Picking up my cross: Bolivia 2012

Luke 9:23-34 “And he said to all, ‘if anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me. For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will save it’”.

Dear friend,

Honduras 2011: He was too cute not to take a picture with!

Since I was in high school, my heart was always torn when I heard about the issues in developing countries. Yet I always realized in my heart that there was a glaring hypocrisy in the fact that I would be broken for a nation that was still unsaved and in unimaginable trial, and yet I was comfortably seated in an armchair in a heated room watching a video on a laptop. In Grade 12 when I was deciding what God’s plans were for my future, I began to realize that perhaps He was calling me to a life away from the comfort that I’ve always known in Canada, and I started to seriously consider pursuing a career in health overseas. I’ve always lived in overwhelming worldly abundance, and yet I still felt that my life was missing that fullness that only comes from a life dedicated to Christ. As God continues to reveal His glory to me, more and more I am realizing how true verses like Luke 9:24-25 are, “For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake with save it. For what does it profit a man if he gains the whole world and loses or forfeits himself?”

By God’s grace, I am planning on going overseas this summer with a Christian organization called Serving in Mission, to volunteer in Bolivia with a program called Elijo la Vida, which means Choose Life. God willing, this amazing opportunity to witness His hand overseas will only be the first step in determining what His plans are for my life, and I am so excited that I really have no control over the whole process. Although Bolivia is a beautiful country immersed in deep culture, it is still one of the most underdeveloped countries in South America, with 64% of the population below the poverty line.

Elijo la Vida focuses on helping single pregnant young women, by providing both medical and counselling assistance. In terms of medical assistance, Elijo la Vida workers travel to different villages and communities throughout Bolivia, doing clinical work and treating illnesses, such as bronchopulmonary problems, nutritional problems and parasites. The counselling assistance focuses both on helping and encouraging single mothers through support groups, as well as raising awareness about sexual health, abstinence and other life choices that these women could make. In addition to counselling, they also offer programs to teach young mothers basic trades such as sewing, hairdressing and nursing, in order to help them support themselves independently.

I am very excited about the possibility of going overseas this summer and helping Elijo la Vida with whatever assistance they may need (at the moment, I am taking Spanish lessons to hopefully bring my Spanish up to par in order to communicate with the locals). My main mission, however, is to discern whether or not this is just the beginning of a greater journey that God may be calling me to. I recognize that two months is not nearly enough to fully serve the Bolivian community (although it is not a short span of time either), and I look forward to learning much about what the life of a missionary may look like and witness the power of God at work.

So why am I writing this letter? Although I admit that I would be the one physically going overseas (although I am not entirely sure what you might be called to this summer), this adventure is not one that I want to experience alone. One of the greatest gifts God has given us in this life is fellowship, and I invite you to be a part of this journey God has called me on. It would be a huge blessing to me if you would be able to support me in prayer and financially, and I promise to continue to update this blog as often as I can!

If you feel led to support me financially, please send cheques to SIM, through the contact information below. Alternatively, you can donate online though the SIM site (you can donate online to my missionary number, 038657). Of course, if you would ever like prayer for anything, I would love to pray for you as well.

Contact information: For SIM: Please send cheques to 10 Huntingdale Blvd, Scarborough, ON M1W 2S5 For Jocelyn: jocelyn.ma@queensu.ca Current items to pray about: -The unreached people in Bolivia, that God would work mightily through the long term missionaries and myself, and that we would desire to speak of nothing     but Christ. -That God would provide the funds needed for me to go overseas. -That language would not be a barrier between the missionaries and the Bolivian citizens, and that we can be united through Christ despite communication barriers. -That my heart would be centred on Christ alone, throughout the entire process of gathering funds, learning Spanish and serving in Bolivia. -SIM’s current overseas missionaries (they have a great site in which you can sign up to be regular prayer support)

Thank you so much for reading this, and God bless!

Jocelyn