They Call it...Marmite!

Those of you who know me well know that I am not a picky eater.  I'm quite a foodie and love to try foods and dishes from all different types of cuisine.  My 'Will Not Eat' list is quite small and the number of foods on it can be counted on one hand.  However, I now have a new food to be placed on said list.  That food is...Marmite.
Jake and I repeatedly saw this little jar of sin at the grocery store and wondered if it was similar to Vegemite (which we also have never tried).  So, our host bought us a little jar to try.  The ingrediants are yeast extract (no, no, that was not a typo, I did indeed type yeast extract), salt (and plenty of it), B vitamins, spice extracts, celery extract, and other vitamins and minerals.  The consistency is that of a tacky, sticky, thick, brown goo.  The most common way to eat it we were told is to put it on toast with butter.  Ok, I like toast, especially with butter, this will be good.  The taste is indescribable, but I will do my best.  It tasted like a combination of roast beef au jus, with some bbq flavor and some beef bouillon cube thrown in there for good measure, and it's all been marinating in something quite sinister.  I wish I could have attached a picture of my face as it hit my tongue, but unfortunately the moment was not captured on film.  I'm sorry Marmite, I did want to like you, honest.  But, you are terrible, just terrible.
So, I now have an updated 'Will Not Eat' list as you will see below:
-Cantelope
-Jelly Beans
-Lime Jello
-Menudo
-Wheel Macaroni
-Marmite!

Til next time,
Em

Some more from week one!

Wow!  Our first week here has been an absolute whirlwind.  We have met so many different people from so many different backgrounds, all working for the cause of Christ.  We've met Brummies (people from Birmingham), Persians, Indians, Arabs, a Bangledeshi, an Aussie, Kurds, Korean, Finnish and others.  One guy we met who works here with OM in the Kurdish community had a Canadian mother, a father from the Faroe Islands, and they were missionaries so he grew up in the Philippines!  
Our first week consisted of meetings, ESL classes, serious networking, cultural immersion, church and prayer meetings...and a little bit of sightseeing.  God is showing us how big the world is and the importance of taking our work one day at a time.  He is also showing us how vital patience is in working in the ethnic communities.  When witnessing to the Muslim community specifically, relationships are essential, as is continual prayer.  What's been amazing is that every time I've had to head into a situation where I felt like I would just be so far outside of my comfort zone, I've actually ended up having a great time and really enjoyed the people I've worked with.  God continually reminds me the importance of just simply loving people.  
On a lighter note, we are really enjoying the culture differences here in England.  The language here is so surprisingly different, for instance:  the trunk of your car is called a 'boot', the hood is the 'bonnet', gas is called 'petrol' and it's priced by the liter, dessert is referred to as 'pudding', and when you go to eat you 'tuck in'.  'Pants' are actually underwear here, and so they call pants 'trousers', and a sweater is a 'jumper'.  They go by a 'stone' which is 14 pounds, and instead of saying 'how are you?' they ask 'are you alright' or even shorter as 'y'all right'.  And that's just a few examples.  Recently, we went into a store and saw the American section, it was filled with peanut butter, jelly, marshmellow cream, instant pudding, cake mixes, cereals, and more.  Jake and I had a great time there seeing what typical 'Americans' eat.  A box of Lucky Charms in the American section cost about 8 pounds which is about $13!  We just had to get some pictures.
Overall, it's just been huge learning experience.  Everyday is like school, just constantly taking in new information.  Wherever we have been needed, we go and help.  Our prayer has been that the Lord shows us what it is that He wants us to do and accomplish while we're here.  Please continue to pray that we are open to the prompting and guiding of the Holy Spirit, and that we will know what to say when opportunites present themselves.

Blessings!
Em

Picnic in the Park

Today Emily and I headed out to the country with an Iranian fellowship of believers for a picnic.  There were also a few Iraqis, a Bangladeshi, and the pastor of the fellowship, a Tunisian man who has a South Korean wife.  It was amazing to see how people from so many different places and backgrounds came together as a family because of our unity in Christ.  Persian, Iraqi, Tunisian, Korean, Bangladeshi, and American people all sharing food and laughs.

At one point one of the Iranian guys was joking around with an older Iraqi man about taking me hostage to Ahmadinejad in Iran for some good money, to which the older Iraqi man replied to him, "No, he is an Iraqi citizen."  I replied with, "If you guys keep feeding me this good, I'll go willingly..."

It seems we have experienced so much already in the short time we've been here, and it is just the beginning of our trip.  We're excited to see what the Lord has in store and will be sure to keep you all updated.

- Jacob

Day 1

We made it to England!  Pretty smooth sailing the entire 7 + hour flight.  However, had a little tough time going through customs.  I think all the prayers are what allowed us to finally get through.  The guy was very suspicious of us coming, especially for 6 weeks, and had many questions regarding our jobs, how much money we made, what Jacob was studying, and more.  We actually began to panic for a minute thinking he wouldn't let us through.  But, thank the Lord, he finally did.
So, now we're here in Birmingham starting our internship and ready for whatever lies ahead.  We'll keep you posted on how it's coming along!

Blessings!
Em

Tomorrow is the day!

Tomorrow Emily and I will be setting off for England.  To think about how this opportunity came up, how once it did doors have flown open, and how the details and support have come together in such a relatively short span of time floors both of us.

Scripture says, "But God has chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and God has chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty" (1 Corinthians 1:27).  This journey has reminded us of how foolish we are (we fret, but He is always in control), and just how weak we are as well.  But it is at this point we need to find ourselves, so that we can be used by God the way He wants, and in a way that none of the glory can be given to us.

You have given your prayers and finances to help us get to England, and for that we are extremely grateful, encouraged, excited, and humbled.  We fly out from Chicago O'Hare at 4:18pm, and arrive in London the following morning.  Then we'll be there for 6-weeks in the Queen's country.  Please pray that we will make it there and through customs without incident.  We look forward to writing you from England.  God bless you all!

It's Almost Here!

We are now at $5700!  There honestly are not words to describe how grateful we are at the overwhelming generosity of those who've supported us.  Thank you so much for your prayers and donations.
The fact that God has allowed us to raise $5700 dollars in only 2 months is such a humbling and awesome experience.  He has surrounded us with caring and giving people, and our hearts are so full from it.  Just the monetary support raising alone has changed us.  We continue to see more and more God's provision.

Another praise is that we found amazing ticket prices.  We were seeing quotes for up to $1200 and $1300 for plane tickets, which would have raised our amount to almost $6700!  But, God is good, and we ended up finding tickets for $940.  Which brings our amount to about $6300 total.  The blessings have been innumerable.

So, only about $600 to go and 18 days left before we leave.  We are almost there!

Blessings!
-Em

New update!

We're currently at $5,200 for support raised, and trusting God for the rest!  We are very thankful for everybody who has given of their prayers and finances.

We have been reading a great book about short-term missions called, Serving With Eyes Wide Open, which is about cultural awareness on the mission field.  We wanted to share some stuff from it with you.

A main focus of the book is to get us to step outside of our Western mindset, and to be learners in a new culture instead of wanting to take the helm and do it all ourselves.

Here's some really encouraging statistics the book gives:

> On average 178,000 people are converted to Christianity each day.
> When China became closed to missionaries in 1950, there were reportedly 1 million Christians. Today's estimates are nearing 100,000,000.
> In Indonesia, the largest Islamic country in the world, at least 1 million people convert to Christianity each year.
> More people have come to know the Lord in Iran in the past 10 years than in the previous 1,000 years combined.
> 40% of Africa is said to be "Christian" today.
> None of the 50 largest churches in the world are found in North America.  Among the largest are in South Korea, Ivory Coast, Chile, and Nigeria.

Some of these statistics could be questionable and not 100% accurate, but it shows that God is at work throughout the world.

Statistics show that Christianity is the fastest growing religion in the world!  Another statistic says that for every 1 convert to Islam, there are 4 converts to Christianity.  This is awesome!  It is easy to become discouraged as we see the hardness of peoples' hearts around us, but God is expanding His kingdom.  I hope you find this as encouraging as we have.