Fearfully and Wonderfully Made

Hello all!

I know it has been a little while since I last posted anything on this blog....I am sorry for that, things seemed to get really crazy as I got further into the semester! I am now officially finished with my first semester of Seminary and it truly was a blessing. God has taught me so much already in my time here both inside and outside of the classroom in so many ways! I cannot wait for the semesters to come and how He will continue to teach me and mold me in His image, all the while preparing me for the ministry to come that He has set before me.

Yesterday, I was sitting at Starbucks getting some reading done for class (yes...I am already reading a few books for the spring semester) and I stopped reading for a little while to do a devotional, and the poem that was in this book really spoke to me, so I wanted to share it. It is from Psalm 139:14 which says,

"I praise you because I am fearfully and wonderfully made; your works are wonderful, I know that full well."

Following is the passage:

"You're special. In all the world there's nobody like you. Since the beginning of time there has never been another person like you. Nobody has your smile, nobody has your eyes, your nose, your hair, your hands, your voice.

You're special. No one can be found who has your handwriting. Nobody anywhere has your taste for food, clothing, music or art. No one sees things just as you do. In all of time there's been no one who laughs like you, no one who cries like you, and what makes you cry or laugh will never produce identical laughter and tears from anybody else, ever. You're the only one in all of creation who has your set of abilities. Oh, there will always be somebody who is better at one of the things you're good at, but no one in the universe can reach the quality of your combination of talents, ideas, abilities and feelings. Like a room full of musical instruments, some may excel alone, but none can match the symphony sound when all are played together. You're a symphony. Through all of etenity, no one will ever look, talk, walk, think, or do like you.

You're special--you're rare. And in all rarity there is great value. Because of your great value you need not attempt to imitate others...you will accept--yes, celebrate your differences.

You're special and you're beginning to realize it's no accident that you're special. You're beginning to see that God made you special for a purpose. He must have a job for you that no one else can do as well as you. Out of the billions of applicants, only one is qualified, only one has the right combination of what it takes. That one is you because--you're special."


I hope that this passage blessed you as much as it did me. Through this, I hope that each of you may realize how truly special you are to God. That He made YOU in His image. That YOU were fearfully and wonderfully made. God took the time to make you the exact person that you are, and He loves you so much. May we remember the great amount of love, time, and care it took God to make each one of us. In this Christmas season, may we remember the birth of Jesus, our Lord and Saviour. That we are so special and God loves us so much that He gave His only son, so that we may have eternal life (John 3:16). So remember, God loves YOU more than you can ever imagine!

In Christ with love,

Jordan McFall

Update #1

Hello all!

I have been here in Kentucky now for almost 3 weeks! I have heard from a few people, wondering how I have been doing, and I realized that I haven’t been the best at staying in contact with most of you back home since I got here to Asbury. I am sorry for that, and so I thought it would be good to send out a short update to you all instead of the simple text messages I have sent out to some people, saying simply “things are good.”

Things have been really crazy, but also really good as I have been getting into the swing of things here. God is teaching me and stretching me so much already in these short 3 weeks, it is amazing. I am currently taking 12 hours of Masters’ levels classes, to which I was told by many people here that I am crazy for doing so….we will see how the semester goes :) I am taking the following classes: introduction to the New Testament, Inductive Study over Matthew, Kingdom Church and World, and Life of Prayer. There has been a lot of reading for the classes, and I have either just turned in my first papers for the class, or am in process of getting ready to turn them in. It is hard to pick a favorite class, but I really enjoy and have already learned so much in my Life of Prayer class.

The community life here has been really good for me, and it is such a blessing to be a part of it. Myself and a group of guys have started to meet together once a week to just spur one another on in our walk with God. To come together to pray for one another, learn from each other, memorize scripture together, fast together, and just simply hang out together. I know that God will use this group to stretch me, and am so excited for what God is going to do through us coming together, even if it will be hard at times.

I also am now in the seminary choir….we will see how that goes, since I was never in Choir. but somehow I passed auditions and the director let me in, Lol. I am also playing intramural volleyball on Thursdays now, which should be fun! Another thing I have been a part of is AHOP (Asbury House of Prayer). It is every evening at 9pm during the week, and it is just a time that students from both the college and the seminary can come together to worship and pray to God. There is no set “order” of things, we just kind of come together and go as the Spirit leads! This time each evening is so amazing to come before my Creator, praising Him, crying out to Him, and just taking the time to be silent and listen to Him.

I have also started to play the djembe during AHOP…I walked in one evening and one of the guys handed me the drum and said, “I brought this for you to play” and so I have been attempting to play it each night since then. Through my "Life of Prayer" class and my time spent each evening at AHOP, God has been teaching me so much about worship and prayer, and it has been so amazing. If any of you want a good book on prayer, I highly suggest "Prayer" by Richard J. Foster.

Needless to say, things have been challenging but really amazing here so far. I am excited for all that God will continue to teach me in my time here. I hope this has given you a little glimpse into all that God is teaching me in my time here so far.

In Christ with love,

Jordan McFall

Officially at Asbury Theological Seminary

Hello all,

After a long drive I arrived in Wilmore on Tuesday, and spent the day settling into my dorm room, and meeting new people here. Today was the first day of new student orientation, and although it was a packed day and an overwhelming amount of information, it has been amazing. I am so excited to begin my new journey here, and as I have arrived, I know all the more that this is where God has placed me. The community here at Asbury between not only students but also the faculty is amazing to be a part of, and I am excited for what God has in store for this semester! If anyone is interested and would like to send me mail, I have posted below my address here at Asbury, and would love to hear from you! I hope to post another blog on here in a couple of days to keep you all updated.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Jordan McFall
ATS- SPO #701
204 N. Lexington Avenue
Wilmore, Kentucky 40390-1199

Asbury Theological Seminary

Hello everyone!

I have been home for two weeks now, and just wanted to do a really short update for anyone still checking this! I have been asked by several people if I was planning on keeping this updated as I head to Asbury Theological Seminary in Kentucky this fall. So I thought I would let you all know I will be keeping the blog up and will try to post every once in a while, while I am in Kentucky. My hope is that when I do this, it will give you an update on all God is doing in my life in my time there and that it may be an encouragement to you! Thank you again for your continued prayers and support.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Finally another blog! :)

Hello all!

I am so sorry it has taken so long for me to post anything. It seems like since our team left Tanzania, I have had such a big flood of thoughts and emotions, I have had trouble coming up with something to write. But, I will start with our last day in Tarime.

We all decided that we wanted our last day to be at Gamasara with the kids, because this is a place they love so much, and we wanted to share it with them one more time. We wanted the day to be a fun day with the kids, and not an entire day of sadness saying goodbye the entire time. Because it was our last day, the entire staff came out there with us, which was so much fun! (they normally don’t come) The kids did a small program for us in the morning, where there was a lot of crying coming from everyone, including the staff. From there we went outside, and had lunch, which was a blast! We had asked the staff what a good treat would be for the kids for lunch, and he told us bread and jam. So we stocked up on bread, butter and jam for the day. It was so much fun to see how excited and happy they were to have something that we consider “normal” back in the United States. I don’t think there was ever a point that there was not a long line of kids. As we emptied the cans of jam, the kids would take them and lick the rest out of it, I think some of them had like 8 pieces of bread with jam! I don’t think I have ever seen kids so happy about food, and it was a blessing to be there to see it.

After that, the girls planned out a field day for the kids, and so we did some fun games. We did tug of war, three legged race, and sack races. The tug of war was hilarious; the kids were so into it! At one point I tried to help the team that kept losing by tying the end of the rope around me so I could just run in the opposite direction. It was funny to see the kids laugh about this, and yet tell me that I couldn’t do it, because it was cheating. After that, we did the staff against all of the kids, and that was so much fun! Even Bebe Leah (the grandma, who takes care of the kids at night) joined in! She even did the three legged race, which was hilarious! It was the perfect plan for the day, because it was so much fun, and kept all of our minds off of the fact that it was our last one with them for a while. Normally, when we would go out to Gamasara, we would ride out there and back with the kids, but this time we decided it would be better to not ride back with them. We didn’t want to have a long and drawn out goodbye, so we loaded all of them up into the truck, and then said goodbye as they were driving off. Although it was hard, it was truly a blessing to be able to say goodbye in that way.

I don’t feel as if I truly captured any of my emotions in this blog, but I wanted to give you all a glimpse of our last day with the kids. I miss them all so much, and things don’t seem the same without them around. It was really hard on me to say goodbye to them, because the reality is, that I have no idea when I will be back to see them. Yet, I know God had me here for this amount of time for a specific reason. I know that when it is time to say goodbye, it is because God is calling me to a new place and new adventure in my life. So even though it may be hard, I know God is good, and that He is in control.

I hope to post a blog about Nairobi soon, since we have been here for a bit, but I will hold off a day or two so you can enjoy this one first. But, I do have one prayer request. Please be praying for my transition here in Nairobi. Although we only have 6 days left before flying home, it has been hard for me to be here, because my heart is still back with the kids. So pray that God will give me the strength to press on, so that I may give my best towards the students here and the time I have left with them.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Back in Kenya

Hello all,

Since I haven't posted in a little while, I just wanted to write real quick to let everyone know that all is okay. We left Tarime early Sunday morning, and are now back in Kenya. We have taken a few days in Mombasa to relax before heading to Nairobi to begin teaching there! It was hard to say goodbye to all of the kids, but I know God is still right there with them all, taking care of them. I hope to post something in the next couple of days that is a little longer, about our last day with the kids. Thank you again for your thoughts and prayers!

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Education…the way out of poverty

As we have been here there has been one main thing that has constantly been pushed and encouraged towards these kids; their education. With all of the poverty here in Tanzania, the only real way to get out of it is through education. I am so grateful that God has given these kids the opportunity to receive an education, which is very difficult to get here in Tanzania. One of the girls on our team even made the comment, that if she had to go through all they have to just to go to school, she would have dropped out way before the point they are even at. Despite the fact that their school fees are covered, there are still many obstacles that keep them from getting the most out of their education.

Today was their first day back to school after being on break for about a month. So yesterday we gave all of the kids their shoes (a pair of school shoes, and a pair of athletic shoes). It was a huge blessing to be able to give the kids these shoes they desperately needed. So thank you, to anyone who took part in the “step into each other’s shoes” project. These kids were so happy to receive the shoes you so generously donated, and I wish you could have been here to see it! I have posted a few pictures below for you to see!

Yesterday, we also took the secondary students shopping for much needed school supplies. We purchased two sets of textbooks (which they did not even have before), one for the girls to share and one for the boys to share. We also were able to purchase them notebooks, writing utensils, backpacks, rulers, mathematical sets, and a few other things. We are hoping to talk with them a little more this week, and figure out what else they need so we can get it for them before we leave. But again, THANK YOU on behalf of all of the kids. If it weren’t for your generous support, it would not have been possible for us to provide any of these supplies for them. Through your help and support, these kids will have fewer obstacles keeping them from their education, and be better prepared for school. I don’t think I can say thank you enough for providing these kids with the opportunity to get the education they deserve.

Last week, we had a bible study with the boys and one verse that was shared with them was Jeremiah 29:11. It says, “For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future." We shared with them that they will go through hard times that will test their faith. Yet, God does not want to harm them, and will be right there with them through it all. That even when things become really hard, they must continue to put their hope and trust in the Lord. When they give full control over to Him, He will give them hope for something better, and will give them a future. We shared with them, that He is already watching over them, taking care of them. He is the reason that they are going to school, and getting the education they need. He is providing the people and funds necessary for them to have a better future, a better life.

My prayer for them, is that each one of these kids, no matter where they are or what they are doing will grow up to become amazing men and women devoted to God, willing and able to go wherever He calls them. That God will continue to be with each one of them, guiding them, and bringing others to Himself through their lives.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Glimpse of the goodbye to come

Monday was the last day here for one of the VIM missionaries who has been here since January. Yesterday, many of the kids were sad because of the fact that she had left and they don’t know when they will see her again. They were sitting around very sad, singing about her leaving, etc. As I was there, I brought coloring books, and came up with some other activities to try to keep their minds off of this. By the afternoon, the majority of them were back to normal playing and having fun. As it became time for me to head home, I began to say goodbye to the kids for the night. There is one kid in particular named Sammy who is always the first to greet me with a huge hug, and the first, and last to say goodbye each night giving me multiple hugs, not wanting me to go. He is almost always hanging on me, or wanting to be around me, and quickly became one of my favorites.

But, last night as I said goodbye to Sammy, I believe he thought I was leaving for good just as the other person was. So as I gave him a hug and said goodbye he retreated back, his eyes filled up with tears, and he gave me a look like I can’t really explain. I had to say “Kesho” (tomorrow) many times before he realized that I would be back tomorrow to see him. He quickly changed and was smiling again, but something inside of me hurt when I saw him react that way. When our team heads to Nairobi in just under 2 weeks, it is going to be a lot harder for me to say goodbye than I imagined (especially to him). I have fallen in love with each and every one of these kids, and it will be very hard to say goodbye to them. Yet, I still have just under 2 weeks to be with them, and for that, I am thankful to God. I hope that I might make the most of my time left here, and that it may be honoring to God.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

A few more pictures!

Hello All!


Sorry it has been a little while since I have posted anything! We didn't have power for a little while, but we finally have it again. The last few days have been quite hard for me, as I have been really sick, but I am feeling much better today! Because I was sick, I stayed behind, while the rest of the team is currently in a small village called Bukoba, near Lake Victoria for a few days. I am sad I didn’t get to take part in this with them, but I know God will use me here with the kids while they are gone. Since I am finally feeling better today, I am excited to get to go be with the kids again!


Anyways, since I have been sick, I don’t really have a lot of thoughts for you all right now, so this blog should be short and sweet. I hope to post another blog soon though! I just wanted to let you know all is well, and share with you a few more pictures, and also a short video of the kids in church. I hope you enjoy them!


In Christ with love,


Jordan



The first girls to get their school shoes! These three girls go to boarding school, so they start earlier than everyone else, so we gave them their shoes early. they were so excited to receive them! Thank you to everyone who donated shoes for this project, I cannot wait to give the rest of the kids their shoes as they head off to school!

The road and beautiful sunset we get to walk home to each evening as we leave the orphanage.

Church here is an amazing experience, especially with the kids. The way they praise God is so amazing, it is hard to explain. I hope you enjoy this video although it is only a tiny glimpse of the entire service. I hope to blog a little more about church, possibly after next Sunday!

Evangelism Tarime Style

On Saturday’s we usually go out to Gamasara with the kids. I blogged about this place earlier, the joy it brings to the kids, and the joy it brought me to be a part of it. This Saturday I did not go out with the kids and the rest of our team. I was sad that I was missing this time with them all, but God decided to place another, even more amazing opportunity before me. David, a Baptist missionary in town invited me to go out with him and a team to evangelize house to house in Tarime.

As we headed out we split up into different groups and each headed in opposite directions. My group consisted of me, Zach my translator, and a pastor from a local church. At the first house, the pastor did all of the speaking, and he did an amazing job. I remember thinking, how in the world am I going to be as effective as him sharing, when I have to witness through a translator? Yet at the next house, he introduced us, and then told me to go ahead and share, and so through the translator, I began to share Christ with these people. It was amazing to see God work, because no matter how much was lost through translation, or how much I felt like I messed up, He was right there making sure His message went through clearly to the people He loves so dearly. Sometime I forget that there are no barriers for God, and that he can do the impossible, and this day He reminded me of this.

We shared with a little over 20 people in our group alone, and it was amazing to see God work in their lives. Four people we shared with told us they were already Christians, so we stayed and talked with them about Witnessing to their neighbors who do not know Christ. They were very receptive, and seemed really interested in sharing their faith after we talked to them. There were about 6 people we talked with, and even though they did not accept Christ into their lives, they asked for reading material so they could look into it a little more. (We had some booklets with more information in them we handed out) Finally, the best for last, 12 of the people we shared with said they wanted to accept Christ as their Lord and Savior, and prayed to receive Him in their hearts! That afternoon we held a bible study that we invited them all to, so that the leaders could follow up with the people, and they could come to learn more about Christ, and how they should live their lives.

Please be praying for all of those we shared with. Pray for the people who accepted Jesus as their Lord and Savior. Pray that their decision is a genuine one, and that they will continue to seek out Christ and become true Disciples of Christ. Pray that they share this new life and love they have received with all of those around them. Also, be praying for those who did not make that decision. Pray that God be working on their hearts, and that they come to know Christ as their Lord and Savior. Finally pray for the Baptist church and missionary’s who are here (David, his wife Nicole, and their 3 kids), that God will continue to use them in amazing ways in their time here in Tarime.

I have to say that this day is the best day I have had thus far in my time here. I truly saw God do some amazing things in the lives of these people. I consider it an honor and privilege to be a part of God’s work here in Tarime, and to bring God’s love to the kids, and the people of Tarime. I want to say thank you to all of you for your part in helping to show these kids, and people Christ’s love as well. If it weren’t for your support through finances to bring me here, and your prayers for me and these people, they might not have experienced the love of Christ. So know that each and every one of you have had an impact for Christ in Tarime, Tanzania without ever stepping foot here. I just hope that one day you might have the opportunity to come here and meet the children here that have impacted my life in amazing ways.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Burdened Heart, Righteous Anger

The other day a few guys showed up out front of the orphanage and started talking to the older girls at the orphanage. I did not feel comfortable with them being there, and went to get Bebe (Grandma) who takes care of the kids in the evenings. I asked her to come out and tell them to leave, since I don’t know Swahili well enough to tell them myself. They immediately came up with excuses as to why they were there, and Bebe didn’t understand why I wanted them to leave, but I still had her ask them to leave. Though their excuses seemed innocent enough, and they could have been, I do not believe that is why they were there. Instead of going to do what they claimed they were there to do, they immediately sat down and started talking to the older girls. This may seem innocent enough, but I will explain here in a minute why I was not comfortable with them there.

Last week I was asked to sit in on a meeting and give a guy’s perspective with the secondary school girls who are ages of about 14-18. The meeting was basically because there have been problems with some of the girls, and their boyfriends. Ultimately the meeting was basically about sex, and quickly turned from just boyfriends to other issues. I came out of the meeting with such mixed emotions that I did not even know what to begin to write about the situations these girls deal with on a daily basis. You see, I came out of the meeting with a burdened heart, having a righteous anger, yet a little happy all at the same time. I was happy because I felt like through the meeting we had helped the girls immensely. Although it took them a little while to open up, eventually they did, and it gave us the opportunity to be an example to them on how they should pursue relationships. They were thanking the girls on our team for taking the time to talk with them about the situations, and different ways they can deal with them. I truly believe God used this time to show these girls how much they truly are worth, and that He loves them very much.

This brings me to my burdened heart, my righteous anger, and why I ran these guys off. As we were sitting in the meeting, we discovered much more about what these girls have to deal with. We found out that there are these men in town known as fataki’s. They are basically wealthy men in town (many of whom are married) who will buy the girls makeup, a phone, or even something as small as a soda in exchange for sex. There are even teachers who allow the fataki’s to come to the school and pull girls out of class. Some of the teachers will give their students better marks in exchange for sex. Most of the time it is the girl’s choice to go with the men, but there are some men who it is very dangerous to say no to. The fact that they jeopardize their very lives by refusing to go with these men angers me so much. These girls are an amazing group of young women who are worth more than a soda, makeup, or a simple phone. God created them, and that makes them worth so much more than all of the money or valuables in the entire world. I hope that now you see a little of where my burdened heart and righteous anger come from.

Now, you know why I asked those guys to leave, and why I am very wary of any guys that come to the orphanage that we do not know. Although some of them coming may be innocent, I feel a sense of responsibility to keep the bad ones away. I feel as if I have to be on guard to protect these girls and keep them safe. I am so happy for the girls on our team and the connections they have made with the older girls at the orphanage. I know God has placed them here at this exact time to speak into their lives, and be an example to them on how to live their lives for Christ.

Although it is hard for me to write about this (it did take me a week to say anything), and I know this hasn’t been a very “uplifting” blog, I had to post it. I still don’t feel like in all that I wrote, I captured all of my emotions I have been feeling about this, but I hope you have the same righteous anger flowing through you when you read about what these girls have to go through. All I can do is ask that you pray that the men doing this will find Christ, and turn away from their wicked ways, and that you be praying for the girls. Pray that they may find full contentment in Christ, that they may begin to realize how much they are truly worth, and that God may continue to watch over them, and keep them safe. Thank you for your much needed prayers for these girls!

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Gamasara

Saturday we had the privilege to spend the entire day at Gamasara (the property the new orphanage is being built on) with the kids. As we arrived, it was awesome to see each and every kid bolt out of the van as quick as they could. The joy that this place brings to each of the kids makes me love it all the more. I cannot wait for the building to be finished and for the kids to move out there. If you take a look at the current place they are living, and the new building, you would understand why they love this place so much.

Before the kids were allowed to play, they had to work the shamba (farm). One thing that really stuck out to me is that there wasn’t a single person not working, and not once did I hear any complaining. These kids had such a joy to know that this entire shamba and all that came out of it was theirs, that working it was truly a privilege and not a burden. It reminded me of Philippians 2:14-15, “Do all things without grumbling or disputing so that you will prove yourselves to be blameless and innocent, children of God above reproach in the midst of a crooked and perverse generation, among whom you appear as lights in the world.” As I saw them doing this work in this manner, without grumbling or disputing, I truly caught a glimpse of Christ. I am here to love the kids and be a light for Christ, and instead, on this day the roles were reversed, they were the light of Christ for me. It all the more reminded me that not only does God show up in the most amazing ways, but that I need to have a privilege mentality in all I do. To go into all things knowing that God has placed opportunities before me, and I have the privilege to serve Him by doing them.

Some of the older boys have been going out to work the shamba by themselves. It was neat to see the leadership roles the older boys took as they taught the younger ones how to properly work it. What would take days for a single person to pick by hand we had done in an hour or two. These boys’ knowledge and leadership will be so valuable as they all move out there. After we were done working the shamba, we all spent the afternoon doing a variety of things. The three biggest things were soccer, boxing (picture below), and swimming in the river. It was a great day, because there were no words required. I felt like I grew so much closer to many of the kids, and yet said so little. I cannot wait to head out there again next Saturday, and take part in the joy that Gamasara brings to each and every kid. I know God is at work in each and every one of these kids lives, and I am glad He is letting me take part in it.

In Christ with love,

Jordan


Nossi (the youngest) boxing with me. It was the funniest thing ever....she won, lol.


Us & the kids swimming in the river, which was a blast!

A few of the kids harvesting the beans!

Sammy, holding some carrots he pulled. He has really warmed his way into my heart.

Pictures, and a glimpse of life here!

Below are a few pictures I thought I would post. No pictures of the kids yet though! We thought it would be best to leave our cameras behind for the first week, and focus fully on just being with the kids. The first is a picture of the current progess of the new orphanage being built. The second is one of my favorites from the serengeti, a lion cub playing with its mother. The last is our team as we were entering Tanzania!

There has been a lot to soak in so far in my time here. Things are the same yet very much different here in Tanzania compared to Nairobi. I will try to describe parts of life here so far the best I can. We finally have power which is really nice to have! But, we still do not have running water, and do not have any idea when we might have it. Something I am learning is to just go with the flow. You could have something planned out and the next minute you are headed in a completely different direction to do something that had nothing to do with your plan.

There are two main modes of transportation in Tarime that we use. The first, and what we use the most is our own two feet :) As we walk each day to the orphanage or other destinations, it will never fail that we will hear the word “mzungu” (which means white person) yelled out multiple times. Kids will wave to us or follow us. Some of the youger ones will run up to us and want to walk with us for a while or for us to pick them up. I also enjoy trying to respond back to people on the street when they greet me in Swahili…I am learning the proper responses slowly. The second mode of transportation is called the piki-piki. It is a motorcycle, and you just hop on the back behind the driver. They are fun to ride, and we use them if we need to get somewhere quick, or if it is getting dark, we will use them. There is also a taxi driver in town as well if we need to call him.

It is always uplifting each time I arrive at the orphanage and I am greeted with a hug by almost every kid. There have been encouraging and discouraging times in my time with them, yet I am slowly falling in love with each and every one of them. Trying to figure out how to be most effective at the orphanage has been a challenge, and I know will continue to be for a while. There are times when the communication barrier leaves me feeling useless, which is not a good feeling to have. I am slowly learning a few key points from those who have been here for a while. The first is that sometimes, to go and give one or two hours of my very best to the kids is better than being there for 4 hours and not giving them my all. The second is to go with something planned. To have a game or an activity, anything that we can do with them that communicates in a different way than words. I have learned that the times I feel I am connecting most with the kids, is not through words, but when I am interacting with them through games or activities. I am able to show them that I do care about and love them just by taking the time to sit down and do an activity, or play a game with them.

These are just a few of many thoughts I have thrown together. I hope that this gives you a little glimpse of what it is like here.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

We are here!

Hello all,

We arrived here in Tarime late Friday night after a long drive from Nairobi! Thank you for the prayers for safe travels. These last few days have not been what I would call "normal" with all we have been doing to get settled in. We spent Saturday and Sunday on a safari out on the Serengeti, which was a blast. It was amazing to see God's creation in this setting. We have been getting the exciting experience of Tarime, with no power for the past few days, or running water for a day. Hopefully later this week, we will have both of these things working....I can hope, right? :)

As we arrived at the orphanage, we were received with open arms...literally. I think we spent fifteen minutes just giving and receiving hugs from each and every child. At times, I felt defeated because of how big the language barrier really is. Yet, I found joy yesterday when I was able to communicate through just playing ball with some of the kids. I could interact, and start to form a common bond between us, which was awesome! I just pray that communication will not be as much of a barrier as it has been.

Yet, through all of this, I know God is at work here in the lives of each of these children, and I am thankful for that. I consider it a privilege to take part in His work, and I must continually remember that it is not me at work, but Him working through me. To know that no matter what barriers there are for me, there are none for Him. I must strive to live a life that is holy and pleasing to God. Sonny, the sports and discipleship coach, led a devotion over 2 Corinthians 2:14-16, while we were in Nairobi. I encourage you all to look over it. It makes me ask, am I truly showing others the fragrance and love of Christ in all of my words and actions at all times? I encourage you to ask yourself the same question. These are just a few thoughts of many I have on this passage, take the time to look over it!

Again, thank you for your thoughts and prayers, I appreciate all of you so much. I hope I can post some more on here soon, I will have to wait on power...we had to go to a neighboring town to a small internet cafe that had a generator for power to post this.

In Christ with love,

Jordan

First part of our travel complete!

Hello all!

After spending 43 hours (two overnight layovers sleeping on the airport floor!) and flying over 9000 miles, we are now officially in Nairobi! I just thought I would do a quick post to let everyone know we made it safely. We will be spending the day in Nairobi tomorrow, and then driving to Tarime, Tanzania on Friday! Thank you for all of the prayers during the first part of our travels, and I hope to update you a little more soon!

In Christ with love,

Jordan

Updates!

Welcome to my Blog! First of all, I want to take a moment to thank you. If you are reading this, it most likely means you are partnering with me this summer through prayers, financial support, or you have a general interest in all that I am doing. I am so grateful to each and every person who has helped me make this trip happen. Although God has called me to be the one to go to Africa this summer, I truly would not of been able to follow His call without your help. So again, I thank you for your partnership in this journey, I truly am so very grateful to each one of you!

Since the internet connection in Tanzania where we will be for the first 6 weeks is really slow, I will most likely not be sending updates through email this summer, but this will be my main form of communication. I will attempt to post a new update at least once a week if possible! I pray that although you are not with me in Africa, that I might be able to relate back to you all that I am experiencing. I hope that during this summer that God not only be teaching me, but that He would use what I put on here to teach each of you. My prayer is that God will shape your hearts, that your love for Him will grow, and you will begin to have a heart for the nations.

In Christ with love,

Jordan