Beauty in the midst of Busyness

So i guess you could say that life is busy.
In just over a day this campus is going to be invaded by 3,000-5,000 people for the biggest celebration that YWAM has ever seen. This is the jubilee year, 50 years of God doing amazing things through YWAM and YWAMers. It is going to be a week of partying like this island has never seen.
Not only is that happening but in two weeks and two days i am getting on a jet plane and heading for south america. Not only am i leaving but also 9 amazing students who are bold enough to do this with me. You could say i am a little stressed, and yes that would be right. It is probably the scariest, craziest thing i have ever done so far in life.
If i survive this i will be able to do anything!

Fun Fact about Nov 28: 3 months ago today i arrived in hawaii and in one month (and one day) my teenage life will be over.

So amongst the business of getting the campus ready and planning for the trip God blessed me with an amazing outing a couple of weeks ago. My most favourite place on the island and definitely in my top 5 favourite places ever is Waipio Valley. There is this amazing valley that you drive down into-or sometimes walk-and then this really secret trail that leads you to the most amazing waterfall i have ever seen. Now this is not a normal trail. This "trail" is not marked and has barely any foot traffic marks. It crosses through the river many times including once that is chest deep. There are huge boulders that you climb over and even jump off of. Let's just say that you have to be a pretty good navigator to find your way, and it helps to have someone that has gone before. The hike is prety strenuous and very long but it is well worth it to see the beautiful waterfall at the end.
Everytime i see that waterfall it blows me away. I am always so in awe of Gods creation.

okay so i'm trying to remember that last 2 weeks......
-Breakthrough among the students-and us staff-about lies that the enemy has been feeding us. Just realizing the lies that we have been believing and how they hinder us from the calling and purpose that God has on our lives. Funny how the enemy is the father of lies and will do whatever he can to prevent us from running into the plans and purposes of our lives. So by calling out those lies, and bringing them into the light brings such freedom.
-I have been working on memorizing scripture. I think that we have this amazing tool to war against the enemy with so why not use it and take advantage of it. I have been working on memorizing 1st John. I am in the middle of chapter 2 and it is amazing to see how God is already using this scripture to bring conviction in my life and teach me more about who He is.
-I am reading this book called Follow. It is great. read it.
-Something else that i have been really liking lately is praying and fasting. wow. i actually like it a lot a lot. Making it a regular part of my life FOR SURE deepens my walk and makes me fall more and more in love with Jesus.
-I have been seeing more and more the calling that God has on my life and how the enemy has been trying to confuse it. Breaking free of the lies that "i am not unique" and that "all i have to offer is a pretty face" allows me to understand my calling even more, and walk into it with boldness.

Tomorrow the party starts and my dad comes for a little visit. I am excited that he is able to come and see my life here and send me off into the nation of Colombia. God has really been showing himself faithful through providing for me and my team financially. It is so true what they say about being generous and giving and God will bless you from that.

I hope to blog before i leave even though it will be crazy. I don't know when i will be back so i hope to keep blogging my adventures. When i am in the amazon internet will not be an option seeing as though we are sleeping in tents and showering in the amazon river....so i guess you will all be in suspense.

Am i normal?

So first i just want to tell you a story.
It was Wednesday night after a very long day and i was at my apartment trying to mark the journals that are due the next morning. Now it is only 10:00pm so i think i have lots of time to finish them before i go to sleep. 10:15pm i'm sleeping with my face probably drooling all over one of my girls' journals. i wake up and after forcing my eyes open for 5 minutes i finish that journal. then i go to bed.
lame sauce.
i can't even stay up after 10:15 anymore. what is wrong with me?
i am clearly not a normal 19 year old.

okay so let me tell you about this week.
Faith Dutton came and spoke to us about relationships. Healthy, Godly, biblical relationships.
oh boy did it rock some peoples boats!!!
So monday....i woke up at 5:30am and knew that God wanted me awake for some reason, but ignored it and went back to sleep.
One of my fellow staff talked about the work she did with girls who were trafficked into the sex industry in Cambodia, that also really stirred some people.
Had my BLS class where we talked about owning the vision that God has given us and how to have vision and aim for that while still focusing on the now, the present.
tuesday was a packed day of meetings with a great few hours of intercession. so powerful!
wednesday was probably my favourite day this week! i had an early morning walk and talk with my Jesus followed by an amazing afternoon with my outreach team at the beach trying to conquer the 15-foot waves. Then going to the community supper feeding that i go to weekly. so so good.
thursday was my roommates (melissa) 20th bday so my other roommate (elise) and i made her one of her favourite breakfasts. It was my last small group time with my girls and a very intense evening. There is this group of students from the University that just put out a documentary about the sex trade in the United States. Some mane people just this it is in Asia, but really it's happening here. So thursday nights we have kinda like a community church service and they showed part of the documentary and the woman who started it spoke. I got the amazing opportunity of being a part of a prayer team that was there to pray for people after who maybe need healing from past abuse and boy was there breakthrough. wow so cool to see God come through like that!!
friday was a morning spent working on the ground with the whole class clearing the land of weeds and unnecessary rubish so the banana trees could grow free, followed by lots of pizza and a lovely water fight!!
the weekend was chill as it always is with me. Trying to just lay low and get some quality time with my Jesus while getting homework done too.
Tomorrow starts another week.
wow.
times is just flying by.
I can't wait to see how God is going to move and how He is going to woo me with His love this week!!

oh reading the book "Follow" by Floyd McLung
if you get the chance to read it DO IT!!
so so good.

If you want to get involved!

Aloha,
Thank you so much for taking the time to read this, and take an interest in my life as a missionary. Being a missionary is not only a profession but also a lifestyle. You might be wondering why I chose Youth with a Mission and what their vision is. YWAM was founded in 1960 by a man whose name is Loren Cunningham. He had a vision of young people from all nations coming in a wave to expand over all the nations, bringing the good news. Their mandate is “To know God and make him known” by equipping and sending out. YWAM focuses mainly on three different types of ministry; evangelism, training, and mercy ministries and has over 1000 locations around the world. I absolutely love being a part of it because in the midst of training others, I am also learning. The YWAM community demonstrates authentic living in a way that all Christians should live. “Radical lovers of Jesus” we like to call ourselves, seeking Jesus every moment and in every situation. If you would like more information about YWAM or University of the Nations you can visit: www.ywam.org or www.uofnkona.edu.
The first step in YWAM is completing a discipleship training school. There are different focuses that are targeted towards certain spheres, people groups, and societies. The school that I am staffing with is focused on children at risk, being a voice to the voiceless and addressing the issues of poverty and injustice. Compassion DTS attracts students that want to take action, and cannot just sit back and do nothing. This school has two parts to it, a lecture phase and an outreach phase. The first three months-lecture phase-are dedicated to teaching, equipping, and healing. Students from all nations and all denominations become a family and not only do they learn biblical truths, but they learn the truth about who they are in Christ. I love walking along-side students, discipling them, and watching the transformation take place. The next three months-outreach phase-is an application of this new knowledge and revelation. This year we are leading teams to South America, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Four different continents and seven different countries are soon going to be hit with young people that have a desire to see Gods kingdom come.
My heart is for the unloved, the outcasts, and the children who are innocent victims of injustice. My heart is for revival, not only for those people that don’t know the love that Jesus lavishes on them, but also for those that know the gospel but don’t really know Jesus. My heart is for the darkest and hardest of nations, to see hope and restoration poured out, and for a revelation of Gods redeeming love. My heart is for North America, for an awakening to take place in the Church and in people’s hearts. As Christians we need to recognize the authority we have with the Holy Spirit living inside us. To stop living a mundane Christian life and to take the passions that Christ has put in us and do something with them. The first and greatest commandment that Jesus mentions in Matthew 22:37 is to “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul, and mind.” Only out of gazing at him can you know who Jesus is. Only out of knowing who Jesus is can you know His love. Only out of knowing His love can you change the world. In Shane Claiborne’s book “Irresistible Revolution” he talks about being an ordinary radical. Normal ordinary people like you and me living radical lives by choosing to walk in love, again and again. Radical should be the new normal.

In just over a month I will be taking a team of students to Colombia, South America. We will be embarking on an amazing adventure that begins in the capital city of Bogota and continues south into the Amazon Jungle in a city called Leticia. The first month in the capital city will be focused on street kids, evangelism in churches, and different service projects. We will come along side different YWAM bases, churches and people there with the intention of spreading Christ’s love and joining in with what God is already doing there! Leticia is a small city on the southern most part of the country right at the border of Peru and Brazil. We will be spending 2 months there and in the surrounding areas. Working in the city and taking 10-day trips to different indigenous tribes will consume most of our time there. Sleeping in tents, cooking our food over the fire, and bathing in the Amazon River will become normal for us, along with living with the many snakes and spiders!! We also plan on spending 2 weeks in Iquitos Peru working with the tribes there. This trip will take 3 days on boat to just get there but we know that God has something there for us and we do not want to miss out.
My heart is filled with joy that I get to lead 9 students into the heart of Jesus. Yes I know that difficulties will arrive but I am not leading alone, Jesus is my leader and the leader of my team. He will pour out His strength and anointing on me as I walk in obedience with Him. After leading a team last year I have come to realize that the key is to abide in Him, staying close to Him and remaining in His peace, only then can we survive all the responsibility and stress. My prayer for this time, not only for me but for my students too is what Jeremiah says in Jeremiah 20 verse 9:
“Sometimes I say to myself, I will forget about the Lord. I will not speak anymore in his name. BUT THEN His message becomes like a BURNING FIRE inside me, DEEP within my bones. I get tired of holding it inside of me, and finally, I CANNOT hold it in.”
I pray that the word of the Lord becomes like a fire inside of us and we cannot hold it in. That when we hold it in we become weary and disappointed and realize that letting it out is the only way to live life to the fullest. When this happens we burst open with His word, His truth, and His love; releasing His power throughout the nations.
So please keep us all in your prayers as we journey to the jungle with Jesus. Pray that we may be bonded by unity, that we may display God’s Glory, and that His kingdom may come. Know that you are making a difference in bringing hope to kids who live on the streets, to those who have been the victims of a long endured drug war, bringing bibles to those who do not have them, and awakening hearts to love. I could not do this without your support and prayers, you are enabling me to make a difference and I thank you.

If you would like to financially support me there are many options that are available. I want to make it as easy as possible for you to give.

Options:
1. Put money directly into my Hawaiian Bank Account
First Hawaiian Bank (account details upon request of this option)
2. Mail Cheques either made out to me or the University of the Nations to:
Japhia Jones
75-5863 Kuakini HWY App #102
Kailua-Kona HI
96740 USA
3. Put money directly into my Canadian bank account
Royal Bank of Canada (account details upon request of this option)
4. My Pay Pal account. Name: Japhia Jones Email: Japhia.joy@hotmail.com
5. Phone (808) 326-4461 and give them your credit card information
6. Phone me at (808) 937-2385 and we can work something out!!

I really hope this is helpful and if you have any other ideas or ways you would like to help just let me know and I will do what I can.
Know that you are not just supporting me but you are supporting people all around the world. This money buys me a plane ticket somewhere, this money allows me to buy food for orphans, this money allows me to build a church for a village, and this money allows me to go to the farthest village and the darkest nation.
Thank you so much.
YOU are making a difference.
YOU are changing the world!

NEW SHOES!!

So yesterday i was blessed with new shoes and this is the story......

So i got this really cool pair of shoes for free from the boutique (which is pretty much like a thrift store but everything is free)i started wearing them everyday when i was home in Canada and they started to get pretty worn. When i came here to Hawaii i continued to wear them everyday. Besides them i had a pair of runners, and some slippers (which most people call flip flops but in hawaii they are called slippers) Anyways so for the last two months i have been wearing these very used shoes (see picture) practically everyday, and occasionally i will wear my runners.
Last week i decided to wear my slippers for the day, my roommate and i went to the beach to go paddle boarding so i thought it was a perfect opportunity to wear them...so far so good.
Then we stopped by the market (we were biking) on our way back home and as i was picking out some delicious fruit my slipper broke. It was one of those breakages that are unfixable. I think they were flawed to begin with because i found them in a garbage can even though they looked brand new.
So yes. no more slippers.
Now i am back to these worn out smelly with holes in them lovely shoes that have been through a lot. I know i have runners but i have to wear socks in them and i'm not a big fan of socks so i barely wear them!! haha.
Anyways no one really knew that i only had one pair of shoes that i have been wearing for the last little bit, and on friday i was really challenged by God to give financially to those in need. Not only was He telling me to give, but He was telling me to give enough that i felt dependent on Him for the next months rent.
wow.
that is scary.
So that happened.
Monday afternoon roles around and the leader who i work under came and gave me a bag saying it was from one of the students.
New shoes.
A $60 pair of shoes to be exact. More money then i would pay on shoes.
wow.
i was just blown away that someone would even notice that i needed new shoes, that they would get them in my size and that they would pay $60 for them.
God really does bless us when we give and when we walk in obedience.
I feel blessed for sure!!