as a deer pants for flowing streams...

Hello from the city that literally never sleeps.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 20 Apr 2012 04:23:00 +0000

Welp if you couldn't tell from the title of this blog, I'm in NYC now. It's been so much fun thus far. We arrived Monday and there is such a different atmosphere here than the city of Hanover (where Dartmouth is located) and the Vermont farmhouse I was at in the beginning of April. Both of which I loved and brought rest and peace to my soul!

It was such a joy to go to Dartmouth again. I love the small town and the beauty that surrounds the campus. We had a great time joining in with campus ministries, leading worship & prayer sets, teaching, and evangelizing. I felt the same stirring as last year. The hunger in the believers to see revival and an openness in the atmosphere for God to move! Revival is a reality.

New York City couldn't be more opposite than those tiny, sweet towns I've been in. I don't know that I could ever live here long term but I love the freedom and energy of the city (not like the new age kind of energy, but actual literal energy from the hustle and bustle)....the busyness of it all where you just can't wait to hit the pillow at night because of how productive you felt that day. At least that's how I've been feeling this week.

We went evangelizing yesterday at Columbus University and it felt less weird to strike up a random conversation with someone you've never met. Or maybe it felt like the same kind of weird but the atmosphere makes it feel more exciting to step out of your comfort zone? I don't know...but my team is just loving it here...it matches the fast pace schedule my students enjoy.

One thing I've noticed though is on the other side of that energy and the feeling of freedom is the hopelessness that can so easily be sensed. The 1st girl I talked to and asked if I could pray for yesterday replied "you can pray for my happiness." She immediately walked on. She was a cute college student but you could visibly see the sadness that overwhelmed her. Even just walking around or riding the subway I look at people and can see the ambition and desire to be something or to "make it" or whatever it is they want. But they just look sad. And not that ambition is a bad thing, but without a hope in Jesus what does it all mean? I was reading in Matthew when Jesus says "let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it." Then he says, "For what will it profit a man if he gains the whole world and forfeits his life?" That verse really struck me being here in NYC. How sad I find it to live a life thinking it all means nothing. BUT what a JOY it is to know Jesus and His love and the life He offers so abundantly! There is such freedom in knowing Jesus and He really is the only answer to our deepest longings and desires. It is my prayer that true and lasting freedom and life in Christ would come to this city.

So pray for my all-star team and I as we minister in the city and to local campuses like Columbia, Julliard, City College, etc. We'll be meeting with a lot of students from these campuses and teaching on evangelism and then immediately taking them to put it all into practice. Tomorrow we'll be meeting at New York University to do this very thing and then head over to Washington Square Park to share the gospel. May Jesus receive His reward in New York!

Below are some pictures for your enjoyment. Thank you all for your support and prayers. Be blessed this day!

My artsy Dartmouth shot.

Praying for Students at Dartmouth.

My team! Best.

Scenic Hanover.

Our crew doing worship at the Burlington House of Prayer.

Scenic Burlington, VT.

Scenic Huntington, VT.

Driving into NYC.

St. Tyler at the largest Cathedral in North America.

A peacock.

Kayla & Lauren leading worship at City College.

Hannah and I capturing the essence of city life...?

Healthy meals.


Working on my cooking skills.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 04 Mar 2012 19:07:00 +0000

Hey Friends and Family!!

What an AMAZING few months it has been! The DTS began in January and we have a radical group of students who are ready and willing to sacrifice it all for the sake of the gospel. I've seen major growth in each of their lives and I'm so excited to see what happens in these last few months of DTS.

What have I been doing?

The previous 2 months we've been in class learning about things like the love and character of God, world missions, worship and prayer, having a Biblical worldview, etc. Each week has been dynamic and God is moving in and among our staff and students in a great way teaching us how to abide in Him, not only now, but for the rest of our lives.

We've been applying what we learn each week by evangelizing on the streets of Harrisburg. One of the ways we've been doing this is by going to Bar Row every Friday night. We would hand out hot chocolate and strike up conversations with anyone we could. We got to pray and share the gospel with dozens of people and a few gave their lives to Christ and got filled with the Holy Spirit!!

Other than this I've been discipling students, preparing for our upcoming outreach, and cooking the meals for our school of 50! It's been a fun way to get to serve the base (and I'm learning how to cook! woohoo!).

Worshipping on Bar Row // Chris Dupre teaching on the Father heart of God

Where am I now?

Our entire school just moved to Washington DC to partner with YWAM DC for the last month of our lecture phase. What better way to grow a love for our nation than moving right to the heart of America? We are joining in with the Washington House of Prayer located in Anacostia to worship, pray, and exalt the name of Jesus over our government and our nation. We'll also be evangelizing in local neighborhoods and encouraging the missionaries in this area to keep going!

Our school on a Biblical history tour with Jason Hershey for our first day in D.C.

What am I doing next?

In April and May I will be co-leading a team to a few of the Ivy League schools (Dartmouth, Columbia, and Brown). We are pressing in and interceeding for these schools because we know a great move of God is coming! Simply, we just want to preach Jesus and see an awakening in the hearts of the students to come into a loving relationship with their Creator. What's exciting is that these campuses hold world leaders, so as we evangelize and as we see people give their lives to Christ we are also affecting nations! We will also be joining in with campus fellowships to teach them how to evangelize to their peers and then disciple those who give their lives to Jesus!

Dartmouth: A voice of one crying in the wilderness

Columbia University: In Thy light shall we see the light (Psalm 36:9)

Brown University: In God We Hope

This truly is an exciting time in our nation and I'm so excited to be living in such a time as this! I believe we are on the cusp of the 3rd Great Awakening and a great harvest is coming! Keep believing with me and praying for the veil over people's eyes to be removed so that they can see the TRUTH of who Jesus is. Simply that He loves us and He came to save us.

Thank you for all your support and prayers! I feel so blessed to be called to YWAM for this season and I wouldn't be here without you! Have a happy day.

The Harvest is Plentiful!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 27 Dec 2011 20:28:00 +0000

Happy New Year!

Hope you had a great time through the holidays and made it successfully through the hustle and bustle of it all! And here we are at another new year!

I don’t know why, but I’m so excited for 2012. Part of it being I get to staff my first DTS starting January 2^nd. I’ve been in communication with our students and hearing their excitement about coming makes me so ready for it to start.

Luke 10:2 says, “And he said to them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few. Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest.’” We are believing for a great harvest in America! Where news and media want to cast doom and gloom on our nation, this is a time we can look up to our Heavenly Father and see His heart not only for our nation but every nation on earth. We are certain that we will see another outpouring of His spirit and many will come to know the Lord in these coming days!! Already in China, 30,000 people are being saved and baptized daily! Because we believe we are about to see a massive move of God in our own nation, we are called to train up others to be laborers in this harvest with us!

The Fire and Fragrance DTS is designed to raise up students and release them onto college campuses of America and into the nations of the earth–to partner with and plant communities prioritizing worship and intercession enabling these communities to flow into outreach fueled by the power of God.

As a missionary I know it’s my job to communicate to you what my needs are. I feel I may not be doing it as well as I should be so I wanted to share with you some major needs I have.

Prayer is essential! I need to be covered in prayer to do what I’m doing. God has great things in store for this school, and the enemy hates it. I need wisdom and discernment to walk in discipleship with my students and boldness and courage to share the Gospel. Please pray for His protection and guidance daily and an ear to hear what He’s saying as I lead.

Also, since this is not a paid position, I am in great need of financial support. I am certain God has called me to YWAM and to missions for this season of my life until the point that He tells me to stop and do something new. The logistical side says if I don’t raise enough support I can’t be on staff. Can I ask you to pray about partnering with me in giving either a one time donation or monthly? Due to cost of living (housing, food), travel, and basic necessities I need to raise roughly $1,000 per month.

You can send donations to:

1) Fire & Fragrance

Attn: Jessica Ramsay

PO Box 4826

Harrisburg, PA 17111

2) Give via PayPal (see link on right side of this page)

3) For a tax deduction:

Make checks payable to U of N Kona (not to me)

Attach a sticky note (or separate sheet of paper) with my name and account # onto the check (Jessica Ramsay, Account #5696)

Send checks to:

University of the Nations

#433

75-5851 Kuakini Hwy

Kailua, Kona, HI 9674

I am so thankful for the prayers and support given thus far. Blessings to you all!

Jessica

November Update!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 08 Nov 2011 22:31:00 +0000

Happy November!

Here is my official November newsletter. For those loyal blog readers out there, this will probably just be a refresher, but I wanted to give an overview of the past few months! Thank you all for your continual support. I couldn't do this without you guys! Know that you've been such a blessing to me. May YOU be blessed! Have a happy month of thanks!

Love,

Jessica

November Newsletter 2011 Web (click here for a larger view)

just being honest...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 12 Oct 2011 21:56:00 +0000

I hate writing blogs. I just sit here wondering what in the world I should write about. What will interest my reader? What will really capture their attention? And then again does it really matter? I don't know how many people actually even read this. It's more of a way for me to process all the going-on's in my own life and to have some feeling of accomplishment in the fact that I keep some people updated on my life as a missionary.

Where to begin is always the tricky part. I sit for a while...get overwhelmed and watch an episode of The Office. And then I come back and I have to decide should this be informative? funny? deep? emotional? intelligent? And If I'm really trying to shoot the moon, all of the above? And I'm pretty sure, actually really sure that I fall short at making any of these that great. It's not like I'm writing a novel where I'm trying to win a New York best-seller. But then again...what if I could make it just that good? And then I realize how unbelievably ridiculous that all sounds so I move on to the average joe-anne's blog. Just an update so you know that as a missionary I'm actually doing something worth my time...and yours.

I know there are a few of you...the ones reading this right now...that find interest in my blog updates because you do like to stay informed on what's going on with me (and let's be honest, I'm terrible at making a phone call. I'd just rather have you in person). And then I suck you in with my attempt at sounding exciting on facebook and twitter just to get you to move your mouse over my link and click on it. And then if you actually read it ::I'm sorry to say:: you just become disposed to all my ramblings. But then again this is just the internet and you can just as quickly X your way out.

So I'll now move on so we can get to what you're really looking for.

The facts:
I've been here 36 days.
Harrisburg got flooded.
Our team went on The God is Not Dead tour to different Ivy Leagues and universities with musician and Burn 24-7 director, Sean Feucht, to evangelize, worship, and build up local believers.
I did handy work. Helping a family build a community prayer room in their basement.
I went to 5 yard sales so that our staff house had pots, pans, chairs, and beds. The essentials.
I did flood relief for 2 weeks. Moving things out of poop/mud filled basements to higher ground in order to power wash basements. It was smelly. My goal was to do as much work as possible and stay as clean as possible. It worked until the last day. We removed 100s and 100s of bucket loads of water and mud from a family's basement. They made us cookies and banana bread.
I started getting up at 5:30 (yes...A.M.) on a word of the Lord that as a community we are to dive deeper into the Scriptures.
I've prayed. And worshipped.
I've gone evangelizing. A few from our team started bar ministry last Friday. They saw 1 salvation and 1 guy get healed and filled with the Holy Spirit!
I've started in our first week of widow's ministry. Last week helping a single mother of 8 clean and take care of her children while she went on a business trip.
I've done 2 life sieges so far. Praying for the ending of abortion and revival in America.
I stood outside of an abortion clinic for hours praying with trained sidewalk counselors who try and stop them from getting abortions. It may sound weird, but with all the love in their hearts they show women there are better options and offer them their free services of ultra sounds and mom/baby resources, etc.

I actually just think I'll stop with the list and elaborate on this more. These women (the sidewalk counselors) are HEROES. I'm serious. They are looking injustice in the face and telling it to go to hell (sorry, was that too blunt?). They are literally SAVING LIVES. One of the ladies is currently discipling 14 women who decided to keep their babies. Helping them move, driving them places, getting them the resources they need.

It was my first time to go last Friday. I went with 2 of my friends here. We all had a hard time keeping it together. To stand on the sidewalk of an abortion clinic and KNOW what's about to take place. I don't process things that well...it took about 2 days before I finally sobbed.

It's important that you know that none of this comes from a place of judgment. I know people who have had abortions and there is no condemnation in my heart or mind for the decision they've made. However I know them after the abortion. I know the heartache, the medical problems, the brokenness they've carried for years due to that abortion. I've seen them reach freedom too, which is awesome and so in the Father's heart to bring healing and peace in those hidden away areas.

But I was standing out there. Watching these beautiful women walk in fear and trembling. Thinking this is the only way things can ever get back to normal. It's how the enemy lies to us. The popular answer is that it's a woman's right to choose. The lie is that abortion is just the quick fix. Get in, get out, get on with your life. But I would like to take a survey of the many women who have fallen prey to this and see how well they went on with their lives. After their decision is made, the enemy flips the switch. All of the sudden guilt and shame flood their way in. It's possible many of these women will have future medical issues.

And it broke my heart. I wasn't angry at the women. I was sad for them. I was hurting for them, as I continue to do so. I pray the ones I saw will come to know Jesus so they can find the freedom and healing He so lovingly offers.

I highly suggest you check out the website Bound4Life. They have a great database on the history of abortion, the kinds of abortions performed, and statistics.

Did you know:
50 million babies have been aborted since 1973? Planned Parenthood was started by Margaret Sanger...a eugenicist who believed the “dead weight of human waste” should be “eliminate[d]? Did you know Planned Parenthood started in ghetto populations--or as she referred to them the "undersirables"? The company who makes the RU-486 pill was the same that made the Zyklon B gas for the Nazi death chambers?

It's really just a messed up thing. I've been thinking so much about it this week. How do people really not think it's murder? It's a baby. A baby's heartbeat starts just 18 DAYS after conception. How is it we've been deceived so long? We're in the midst of a silent holocaust.

And how is it a woman can deliver a premature baby at 23 weeks and the baby LIVES...but if the baby stays in the stomach at 23 weeks it can still be considered not a life and it can still be aborted? Just because someone decides that human life is not a human life does it make it true?

I encourage you to do some research yourself and really get a heart to start praying for the end of this. Here's a video done by Ray Comfort that is so good! He survey's people on the streets about their opinion on the topic of abortion and brings to light so many of the lies being believed about this industry.

Well...there I went again. Writing the longest blog ever. Can you tell what has really grabbed my heart since I've been back? It's a weird thing to say that I 'look forward' to going back to the abortion clinic. I don't know if I can truly say it's something I look forward to going back to. I don't necessarily want to go back. To know babies are dying 100 feet from me. To know women and men are hurting. To get cussed out and almost hit by their cars. I actually don't WANT to do any of it. It'd be way easier to push it to the back of my mind and pretend all is well. But my heart is stirred. I do want to go and pray and come alongside the counselors to show these women the love of Jesus and the other options they have. I don't know how much help I actually am. But I'm going because I know the Lord's heart is to see abortion ended. I know His heart is to reach out His loving, gentle hand to these women who are so confused and afraid. I know it pleases the Father's heart that I would be an extension of His heart in that place. And because of that I do look forward to going back to that place...exalting and glorifying Jesus over that building, and doing the best I can to save these women and their babies.

Please pray for me. As you can imagine, being a missionary brings plenty of warfare. Heck just being a follower of Jesus working a 9-5 job or being a stay at home mom (and everything in between) brings plenty of warfare. I'll pray for you too. Lastly, would you please join me in praying for the ending of abortion.

::If you'd like to partner financially with me and the work my team is doing in Harrisburg please email me at JessicaRams@gmail.com or click on the link to my PayPal up top::

(Um...sorry for the not so sly financial help part. Girl's gotta eat.)

Blessings to you. You are dearly loved by God.

Jess

School of the Circuit Riders

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 22 Aug 2011 19:55:00 +0000

Okay, so this post is actually from my friend Nick's blog (http://nickholding.wordpress.com). And with his permission I decided to copy it to mine. I thought it was a great summary of everything I've been doing with Circuit Riders and YWAM. I figured if any of you still had questions about what it is I'm actually a part of and who in fact are these Circuit Riders I speak of, then this would be a great thing for you to read! Hope you enjoy!

-------------------------------------------------------------------

This summer the entire Harrisburg staff left the East Coast for Hawaii to take part in a 5 week school: The School of the Circuit Riders. The “Circuit Riders?” I hear you ask, “who are they?”.

Just over 250 years ago a wild breed of men was unleashed into the wilderness of America not unlike the 12 young, zealous disciples that Jesus sent out in Matthew chapter 10. The mandate of the young riders: Take the gospel to the remote corners of the frontier.

Their message: The kingdom of God has come, repent, be baptized and follow Jesus. Their payment: A mere 60 dollars a year if anything at all. The cost: Their very lives. 50% died before reaching 33 years old. Their reward: Nothing in terms of societal success and yet everything in terms of the glory of God! These leaders lived for a cause greater than themselves, were dangerous to the enemy, and powerful in the hand of the Almighty God!

(Original circuit rider)

In a period of 45 years under the guidance of Francis Asbury and his Circuit riders the US Methodist church grew from 1,200 members to over 210,000.

The last 5 weeks have been sheer craziness. 300 people showed up from the US and all around the world. With a busy 6 day a week schedule, we were running hard and fast in every way. For 5 days a week we had lectures, prayer room, small groups and work duties.

(Kona prayer room)

We also had various community outreaches, most teams did door-step evangelism, but I ended up on a team that spent our Saturday’s building an aquaponic farm. Aquaponics combines fish farming with the growing of vegetables. The fish water is pumped from the fish tanks into floating grow beds that are fertilised by the fish waste, and in turn the plants clean the water which then feeds back to the fish. The farm is for the Marshallese, a people group displaced by US atomic testing on the Marshall Islands in the Pacific. This is part of a long term outreach the Kona base has to the Marshallese with many other people going down to visit and join in with their community.

(Circuit riders class time)

This short school has been so amazing and encouraging. Our focus has been simply:

Save the Lost.
Revive the Saved.
Disciple them all.

Over the course of the school this was broken down into 5 week long topics, which I highly recommend the study of:

Simple Gospel
10 subjects for discipleship
Revival History
Missions
Prayer

Firstly, getting back to the simplicity of the gospel has been, as it always is, a revelation. The pure facts that Jesus died for our sins and wants to be Lord of our lives led to over 80 salvation’s during the times of door knocking in Kona.

10 simple subjects of discipleship, or “The Big 10”, is a curriculum which tackles ten key topics for Christian’s to know, with the idea that as soon as someone gets saved we can take them quickly through topics such as:

Who is Jesus?; Prayer; Reading the Bible; Understanding worship; Who is the Holy Spirit?; What is Sanctification?; Hearing God’s voice; Evangelism and Fellowship.

The biggest impartation I got, is faith that God is really moving right now in a new way and that revival really is here. The school sent out 4 outreach teams, to Orange County California, Alaska, Washington D.C. and a long term community plant to Ireland. I’ll be joining up with the D.C. outreach next week as they contend in the US capital for the ending of abortion as well as raising up a house of prayer and evangelism.

O.C. Outreach

Huntington Beach, Orange County (O.C.) is where the “Jesus People” movement started in the 1970s and saw thousands of US hippies come to know Jesus. We’re really believing God is about to move in a similar way. 110 Circuit Riders have gone off to the O.C. to join 120 YWAMers from the Denver base and 500 local church workers for a massive 2 week evangelism push in the Orange County.

(Matt and Derrik street preacing in the OC)

On the beach a huge, old school, revival tent has been set up. We have daytime evangelism mixed with nightly public meetings. I’m really believing for hundreds if not a few thousand to be saved as so many “wild-eyed” revivalists show up on the doorstep of the O.C. Many of whom bought one-way tickets foreseeing the outreach going a lot longer than just two weeks. What amazing commitment to the word of the Lord from people! (As I write this I just saw a report that the O.C. team has already seen 75 salvation’s!). There really is a new move of God being released!

Podcasts

I’d highly recommend for all to listen to the Circuit Riders Podcast (all the talks have been given away for free over iTunes). I’d especially recommend the talks “The Unoffendable Heart” and “Self Dethroned” by Brian Brennt. Amazing revelation!

http://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/circuit-riders/id449476756

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I completely agree with everything Nick wrote and I hope you are as excited as I am about what God is doing. I just thought that was such a clear post about what I'm a part of...compared to my mostly-scatterbrained-ramblings I tend to leave you with :)

I have 2 more weeks until I move back to Harrisburg. I'm enjoying the time I get to spend with friends and family, but I'm so excited to get back to PA as well! Currently I'm working on raising monthly support to cover the costs of my housing, food, travel, etc. for this upcoming year (and one time gifts are certainly accepted!). If you would like to partner with me in this just email me at JessicaRams@gmail.com.

Thanks again to all who are supporting me prayerfully and financially! I shall now end this ridiculously long post...but not before I let Johnny Cash say a few words about the Circuit Riders!

Life Siege in D.C.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 19 Aug 2011 19:56:00 +0000

Just thought I'd share a video of what the D.C. outreach team from the Circuit Riders is up to. Fire & Fragrance Harrisburg will be a part of this in the upcoming months as well!

"Jesus, I plead Your blood over my sins and the sins of my nation. God, end abortion and send revival to America!"

To learn more about life sieges and the movement to end abortion visit bound4life.com.

New Updates! Must Read!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 04 Aug 2011 02:58:00 +0000

Hi friends and family and everyone! (I promise this post looks longer than it really is...so read away!)

What an amazing month I've had here in Kona. You got a little of my schedule in the last post...but essentially God has been tilling the soil of my own heart to make me ready for what He wants to do. I've done a lot of repenting! Haha...but it's such a joyful thing to bring my heart into right alignment with the Lord and allow Him to soften my heart once again! So as a result I've been able to do a lot of rejoicing as well! Jesus is SO good and I'm so excited to see what He's going to do through the 300 students after this last week in Hawaii as we're released into Orange County, Alaska, D.C., Ireland, Nepal, & the Middle East! Personally I'm so ready get back to Harrisburg and the northeast and just allow God to use me in whatever way He wants to spread His love and salvation!! I stand on what God has promised for America and believe with all my heart we're going to see revival!!! YYEEAAA!!

Since we've been here the Lord has been talking to our leadership team and staff about some changes He wants to make in this upcoming year as the Harrisburg Fire & Fragrance team. We're actually going to push the start date of our DTS (discipleship training school) back to January. Our crew of staff will still be moving back to Harrisburg in September to live in community and put into practice everything we've been training for. We'll be joining musician Sean Feucht for the God is Not Dead tour by going around to the Ivy Leagues teaching, worshiping/praying, and evangelizing. We'll also be joining with ministries in Harrisburg and traveling to D.C. to join up with Jason Hershey to interceed for America and the ending of abortion. So basically...we're being released as just regular 'ol missionaries in the northeast!!! Our desire as a YWAM base is not to be a training school that does missions but a missions school that trains! We long for our community to be solely focused on the Lord and His desire to reach the lost and from that place move into training new students and missionaries!

Below is an explanation written by our leader Jeremy Bardwell of how we came to this decision and what the Lord is saying to us for this time. (I highly encourage you to read it!)
_________________________________________________

Hey friends my name is Jeremy Bardwell and I am the director of Fire and Fragrance in Harrisburg. I wanted to fill you in on the journey we have been on as a community that has led us to push back the start date of our DTS. This is a big shift for us but we couldn’t be more excited about it as we dream about the future!

Our heart in pioneering a Fire and Fragrance community into the Northeast of America is to plant a community focused on revival in America and training for a new wave of missions to every nation from university campuses!

As we look unto that goal of being a “beachhead of revival and revival training” on the east coast we began to realize that one of the biggest hindrances to true revival culture would be for us to become “training centered” instead of “ministry and revival centered.” Essentially, the grave danger would be to become a people with all the right answers without a gospel/revival lifestyle. The danger would be, to “know” everything about revival and never simply live it in our daily lives! To train others into a lifestyle we are not actually living ourselves.

As we prayed into the fall for us in Harrisburg we felt the Lord’s loving voice alert us that if we didn’t practically shift we could head down that road! We eagerly received the word and praised the Lord for His faithfulness to us! He had showed us a great pitfall and how to navigate around it! Truly His leadership is the best!

So, from this word, we knew the Lord was calling us to push back our September Fire and Fragrance DTS to January 2012 and truly live out our values! He began to speak to us about this fall being a time of ”intentional community,” and “great open doors” in the region! We know that as we center our community on “ministry to the Lord and ministry to the lost” God is going to pour out even more on our training when we start up in January 2012!

We have never felt such openness from the Lord, and with such expectancy and joy about what He is doing!

We know that many of you care for us and are following us on our journey, so, I have wanted to catch you up on our prophetic journey! We are truly feeling like children born of the Spirit and led by the Spirit! Our Fire and Fragrance community has grown now to 30+ full time staff and everyone is ready to dive onto our faces before the Lord to see further into what He is leading for this fall. Please join us in prayer and feel free to share words dreams and scriptures with us! We love running with friends who are intimate with Jesus, and hear His voice. _________________________________________________

I love following Jesus where He leads! Thanks everyone for journeying with me in all of this. I remain so thankful for your support!

Kona Kona Kona

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Thu, 14 Jul 2011 02:05:00 +0000

It's my first full week in Kona! Things are going great! Our hearts are getting revived again to see God move in greater ways than we've seen before. Pictured above is about 300 or so of us on the YWAM campus starting our Monday off in adoration of the one true King! He is so holy and worthy of our praise.

Most joke about me "suffering for Jesus" or taking my vacation to Hawaii...and I won't lie it's pretty beautiful here and I want to soak up that sun as much as I can! But we do have a pretty jam packed schedule. Starting most days around 6am we're up for breakfast and off to worship or class. Our days are pretty full of teaching, prayer/worship, small group time, work duties around the campus, and local outreaches to neighborhoods in Kona. My bed time has moved to a pretty consistent time of about 9:30pm...and if you know me well, you know that's not normal. But the Lord is giving me the grace and energy for it all! Also it's so nice having the whole Harrisburg crew out here so we can grow in our love for each other and for the Lord before heading back to PA! So excited for what God deposits to us here that we get to take back to our students for this next year.

I don't have much to update on except I'm excited for what God has in the weeks to come. Breakthrough and freedom are here and we're expectant for God to do big things in and through this school. Keep us in your prayers that God would be glorified in our everything!

If you want to here the podcasts from our classes click here: Circuit Riders Podcast

Thank you you for checking in! I pray you are so blessed today!

a pause, some pictures, and a popsicle

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 01 Jul 2011 17:54:00 +0000

6 days left and counting until I'm here:

(Photo taken from Jeremy Bardwell's recent Facebook status update)

It's like a reward for having to live in the freezing cold winter months that make up most of my time in Pennsylvania. But needless to say I'm so excited to be back with my Fire & Fragrance community and start the Circuit Riders Seminar!

Since I've been home this last month I feel like I've been on pause. A good pause...but a pause all together. I've been spending a lot of my time at my parent's new restaurant. Here:

PLUG: If you live in or near Jackson you should of course go visit my parent's place! (and like their facebook page at www.facebook.com/DumplinsofJackson).

It's funny living with your parents again. I so easily go back into teenager mode. And then I have to pull out the "No. I am an adult" card. This is why all children should leave their parents at some point...because I can become incredibly lazy...watching reruns of teenage drama shows on Netflix.

And of course this month brings reunions galore. I feel like I reentered high school and then college all over again. I love my friends. The highlight of every week has been joining my friend's from college and watching this:

Now I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop (not the Amsterdam kind) in Nashville...

... with 2 of my best friends waiting on the 6th member of the Buford to arrive from New York City tonight so The First Annual Buford Reunion can commence with these girls:

Also, this weekend brings my favorite holiday. 4th of July. I think it was created for me. You will probably never see my face light up in amazement the way fireworks can make it.

And if you're looking for a more interesting read than what I will ever be able to offer then you should check out this blog: Jamie the Very Worst Missionary. Jamie is a missionary in Costa Rica with her family and she writes some of the funniest, wittiest, down to earth blogs. If you're offended easily it may not be for you...but she writes truth and is blatantly honest. And I laugh out loud at her posts.

Another current read has been:

If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. It's about a little boy (the one pictured) who went to heaven during a surgery he was having at the age of 4. The things he talked about was Revelation type stuff that no 4 year old could really grasp unless he really did see the things that he talked about. It gave me chills the whole way through and reminds me how great God is and what I have to look forward to. I've become heaven obsessed (not in the way that I want to rush to get there or anything...but it's so mysterious that I want to learn so much more about it).

That's all I have for today. I think I'll run next door to Las Paletas and get a popsicle.

Outreach Update & What's Next for Me!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sun, 05 Jun 2011 19:25:00 +0000

I am officially done with my DTS! I cannot believe how fast time flies. I just experienced some of the greatest 8 months with the Lord than ever before. Thank you for following me on my journey and supporting me throughout this season. I am overjoyed when I think about what the Lord was able to do in and through me. What a mighty God we serve!

I'm sure to no one's surprise...I was terrible at updating while I was in Europe. But my team had an awesome time as we traveled and shared the gospel in the Netherlands! We spent 3 weeks in Amsterdam working with the local YWAM base and with long term ministries in the city. We evangelized, prayed for 100s of people, served at the homeless shelter, hung out with teens at the youth hostel, and prayed at The Tabernacle prayer house which is located in the heart of the red light district. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city and it's an odd parallel to the darkness that resides there. The red light district seems unimaginable. My heart broke over this area and for the men and women trapped in lies and lust and confusion. A love is being sought after than can only truly be fulfilled by Jesus. But no matter the darkness, the drugs, the sex, etc. God is still bigger and He loves Amsterdam! Just in the last week I found out that the government is in the process of making it illegal for tourists to buy marijuana! That's just the beginning of the fruit we are going to see from the seeds planted by the Jesus loving missionaries who are laying their lives down to see Jesus glorified in Amsterdam! One thing I loved about this city is how easy is was to talk to people. When we would evangelize I found it much easier to get into conversations with people who were interested in keeping the conversation going. Part of it may just be tolerance...but people are open! They are longing for Jesus and He is pursuing them! Keep praying for this wonderful city and the Christians who live there!

(Photos by Ryan Lister)

We then traveled north to a city called Groningen. I think I can say on behalf of my entire team this was by far one of our favorite outreach locations. We stayed at the Helperkerk (Helper Church) and were treated with such love and hospitality by our hosts that we felt most welcomed to their city. We partnered with the church and their leadership team to evangelize at the local university, spread the word about at their weekly meeting called The Community specifically designed for non-believers, hangout with and pray for their youth group, and encourage the believers to keep going! Our time here flew by and before we knew it we were off on another train to Berlin to join with Burn Berlin (Burn 24-7) and the Magnet family. It was the best way to end our outreach as we got to lift up Jesus for 24 hours straight over the city of Berlin. We were also able to encourage and pray for ministries there and then just rest in God's presence. I love Burn Berlin and I love the Magnet's!

That is obviously a really brief update for what God did over 2 months...and that was just my team! Our 4 teams went to all 8 Ivy Leagues, Washington D.C., and Europe. Overall our school saw salvations and healings, and was able to do a lot of practical service as well, helping long-term ministries and churches stay encouraged, and teaching local believers how to walk intimately with God.

I am excited to announce that I will be staffing this next years Fire & Fragrance! Our staff will is traveling to Kona, HI for 5 weeks to attend the Circuit Rider Seminar where we will worship Jesus and have awesome teaching and training before heading back to Pennsylvania to start out next school September 20! (If interested apply here: Harrisburg F&F DTS) I'm excited for this next year as a whole new crew of radical young people give 8 months of their lives to grow in intimacy with Jesus and spread the gospel to the Ivy Leagues and wherever else the Lord leads!

Please continue to pray for me as I continue on this journey! I also need to raise financial support for this next year, so if you would like to partner with me financially email me at JessicaRams@gmail.com! Thank you for your support this past year & I look forward to whatever God has in this next one!

A Voice of One Calling in the Wilderness

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 06 Apr 2011 12:08:00 +0000

From it's beginnings Dartmouth has had a John the Baptist calling. It's motto is from many of the references in the Bible prophesying about him as "a voice of one calling in the wilderness." (Isaiah 40:3, Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3)

From the moment we got out of the van I absolutely LOVED Dartmouth. It's located in the small town of Hanover, NH which reminded me a lot of Chattanooga (for you Tennesseans) giving it a much more relaxed feel than Boston. We weren't sure what to expect of our time at Dartmouth because none of us had ever been there before but we were so excited for what God had in store.

We stayed right off campus at a student ministry house called "The Edge" and it was so nice to be only a 5 minute walk away from campus.

Our home: "The Edge"

Some of our team with our host, Nick (far left).

Our first full day there we prayed with a group that meets every Wednesday in Rollins Chapel to pray for revival at Dartmouth. A research professor and his wife, Richard & Mary, a student, a guy from the community, and another couple, Elizabeth & Fred, who have been praying for revival at Dartmouth for 26 years! They came to the university back in the '80s and saw a revival of 300 students come to know Christ and after that Fred got a dream that a bigger revival was coming of at least 1,500 students getting saved. Even though they are small group, they are so fiery! I pray and believe that they will see the fruit of their prayers.

Praying in Rollins Chapel

We did some evangelism and walked around and met students and ended up having some great conversations and got to encourage and pray for students. We also connected with a few other campus groups: The Navigators and Campus Impact (CI). It was so great getting to worship and pray with them and to meet more of the students on the campus. There is such a buzz about revival coming to Dartmouth and about seeing small events of it already happening.

Cara Lena and I touring the campus.

We all felt it. God is really doing something major in these Ivy League's and I wouldn't be surprised if He started with Dartmouth. And actually Fred told us a lot of people have been given that word and a guy on my team even felt the Lord say the same thing. Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy League and just like God used Gideon and David...it's possible He'll start with Dartmouth and revival will trickle from there! Also I fully believe Dartmouth is going to be the school that is the "voice calling in the wilderness." Coming alive to Christ and declaring it over our nation!

It was such an exciting time there and I'd only wished we had been able to stay longer. I felt so connected with that campus and with the students. I can't wait to see revival come to Dartmouth and maybe even be a part of it!

I'm in Amsterdam now and we've been here almost a week. Can't wait to update you all on everything going on here. It is such a beautiful city! We've been partnering with YWAM and other ministries around here doing evangelism, prayer, and serving in the kitchen and on the base. Keep praying. God is so good!

Heellooo from Boston!!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 20:17:00 +0000

I know, I know...I'm so behind on my updates! So I'll try to make this short, but you loyal readers know it probably won't be :)

So, it's week 3 here in Boston. All 4 of the Fire & Fragrance outreach teams are here to do ministry. 3 of our teams are staying in one house...meaning 1 bathroom to 12 girls. Yikes! But we all have different schedules so we don't even really get to see the other teams. I'm really enjoying this city...but when is snows on the first day of spring...it's just a bit too much winter for me! But all in all it's been a great city to be in.

(The whole Fire & Fragrance crew on the day we left for Boston.)

So now on to the stuff you really want to read about: As you know...in this life we aren't always handed the 'EASY' button. Well, evangelism would be the one area in my life where I wish I could use that! I'm definitely being stretched in this area and being moved right on out of my comfort zone. I know God can use whoever...and for now He's chosen to use me, who in many instances tends to be a slightly awkward vessel. I've been recently reminded of the verse in 1 Corinthians 12:9 that says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Therefore, I will be obedient and trust that He knows what He's doing and that His power will be made perfect through tiny 'ol me.

We've been worshipping on Harvard's campus and talking to people about their beliefs or asking if they need prayer. We've, of course, had a mix of responses. Some people don't take to us well. Jina, a fellow team member, and I talked to a guy who is a professed atheist and an evolutionary biology major...by the end of our conversation, I kid you not he was running away from us and we were jogging behind him to keep up with him...not too long after we just stopped and said bye. It had me laughing to myself the rest of the day. However, we've had plenty of good conversations as well. That same day we talked to a design major named Irene who grew up Catholic and said her mom is now Buddhist. She isn't sure what she believes anymore but thinks there is a higher power or "energy". We talked to her on her way to class about the gospel and told her that Jesus really is real and how much He loves her and has a plan for her life and said we'd be praying for her. She was pretty receptive and said it was really great to know that someone would be out there praying for her. I also got to give a Bible to a Chinese girl who had never heard the gospel and didn't grow up with any religion. We've been keeping a list of people we've met and are still in prayer that God would continue to pursue them. Each team has been evangelizing on campus, so a mission force of about 30 is going out almost everyday and telling people about Jesus!

(Harvard)

Also, while riding the bus to the Cambridge area with my team, I sat down beside 2 college students Lena & Mimi. I heard God so clearly say to me, "I want you to tell them about me." I of course respond like I know He does but I don't know how to bring it up. I'd already introduced myself to them and asked about the instruments they were holding and where they went to school, so after that I just waited on the Lord. I started to overhear Lena tell Mimi about about a book in Russia and I heard the words 'devil', 'hell', and 'Jesus Christ'... I joined their conversation and asked them what they believed about all of that. They both had Catholic Orthodox backgrounds and Lena said she saw Jesus as a philosopher and that hell was made up to bring fear to people. So right there on the bus I got to share the entire gospel and that everything in the Bible is true and straight from God! I was informed later that they could hear me in the back of the bus...so I hope that more people got to hear :)

I wholeheartedly believe each one of these meetings is a Divine appointment and God is calling each and every one of them into relationship with Him. So far we've seen 1 Harvard student come to Christ and a whole lot of seeds planted! So like I said earlier, this job hasn't come with an 'EASY' button, but as someone encouraged me the other day...we have no idea what our being here and exalting Jesus in this place is doing in the spiritual realm. God's heart so moves and longs for His people and I guarantee revival will come to the Ivy Leagues and America.

We've also had the opportunity to join with some Christian fellowships here. We've evangelized with some of the YWAM Boston staff members and had some teaching by their director, Doug Tunney (who was our speaker on evangelism during lecture phase). The team that isn't staying in our house is staying at the Justice House of Prayer (JHOP). We've gotten to join in with them on their weekly worship and prayer meetings and it has been such a refreshing place to go and worship Jesus with them. They are a super fiery group that has laid down their lives for however long God asks of them to interceed and stand in the gap for Boston and surrounding college campuses. I've so enjoyed our time with them.

(Harvard Awakening Church)

Every Sunday we've gotten to attend the Harvard Awakening church held at Bob "Uncle Bob" Weiner's (Weiner Ministries) penthouse. It has a wonderful view of Cambridge and Uncle Bob has so kindly opened his place for college students to cram in every Sunday night to have a church service. It was there that we met Lynn. Lynn is from China and is a student at Northeastern University. She leads a Bible study group for about 6-7 Chinese girls every Friday. These girls have only been in relationship with Jesus for about 3-6 months, even Lynn. We've led 2 of their Friday Bible studies and I've quickly fallen in love with these girls. Lynn, Megan, Elaine, and Hanna are the regular attendees and have been the 4 at the study both weeks. The first week we taught on loving God and others and on hearing the voice of God, and this past Friday we did an exercise on hearing the voice of God by doing 'Original Design' prayers. It's how I first started learning to hear the voice of God. We prayed for the girls one at a time and waited on what the Lord had to say about each of the girls and who He created them to be (reference Psalm 139). Then whoever got a word, picture, or scripture would share it with whoever we were praying for. It's always fun when the word is repeated by someone who got the same thing or just when it encourages that person. The girls were so encouraged with every word they got and it was so fun to see them realize even more just how much God loves them and that He has a plan and purpose for each one.

Almost needless to say, this has been my favorite part of outreach thus far. I just love those girls so much and they are so hungry for the Lord. And to top it off, it's tradition for them that when someone leaves they have a big feast for them, so they are making a homemade Chinese dinner for us on Monday at their house! Elaine is going to get baptized then too!! I will truly miss them when we leave...I wish I could pack them in my suitcase and carry them with me!

Side note: The guys on our team have been going to the guys Bible study at Northeastern and yesterday they took them out evangelizing and led a Chinese student, Rocky, to Christ! Woohoo!

(Northeastern girls Bible study -- Left to Right: Back Row: Megan, Hanna, Kara, Cara Lena, Amanda {YWAM Boston staff}, me, Jina. Front Row: Elaine, Lynn {Bible study leader})

My team of 8 leaves Boston on Tuesday and we head to New Hampshire to go to Dartmouth! I am so excited to see what the Lord has for us in our few days there.

I have so much more I could say...but this has gotten pretty long so I'll leave it here. Again THANK YOU soooo much for all your prayers. They are much needed, as you know Spiritual warfare can really heighten in these times. I feel so blessed to have so much support both prayerfully and financially and that the Lord has led me to be a part of Fire and Fragrance and to travel and share His name and strengthen other believers. He's teaching me so much!!

Love and blessings to you all!

February Newsletter & Prayer Guide!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 09 Mar 2011 17:25:00 +0000

Here's last month's newsletter! It gives you a tiny update of what's been going on and then some prayer requests for our outreach that we have officially begun! Thanks for taking the time to read this and pray for me!

Blessings to you!

February 2011

Lady Gaga...

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 15 Feb 2011 04:33:00 +0000

...random I know.

But after her "shocking" arrival at the Grammy's last night I couldn't stop thinking about the platform she has created for herself and wondering how she got there. (for those who missed it she was encased in what looked like an egg?)

Note: I'm not promoting that one should or should not support Lady Gaga and her theatrics. I'm just sharing a few opinions of my own :)

When Lady first stepped onto the scene I did find her quite odd...but it was just too easy to pick up on the new tunes and dance around all silly-like with my roommates. Therefore, a few of Lady's songs became fairly popular. I don't even know how it happened but one day I decided to count the number of songs that I knew of hers...and found it alarmingly high. I had no idea I'd slipped into the craze! But she seemed to be EVERYWHERE. I mean...in the past 2 years alone she's had 6 number 1 hit songs. I think it started off as a joke to sing her songs...but either way...they seeped in and were on repeat in my head.

I never found her music to be moral, that's for sure and I was always taken aback by the latest music videos...not being able to watch them without thinking something seems completely wrong and then realizing I just shouldn't watch her videos because they have no fruit, no light, no life coming from them. I can't necessarily deny the artistry she carries...however I admit it's definitely a bit off.

I don't think anyone would be shocked by 'Christian groups' calling her crazy or protesting her in every way. But the thought of that actually started to make me sad and I felt convicted of my own judgments towards her. I watched an interview she had with Barbara Walters...and for some reason when you see a person's childhood photos they become all the more real to you. And it hit me: She doesn't know Jesus. I know...that's apparent...but how many times have I skimmed over the fact and had negative thoughts towards who she is.

I think you can tell by now but the Lord actually started giving me this big heart for Lady Gaga (formally known as 'Stefanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta'). God actually gave her this wonderful, amazing talent. He gave her a voice and an ability to be creative...she just isn't necessarily using it to give glory to His name, but why would she. She doesn't know Jesus.

While speaking with Barbara Walters she said she wants to be a teacher to her young fans who felt just like she felt when she was younger. She wants to free her fans to be fearless and help them know that they have their own place in the world. On an interview I watched with Cooper Anderson on 60 minutes, I watched as she told fans at one of her concerts to let go of all insecurities and reject anyone and anything that's ever made them feel like they don't belong. Then she yelled for them to free themselves of those things. Her fans were sobbing. I mean breaking down, tears and snot everywhere. My heart broke.

They're all looking for something more. What's so sad is it's the enemy who's blinding people to Truth. Our society is more humanistic than ever and Lady Gaga's answer to feeling rejection is how to empower yourself and how to overcome obstacles by rising up in strength.

If I were to sit and listen to someone tell me they had a dream to set people free from past insecurities, I'd think they were on a pretty good path. But it's where we tell them to get healing from and draw strength from that lies a big issue. How many of us have/have had insecurities or issues of rejection from our younger years. The feeling of being left out and not belonging. I know I had some super awkward years and I just wanted validation that I wasn't a big weirdo. Thankfully I had a community around me who accepted me and pointed me to Jesus and I found my belonging in Him. But what about people who aren't as fortunate to hear about Jesus and His extravagant Love? We're all looking for healing. We're all looking for a place to belong. We all want to be loved. And what's happened is Satan has twisted the minds of so many to believe that God either doesn't exist or is mean and judgmental. And now a lot of times a second thought isn't given to God or Jesus because it's all about ME! As someone said today in our Prayer Room set, Satan has blindfolded people and then set them into confusion. So it doesn't look like anyone is worshipping the devil or anything...it just looks like a world of worship to me, myself, and I.

Humanism.

It's a stronghold we must pray is broken. It's an area where we must EXALT the name of JESUS. It's time to press in. Lady Gaga went to a Manhattan private school, Convent of the Sacred Heart. I bet she heard about God. I bet she was rejected for being maybe a little bit weird. It's been brought to my attention recently that in this world of music...a lot of the music and musicians that have brought a 'new song' forth have been rejected by the church. Ouch. So where do they turn?

The reason I'm even writing this is because we have to know what we're up against. Yes, our God is greater and higher than any other and He wins. But it's a time where we need to be on our knees crying out for our generation whose role models are Lady Gaga, Eminem, Ke$ha, Lil' Wayne, Drake...and I don't know, whoever else is mainstream popular right now. We need to be praying for Divine strategies and most of all we need to be a LIGHT in the darkness. We have to tell people about Jesus. They need to know the truth. It's not fair that so many have been blindfolded to the incomprehensible love and goodness of our God.

So all that being said...this is a huge prayer need. This is what my team will be facing as we head to the Ivy Leagues in 3 weeks. We've been crying out for 5 months for Jesus to be exalted over Harvard...a school created to send out ministers and missionaries. Humanism is creeping in. We want to show people truth. Lead them to Jesus. He's better than anything else. He created us for His glory. He wants to set His children free from this bondage and confusion. There's just no hope without Jesus. But that's the good thing...there is hope. He loves us so much.

As written on Harvard's Emerson Hall: "What is man that Thou art mindful of Him?" -Psalm 8:4

Jesus, I exalt You.

(Oh, and add Lady Gaga to your prayer list too!)

Revival is a Reality!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 22:22:00 +0000

I've been terrible at updating my blog!

Things here are going great! I'm still learning a ton and God is turning my heart more and more towards Himself and to His will. It's been a beautiful process.

2 weeks ago I had the wonderful blessing of 2 friends coming to town to sit in on the teaching by the AMAZING Amy Sollars. First my roommate, Kim, from Nashville who now lives in NYC came over...it's lovely having a friend only a train ride away! Then my bro, Josh, flew up for a few days! I'd say it was timely for all of us. It was so great to be able to see friends and family from home and I knew God would have some things of His own for those 2! The Lord was so faithful and good to bring refreshment to all 3 of us! Thank You, Jesus!

So now we're down to the final stretch. Only 4 more weeks until we head out on outreach!!!!!! Erik Fish & Brad McKoy were just here to talk to us about church planting on college campuses. Visit StudentChurch.org. It was such an awesome week!! They stirred up so much hope in me that WE CAN SEE REVIVAL on college campuses!! It's all about being bold in Jesus and in our faith and making relationships. I can do that...I like people...and I like making friends...and I love Jesus. So yea..I can do this. I want to be a willing vessel for God to do whatever He wants on these campuses. I can't wait to see Him move...a few from our team had the opportunity to meet 8 students from 8 of the ivy leagues and there is already a stirring on the campuses -- Revival is a reality.

Just to update you: We leave after the first week of March and make our way to Harvard for 4 weeks. Then after that my team of 8 goes to Dartmouth for a week. We'll connect with some of the Christian groups on campus but mainly we just want to make relationships with people who don't know Jesus yet. We're praying to meet 'person's of peace' who we'll find favor with and give us an entrance into their lives. Have coffee with them, hang out, read the Bible, talk about Jesus. So be praying for that we find favor with the students and that even more their hearts and minds would be open to hearing about Jesus and that they would know Him! We want to see these campuses turn back to their roots of sending our missionaries and ministers! (If you are interested in knowing about the origins of the ivy leagues, God on Campus, is a good book to read about their history and revival history as well.)

The beginning of April my team of 8 heads to Amsterdam! We'll be staying at the YWAM base and joining with current ministries. Pray that our time there would create a lasting impact and that the name of Jesus will be exalted over 'the city of tolerance'. We'll also be traveling to Paris for a few days and then to Berlin to join with the House of Prayer Berlin to do a lot of worship and prayer for these cities. Pray for Divine strategies for our ministry time in Europe. That we would find ways to effectively share about Jesus and that people would come to relationship with Him...because Jesus really is the best!

Oh also...click on this link! Fire and Fragrance Podcasts --You can listen to all of our teachings from the past 4 months (and a few more to come) -- there are some life changing teachings on here!

And seriously...thank you again for your continuous prayers and support for me! I couldn't do what I'm doing without you!!! Love you all so much (and miss you!!)!

Happy New Year!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 00:45:00 +0000

I can hardly believe it's already 2011! I rang in the new year at an event called Reclamation (Re*). Sean Feucht (founder of Burn 24-7) and Fire & Fragrance hosted the event at our church, Life Center. Re* started on Thursday, November 30 at 5:00p and ended at 5:00p on New Years day. It was 48 hours of vertical worship and intercession to give all praise to God in the ending of one year to the beginning of this new season!

I don't know about you...but I'm fully expectant for God to move in mighty ways this year. I've been feeling that this is a year of restoration, refreshment, and renewal (i'm not sure why all the r's). I fully believe the Lord is going to bring back things lost in this new season and I am so excited about 2011!

I'm so thankful for this past year of my life. God's mercy and grace have been so evident over the last 12 months. He's shown me more about His love for me and in turn I've fallen so much more in love with Him. He blessed me with life long relationships. He's given me and my family new adventures. He's brought me into deeper intimacy with Him and given me a hunger for His Word. Of course this year has had it's ups and downs, but He's been faithful through it all. What are you thankful for from 2010?

Sean Feucht has been speaking on vision this week. Vision always scares me. I feel like if I set a vision that I'm bound to it for life and that's my path...and that, my friends, is a weird thought. And yes, I know I'm not necessarily bound to a certain idea...but either way I decided to give in to some kind of vision (finally.. after 2 years of rebellion from my boss in Nashville telling me to get a vision :)...). I'm not into new year's resolutions and all that jazz...but there's just something unique and refreshing about the start of a new year. It's like a clean slate. So I pray that the Lord would reveal things to you about what's to come in this year for you and that He would give you fresh vision for what He has for you in this year.

Be blessed today. You've certainly blessed me. Happy New Fresh Vision God's Will Year!

Financial Support Update

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 06 Dec 2010 21:52:00 +0000

I've added a simpler way for you to donate financially for those of you that have asked and feel led to do so. Just click on the link to the right --> and it will take you through the process...you can still send checks through mail as well, but I know that my generation appreciates the easier ways. :) Let me know if you have questions!!

Also you can subscribe by email and receive updates right to your inbox!! Just type your email address in the box to the right and click subscribe!

Many blessings to you today! (Pictures coming soon, I promise!)

Faith Journeys!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 24 Nov 2010 19:11:00 +0000

Merry Christmas season! I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving day and spent some time really thinking about what you are thankful for. I think it's appropriate that Christmas follows Thanksgiving, because Jesus really is what I'm most thankful for...and following behind Him: family, friends, chocolate chip cookies, boots, scarves, spending time in NYC for the break with my friend, Kim, and my brother, and decorating the tree while playing Christmas music! It's been a lovely, busy, but restful break for me!

These last few weeks have flown by (which keeps happening the older I get) and God has been teaching me so much. Two weeks ago Tom Osterhus, from the YWAM Maui base, came to teach our class on worldview. It was so impactful and I realized a lot of my thinking has turned to a more humanistic view rather than having a Biblical worldview (scary!!). Last week Doug Tunny (YWAM Boston) came to speak on evangelism. One of the best teachings I've had on practical evangelism. We went into the streets of Harrisburg and saw 31 salvations and 12 re-dedications in 2 days!!! Praise the Lord! I learned that people really aren't that scary and I need to just open my mouth! Doug said, "The best way to do evangelism is to just do evangelism." So simple, but so true. It's just starting a conversation and then sharing about Jesus. He brought up the idea that if we had the cure to cancer and we didn't tell anyone, wouldn't that be cruel. So how much more cruel is it to keep to ourselves the free gift of salvation through Jesus Christ?? Everyone was pretty nice, even if they didn't want to accept Jesus they still appreciated someone talking to them and encouraging them.

Doug's week on evangelism was a perfect way to lead into our Faith Journeys. It was a 3 day trip where they divided us up into groups of 4 or 5. We were dropped off in different cities with 3 envelopes, a backpack/sleeping bag per person, 1 phone, and a contact number if we needed one. We could only open the envelopes on the day it said to and inside we would find tasks to complete for the day with some money (we never knew how much money would be in there, if any)...oh, and we were responsible for finding our ride back to Harrisburg! My team (Shannon, Matt, Chris, and myself) was taken to Lebanon, PA (about 45 minutes from Harrisburg) and dropped off. We were given $50 for the day and some of the tasks were to 'buy lunch for a homeless person and eat with them', 'pray for someone for healing', 'all team members buy someone a coffee and share Jesus with them', and 'at some point during the week get on the radio or news'. We wanted to go to a coffee shop to strategize and figure out what to do and where to go. Across the street from where we had been let out we noticed Legend's Cafe and decided that's where we would begin. This ended up being the most Divine drop off I could ever have imagined!

When we walked in we found out it was a part of a church, Calvary Chapel! They were about to close the cafe, but we got to meet the pastor's wife, Sue, who gave us some free soup for lunch. There she connected us with Marcio who worked with the local YWAM base and a contact for a radio station!! Already God was providing and in more ways than we even knew at that point. We then met Ebeneezer who came to the church every week to pick up food and distribute it. So we helped him load his car and then piled in for the mystery drop off. We ended up at the first service of the new Nigerian church in Lebanon and the food was to be given to the congregation at the end of the service. It was so much fun and I kept looking at my team asking how it was that we got there again. We met Nigerian pastors from all over PA and got connected with a missions organization in Africa. They even recognized the 4 of us as representatives of YWAM. We also met Kristin and her fiance, Ken, who offered to be our ride home on Tuesday! Remember....we had no contacts upon arrival and within 3 hours were in a Nigerian church service being recognized and thanked! Ha ... God really does have a sense of humor and if we just let Him, He really is faithful to guide us!! The service and all of the people there were so sweet and even had us be in the picture with all of the Nigerian pastors to commemorate their first service! We decided that with how the Lord was providing we would give all of our $50 to the church and would trust the Lord to provide whatever we needed. What a great start to the next few days!

After, we were dropped off by the Legends Cafe/Calvary Chapel and decided to go talk to people on the streets for the next hour or 2 before a Bible study at Calvary. We met a few people, prayed for them, shared the gospel, and even invited a girl we met to hang out with us the next day. We walked back to the church and joined in on the last of The Passion of the Christ and the Bible study, along with some snacks (dinner!). We met the pastor, Thom, and a few of the members of the congregation and felt so blessed at how the Lord was guiding us already. On top of that Thom and Sue offered to let us stay at the church for the next few days!

The next morning Marcio picked us up and took us to the YWAM Lebanon base. When we got there we opened our Day 2 envelope and found out one of our tasks was to serve at a local YWAM base or a church...perfect! So we offered our time to do whatever the base needed done and ended up raking leaves for a a few hours. The directors of the base, David and Miriam, made lunch for us and sent us off with about 3 boxes of food! We were dropped off again at the church and decided we needed to give all of the food to a family in need. We ended up knocking on the door of Robin and Gloria. They were homeless the month before and would have stayed homeless if they couldn't find an apartment that would allow their 3 dogs to move in with them! The apartment was pretty run down and smelled like cigarette smoke. They told us they just got a refrigerator and had been eating soup for the last month, so the food we brought them was much needed. They talked a while about their dogs and then we somehow switched the conversation to talking about Jesus. Robin said he didn't think hell could be any worse than the life we were living now and how he knew about Jesus but nothing more than the stories told in his past. We talked to them for about 30 minutes going through the Gospel, telling of the hope with Jesus, and the gift of eternal life in heaven where their would be no tears, pain, or hunger anymore. I asked them if they wanted to accept Jesus and they said YES!!!! Hallelujah. 2 new family members into the Kingdom. And since they lived down the street we were able to get them connected with Calvary Chapel. I truly look forward to seeing those 2 again because they are riots!

Those are probably my favorite stories of the 3 days. The rest of the time we talked to/prayed with more people on the street, joined the church one evening to help with their prayer station and hand out hot dogs to the homeless and anyone who came around, did some worship on the streets and read Bible verses aloud so that the name of Jesus would be enthroned over Lebanon, and prayer walked around town. We also were interviewed on the local radio station (93.1 The Truth) and became the Thanksgiving spotlight for the next couple of days!!! I learned so much during this Faith Journey. My team was incredible and God wow-ed us all with His provision. He provided things for us before we needed we knew them, every single meal was provided to us free of charge, we had a place to stay, the name of Jesus was proclaimed, and Robin & Gloria made Him Lord of their lives! Thank you, Jesus! Those 3 short days will leave a lasting impact on me and we now have friends in Lebanon that I look forward to connecting with in the future.

Below is a video of some of the other teams favorite God stories from the week!

Thank you again! Everyone who reads this and prays and supports financially and offers encouraging words, you have no idea how much you mean to me. I just can't tell you enough how appreciative I am and how I would not be here without you. Enjoy this Christmas season and remember that Jesus is the reason we celebrate.

I love you all,

J

P.S. You can download the podcasts of the speakers we've had for class by searching for "Fire and Frangrance" on iTunes. It will be the speakers for Harrisburg: Andy Byrd, Sean Feucht, Ivan Roman, Tod McDowell, John Leach, Corey Martin, Tom Osterhus, and Doug Tunny...and more to come! I highly encourage you listen to some of these...they've all had a hand in the change going on in my life!

Psalm 84

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Wed, 17 Nov 2010 17:43:00 +0000

How lovely is your dwelling place,
O LORD of hosts!
My soul longs, yes, faints
for the courts of the LORD;
my heart and flesh sing for joy
to the living God.

Even the sparrow finds a home,
and the swallow a nest for herself,
where she may lay her young,
at your altars, O LORD of hosts,
my King and my God.
Blessed are those who dwell in your house,
ever singing your praise! Selah

Blessed are those whose strength is in you,
in whose heart are the highways to Zion.
As they go through the Valley of Baca
they make it a place of springs;
the early rain also covers it with pools.
They go from strength to strength;
each one appears before God in Zion.

O LORD God of hosts, hear my prayer;
give ear, O God of Jacob! Selah
Behold our shield, O God;
look on the face of your anointed!

For a day in your courts is better
than a thousand elsewhere.
I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God
than dwell in the tents of wickedness.
For the LORD God is a sun and shield;
the LORD bestows favor and honor.
No good thing does he withhold
from those who walk uprightly.
O LORD of hosts,
blessed is the one who trusts in you!

Psalm 84 - ESV

Salem Haunted Happenings- Outbreak of Miracles!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Sat, 06 Nov 2010 23:07:00 +0000

Here is a video for you guys that tells about all of the miracles that happened in Salem last weekend! Once you get to the end you'll notice my numbers were actually low compared to the amount of people we actually saw healed and prayed for! And if you look closely you may even see me in the background :)

Enjoy :)

Update on Salem!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Tue, 02 Nov 2010 16:36:00 +0000

Thank you so much for everyone who prayed for our trip to Salem!! It was legitimately one of the best experiences in my life and the name of Jesus was lifted high!

We left Saturday morning and 26 of us loaded into 5 cars for the 7 hour trek to Salem, Massachusetts. We self-named our van the Daughters of Jerusalem...with father Bo driving. So quick thank you to Bo for allowing 6 girls to ride with you!

We arrived around 6:30p and went straight to the House of Prayer at East Gate Christian Fellowship, which right now is located next door to the Halloween Festival...prime location! We worshiped and interceded for the city until about 10p before heading to different pastor's houses to stay the night. Sunday was a pretty full day packed with church, much more worship and prayer, prayer walking and getting a sense for what we were stepping into, and soaking in the presence of God before we hit the streets from 6-10 that night (which is when most people are out at the festival).

Salem is a quaint little town and so on the verge of breakthrough. There is a heaviness in the air and a spirit of witchcraft that looms over the area. Witches and warlocks roamed the streets, stores glorifying darkness were everywhere, psychics and tarot card readers were kept busy with people looking for answers, and tourists packed the festival not knowing what they were opening themselves up to. Salem actually means peace; so we prayed that Salem would become the City of Peace; and as the eastern most city, it would become the Eastern Gate to usher in the Gospel of Christ. I pray blessings on those God-fearing believers who are living in Salem and are continually crying out for their city and I pray that God would completely wipe out the darkness in the area and every knee in Salem would bow at the name of Jesus.

Anticipation filled as the hours of intercession went on and I was overflowing with excitement and nervousness and love for God and I was just ready to go see what God was going to do. We split into 4 teams for the first 3 hours and then came together for the last hour and literally took over the streets with heaven! We held up signs that said "Free Spiritual Healing" and "Free Spiritual Readings" (aka prophecies). Other psychics and tarot card readers had the same signs...so why not!? Initially it's a bit nerve-wracking to try and get people to come talk to you especially when they look at you like you're crazy...but I kept wanting to say 'I mean, you're at a witch festival....so how is this weird?'...but I refrained and then we just went for it only with boldness that came from God. My group was praying for healing and so we started shouting for anyone who had pain or sickness in their bodies. It was a slow start but then the Lord started bringing people in.

Overall we saw over 100 healings and shared the Gospel with around 200 people Sunday night!! God is so great and so much bigger than we give Him credit for. Firsthand I saw 3 people get healed of asthma (one being a fellow YWAMer!), multiple people get healed of back pain, 1 person with diabetes was healed. 1 guy had a cast on and told us he had a tendon that was cut in his hand. We prayed for him and he started moving his finger and said he couldn't move it before!! We saw arches grow in flat feet (which is something we've been seeing happen over the last month around PA!), pain in legs, shoulders, and ankles were immediately gone, among a plethora of others things...all in the name of Jesus!! We told them that Jesus healed them and then got to share the gospel with them. A lot of people knew about Jesus but couldn't believe that He could and would heal them!

Some of my teammates have some radical stories of healings and prophesies. Major walls came down in people's lives and one of my friends had multiple girls crying on her shoulder as she called out what the Lord wanted for their lives and ended in hugs and I love you's from the strangers on the street!! Some even giving their lives to Christ that night! One guy had gotten healed from pain and was talking to a guy on my team. He asked if God would love him even though he had a 666 and a pentagram tattooed on him...my friend answered "Well, think about this. You already had those tattooes and God just healed you...so yes He still loves you!" And the guy was like wwhhooooaaaa!!! Even some professed atheists and wiccans came up for prayer!! Haha...God is so good!!

I have so many stories I could tell you, but I don't want to take all of your time! I met so many precious sons and daughters on the street. All lost and seeking love and comfort in something. I watched shock and awe on their faces when God healed them. I watched many tear up when prophesied over and told about God's love and how He desires to know them and has a plan for them. Excitement rang through our section of the street as God did what only He can do! A bit of heaven opened over Salem that night and God encountered so many people Sunday...and I have full faith that He will continue to pursue those we came in contact with.

Side note: If you have some time, I recommend downloading the link that says Halloween from the link below. My young adult pastor from Nashville, AJ Jones, spoke on the origins of Halloween and I think everyone should know about where this holiday started and make an informed decision to celebrate it or not :) ... So click here -> Origins of Halloween.

THANK YOU again for praying!!! I am so encouraged and in awe by God's love and power and His willingness to use broken vessels to share His Kingdom with others. It was an experience of a lifetime and I look forward to maybe being a part of it again in the future. My comfort levels were stretched and my faith was expanded! Can't wait to keep sharing God's love and I encourage you to do the same. Walk up to someone on crutches and ask if you can pray for them or get a word for someone and share it. Just telling someone God sees them and has a plan for them can make a world of difference. It's just your job to be the messenger and God will do the rest! So be encouraged today and many blessings on you all!!!

J

Prayer Request!!

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 25 Oct 2010 19:47:00 +0000

Hey friends!

So I'm asking that you cover me even more in prayer this week. I will be leaving here on Saturday with a crew and going to Salem, Massachusetts for Halloween Weekend. We'll be doing some worship and intercession and then going into the streets and spreading the Gospel and love of Jesus, praying for healings and prophesying...and whatever the Lord leads us to do! Pretty much doing what Jesus sent the 12 disciples out to do in Matthew 10. In verses 7-8 Jesus says, "Proclaim as you go, saying 'The Kingdom of heaven is at hand.' Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse lepers, cast out demons.

So we may not run across too many lepers :) BUT we are headed into witchcraft city. There are around 100,000 people that go to Salem every year for this weekend. Pray for my team and me as we prepare to go, against all Spiritual warfare (the enemy has already started attacking some of us), for safety in travel and once we're there, and for the Kingdom of God to come down and spread all over that city. Pray eyes would be opened to TRUTH and that miracles would happen for the glory of God!!! So many people there are into "spiritual" things and especially during Halloween weekend, but we know it's witchcraft and totally opposes the name of Jesus. Last year they saw 40 people get healed and 12 come to know Jesus as their Savior on the spot. We have an even bigger team going this year, so what a force we can be! I can't wait to share with you what all the Lord does and how His name is going to be glorified!

Thank you for you prayers! Seriously, I receive every prayer said for me and I would not be here without you. Prayer is so huge and I am so appreciative for you all!!! You have no idea!

Will give a lengthier update next week about all that's been happening and what's about to!

Many Blessings,

J

"Oh that You would rend the heavens and come down." -Isaiah 64:1

Radically Changing

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Mon, 04 Oct 2010 22:37:00 +0000

Greeting friends and family :)

I don't really even know where to begin. I guess I'll start by saying that the Lord is doing some radical stuff already. I haven't even been here 3 weeks but I feel like God has already done so much in me and taught me so much that it seems like I've been here 3 months.

I'm absolutely loving my time here in PA. I know that the Lord called me to YWAM at this time and in this season. So far I've been under the teaching of Andy Byrd & Sean Feucht (the founders of Fire & Fragrance -- OH and check out their new book that came out "Fire & Fragrance" -- it will give you the history and heart of this ministry!!), Joseph Garlington, Che Ahn, Charles Stock, Larry Randolph, & Bill Johnson. If you haven't heard of some or all of these fathers of the faith then I suggest that you check them out! They'll rock you.

So...when I say that the Lord has done so much already...I mean I don't even know how to express to what degree of change the Lord has started in me. Before I was even here a week, I had the most outrageously awesome encounter with the Lord...more than any other time in my life. Andy Byrd was teaching on the love of God and how we've lived in the vicious cycle of always doing things to get love from the Father, when in all reality we don't have to do anything to get God's love because He just loves us. Period. And how everything we do should come FROM love not FOR love. The magnitude of which He loves is so insane and I was starting to "get it". And wow...He rocked my world. I felt like control and perfectionism were being purged from deep within and God was showing me how He wants me to just rest in His arms because I'm His daughter. My heart is expanding for the Word as well...I'm truly starting to love to read it, more than ever before. It's really coming to life and taking root deep in my heart!

And He just keeps teaching me new things every day. I wish I had enough time to tell you everything in detail, but I'll try and keep this as short as I can :) Just know, that all of you who are supporting me and praying for me and encouraging me are the reason that my life is being transformed. I'll never be able to thank you enough...but please know that everything you're doing is changing my life in the best of ways.

Also, I found out where I'll be spending my last 3 months for my outreach phase! ::Drum roll please:: For one month I'll be with my entire team at Ivy League schools praying for revival and worshiping and interceeding and evangelizing and ministering and anything else the Lord leads us to do! The last 2 months I will be going with 8 other people to AMSTERDAM! They gave us the 4 locations last Monday and by Tuesday we had to tell the staff our top 2 choices of where we felt the Lord leading. I didn't even know Amsterdam would be an option, but once it was said I just couldn't get it out of my head. I kept praying and asking the Lord to lead. Once we gave them our choices the staff took the rest of the week praying as well and putting teams together, and yes...the Lord is definitely leading me to Amsterdam. This may sound random to some of you...I understand, it seemed semi-random to me too :) But really, in the past couple of years I've noticed how much I hate social injustices...like child soldiers and sex trafficking. I just think they're modern day holocausts and I know the Lord wants to see an end to these horrific acts. So once I started thinking about that...I knew this was exactly where I need to be going...to one of the darkest places to pray for revival and reformation. We will be working with an established YWAM base there and pretty close to the heart of the red light district. There is a House of Prayer right in the middle of all the brothels...so we'll be doing a ton of worship and intercession to see those brothels shut down and lives radically changed!!! So please be in prayer for the preparation beforehand and everything the Lord leads us in once we get there...and for all the finances to come in as well! This is going to be so radical and I seriously cannot wait to pray heaven down in that place!

Ah...I have so much in me I want to share, but I can't even form my thoughts into words. I'm just learning that I want so much more...and I know it could cost me anything and everything, but I don't even care because I'm falling so in love with Jesus everyday that I can't even call this life my own anymore, because it's His and I'll go wherever He wants me to.

Again, I send my deepest appreciation to you guys. I love you and will update you again soon!

J

Whirlwind with a side of coffee.

noreply@blogger.com (Anonymous) — Fri, 17 Sep 2010 19:51:00 +0000

That just about describes this last month of my life. I filled my last weeks in Nashville mostly by sitting in coffee shops (thank you Frothy Monkey for hosting me every single day....and for your iced coconut coffee with almond milk...mmm how i miss you!), spending time with friends, visiting family, and clearing out the room in the back corner of The Buford.

:::Side note: I didn't even like really like coffee unless it was overly sugarized and somehow flavored...but after drinking it like every day..i like it...without sugar...and like regular coffee....almost black even...this is bad. Why would I start that habit? I slightly blame Sarah Rhodes for this addiction. I found a coffee I like and it was because of her. End side note.:::

Well, I mentioned last time, skydiving was one of the big events for this month. Aaaanndd mission accomplished. It was probably one of the most ridiculous experiences ever. Josh and I wouldn't even talk about it beforehand and I visualized it just enough to know I would live...after all God had called me to YWAM, so I'd be fine, right? So we get there...and let me paint the picture:

We pull into this large field. To the left is the large wooden...room? It had a roof, and 1 wall with the other 3 walls having posts along it. The 3 people that were there were very nice, and so of course we signed our lives over. Our "20 minute instructional video" was a 3 minute talk on how we needed to sit in the plane and what to do when it was close to jump time. (I actually appreciated that because I may have backed out after 20 minutes). He asked us who wanted to go first and I quickly said "ME! If I wait I won't go." So...I get suited up and sit in the plane that is maybe 4 or 5 ft wide. The door shuts. I notice the duct tape holding parts of the plane together. "No worries, all the money went towards the engine", says skydiver Damien. "Ok", says me. I sit quitely for the next 20 minutes until the desired height of 12,000 ft is reached. Pilot and skydiver keep making jokes. I don't think they're funny. I'm about to jump out of a plane. 2 MINUTES. I have to now turn around. Sit on my knees. Get strapped to skydiver Damien. We're really close friends now. He opens the door. I say a few words. He puts one foot out on a tiny ledge. I put one foot out on a tiny ledge. He says jump. We fall. Tumble even. "Oh crap, I just fell out of a plane", I think. We're flying. My mouth is really dry. I can't stop smiling. Wow, this is neat. Parachute opens. Oomph. Parachute twirls. I laugh. I make awkward jokes because I just now realized I'm hooked to a stranger. More than that I jumped out of a plane with a stranger. Safe landing. Josh's turn.

Hope you enjoyed that thought process. So i was a little more nervous when Josh went up, and when we left I actually started freaking out. And for days after we would look at each other and go "oh my gosh, we jumped out of a plane. who does that? why did we do that?" But seriously what an amazing experience. Not sure if I can muster up the courage to ever do it again...but I really did feel safe and I was flying. So Bucket List: Fly ---- CHECK! Pictures and video to come soon!

We also went rapelling and white water rafting that weekend. What a fun time with our cousins and 2 of my roommates. I wasn't the best at rapelling (See below). But I mean whatever, I just jumped out of a plane, I don't need to be good at anything else. No harm done and I made people laugh.

Fast forwarding packing, some crying, leave nashville, more packing and now I'm in my 3rd day at YWAM! Woop woop. I won't lie, i kind of freaked out Day 1. The enemy was shooting lies at me all through our first worship service on Wednesday night. I just kept thinking "what am i doing here? i miss home, i miss my roommates, i liked life in nashville. is this really where i'm supposed to be?" But we broke that off in the name of Jesus! I know without a doubt I am supposed to be here. These first few days have been pretty chill...getting to know everyone, learning rules and expectations, sharing testimonies, and having some fun too. It's been great, but I'm so ready to just start full force and get in the routine of life here. We're gong to have amazing, like blow you out of the water, teachers come in, and I am stoked for that. God has already started some awesome stuff, as I had such a huge encounter with His love this morning! I'm ready for more!

One thing I have loved is really getting to hear the heart of our leaders. Why we're in harrisburg and how God has opened doors for us to be here, what's going to come in the next few weeks and months as we start stepping out in faith and sharing the love of God to those around us. I love that revival is going to come. Please join us and so many others in prayer as seriously, the 3rd Great Awakening is on the verge of happening. We want to take back to God was (and still is) His, what was founded on His name and His truth! If you want even more details on what's going on you can check out my leader's blog: http://www.bardwellblog.com/

So that's all the updates I can think of for now. Thanks so much to everyone supporting and praying for me! It is needed as the enemy already hates what God is going to do in and through us. How exciting is that...the enemy is scared of us because He knows God is going to bring major fire and breakthrough to the Northeast!

Oh and I have an address now...so i will gladly accept all letters and care packages one may want to send :)

Fire and Fragrance

attn: Jessica Ramsay

PO Box 4826

Harrisburg, PA 17111

Love you all!