Eating for Africa Wrap-Up

I want to first thank you all for following our blog during our Eating for Africa fundraising experiment. The blog world can easily err on the side of self-indulgence and let's face it, reading about family eating habits isn't the most exciting thing you could do with your time, but I know some of you have been faithful readers to the end. Again, we thank you for your support.

On April 1st Eli asked, "So Mom, were we successful?" My answer is "yes" and "no".

"No," because I didn't save as much of our personal grocery budget as I had planned. Then again, I lost $100 cash the first week of the month (still hoping it shows up in our car somewhere) and "no" because we didn't gain as many sponsors as we had hoped.

But a resounding "YES" in that our family worked together towards the common goal of raising funds for ministry; "Yes," because through this blog, awareness of what we do on our ministry trips has been raised; and "Yes" because it helped to re-focus our hearts and minds towards the work ahead.

While Eating for Africa is over, the fundraising efforts continue. I'm exploring the possibility of hosting an art camp this summer and Dave is considering offering computer services for donations. Our team continues to park cars at Market Days whenever possible and we may host a garage sale. The bottom line is this: no matter how much effort we put out or how much money we personally use to fund our trip, it really is up to God whether we make it to Kenya this year. We trust him with the outcome and will choose to be content whether we make it back to Africa this year or not.

I'm going to spend the next few days re-structuring our blog then I will continue posting news about our trip. God willing, I will share this adventure with you all the way to Bondo and back again!

For those of you who have expressed interest in sponsoring our eating experiment, here are the donation details:

- Make your check payable to CCCMI (Cypress Creek Church Ministries International)
- Include a note earmarking the check for the Jacobsen account (do not put our names on the check itself)
- Send payment to P.O. Box 1357, Wimberley, TX 78676

I would like to leave you with a little story. This past Saturday we parked cars at Market Days again. My sweet husband, Dave, good sport that he is, donned a coconut bra and hula skirt then danced and waved at the street from 7:30-2:00! I don't think he would have had the nerve had our friend Rick not been wearing a tutu as well. We had a lot of laughs watching the reaction of the people and I can honestly say that each and every person who parked with us on Saturday did so with a smile on their face! It was a long day, but it was so much fun. The coconut bra and tutu opened up many conversations and helped us make connections with people from all over the country. I mean, come on...how many missionaries do you know who look like this?

At the end of our long, fun day, Dave and I were sitting on the back bumper of our car waiting for the parking lot to thin out a little more and I was thinking about our day. It occurred to me that each and every person who parked their car with us were now part of our mission team. At $3 per car, they became part of God's work in Africa! I know it doesn't sound like much and $3 out of their shopping budget really wasn't a big financial sacrifice, but in God's economy it is huge!

Those happy shoppers were doing far more than treasure hunting that day...they were building a church in Kenya and through that church, lives would be changed. David and I may be the ones making the trip, but it definitely is a team effort.

Scripture tells us that his Church is like a body made up of many parts. A healthy body is diverse in its structure...I mean, you would freak if you saw someone walking down the road with 12 heads, wouldn't you?! A body needs a good head, but it also needs arms willing to embrace, hands willing to share, legs willing to work and feet willing to go. We may be the "feet" right now, but it is the generous "hands" that are helping our feet get where they want to go! Remember, those feet don't just show up by themselves...they take the whole body with them and we all share the blessing.

No matter what part of the body you happen to be right now, you are important to God and he has work for you to do. I pray you all find your passion in Him and that together we will "show up" to do His good work.

May God bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you and give you PEACE.

- Julie & Dave

He Has Risen!

He has risen indeed!



EASTER IS THE BEST!!
If Jesus had merely been a good teacher who ticked-off the leaders of his day and got himself killed, where would we be? His ressurrection means EVERYTHING to us!
No other leader upon which the major world religions is based did what Jesus did for us. Imagine, God in all his power chose to limit himself to human form and live among us for a while. He experienced all the struggles of this world, all the emotions and temptations, yet faced them perfectly...and he did that for us.
Then he endured humiliating torture and death on the cross. He could have stopped that experience at any time, but he didn't. "For the joy set before him," he endured the cross. What was the joy before him? What exactly was on his mind during all of this? What kept him focused on the prize - this joy set before him?
It was US - you, me, him, her, them, we - WE are his joy!!
But Jesus dying on the cross isn't what our faith is based upon...it is the RESURRECTION from that death that secures our faith.
I'm preachin' to the choir here, but I can't help it. I just LOVE Easter! And I love Jesus!
Hallelujah! Amen! Praise to the One True God who loves us all and made a way for us to be close to him again!
Happy Resurrection Day to you all!
- Julie

It's a Big, Beautiful World

Shalom!

I hope you have all been enjoying the Easter season as much as we have. Last night was our annual Passover Seder. Hosting that ceremonial meal certainly is a lot of work, but it is one of my favorite family traditions. It was also a great way to end the Eating for Africa month. No more beans & rice for this family! Last night was all about brisket & kugel...yum!

For those of you not familiar with what Passover is, it is the Jewish remembrance of God freeing the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. The Seder meal is what we like to call "Jewish Thanksgiving", but it is a time of sharing the story of God's rescue through the use of scripture, story-telling and traditional/symbolic foods. The cool thing is that Jesus' last meal with his disciples was a Passover meal and he used that ceremony to say to his disciples, "Here, you see this symbol? This is ME!" Jesus also said, "Do this in remembrance of me." So while I love partaking of the Lord's supper at church, experiencing the fullness of that meal & its symbolism once a year is the perfect way to start celebrating Easter. If you get a chance to attend a Seder sometime I hope you'll go.

All that to say that today I was very tired, but David took the day off work so we could enjoy some family time at one of our favorite places, Enchanted Rock.

Enchanted Rock is the 2nd largest outcropping of granite in the United States. That means it is a really big rock that requires energy to climb! Energy that I was lacking today, but what's a mom to do? I had promised the kids we would go (in fact, it might have been my idea) so I kept my complaints to myself. I'll admit that inside my head I was pleading with God for some rain that would land us in a movie theatre instead, but no such luck. I had a rock to climb.

As I saw 2 year olds and old men with canes scaling this rock my pleading became more along the lines of "Oh God, please help me make it. Please help me to be stronger than that guy with a cane!" I'm happy to report that my prayers were answered.

Not only did I make it to the top, but God sent me an angel that kept me from having to crawl through the caves. I had the opportunity to sit with a scared little girl outside the cave entrance until she was reunited with her father. Once they were together again, I climbed to a vantage point and sat down to enjoy the beautiful afternoon.

Wow.

We've all seen them; beautiful vistas that take your breath away. I've been privileged to see many such vistas in my life from the Great Rift Valley of Kenya to the Rocky Mountains of Colorado and all points in between. Today it was Texas that stole my heart and left me in awe. No, let me re-state that. It was Texas that stole my heart, but it was God that left me in awe.

As I sat in the sunshine watching hawks surf the thermals, I started thinking rather deep thoughts. It occurred to me that God was the creator of all I could see, for as far as I could see and that the world was a beautiful place, yet as beautiful and majestic as it is, He loves us, his children, more than the world he created for us to dwell in. Scripture tells us that as he created each segment of the world he would survey his craftsmanship and say, "It is good," yet after creating mankind he said, "That is very good." On top of that, we are told that we were created in God's image.

I sat there, taking in the beauty around me and thought, "What part of God's image could I possibly possess - this Almighty-Creative-Force-of-a-God that I worship?" It was a humbling moment, yet in that place I felt close to him.

Then He reminded me that we who trust in him will "rise on wings like eagles." Now I was sitting pretty high up in the air, so the wind-surfing hawks were practically at eye level with me. I realized that they saw the beautiful vistas of the world all the time. I imagined that I was looking at the world from their on-high position. What I saw was the majesty of God demonstrated through His creation. From a bird's-eye view I didn't have to face the depravity of man or the consequences for their bad choices. There was no pain, no striving, no conflict, no destruction. All I could see, for as far as I could see, was the world crying out, "God is good!"

I wondered if this was a way to be in the world, but not of the world. That is, when the hardships of life become too overwhelming, my vision too narrow and self-focused, perhaps if I rose on His wings I could get a better perspective of this world He loves so much.

Like that guy with the cane who finally made it to the top - God loves him more than the vista. Or that little girl too scared to go in the cave - God loves her more than the thermal-surfing hawks. Or how about the 43 year old woman who mentally complained all the way up the rock? He loves me too.

Suddenly, I heard Ben's voice on the wind (which meant they were almost back from the caves) and I knew it was time for me to come back down to earth, because you know what? This is where God has me. I'm here in the world and sometimes it's all a big mess, but at the same time it is an extremely beautiful place to be.

- Julie

P.S. I forgot my camera today so I found a picture of the Enchanted Rock view on-line to share with you today. Today was just as stunning as this photograph.