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