Cold front moving in...

I'm sitting at my desk here in Nepal with Monique by my side. Every Saturday I am persistent in reminding her to update her blog... make sure she is letting her family and friends know she is okay! But I haven't once updated mine, thank you Monique for the encouragement to do so :)

Hmm, so what would my dear fans like to hear from me? Ha! We are three girls staying in a very large Nepali house and seriously, never a dull moment. Siam is my friend from India who graduated Bible college this past May and was sent here to Nepal to do her ministry. She has been faithful in going to our girls center downtown and building relationships with them. It was exciting to come back and see how close these girls have grown to Siam since I was last here in June.

Monique and I, although we can't be expressive through language, have been able to become friends with many of these girls as well. Each day is a challenge as we trust God to let His love be the motive and purpose for everything we are doing. It's difficult to see the hurt that the girls' experience and the way that they live. I'm starting to learn about holistic ministry and what it actually means... like what it means when I'm in the reality of it, or at least trying to figure it out. How do I find that balance of helping these girls through an inner transformation and at the same time helping to meet their physical needs? Some days the girls share their desires to leave their work and find a new life, then the very next day will be high off of drugs or busy with "customers". But the one lesson I'm learning over and over: God did not call us to be successful, but to be faithful.

There are so many stories and experiences I can share from the past several weeks, but Monique is SO good at keeping up with all those details I thought you could visit her blog: moniqueinindia.blogspot.com :)

I do want to share about one girl I've written about before, Saru. I met her back in March. I sat and had chai with her on several occasions planning out our downtown center and how she would bring in girls from the streets who are involved in sex work. She had the heart to help them as she knew it is a life they don't deserve; so many of them lured in from the villages with the promise of a good job. In May we lost touch when she took a job as a dancer at a bar. I recently found her again, 7 months pregnant, living in a small underground room with her two daughters and a man she calls her husband. She is hurting and lost, but I can still see that her heart is the same, loving and compassionate. All I can do now is show her I care and love her and her children. So if you remember, keep her in your prayers!

Well, it's Saturday now and Tuesday we will be heading back to Delhi until the new year since my visa here has expired. There Monique and I will work closely with our education programs and other ministries.

Okay, it's super cold here! (I don't think they know what insulation is..) I think I will head down to the kitchen for some hot tea!

Back to Southern Asia

So I'm really going to do my best to keep this thing updated this time around! I am back in Nepal. I arrived to India about 3 weeks ago. Joe (my brother-in-law) and Monique came with me. Joe was checking it out for future trips/students coming. Monique is here to stay! Well, for at least the next 5 months I am here :)

I took Joe and Monique around to see our different projects/ministries and introduced them to people we work with and partner with. After Joe left, we had a medical team come in for a week of clinics in our slum areas. They were amazing and such a blessing to the people. It was hard to see the tragic situations these people are living in, but so good to see the little bit of hope this team was able to give to them. Just a smile was enough to lift their spirits. In just 5 days they were able to see about 1000 people!

After the team left we decided it would be good for me and Monique to come up here to Nepal and work with the girls' center in downtown Kathmandu. A young Indian girl, Siam, has been here for a few months now working with these girls who are mostly prostitutes and we have come to join her. We are trying to build relationships and trust. It's hard to see their lives. They come to our center and have a lot of fun talking, playing, drawing... and then have to leave because they have customers. Please pray that we can build trust with these girls and help get them away from this life. Above all pray that Christ's love may be shown to them. They need Jesus. A spiritual transformation is the only hope they have. Sometimes I feel like I have no idea what I'm doing (well most of the time!), but I am trusting in God and in His timing and control.

That is mainly our focus for our time here in Nepal. We will be heading back to Delhi at the end of November for a month or two before we come back here. Hopefully in a couple of weeks we will be joining some of our staff on one of the Daughter Project campaigns along the Nepal/India Border.

On a different note, the weather is amazing in Nepal. Nice and cool compared to the hot and humid Delhi weather. And the mountains are beautiful! I will try to post some pictures soon!

Ok bye :)

back and forth!

Hey, it's been a while since I've updated this. I've been in the states since June and I will be heading back to India the end of september for a medical team we have coming to host clinics in our slum areas. It's been so nice to be home with friends and family, but I am really excited to get back to India and Nepal. I am happy to have 2 girls traveling with me this time. They have signed up to intern with Global Family.

Since I've been here I've been working on some things for our organization as well as hosting sponsorship parties. We had one last Saturday where we were able to get 4 children sponsored as well as other donations!!

Okie dokie, just wanted to give a quick update of what's going on... Bye!

Daughter Project Update

Hello everyone,

We want to thank you for supporting the Daughter Project... here is an update of what is going on!

The Daughter Project continues to progress, bringing awareness to Nepali families about child sexual abuse and trafficking with the help of Daughter Tool Kits. Many campaigns have been held along the border areas over the last couple of months by rescue teams showing videos and discussing the issues of abuse and trafficking. In a recent campaign, held in the town of Kapilvastu, a girl who had been a victim of sexual abuse was, for the first time, able to speak out about it.

Laxmi was sexually abused by her older cousin who offered to walk her home for 'protection'. Instead of protecting her, he forced himself upon her. She went to her mother for help, but her parents said to never tell anyone because it would be shameful in their society to do so. She went to the police, but they helped her cousin escape before they filed the report. She could find help nowhere and was left feeling guilt and shame about what had happened. After watching the Daughter film, she felt a responsibility to speak out to help prevent the same thing from happening to other children. She told her story to her community and was relieved by the support she received. Now, local women are coming together to help fight her case, making it possible for other girls to come forward as well.

Laxmi's story is very encouraging, but it also reminds us that so many girls, just like her, live in constant fear.

Please remember this project and the daughters.

Thank you,
Clark & Jennifer Jensen
Global Family Care Network

Nepal Tour (Part 2)

Janna's Tour of Nepal (Part 1)

Hey, thought I'd start taking videos of places that I go, give you all an idea of where I live. kind of fun eh?? Umm... ok, enjoy! :)

kids song and dance

I forgot to post this video... it's from the easter program. These are the 10 children from Bhaktapur I recently put up on the website to be sponsored :) http://www.myglobalfamily.org/