Kendall Explains It All

Family and friends always ask us how Kendall does on mission trips. We thought it might be more fun if we answer this from her perspective instead of ours. We asked friends and family to send us their questions. Here goes!

1. What is your favorite part about going on mission trips? 

Kendall: Well, my favorite part about mission trips is playing with the kids. 

2. What is your least favorite part about going on mission trips?

Kendall: In Africa I didn't like most of the food. I don't like nshima or cabbage. 

3. Why do you think it's important to go?

Kendall: Because Jesus calls us. 

4. What do you look forward to doing?

Kendall: Hmmmm... Well, when I was in the airplane I was looking forward to learning what the kids do around there.

5. Did you like Africa or Haiti better?

Kendall: Both. In Africa, I liked hanging out with my friends. In Haiti, I liked playing games with the kids. 

6. How do you feel about seeing children your age living in impoverished conditions?

Kendall: What does impoverished mean? Well, I feel sad for them. 

7. What do you think about how children in other countries interact with each other and their family members? 

Kendall: In Haiti, the kids would fight over fruit and throw rocks at each other because they were hungry. I haven't seen that happen here. 

8. Do you ever need alone time?

Kendall: Yes, I would go inside and take breaks.

9. Do you like trying new foods?

Kendall: Yes!

10. What country would you like to go to next?

Kendall: Oh, that is a hard question! Let's see... West Virginia.

11. What was your favorite food that you tried in another country?

Kendall: In Haiti I liked the chicken and red beans with rice. 

12. What was your least favorite food that you tried in another country? 

Kendall:  Maheu. 

13. Is there anything that people do/cultural practices in other countries that you wish were part of American culture too?

Kendall: Eat their food. 

14. Would you like to learn other languages?

Kendall: I want to!

15. Which languages?

Kendall: All of them!

16. What are the most funny things that you have experienced in other countries? 

Kendall: Laventa, (in Haiti) was the teacher and you had to do what she said or she spanked you with a stick. However, I had no idea what she was saying. She tried to spank me a lot. I had to tell her pa touché! (Don't touch!)

17. What would you tell someone who is afraid to leave the U.S.?

Kendall: Well, I would say that I was scared to go to Africa and Haiti. I got over it by going to those places and learning that they weren't scary. 

18. What would you tell someone who is worried that they might get sick or hurt on a mission trip?

Kendall: I would tell them to pray about it. If they get sick they should pray to God that they feel better. Sometimes, there are doctors and medicine in other counties that would make them feel better. They could bring medicine with them if the airporters let them. 

19. Can you talk to the children without any problem?

Kendall: Yes, sometimes they understand me. 

20. Is there anything else you would like to say?

Kendall: I don't like how they treat dogs in other countries, but they aren't pets like they are in America.

We're home from Ayiti...

That's what the Haitians call Haiti- Ayiti. I like it better the way they pronounce it!

WOW!! What a trip! We really enjoyed serving the Lord in Haiti! While there our team had the honor of working on a local area in the mountains of Tityanen. We painted a school building and office, worked on equipment in the facilities, built soccer goals, visited an orphanage and repaired bunk beds there, visited a voodoo village and prayed for the voodoo priest, shared the Jesus film in his village, loved on the kids, and built relationships. Joe also got to preach! He preached the main service on Sunday morning and Wednesday night. Written there it looks neat, but it shows no depth to what we actually did. 

God moved in a mighty way during this trip. Some came to know Christ and God was definitely lived out in our team's actions. During our time in Haiti, we were able to really develop relationships with the locals. Some of the team sponsors local kids so that they can go to school.

One of the things we want to encourage you with is a story from what we witnessed. One day while in Haiti, we were able to witness a garbage truck driving down the road with people chasing after the truck, jumping in it and scavenging for food and anything else they can use. This was hard to see but also a great reminder of making sure that we are being good stewards of what God has given us.



As God continues to lead our family to serve Him in the nations, we want to thank you for your prayers and financial support. We are serving Him wherever we are in order to make Him known. Salvation belongs to the Lord!!

If you would like to sit down and talk about the trip. Please contact us. We are putting together a DVD of the trip so you can witness some of what God was up to.

P.S. Jenn is headed to Guatamala in October with an organization that rescues babies from the mountains. Please be in prayer for her. She is still looking to meet her financial goal by the end of this month! If you want to get involved, please contact us!

P.P.S. She will be collecting these items to bring with her. If you would like to donate any of these, please contact us!

Ibuprofen / motrin / advil - tablets, capsules and chewables for children and drops for infants
Acetominophen / Tylenol - tablets, capsules and chewables for children and drops for infants
Antihistamines – Benadryl, Zyrtec, or Claritin for adults and children
Artificial tears
Elimite or Rid (for lice)
Loperamide / immodium (diarrhea)
Calcium Carbonate tabs such as Tums
Miralax (for constipation - good for kids and adults)
Colace / stool softeners
Verucca freeze (to treat warts)
Compound W or Dr. Scholl's salicylic acid pads (to treat warts)
Bacitracin antibiotic ointment (individual packets)
Clotrimizole or other anti-fungal cream / ointment
Hydrocortisone cream
Multi vitamins for:
Adults,
Prenatal,
Children 4 year old + (No Gummy vitamins as they melt in the heat) without iron if possible
Children 2 -3 without iron if possible
Infants


In His Love,

The Hennis Family

7 days until Haiti!

If Jesus Christ be God and died for me, then no sacrifice can be too great for me to make for Him.
C.T. Studd

7 days from today we'll be headed to Haiti! To tell you that we are excited would be a gross understatement. As a family, we're so ready to be there and see what God is going to do! We've been doing a countdown everyday. Kendall loves it! As soon as she wakes up everyday she's ready to decorate our countdown paper! 

We're traveling to Titanyen, which is located in the mountains of Haiti. We will be serving the local people alongside Truth Evangelistic Ministries who have been in Haiti for fifteen years serving God faithfully. This trip will consist of building on to a school and fixing up local facilities. In addition to this construction, we will have the opportunity to visit in two voodoo villages, preach, teach, and work in the discipleship process.

While we are there Jenn and Kendall will wear skirts knee length or longer with shirts with sleeves and headbands. Joe will need to always wear pants and then for church a collared shirt. 

Prayer Requests

• Pray for the team to focus on His Power not their abilities.
• Pray for the people to be open to the Gospel.
• Pray that the people will see Christ in everything that is said and done.
• Pray for the Spirit to penetrate this area.
• Pray for the team to transition well into this area.

Jenn will still be headed to Guatemala in October! Please be praying for this trip! She will be there from October 19th- October 25th. While there the team will care for malnourished children at the Operation Baby Rescue center, visit remote Guatemalan communities and perform medical clinics for the villagers and pass out shoes, work at St. Luke's Hospital and Kelly's House, interact with with orphans at the Hope of Life children's home in Zacapa, as well as visit the Feeding Center at a community based around a trash dump. She needs about $2,000 for this trip. This includes all in-country transportation, lodging, meals, international medical insurance, and airport fees.

Thank you for partnering with us in prayer and financial support! We live for His Glory!

In His Amazing Love, 
Joe, Jenn, and Kendall Hennis

For from Him and through Him and to Him are all things. To Him be glory forever! Amen!
Romans 11:36

looking back

I can still remember everything about this day seven years ago...

Getting up and having my makeup and hair done. Getting ready with all my girls in the choir room of the church. I was three months pregnant. My dress was too big from all the weight I lost from morning sickness. I forgot my wedding jewelry. My girls looked beautiful. I was sick and had no voice to say my vows with.

 My soon-to-be father-in-law showed up in a tux with a bow tie on the advice of his son. The rest of the guys had on suits and ties. The best man had a black eye from being sucker punched the previous weekend. My dad helped the groom and groomsmen with their boutonnieres. My groom showed up hung over.

We were an attractive looking motley crew.

Joe cried when he saw me.

I cried the whole way down the aisle with my dad holding my arm.

Joe carried me over the threshold when we got back to our house for the reception.

I threatened him with the cake cutter if he smashed cake in my face.

The next year proved to be hell on Earth. We barely made it through alive, literally. During that year we welcomed our daughter into the world, Joe struggled with addiction, and our marriage was a hot mess. We thought we knew what we were doing. We were just kids.

We accepted Jesus into our hearts and our lives were flipped upside down.

For the first time we understood what love was.

God brought beauty from ashes.

Today, we celebrate seven years of marriage.

We praise Him for His faithfulness.

It is worth fighting for.

Happy Anniversary my love!

Thank you Lord!

"The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness." Lamentations 3:22-23

Shelfie: Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty

Book Description: In the age of fingertip access to answers and a limitless supply of ambitions, where do we find the God who was birthed in dirt and straw? Sara Hagerty found him when life stopped working for her. She found him when she was a young adult mired in spiritual busyness and when she was a new bride with doubts about whether her fledgling marriage would survive. She found him alone in the night as she cradled her longing for babies who did not come. She found him as she kissed the faces of children on another continent who had lived years without a mommy’s touch.

In Every Bitter Thing Is Sweet, Hagerty masterfully draws from the narrative of her life to craft a mosaic of a God who leans into broken stories. Here readers see a God who is present in every changing circumstance. Most significantly, they see a God who is present in every unchanging circumstance as well.

Whatever lost expectations readers are facing—in family, career, singleness, or marriage—Every Bitter Thing Is Sweetwill bring them closer to a God who longs for them to know him more. What does it look like to know God’s nearness when life breaks? What does it mean to receive his life when earthly life remains barren? How can God turn the bitterness of unmet desire into new flavors of joy?

With exquisite storytelling and reflection, Hagerty brings readers back to hope, back to healing, back to a place that God is holding for them alone—a place where the unseen is more real than what the eye can perceive. A place where every bitter thing is sweet.

Book Review: Every Bitter Thing is Sweet by Sara Hagerty is a beautiful story of one couples journey in marriage, infertility, adoption, but mostly with God. Sara expounds on Proverb 27:7 and how that lived out in her own life. The first few chapters of the book were hard for me to get into. It felt to me a little choppy and at times hard to follow. I loved the subsequent chapters though! Reading Sara's story was also hard for me where our stories aligned in marriage, infertility, and our relationship with God. One of my favorite parts of this book were the correlating verses at the end of every chapter! I loved seeing how God worked in her adoptions and the relationships with her children. You could almost feel how they were all knit together. Sara's book asks you to take a deeper look into the hurts in your life and your relationship with God. In every situation we have the opportunity to be ruled by our circumstances or to adore our Creator. This book inspired me to continue to delve into what it means to adore God in every aspect of my life- no matter what. 

I would recommend this book to others. If it seems hard to get into at first- keep going it gets better!

BookLook Bloggers provided me with a complimentary copy of this book.The opinions are my own.*

Round We Go

Every time we got to a new village I asked God the same question. What should I share with these ladies?

Every time I got the same answer- share your testimony and 1 John 3:16.

By the second day, I was a little frustrated. We were doing eight bible studies that week.

“God, why do you want me to keep sharing my testimony and that verse? Can’t I share on something else?”

Silence.

So at every village when I was introduced I shared the shorthand of our testimony. It went something like this minus the pausing for the interpreter:

“I’m married to Big Joe. Our first year of marriage was very bad. Joe drank a lot and did a lot of drugs. I didn’t respect him because he did those things. Joe didn’t love me the way I thought I should be loved, because I didn’t respect him. It was a very bad cycle. After our daughter was born (at this point Kendall would usually smile really big and point at herself) Joe and I separated for a period of time. It was during that time that Joe tried to kill himself. When you try to hurt yourself in the states many times they send you to a hospital. They also send a very big truck called an ambulance to pick you up. The driver of the ambulance was on a very busy road and while driving asked Joe if he knew Jesus. You see we had gone to church many times, but we just listened and never applied it to our lives. It’s what you call pew potatoes. So, when the driver asked Joe if he had heard of Jesus- we had. We just never understood in our hearts. The driver asked Joe if he’d like to accept Christ right then, pulled off the side of the road, jumped into the back with Joe, and he accepted Christ right then! During the time we were apart I also accepted Christ. Nothing about our lives were the same after that. We didn’t walk the same, we didn’t talk the same, our lives were different. You see for the first time in our lives we understood what true love was. When you understand and receive God’s love it changes everything. God restored our marriage! Joe and I could love each other right for the first time as well as others. It’s that love that compelled us to fly for three days in a big airplane to be here with you. So that we could share with you how much God loves you and what He can do in your lives. I also would like to share a verse with you it’s 1 John 3:16, By this we know love, because He laid down His life for us. And we also ought to lay down our lives for the brethren.”

Not a bad thing to share, but I was tired of talking about myself.

It wasn’t about me though.

What I would later find out is that these women understood husbands that drank a lot, because many of them have one.

Alcoholism is a problem here. Drinking in Zambia is not the same as in the states. It doesn’t taste good. It’s straight up alcohol. So the only reason to drink here is to get drunk.

At one of the bible studies I got to pray for a young girl named Mercy who was married to such a husband. She had a baby on her hip and one in her belly. Mercy was ready to go back home to her parents’ village because she was not happy with her husband.

Very humbling.

On Friday of that same week a man went up to Joe at a leaders meeting and told him that my testimony was very encouraging to his wife.

God knew exactly what those women needed to hear. He already knew that they could relate. All I needed to do was be obedient to what He told me.

All I needed to do was share my love story with God- with others.

I encourage you to do the same when God prompts you.

In His Love,

Jennis