Puerto Rico!

I waited until I arrived in Puerto Rico to write a new post. Since my last post, I went to camp with one junior age girl and two of our teen girls. The camp we attended had its own staff and counselors, so I was able to let the junior age girl be involved with her camp mates and the activities. I was then able to spend some time with the two teen girls. It was a blessing to talk with them and know that they want to serve God. Both come from difficult home situations, so please pray for them that they can overcome what is in the past and follow God's leading in their futures.

I flew to Puerto Rico yesterday and hit the ground running by playing the offertory last night. Today, I will probably do a little shopping, and then start working in my classroom. Please pray as that lives will be changed this year.

The school finally got the approval to start working on the fellowship hall/lunchroom that was destroyed during the hurricane. The building and labor together is going to cost $56,000. If you would like to help with this project, you can let me know by e-mail jenniferrarrick@gmail.com, and I will tell you where to send them. Right now, the kids are crowding into a tiny house on the property for lunch and Bible class, so this building is important.

My friends in Nepal sent a new update. Please pray as they continue working to build a larger school and children's home facility. They went from 30 something students to 51 this year, so they desperately need the new  building. If you would like to help them, please e-mail (above) me, and I will tell you how to send money to them.

I should be updating every week from now on.

Please continue to pray for my sister Janna and her tumor, my aunt Lydia  who is extremely ill, my mom's back, and Anchor Baptist church.

One month of summer!

I have been so happy with the warmer temperatures. My mom and I planted some tomatoes, squash, and peppers, and soon, we will have the first of the tomatoes on our table. We have stayed busy with church work and visiting my sister who lives a little north of us.

Last week, I went to NYC for a very fast trip. While there, I was able to update one of the churches who has supported me through love offerings. I also met a group of college students who travel to NYC in the summer to witness to the Jews. It was a blessing to hear about their efforts. One Jewish man spoke with them for an hour, then followed them to talk some more. Pray God can use them to see many Jews saved.

On my way home from NYC, I had a seatmate who was a Christian on my first bus, and I met another Christian on my second bus. We had some very good conversations. It was a blessing to spend time talking about God on my six hour journey.

This Sunday, we will celebrate Independence Day. I am looking forward to what God has in store for us. Next week, I will go to junior camp with one of our girls. Two of our teen girls are also going as helpers. Pray God works in their hearts. I am very concerned about them and their future service for God.

Please pray for brother-in-law who has an important interview this week. Pray also for baby Dallas Penner. He spent the first 7 months of his life in the hospital. He just got home last week, but now he is back in the hospital. I leave for Puerto Rico July 23.

Where is Summer? Oh, it finally arrived!

We have had nine months of winter here in Maine. I am definitely looking forward to spending most of my winter in Puerto Rico. The last this week has been the longest warm spell we have had. We have spent  a few days during the last couple weeks fishing, but I only caught a couple pickerel. We went to a beach north of here, and watched about 100 seals drifting on the tide enjoying a tasty meal. It was awesome!

We just finished our Sunday school campaign. We have had many visitors. Please pray that they will come join the church. We have had a lot of people saved on visitation, and a few baptisms along the way. We are continuing one aspect of the campaigns focus which is reaching an individual or family who will join the church by the end of the year. The people are excited.

My time here is getting shorter. I leave for Puerto Rico on July 23 to teach for the school year. I have ordered a few things and been a given a few things for my classroom. Please pray that God will use me to help these kids and reach their families for Christ.

I now have two countries in Europe where I will be helping people. In Poland, I will be working with a family, and I believe that will be a homeschool situation. In Romania, I will be working in a home for unwed mothers. When I am not in a European country, I will be helping in my aunt's church in Blackpool, England.

Please pray for the ministry here in Maine. We need a youth pastor, some work done on the sound system, a pianist, and other renovations to spruce up the building. Please pray for my mo as she is suffering from severe back pain.

Memorial Day

Memorial Day has a lot of meaning for my family. Both sides of my family have longs lines of military men and women. Nathanael Greene is a fifth generation grandfather to my dad's family. My dad's father fought in WWII, and his brother, John Edward Rarrick, was killed in Vietnam. Most of my dad's brothers spent time in the military. Several of my mom's uncles were in the military, and some earned high ranks. Her brother was also in the military. We are proud to be Americans, and we are honored to have an American heritage like this. On this Memorial Day as you spend time with your family, don't forget the families, like my friend from college, who have lost their brothers, sisters, fathers, mothers. Remember the price of your freedom was the death of someone else.

This is also true of the price for sin. If we were to pay for our freedom to sin, we would have to die, but Jesus paid the price and died for us. Jesus said there is no greater love than if a man dies for his friends, but Jesus died for His friends and His enemies. Let us not forget that the freedom of our country was bought with the blood of those who believed in the saving power of the blood of Jesus.

Life is somewhat back to normal. I am in the preparation process of leaving for Puerto Rico to teach for the school year. I booked my ticket, and I have been packing my winter clothes away since I won't need them until Christmas. :-) I have already been working on themes for my classroom, and I ordered a few things for it last night. I will probably be teaching 5th and 6th grade this time.

I was able to speak at a Christian school here in Maine on Friday. It was a blessing to see several students who are already interested in missions with some going on missions trips this summer. A little girl who has been in the school for three years put her faith in Christ. Her older sister, who is about 4th grade, has been witnessing to her devout Catholic family members as well as her priest. When the older sister found out the younger sister had received Christ, she gave her a big hug. It was so sweet to see God working in these girls lives at such a young age.

I have been in touch with a couple in Romania. They have a home for unwed mothers. Currently, their are two expectant mothers there. They are need of help in the home, so I plan to go sometime next year. I will also be in Poland for at least a month, and I am working on other places to be of service.

The church here in Maine needs prayers as they look for a youth pastor and pianist. we are also in the midst of an Each On Reach One contest. Pray that many people will be saved, many people will come to church, and the members will grow in their service to God through tract distribution, soulwinning, and other areas.

Please keep my sister Janna in prayer concerning her pituitary tumor. Her husband also needs a job. I have many other family members going through illnesses and hard times. Pray for me as I continue planning and  putting money aside for next year's trips. Pray for laborers to go and be an extra set of hands to those serving in foreign lands.

Happy B Day to Me!

Today, as I celebrate my 35th birthday, I am spending the day at a missions conference for teens with an emphasis on short term missions. I shared my ministry this morning along with a few tips for serving God. What a blessing to see 100+ teens who have a desire to serve God.

Dad, mom, and I spent a week in Puerto Rico. For the first time, Dad preached with an interpreter four times and once in English for chapel. He did very well, and the people really enjoyed his sermons. Mom taught the ladies Sunday school class, and I taught the girls Sunday school class. Mom and I also spoke at the ladies' tea. It was a blessing to be back with Pastor Luis Martinez and the church and school. Since they need teachers this next school year, I have decided to return in August to teach.

While in Puerto Rico, we were able to tour the rainforest, view of the ocean from several points, and swim with fish at one of the beaches that is on a reef. Dad came face to face with an eel, and on the last day, one dolphin came in to feed and swam around for awhile. We also saw a a beautiful double rainbow that day. Dad ate several types of seafood, and he really enjoyed it. He even ate conch and octopus.

We were supposed to leave PR at 3:55pm Tuesday, but our flight in PR was delayed two hours. We finally left, and arrived in Baltimore where our connection was also delayed two hours. We arrived in Boston at 1:30am. Due to mom and I needing to fly at 5:45 am Wed., we stayed in the airport. We then flew to Chicago, spent time with a friend and my aunt and cousin. My sister and a friend drove from  Iowa to pick us up, and we drove 5 hours to my sisters house. After a late night of preparing my mission display, we all got up and left the house by 7:30am to drive two hours to the Ignite Youth Missions Conference. Mom is coming today to pick me up, and we will head for Missouri where I will give an update at Agape Baptist in Stockton. We will also spend a couple days with my brother and his family, and I will hopefully get to see my sister. After that trip, we will head to Indiana to see another sister. This is a whirlwind trip, but it has been good so far. Please pray for our safety.

The Ignite Missions Youth Conference is an amazing idea. Harvest Baptist College in Fort Dodge, IA hosts this conference for teens who are interested in missions. I have met veteran missionaries who are reaching people in so many places. One missionary is   reaching people groups here in the US from Africa, Arab countries... The teaching and preaching has been intense. One man is involved with training missionaries to live in third world countries, jungles... He and his team have a boot camp that teaches, survival, medical, food prep including killing, skinning, and prepping the meat... I do not know if I could survive it, but it would be worth being able to observe. God is doing a work, and I pray that this idea of promoting missions to kids will catch on with more and more  churches.

In closing, the near future will include teaching in Puerto Rico for the school year, and next June, I will head to England and Europe for at least a year.

Exciting Days Ahead!

In just a few days, Dad, Mom, and I will be flying to Puerto Rico to visit my sending church. My Dad will be preaching, and my mom and I will teach and speak at a ladies meeting. This will be the second time  my dad has been on the mission field with me and the third time for my mom. Some may not know that the story of how Primera Iglesia Bautista de Ceiba became my sending church.

A year before going to Puerto Rico, I had planned to help Bro. Luis Martinez for three months. In January 2016, Bro. Martinez called me and told me that a teacher in their school had passed away. He was hoping I could come down earlier than planned, but was able to work out a different teacher until I arrived in March. The arranged time for me to be in Puerto Rico was three months. After being there just a couple of weeks, God was working on my heart to return and help the school for one year because they did not have a teacher for the class I was teaching. After much prayer and counsel, I decided to return to Puerto Rico.

I returned to Puerto Rico in August of 2016 and stayed until June of 2017. I had hoped that I would gain a sending church during the short time I was back in the States, God had other plans. I mentioned that I really believed I need a sending church for the accountability and the assurance it would give to other pastors when I requested the opportunity to share my ministry. Bro. Martinez told me he would love for his church to be my sending church because he had already seen my work ethic... I was not sure how pastors in the States would feel about my sending church being in place where I would not get to attend very often. I began praying about the idea, and I asked several pastors who had supported me already how they would feel about the situation. In the end, God gave me peace that I should accept Bro. Martinez's offer.

The day after I arrive back in Boston, my mom and I will fly out to Chicago so that I can attend a youth missions conference. The conference will emphasize short-term missions; so, please pray that I can encourage more young people to do what I do. After that conference, I will be speaking at a supporting church in Missouri and visiting several of my sisters and brothers.

Please continue to pray for our church to find a youth pastor and pianist.

Moving!

I apologize for being so long in posting. We are in the process of moving. God works in mysterious ways. A lady in our church mentioned in a prayer meeting at another church that we needed a house to rent. The pastor of the church contacted my parents. He is a real estate agent. He had just acquired a house that belongs to a man in the military. He needed to find someone to rent for  a year, and if things go well, there may be the option to buy it.

The house being available now was just in time. My mom went in the hospital again due to tachycardia from the music in the bar below us. This was third time. For the third time, the doctors told my mom her heart was fine, no fluid, no blockage, and valves... working properly. The resident doctor, without consulting my mom, put her on hepari , which she did not need, and over a two day period had been upping he dose. On top of that they were giving her 320 miligrams of asprin. When mom found out they had been upping the heparin instead of lowering it, she told them she was leaving. She also looked up the heparin to see what it does... Every site said it could cause blood clots and other heart issues, and not to mix it with aspirn. Mom told the nurse she was checking get out, and went home. Please pray for her that she can rid her body of the heparin, and that she can get her sleep patterns and heart rhythm in shape.

I have been busy helping the church here in Maine. This Sunday, we will have a simple choir cantata which I helped organize. My Sunday school class is going well, and the kids love earning points for prizes. The puppet ministry is also going well. Please pray that we can find a youth pastor.

Please pray as I continue trying to share my ministry with schools and colleges. Next month, my parents and I will be in Puerto Rico. My mom and I will be speaking to the ladies, and dad will get to preach several times. Please pray for safety as we travel.

I asked prayer for my baby cousin Mycah Turull. He passed away at 9 months and 4 days old. Please pray for his parents Trish and Mason, and for his sister as well as the grandparents aunts and uncles.

A childhood friend Ashley also lost a baby who it seems Jesus just wanted in heaven as the doctors couldn't find anything wrong with him.

If you know any missionaries in Europe, I will be staying in England next year and traveling to European countries to help missionaries. Feel free to give them my info.