"Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless as this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress." James 1:27

Monday, August 23, 2010

Namascarum (hello in Telugu)

Hey everyone! It's actually Meghan and Jordan (not my mom),
Here's something Jordan wrote on Facebook...
The past 2 weeks I have been praying about why God called me to India. we have had much un-expected down time in the past two weeks.
However, this past weekend we spent going all around to different villages( some of them as far as over an hour on crazy turrain)
We were delivering sewing machines to women whos villages have been drastically effected by the tsunami that hit India a few years ago. The surrounding area is all flooded and all the jobs are basically fishing for 2$ a day,which is what all the men do. But now the women will have something they can profit from as well (sewing).

We also went to a tiny church ( about the size of my living room) with about 40 people jammed inside. They actually asked me to share something from the Word,and so I said and read whatever the Spirit asked me to say and read. Madhava's son ,Rajesh, translated for me. I was not sure how it went being translated and all,but it did not matter, there was still a strong sense of Gods presence.
So it was an exciting weekend,filled with travelling and visiting very poor people ( who still offered us snacks and soda,It was unreal how much they wanted to share with us) and all kinds of people, a lot of observing ...and praying that we wouldn't takeout a herd of cattle that strayed along the road that was about 10ft wide.

Yesterday-

Meghan and I were watching one of the classes while they were taking exams to make sure they are doing there work and not cheating...like some of them were attempting..
While I was sitting Madhava came up and we talked for awhile. He told me what the mission is that God is leading him through. What he had to say was basically this;
Jordan, there are so many people around here in need. everywhere. So many are thirsty for water, hungry for food, in need of clothing..but we cannot meet all of their needs. There are too many. But we can do our best to meet some of them. We must show love to them , they are crying out, when we do this we share the gospel with them. They invite us to come back because they know we love them. These people need to know and hear about God, and when we love them, they open their whole village up to us and we are able to tell them about Christ. The first village we went to could not even believe how far we came just to visit them, they were amazed. And now about 27 villages have churches in them,some are bigger, some are so tiny everyone must cram in to fit.
But Jordan we need help, we need hands to join together and work with us, and without the Holy Spirit we will have no direction. So we must always let the Holy spirit direct us and give us wisdom. With this, I believe, we can bring Christ to all of the area and it will continue to spread.

This is the message he gave me, he would like Meghan and I to help encourage believers here by going to a different churches each sunday and spread the Word, and pray for the people there.
There are several ways that the spirit is moving here, and it starts here in the orphanage. We share the love of Christ in the Orphanage (many of the kids come from Hindu families and their parents know this is a christian orphanage) the kids can take that back to their parents.
We need to also reach out to the youth, so we will hold youth meetings here.
And the Women are the spirit of the house, we need to reach out to them because they influence the whole house, and they are not afraid to share what they learn with everyone else they meet. We did this with the sewing machines.

So there are some really powerful things going on here.
I learned that many of the people around here are not excepted by Hinduism because they are not wealthy, and many Hindu temples only exist because there is somebody getting a lot of money from the offerings that are past around. Hinduism is all about money.
So the people here do not fit in with so much of India.Their hope has been crushed by the tsunami, the government wont spend money on them, nobody wants to hire them because they are not well learned, they are so oppressed and in need of a Savior. So we are sharing with them the hope we have found and the new life that Christ offers. After all,we are the body of Christ.

One of the things we are working on right now is getting bibles to distribute the people around the villages.
We are talking about getting blankets for some of the people as well ,who currently, are lying on a hard cement floor , or even some of them , just the dirt.

I have been in much prayer about this and diving into so much scripture,and God really has put weight on me to be a part of this ministry.
Christ is moving rapidly, I have seen it just in the past 2 weeks I've been here. Keep praying, please.
Let me know if you are interested in helping in anyway you can. Pray about it, and seek God, if He leads you to get involved in some way, tell me.
Whatever is given to help us is only going to be used however the Holy Spirit guides us. And it wont go to us, it will go unto the least .

Thank you everyone for all of your prayers and support. I believe there is much of God's fire waiting to be spread.

I hope everyone back home is doing well and that you are all seeing God at work somewhere, it is a beautiful thing.

Much love,

-Jordan.

Thanks everyone for your continual support!
Basically these past couple of weeks have been spent teaching English to the kids (which is actually a lot harder than we thought), learning how to do laundry by smacking our clothes on cement blocks, resting, eating spicy, interesting looking food, and learning as much about the Indian culture as possible (And everything Jordan described above).
We have so many stories to share with all of you, and we cannot wait until we return to do them all justice, seeing as we only have so long on the computer. We got some legit hennas by a bunch of 13 year old girls. We also saw a scorpion the other night, and the kids beat it with a stick until it was basically pulverized. It was definately an interesting site. Jordan is currently playing the tamburine behind me, and our time is almost out on the computer. We will try to do our best with pictures, but they might have to wait until we get home. Thank you once again for all your support and prayers. They are so greatly appriciated.
With lots of love from India,
Meghan :]

PS-Stuart, what are you talking about? Where did you go?

Sunday, August 15, 2010

A note from Meghan's mom!

Hello everyone. I wanted to let you know that I spoke with Meghan this morning. After not hearing from her for about a week I broke down and called the orphanage! It was nice to hear her voice. They were celebrating what seems to be some kind of an independence day and I could hear lots and lots of children in the background.
They are being very well cared for. They are getting lots and lots of food - but very different than the US. They've pretty much eaten everything they brought from America! I'm told to send peanut butter!
The week has gone a bit better with them getting to know the children, but the language barrier is quite difficult. There is also very little sense of time. They don't know what they are doing from moment to moment, and spend a good bit of time alone waiting to be told what to do.
The hardest thing has been what appears to be a lack of internet availability. They are going to work on trying to get an aircard, which would allow us to communicate, and make the adjustment a bit easier. Jordan has been a great encourager for which Meghan is so thankful.
In the meantime, they are spending a lot of time in prayer, and request our continued prayer support. They would also like to receive mail the old fashioned way. The address is in the last blog. I know it is a $.98 stamp for a one ounce letter. Any care packages sent need to not be sealed before taken to be mailed - they inventory everything sent. Books, games, peanut butter, candy, protien bars, etc. would be so welcome. A letter sent takes about a week - and she is waiting anxiously!
Thank you for all your prayers and support. I know God is going to do amazing things through both Meghan and Jordan.
God Bless -
Denise Gore

Monday, August 9, 2010

We made it!!

Hey everyone!!

Jordan and I made it safely to India!! Thanks for all you prayers!! We're going to try and post a few days a week. Jordan and I are going to alternate days updating you. So here's Jordan...

Hey Everyone ,

We are adjusting a bit more each day to the 10 1/2 hr difference. But while you are sleeping we aren't, and while you are awake ..we are too.. haha. We sleep as much each night as we can,however, we are still getting used to it. Meghan and I have been going through what we call going "vertigo" (like U2) the deffinition we gave to the word is this: When you are standing still but feel like you are still on an airplane.. just without the plane..

We have been eating so much food the past couple of days and they just keep giving us more ( and we thought Americans eat a lot) it is also all spicy food.Which has kepted our stomachs on the up-and-up. I learned the "propper" or "gentleman-like" way to eat with my hands (as all Indians do).

Yesterday we went to buy some Indian clothing at a shopping city. We hit nearly 10 vehicles,10 pedestrians, and 10 oxens. But 95% of the time while they drive they have the horn on and the foot ready to break.After getting our clothing we went to Madhava's brother's house. We ate some fruits off of a tree at his house,which were very interesting. After eating about 5 of them Madhava looked at me,rubbed his belly, and said "good for digesting,yes.." I looked at Meghan and she said "...are we eating something like laxidives.." thankfuly they did not make us go to the bathroom anymore than we already had.

After that we watched an oxen while it was being milked,that was interesting to say the least. I learned to not stand to close,because they like to swing their tales like baseball bats at a pianatta.

While we were leaving from Madhava's brother we passed by straw huts that were just big enough for 1 person to lay under (which about 5 people had these outside of his uncles house) i remembered madhava telling me how the poor people have been becoming christians but not so much the wealthy,because Hinduism is very much for the wealthy. So i looked at Madhava and asked him "do you ever pray with them?" and he said " yes,here.come." so i followed him over to the hut and he spoke with the lady laying under the straw very briefly and she came out with her bible and we grabbed hands as i prayed with the lady and madhava.As i began to pray in english ,she began to pray in Telugu. I experienced what Jesus was talking about when He said "when you do unto the least,you are doing unto Me." So it was praying hand-in-hand with Christ I experienced.

The orphanage has been wild ,and a bit tiring at times ,but it is good. We have about 15 kids jumping on us when we are outside with them (literally. i played a game today where all the kids jumped on my back and legs and i had to shout a word in telugu ,while trying to reach a certain destination on the pavement) I also have been showing them how to stand on their hands. It is funny to watch. They throw their little likes up in the air and just a moment later they land back down.

Please keep praying for us, we are in the adapting period right now and we are expecting the first couple of weeks to feel like the longest because of all the changes.

we appreciate all of the encouragement and prayers, they have been delivering us much needed strength.

We hope everyone at home,our friends,family, and my homies at rutters are doing well.

In grace and peace (and some excitement and tiredness) in Christ,

-Jordan & Meghan

Telugu word of the day: To leave-Degu

Thursday, August 5, 2010

Almost there...

So Jordan and I leave tomorrow for India. We couldn't be more excited and anxious to see what God does. We know He has great plans.

We would basically just like to spend this time thanking absolutely everyone who has been praying for us and supporting us. There are just so many wonderful people in our lives that have truly been generous and just so supportive of our trip. We can't even begin to express our gratitude towards all of you.

We will let everyone know when we actually arrive in India, depending on internet service. We are also going to try and post stories, pictures, prayer requests, and updates as much as possible (also depending on our internet situation).

You can keep in touch with us through this blog, facebook, skype, e-mail, and good ol' fashion mail.

E-mail: frecklefacemegz4@gmail.com, skatefajaa@aim.com
Skype: meghangore
Mail: Meghan and Jordan
Mercy and Grace
K.S.T. Road
Bapulapadu,
Hanuman Junction-521105, A.P, India

Hopefully that's written correctly. We'll let you know more about the mailing situation when we get there).

Once again, we'd just like to thank everyone who helped make this trip possible because of your support and prayers. We can't wait to share everything God does in India.

God Bless,
Jordan and Meghan