Thee abnormal Adventures of Jeff Kelly

With this new year many new and exciting adventures await me and I am privilege to have this medium to share them with you:

Christmas Day ‘09

My christmas was much different than yours but still a great time of relaxation and focus on what its all about. The ship had several meals catered with brilliant food spoiling us after a long year of service for thousands of others. While it was extremely hard being away from Family for Christmas I realized I was spending this terrific holiday with family, people I have spent every waking hour with for the last 16 months. I guess you can have family from 50 different countries… on the 25^th we opened all the cabins on the ship, spending hours with friends in the comfort of their decorated cabins, playing music, taking thousands of pictures and eating all their chocolate, a unique yet wonderful way to celebrate Christmas. I am really grateful for the opportunity to have spent it with these wonderful people for the last time, the environment was comfortable and laid back, a rarity much appreciated on board the Doulos.

Christmas Eve Ship painting

mmm Christmas Dinner

End of Commitment on board Doulos ( after 16 months)

I have known for a few weeks now that my time on the ship would end on January 8^th 2010 which gave me a great chance to end my commitment well. Having great talks with important people that have spoken positively into my life was one of the highlights during my last days. Its so important to finish well after so much time, effort, and emotions were poured into my time on the Doulos. My close friends played an integral part in my leaving, showering me with encouragement on my future, reflecting on how we could learn from the past, and ultimately focusing on what God has in store for us in the future. I am so grateful for these close brothers and sisters and the positive impact they have had in my life since joining this crazy ministry, these friends are what I will miss the most.

Enjoying dinner with friends on Christmas Eve

One last adventure

On the night before I was scheduled to leave the ship, 7 close bro’s and I went for a late night swim at a nearby abandoned harbor. Jumping off 30 foot ledges into warm tropical waters, laughing at each other, and challenging each other for the future were the highlights of the night. These men have carried me through hard trials on the ship, laughed with me during  good times, and really challenged me through love to grow closer to God and use my time wisely while on board, exactly the kind of influences a mother would desire her son to have. Another example of God answering your prayers Mom!!

Last night Adventures with my Brothers

3-2-1 Jump!!!!

When looking through the possibilities of what to do next in my life, I was bombarded by many appealing options both within Operation Mobilization and beyond. I decided to dedicate hours in prayer and fasting, seeking God’s direction over my own selfish desires, which is never easy but ultimately the right decision.

At one point I was seriously looking through 9 realistic options on how I could spend the next year of my life, places like Turkey, Morocco, India, Nepal, the Philippines and back home in the states were some of the serious options I faced. All these options sounded good to me in some way or another, and I could see God using me in each situation which didn’t make my decision any easier. I stayed positive and fought for much needed alone time with God, desperately seeking to meditate on the Bible and be still in his presence listening for the answer. It didn’t come like the obvious loud audible voice I was pleading for but God knows how we need to hear things and it turned out to be just as effective.

Committing all these decisions into God’s hands gave me peace and assurance that he was in control and the right choice would eventually be made. I decided that I would be open to any of these options but would allow important, wise people that God has placed into my life to make the decision for me. These wise people being my home church pastor, my parents, and a few people that have been heavily involved with world missions for years.

HEAD DIP

The Decision

Well I asked and the results came back unanimous. After a few of the aforementioned options were eliminated through circumstances like visa’s, support costs, and practicality I was left with only a few realistic opportunities. It was during this time that I saw how God uses the things of this world in order for us to make the decision more obvious, on which path to follow.

It was decided that I will stay with Operation mobilization for the remainder of my commitment, (8 months) and work with their Ministry in Nepal. Having grown up in a town which sits at sea level and never doing any real hiking I have yet to develop a passion for trekking or being in the mountains. With nicknames like Surfer Dude and Beach boy, Nepal is the last place you would expect me to live, trust me so did I. Thats the great thing I am learning more and more about our God though, you cannot put him in a box or limit his creativity and power. He knew all along that the Doulos would not go to the Middle East, that it would fail inspections and that I would move on from the ministry there to work elsewhere. While this may be a big surprise to me and you, God is not in shock! It is only through complete trust in Him, (which is a gift from him) that He unveils these unbelievable paths to take in life.

The Details

Because of the sensitivity of the area and the workers in this country I cannot go into great detail about what I will be doing at this time but I can share a few things with you on what I plan to expect once in Kathmandu, Nepal. My commitment with Om Nepal is for 5 months, mainly due to the 5 month tourist visa I can obtain hassle free. I feel that 5 months is a perfect amount of time to get a great feel for the country, its spiritual needs, and find out if this is something God has called me to take up long- term.

I will join a group of 8 others who will join with me from various countries, starting as a team at the same time. We will all go through the same training and will be given specific orientation to Nepali culture, OM team life, and the specific ministry. As I am doing ministry I will be involved in training programs to develop my personal spiritual life as well as developing in the language, culture, and beliefs of the Nepali people.

I will begin with language study and orientation, but at the same time be integrated into a personal ministry. The ministry will include friendship evangelism, evangelistic meetings, ministry to children, discipleship time with a new Christian, compassionate outreach and social concern, or other creative methods of evangelism. Trekking, team outreaches including school programs, tracting, street evangelism, programs to encourage local churches and other opportunities are available.

I’ve been told to be ready for anything! The team will be a multi-national team. Team members will have the opportunity to cook for each other. Also getting the chance quite often to eat local food, the Nepali people love to cook to show hospitality and will often bless us with a special home-cooked meal.

Where am I now?

Having left the ship on the 8^th of January and not starting with the team in Nepal until the 24 day of January has left me 2 weeks time to have a short break. I will use this time away from the field to process the last 16 months of intense ministry on the ship as well as prepare myself emotionally and physically for the upcoming 5 months in Nepal. This has really been a gift from God and so many things have gone into this in order for it to happen. I have a great, generous, American friend named lawrence Todd living in the business district of the Philippines, who has welcomed me openly to stay with him for these 2 weeks. A true friend who I have stayed with on numerous occasions in previous years and have been blessed by his friendship. Counting my blessings the other day I thought how wonderful it is to have a friend from University right around the corner in Asia, with a great open heart making this transition period a blessing in my life. I plan on staying here in the philippines until the 22^nd of January and then fly from here directly to Kathmandu, Nepal to start the next adventure.

Jeff and Lawrence

Prayer requests for my time here in the Philippines:

• Use this time wisely, 2 weeks can go very fast pray that God will bless me with great fellowship with Lawrence,  prepare my heart for the next step.
• Be more people focused, that God would create a burning desire in me to spend time with people and care fr their needs in a servants way.
• Finding time for spiritual growth, even though this is a time away from ministry pray that God will still reveal himself to me creating opportunities to do good deeds here for people.
  

  Leaving the ship in Singapore

  

  Good bye Doulos, Thank you!!!!