Our God Reigns

I continue living on my knees if praise and thanksgiving for you, my praying saints, and our Father who Heals and Leads and Loves!!!!

I was able to accompany my team to Vienna after all:) Thursday night was by far the worst for me of my three nights in Budapest...which is strange right? But I was awake for most of the night, up sick, and swearing off the food I'd eaten thinking I was some better (Dick and Carolyn fixed me steamed veggies and rice, lightly seasoned:). But on Friday, I had this peace about going and so Kathy Angi took me to meet one of the teams coming from Debrecen to ride on the train with them (my team was coming in later from bekescsaba). So my sweet hungarian-teammates greeted me with loving words and awesome hugs! it was so good to see them. our hostel in vienna was on a hillside overlooking the city. by the end of the day friday i was pooped...no pun intended ha:) i didn't sleep very well friday night and was exhausted even more so on Saturday. but the city was so fresh and clean and beautiful i really do think it did me good to be there. i had the BEST night of sleep saturday night in my hostel with my team after a NORMAL day of bathroom usage and eating more foods than bananas, rice, toast haha. Our weekend in Vienna was full of God moments--- him answering prayers of needs as we asked for them...like extra euros, a bus, a map, a friend, a meeting place, a peaceful feeling, a healing. Our God reigns above all other names and beings and powers!!!

i still have so much to write about. my head and elbow are still sore from the fainting fall, but getting better. i'm still a little tired and it is hard to hydrate as we have to walk a good ways and carry all our water back on foot. so please be praying for that...we all got a little yucky feeling over that today.

i had my FIRST day of teaching with the refugees today! it was so good to be working alongside liz and caitlin (rick teaches the men). the kids were wild this morn and we had 18 of them! this afternoon, we had a very successful english lesson with two beginners and two advanced learners-- all very well educated women from afghanistan. they speak farsi but learned some english in school.

we also had lunch with a new social worker/assistant here at the camp and he was very curious...."i have a question...i mean why do you come here....no one pays you...do you work for government? or organization? I do not understand why you would do this."

with tears exploding in my heart, i jumped up in my chair and explained that we simply want to help...to help the refugees, the staff, the people of hungary. that we have been given much and that we want to give to others:) Please continue to pray for this situation as this is someone that we can continue to share the Gospel with as we embody Christ. everyone seems to be perplexed by this...the refugees themselves have asked this question and are always surprised....please pray for that countenance to be on our faces!!! that He would embody us!!! that the Gospel will be made known through Love. Joe and Kathy told us that when the refugees make it out of camp...they often come to budapest and they find the church there and say...we had these english teachers in debrecen, biscke, bekescsaba...and they taught us...and we want to know more about this Christian God of Love." AHHHHH!!!! :) Sweet Jesus, that we may represent you to the best of our flesh!

Below, i'm posting what I received in an email from one of my best friends today. I post it because it spoke so well to my heart...and it is a prayer that I would love for you to be praying with us. Thank you Jessi for loving me with His word. I'm also gonna put some vienna pics at the top or bottom (who knows where they'll show up:).


"For the past few nights, I have been waking up around 2:30 a.m. I do not take this consistently lightly, especially when (I think) this is about the time your day is beginning. So, in my wakeful hours of restless nights, I have been praying for you, for your team, and over your card of needs you gave me before you left. Today, I "came across" Isaiah 61 and read it thinking of you and praying specifically verse by verse for the Scriptures outcry in your day today:

(starting in verse 9) Lord, may the nations who see Jess today acknowledge her and see Your light and Your hand guiding her as Your chosen offspring. God, I pray the peoples around her come to know the blessing of Your salvation through Your Spirit on her.

(verse 10) May she rejoice and exult in Your inheritance today, as materialism and vanity are cast far from the garments of salvation and robes of righteousness and as You prepare her to be Your holy church, Your Bride, as she fellowships with refugees.

(verse 11) Root deeply in her Your heart and Your eternal desire for redemptive history to be known and salvation to be plentiful! Precious Father, You have laid the nations at her feet. Do nothing less than bring her causes for righteousness and praise!

I love you, Jessi"

Photo: Team at the park about to watch the opera on the big screen in the open night sky with stars...oh and the parliament building (aka castle) behind it! Sat. nite
Photo: Stephansplat-- Stephen's Cathedral, downtown.
Photo: Hofburg Complex -- Palace, imperial apartments, etc of Imperor Franz Yosef and Sisi
Photo: view from our hostel--- be jealous! isn't vienna lovely?!
jenna and I at dinner on friday night in vienna:)