We visited one of the teacher's houses (Mary). These are some of her brothers and sisters. They took us for a boat ride in the man-made lake beside us where they earn their livelihood catching and selling fish.

This is sideways because Meghan can't take pictures. Haha. Jordan is giving out a blanket to a woman at one of the villages.

Same as before, except this is Meghan.

One of the better houses in the village.

Jordan and I posing after giving the children at one of the village schools blankets and rice. They put garlands around our necks to show their appreciation. The people there were truly greatful and hospitable.

Hey guys!

Here's a few quick pictures of the projects we are doing. We still have some supplies that we are going to be distributing. The villages we visit really are in great need. The rainy season has been a hinderance to them, flooding their houses, roads, and crops. They don't have a lot of money to begin with. Most of them earn about 2 dollars a day. And that's doing hard physical labor like fishing, carrying supplies, and construction. Not everyone in the villages have jobs though, so the ones that do are considered lucky. Some of the familes have multiple kids, so providing for all of them and the parents is hard. Most of the houses they live in are one-room houses, or little huts. They don't have much, so what they do have is very valued. The blankets they got made them very happy because most of them didn't even own a blanket. Us, Madhava, Nirmala, and Rajesh are doing as much as we can for them, and we are hoping people will join with us to help them because there's a total of 24 villages we'd like to help. And more call and ask for our help. We can't meet all their needs, but we are trying to do as much as possible. Each place we go to they let us pray with them to continue to look to God for life. Many of the people are getting sick now with the changing weather. And we are going into certain areas, praying that God will keep us at health so that we can continue to do whatever it is He wants us to do. We continue to pray for support. Please continue to join us in prayer, and we hope that you will continue to join us in giving, as well, since we are young students who have not established a large financial pocket, but what we do have is being used to be poured out onto the villages. The exchange rate has worked in our favor (1 dollar equals about 45 rupees). The cost of a blanket is approximately 200 rupees, so about 4 dollars. People are sleeping on the ground in their huts. And the blankets are the only thing that seperates them from the dirt because the ones we gave blankets to don't have cement floors. So these blankets give them a place to rest their weary bodies from working all day in hopes of at least filling their kids stomachs, and at best, theirs as well.

Thanks to everyone so far for the prayers and support. It's greatly appreciated. Please just continue to pray for the people of the villages.

Love from India,

Jordan and Meghan

Hey everyone!

It's sunday here, and its still very warm here. I dont know what its like in PA,but i hear fall is almost hitting you.

I would have liked if I could have many of you here with us yesterday.

We went to two villages. The first village we met a huge group of people at a school that are doing things similar to Mercy & Grace. They are feeding kids, and taking care of them as best as they can.

They are financially struggling so we helped supply them with blankets for the people throughout the area. We found out the blankets we were giving out would take a man from that area 3 days of his salary to pay for one. Madhava encouraged the people in the village in unity, that they need to begin to help each other. They all have been deserting the idea of unity, which has not helped them get into any better circumstances then where they are now.

Then we all prayed together, praying that they would continue to look to God and ask for His guidance.

Then we went to the village #2

We met up at a prayer hall donated by Salvation Army. We were given great hospitality there, we were offered drinks and snacks by some of the people.

We had another large gathering. Madhava asked Meghan and I to share from the word and encourage them. After worship (in telugu) we shared a message which was translated by Madhava's son, Rajesh.

After this we prayed with them and gave blankets to the Men and Women, most are of an older age and you can see that the age is getting to them as they have to walk a decent distance back to their homes.

We are hoping to keep doing things like this here.

People have been opening up their villages to Madhava and his wife Nirmala . There are a total of 24 villages, and we have helped three so far with the blankets and rice we've bought with the money you helped support us with.

God has really been doing His work here in India. You can see Him in some of the people. This one lady at one of the smaller villages of huts by Madhava's brother's house was a good example. As soon as we gave her rice, she ran to her hut (the size of a bed. you have barely enough room to lay in it and I'm not even sure you can kneel in it. This is for a whole family). She went to her hut and grabbed her Bible, her most prized possession, and some oil. She had us lay hands on her and pray for her and annoint her. It was really touching. You could feel the Spirit there. After praying with some of the other women, we left. It truly was a wonderful day. God showed Himself in so many ways. He truly is so wonderful.

I would personally like to thank everyone that has helped out so far. The prayers and support you've given has gone a long way. They've been used to glorify God and do His work. It is greatly appreciated by us, and especially the people here in India. There are still so many other villages we haven't reached yet, that are in so much need. We pray that God will open some doors and shows us ways to help them. Please continue to pray on the subject. Prayer is so important, and has proved to be so powerful. I would also like to thank anyone who's sent us packages or mail. Those too are greatly appreciated. They put smiles on our faces, and we thoroughly enjoy watching the kids eat some American sweets and snacks. It is really funny (We gave this one girl, Keerthi, peanut butter, and her face was priceless. She had no clue what to do with the texture and she really didn't like it. Haha!).

Thanks again for all the prayers and support. I hope everything is going well in America for everyone, and you're enjoying the changing seasons.

God Bless,

Meghan and Jordan

Ah, I can't think of a title...

Hey! It's Meghan

Well, you guessed it. We're still in India. Ha! The days continue to go by, and I realized we've been here for about a month and a half now. Wow! It feels like just yesterday we got here. We continue to eat spicy food and do the usual Indian thing. I'm pretty sure we're slowly morphing into Indians (if that's even possible). My last post was about the festival, and that just ended. The last day of the festival though, it rained. It poured actually, really, reallly hard. We danced in the rain and got soaking wet, which felt nice and cooling. While I was drying off, I felt a deep remorse looking out at the roads. They were slowly getting worse. And that's just where we are. The roads are a lot worse near the villages. Please just continue to pray for the villages. I'm not exactly sure the level of damage the rain did yet, but I heard it's been wiping out a lot. One of the villages on a lower elevation is up to their waists in water. Pray that their houses, livestock, crops, etc. are not too badly damaged. That's their life here. Without it, it's hard to survive. And the rain also brings disease, so continue to pray for the people affected by it. I know a lot of the little girls at night give me prayer requests to pray for their parents or loved ones with fevers. Some of the children have also gotten sick, so please pray for them. Prayer has been a really powerful thing here in India (as it is everywhere). I am moved every time I see one of the little ones get down on their knees and earnestly pray to their Father. The most moving prayer time is perhaps at night. I go in the girl's room to pray and wish them goodnight and give out hugs. Some nights though, the girls will annoint my head with oil and put crosses on me and pray for me. It truly is touching. God is working in a lot of their little hearts, and I love it. Please pray that He continues to move these children and speak through us while we teach them. A lot of the kids are Hindu, and there's a few Muslim kids as well. I can see their curiousity when we teach during Sunday school or give the nightly verse and prayer. Just pray that the Lord can work through us to touch them. Thank you all for your prayers thus far. They truly have been appreciated. I hope everyone at home is doing well, and I look forward to hearing from you and sharing more stories with you.

God Bless,

Meghan :)

How bout that?

Hey!
Its Jordan posting.
How is everyone doing?ah,sounds like you're all doing well...
so! here is what is new- We are waiting for roads to clear up from all of the rain we have had the last couple weeks,so that we can continue to share the word with the villages. And! we have a few boxes of Bibles that we just got (thanks to everyone back home supporting us) to take to the villages.
We are also waiting on an order for blankets,and a truckload of rice for here at the orphanage. We are hoping to get some photos up so everyone can see where their money is going .
Life here has been getting more beautiful as time moves.
Each night before the elementry kids go to sleep they call me into there room and we all get in a circle and we pray together. After this they all say "goodnight tumulu!" (telugu for brother)
Last night i went in to lay down beside some of them as they were falling asleep. Right when i layed down i was offered a mat to lay my head on. I told the boy we should share..It was the only thing he had that he was laying on.
After i layed there i felt something at my hand.
One of the very little boys layed down next to me and i looked down at him and he gave up his mat to come over and be next to me. So i gave him my bandana to lay his head on,he took it with a great smile. As he fell asleep i rubbed his head not certain if he has parents and if so,had they ever done this for him while he was falling asleep. I am certain of 2 things though,and it is this; I have never had someone offer me their pillow as the boy i layed next too,if it meant that they were going to be lying their face on just the ground.
The other; This was the first time i have ever seen anyone give up there mat (or matress) and lay down on the solid ground,just because they liked the person they would be laying next to.
Jesus says "Blessed are the poor" and I have a strong sense of that here. I also have a strong sense that those who are loved by the poor are incredibly blessed.
I experienced that last night. I dont believe that some of the kids are aware of the level of love that they have shown me while i've been here.
They are all Unique,made fearfully and wonderfully.

I hope that everyone back home is doing very well. Thank you all for your prayers and support.
If you could be praying that the roads would clear up here ,that would be much appreciated. The roads that go to the villages are terribly bad to drive on even with a truck,they are all mudd roads and have been ripped apart by all the rain and livestock that walks on it.
Also for the health of the people here,many are getting sick because of the weather as well. All the rain is prime for masquitos and masquitos are prime for things like malaria.
In the love of Christ,
-Jordan

Here's something real quick....

Hola from India!!
So things have been pretty interesting around here. But definately good! The days are never the same. We continue to teach the kids english and drawing, while they continue to teach us Telugu and Indian dances and such. Last night was the most BEAUTIFUL night I've ever seen. The sky was so clear and I've never seen so many stars. God truly is amazing, and they made the pictures in my Discovering the Universe class book look pathetic. Haha. We continue to recieve love from all the people here, especially the children. It really is remarkable how much they can love two strangers. Right now it's a 6 day festival or something. I believe it's called Remjen (spelling?). Most of the kids have gone home to celebrate with their families. The few that have stayed have taught us many games, and we teach them Uno, war, and other games we make up with a deck of cards. Jordan went to town yesterday. He can post about what happened there. I stayed at the orphanage and did some work and hung with the kids. I ate lunch with them, and I have honestly never eaten something so spicy before. My mouth was pretty much on fire! Haha. Everyday is someone else's birthday it seems, so I'm going to go celebrate that. So, we'll fully update everyone in a few days or so on what's been going on. I just decided to put up a brief message. Enjoy the changing weather at home, with fall approaching. Also to anyone still in school, have fun! Haha.
For now,
Meghan and Jordan :]

Updation (Jordan's word)

Hey everyone!
It's Meghan and Jordan! Well, it's been about a month in India and a lot has happened. We've experienced a whole new culture. Jordan and I both got some sweet new clothes. Mine being a Saree and Jordan's being angelic white clothing. We've gotten used to the spicy food, and sometimes (especially this past week) have had repercussions due to it (if you know what we mean. haha). Jordan has learned some of the Telugu alphabet. He's actually becoming quite fluent, as well as in French and Japanese. He just has a natural knack for picking up languages. He teaches himself. Haha. We teach English lessons everyday. Today we taught the 4th grade a story about Kip and Starla from Napoleon Dynamite. Hopefully they can use this new aquired information in their everyday life. We also found out that my power is connected to Jordan's power (well the curcuit). We kept wondering why Jordan's power would go out everytime I went into his room. Well, it turned out that my power switch controls them all. So if I'm in his room, he has no power. Haha. So those late night bible studies won't happen in his room at least (except thank you mom for that incredibly powerful flashlight. Jordan uses that to light up is room). The rainy season is coming to an end, and "winter" is approaching. It sure doesn't feel like winter. With the winter comes sickness, though. We haven't been able to go to the villages due to outbreaks of the swine flu and fevers and other sicknesses. So please pray for the people here. Speaking of sickness, I got a rash from sun exposure from taking my malaria pills. At least it's better than getting malaria :] The Lord has been guiding us through a lot of things. We are building endurance and much needed strength. Sometimes it gets hard with the language barrier, cultural differences, and all the kids running around screaming. But God has continued to provide us with patience and strength. We have just been praying a lot and asking God for guidance in everything we do here. We try to do everything with love and follow Him to the best of our abilities. Please continue to pray for us and the people here. All your prayers are greatly appriciated, and we love to read your comments. They bring smiles to our faces :]
Ok, well peace out,
Meghan and Jordan :]

PS-Stuart we are still waiting to hear from you :]

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?