Kona Kona Kona

It's my first full week in Kona! Things are going great! Our hearts are getting revived again to see God move in greater ways than we've seen before. Pictured above is about 300 or so of us on the YWAM campus starting our Monday off in adoration of the one true King! He is so holy and worthy of our praise.

Most joke about me "suffering for Jesus" or taking my vacation to Hawaii...and I won't lie it's pretty beautiful here and I want to soak up that sun as much as I can! But we do have a pretty jam packed schedule. Starting most days around 6am we're up for breakfast and off to worship or class. Our days are pretty full of teaching, prayer/worship, small group time, work duties around the campus, and local outreaches to neighborhoods in Kona. My bed time has moved to a pretty consistent time of about 9:30pm...and if you know me well, you know that's not normal. But the Lord is giving me the grace and energy for it all! Also it's so nice having the whole Harrisburg crew out here so we can grow in our love for each other and for the Lord before heading back to PA! So excited for what God deposits to us here that we get to take back to our students for this next year.

I don't have much to update on except I'm excited for what God has in the weeks to come. Breakthrough and freedom are here and we're expectant for God to do big things in and through this school. Keep us in your prayers that God would be glorified in our everything!

If you want to here the podcasts from our classes click here: Circuit Riders Podcast

Thank you you for checking in! I pray you are so blessed today!

a pause, some pictures, and a popsicle

6 days left and counting until I'm here:


(Photo taken from Jeremy Bardwell's recent Facebook status update)

It's like a reward for having to live in the freezing cold winter months that make up most of my time in Pennsylvania. But needless to say I'm so excited to be back with my Fire & Fragrance community and start the Circuit Riders Seminar!

Since I've been home this last month I feel like I've been on pause. A good pause...but a pause all together. I've been spending a lot of my time at my parent's new restaurant. Here:



PLUG: If you live in or near Jackson you should of course go visit my parent's place! (and like their facebook page at www.facebook.com/DumplinsofJackson).

It's funny living with your parents again. I so easily go back into teenager mode. And then I have to pull out the "No. I am an adult" card. This is why all children should leave their parents at some point...because I can become incredibly lazy...watching reruns of teenage drama shows on Netflix.

And of course this month brings reunions galore. I feel like I reentered high school and then college all over again. I love my friends. The highlight of every week has been joining my friend's from college and watching this:



Now I'm sitting in my favorite coffee shop (not the Amsterdam kind) in Nashville...



... with 2 of my best friends waiting on the 6th member of the Buford to arrive from New York City tonight so The First Annual Buford Reunion can commence with these girls:



Also, this weekend brings my favorite holiday. 4th of July. I think it was created for me. You will probably never see my face light up in amazement the way fireworks can make it.

And if you're looking for a more interesting read than what I will ever be able to offer then you should check out this blog: Jamie the Very Worst Missionary. Jamie is a missionary in Costa Rica with her family and she writes some of the funniest, wittiest, down to earth blogs. If you're offended easily it may not be for you...but she writes truth and is blatantly honest. And I laugh out loud at her posts.

Another current read has been:



If you haven't read it I highly recommend it. It's about a little boy (the one pictured) who went to heaven during a surgery he was having at the age of 4. The things he talked about was Revelation type stuff that no 4 year old could really grasp unless he really did see the things that he talked about. It gave me chills the whole way through and reminds me how great God is and what I have to look forward to. I've become heaven obsessed (not in the way that I want to rush to get there or anything...but it's so mysterious that I want to learn so much more about it).

That's all I have for today. I think I'll run next door to Las Paletas and get a popsicle.

Outreach Update & What's Next for Me!

I am officially done with my DTS! I cannot believe how fast time flies. I just experienced some of the greatest 8 months with the Lord than ever before. Thank you for following me on my journey and supporting me throughout this season. I am overjoyed when I think about what the Lord was able to do in and through me. What a mighty God we serve!

I'm sure to no one's surprise...I was terrible at updating while I was in Europe. But my team had an awesome time as we traveled and shared the gospel in the Netherlands! We spent 3 weeks in Amsterdam working with the local YWAM base and with long term ministries in the city. We evangelized, prayed for 100s of people, served at the homeless shelter, hung out with teens at the youth hostel, and prayed at The Tabernacle prayer house which is located in the heart of the red light district. Amsterdam is such a beautiful city and it's an odd parallel to the darkness that resides there. The red light district seems unimaginable. My heart broke over this area and for the men and women trapped in lies and lust and confusion. A love is being sought after than can only truly be fulfilled by Jesus. But no matter the darkness, the drugs, the sex, etc. God is still bigger and He loves Amsterdam! Just in the last week I found out that the government is in the process of making it illegal for tourists to buy marijuana! That's just the beginning of the fruit we are going to see from the seeds planted by the Jesus loving missionaries who are laying their lives down to see Jesus glorified in Amsterdam! One thing I loved about this city is how easy is was to talk to people. When we would evangelize I found it much easier to get into conversations with people who were interested in keeping the conversation going. Part of it may just be tolerance...but people are open! They are longing for Jesus and He is pursuing them! Keep praying for this wonderful city and the Christians who live there!


(Photos by Ryan Lister)

We then traveled north to a city called Groningen. I think I can say on behalf of my entire team this was by far one of our favorite outreach locations. We stayed at the Helperkerk (Helper Church) and were treated with such love and hospitality by our hosts that we felt most welcomed to their city. We partnered with the church and their leadership team to evangelize at the local university, spread the word about at their weekly meeting called The Community specifically designed for non-believers, hangout with and pray for their youth group, and encourage the believers to keep going! Our time here flew by and before we knew it we were off on another train to Berlin to join with Burn Berlin (Burn 24-7) and the Magnet family. It was the best way to end our outreach as we got to lift up Jesus for 24 hours straight over the city of Berlin. We were also able to encourage and pray for ministries there and then just rest in God's presence. I love Burn Berlin and I love the Magnet's!

That is obviously a really brief update for what God did over 2 months...and that was just my team! Our 4 teams went to all 8 Ivy Leagues, Washington D.C., and Europe. Overall our school saw salvations and healings, and was able to do a lot of practical service as well, helping long-term ministries and churches stay encouraged, and teaching local believers how to walk intimately with God.

I am excited to announce that I will be staffing this next years Fire & Fragrance! Our staff will is traveling to Kona, HI for 5 weeks to attend the Circuit Rider Seminar where we will worship Jesus and have awesome teaching and training before heading back to Pennsylvania to start out next school September 20! (If interested apply here: Harrisburg F&F DTS) I'm excited for this next year as a whole new crew of radical young people give 8 months of their lives to grow in intimacy with Jesus and spread the gospel to the Ivy Leagues and wherever else the Lord leads!

Please continue to pray for me as I continue on this journey! I also need to raise financial support for this next year, so if you would like to partner with me financially email me at JessicaRams@gmail.com! Thank you for your support this past year & I look forward to whatever God has in this next one!

A Voice of One Calling in the Wilderness

From it's beginnings Dartmouth has had a John the Baptist calling. It's motto is from many of the references in the Bible prophesying about him as "a voice of one calling in the wilderness." (Isaiah 40:3, Mark 1:3, Matthew 3:3)

From the moment we got out of the van I absolutely LOVED Dartmouth. It's located in the small town of Hanover, NH which reminded me a lot of Chattanooga (for you Tennesseans) giving it a much more relaxed feel than Boston. We weren't sure what to expect of our time at Dartmouth because none of us had ever been there before but we were so excited for what God had in store.

We stayed right off campus at a student ministry house called "The Edge" and it was so nice to be only a 5 minute walk away from campus.

Our home: "The Edge"

Some of our team with our host, Nick (far left).

Our first full day there we prayed with a group that meets every Wednesday in Rollins Chapel to pray for revival at Dartmouth. A research professor and his wife, Richard & Mary, a student, a guy from the community, and another couple, Elizabeth & Fred, who have been praying for revival at Dartmouth for 26 years! They came to the university back in the '80s and saw a revival of 300 students come to know Christ and after that Fred got a dream that a bigger revival was coming of at least 1,500 students getting saved. Even though they are small group, they are so fiery! I pray and believe that they will see the fruit of their prayers.

Praying in Rollins Chapel

We did some evangelism and walked around and met students and ended up having some great conversations and got to encourage and pray for students. We also connected with a few other campus groups: The Navigators and Campus Impact (CI). It was so great getting to worship and pray with them and to meet more of the students on the campus. There is such a buzz about revival coming to Dartmouth and about seeing small events of it already happening.

Cara Lena and I touring the campus.

We all felt it. God is really doing something major in these Ivy League's and I wouldn't be surprised if He started with Dartmouth. And actually Fred told us a lot of people have been given that word and a guy on my team even felt the Lord say the same thing. Dartmouth is the smallest Ivy League and just like God used Gideon and David...it's possible He'll start with Dartmouth and revival will trickle from there! Also I fully believe Dartmouth is going to be the school that is the "voice calling in the wilderness." Coming alive to Christ and declaring it over our nation!

It was such an exciting time there and I'd only wished we had been able to stay longer. I felt so connected with that campus and with the students. I can't wait to see revival come to Dartmouth and maybe even be a part of it!

I'm in Amsterdam now and we've been here almost a week. Can't wait to update you all on everything going on here. It is such a beautiful city! We've been partnering with YWAM and other ministries around here doing evangelism, prayer, and serving in the kitchen and on the base. Keep praying. God is so good!

Heellooo from Boston!!!

I know, I know...I'm so behind on my updates! So I'll try to make this short, but you loyal readers know it probably won't be :)

So, it's week 3 here in Boston. All 4 of the Fire & Fragrance outreach teams are here to do ministry. 3 of our teams are staying in one house...meaning 1 bathroom to 12 girls. Yikes! But we all have different schedules so we don't even really get to see the other teams. I'm really enjoying this city...but when is snows on the first day of spring...it's just a bit too much winter for me! But all in all it's been a great city to be in.


(The whole Fire & Fragrance crew on the day we left for Boston.)

So now on to the stuff you really want to read about: As you know...in this life we aren't always handed the 'EASY' button. Well, evangelism would be the one area in my life where I wish I could use that! I'm definitely being stretched in this area and being moved right on out of my comfort zone. I know God can use whoever...and for now He's chosen to use me, who in many instances tends to be a slightly awkward vessel. I've been recently reminded of the verse in 1 Corinthians 12:9 that says, "But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me." Therefore, I will be obedient and trust that He knows what He's doing and that His power will be made perfect through tiny 'ol me.

We've been worshipping on Harvard's campus and talking to people about their beliefs or asking if they need prayer. We've, of course, had a mix of responses. Some people don't take to us well. Jina, a fellow team member, and I talked to a guy who is a professed atheist and an evolutionary biology major...by the end of our conversation, I kid you not he was running away from us and we were jogging behind him to keep up with him...not too long after we just stopped and said bye. It had me laughing to myself the rest of the day. However, we've had plenty of good conversations as well. That same day we talked to a design major named Irene who grew up Catholic and said her mom is now Buddhist. She isn't sure what she believes anymore but thinks there is a higher power or "energy". We talked to her on her way to class about the gospel and told her that Jesus really is real and how much He loves her and has a plan for her life and said we'd be praying for her. She was pretty receptive and said it was really great to know that someone would be out there praying for her. I also got to give a Bible to a Chinese girl who had never heard the gospel and didn't grow up with any religion. We've been keeping a list of people we've met and are still in prayer that God would continue to pursue them. Each team has been evangelizing on campus, so a mission force of about 30 is going out almost everyday and telling people about Jesus!


(Harvard)

Also, while riding the bus to the Cambridge area with my team, I sat down beside 2 college students Lena & Mimi. I heard God so clearly say to me, "I want you to tell them about me." I of course respond like I know He does but I don't know how to bring it up. I'd already introduced myself to them and asked about the instruments they were holding and where they went to school, so after that I just waited on the Lord. I started to overhear Lena tell Mimi about about a book in Russia and I heard the words 'devil', 'hell', and 'Jesus Christ'... I joined their conversation and asked them what they believed about all of that. They both had Catholic Orthodox backgrounds and Lena said she saw Jesus as a philosopher and that hell was made up to bring fear to people. So right there on the bus I got to share the entire gospel and that everything in the Bible is true and straight from God! I was informed later that they could hear me in the back of the bus...so I hope that more people got to hear :)

I wholeheartedly believe each one of these meetings is a Divine appointment and God is calling each and every one of them into relationship with Him. So far we've seen 1 Harvard student come to Christ and a whole lot of seeds planted! So like I said earlier, this job hasn't come with an 'EASY' button, but as someone encouraged me the other day...we have no idea what our being here and exalting Jesus in this place is doing in the spiritual realm. God's heart so moves and longs for His people and I guarantee revival will come to the Ivy Leagues and America.

We've also had the opportunity to join with some Christian fellowships here. We've evangelized with some of the YWAM Boston staff members and had some teaching by their director, Doug Tunney (who was our speaker on evangelism during lecture phase). The team that isn't staying in our house is staying at the Justice House of Prayer (JHOP). We've gotten to join in with them on their weekly worship and prayer meetings and it has been such a refreshing place to go and worship Jesus with them. They are a super fiery group that has laid down their lives for however long God asks of them to interceed and stand in the gap for Boston and surrounding college campuses. I've so enjoyed our time with them.


(Harvard Awakening Church)

Every Sunday we've gotten to attend the Harvard Awakening church held at Bob "Uncle Bob" Weiner's (Weiner Ministries) penthouse. It has a wonderful view of Cambridge and Uncle Bob has so kindly opened his place for college students to cram in every Sunday night to have a church service. It was there that we met Lynn. Lynn is from China and is a student at Northeastern University. She leads a Bible study group for about 6-7 Chinese girls every Friday. These girls have only been in relationship with Jesus for about 3-6 months, even Lynn. We've led 2 of their Friday Bible studies and I've quickly fallen in love with these girls. Lynn, Megan, Elaine, and Hanna are the regular attendees and have been the 4 at the study both weeks. The first week we taught on loving God and others and on hearing the voice of God, and this past Friday we did an exercise on hearing the voice of God by doing 'Original Design' prayers. It's how I first started learning to hear the voice of God. We prayed for the girls one at a time and waited on what the Lord had to say about each of the girls and who He created them to be (reference Psalm 139). Then whoever got a word, picture, or scripture would share it with whoever we were praying for. It's always fun when the word is repeated by someone who got the same thing or just when it encourages that person. The girls were so encouraged with every word they got and it was so fun to see them realize even more just how much God loves them and that He has a plan and purpose for each one.

Almost needless to say, this has been my favorite part of outreach thus far. I just love those girls so much and they are so hungry for the Lord. And to top it off, it's tradition for them that when someone leaves they have a big feast for them, so they are making a homemade Chinese dinner for us on Monday at their house! Elaine is going to get baptized then too!! I will truly miss them when we leave...I wish I could pack them in my suitcase and carry them with me!

Side note: The guys on our team have been going to the guys Bible study at Northeastern and yesterday they took them out evangelizing and led a Chinese student, Rocky, to Christ! Woohoo!


(Northeastern girls Bible study -- Left to Right: Back Row: Megan, Hanna, Kara, Cara Lena, Amanda {YWAM Boston staff}, me, Jina. Front Row: Elaine, Lynn {Bible study leader})

My team of 8 leaves Boston on Tuesday and we head to New Hampshire to go to Dartmouth! I am so excited to see what the Lord has for us in our few days there.

I have so much more I could say...but this has gotten pretty long so I'll leave it here. Again THANK YOU soooo much for all your prayers. They are much needed, as you know Spiritual warfare can really heighten in these times. I feel so blessed to have so much support both prayerfully and financially and that the Lord has led me to be a part of Fire and Fragrance and to travel and share His name and strengthen other believers. He's teaching me so much!!

Love and blessings to you all!

February Newsletter & Prayer Guide!

Here's last month's newsletter! It gives you a tiny update of what's been going on and then some prayer requests for our outreach that we have officially begun! Thanks for taking the time to read this and pray for me!

Blessings to you!

February 2011

Lady Gaga...

...random I know.

But after her "shocking" arrival at the Grammy's last night I couldn't stop thinking about the platform she has created for herself and wondering how she got there. (for those who missed it she was encased in what looked like an egg?)

Note: I'm not promoting that one should or should not support Lady Gaga and her theatrics. I'm just sharing a few opinions of my own :)

When Lady first stepped onto the scene I did find her quite odd...but it was just too easy to pick up on the new tunes and dance around all silly-like with my roommates. Therefore, a few of Lady's songs became fairly popular. I don't even know how it happened but one day I decided to count the number of songs that I knew of hers...and found it alarmingly high. I had no idea I'd slipped into the craze! But she seemed to be EVERYWHERE. I mean...in the past 2 years alone she's had 6 number 1 hit songs. I think it started off as a joke to sing her songs...but either way...they seeped in and were on repeat in my head.

I never found her music to be moral, that's for sure and I was always taken aback by the latest music videos...not being able to watch them without thinking something seems completely wrong and then realizing I just shouldn't watch her videos because they have no fruit, no light, no life coming from them. I can't necessarily deny the artistry she carries...however I admit it's definitely a bit off.

I don't think anyone would be shocked by 'Christian groups' calling her crazy or protesting her in every way. But the thought of that actually started to make me sad and I felt convicted of my own judgments towards her. I watched an interview she had with Barbara Walters...and for some reason when you see a person's childhood photos they become all the more real to you. And it hit me: She doesn't know Jesus. I know...that's apparent...but how many times have I skimmed over the fact and had negative thoughts towards who she is.

I think you can tell by now but the Lord actually started giving me this big heart for Lady Gaga (formally known as 'Stefanie Joanne Angelina Germanotta'). God actually gave her this wonderful, amazing talent. He gave her a voice and an ability to be creative...she just isn't necessarily using it to give glory to His name, but why would she. She doesn't know Jesus.

While speaking with Barbara Walters she said she wants to be a teacher to her young fans who felt just like she felt when she was younger. She wants to free her fans to be fearless and help them know that they have their own place in the world. On an interview I watched with Cooper Anderson on 60 minutes, I watched as she told fans at one of her concerts to let go of all insecurities and reject anyone and anything that's ever made them feel like they don't belong. Then she yelled for them to free themselves of those things. Her fans were sobbing. I mean breaking down, tears and snot everywhere. My heart broke.

They're all looking for something more. What's so sad is it's the enemy who's blinding people to Truth. Our society is more humanistic than ever and Lady Gaga's answer to feeling rejection is how to empower yourself and how to overcome obstacles by rising up in strength.

If I were to sit and listen to someone tell me they had a dream to set people free from past insecurities, I'd think they were on a pretty good path. But it's where we tell them to get healing from and draw strength from that lies a big issue. How many of us have/have had insecurities or issues of rejection from our younger years. The feeling of being left out and not belonging. I know I had some super awkward years and I just wanted validation that I wasn't a big weirdo. Thankfully I had a community around me who accepted me and pointed me to Jesus and I found my belonging in Him. But what about people who aren't as fortunate to hear about Jesus and His extravagant Love? We're all looking for healing. We're all looking for a place to belong. We all want to be loved. And what's happened is Satan has twisted the minds of so many to believe that God either doesn't exist or is mean and judgmental. And now a lot of times a second thought isn't given to God or Jesus because it's all about ME! As someone said today in our Prayer Room set, Satan has blindfolded people and then set them into confusion. So it doesn't look like anyone is worshipping the devil or anything...it just looks like a world of worship to me, myself, and I.

Humanism.

It's a stronghold we must pray is broken. It's an area where we must EXALT the name of JESUS. It's time to press in. Lady Gaga went to a Manhattan private school, Convent of the Sacred Heart. I bet she heard about God. I bet she was rejected for being maybe a little bit weird. It's been brought to my attention recently that in this world of music...a lot of the music and musicians that have brought a 'new song' forth have been rejected by the church. Ouch. So where do they turn?

The reason I'm even writing this is because we have to know what we're up against. Yes, our God is greater and higher than any other and He wins. But it's a time where we need to be on our knees crying out for our generation whose role models are Lady Gaga, Eminem, Ke$ha, Lil' Wayne, Drake...and I don't know, whoever else is mainstream popular right now. We need to be praying for Divine strategies and most of all we need to be a LIGHT in the darkness. We have to tell people about Jesus. They need to know the truth. It's not fair that so many have been blindfolded to the incomprehensible love and goodness of our God.

So all that being said...this is a huge prayer need. This is what my team will be facing as we head to the Ivy Leagues in 3 weeks. We've been crying out for 5 months for Jesus to be exalted over Harvard...a school created to send out ministers and missionaries. Humanism is creeping in. We want to show people truth. Lead them to Jesus. He's better than anything else. He created us for His glory. He wants to set His children free from this bondage and confusion. There's just no hope without Jesus. But that's the good thing...there is hope. He loves us so much.

As written on Harvard's Emerson Hall: "What is man that Thou art mindful of Him?" -Psalm 8:4

Jesus, I exalt You.

(Oh, and add Lady Gaga to your prayer list too!)