Latest / Where We Rise / 35 | "God is Good" | Unshakable Faith and Hope

Transcript

35 | "God is Good" | Unshakable Faith and Hope · Where We Rise

0:00
Khalila McCoy: Hey, I'm Khalila McCoy, and this is a show where joy is contained.
0:06
Khalila McCoy: This is where we ride.
0:10
Khalila McCoy: Hi there.
0:14
Khalila McCoy: I am really glad you're here with me today because do I have a story for you to hear?
0:19
Khalila McCoy: My guest has lived through some pretty heavy stuff.
0:22
Khalila McCoy: I'm talking abuse, attempted murder, war zones, health scares, and somehow through all of that, she still declares God is good.
0:33
Khalila McCoy: Jennifer Summers, Mama Jennifer, as she's known in Africa, or simply Jenna, accepted Jesus into her heart as a young girl and has always felt led to share the love she believes he placed in her.
0:46
Khalila McCoy: And today she opens up about moments when it looked like she had every reason to question her faith, but she chose to believe anyway.
0:54
Khalila McCoy: This podcast is all about being inspired and connecting with the resilience and hope of others.
1:00
Khalila McCoy: So I hope you let this story speak to you.
1:03
Khalila McCoy: Jenna's story will have you pausing, reflecting, and really thinking about the strength it takes to keep going when life tries to knock you down.
1:12
Khalila McCoy: She's lived through things most people never will, yet she carries this steady, unwavering belief that goodness shows up even in the most unlikely places.
1:22
Khalila McCoy: So settle in as Mama Jennifer shares her life with us.
1:28
Khalila McCoy: All right, I'm here with Mama Jennifer.
1:32
Khalila McCoy: Hi Jennifer, how are you today?
1:34
Jennifer Summers: Oh, I'm doing great.
1:36
Jennifer Summers: It's beautiful today.
1:38
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, we're having a heat wave here in Ohio right now, so it's kind of nice and the sun is shining.
1:44
Khalila McCoy: And I'm excited to talk to you.
1:46
Khalila McCoy: You already have a cheery disposition.
1:48
Khalila McCoy: I love the sound of your voice.
1:50
Jennifer Summers: Uh uh, thank you.
1:51
Jennifer Summers: I um I'm real happy to be on here and get to share my story with everyone.
1:58
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, you have a great story.
2:00
Khalila McCoy: We talked about this a little bit.
2:01
Khalila McCoy: I know you have a book that we can find, right?
2:04
Khalila McCoy: And where can we get that book?
2:06
Jennifer Summers: Uh, it's on Amazon, Barnes Noble, a lot of different outlets, but Amazon would be the greatest place.
2:13
Jennifer Summers: And it's called Mama Jennifer, M A M A Jennifer on Amazon.
2:19
Khalila McCoy: So and I know we'll be able to go a little bit deeper into what you're gonna talk about today through that book.
2:26
Khalila McCoy: So I definitely have it on my list to look at and to get.
2:29
Khalila McCoy: Before you start to tell your story about everything that you've been through, I know you it's been kind of a roller coaster of a life that you've made through.
2:39
Khalila McCoy: Tell us about who you are today.
2:42
Khalila McCoy: What are you proud of about yourself today?
2:47
Jennifer Summers: Oh, I'm I'm proud that um that God has brought me through so many um things in my life and how I've turned everything in my life, I've turned pain into purpose.
3:00
Jennifer Summers: And um I'm just really happy in my life because um of the journey that I've had with faith, hope, and adventure.
3:10
Jennifer Summers: And um, you know, God has been really good to me.
3:16
Khalila McCoy: We'll get into, like I said, the details of that, but we already know you're gonna be talking about some deep heavy things, and you're talking about already how God has gotten you through that.
3:28
Khalila McCoy: How do you look back at everything that you've gone through and still say thank you, God?
3:36
Jennifer Summers: Oh, I look through everything that God has uh brought me to through, and I still say thank you because um, you know, he's just everything was his plan and everything was his purpose.
3:50
Jennifer Summers: And it's made me a better, stronger person in life, and I have so much resilience, and I have so much joy in my life because I've seen the hand of God Himself helping me through the struggles that I've gone through, you know, like um abuse as a young girl, and um and also, you know, uh going through being a horrific attack and all.
4:18
Jennifer Summers: God has been really good to me.
4:20
Khalila McCoy: Yeah.
4:21
Jennifer Summers: But I can say thank you, God, for everything you've done.
4:25
Khalila McCoy: So tell us about where your story starts.
4:29
Jennifer Summers: Um, the story starts out, um, I guess I'll say when I when I was a little girl.
4:36
Jennifer Summers: But at the beginning, it's in Africa.
4:38
Jennifer Summers: Um, it talks about me uh working in the villages.
4:43
Jennifer Summers: I worked with trauma victims and I developed schools for street children.
4:48
Jennifer Summers: But at the office I had in the village town, there was one day that um all these people would be outside my law office, and even women would walk for seven days to come see me, some of them.
5:03
Jennifer Summers: They wanted to see me because I've gone through the trauma and tragedies that they've been through in their life and meeting being a foreigner and in their country, you know.
5:13
Jennifer Summers: So they looked at me, you know, with a lot of love.
5:18
Jennifer Summers: But this particular day, nobody was there, and I was um, God always gave me a feeling when something wasn't right.
5:27
Jennifer Summers: So I went out my office and I got in my car and I started driving.
5:33
Jennifer Summers: And I say hell broke loose because all those people they had machetes and were killing each other.
5:42
Jennifer Summers: And I was in the middle of it.
5:44
Jennifer Summers: And then, you know, there were helicopters above.
5:48
Jennifer Summers: There were supposed to be shooting rubber bullets in the military, but I think there were real bullets.
5:55
Jennifer Summers: And on them, you know, it's sad, but you know, people were being burned too.
6:00
Jennifer Summers: But I was praying all the time, and uh that God would get me home.
6:06
Jennifer Summers: And and when something something like that happens, you don't have time to be afraid.
6:11
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
6:12
Jennifer Summers: But they were throwing rocks and trying to bust out my windows, and I made it out of there because of God.
6:19
Khalila McCoy: Wow.
6:20
Jennifer Summers: But the book starts with that, and then it goes into when I was a little girl.
6:26
Jennifer Summers: Huh?
6:26
Jennifer Summers: When I was a little girl, my father, he's a big man.
6:30
Jennifer Summers: They call him Big John because he's a was a was a golden glove boxer.
6:34
Jennifer Summers: Not a little bitty thing.
6:36
Jennifer Summers: So, but when I was four and five, he took me to there was this little store and it had a Bible storybook there.
6:44
Jennifer Summers: And I just begged and begged him to buy that, and he bought it, and we went home and I begged and begged for him to read it.
6:54
Jennifer Summers: Here he was, a man that did not know God, did not have Jesus in his life, and he read the story about Jesus dying on the cross for my sins and how he rose again.
7:07
Jennifer Summers: And at that moment, my father, that was a lost man, planted the seed.
7:13
Jennifer Summers: But he also was the man who later on caused a lot of my pain also in my life abuse.
7:20
Jennifer Summers: But yeah, so um, but God brought me through that abuse, and uh I um, you know, God brought people in my life, you know, I call them angels, right?
7:35
Jennifer Summers: Through my booty, you know, through the trauma or the beatings and all that I went through.
7:41
Jennifer Summers: And and then there was this elderly couple when I was 12.
7:46
Jennifer Summers: They came to my father and had a grocery store at that time.
7:50
Jennifer Summers: And the woman she wore a big old sack dress, you know, and the old man he he wore a cap and had overalls on.
8:01
Jennifer Summers: So, you know, I lived in a really small town.
8:05
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, they came in and they asked if they could take me to church, and my father said yes.
8:12
Jennifer Summers: I was so happy.
8:14
Jennifer Summers: But then I went to their little church, and of course it was out in the country, and I don't know if you know what an outhouse is, do you?
8:22
Khalila McCoy: I haven't seen them in movies.
8:26
Jennifer Summers: It was just like Africa.
8:28
Jennifer Summers: I had a little toilet out there, but in Africa, just a hole in the ground, you know.
8:35
Jennifer Summers: You go to the toilet.
8:36
Jennifer Summers: We call it Joe.
8:37
Jennifer Summers: But anyway, it was an old church, and I would keep walking down the aisle, walking down the aisle because I wanted to be safe, but I didn't know what to do, you know.
8:48
Jennifer Summers: And uh then God opened the door.
8:51
Jennifer Summers: We went to the uh Billy Graham crusade.
8:55
Jennifer Summers: And right there in the stands, you know, all those people, you know, in the stands, and right then he made it so simple.
9:05
Jennifer Summers: And I asked Jesus in my heart and forgiveness of my sins.
9:09
Jennifer Summers: He led me to Christ.
9:11
Jennifer Summers: And after that, man, I was on fire.
9:15
Jennifer Summers: You know what it feels like when you get saved?
9:18
Jennifer Summers: It's so exciting.
9:19
Jennifer Summers: And so I take my Bible to school with me, you know, and then uh at school I started looking through a lot of encyclopedias, you know, there wasn't no computers.
9:32
Jennifer Summers: And I looked, and I looked about Africa, right?
9:36
Jennifer Summers: Okay, and right then I knew, hey, this is where God wants me.
9:45
Khalila McCoy: Wow, even at a young age.
9:48
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, at a very young age, I already knew what God had plans for for me.
9:52
Khalila McCoy: That's awesome.
9:53
Jennifer Summers: It is, it is awesome, but God does instill in people, you know, what he wants them to do early in age, they just have to follow his plan.
10:04
Jennifer Summers: But anyway, the teachers, I told him, I said, you know, I'm going to Africa to be a missionary and I'm traveling around the world, and I'm going to be telling people, and they just laughed at me.
10:17
Khalila McCoy: Of course, yeah.
10:19
Jennifer Summers: They didn't believe me.
10:20
Jennifer Summers: But um then later, when I was in Africa and came back, what we call a furlough, just for a couple of months.
10:27
Jennifer Summers: She was in, one of the teachers was in the church I was at while I was singing.
10:31
Jennifer Summers: She came running up her little heels, you know, and hugging me.
10:37
Jennifer Summers: And she said, You said you were gonna go, honey.
10:41
Jennifer Summers: And I said, Yes, ma'am.
10:43
Jennifer Summers: But you know, since that time, I've, you know, I have been to over 60 countries and work in Africa.
10:51
Jennifer Summers: But um, well, the things in my life and um who I am, you know, I um I've done a lot of speaking.
11:03
Jennifer Summers: I work for United Airline.
11:05
Jennifer Summers: And of course, I spent nearly 25 years in Africa working.
11:10
Jennifer Summers: My passion in life is always encouraging people, no matter what they've been through, there is hope.
11:19
Jennifer Summers: And of course, I I talked about growing up in the difficult home, abuse and fear, feeling alone, and wondering if life would ever get better.
11:30
Jennifer Summers: Looking back now, I realized God never left me even when I couldn't see him.
11:38
Jennifer Summers: He was preparing me to do something much bigger, Africa and more.
11:44
Jennifer Summers: You know, you know, finding God.
11:48
Jennifer Summers: And then later I did do mission work when I was um 18.
11:54
Jennifer Summers: I left home and worked in Central America.
11:57
Jennifer Summers: I washed clothes and a hollow log, and I drew water from the well, and I witnessed to so many people.
12:05
Khalila McCoy: Uh-huh.
12:06
Jennifer Summers: But then later I went, we went back to the States and I got married and had my first child.
12:13
Jennifer Summers: These this was uh a time when my little girl, we were in, had our home and fixed it up, and uh there was like uh a gas leak in the house, you know, and it was an awful smell, and uh I had a bad headache.
12:31
Jennifer Summers: So God gave me that feeling again.
12:34
Jennifer Summers: I grabbed my baby and I went out back of the kitchen door and it exploded behind me, and it threw us to the ground.
12:44
Jennifer Summers: And uh I was still holding on to her tight, my little girl.
12:50
Jennifer Summers: And God um was with us that day, and then I I came around the house, and my husband thought we were in the fire, and he ran to us and hugged us tight.
13:04
Jennifer Summers: But God blessed us too, even then.
13:07
Jennifer Summers: You know, he gave us three times as much back, you know, than what we had.
13:13
Jennifer Summers: But there was other things that were going to happen in our life, you know, and um we moved and to another place in my husband's hometown, small town.
13:28
Jennifer Summers: And um I was pregnant again with my second child.
13:36
Jennifer Summers: And I would be working outside in the flowers and you know, taking care of things, and there was the trash truck that would go by and uh the one of the the men that was working there, he would stare at me every time he went by and uh you know I had that you had that eerie feeling, and I know people that are victims, they understand that.
14:05
Jennifer Summers: Um but that feeling, and I would tell my mother-in-law and my husband, you know, um, something's not right, you know, because he stares at me every time I'm outside, and they say, Oh no, everything's okay.
14:22
Jennifer Summers: And then I had this dream, and I I dreamed that I was gonna be attacked.
14:29
Jennifer Summers: And I uh told my mother-in-law, and she said, Oh no, you're gonna be fine.
14:36
Jennifer Summers: And then I had um like a carhard sale for my sister-in-law, you know, to sell things, and they stopped.
14:46
Jennifer Summers: The cat trash man stopped there, and I gave them, you know what those little tracts are that share about Jesus, you know, yeah.
14:53
Jennifer Summers: Well, I handed it to him and the other man.
14:59
Jennifer Summers: And uh then the next morning my husband went to work, or he works very early, and uh I was in bed and I heard this noise.
15:14
Jennifer Summers: I got up and I went and looked around and you know I he was already the man was hiding in the house.
15:25
Jennifer Summers: And I went back and laid back down and uh then I felt a heavy weight on top of me and he was trying to suffocate me with a bandana and trying to rape me, and I don't remember if he raped me or not, but most people that go through trauma sometimes you block out some memories.
15:50
Jennifer Summers: But then I I saw the blade and he started stabbing me.
15:58
Jennifer Summers: Oh my goodness.
15:59
Jennifer Summers: And here I was pregnant, right?
16:02
Jennifer Summers: So I was asking why, you know, why why are you doing this?
16:08
Khalila McCoy: Right.
16:09
Jennifer Summers: And um he just kept on and then I fell to the side of the bed.
16:14
Jennifer Summers: And um then he drove me by my hair and he slipped my throat and he left out thinking I was dead.
16:24
Khalila McCoy: Oh my goodness, Jenna.
16:27
Jennifer Summers: But I you know, I laid there and I could feel God.
16:34
Jennifer Summers: You know how I felt God when I got saved, that spirit felt strong.
16:38
Jennifer Summers: I could feel him there with me, and I could hear him say, get up, Jenna! I'm not through with you yet, you know?
16:46
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, I got up and I was slipping in my blood, and I couldn't walk, and so I crawled and then I'd get up and then crawl, and I got all the way to the road.
17:02
Khalila McCoy: Oh my goodness.
17:04
Jennifer Summers: And this woman, the people, the neighbors were standing there watching me because they were in shock.
17:10
Jennifer Summers: You know, they could you know people go in shock when they see things like this, and they don't they just freeze.
17:17
Jennifer Summers: They weren't they weren't gonna come and help me.
17:22
Jennifer Summers: And uh then this lady, a big lady, actually she's an African-American woman, and her daughter stopped the car.
17:31
Jennifer Summers: And uh she picked me up, put me in the back.
17:35
Jennifer Summers: I was just hemorrhaging to death.
17:37
Jennifer Summers: And what's so ironic, the woman who saved my life was the sister of the man who tried to kill me.
17:45
Khalila McCoy: Oh my goodness.
17:48
Jennifer Summers: You know, only God can write that story.
17:50
Khalila McCoy: Right.
17:51
Jennifer Summers: She was a good Christian woman.
17:53
Jennifer Summers: They had a large family, and he was uh at it.
17:57
Jennifer Summers: He was a uh was on drugs.
17:59
Jennifer Summers: But then I got to the hospital, and of course I have a little girl, right?
18:06
Jennifer Summers: And I didn't know if she was alive or not.
18:10
Khalila McCoy: How old was she?
18:12
Jennifer Summers: Oh, she was probably close to two, two years old.
18:16
Jennifer Summers: Um, and then I lay there and I couldn't talk because he slipped my throat and my vocals and all, and I couldn't say anything.
18:25
Jennifer Summers: And so I wrote on a piece of paper before they took me into surgery.
18:30
Jennifer Summers: I said, My little girl, and they brought her into me.
18:34
Jennifer Summers: Oh my god.
18:35
Jennifer Summers: I just had tears rolling down my chicken toes.
18:38
Jennifer Summers: I was just so, so excited to see her.
18:42
Khalila McCoy: Yeah.
18:43
Jennifer Summers: And um, it just helped me to fight more to live.
18:48
Jennifer Summers: So I went in and they didn't expect I would, but I did.
18:53
Jennifer Summers: I knew God wasn't finished with me yet.
18:56
Jennifer Summers: He had a plan for me since I was a little girl.
18:59
Khalila McCoy: Right.
19:00
Jennifer Summers: So I went through that.
19:03
Jennifer Summers: I had police officers stay at my door.
19:06
Jennifer Summers: Um, you know, I had tubes running out my neck, my stomach, and all binged up.
19:14
Jennifer Summers: And um and I picked him out out of the mugshots.
19:19
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
19:19
Jennifer Summers: And it was the man who was watching me, the trash man.
19:23
Jennifer Summers: And um the whole town, girl, it's a small town, and the whole community got together trying to find him.
19:34
Khalila McCoy: Right.
19:35
Jennifer Summers: About love, you know.
19:37
Jennifer Summers: They went out and they found him, and he was arrested, and then I went to trial.
19:44
Jennifer Summers: And um he got 75 years, you know, mostly for stealing $2.
19:51
Jennifer Summers: That's all I had.
19:53
Jennifer Summers: And not hardly anything for a tempt murder for me and my child that I was carrying.
20:01
Khalila McCoy: So you had more time for that than trying to take your life for two dollars.
20:06
Jennifer Summers: And you know, I it's much better today than it was back then, you know, because um victims didn't have rights like criminals did, you know, that um committed these crimes.
20:20
Khalila McCoy: And but anyway, you would think attempted murder would be admitting.
20:26
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, but it's you know, it wasn't that way.
20:28
Jennifer Summers: I think today it's much, much better, but no, he got more for that money than me.
20:34
Jennifer Summers: And uh, but he went to prison, and of course I went through PTSD, and anyone on here, you know, I want you to know that whatever you're going through right now, if you've been suffering from being a victim rape or abuse or stabbed or any any crime, just remember that you can get through this.
21:02
Jennifer Summers: And remember that God's not finished with you yet.
21:06
Jennifer Summers: And he is there.
21:08
Jennifer Summers: I went through screaming and nightmares every night, and my husband would hold me, and you know, I was afraid of everything, I was paranoid, and um someone touched me, I start screaming, right?
21:24
Jennifer Summers: And I know that you or whoever is going through things, I know you have the same feelings in your life, but it was difficult.
21:37
Jennifer Summers: I was going through that and I was pregnant, I was in a wheelchair, and uh your baby was okay through all of that.
21:45
Khalila McCoy: My baby survived through that's amazing.
21:50
Jennifer Summers: Isn't that amazing?
21:51
Jennifer Summers: Yes, but they did want to abort my baby, you know, they asked to abort the child because.
21:59
Jennifer Summers: I mean, they didn't want to, but they wanted to know if I would abort the child because it could be born with some, you know, uh problems, you know, after going through what I went through.
22:12
Jennifer Summers: And uh I said, no, I'm keeping this baby.
22:16
Jennifer Summers: He went through so much.
22:17
Jennifer Summers: That you know, that helped me live was to have that baby because I had to fight.
22:28
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, you know, of course they had me on drugs a lot.
22:31
Jennifer Summers: Um, but uh as time went along after four years, you know, um I started doing a little better, you know.
22:43
Jennifer Summers: Um actually before that, God opened the door for us to go to church out in Arkansas somewhere, and it was just like a haven to me.
22:53
Jennifer Summers: It was like somewhere God wanted me to be to kind of go through what I had gone through.
23:00
Jennifer Summers: And uh but then we moved back to Texas, and my husband was pastoring, and um one day I got a call and I answered the phone, it was him, and I fell to the floor.
23:20
Jennifer Summers: He he they let him out of prison after four years.
23:24
Jennifer Summers: And it's easy to find us because they're a pastor, you know.
23:29
Jennifer Summers: So I fell apart, you know.
23:33
Jennifer Summers: Um first the police wanted me to learn how to shoot in the back, you know, and they said if you come shoot him on the outside and drag him in, you know.
23:44
Jennifer Summers: And I just started having more nightmares again.
23:49
Jennifer Summers: And I just fell apart, didn't want to live.
23:53
Jennifer Summers: So I ended up, you know, back in the wheelchair.
23:57
Jennifer Summers: I wasn't eating, couldn't walk, um, didn't want to live.
24:04
Khalila McCoy: And when he called you, did he say he was coming to you or threatening you or something?
24:10
Jennifer Summers: Yes, he was gonna come.
24:11
Jennifer Summers: Oh, yeah.
24:13
Jennifer Summers: And um it was just traumatic.
24:17
Jennifer Summers: And uh so I ended up in a wheelchair and they were keeping me on drugs so I wouldn't hurt myself and I wasn't eating.
24:24
Jennifer Summers: So they thought, well, she's just gonna die because she's not eating, you know.
24:29
Jennifer Summers: But then God started working in my heart, and I realized I needed to forgive.
24:39
Jennifer Summers: So when I forgave him, I started living life again, you know.
24:45
Jennifer Summers: I was so happy and I felt so strong.
24:50
Khalila McCoy: And um so talk us through that a little bit because you know, just looking at the situation, it's like, what do you need to forgive him for?
24:58
Khalila McCoy: He was the one who hurt you.
25:00
Khalila McCoy: What how did you talk yourself through that?
25:03
Khalila McCoy: And what was that forgiveness?
25:05
Jennifer Summers: The forgiveness was for me, not for him.
25:08
Jennifer Summers: It was for me to release that pain that I had in my heart, to release all of it, and uh I was able to live again.
25:20
Jennifer Summers: And when a person does that and they release that pain um from what happened to them and that forgiveness, then you can go on with life, you know, just like Jesus, he forgave us, right?
25:38
Jennifer Summers: Right, and it's just like we should be the same way, having a forgiving spirit.
25:45
Jennifer Summers: It's for you.
25:46
Jennifer Summers: It wasn't for him, it's for me.
25:48
Khalila McCoy: Right.
25:49
Jennifer Summers: And I was able to go on with life and be happy.
25:53
Jennifer Summers: I was a very strong person, a lot of faith.
25:58
Jennifer Summers: And then um I ended up writing a letter to him and sharing with him about Jesus and told him that I'd forgiven him, and I explained to him how to be saved.
26:18
Jennifer Summers: Well, I sent that off, and actually, at that during this time, God was opening the door to go to Africa.
26:26
Jennifer Summers: Isn't that amazing?
26:28
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, I'm telling you his plan.
26:31
Jennifer Summers: It was already coming, and and God, I went through a lot, but I went through more in Africa, and I was the strongest woman you've ever seen with faith.
26:42
Jennifer Summers: I had so much faith you would not believe.
26:45
Jennifer Summers: And um, but anyway, um I sent that, and six months later, I received a letter back from the prison.
26:55
Jennifer Summers: I hadn't even been thinking about it.
26:58
Jennifer Summers: And um, I looked at it and I said, God, should I open this?
27:02
Jennifer Summers: You know, right?
27:02
Jennifer Summers: And I opened it up and started reading it.
27:07
Jennifer Summers: And he shared that he got off drugs and that he was in treatment there in prison, and he was going to meetings, and he said that he was so sorry for everything he's done to me.
27:21
Jennifer Summers: And he said, I want you to know that I got on my knees and I trusted Jesus Christ as my son.
27:28
Jennifer Summers: Wow.
27:29
Jennifer Summers: Isn't that something?
27:31
Jennifer Summers: Yes, you know, the man that did harm to me uh became a Christian and changed his life, you know, amazing.
27:41
Khalila McCoy: And because you listened to God and gave him that forgiveness too.
27:44
Khalila McCoy: Like if you hadn't, his life and your life would be completely different.
27:49
Jennifer Summers: It would be, it would be completely different, but because of um forgiving and being able to release that hurt and pain off my heart, it made a difference in my life.
28:03
Jennifer Summers: And it will make a difference in your life, whoever's listening.
28:07
Jennifer Summers: You know, you've got to forgive to be able to continue on.
28:11
Jennifer Summers: You know, we also, when stuff things like that happen, we, you know, especially me, you know, here I am.
28:18
Jennifer Summers: I I'm serving God.
28:20
Jennifer Summers: I give him my whole heart, and I'm on fire for him.
28:24
Jennifer Summers: And then all this happens to me that I go through.
28:27
Jennifer Summers: Right.
28:27
Jennifer Summers: And you say, why?
28:30
Khalila McCoy: Why, yes.
28:31
Khalila McCoy: Right?
28:33
Jennifer Summers: You say, why, Lord?
28:34
Jennifer Summers: Why, why are you, why am I doing why are you bringing me through all this?
28:39
Jennifer Summers: You know, I'm so good, I've been so faithful to you.
28:42
Jennifer Summers: But you know, Joe went through a lot too.
28:45
Khalila McCoy: True.
28:45
Jennifer Summers: And he still stayed faithful, right?
28:49
Jennifer Summers: And but I see why.
28:51
Jennifer Summers: I see what his plan was, and and it was preparing me for what he had in front of me in Africa.
28:59
Jennifer Summers: But we finally all of us got together and the church sent us out to Africa, had these big old duffel bags.
29:07
Jennifer Summers: We arrived there, and as soon as we hit that ground, I knew this is where I'm supposed to be.
29:13
Jennifer Summers: It was with these people.
29:15
Khalila McCoy: Yeah.
29:16
Khalila McCoy: Now, did your whole family go?
29:18
Jennifer Summers: Oh, yeah, yeah.
29:19
Khalila McCoy: We lived there for maybe 25 years.
29:21
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
29:22
Khalila McCoy: How many children do you have to um I have three children?
29:25
Khalila McCoy: Three, okay.
29:26
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, they were very small, so Africa's been their home all their life.
29:30
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
29:31
Jennifer Summers: So we lived there and we uh worked.
29:34
Jennifer Summers: Um I worked with trauma, like I said, and I developed schools for street children from ages four-year-old to 17.
29:43
Jennifer Summers: I also know five languages.
29:45
Jennifer Summers: God bless me.
29:46
Jennifer Summers: I I can speak their language like a bunny yacht called me minute for now, you know.
29:51
Jennifer Summers: But I worked with all these uh children.
29:54
Jennifer Summers: I took them off the street, and it was a fight because they sniff glue.
30:00
Jennifer Summers: You know, they get it from the shoeman there in the village.
30:05
Jennifer Summers: And they would get this glue and they'd put it in a can or a plastic, you know, container, and they would be sniffing it.
30:12
Jennifer Summers: Or they put it up in their sleeves and sniffing it.
30:15
Jennifer Summers: I mean, they were out of their minds, and some of these children were on the street because of an AIDS epidemic, you know, parents died.
30:24
Jennifer Summers: Some of them, the parents put them on the street, you know, and they couldn't come home unless they had some money.
30:31
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
30:32
Jennifer Summers: So they slept uh on the streets.
30:35
Jennifer Summers: Uh, they ate from trash, you know, uh, they were filthy, no baths.
30:40
Jennifer Summers: And God just opened doors.
30:44
Jennifer Summers: You know, one person in this world can make a difference.
30:48
Jennifer Summers: And I started praying, and people in the community started helping, got them out of school and an area where they could sleep.
30:57
Jennifer Summers: People started bringing blankets for them and mattresses, you know.
31:02
Jennifer Summers: And then I had to, it's like a bathing station.
31:07
Jennifer Summers: They had little sticks standing up and plastic around this little area where they could take baths.
31:13
Jennifer Summers: And you have to have donkeys, right?
31:15
Jennifer Summers: And haul the water.
31:16
Jennifer Summers: We didn't have everything like here, you know, running water.
31:20
Jennifer Summers: They would haul the water and have to boil the water and then give to them so they could take a bath.
31:26
Jennifer Summers: They were so excited.
31:28
Khalila McCoy: They were clean.
31:30
Jennifer Summers: And then they had food, right?
31:32
Jennifer Summers: The people would bring food.
31:34
Jennifer Summers: And they would eat so fast, they would pick it up off the floors, you know.
31:39
Jennifer Summers: And I mean, I never seen they were so hungry.
31:43
Jennifer Summers: The only other time I've seen people that hungry is uh, you know, I did work military later on when I came back to the States, and that was with the refugee flies, Afghanistan people.
31:54
Jennifer Summers: You know, the hunger, you can see it.
31:57
Jennifer Summers: Uh I've had experience seeing people starve, you know, and but the only thing they wouldn't eat was these green beans.
32:05
Jennifer Summers: Why do you think they wouldn't eat the green beans?
32:08
Jennifer Summers: Huh?
32:08
Jennifer Summers: They just left them.
32:10
Jennifer Summers: I just couldn't get understand that.
32:12
Jennifer Summers: Well, they I told them, I said, Kwaniniwe take.
32:17
Jennifer Summers: And they go, Qua Sababa Mama Jennifer, he ni yassi, he ni qua wayama, se qua mimi.
32:25
Jennifer Summers: They said, the green beans are grass.
32:28
Jennifer Summers: That's for animals.
32:30
Jennifer Summers: And that's not we don't get fed that.
32:33
Jennifer Summers: So they repeated them completely.
32:35
Jennifer Summers: I said, okay, no more great beans.
32:38
Jennifer Summers: But God blessed those children, and there's more schools today, and more children um, you know, that have been uh coming off the street, and then they built a school.
32:52
Jennifer Summers: You know, I would have uh us together, and several of them trusted the Lord.
32:58
Jennifer Summers: And uh one boy would fight me.
33:02
Jennifer Summers: He was like 17, he just kept going out on the street.
33:05
Jennifer Summers: I was a little thing, I'm not very big.
33:08
Jennifer Summers: And uh he'd come in and I'd tell him how to get rid of his glue.
33:15
Jennifer Summers: And he had this like chain or something, and he was gonna hit me with it.
33:19
Jennifer Summers: And all the boys always protected me and they grabbed hold of him.
33:25
Jennifer Summers: And you know what happened with that young man?
33:28
Jennifer Summers: He ended up getting saved and he was became a preacher, you know?
33:33
Jennifer Summers: It's amazing, isn't it?
33:35
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, but um life in Africa was different, you know.
33:41
Jennifer Summers: Um we lived in at one time we lived in these little mud huts and we had lanterns, and the kids slept in one, we slept in the other, and we did build our home there.
33:53
Jennifer Summers: We're like pioneers, you know.
33:55
Jennifer Summers: And um we had donkeys, Jack and Jill, halter water.
34:01
Jennifer Summers: I rolled, I boiled water for everything, you know, for drinking, you know, for baths at that time.
34:10
Jennifer Summers: And I had this little call Gico.
34:13
Jennifer Summers: Um, like I put charcoal in it.
34:17
Jennifer Summers: It's like grilling outside, you know, and I cook all of it.
34:21
Jennifer Summers: And but eventually got a place to live.
34:24
Jennifer Summers: And one humorous story I can remember is, you know, you get visitors.
34:32
Jennifer Summers: Have you ever been to Africa?
34:34
Khalila McCoy: No.
34:35
Jennifer Summers: Well, you need to go.
34:36
Jennifer Summers: And uh, but these visitors come, you know, and uh I lived out in the village, so you hear the drums beating the people, you know, all the time.
34:48
Jennifer Summers: So we had our home.
34:50
Jennifer Summers: We were pioneers there.
34:52
Jennifer Summers: We built our home and we put a big old fence around it, the compound.
34:57
Jennifer Summers: So the visitors, these men, they stayed out in those huts, you know.
35:01
Jennifer Summers: That's where we stay.
35:03
Jennifer Summers: But one man, he started hearing the drums and chatting, and he just knew they were coming after him.
35:10
Jennifer Summers: He couldn't get in the gate.
35:15
Jennifer Summers: So he crawled over the fence and tore his pants open.
35:19
Jennifer Summers: Poor guy, I felt so sorry for him.
35:24
Jennifer Summers: You know, but it's kind of funny now, but it sure wasn't fan.
35:29
Khalila McCoy: I was so nervous.
35:30
Jennifer Summers: Oh my god, you just have no idea.
35:33
Jennifer Summers: But there was times it was kind of you know humorous.
35:37
Jennifer Summers: I and um I homeschooled my kids there.
35:40
Jennifer Summers: We had a little hut for our school.
35:43
Jennifer Summers: Um, but you know, there in Africa, I'd work out in the villages, and there was a one story.
35:52
Jennifer Summers: It's um I went to an area called South Yanza, and I traveled all over Africa, Sudan, Somalia, Uganda, everywhere.
36:03
Jennifer Summers: And in this area, the ladies would walk miles to go take a bath.
36:09
Khalila McCoy: Wow.
36:10
Jennifer Summers: Beautiful lake right there, you know, that they could go to.
36:13
Jennifer Summers: He said, long ago, then he began to talk.
36:41
Jennifer Summers: He said, this was a wicked village.
36:44
Jennifer Summers: And the village of people were very wicked.
36:48
Jennifer Summers: And um he said, then the ground it swallowed them up.
36:52
Jennifer Summers: And I looked at him and said, yes.
36:56
Jennifer Summers: And he kept on telling the story.
36:59
Jennifer Summers: And he said, he said, what happened?
37:01
Jennifer Summers: It became a sinkhole.
37:03
Jennifer Summers: It said the people were real evil, and they the ground, it swallowed them up, and then it became a fire, and then it became a lake.
37:14
Jennifer Summers: It was a sinkhole where they lived, the village.
37:18
Jennifer Summers: And he said they would never touch it.
37:21
Jennifer Summers: But you know what's so amazing, even all these superstitions, you know, in the different areas, is to see them trust Christ and turn away from those superstitions in their life.
37:33
Jennifer Summers: Right.
37:33
Jennifer Summers: So it's it's really amazing.
37:37
Jennifer Summers: Um I loved my life in Africa.
37:41
Jennifer Summers: I mean, there was good and there was bad, but the whole my whole story is how God turns the bad into good.
37:52
Jennifer Summers: Everything in my life was a challenge.
37:56
Jennifer Summers: We all have challenges.
37:57
Jennifer Summers: We all go through a lot in our lives, and you know, to know that you know, God never has left me and He'll never leave you.
38:08
Jennifer Summers: He brings you through it.
38:10
Jennifer Summers: And I don't know what else to say is faith is where it's at.
38:16
Jennifer Summers: And um, you know, when you when you have trouble and at home or your money or whatever you're going through, and you just pick yourself up and try again and keep going.
38:32
Jennifer Summers: Don't stop.
38:33
Jennifer Summers: But those are some of the things that I gone through.
38:38
Jennifer Summers: And um and uh of course, uh you'll they'll read if they read it, they'll hear about the hijacking.
38:46
Jennifer Summers: My boys were hijacked over there.
38:49
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, that was uh that was difficult.
38:54
Jennifer Summers: I mean, they were coming to come see me, and um I do music, I sing, and uh they were on their way and they left too late, and they had their friends with them, and it was dark.
39:10
Jennifer Summers: And in other countries, you know, they put these spikes in the road, and so it was about dark, so they didn't see them and they drove over them.
39:22
Jennifer Summers: And uh then there was like they said around 10 of them that came out of the bush.
39:29
Khalila McCoy: Oh my god.
39:29
Jennifer Summers: And um, you know, they were they roughed them up, they put them in all of them in the back of the car, took their phones away, except for my youngest, was still outside the vehicle.
39:43
Jennifer Summers: And um, but my son, my oldest son, kept his phone, and he wrote mom hijacked.
39:52
Jennifer Summers: And back then in Africa, they only had those little mini phones, you know, and you had to have these cards to use them.
40:00
Jennifer Summers: And um, but he said he was hijacked, and I just how would you feel?
40:06
Jennifer Summers: Do you have children?
40:08
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, I have a five-year-old.
40:10
Jennifer Summers: How would you feel if your kid was going through that, you know?
40:14
Khalila McCoy: I don't think I'd be able to breathe.
40:16
Khalila McCoy: I can't imagine.
40:18
Jennifer Summers: It it was hard.
40:20
Jennifer Summers: I just I prayed God.
40:21
Jennifer Summers: It was just a loss, it's like a I lost everything, you know, knowing my kids were out there.
40:28
Jennifer Summers: And I started praying, God, please protect them.
40:31
Jennifer Summers: And um then there was a truckload of gunmen that came.
40:39
Jennifer Summers: And my youngest son, they put him in the middle of the road and had a gun to his head and um was threatening to kill him.
40:49
Khalila McCoy: Wow.
40:52
Jennifer Summers: So it was it was uh traumatic, you know, for them to go through all that.
40:58
Jennifer Summers: Right.
40:59
Jennifer Summers: And I was just thankful we finally found them.
41:02
Jennifer Summers: They were roughed up, and but I was so thankful to God they were okay.
41:07
Jennifer Summers: Because most people when they're hijacked, they're killed, you know.
41:12
Khalila McCoy: Were they trying to get a ransom?
41:16
Jennifer Summers: Oh, they wanted the vehicle and money and everything.
41:20
Jennifer Summers: Yeah.
41:21
Jennifer Summers: They usually, you know, hijack and get a car or and they get their money and everything.
41:28
Jennifer Summers: Um, but it was hard for my children.
41:32
Jennifer Summers: Um, my youngest son was 15, the other was 18.
41:37
Jennifer Summers: So again, he was like me, he was having problems, you know, getting through it.
41:44
Jennifer Summers: But even my oldest, but you know, they turned out to be heroes because the youngest one, he went through a lot, and um, I understood that.
41:57
Jennifer Summers: And um he turned 17.
42:03
Jennifer Summers: He came to me and he says, Mom, I'm joining the army.
42:08
Jennifer Summers: I said, No, you're not.
42:10
Jennifer Summers: You're not joining the whole army.
42:12
Jennifer Summers: No, no, no, no.
42:14
Jennifer Summers: I mean, we already got a young man.
42:17
Jennifer Summers: No, he's not going nowhere.
42:19
Jennifer Summers: Because I have to sign for him, right?
42:21
Jennifer Summers: So he I said, Why do you want to join the army?
42:25
Jennifer Summers: He said, Because I want to make a difference in this world.
42:28
Jennifer Summers: You know, he's seen in Africa taught him so much uh other things too.
42:34
Jennifer Summers: He taught him about love too, and taught him about um seeing people do without.
42:40
Jennifer Summers: And um he learned about poverty and he he learned about what the real world's about, yeah, at a very young age.
42:50
Jennifer Summers: And so he went into the military, and then the commanders and them uh ended up sending him to West Point.
42:58
Jennifer Summers: So God protected him.
43:00
Jennifer Summers: And then the oldest one, he's my hero too, because he was there for his brother, you know?
43:10
Khalila McCoy: Right.
43:10
Jennifer Summers: And he's always been there for his brother, they've been there for each other.
43:15
Jennifer Summers: Um so uh that's that's some of it.
43:20
Jennifer Summers: And then, you know, there's so much more there to share, and you can read for yourself.
43:26
Jennifer Summers: But then later I ended up coming back to the states.
43:31
Khalila McCoy: What made you guys decide you were ready to leave Africa?
43:34
Jennifer Summers: Um, well, it felt like that our work was done there at that point.
43:40
Jennifer Summers: So we left and uh come back and um wish that was different, you know, going in the stores.
43:49
Khalila McCoy: I bet, yeah.
43:50
Jennifer Summers: I mean, you know, in Africa you have one thing bread, one plate of milk.
43:56
Jennifer Summers: Of course, I had the cow, you know.
43:59
Jennifer Summers: But anyway, and you have running water, you have lectures, you all down the old house.
44:04
Jennifer Summers: That's just wonderful, you know.
44:06
Jennifer Summers: But water is so precious, you know.
44:08
Jennifer Summers: So many people did without.
44:10
Jennifer Summers: And uh but I walk in the Walmart and all the different breads, all the different flowers and everything.
44:18
Jennifer Summers: It was overwhelming.
44:19
Jennifer Summers: I had to walk out.
44:21
Jennifer Summers: I couldn't, I couldn't, I can imagine.
44:25
Jennifer Summers: But then I went back and and shopped.
44:27
Jennifer Summers: And of course, you know, I remember my youngest one, he was a mess.
44:34
Jennifer Summers: You know, in the South we say stinker, you know.
44:37
Jennifer Summers: But anyway, he um when he was um, he never been to the states before the first time we come for just a short furlough, you know.
44:48
Jennifer Summers: And um he came and he looked at everything, he said, oh Mom, it it's different here.
44:56
Jennifer Summers: It looks like a magazine, you know, everything's so perfect.
44:59
Jennifer Summers: It ain't perfect in Africa.
45:01
Jennifer Summers: And I and then he I took him to Walmart, and you know, they kept playing with the toy machines and can coats.
45:10
Jennifer Summers: They they would put coins in just to watch it go down, you know.
45:15
Jennifer Summers: I didn't okay.
45:16
Jennifer Summers: And then he go in Walmart.
45:19
Jennifer Summers: He he was so African, you know, and he knew lots of languages.
45:24
Jennifer Summers: And he went in Walmart, he couldn't understand African American, African American.
45:29
Jennifer Summers: You couldn't speak Swahili or Kikuyu, and he keep trying to speak it to the people.
45:34
Jennifer Summers: Uh-huh.
45:36
Khalila McCoy: Like, um, what is wrong with this kid?
45:38
Jennifer Summers: I was so confused.
45:39
Jennifer Summers: And he he went and got, you know, a little toy or something, and he goes up and he pays for it.
45:46
Jennifer Summers: And the lady, you know, he sees the price, and the lady says it's a different price because it has tax, right?
45:55
Jennifer Summers: Oh, he was upset.
45:57
Jennifer Summers: He said, Mama, they're cheating me.
45:59
Jennifer Summers: They are cheating me.
46:01
Jennifer Summers: I said, No, they're not.
46:02
Jennifer Summers: It's tax.
46:03
Jennifer Summers: No, mama, they're doing wrong.
46:07
Jennifer Summers: They're making my money.
46:08
Jennifer Summers: So I said, okay.
46:11
Jennifer Summers: But anyway, but of course I come back and I did get we did come back to States, and the Walmart for me was overwhelming when I came back to the States.
46:21
Jennifer Summers: But I worked with the military for four years.
46:25
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
46:26
Jennifer Summers: So uh there's a lot about them, you know.
46:29
Jennifer Summers: They're I tell you what, girl, God, He just opened so many doors and brings you through so many things.
46:37
Jennifer Summers: And working with the military was such an honor, you know.
46:42
Jennifer Summers: I mean, our military, can you imagine?
46:46
Jennifer Summers: These boys are 17 on up.
46:48
Jennifer Summers: I see them on the plane.
46:51
Jennifer Summers: They all got their phones looking at their family.
46:54
Jennifer Summers: You know, they have to go to a country and not come home for a while.
46:58
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, I can't imagine that either.
47:00
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, just tears, you know, and the sacrifices that they make.
47:05
Jennifer Summers: Oh, well, some of them don't come home.
47:07
Jennifer Summers: Yeah.
47:07
Jennifer Summers: Like in Afghanistan and places.
47:09
Jennifer Summers: I flew the Middle East all over with them.
47:12
Jennifer Summers: And I remember um for the refugee flights, you know, of course, several of them went to Afghanistan.
47:19
Jennifer Summers: Like I said, some didn't come home.
47:21
Jennifer Summers: And being able to pray with them.
47:23
Jennifer Summers: And they a lot of them went through PTSD too.
47:27
Jennifer Summers: You know, people think about that.
47:29
Jennifer Summers: Our military have given their lives for us.
47:33
Jennifer Summers: Right.
47:34
Jennifer Summers: And they I had to be careful about when I'd go by and take care of them on the plane because they would just jump, just like I used to.
47:42
Jennifer Summers: So I tried to help them in every way I could.
47:46
Jennifer Summers: God put me there.
47:49
Khalila McCoy: Right.
47:49
Jennifer Summers: And uh I worked in the third world countries, you know, and that's something I was capable of doing.
47:58
Jennifer Summers: I remember um the refugees from Afghanistan.
48:02
Jennifer Summers: I had 13 girls who were on the plane, and they didn't know what to do.
48:08
Jennifer Summers: They'd never been to a third world country and they didn't understand, you know, what was going on.
48:13
Jennifer Summers: But God worked it out where we, you know, I could help, you know, them to understand.
48:19
Jennifer Summers: They started getting on the plane, some without shoes, you know, uh, torn clothes, hadn't had baths in days, you know.
48:29
Jennifer Summers: And they get on and some would use the bathroom.
48:33
Jennifer Summers: They didn't know what a toilet was.
48:35
Khalila McCoy: Right.
48:37
Jennifer Summers: It was something.
48:38
Jennifer Summers: I mean, they, you know, uh someone put their feet on the toilet to use it, you know.
48:43
Jennifer Summers: It was different anyway.
48:47
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, but they had to learn, you had to show them everything to do.
48:51
Jennifer Summers: Right, it's new, right?
48:53
Jennifer Summers: Just like we have to learn things when we go places.
48:56
Jennifer Summers: And but they all got on there with their big old duffel bags and some on the plane, one was laying on the floor of the plane.
49:07
Jennifer Summers: I said, no, no, no, you can't leave me.
49:10
Jennifer Summers: No, you know, and they didn't know English that well, right?
49:17
Jennifer Summers: So again, and then they have all these gadgets, you know.
49:22
Jennifer Summers: I have no idea.
49:23
Jennifer Summers: They're just messing with and don't know what it is, they're probably breaking it.
49:26
Jennifer Summers: I don't know.
49:27
Jennifer Summers: But they couldn't figure out what all that was.
49:30
Jennifer Summers: And but what really some of them told me uh stories.
49:35
Jennifer Summers: They said that um when they got there, they would leave from one place uh to another place.
49:43
Jennifer Summers: And I know evacuation is I've I've been there, and then they would be in another car, another car, another car until they got to safety.
49:52
Jennifer Summers: A long journey.
49:54
Jennifer Summers: And like I said, they were hungry and they hadn't had baths.
49:58
Jennifer Summers: So when we started uh taking the hot meals to them, oh man, tears just dropped down my, you know, down my cheeks to see that they were so happy to eat.
50:12
Jennifer Summers: And like those street boys, remember how hungry they were, and they just pick it up off the floor.
50:19
Jennifer Summers: They were just as hungry, they were eating so fast, and we just kept feeding them as much as they wanted.
50:26
Jennifer Summers: Yeah, good.
50:27
Jennifer Summers: But um, yeah, that was uh that was different, and it was a a blessing, you know, and a blessing with our military.
50:39
Jennifer Summers: Um I know I've shared a lot, but my journey's not over either.
50:48
Jennifer Summers: You know, isn't it amazing?
50:51
Khalila McCoy: So what are you doing nowadays?
50:55
Jennifer Summers: I work with the United Airline now.
50:57
Jennifer Summers: Okay, and um, of course, you know, uh I've actually been off for a year.
51:05
Jennifer Summers: I had um I went through uh a six-hour heart surgery and two lung surgeries.
51:13
Jennifer Summers: So I went through it and survived it.
51:16
Jennifer Summers: I was actually going to South Africa when my heart was giving way.
51:21
Jennifer Summers: Okay, but you know, again, God turned it into good because God said, Jenna, I want you to finish that book.
51:30
Jennifer Summers: I sat that whole year and finished the book, didn't I?
51:34
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, because you probably couldn't do anything else, right?
51:36
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, I didn't do nothing else.
51:38
Khalila McCoy: Kind of forced you to slow down and focus.
51:41
Jennifer Summers: Oh, I wasn't a good way, but anybody it taught me.
51:46
Jennifer Summers: I sat down and I focused on that book and um prayer and being with God.
51:51
Jennifer Summers: And then I launched it, and I just see so many more things that God has for me to do, you know, before I leave this world.
52:02
Jennifer Summers: I'm excited about life, you know.
52:04
Khalila McCoy: What's something you're hoping to do next?
52:07
Jennifer Summers: Oh, goodness.
52:08
Jennifer Summers: I got so much.
52:10
Jennifer Summers: I like to see God um turn the book into a film so it'll reach more people.
52:16
Khalila McCoy: Okay.
52:16
Jennifer Summers: Uh I'm already doing a lot of speaking places.
52:19
Jennifer Summers: I'm available, I do keynote speaking, I do music, I write music.
52:24
Jennifer Summers: And I just see God.
52:27
Jennifer Summers: Um I'm already getting invited to go to different countries to speak and work with people.
52:32
Jennifer Summers: And so there's just so much more, you know, a vision of what he has in store for me when I before I leave this world, you know?
52:43
Jennifer Summers: So I'm I'm excited about life.
52:48
Khalila McCoy: Yes, you know, I may be broke, but I'm excited.
52:55
Jennifer Summers: I mean, right?
53:00
Khalila McCoy: Hey, but you know that God will provide along the way.
53:02
Khalila McCoy: So you're in good hands.
53:05
Jennifer Summers: He always does.
53:06
Jennifer Summers: He provides.
53:07
Jennifer Summers: I don't know how he puts up with me up there though.
53:11
Jennifer Summers: I mean, you haven't wanted my shoes, you know.
53:14
Jennifer Summers: I I'm something to keep up with.
53:17
Khalila McCoy: But he clearly loves you dearly, right?
53:20
Jennifer Summers: Oh yeah, he loves me.
53:22
Jennifer Summers: But I see beyond.
53:24
Jennifer Summers: I I see a lot of things happening.
53:27
Jennifer Summers: I will, I am already writing another book too.
53:30
Jennifer Summers: And um I just see more, you know, more people that I can witness to um meetings and stuff where I can reach more thousands of people, you know, for God, millions of people for God.
53:44
Jennifer Summers: And I will be going back doing a documentary in Africa.
53:48
Jennifer Summers: Okay.
53:49
Jennifer Summers: I plan to start some clinics in Sudan.
53:52
Jennifer Summers: And that's the area, you know, um, there's hidden minds there.
53:59
Jennifer Summers: And from war.
54:01
Jennifer Summers: So these children, they go over it and they lose, they blow up, and they lose their legs and arms.
54:08
Jennifer Summers: So I would like and praying about doing that to get an NGA NGO going so I can do that.
54:16
Jennifer Summers: Because I know the countries, I know the languages, and um I'm not through.
54:23
Jennifer Summers: I move to Africa.
54:25
Jennifer Summers: Africa has my heart, it always will.
54:29
Jennifer Summers: So I will be going back and going back to all the places I worked and seeing the people, and you know, it's gonna be exciting.
54:37
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, you have such a heart to care for others and to love others.
54:42
Khalila McCoy: I love that.
54:43
Khalila McCoy: It's very contagious.
54:44
Khalila McCoy: It's like, what can I do to get out there and show love in the world too?
54:50
Jennifer Summers: Well, there's always opportunities.
54:53
Jennifer Summers: Always.
54:54
Jennifer Summers: You're American too.
54:56
Jennifer Summers: You know, we're Americans.
54:57
Jennifer Summers: Americans have a lot more opportunities than most people, right?
55:01
Jennifer Summers: And there's so much we can do and achieve in life.
55:06
Jennifer Summers: And um I guess um the thing I'd like to say, um, you know, before we get off is um, you know, my life has taken me through heartbreak, danger, loss, incredible adventures, and amazing lessons.
55:33
Jennifer Summers: I've learned that no matter what we've been through, God still writes a beautiful ending.
55:40
Jennifer Summers: Your story isn't over, there is hope, there is purpose.
55:47
Jennifer Summers: And God can use your life in ways you never imagined, you know.
55:52
Jennifer Summers: If you can't look into my journey and Mama Jennifer, and you'll see those things that God's brought me through even more, and how he's turned that pain into purpose.
56:06
Jennifer Summers: I always say, God is good all the time.
56:10
Jennifer Summers: And what's the rest of it, young lady?
56:13
Khalila McCoy: And all the time God is good.
56:15
Jennifer Summers: Amen.
56:16
Jennifer Summers: He sure so I think my favorite scripture is um my strength um is made perfect through my weakness.
56:29
Khalila McCoy: Yeah, yeah, that is a perfect verse for everything that you've gone through, and God has shown himself faithful to you, so that's really cool.
56:40
Jennifer Summers: Um I share my joy, you know, and that's the main part is focus on that joy.
56:52
Jennifer Summers: Oh girl, yeah.
56:53
Jennifer Summers: I'm happy.
56:54
Jennifer Summers: I'm content with life.
56:56
Jennifer Summers: Yes, and my song that I wrote is called He Never Left Me.
57:02
Jennifer Summers: And it's my it's um it's my testimony song that I just finished.
57:09
Jennifer Summers: And that's it.
57:12
Jennifer Summers: He never left me.
57:13
Jennifer Summers: He's always been there.
57:15
Jennifer Summers: And um, I like um focusing on the good, you know what God said.
57:23
Khalila McCoy: Yes.
57:24
Jennifer Summers: There's been bad, but the good has overcome all of it.
57:28
Jennifer Summers: I mean, look, my baby got born, right?
57:32
Jennifer Summers: Right, perfectly fine.
57:35
Jennifer Summers: I got better.
57:37
Jennifer Summers: Amen.
57:39
Jennifer Summers: You know, God brought me through that journey in that explosion.
57:44
Jennifer Summers: We survived.
57:45
Jennifer Summers: We could have been killed.
57:47
Jennifer Summers: Um oh, in the tribal clashes in the middle of it, I could have been killed.
57:53
Jennifer Summers: But who took care of me?
57:55
Jennifer Summers: God did.
57:56
Jennifer Summers: So he's always been there, and um I I've seen his hand so much, you know, in my life, uh, especially in Africa.
58:07
Jennifer Summers: And there's so much, like I said, more about that.
58:10
Jennifer Summers: I'm excited about my future, you know.
58:19
Jennifer Summers: And like I said, I I want to keep on until I leave this world because that's my that's what I know God wants me to do.
58:32
Jennifer Summers: And um I'm excited.
58:37
Jennifer Summers: And I I think, you know, a lot of times we all get down and we go through a lot of things in our lives, but focus on God is there and focus on the good.
58:50
Jennifer Summers: And sometimes putting yourself focusing on others helps too, you know, to help do other things, you know, helping others.
58:59
Jennifer Summers: It really brings joy too in your life.
59:02
Jennifer Summers: And um yeah, I and I pray that if there's someone on here that's going through trauma right now, that I'm also available, you know.
59:16
Jennifer Summers: Um my email is JennaSummers14 at gmail.com and I have a website, jenna summersus.org.
59:27
Jennifer Summers: And you can contact me at any time, day or night.
59:32
Jennifer Summers: I have people call me a lot wanting prayer, wanting to share what they've been through.
59:37
Jennifer Summers: And uh I would be more than happy to talk with you and help you through what you're going through right now.
59:44
Jennifer Summers: That's what I'm here for.
59:51
Khalila McCoy: You mentioned a song that you wrote.
59:53
Khalila McCoy: Is that out yet?
59:55
Jennifer Summers: Not yet.
59:56
Jennifer Summers: It's not out.
59:57
Jennifer Summers: You can I have um Facebook.
1:00:00
Jennifer Summers: You can find me on Facebook, Jenna Hunt Summers, and my author page is Jenna Summers, Mama Jennifer.
1:00:07
Jennifer Summers: I put just a little bit of it today on story, you know, to hear and um but I'm also on the Instagram and YouTube.
1:00:17
Jennifer Summers: You can follow me.
1:00:19
Jennifer Summers: I'd love for you to follow me in my journey.
1:00:22
Jennifer Summers: Um, so yeah, the song will be out eventually.
1:00:26
Jennifer Summers: Also, the book is gonna be on audio.
1:00:28
Jennifer Summers: Okay, so that'll be out in just a few weeks, and it's in my little southern accent, too.
1:00:36
Khalila McCoy: Oh, do you you read it yourself too?
1:00:39
Khalila McCoy: Oh, yeah, yeah.
1:00:40
Khalila McCoy: I read it.
1:00:40
Khalila McCoy: That's perfect.
1:00:42
Jennifer Summers: It was 20 hours and double that for editing, and um it was hard, you know.
1:00:49
Jennifer Summers: Um it brought back all those emotional feelings.
1:00:53
Jennifer Summers: Right.
1:00:54
Jennifer Summers: The good ones and the ones not so good, you know.
1:00:58
Jennifer Summers: It was hard, but I did what I felt God wanted me to do because I thought it'd be better I did it than someone else.
1:01:06
Jennifer Summers: Right because it's from my heart.
1:01:09
Jennifer Summers: So, um, but it's been great being on here today.
1:01:15
Jennifer Summers: I've had a true blessing, and um, you know, I hope it's encouraged you in your life.
1:01:22
Khalila McCoy: Yes, definitely.
1:01:24
Jennifer Summers: And I hope more people, you know, trust Christ, you know, in their lives and Christ trust him as their savior and follow him and believe because he is what and he is the answer for everything in our lives.
1:01:47
Khalila McCoy: Well, thank you so much.
1:01:48
Khalila McCoy: Thank you for being on the show, thank you for sharing, and thank you for everything that you're doing for all of the people all over the world that are being blessed and touched by you, and you're just willing to give up yourself and go where God calls you.
1:02:04
Khalila McCoy: And it's not always easy, like you've said, and we've seen through your life story, but you're doing it and you're choosing to be faithful.
1:02:12
Khalila McCoy: So thank you.
1:02:14
Jennifer Summers: Thank you.
1:02:15
Jennifer Summers: I it's been it's been awesome to be on here.
1:02:18
Jennifer Summers: Um thank you so much.
1:02:23
Khalila McCoy: Thank you for spending this time with me and Jenna today.
1:02:26
Khalila McCoy: After talking to her, I had to run and share her story with some friends, and we had a great conversation.
1:02:32
Khalila McCoy: Jenna lived through danger, trauma, loss, and moments that would shake anyone's sense of safety.
1:02:38
Khalila McCoy: Yet she continues to stand in the belief that God is good.
1:02:42
Khalila McCoy: Not because life has been easy, but because she has seen grace show up in places where most people only see darkness.
1:02:50
Khalila McCoy: And here's what I hope you carry with you.
1:02:53
Khalila McCoy: You don't have to share Jenna's exact faith to connect with her resilience.
1:02:58
Khalila McCoy: You don't have to have the same beliefs to feel the strength in her hope.
1:03:03
Khalila McCoy: What she lived through reminds all of us that the human spirit is capable of rising in ways we don't always expect.
1:03:10
Khalila McCoy: Her story is a reminder that courage comes in all forms.
1:03:15
Khalila McCoy: Sometimes it looks like choosing to believe in goodness even when everything around you says otherwise.
1:03:20
Khalila McCoy: Sometimes it looks like holding on to hope when the world feels heavy.
1:03:25
Khalila McCoy: And sometimes it looks like simply deciding that your story isn't over yet.
1:03:31
Khalila McCoy: Wherever you are today, whatever you're navigating, rebuilding, or trying to understand, I hope this episode leaves you feeling a little more grounded, a little more encouraged, and a little more aware of your own strength.
1:03:44
Khalila McCoy: Also, no matter what you're dealing with, you are not alone.
1:03:49
Khalila McCoy: I say it all the time.
1:03:51
Khalila McCoy: You are not alone.
1:03:54
Khalila McCoy: Your story and your strength matter just as much as Jenna's, and you are very loved.
1:04:01
Khalila McCoy: Don't forget to check out the show notes so you can get your copy of Mama Jennifer or even reach out to her.
1:04:09
Khalila McCoy: She was such a pleasure to talk to.
1:04:11
Khalila McCoy: She flies all around the world and has offered to meet me for a meal when she has a layover in my area.
1:04:17
Khalila McCoy: I am going to hold you to that, Jenna.
1:04:19
Khalila McCoy: I cannot wait to meet you in person.
1:04:22
Khalila McCoy: As you move through the rest of your day, I hope you take a moment to listen a little louder to yourself, to the people you love, and to the things that connect us to ways that sometimes forget to notice.
1:04:35
Khalila McCoy: See you bye.