not-so-pretty stuff out.  I have to come face to face with it.

As much as we’re here trying to help, I feel like every time God uses these trips to expose more of the work He has to do in me.  I may be trying to improve the lifestyle of the Hondurans, but God uses these trips to improve the character of my me.

What has been your most memorable mission trip experience?

I am spending this week in Tegucigalpa, Honduras with a team from Cross Point. We partner with an awesome organization in Honduras called Mission Lazarus whose mission is to be “a holistic ministry that focuses on basic primary education, skill development, health education and treatment, agricultural development, and preaching and teaching the Word of God.” We’ll be conducting a medical, dental and eye clinic in the village of Duyure and delivering food to remote areas of the countryside.

As internet connection is spotty at best, things will be pretty quiet here on my blog this week. Our team would definitely appreciate your prayers as we try to live out Christ’s love and be His hands and feet to the precious people here in Honduras!

I’m so proud of our Cross Point community for working so quickly to extend relief to Joplin!

I didn’t realize how many connections we had to this city until the news of the devastation hit.  Two members of our staff, Grant and Blake, have family and friends in this city, not to mention the numerous friends around the country who have shared stories about friends and loved ones there.

We are encouraging everyone to do something…

EVERYONE can PRAY

MANY can GIVE

SOME can GO

Pray – I encourage you to take some intentional time to pray for this city and every individual who has been impacted.  Pray for peace, strength, hope and provision.

Give – Click here for ways that you can give both monetarily and in goods.

Go – Cross Point will be taking a team of 40 to Joplin to help with relief efforts.  We are leaving this Sunday, May 29th at 1:00 PM.  Click here for more details.

We love you Joplin!  We’re on our way!

Valentine’s Day – L O V E Day

I am blessed with a wonderful husband, great family, dear friends and my furry Valentine Mick , however the greatest thing on my mind today is our Cross Point team over in Kolkata, India.  They are being love in ways that go far beyond anything Hallmark ever dreamed up.

These guys are love in action.  This Valentine’s Day, they are the ultimate act of love.

An open letter to our Cross Point team in India:

Cross Point team,

I’m so proud of you guys!  I know that this trip is stretching you in ways you never dreamed possible.

Curry… lots of it.  Roaches.  Smells.  Cold showers.  Hot, dry, dusty days.  More curry.

Smiles.  Grateful hearts.  Little hands that want to hold yours.  Little feet that want to follow you.

Take in every moment.  Every painful one.  Every joyful one.  Let your heart feel.  Collide with the tension of extreme poverty and unexplainable hope.

You are walking hope!  Be hope to the precious faces you encounter.  Push past the tiredness, the illness and the emotional toil and love these people for this moment.  You are literally breathing Christ’s love to them.  As you give of everything you have, receive their gratefulness.  As you reflect God’s love to them, see His love reflected in their eyes.

This moment will mark you.  It will change you (if you let it).  Your experiences there will be seared into your memory and you will never be the same.

Thank you for loving, for serving, for giving your time and your resources to love others.  Thank you for being the church.  Thank you for being the ultimate act of love this Valentine’s Day.

I’m so proud of you and I’m praying for you every single day!

With so much love and gratefulness,

Jenni

** You can see more from our India team’s journeys at Pete’s blog

Ahhh, it’s Friday!  Doesn’t matter how short the week is, Friday is always fabulous.

I’ve got two big things on my mind this weekend.

1) Guatemala and my friend Lindsey

Lindsey is on the Compassion bloggers trip this week and I’ve been praying for God to do some incredible things in her life and in the lives of the kids she’s interacting with.

I’m a huge fan of Compassion.  I sponsor a precious little girl named Venka who lives in southeast region of India.  I am overwhelmed every time I get a letter from Venka telling me what she is learning and how she is growing.  It’s amazing how much a small sacrifice financially on my part impacts Venka’s world exponentially.

I hope you’ll follow Lindsey’s journey this week and consider sponsoring a child.  You truly could change a life!

2) Empty Promises

No, I’m not counting on making any empty promises… or receiving them either.  I’m exciting about the launch of our new series at Cross Point by that name.  Here’s a taste of what we’ll be talking about:

Culture is full of all kinds of promises isn’t it?

Beauty = Confidence

Success = Happiness

Money = Security

Over the course of our lives we buy into promises around us that can leave us just as empty. We believe the promises of Success, Love, Acceptance, and Money, but when these things materialize . . . or don’t . . . we are left feeling unfulfilled

How do we avoid a life filled with Empty Promises?

I hope you’ll join us!

So what are you excited about, praying about, anticipating or dreaming about this week?

I’m learning there’s never a dull moment in multi-site ministry…

Yesterday I headed to our Dickson Campus to spend the morning.  Things were moving along right on schedule.  We had just finished our program overview meeting and were prepared to do a full run-through of the service when the power went out in the entire building.  We quickly learned that no breakers were blown, that indeed the entire street was without power and we didn’t have any idea when power would be back up.  It was 45 minutes before the first service.

The Dickson Campus staff and I rallied together quickly to come up with a “plan b” (I couldn’t resist ).  Within 20 minutes we had chosen a new location for services that provided natural light, we had put together an acoustic set and I was reading through Pete’s message notes to try to come up with at least a devotional based on the 3rd element of our vision statement.

We pulled together the volunteers that were already there, talked through our plan, assigned new responsibilities, prayed… and I’m not joking… immediately after we prayed, the lights came back on.  Just in time for us to begin the first service.

Scenarios like this morning are just a reminder to me that you never know when you’ll really need to lead.  Leadership happens in the unplanned moments and today I was so proud of how our Dickson staff stepped up to lead through this potential hiccup.

I’m so glad we actually heard Pete’s message because it just might be the most intense, passionate, challenging message I’ve ever heard him deliver.  My notes won’t do it justice, but I’ll try…

DNA – Relentlessly Dedicated by Pete Wilson

The real crisis is that people are going to church but they are not growing in Christ-likeness.

I believe the “space between” is all about us changing the world.

I really believe this church can change the world.  I believe this church is called to change the world.

Somewhere along the way, we bought into the idea that church exists to serve our needs.

If you don’t live like you believe your life was created to impact the world you will miss the point of salvation and sanctification.

Matthew 28:19

Mark 16:15

Acts 1:8

God’s general will for you is summed up in these verses.

There is a disconnect in our lives between the grace of God and the purpose of God.

You were created by God to enjoy His grace, but you were also created to extend His grace.

Isaiah 43:1-2,7

Psalm 67:1-2

The ends of the earth have never needed God’s grace more than today.

Missions shouldn’t be just a program in the church, it’s the whole reason for the church.  Nobody gets a calling to do missions.  It’s what we do as followers of Christ.

Every single one of you are here for a purpose and a reason.

Wake up to God’s call on your life!

What would happen if a group of people rise up and say “it’s not about us”?

Give graciously. God has a purpose for your life and it’s to make a difference!

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Today we also celebrated many of the amazing things we have been able to do as a church thus far.  This is just the beginning!