Looking for a home

The last few months and more earnestly lately I have spent several hours a day looking for a home for my family. This right now is primarily an on line process as we are on the road staying with friends and family. I spend from 2 to 4 hours a day looking at possibilities.... details of number of rooms, bathrooms, schools in the area etc.. Is this apartment in our budget? What is our budget? Will there be space for us to serve others in our new ministry? Will Dave have a space for his office? Will we be close to public transport so Ethan can get to his school? Will there be enough windows to let the sun light in so we can survive the long Chicago winters? 

As I look, I find my mind wandering.... wondering what will our new lives look like in Chicago? As I have narrowed down a few places for Dave to look at in person, (Am I crazy to let my husband pick out our apartment/house? The younger 2 children and myself will stay with my sister as Dave and Ethan go into Chicago to finalize a place for us and than we will join him. ) I am reminded of all the houses that we have called home over the years.

Our first home was a cute 2-bedroom apartment over a garage in Abilene, TX while we were finishing up school. Good memories beginning our nest together.

Our second home was a church parsonage in our first ministry job in Minnesota. We were so excited when the church leaders opened the door and we saw our house for the first time. A very large (after living in a small garage apartment anything would have felt large) 2 bedroom with a finish basement...what a bonus! I loved my large picture window in the living room. We were pregnant with our first child so I was eager to make one of the rooms into a nursery. I had so much fun turning this house into a home.

Our 3rd home was in Uganda and it was a very large 6-bedroom home by lake Victoria. The house had been empty for a while and had been vandalized and needed a lot of TLC. We were able to rent it at a low cost and proceed to fix it up over the next few years. Our first year we hosted over hundred visitors so it was such a blessing we had all those rooms. I had fun redoing floors, painting and stenciling...hours and hours of work. The house transformed into a beautiful home. The landlord noticed and with pressure from her extended family she more than doubled our rent. We departed bitter- sweet from this home because of all the money and time we had invested.

Our 4^th home was on top of a very large hill with a less than desirable road. The home was a newer construction with 3 small rooms and a garage that I transformed into a bedroom and school room. I loved our porch on this home with its beautiful views. Dave built a playground for the kids (4 kids during this time) …so many great memories in this home! But as time passed we began to out grow this small home. Our landlord had built a much larger 2-story house next door that had sat empty for a long time and he graciously lowered the rent so we could live there.

That became our 5^th home. Oh what space we had now. We enlarged our one-room school and several others in the community joined. This house was similar to our first home in Uganda but a bit smaller with only 5 bedrooms. So many good times with lots of visitors and parties in this home. When Timothy was a baby there was a small attic fire and everyone was down stairs and did not know but he cried and ended up saving us all with his warning. Dave and Mark one of our co-workers put the fire out! Our home was saved!

Our 6^th home in Africa was in Rwanda. We rented a furnished place when we first moved, as our shipment with all of our stuff in Uganda would take a while to come. We were so thankful to find a 3-room duplex that was fully furnished. It was a tight squeeze but we were ready to get out of the hotel. A few weeks after we first arrived in Rwanda 14 Oklahoma Christian students joined us for the summer. It was fun learning about Rwanda together. This house although temporary ended up being in the neighborhood where the church and school that God allowed us to help start was in.  At that time the neighborhood was new and water was a bit of a problem and after 2 months of no water we decided to move our next house even though our furniture had not yet come.

Our 7^th house, I new would be our home seconds after I drove down into the tree-covered driveway. It reminded me of the old colonial homes of my Kenya youth. The house was a simple bungalow style with a breath taking beautiful yard.

View from my porch in our Kimihurura home                                                        

I must admit out of all of our homes this is my favorite. It had unique flooring in the living and dinning area. It also had a fireplace. After converting the garage into a bedroom (one of my trademarks) we had 6 bedrooms.  We had a large parch with ½ of it screened in. This was one of my favorite spots to spend time with God. We hosted many guest and had lots of parties! I think one of my favorites was my surprise 40^th birthday!  It was a sad day when we had to leave that house as the landlord needed to replace the roof and do some other upgrades that would place the house into a more expensive rental than we could afford. We had almost 6 wonderful years in that home in Kimihurura.

Our last year in Rwanda we found a house that both Dave and I could agree on and was in our budget. After extensive renovations during the first few months. I grew to really enjoy this home. My porch grew on me especially after a few parties. ( I am of the opinion that a good party helps to turn a house into a home).

My sister Debra, my self holding our foster baby Gabe, and our son Caleb with one of our dogs                                                                                                          
Shortly after we moved in we answered the call to move to the U.S so we were only in this home for a year. In hindsight I am glad that God pried me out of my Kimihurura home a year earlier because he new I needed to grief one loss at a time. Leaving this new home was not as difficult.

Over our 19 years in Africa we had several extend furloughs and lived with family and friends and house sat and stayed in Visiting Missionary houses. We have always been blessed in these seasons. My kids have developed a quick adjustment to a new place becoming home. I hope this is a skill that will serve them well in life.

This last year was our first year back in the U.S to live for a longer season. God blessed us by opening a door for us to stay in Missionary Furlough Homes in Wheaton, IL outside of Chicago. These are fully furnished homes even down to the linen and kitchen utensils. It was a great landing spot for us. We had hoped to stay there for another year or 2 but that was not the plan. We are now transitioning again. We are moving into the city of Chicago as missionaries and hoping to partner with East African Diaspora to plant a multi-cultural church.

First task is to set up home base. Thanks for indulging me as I have walked down memory lane. It is building to my faith to record all the houses that God has turned into homes for my family. Not only much needed shelter from the storms of life but also where joy has flowed out to our family and community.

I am encouraged not to get bogged down in the details but trust that God has this! I am praying and would ask for prayers that He will provide the place that can be our next home not only for our family but a place that we can serve out of.

Guest Blog @ http://www.overacup.org/

“Share one of your God stories?” I was asked…..I do have so many to choose….hundreds, thousands….but right now I am in an unfinished God story. I know from experience that it is going to be an awesome story because the risks are so high…potential for failure so real. I also know in times like these where you are in the middle (I hope I am close to the end) that it is good to remember your God stories.


Check out  my guest blog at : http://www.overacup.org/2013/07/gods-story-jana-jenkins.html 

This summer is not the time for furlough!

As the summer rolls in the reality hits that the furlough we planned is not going to happen. Over the years, as my husband and I have served as missionaries in East Africa, we would often talk about what it would be like if we ever moved back to the U.S. I remember that I always said if we do move back to  America we will have to furlough in Africa! So last year as we were planning our return to the U.S for a season, we also began to plan our first furlough.

For those of you who do not know what a furlough is let me help define it for you. I do not really like Webster's definition--"leave of absence; temporary release of imprisonment ( unfortunately, I think some  of us missionaries have related to this during our early years); temporary layoff'.

Let me first say what furlough is not...a vacation! Although it can be a break from your work in the field that you are serving in, there is a lot of work one does on furlough as you speak in different churches sharing about what God has done since your last furlough; reporting on what has been done and assessing future goals and dreams;discovering much needed funds:depending on the ages of your children....looking at potential universities they might want to attend, taking care of doctors visits you may have to supplement, health issues--i.e. surgeries,  shopping for supplies until you return next, and reconnecting with family and friends. I am just tiered thinking about all the different things furlough is.

 I always would have mixed feelings about furloughs. I would look forward to connecting with family and friends and enjoying many of the foods and entertainment  etc ...we missed.... but would dread living out of suitcases; dealing with the stress of communicating well so that there was some understanding of what you were doing. Early on most of our furloughs were crisis management rather than proactively planned. This added a whole new level of stress to furloughs.

What we felt we looked like as would show up on someones doorstep!

We have also dealt with more than our share of health challenges on some of our furloughs. Many of our furloughs were spent either living with family or on the road staying with supporters or as our family grew --crammed into hotels. We had some furloughs that we had the luxury of having a furnished apartment or house to ourselves. ( A big thanks to all those families and supports that made this a possibility!) Those times worked best...even though we would be in someones home for dinner ( or out to eat) each night we would have a place to come back to and just be our selves. It is hard sometimes always being 'On" --telling the same stories over and over. Our family has some great memories from all of our furloughs through the years. I think it brought us closer and we have bonded through both the good,bad and the ugly...that only road trips can bring. I remember once when our oldest was preschool age and was asked to draw her home as we were on a furlough, she drew a picture of our van!

There is a lot  of different practice out there amongst  evangelical missionaries as to how long and how often one should take furloughs. We did all sorts through the years.  Our longest tour we did was 3 and 1/2 years but usually they were 2 years and our furloughs have ranged from 3 months to 12 months. I noticed a new trend towards the end of our time of short 6 to 8 weeks furlough every year in the summer time. I can see especially with school age children that this makes things a bit easier.

As we were planning our first furlough back to East Africa , I thought this new trend might work best for our family. We could return during the summers back to Africa. At the time I think this was the only way we could leave Rwanda was knowing we would be back for a visit in one years time. Well lots of things have been differently than we had expected for our transition. ( I will save that for another blog)

We are going to have to move out of our temporary furnished Missionary Furlough home on July 15... We have some ideas of were we are moving to and some on going conversations but nothing for sure yet. I know if we were going on furlough back to Rwanda  this summer we would not return back to the States so I hear the wisdom of Mission organizations and old - time missionaries that would advise that you try and have a longer first tour and discourage going on a furlough after only one year.

We are still finding our way here and looking for our place ....learning about the culture here....trying to meet as many folks as we can and asking the missionary questions where is God working and where does he want me to join him in here? As much as I am sad about not going "home ' now I know that this summer is not the time for furlough!

DVR your time with others and God?

Lots of things have changed in the U.S. culture in my time overseas. Wives and husbands no longer have to argue about asking for directions  because there are GPS'. You can access the Internet just about anywhere now with your Smart Phone. You can carry a full library of books now on your Tablet.....


I can remember a time when folks would re-arrange their schedule for that one T.V. show they did not want to miss....but now you are in control of your T.V.------ T.V. is not in control of you. YOU CAN JUST DVR IT! So what ever show or should I say shows( now that there is DVR you can follow more than one show) you can watch them when ever it is convenient for you.



This idea of control or time management spills over into many aspects of our lives. There are many books on the subject, webinars, and personal consultants that can help your time be better organized. There are also so many things that are being advertised to help us save time so we can spend it on how WE WANT! Our work,play,relationships and even our family time is all scheduled. 



I am not advocating no planning or time management but I am just encouraging us to be careful that we are not so fixed on OUR schedule, OUR plans, OUR agendas that we are not open to what God would have for us to be, to do or not do!



Have you ever met a friend for coffee and feel that you are just a 30min slot in their scheduled day? As we have been visiting a lot of different American churches-- one common buzz word that I am hearing over and over is "COMMUNITY". Pastors are challenging the church to live in community. Often this is followed by some elaborately scheduled program to help cultivate this community,but as a friend said to me this week, " It feels more like 'steril' community".


When you look at the Jewish culture during biblical times they did community well.....so the idea the early Christians having everything in common,sharing bread together,giving to anyone who had need...was not as foreign as these concepts are today in our current western culture.



One of the many things I have learned from my African sisters and brothers is that they know how to do community! People are valued over time-management! Relationships trump all! And as Christ infuses their culture they show the world His love by walking together,sharing life,praying with each other,crying together in the sorrows and celebrating the joys. Basically, they show up and are present in each others lives!



Let's not DVR our time with others--God has made us for community--community with Him and others!


Sometimes I think if we are not careful we can take our 'DVR' attitude and begin to 'DVR' our time with God. WE decide how much time we are going to give Him or maybe we may be tempted to think "I'll just DVR my time with God today, this week, or this month. Thinks are so crazy right now--it is such a busy season....I will catch up with my God -time later....." DVR may work great for your T.V. shows but not with our time with our Lord. God may want you to cancel your plans for the morning and spend longer in focus time with Him.....or He may ask you to cut your mountain- top experience short to join Him in the valley at a friends hospital bed..... What ever it may be....let us tune our ears and heart to hear His voice and let Him show up!


The next time you use your DVR for that favorite show.....please just push the pause button and ask yourself am I open to God today--showing up now? Am I open to the people He is bringing in my life? Am I willing to go where He wants be to go? Be who he wants me to be?

DVR your time with others and God? I do not think so!

In the Saturdays of life

 I love going to the movies. Most Friday nights are date nights and Dave usually takes me to see a movie. This is one of the things I enjoy in America because we didn’t have a movie theatre in Rwanda (I have heard one has opened since we moved).

           

            One of the things I like about movies is that there is a clear beginning, middle and end. Most movies are pretty well tied up in an hour and a half.

            Unfortunately, life is not as clearly tied up. There are lots of beginnings and endings but many times you are in the middle. I heard a sermon recently that said we like to hear the Friday---‘Jesus dying on the cross for our sins’---sermons and the Sunday----‘Jesus rising from the dead’-----sermons but we do not hear many Saturday –--- ‘the in between – waiting – what is going to happen next?'sermons! 

 Well this newsletter is just that –--- a waiting –--- what is God going to do next kind of a letter…

            This has not been the easiest season in our lives but we have tried hard not to give way to depression, anger, and bitterness, as we have allowed ourselves to grief, cry, relinquish, celebrate and be thankful for the journey that we are on. We know that God has called us back to the States for a season and we thought we had a pretty clear picture –-- we had a good “preview” of what we were going to do.

http://www.kicsrw.org/

            We thought our primary role coming back to the US was to build ROC’s network –--- tell the story of what God has and is doing in Rwanda and recruit others and raise needed resources. We have and are doing this. Dave just got back from a week at York college in Nebraska where he spoke in chapel and taught in several classes. He had several meals with folks doing just that - recruiting KICS teachers and sharing about all God has done through those of us with ROC.

            But as we were leaving Rwanda and sharing with our CCR family that we were moving to Chicago many shared about children and relatives that were living in the Greater Chicago Area and we have also sensed God calling us to shepherd the Diaspora living here in Chicago Area.

http://www.facebook.com/ChristsChurchRwanda

 What does this look like?

 Currently it looks like 3 main things:

1.     We first began following up visiting all the children and relatives of our CCR family. It was almost 15 folks but the number has grown to over 30 relatives from CCR. 

2.     We have widened our network to include those from the Great Lakes region of Africa. This includes Rwanda, Burundi, Tanzania, Uganda, Kenya and Congo. Dave and I started going to different fellowships of Kenyans, Ugandans, Tanzanians, and meeting lots of people – making new friendships and renewing old networks of our Uganda years and my Kenya childhood.

I love all the fellowship and prayers that this African Table has seen!

3.     We have been having these people in our home on Saturday nights for an African meal, fellowship, and prayer. We have also been going to their homes as well.

TCK(Third Culture Kids) both missionary and Diaspora have so much in common!  

Laughter--- a universal healer!

 Prayer-- Brings us to His feet
 in utter dependance!

But what does all this mean…

We are in the Saturdays right now……. We can look back at Friday and feel the loss of our 

19+ years in East Africa – see how God used us and was so gracious with us ...We can look ahead to Sunday.... though it is not fully clear... will we be working at a local university, on staff at a local church, or involved in church planting????…. We are not sure how God is planning on resurrecting our gifts and experiences for His Glory but we know Sunday is coming!

            But today we are in the Saturdays serving whom He brings us, praying, grieving all our losses, praying, eagerly waiting, praying, learning, praying, playing with different possibilities, praying, filling out different job applications, praying, sharing about ROC and CCR, praying, recruiting for KICS, praying, helping our kids adjust and thrive in their new environment, praying, meeting lots of new people, praying, slowly starting to build community, praying…

            Will you join us in our Saturday? We have lost some big contributors, we are praying for our daily bread… God has been so faithful and many of you have given so sacrificially and faithfully! Thank you for joining us in our Saturday time! We need your prayers and support!

            We will keep you updated and I assure you when our Sunday comes we will share in more detail what God is asking for us in our next chapter!

Blessings,

Jana for the Jenkins

Resting in Faith

Jana and her sister Debra

Even though at first I had felt such peace when Dave brought up the idea of us moving to the U.S. for a season, this was no easy decision. East Africa had been our home as a married couple for 19 years and my home for the first 8 years of my life with  additional 2 - one year  seasons.

We ( Dave and I ) had really grown up here. We were so young and idealistic when we first moved to Uganda in 1993. The African people and culture had shaped us in many ways. The value of relationship over time, sense of community over individualism, generosity and hospitality; but also the persecution that comes from being on the cutting edge of life, has also really shaped us.

I love watching God's transforming power in peoples lives! Seeing God at work through my weakness and Him taking the "little things" that I have done and make them life changers in others. I love God plus me and I have really grown to love a special group of people that God has called Dave and I to serve!

One of things I realized as we were processing this decision was the people group we feel called to serve is not confined to East Africa-- in fact many do not live here but are scattered--- so in some ways as God was calling us to be scattered-- we were joining others--walking a similar path.

But I am getting ahead of myself. As Dave and I began to process this decision we needed our community to help us. I think that most of us who are from a more western society tend to make decisions primarily on our own. We my ask advice from others but ultimately we believe the call is up to us. This is a different decision making pattern then we had learned in East Africa. Decisions are made in community. You call your community together and talk and talk and talk ( as Christians you also pray together) listen a lot and then over time the way is made clear. We began to do this process. I think some of our expat community who were used to individual decision making thought we may be crazy, but after several weeks we answered God's call to transition to the U.S for a season.

Handover of Gabe, our foster baby, to the Jacobs

I think in many ways this was a harder call to answer then when He had first called us to Africa 2 decades earlier. But what begin to help us was hearing our community speak blessings over us and seeing our relationship network that God had given us spill over into the U.S. We have been called primarily to serve a segment of society on the move-- thought leaders-- influencing those of influence- calling leaders to the transformation power of Jesus in their lives and seeing it spread through those that they are leading and influencing.

This can be a mom who everyone in her community comes to for advice, government leader, university student, or youth leader. In Rwanda where we were living there is a lot of this group that has been in transition-- because of persecution,turmoil and ultimately genocide --many had scattered. They call themselves the Diaspora -- many had returned to Rwanda but many were also still living a broad. It was interesting that shortly after we answered the call-- we found as many as 9 children and relatives of our CCR community( Christ Church in Rwanda) that lived in the greater Chicago area ( since moving we have met many more ).

Back to my University days of early missionary training, following relationship lines was something that my Mission professors pushed. So even though we were going to move to the other side of the World God was showing us that that was were our relationship lines were going. 

CCR's 4th Anniversary

A beautiful gift that God gave us was being commission and prayed for by the church plant that God had used us to start. As my brothers and sisters laid their hands on us and sent us out from Rwanda to the U.S. to serve , I was filled with peace again--- there were still a lot of unknowns but I could REST IN FAITH.

The Call

The Call

When my husband is away, with having 5 children--after everyone is asleep it is usually treasured time to think and reflection life. It is a much needed breathing time.  

Dave had taken our eldest daughter, Sophia to the States to begin her first year of college. I had desperately wanted to be the one to take her but when the time approached it was not to be. We were fostering a small baby boy,Gabe at the time and he needed me to stay. 

    In reality Dave was probably the better choice to take Sophia to Wheaton--he could crunch the numbers, sign the papers and give her the stability she needed to thrive. We had sent her off well. We had an African party--a" Harambe" Invited all our Rwanda community---Rwandans,other Africans from neighboring countries, ex-pates--both Christian workers and seekers--a real hodgepodge of folks.

     

                                        

I love a good party. This was the first one in our new home. I enjoyed setting the stage for an exciting evening. Tents were put up in the yard, table clothes were laid on the tables and all was decorated. Chairs were placed strategically to encourage conversations. Candles were lit and the bomb fire was built and stoked. Yummy food was laid out to share…..friends began to arrive.

     Sending Sophia off was both an expression of faith and a test of faith…..How would God provide for His calling on us and Sophia to send her to a Christian University. Were we crazy to think this would be possible? We had asked our community to pull together and help us send her( Harambe).

We were humbled that night as over $5000.00 U.S dollars was given by our Rwandan community and the largest gift was from our Rwandan friends….humbled! As I write this, Sophia is in her 2nd year at Wheaton and God has provided mightily. She has had to take out only small loans each year and the rest has come from grants and scholarships. We and her will never forget the push that our Rwanda community gave us that night!  

     Anyway back to my treasured time to think and reflect. As Dave was taking Sophia to school, he felt God calling him to a 40 day retreat from the church God had asked him to plant and pastor. Even though I was still in Rwanda and emerged in life--it was these still quiet evenings that I would join Dave in prayer and reflection.

    Since returning from an unexpected medical leave over a year ago,I had still not found my place. At first I thought it would just take time……then God had plopped baby Gabe in my lap and made it clear that this was who I was to pour into. Gabe was a foster baby that we were caring for. The first "Spoken For" baby. A new ministry that our church had started to care for orphaned and abandon babies and give them a temporary home as a permeant home was found. Preventing them from going to an orphanage.   

    

 Then God made me move from our house that had become our home for the last 6 years in Rwanda---full of unforgettable memories--my  retreat--my place that I had served out of to so many…..Then my youngest son Timothy needed mom to be his teacher….

      All these things took me away from being "plugged in" --finding my place again. Or should I phrase it finding where God wanted me. In the past, although it had sometimes taken time, I had always found my spot--the place that I knew I was right where God wanted me--joining Him where He was working---Being Jana plus God and using all the gifts, experience, and makeup that God had called me to be and service flowed naturally.

       This was not the normal season. I loved loving on Gabe, and was enjoying the extra time Timothy and I were having together with homeschooling….but I was feeling out of place and out of sorts in my community. In someways my relationships with both my Rwandan friends and expat friends seemed to polarize me like never before. Different sets of expectations seemed to pull at me and I started to feel very uneasy….uncomfortable…a hah…I know why I do not like this feeling---in the past this was usually a sign that God was going to move me! "I DO NOT WANT TO LEAVE!" I found myself crying out!

  Even though I had been thinking about this for sometime it all seemed to be boiling up since Dave was away. On this night of reflection, I was praying and crying out to God asking Him for direction, answers, and clarity. Then Dave SKYPED me and shared something he wanted me to pray about….One of our ROC board members and dear friend had asked Dave if our family would consider a move back to the U.S for a season and help with the work on the U.S. side.

   As soon as Dave shared this news with me I was flooded with a tangible peace--not the serean peace you can feel looking out over calm waters but the strong secure peace when it seems that everything is falling around you but you have been caught--held tightly. A since of relief as well--like someone turn on the light so I could see a few steps in front of me.

    This was the beginning of my journey with God back to my passport country. I could go on this journey with Him because I had traveled many journeys with him in the past and He had been so faithful!