Getting out of my comfort zone

Tonight we had our first small group meeting and it was really great reading the bible and talking about struggles and blessings with other women. Some days it is very difficult being so far away from family, but more and more God confirms and reconfirms our need to be here. I think Chris and I were stuck in our comfort zones in KY and didn't even know it. We thought being in the ministry was hard and it definitely can be, but we found ourselves surrounded by Christians or at least people who went to church and claimed to be Christians but didn't always treat others like Christ would have. Now that we are here, I am so much more aware of the world outside of church and the hurt that so many people carry around with them without knowing what to do with it. I am ashamed to have gone so long in life being a Christian, sometimes setting a bad example for some of the friends and family in my life and worse yet never really getting to know lost people closely enough to share with them the best thing I have to offer--salvation through Jesus Christ.

I will forever remember my friend Jason in college who died of brain cancer. I honestly don't know if he was going to Heaven or Hell when he died. According to statistics, it is most likely that he went to Hell. I am very sad about that and I have asked for forgiveness over and over again even though I only need to ask once--I just can't seem to forgive myself. I do not want to continue down this path of cowardliness and shyness. I want others around me to know that the best thing I know is that Jesus Christ died for my sins, I believe it, I accept it and my life changed because of it. I just want other's lives to be changed too.

Jenny