FrienDay FriDay :D

FrienDay FriDay is where post a "new friend" that I meet, 

or something that is definitive of the Wildwood experience

 that I would text a picture of to a good friend..

I know it's suppose to be a picture of a "friend" that I meet, but I met up with many friends when I was at the Epicenter conference Interpreting this past weekend (MLK weekend) and I met new friends, but since I was busy interpreting the whole time, I didn't get a chance to take any pictures myself. This picture was taken by the conference staff and shows me doing what I do - terpin'! :)

[what]S'up, Wednesday?

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************

Happenings: so, I'm still in the Northeast.. below, my schedule might give a better idea of where I am and what I'm doing.. :) Yesterday I made it to Baltimore (before the snow hit) and was blessed by all the people that God put in my path to help this weary pregnant lady ;) board and de-board the "lite-rail" train with my 4 suitcases of stuff! :) I also got to see a friend from the 2010 Summer Project and meet some new friends who graciously allowed me to stay the night (so I didn't get stuck in the snow/weather delays of public transportation) :) Today, the snow fall has subsided and now I'm bound for D.C. :)

Schedule: JAN 22 - FEB 1 - In Washington, D.C. visiting Churches, 
                                              Gallaudet University, and talking with potential 
                                              supporters. 
                  FEB 2 - FEB 7 -  In Philly, visiting a Deaf Christian college 
                                              ministry program (VFCC) and sharing 
                                              about WWSP opportunity.
                  FEB 8 - FEB 13 - Just outside of NYC, giving presentations 
                                               at Churches, and meeting potential supporters
                 FEB 14 - FEB 15 - At my friend (fellow interpreter support team 
                                                for the past 2 years) Cory and Natalie's 
                                                 wedding in Connecticut. :)
                FEB 16 - FLY HOME! :D

Finances:  I have received $500 towards the $5,000 I need to raise to begin my support raising journey for my part time staff position. If you would like to give a one-time gift towards this amount, please contact me so I can get you my address. You will need to send it in check form, as the account has not yet been set up online. 
I am also still raising funds for Wildwood. If you would like to make a monetary donation towards the Wildwood ASL Interpreter Fund please do so here: https://give.cru.org/2870830
I appreciate your generosity. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

[what]S'up, Wednesday? - *SPECIAL SUNDAY EDITION*

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************

Happenings: On Sunday, January 5th, I was planning to fly to New Jersey for the weekend to interpret at a friends wedding. I was not however planning to stay in the Northeast for a month! By Wednesday, January 8th though, I was indeed packing and making arraignments with friends to "couch surf" from January 11th to February 13th. The trip came together quite fast, I must say - but it has the usual M.O. of God's previous recruiting journeys for me. In the sidebar, I say "serv[ing] my Adoni by joining him on such a grand adventure... is never boring ". That is the best summary of my time with Cru recruiting trips thus far. Azael attended our friends wedding with me in January, and will attend a second friends wedding in February (where we'll see each other again after a month apart). Yes, it is hard to be away from him. Yes, my baby is still making my tummy upset :( BUT yes, I know this is the right thing to do for the moment :)

Schedule: JAN 17 - JAN 20 - Interpreting at a Cru conference in Albany, NY. 
                                               Also, finalizing details with regional staff (who 
                                               are at the conference) about my part 
                                                time position with Cru. :)
                 

Finances:  The conversation with the regional staff went very well. Basically she said, if you can raise $5,000 by Monday, January 20th, then we can hire you right now. If I can be hired "now", then I can get paid for the recruiting that I am doing up here in the NE for the next 3 weeks. Getting paid would be nice. But, it's the weekend, and I am interpreting at a conference for the better part of all day. So, let's see what God does :) If you are interested in giving a one-time gift towards this $5,000 number, please text me (my number will be in the email) or reply to the email (as it come to my phone) so that I can tell my regional supervisor whether or not we can go ahead with the hiring process. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

[what]S'up, Wednesday?

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************

Happenings: Azael and I got married on Sept 29th (and October 5th in Honduras). We moved to a rent house in Tulsa, and have been getting settled. Setting up house has been fun, and we've been blessed with many appliances and furniture pieces at little or no cost to us! :) In November, I was diagnosed with mono induced hepatitis :( and had to spend the night in the hospital to monitor my jaundiced (very yellow!) skin turning white again. The hepatitis (inflammation of the liver) has subsided, but I am still feeling the exhaustion of the mono at times. We also found out that I am "with child" - due late July. Yes, you calculated that right - 3 months married, 2 and 1/2 months pregnant! ;)

ALSO - For those interested, there are photos of our wedding up at jennazael.wix.com/sept29 under the GALLERY tab. There is a link that will take you to our photographers website, and you'll be able to see pictures of the wedding party as well as the wedding itself. We hope to have a video up shortly, but we are still waiting on our videographer for the edited copy. We'll let you know when it's completed :) 

Schedule: In the last "[what]'Sup, Wednesday?" I erroneously mentioned that I would be updating this blog the first Wednesday of every month. I had high ambitions, but then we had no internet access for the first month we lived in our new house. Mono struck the following month, and here I am updating the first day of 2014, four months later.. My apologies! (my new years resolution will be to post monthly! Would you join me in praying that I make it a habit) :D

Finances:  I mentioned in the August post that I will be joining Cru part-time as I continue to network and fund-raise for Deaf students to have accessible Summer Projects. If you would like to support me personally on a Month to Month commitment, please send me a message so I can get you those details. As for the Wildwood Summer Project Interpreter Fund, I am still in the process of raising funds for this upcoming Summer 2014. I realize that I missed (as of yesterday) the "year end giving" push, but if you'd like to make giving be the first thing you do in the new year ;) then you can make a monetary donation towards the WWSP Interpreter Fund here: https://give.cru.org/2870830
I appreciate God prompting you to give and thank you for your generosity. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

[what]S'up, Wednesday?

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************

Happenings: We (Azael and I) have been back in Tulsa for 3 weeks now. Adjusting back to a "day job" has taken some time for me, as I get used to our "night shift" schedule that we work the second half of the summer. :(  
I am, however, in the midst of becoming part-time with Cru. A regional staff member and I have been talking about the position we are creating for the growing needs of Deaf students being involved in Summer Projects. Meaning (after I raise the monthly support) I'll start getting paid for what I've been doing on a volunteer basis for the last four years. I like when a passion turns into a paying job to put food on the table! :D

Schedule: When I become part-time staff, I'll start doing a monthly update instead of weekly updates. Beginning next week (in September), I will be changing the "[what]'Sup, Wednesday?" message to come out only the first Wednesday of every month. I'll be following up with all my supporters to see if you subscribe to the blog or would like to receive weekly emails. 
ALSO - for all of you (near and far) you're invited to the [Azael and I's] wedding! :) please go to jennazael.wix.com/sept29 and RSVP for the event, check out our wedding registry and see our fun pictures! :) 

Finances:  I am still a little over $3,000 short for this summer. Being in the middle of wedding plans, I've not had much time to follow up with the budget shortfall. I will be working to balance the account soon. Please see my previous "[what]S'up, Wednesday?" from July for the reason that my account is in a deficit. If you would like to make a monetary donation towards that number please do so here: https://give.cru.org/2870830
I appreciate your generosity. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

[what]S'up, Wednesday?

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************

Happenings: After 5 days of travel, (staying with friends, and allowing the boys to see some of America = Philly, D.C. and St. Louis) we made it home on Monday! Project ended well. The students had mostly everything packed up before midnight last Wednesday, even when it decided to rain midway through the day as they were loading things into the U-haul. The Deaf students, Azael and myself with a Deaf couple from the community stayed till noon on Thursday and enjoyed one last brunch together of fellowship before we went our different ways. Now we're back in Oklahoma and Azael and I have 46 days until our wedding!  

Schedule: In addition to the month and some change until Azael and I's wedding, I am also continuing to raise funds for the shortfall of this summer, and will begin raising funds for myself to join Cru Staff part time this fall. Cru Summer Projects close their books on August 31st, and so I will be busy these next few weeks trying to find funding for the deficit. If you are interested in joining a monthly support team for either the Interpreting fund, or my own personal work, please let me know. :)

Finances:  I am still a little over $3,000 short for this summer. Please see my previous "[what]S'up, Wednesday?" from July for the reason that my account is in a deficit. If you would like to make a monetary donation towards that number please do so here: https://give.cru.org/2870830
I appreciate your generosity. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

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Deaf student Bio's and updates as of the end of Project: Five down, and one to go!

Azael Perry, Heidi Birchler, Joel Herrera, Dennis Alvarez, and Taby Benavides - are fully supported!  Thanks so much for your generosity

Jacob Walden - has $500 left. He is a Community College student in Oklahoma. Involved in the Deaf Bible Study for College Students. I'm so proud of Jacob in the ways he has grown this summer and look forward to how he will apply the tools he's gained here to life back in Oklahoma. You can help him reach his goal here: https://give.cru.org/0766419

[what]S'up, Wednesday?

"[what]S'up, Wednesday?" is a place where I give weekly updates about how day to day life is going here in Wildwood, New Jersey. It will typically include something that has just happened, a "forecast of a schedule (always subject to change), and an update on my financial situation.. :)
          ******************************************************************
Happenings: Today is the last official day of Project.. This morning the students will have a debrief about the summer, encouraging them to take all the things they learned here and apply them back on their campus. After lunch, it's time to load everything ..(and I mean EverYthInG).. into a storage unit for the summer. This is the first year that we've had to move everything out of the house, and it's a relatively last minute addition to the day's plans.. The goal is to finish the move out by 8pm-ish.. I think that is a lofty goal BUT many hands make light work.. so if you think of us today, please pray that the students would be diligent to complete the task at hand, as we won't be starting this endeavor until around 1pm. (I also need to pack up the van, and get some last minute things done.. so prayers for my sanity are appreciated as well) :D

Schedule: 
Today [Wednesday] Cara heads home in the afternoon.. and Lindsey and Cory leave in the weeee hours of "tomorrow" morning so Lindsey can catch her 6am flight to the mid-west.
Tomorrow [Thursday] we (Azael, myself and the 3 Deaf boys on project) head to Philly to see some of the sights and visit a couple that Azael and I met back in 2010. They are both interpreters. We're looking forward to fellowshiping with them as we start our cross country drive home..
Friday we'll be in the D.C. area..
Saturday it's on to Kentucky to see Azael's friend from college..
Sunday we'll make it back to Fulton, Missouri..
and our final drive home should be on Monday.. *whew* :)

Finances:  I am still about $3,000 short for this summer. Please see my previous "[what]S'up, Wednesday?" for the reason that my account is in a deficit. If you would like to make a monetary donation towards that number please do so here: https://give.cru.org/2870830
I appreciate your generosity. 

Soli Deo Gloria
:D

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Deaf student Bio's and updates as of yesterday:

Azael Perry, Heidi Birchler, Joel Herrera, and Taby Benavides - are fully supported!  Thanks so much for your generosity

Jacob Walden - has $500 left. He is a Community College student in Oklahoma. Involved in the Deaf Bible Study for College Students. I'm so proud of Jacob in the ways he has grown this summer and look forward to how he will apply the tools he's gained here to life back in Oklahoma. You can help him reach his goal here: https://give.cru.org/0766419

Dennis Alvarez - has right at half ($1,000) left. He flew from Honduras on May 31st. He is learning ASL since they use LESHO in Honduras. He has been learning and growing tremendously. Since he only has a 6 month visa from Honduras, he doesn't come from a large support base here in the States, thus he's had trouble knowing how to culturally navigate the support raising process :) You can help him reach his goal here: https://give.cru.org/0758657