Living Exodus!

In January, Jess and I started to read through the bible together. Starting at both Genesis and Mathew simultaneously we should finish it in one year, reading a couple chapters of both Testaments each day.

As we were nearing the end of Genesis, Jess mentioned briefly that she thought it would be neat to read about Moses in the desert while we were in the Mojavi. I laughed and said "be careful what you wish for". Little did we know that our lives would soon become the first half of Exodus!

Three nights ago (Saturday night) we were dropped off in Barstow, CA. We arrived just in time for the second half of Mass at St. Joseph. After Mass concluded we asked the priest if we could spend the night in their parking lot; he said yes. The next morning we attended the full service and afterwards enjoyed a hot breakfast provided by the Knights of Columbus. We then set off for the on-ramp and waited for a ride east.

After a couple of hours we were able to get a car ride to the next exit in Barstow. There happened to be a man at the on-ramp already, so we sat and read our bible. At this point in time we were at chapter 13 of Exodus. After more hours passed by and no luck with rides, we decided to grab our bags and walk to the next on-ramp. We were expecting it to be easier to get a ride where there wasn't another hitchhiker. After four miles of walking we realized that past Barstow there was nothing and we were in fact, in the middle of the Mojavi desert. Night was upon us and we set up tent under the only tree in sight.

The next morning we walked along Historic Route 66 to the next town called Dagget. It was there we re-filled our water packs and waited for a ride. Shortly, a lady named Cheryl picked us up and told us "You'll never get picked up here, let me take you back to Barstow". Discouraged we agreed and she dropped us off at what she called "hippy hill" which was the same on-ramp we were at before we started walking. Only this time, the man was gone.

While waiting we decided to continue reading where we left off last in Exodus. It was the beginning of chapter 14 which says "Then the Lord said to Moses: "Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahi-roth.". Immediately we started laughing and took it as a sign that us turning back was the right thing to do, and we wished we would have read it the day before. Soon after the Red Sea opened up, as it did for the Israelites and we obtained two good rides taking us all the way to Tucumcari, New Mexico (over 800 miles).

At this point in the bible we are past the Red Sea, the Israelites are safe and have rejoiced, but now are beginning to grumble towards God and Moses about water and other various things. Which Moses tries to remind the people that their murmurings are against God, but God continued to respond by taking care of his people.

Today (Tuesday) we were dropped off in Amarillo, Texas by a guy who promised to take us to Oklahoma City. (which would have passed the ice storm in Amarillo). However, after sticking up for foreigners when he made some racist remarks; he decided he was no longer going to Oklahoma City and dropped us off in Amarillo.

After sitting in the 15 degree weather (which felt like 5 with the wind), it was easy to focus on the negative as did the Israelites in the desert. We decided that we would dip into our emergency money and got a room at the American Value Inn to bring us out of the cold.

While in the room, we warmed up and had time to reflect on our recent two days. It was here that we realized we had become like the Israelites and quickly forgotten the blessings we received only a day ago. There is no time for negative thought because after all, we are alive, safe, warm and blessed by a loving God who provides for our daily needs. A God who hears our murmers, but still continues to love us and provide for our needs. Tomorrows weather is forcast to be in the 50's and we are in high spirits for the end of our journey! We are almost there!

Finally, we have one public service announcement: these bags as
photographed to your left were in the dozens and left on the side of
the road in the Mojavi. They were all filled with only tumbleweeds.
Why are we picking up tumbleweeds in plastic bags? A tumbleweed in a
orange plastic bag, tumbling down the road, made for a funny sight

We have also added a list of the cities we have been dropped off and
picked up (mileage of rides included), located at the top right of
this page.

Peace and Love,
Jordan and Jessie

Coming to you LIVE from Bakersfield

Good evening viewers, this is Jessie Wambold coming to you live from the road. Brought to you by the only station that 'Brings News to Life'.

This morning while leaving Elk Grove CA the conflict in Gaza came to life. Mirhad (mer-haad) an American-Palestinian has been driving truck for 17 years, with a Koran on the dashboard and a prayer scarf around his neck. In his early 20's Mirhad was kicked out of Palestine by Israeli soldiers. They were just wanting to stop young people from joining the resistance, which Mirhad had no interest in but nearly became a casualty of when he was shot. He spent some time in the desert between Israel and Egypt before being let in to the neighboring country. His engish was good and he was hired by Lockheed Martin (who was building a satelite communication system for the Egyptian government). The young Palestinian was well liked by his superiors and was offered a green card into the United States. Five years later in 1990 he became a US citizen.

Mirhad, who lives near Oakland with his Mexican wife and nine children, has given up hope on going back to his homeland. When I asked if there was an answer to the conflict he said it will not end "until Jesus returns". This month the Israeli army invaded the Gaza strip and Mirad's family held a 22 person funeral. He has every reason to dislike Americans for funding Israel's war but we have received word that he picks up American hitchhickers and sends them on their
way with a "good luck" and a $5 bill, "for a little breakfast."

Later that day the unemployment line came to life; Louis is a Mexican- American living in Mendota, a small town in central CA. He works at the sugar plant, but not for long. The plant is technically closed, the few workers they kept on are just taking apart machines for scrap. The plant employed 200 people but Louis noted many more are out of work, the number does not include the truck drivers or beet farmers that relied on the plant. Mendota has been hit hard during this economic crisis. A local tomato plant will likely close and the town's claim as the 'Cantelope Capital of the World' will most likely be lost. Jorge, another native, explained how the current drought has already closed many farms; with much of the available water being piped to Los Angelas.

Louis, 39, is not too worried about the coming year, I think he prefers to stay positive. He has been working since he was a youngster, picking grapes until he was in highschool when he was hired by the sugar plant. He worries more about his children and how they don't seem to appreciate what they are given. I suggested some tough times may not be the worst thing to happen to my generation and he agreed that his children could use some work ethic training.

With much regret there is one last thing I must bring to life and that
is the litter problem on our highways. This picture was taken by a
nice young hitchhiker who thought a van was pulling over to pick him
up but discovered they were just emptying the garbage from their
vehicle. I know you are outraged by this problem and will continue to
try and keep our roadways clean.

I will sign off by asking my viewers to join me in praying for all
those affected by the conflict in Gaza and the unemployment crisis.

Thanks for watching,

Jessie Wambold 'Bringing News to Life'

This broadcast approved by Jordan Schiele.

Our Call to Serve

"As He walked by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who is called Peter and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, 'Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men.' Immediately they left their nets and followed Him."
Matthew 4:18-20

"Now when Jesus saw great crowds around Him, He gave orders to go over to the other side. And a scribe came up and said to Him, 'Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go.'Another of the disciples said to Him, 'Lord, let me first go and bury my father.' But Jeaus said to him, 'Follow me, and leave the dead to bury their own dead.' "
Matthew 8:18-19,21-22

Jesus is still calling disciples and today Jess and I have taken our first step in faith to recieve his call. There are many excuses we could make for not immediately answering his call (eg. weather, fear, finances, sick family members) but we are all reminded in the two passages above that when God calls us, we are to answer his call and follow Him immediately.

Jess and I both came to the conclusion about 5 months ago that our calling from God was to travel his land and serve those in need. Today we are headed to Hattiesburg, Mississippi which is 2,282 miles. (1 day and 9 hours driving time). We are on foot and hitchhiking our way out there.

The reasons we chose the method of hitchhiking are many. Mainly, it allows us to immediately answer our call to serve (we aren't limited by travel finances). Another reason is that we will be exposed to many different people on our way. We will be given a glimpse into the lives of those we meet. Some we may help, others will help us but most importantly; we will be able to share our love of Christ to a broader amount of people. However, not only will they hear our words, but they will see our faith in action and the joy it brings.

We are estimating that, if all goes well, it will take 5 days to get to Hattiesburg. Once we get there we will be contacting a man named Ray who is a construction supervisor for "Recover, Rebuild, Restore Southern Mississippi" a United Way program. I (Jordan) worked with him during my third round project in AmeriCorps. We are now returning on our own accord.

Ray is also an involved member of Ebeneezer Baptist Church. Jess and I plan not only to work with him on construction projects, but also to work with the church on whatever it is they need help with.

Some goals of ours are to fully integrate with the community, complete restoration projects on houses damaged by Hurricane Katrina, work on a potential community garden for the church, and start a small group with people our age within the community. We will also be doing a lot of praying and study to find our next assignment and to further grow our wisdom and faith.

In our travels and service we ask that you all pray for us as we will keep everyone in our prayers. A prayer that Jess and I wrote is posted as "Daily Prayer" and you are invited to say it with us every morning.

We ask also at this time to specifically pray for my Grandpa Koenig in his time of sickness and for my Grandma who is blessed with the opportunity to fully love and care for him in his time of need.

Love,
Jordan and Jess