HE IS MY JEHOVAH-ROI...

...the Lord is My Shepherd!

What a promise in scripture that we can possess as our own in that the Creator of the universe is our Shepherd...the one who leads the way, carries us when we are weak, protects us from harm, and gives us a place to rest! I am finally understanding what David was talking about in Psalm 23. I always knew the Lord was my Shepherd, but right now in my life, He has become more evident in establishing His role as My Shepherd. 

I am overwhelmed with how He teaches each one of us more about His character in every season of our life! 

Ever since my Dad was diagnosed with cancer my days have been up and down on the scale of emotions. I have good days and then I have days that are overwhelmed with sadness. He is actually going to start treatment next week at MD Anderson so my role as a child is changing fast. The next 6 weeks are going to be filled with numerous trips to the hospital for treatment. My family and I are all going to be learning a lot in these months to come so prayers would be great! 

Support is going well, but there is still more to go! Right now I have $4,705 and I need to have $5,550...that means only $845 left!! I believe the Lord is working at this moment in providing. Please pray that all this money will come in as soon as possible! The sooner the better!! (If you are wanting to support me financially look at the previous post and it will walk you through what you need to do.) Thank you, thank you, thank you to all of you who have supported me!! I pray the Lord richly blesses you!

As far as preparation goes for Camp Life, I am attending our last meeting Sunday, April 27th. This will be the final push until I get to Zambia!! I will be getting my Camp Life T-Shirts, learning all the songs, getting the curriculum for the weeks I will be there, and much more! There are about 600 Americans going this summer, which means about 10,000 kids will get to come to Camp Life!! PRAISE THE LORD!! My heart is ready to be back with those precious kids!! 

I leave July 8...which means only 76 days until I leave the States to spend a month in Zambia...please keep praying for all the pieces to come together and for the Lord to be over every aspect!!

"You go before me and follow me. 

You place your hand of blessing on my head.

I can never escape from your Spirit!

I can never get away from your presence!"

Psalm 139:5,7

I am overjoyed for He is still good...

81 Days until I get to see their faces...

These are a few of my girls last year. I will get to see them soo soon!! 

Hey Everyone!

Well this post is going to be short, but I will give more updates later.... 

First of all, my support is due this week!! As of now I have $4,675, which means I only need $875 left!!! Praise the Lord for how He has provided over the past few weeks. Please keep praying about the Lord's provisions. If you do want to support me the fastest and easiest way is to go to this website:

 https://app.etapestry.com/hosted/FamilyLegacyMissionsInterna/OnlineDonation.html

Once you are there then fill in the necessary information and in the section of "Gift Information" choose "Sponsor a short term Mission trip participant" then a space will be provided to put my name (Joy Janszen). Please do not feel obligated to support me. Only the Lord will direct you to do so. 

Thank you all who have supported me through it all whether financially or in prayer!

In the next few days I will give you updates on things with my Dad and me personally. Thanks again for standing next to me! 

He is my Jehovah-Jireh....the one who Provides!!

Trusting in Him,

Joy

I WILL NOT BE SHAKEN!

"He alone is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress where I will not be shaken.

My victory and honor come from God alone,

He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me"

Psalms 62:6-7

Hello to all my family and friends,

I have to be honest with y'all...I'm not really sure how to begin this entry except to first share with you how my life has been rocked a little bit with my family over the past few weeks...

As you all know (from my previous entry) my grandfather passed away almost a month ago. With only a little over a week later, on March 24, I was home for spring break and I was woken up on Monday morning by a call from my oldest sister (JJ) with the news that my Dad was diagnosed with cancer. The news started off the week to a very long and emotional one. My Dad had a Pet Scan a few days later to determine if the cancer was anywhere else in the body and by the grace of God it came back clear; which means Dad only has cancer is his Esophagus. And the most recent news this week is that we were given was that he is in Stage 3 (there are only 4 stages with cancer) and it's pretty advanced. The doctors were also concerned about his lymph nodes as well, but the results haven't come back yet. 

 

I wanted to share with all of you the news on my Dad for a few specific reasons... 

1. to know how you can pray for my precious Dad and family

2. to know what's been going on in my life

3. to continue to partner together as the body of Christ!

(this is my Dad and I for those who don't know my Dad)

Now moving on to Africa stuff...

ONLY 92 DAYS...

That's all I have left until I step onto a plane to head to sub-sahara Africa! This journey, as you have all walked with me through, has not all been easy but has been a journey that the Lord truly desired me to go through in order to be prepare for what He has planned. During the midst of difficult situations, it becomes harder each moment to continue to Praise the Lord, but I have found it to mean the world to the Lord. When we can find one ounce of strength to look up and Praise Him and claim that He is still good, we step further into a deeper love and understanding of His ways. 

My excitement for Zambia can't even be described in words!! I am excited about how the Lord is going to use me as a voice for Him. It really humbles me that I am able to be apart of His plan.  I wanted to express how thankful I am for the ways you all have given financially. As of right now, I have $2600 (only $2700 left!). Keep praying fervently that the Lord will open up ways to provide. I know He will!

While I was home for spring break, I was also able to attend the second of three Camp Life meetings. We collected thousands and thousands of shoes for the kids. (This picture to the left is some of boxes we had of shoes!) It was incredible to see everyone give their time and effort for so many kids across the world. One of the main aspects of this second meeting was to truly understand what it means for the Lord to be our Shepherd; the theme for the summer is: "The Lord is My Shepherd". We are studying Psalm 23 and asking the Lord to teach us what it means for Him to be our shepherd. Greer explained the reason behind understanding it for ourselves first is that the only way for the kids to be able to claim it for themselves is if we are a living example of it. Pretty challenging huh?

Prayer Requests:

>All support to be met!

>For safety and protection around the kids right now!

>Hearts to be softened and ready to hear the truth of God's Word!

>Souls to be won for Christ and for lives to be lived differently!

>For my precious Dad as he begins his journey in battling cancer and for the rest of my family.

Thank you all for taking time and reading about my ups and downs as I continue to press on in this journey to go to Africa. I hope you all are doing well!! 

Glory and Praise to Him Alone,

Joy

GET DIRTY!

"The Great Commission is NOT 

an option to be considered; 

it is a command to be obeyed". 

-James Hudson Taylor-

Only 111 days until my heart returns to where I left it 8 months ago...Oh how I wish I could take all of you with me! My hope is that the Lord will continue to reward you for your trust in Him by supporting me! I do want to give you all an update on how my support is coming in...as of now I have $1725...and I am still needing $3500!! That means I have 33% of the amount of what is needed to go to Zambia. I am still remaining faithful in how the Lord will provide. I believe that He will provide what is needed. I ask you to pray alongside me for the remaining amount needed in order for the precious children of Zambia to hear God's word! 

I want to extend a thank you to you all for being co-laborers with me! What cherished friends and family I have! Speaking of being thankful, this past week the Lord has used difficult situations to shine forth His Glory in my life. On March 8, I received news that 'Gramps' (my grandfather on my dad's side) passed away. I went home a couple of days after that for the visitation and funeral. Being with my family was the only thing I could have asked for! Even though losing a loved one is difficult, we were able to share memories and celebrate my grandfather's life. My dear Dad spoke at the funeral and he talked about his dad for about 45 minutes. You may think that is long, but he could've talked more about his dad. During that 45 mins, I felt so honored, privileged, thankful, and proud to be apart of my family. God used that time to show me that you are in a great heritage and a legacy of faith that has been passed down for several generations and that I need to continue in that legacy. God also made it known to me that I need to embrace what I have inherited and honor the Lord with all that I am! Praise the Lord for how our God takes difficult situations and uses them to bring a greater understanding of what He is doing!

A theme that has reoccurred in my life for the past 8 months is that You are the HANDS and FEET of CHRIST!! We are the bearers of Christ's name and may be the only chance for people to hear about the righteous Lord....so go get dirty! I hope that your feet become dusty not only from being a living an example, but that that your feet get dusty from following your Savior so closely behind him that the dust that He kicks up will land on you! 

And a recent theme that God is using to teach me more about is the AMOR OF GOD! If we accept the invitation to follow God daily, we are commanded to put on the full amor of God to have as protection against the evil one. When we bear the amor and the name of God, it will be heavy because of the persecution we will have, but don't you think that it is a honor to bear the name of Christ? Goodness, I sure do! The amor we wear will be beaten and hardpressed, but God will ultimately protect you and win the battles!! HE HAS WON...Claim that victory! I follow and serve the ONE who has given me so much encouragement, love, joy, hope, understanding, and more grace than I can even begin to be thankful for! He has been so good and has not let me down! I am humbled to serve such a great King! ALL PRAISE AND GLORY GO TO HIM!

"Are you willing to give up your life and desires for the sake of others who don't have anything and are without hope?" -John Zumwalt-

Love you all my prayer warriors...keep on prayin!!