My time in de Bron

With over 300 believers from around the world, singing together, praising together and growing together, this week has been unbelievable. Here, with so many languages and cultures represented it’s thrilling to know we all serve the same Lord. My time in de Bron is coming to an end and on Saturday 38 of us will travel by bus to a small town in Germany for our pre-ship training.
I’ve received some emails wanting to know more about what we are learning in our seminars and who I’ve met. Our days are packed with bible studies, seminars about travel safety, cross cultural experiences and personal growth. I look most forward to our morning Bible Studies. We have been looking at the book of Ephesians. Everyday we tackle another core value of OM; glorifying God, loving others, grace and integrity, submission, and serving sacrificially, to name a few.

“Be imitators of God, therefore, as dearly loved children and live a life of love, just as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us as a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.” Ephesians 5:1-2

We also break into smaller groups known as Fellowship groups, this is a time for us to time to reflect, share and pray together. The picture below is of my fellowship group: Hannah, Saphire, Grace, Louise and of course me. We are all from the states; three of us are heading to the HOPE, one to the DOULOS, and one to Paris.



On Saturday we were honored to have George Verwer, the founder of OM, speak to us. The topic for the evening was prayer, especially for nations that are lost and striving for hope. One of the nations that God laid on my heart to pray about was Libya. Did you know that there are 5.5 million people in the Libya and only 25 believers!! Please take some time to lift up the nation of Libya in your prayers today, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few” Matthew 9:28.
We had some free time on Sunday, so I adventures into the nearby. The “dutchies” love their bikes. Just make sure to get out of the way if you hear the bell behind you. I took some pictures of the scenery.



Thank you for your prayers and encouraging e-mails. Please pray for safety as we travel, and an ongoing growth of team unity. I look forward to sharing with you more stories in the future. We have been informed, however, that we will have no Internet connection while we are at our ship training. This means it may take a while for me to post and respond to emails.
Joy Always.

DeBron

I made it to the Netherlands early Tuesday morning, and I was ready for bed as soon as my head hit the pillow at nine that night. I can't believe it's already Friday, where does the time go?
Along with me there are about 300 other missionaries reading to leave for their OM fields. I've met a couple of people that will be joining me on the HOPE. It's exciting to be with some many other nationalities.
I know that many of you are anxious to hear where I am going and what I'll be doing. I have a couple answers for you. After we leave this conference all those people that are joining the HOPE are being bussed to Germany for more training. That will be mostly Sea Survival stuff, how to put on a life jacket, how to use a fire extinguisher, how to abandon ship and how to right a life boat that it upside down. After two weeks we will then join the LOGOS II and do ministry along the north coast of Germany. Of course plans can change so don't be surprised if in the future I let you know something completely different. While on board the LOGOS II, I'll find out what my job will be and we remain on board until the HOPE meets up there. Once the HOPE is ready we will all move over to her and help with the final touches of re-fit. Then set sail!!
I hope this answered some of your questions. Please feel free to leave comments. Have a great day!

Good-Byes

I just wanted to thank everyone who could come to my "bon voyage" party. It's been so encouraging to know I have so many people praying for me. I look forward to sharing so many stories with you all.
I keep telling myslef that I'm not going to miss anyone, it's only two years, I've been away before, but then I realize...this is going to be two years!! So much changes in that time. I'm excited to see the changes in everyone lives when I return. And also be able to look at my life and see all the changes God has made in me.
Please keep in touch, write lots of e-mails or snail mails. Keep me updated in you're lives as well. As you are praying for me, know that I am praying for you too!

"I have not stopped giving thanks for you, remembering you in my prayers." Ephesians 1:16

Just some things to know about mail,the ship (Logos Hope) that I will be living and working on for two years may possibly be going to some countries that are hostile towards Christianity, it is VERY IMPORTANT for none of the e-mails I send or receive to say anything explicitly about Operation Mobilization and the Logos Hope ministry being connected with missions or evangelism. Using these phrases could jeopardize OM’s ministry opportunities in these areas. Also, besides avoiding the words “mission” and “evangelism,” there are other key words or phrases that would be good to re-word, such as using the phrase “Good Word” for the Bible or saying “Our Father” instead of “God.” It will be challenging to learn “creative vocabulary,” but I would not want to be detrimental to OM’s ministry.

Also, snail mail can be mailed to the address below.

Jessica Edwards
LOGOS HOPE
Alte Neckarelzer Str. 2
D-4821 Mosbach, Germany

Once it is recieved in Germany they will send it to the port where the ship will be. It may take a month or more for a letter to get to me. To find out other specifications regarding mail, you can go to: http://www.logoshope.org/

Again, thanks to everyone that was able to to stop by the party. You will be missed. As soon as I find out what and where I'll be in the future I'll let you know. Please pray for safe travels to the Netherlands, and good team-building and productive training.

My very own Blog

I've decided to go ahead and start a blog. My hope is to add stories from the two year journey that I am about to embark upon. I leave in nine days! I don't know yet what my stories will be about or how often I'll be able to post. I want to encourage you to check the blog often, add comments and ask questions. Right now, I should be packing.
As you can see I have most everything ready, now I just have to put it in the suitcase. My suitcase can't weigh more then 66lbs. Wish me luck.