Retreat recap

Hello friends,

I hope you all enjoyed the gorgeous weather over the Memorial Day holiday! I was on a church retreat over the weekend, and I can see that God is moving in this church and in my own heart. In the last few years, both the English and Chinese congregations have been growing tremendously; there are always new faces every time I come back. There was a time of sharing during the retreat, and it was really encouraging to hear how God has been working in others' lives.

Personally speaking, this was the first church retreat I had been on in several years, mostly because until recently, the English retreat was little more than baby-sitting. This year, our youth pastor intern spoke and several of his seminary classmates came to give workshops. It was really good, and I definitely learned a lot. In addition to what I learned, God also broke my heart for the youth. The youth pastor was pleading with them one night to stop being so superficial in their relationships with God and to look deeper, and as I looked at the youth, I saw in them a bit of me five or six years ago, and I saw how far God had brought me since then. I realized with great sadness that they didn't even know what they were missing out on in this journey with Christ, and it is my hope and prayer that they would "[be] rooted and established in love, [and] may have power, together with all the saints, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge" (Ephesians 3:17-19).

Thank you all for your faithfulness in prayer, and please continue to join me in prayer for the following:
- Praise God for one of the youth who received Christ this weekend!
- Pray that the youth would continue to wrestle with what they have learned this weekend and they would not remain complacent in their walks with Christ
- During the retreat, God confronted me with some of the bitterness in my heart and told me it was time to let go. Please pray for me through this process, that I will open my heart and let him heal me
- Pray for my wisdom teeth removal on Thursday, that God would guide the oral surgeon's hands and that I would heal quickly without complications
- Praise God for calling all of my teammates to this project and the amazing things that He has done in all of their lives.
- Pray for my teammates to trust in God's provision for the support that they have left to raise. Pray that their supporters will give generously for His name.
- Pray that we would all be empty vessels for God to work through us this summer.

In Christ,
Jess

It's summer!

Hello friends!

Thank you for all your prayers through an incredibly stressful finals week last week! God has been so gracious not only in carrying me through finals, but also in overwhelmingly providing financial support and encouragement. Over the last few days, I've had a chance to relax and spend time with the seniors who graduated yesterday. I have one more day in the city tomorrow as I wrap things up in lab, and then I will fly home to Atlanta on Saturday and help out with my home church's youth retreat this weekend, where we will be exploring the person of Jesus Christ. After the retreat, I will be getting my wisdom teeth removed, and then I'll have two weeks to recover before I leave for missions.

So as you can see, the next few days are going to be quite busy, so would you please join me in praying for the following:

- Thank God for his enormous provision that is beyond what I dare to ask or imagine (Ephesians 3:20) and for the generosity of all my supporters
- Pray that the retreat would be refreshing and challenging for the youth as they consider who Jesus is and what they will do about Him
- Because so much of my Christian growth and experience is deeply tied to my fellowship at Columbia, being at home away from that support is always spiritually challenging for me. Please pray that I would learn to rely on God regardless of where I am or who I am with.
- Pray for safe travel home and to Hawaii, and smooth healing from oral surgery.
- Pray for my teammates and I as we prepare for the trip, that we would wholly surrender ourselves to God and that we would not be obstacles to His purpose and work.
- Pray for cohesion, unity, and love as we serve each other and the local people in Hawaii.
- Pray that in all things, God would be glorified.

In Him,
Jess

Hello friends!

Hello friends!

Welcome to my new blog! I will be posting updates, stories, and prayer requests here throughout the summer. If you would like to receive updates via email, email me at JYL2121 (at) columbia.edu.

In the meantime, I am currently in the middle of study week before finals next week, so please pray that

1. I will keep my eyes fixed on Jesus and to keep my relationship with Him my first priority, even in the midst of busyness and stress.
2. My motivation for studying and working would be to glorify God, not for myself (Colossians 3:23)
3. As I raise support for this mission trip, I will not get bogged down by the details and lose sight of the bigger picture of why I am going on missions in the first place
4. I will trust God wholeheartedly in all circumstances (Proverbs 3:5)

In Christ,
Jessica