Hello everyone!  I made it...well, almost.  I left yesterday.  My parents and brother drove me to Chicago.  We left in plenty of time even allowing us to do some downtown shopping and looking around.  We made it to O'Hare airport and after doing three laps around the airport trying to find the entrance to the parking lot.  We finally made it.  We got some lunch and played a hand of Euchre.  My mom and I definitely lost.  We huddled together and my dad prayed.  We had a tearful goodbye, but know that we will see each other soon.  I met up with Stacy, another WR participant at the gate as she was on the same flight.  It was an uneventful flight to Houston.  We were picked up by Becca, another WR participant and her boyfriend.  We made one last stop at Wal-Mart and stayed the night at her sister's house.  We left early this morning to make our 6 hour drive to Harlingen.  It actually went pretty fast.  Texas is flat with a lot of strip malls and not a whole lot to see.  We even stopped at a "Whataburger" restaurant.  (see picture below)  It was a good drive.  Now, I am here at the airport and met up with everyone  else.  (by the way midwesterners, it is like 72 degrees here!)It is so great to see everyone.  We will be leaving the airport to cross the Mexican border very soon.  I can't wait to officially begin the journey.

Please check out http://prayers.theworldrace.org for prayer updates posted by World Race participants and AIM. 

Well, I am finally home after a morning of saying goodbye to a dear friend and doing some last minute errands. The beginning of a new chapter of life for me truly begins in approximately 27 hours. It is definitely a hard experience closing one chapter of your life and moving on to the next, but it is always worth it. I know that this experience will be as well. I have much to do today as I finish packing my bag, saying my goodbyes, and soaking up the last few hours with family and friends. I thought that before I go, I would introduce you to the wonderful people I am leaving behind and the people that mean the most to me – my family!

First of all, I’ll introduce you to my dad, Fred. He is amazing! He has two sides to him. He is manly and likes hunting, fishing, mountain biking, etc. (all that manly stuff) yet he is also sensitive and considerate. He is a man of God who loves the Lord. He is always looking for ways to better himself. He is a man of integrity. He is a very hard worker. He is a servant and almost always puts other needs before his own. He has a huge heart and loves to meet people’s needs. He has a calm and relaxed presence about Him. He is an ‘adopted’ father for many other kids. He gives great hugs too! I often say he has set the bar high for my future husband. ;) I know that I will miss him dearly and can’t wait to see where the Lord takes him in this coming year!

Next, is my mom, Teresa. For those of you that know her, you know she is a bundle of energy. Many people think she never stops going, but I am here to tell you that this past fall, she did watch her first movie without doing anything else. It was pretty much a miracle. ;) She is also an amazing woman! She is the most organized person that I know. She has a list for everything. She knows exactly where everything is located in the house and at her work. She remembers almost everyone’s birthdays, anniversaries, etc and is sure to send them cards. She is a woman of God. She desires to be all that God called her to be and wants to be used by God in the way that her talents are best put to use. She is a great advice giver too! She loves to have fun and cannot stand to miss a thing. She has definitely become a best friend over the years and I love spending time with her. She will be missed!

Finally, my brother, Abram. He might be the hardest to describe because there is so much to him. He is a wonderful brother! Abe is also a man’s man liking those manly outdoorsy things, but there is more to him as well. Abe has a great sense of humor and a unique sense of style. ;) Whenever I am with him, I crack up laughing and it is always sure to be a good time. We can have fun doing anything I think. Abe also loves the Lord. He has stepped into his own faith this first year of college and has involved himself in many ministries. Abe desires to serve and connect others with those same service opportunities. Abe is easy to talk to and loves meeting new people. I am so thankful for him and the friendship that we have developed over the years. I will miss him a lot in this next year, but am so excited to see the plans that God has for him and how he responds to them.

If you know any of these people, you know that I am truly blessed! I am the luckiest person ever to be able to live with these people and spend time with them. I am so glad they are in my life forever. I love you guys!

We have an exciting opportunity! An anonymous contributor has stepped forward with $5,000 to match contributions to the World Race Ministry Fund from now to the end of the year! For every dollar contributed, a matching gift will be made to this special fund. (For a total of $10,000 with your gifts)

What is the World Race Ministry Fund?

The World Race Ministry fund supplies needs that might not be covered by support funds including:

• Additional translator services in the different countries, helping the World Racers be safer and more effective
• Ministry opportunities encountered on the race (Ex: a family of 8 needs $300 to keep from losing their home in India, and orphan needs medical care in Peru)
• Scholarships at crucial times for World Racers who are still raising support
• Helps pay for important supplies and capital expenditures needed to supplement the race (postage, digital cameras, video cameras, etc)

What happens after the $10,000 is raised?

We will continue to accept gifts while seeking additional personal / corporate donors to pay matching amounts.

Click here: http://www.theworldrace.org/giftmatch/give.asp to participate in this blessed giving opportunity! Remember, donations must be post marked or received by Dec 31st to qualify for a tax deduction in the current year.

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you have all got your Christmas shopping done by now, wrapped, and are ready to go. I was at the mall today picking up some last minute things for my trip and I saw many people scrambling to get just the right gift. It was a little weird today as my brother and I drove home from the mall with the windows halfway down. You see, that doesn’t usually happen in Michigan on December 24^th. We have often not had snow on Christmas, but having 40 and 50 degree days has been kind of crazy. It has been nice, but it doesn’t make it feel like Christmas.

I wanted to inform you of an upcoming prayer opportunity for you. The World Race has a vision of having literally hundreds of people praying for its participants and the work that is to be done throughout the nations. The World Racers kicked this prayer call off last Tuesday. I was unfortunately unable to make that call, but this is planned to be a weekly event and we want YOU to get involved. The call is simply for prayer. How it works is that on Tuesday nights at 9:00pm EST (set your alarm clocks on your cell phonesJ) you can call this number 712-432-4004 and then when it asks for your code or room ID, enter 4709874#. This will allow you to enter the conference call.

We will be praying for things such as: salvation of lost souls, health/safety, God’s direction, for the nations we will be going to, for the condition of our world, etc. Each person will have approximately one minute to pray if they would like and then at the end there will be a time where everyone can pray at the same time for intercessory prayer.

I would love to have many of you join us in this. You can be as much or little involved as you like. You can feel free to just listen if you just want to check it out or you can pray with the hopefully, hundreds of other people. We hope that you will be blessed through this experience as well! Please let me know if you have any questions! Hope to see many of you there! (This will continue while we are on the World Race)

Merry Christmas everyone! I hope that you have all got your Christmas shopping done by now, wrapped, and are ready to go. I was at the mall today picking up some last minute things for my trip and I saw many people scrambling to get just the right gift. It was a little weird today as my brother and I drove home from the mall with the windows halfway down. You see, that doesn’t usually happen in Michigan on December 24^th. We have often not had snow on Christmas, but having 40 and 50 degree days has been kind of crazy. It has been nice, but it doesn’t make it feel like Christmas.

I wanted to inform you of an upcoming prayer opportunity for you. The World Race has a vision of having literally hundreds of people praying for its participants and the work that is to be done throughout the nations. The World Racers kicked this prayer call off last Tuesday. I was unfortunately unable to make that call, but this is planned to be a weekly event and we want YOU to get involved. The call is simply for prayer. How it works is that on Tuesday nights at 9:00pm EST (set your alarm clocks on your cell phonesJ) you can call this number 712-432-4004 and then when it asks for your code or room ID, enter 4709874#. This will allow you to enter the conference call.

We will be praying for things such as: salvation of lost souls, health/safety, God’s direction, for the nations we will be going to, for the condition of our world, etc. Each person will have approximately one minute to pray if they would like and then at the end there will be a time where everyone can pray at the same time for intercessory prayer.

I would love to have many of you join us in this. You can be as much or little involved as you like. You can feel free to just listen if you just want to check it out or you can pray with the hopefully, hundreds of other people. We hope that you will be blessed through this experience as well! Please let me know if you have any questions! Hope to see many of you there! (This will continue while we are on the World Race)

Since I will be leaving in just a few days, I have been going through things at home. I’ve been sorting through old papers, notes, clothes, etc. Its been pretty fun to remember what I’ve done, where I’ve been, and how my life continually changes. I recently came across something written by Henri Nouwen that was given to me by my friend, Carrie, a couple years ago when I was going through a hard time in my spiritual walk. See what you think:

“Dear Lord,

Today I thought of the words of Vincent Van Gogh: ‘It is true there is an ebb and flow, but the sea remains the sea.’ You are the sea. Although I experience many ups and downs in my emotions and often feel great shift in changes in my inner life, you remain the same. Your sameness is not the sameness of a rock, but the sameness of a faithful lover. Out of your love I came to life; by your love I am sustained and to your love I am always called back. There are days of sadness and joy; there are feelings of guilt and feelings of gratitude; there are moments of failure and moments of success; but all of them are embraced by your unfailing love.

My temptation is to doubt your love, to think of myself beyond the reach of your love, to remove myself from the healing radiance of your love. To do these things is to move into darkness of despair.

O Lord, sea of love and goodness, let me not fear too much the storms and winds of my daily life, and let me know that there is an ebb and flow, but that the sea remains the sea.” - Henri Nouwen

Thankfully, I am not in the same spiritual spot when I was given this poem, but I think that it has points that ring true in my life now regarding preparing for the World Race. As I am preparing for this journey, I feel that my emotions are out of whack. I wake up each day wondering how I will feel that day about embarking on this adventure. It goes back and forth between extreme excitement and curiosity to cautiousness and anxiousness. As I experience these emotions it is comforting to know that God is control of my life and He is in control of this trip that I don’t need to “fear too much the storms and winds of daily life...because the sea remains the sea.” I know that there will be times that it will hard times and easy times. I know that there will be times I feel successful and times I feel I failed. I know there will be times where I will miss home and times I won’t. I know there will be times that I feel happy and times when I feel sad. I know that these emotions will come and go throughout the year, but I can be confident that the Lord will remain the same. That is such a comforting thought to me that despite all the change in environment, people, and emotions that God is the same now, tomorrow, and forever and that he is the same God in the US as he is Mexico, South Africa, and China. What an awesome God we serve! I feel so blessed to be continually “embraced by his unfailing love.” Hopefully, this can be an encouragement to you today!

Last night, my family hosted a Holiday Dessert Reception to share in the holiday season and to provide me with an opportunity to say goodbye to some and to thank all the people who support me both financially and prayerfully. It was a great evening of lots of yummy desserts, family, and friends. Thanks to all of you that could make it! I appreciate each of you. You are a HUGE part of this ministry! Below is a list of all of those who are supporting me financially and/or prayerfully.

Jason, Micki, and Grace Archer - Russ and Judi Arthur - Jim and Jan Baker - Phyllis Ball - Tom Ball - Steve and Lyn Bartels - Abby Beckman - Gayle and Pam Beebe - Doug and Karen Blume - Don and Diane Boesel - Robbie and Maria Bolton - Jon and Sandy Bromley - Abby Buter - Brad and Laurie Buter - Katie Clark - Dave Collins - Chuck and Joyce Conrad - Mike Conrad - Father Ben Constantine - Bob and Joan Croad - John and Dena Dardzinski - Shirley and Ed Davenport - Karl and Debbie Drake - Tom and Laurie Fiero - Frank and Mary Fisher - Nick and Jess Flickinger - Lola Frey - Debbie Giovanardi - Jim and Ginny Hannen - Matt and Robyn Hardesty - Micah and Wendy Hassenzahl - Dave and Joan Herlein - Mary and Ned Heustis - Eric and Melissa Hoffman - Maxine Huff - Julie Hurley - Cindy James - Steve and Amy Janson - Steve and Judy Janson - Marilyn and Ed Job - Marilyn and Willis Kilbourn - Jackie Klump - Brian and Angel Kono - Ben and Kristin Kriesch - Beth and Charlie Kuntzleman - Rick and Brenda Laber - Joy Leipprandt - Jeff and Kim Leipprandt - Sara and Kyle Luke - Dale and Peggy Lundberg - Clare Mansur - Penny and Jay Mansur - Ron and Barb Markowski - Kim Martin - Rod and Toni Mathews - Brian and Shelley McCrady - Jim and Alice McGowan - Bill McGowan - Mark Melchiori - Ken and Shari Moe - Rick and Lisa Morgan - Amy Nelson - Todd and Sue Nelson - Scott and Julie Oliver - Matt and Judi Osborne - Don and Barb Parker - Nicole Reidenbach - Patty Santillo - Peggy Schule - Barb and Dick Scott - Damon Seacott - Greg and Chris Shaw - Warren and Joyce Shaw - Tom and Rita Sheehan - Jeff and Sue Slager - Doug and Mary Sprague - Deb and Scott Stoddard - Brad Sydow - Debbie and Ajit Trivedi - Nikki Twedt - Steve and Nancy Tylutki - Pris Valentine - Dave and Linda VanStempvoort - Mark and Linda VanValin - John and Lois Washburn - Scott and Taryn Watterson - Dick and Leota Watterson - Franz Weisbaum - John and Heather Williams - John and Carrie Williams - Craig and Lisa Withrow - Spring Arbor Free Methodist World Outreach Committee

I know that this ministry could not and can not be done without you! I am truly, truly blessed to have such a large and caring support network. Thanks! Enjoy some pictures of the holiday reception below.

Hey everybody, just wanted to let you know the status of my support raising.  I am SO excited to tell you that my support is completely raised!  I need $13,000 to go on the World Race trip.  I currently have $11,315.00 in my AIM account.  I know of another $1000 just sent in and the rest should be covered by people who have agreed to support me monthly.   I feel so extremely blessed, because I would not be going on this trip if it weren't for you!  This is not just my ministry or AIM's ministry, this is your ministry too!  Thanks for being involved and I hope that you will continue to stay involved for the rest of this journey!

Although I am set with my support, there are some other members of our team that still have large amounts of money to raise.  I know that it is the end of the year, Christmas is coming, and bank accounts are tight, but I ask that you would pray about your financial situation and if you feel led to give to other World Racers struggling to meet their goal.  If you do feel led to give to these people, you can go to the main World Race website at www.theworldrace.org and click on "Support Us."  This will go into a general fund that will be used at AIM's discretion.  Or you can e-mail me at jansonemilie@yahoo.com and I can help you find an appropriate place for your donation.  Thank you so much for considering another opportunity to advance God's Kingdom!

Be blessed today!

I am currently on Day 9 post employment. I have to say that it has been wonderful! Although in some aspects, it feels as if I have fallen off the face of the earth. You may have noticed since I have not posted a new article in over a week. My days that used to consist of going in town to work, seeing other people, and feeling a part of something important have quickly changed into spending much of my time at home. I now stay up late (well…I guess I should say “later,” I still don’t think it is considered “late”), wake up to drink coffee and watch Regis and Kelly then add some variety by going to the Y, going out to eat with friends, or going shopping with my mom. I know, I know, I live a hard life. I did this week make my last trip to REI and picked up all the essentials (shampoo, conditioner, etc) to see how they fit into my bag. The first attempt was not good. I looked at all the stuff I wanted to fit in my bag and it was just not going to fit. So, after doing some careful planning, organizing, and using many ziplock bags I was able to fit what I needed. My bag officially weighs 44 pounds. I also have a day back which probably weighs 15 so I will be carrying some extra weight this trip. Just think of the muscles I could have when I return. I think I am supposed to have those now though. (oops!)

On Saturday, myself and my two cousins (Alyssa and Audie) helped my grandma and grandpa put up their Christmas tree. It was a good time. It was fun looking back at the old ornaments we made when we were younger or were bought when we born. I’m the oldest, so I definitely had the most! I guess it’s just one of the bragging rights of being the oldest grandchild. ;) Anyways, after setting up the tree we all went to see the movie, “The Nativity Story.” I have to admit at first I wasn’t too excited to see the movie. I was mainly going to spend time with my grandparents and cousins. I figured I already know the story and what happens so it will probably not be very exciting, but I was definitely wrong. I really enjoyed the movie! I know that the way the people looked, the town, etc is all how a person or group of people thought it to be, but it really brought life to the story! I was able to see what a sacrifice it was for Mary and Joseph to be the “parents” of Jesus, Mary’s interaction with Elizabeth, the journey they took to Bethlehem, etc. I think one of the best parts of the movie was after Jesus was born and the angel spoke to the shepherds and they came to see baby Jesus. The shepherds all had a look of awe on their faces. They fell to their knees to worship the Son of God. I think you just have to see it, because I am not doing it justice. It was powerful! Then, the three wise men showed up bringing their gifts and seeing how honored they were to present these gifts to the Son of God who was humble enough to be born in a manger. It was a truly powerful movie and am so grateful that I got the opportunity to see it! I know this is a cliché statement, but it is SO easy to forget “the reason for the season.” This movie encouraged and challenged me. We think we know the “Christmas story” because we’ve heard it every year at Christmas time, but do we always grasp the power of this event? I don’t think so. I would encourage all of you to go see this movie and would love to hear what you thought!

As of earlier today, Friday, December 1^st, 2006, I am officially unemployed. Today was the last day of my job that I have had for a year and a half. This was my first “real job” and I can look back and honestly say it was a wonderful experience! I was blessed to work with some amazing women and have made some great friends! I don’t have much work experience to compare this to, but I know that I was blessed!

I learned so much in this past year and a half about myself, social work, work environments, people, and families. I was required to teach things such as parenting skills, budgeting skills, how to locate housing, deal with relationship issues, and so much more! I do admit that it was sometimes interesting offering parenting advice to people twice my age when I don’t have kids of my own and am not even married. I often joke with my mom that I will know how to handle every situation with my own kids when I am a parent. My mom just laughs. (I think she is in on the truth, that parents never know all the answers.) In addition to the skills that I have learned, I have also learned how I respond to certain situations. I learned what types of people I work best with, that I like to be organized, what I do when I’m stressed, how I remain calm in chaotic situations, etc. One of the most important things I learned from this job is the power of treating people with respect and listening. I could enter a home where the family was extremely upset and angry and after listening to them, affirming them, and respecting them, their attitudes would change. I loved to see that change! When I saw that change in the families, I always said to myself, “Yes! I’m in!” (insert cha-ching motion) This change was the beginning of empowering the families to make major changes in their own lives.

Overall, I developed positive and trusting relationships with the families that I worked with. In addition to the training and supervision I received, and listening and using respect, I feel that another key factor to these relationships was through prayer! I prayed for my families often. Their problems were often rolling around in my head causing me to think of them often. On my way to their homes, I would often turn off the radio and pray for their current issues and pray that my words, thoughts, actions, and expressions would be glorifying to God to lead them into an encounter with an active and living God. I wish that I could say that every family I worked with was successful. I wish that I could say that every family is now getting along and each parent knows what to do, but that would not be true. It is my prayer that through working with me, each family felt accepted, important, and loved, but most importantly they received a glimpse of a God who cares about them deeply no matter their past or current actions.

As much as I want to see Jesus in people throughout this trip, I want people to see Jesus in me as well. I am no where near “Jesus status.” I definitely mess up, don’t always treat people respectfully, or view them as Jesus does, but I think that if we choose to see each other as children of God, created in His image, how He wanted us to be, with our unique personalities and quirks, that this world would be a much better place! I would like to challenge you (and me too) to begin to be aware of how we view people and how we can change our perspective to God’s perspective. I know that it will be difficult at times, but I believe that people will be blessed, changed, and grown through this!