Counting My Blessings

Well it's officially summer! I have been out of school for 1 week which means only 3 weeks until I leave to go to the other side of the world. This will be my first time out of the country, so I am a little nervous but more excited. It will be very different to not be in a little Dutch town, but rather to see a whole new part of God's world. I'll be getting on the plane before I know it.

It seems like just yesterday, I received the letter that I would be a part of the SOS (Summer of Service) team at Northwestern. Looking back, I realized that it has already been 6 months and God has been faithful through it all. When this all began, I was pretty set on going somewhere in Africa. After committing to what I thought was the perfect trip to Kenya, I found out in March that was not going to happen (If you don't know the story, feel free to ask me about it sometime).  I was extremely disappointed, but after a few weeks, I realized God had a better plan. Through a few connections and after lots of prayer, I applied and was accepted to go to India with Rahab's Rope. This whole journey has been a process, but I can now say I am confident that Bangalore, India is where God wants me this summer.

Throughout the semester, the SOS team would meet on Monday nights to prepare culturally, spiritually and mentally. These meetings were such a blessing! I have made 17 new friends who will be going all over the world working with different organizations. I ask that you pray for them as well as a couple have already left and the rest will be leaving around the same time as me. One of these friends is a girl that I have gotten extremely close to over the past few months and am excited to spend the summer with in India. Kelsey and I have been on this journey together as we went from not knowing each other, to beginning to prepare for Kenya, to many tears and laughs, to finally deciding to go to India...all of which have involved many hours of conversations and prayer together. I cannot wait to see how our friendship grows even more throughout the summer!

There is so much I would like to share about the many blessings that I have experienced over the past few months, but I guess I will just have to pick a few. This opportunity in itself has been such a blessing! I had a tough semester but having the support of the team and many friends made it a lot more manageable. I have been blessed with some amazing friends! (The end of the year "see you laters" were not much fun.) 

 Megan and I (This will be the longest we have ever been apart)

The beautiful girls I was blessed to live with this year.

Along with the weekly SOS meetings, we had a SOS Commissioning Service in April. This was one of the coolest things I have ever experienced. I was blessed by the support of my family, friends, and people from the NWC community. So thankful my mom, dad, sister and grandma could be there. 

My host parents

Another blessing was receiving a binder full of encouraging notes for when I am gone. Thank you to everyone who contributed!! I cannot wait to read them. (Kara currently has the binder, so I'm not tempted to look through it before I leave.)  

During finals week, we had a prayer meeting which the Holy Spirit was very present at. We prayer for each member of the team and lit individual candles and placed them on the map. What an awesome picture! 

Another huge blessing is logistics. Passport here, visa came this week, plane ticket purchased, got all of my immunizations on Thursday (4 shots in one day isn't the most fun), and the best part, 100% of my support is raised. THANK YOU THANK YOU to everyone who contributed!! Both the financial and prayer support that I have received so far has been unbelievable. (If you still would like to contribute financially, talk to me.) Most of all though, I ask for your continued prayer support throughout the summer!! I cannot do it alone. Prayer is the most important part of this whole trip, so I ask you to stand alongside me in prayer. In the next few weeks and when I am gone, my blog will be my main form of communication. But if you would like to be on my email list for prayer updates, please send me your email address. My email is darci.jansen10@gmail.com. 

Lastly, it is a blessing to be home. Junior year of college complete and one month to prepare for my trip! Between working, spending time with friends and family, going to ballgames, and all the preparation both physically and spiritually, I have no doubt that these 3 weeks will fly! Next on my agenda is continue learning about India and begin packing. Let the countdown begin...23 days :)