Harvest Time

Jesus traveled through all the towns and villages of that area, teaching in the synagogues and announcing the Good News about the Kingdom. And He healed every kind of disease and illness. When He saw the crowds, He had compassion on them because they were confused and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. He said to his disciples, “The harvest is great, but the workers are few. So pray to the Lord, who is in charge of the harvest; ask Him to send more workers into His fields.” Matthew 9:35-38 (NLT)

Yeah AmeriCorps NCCC! (For those of you who don’t know what that means; AmeriCorps NCCC- National Civilian Community Corps is the national service program Jordan and I were in last year. The skinny is: 11 months, 18-24 year olds, teams of 10-12, 6 week projects across the country, and a school scholarship at the end.) Gold Seven, a team from the Sacramento campus, arrived last Saturday to work with us at R3SM. We have had a full week with them and so much has been done. We all have been working on Mary’s house (see “Learn Sow Reap” the post from Feb. 18th for more information). In the weeks since we arrived Jordan and I had finished mudding and sanding the kitchen, living room, and 73% of the bathroom, trimmed and painted the windows, primed the exterior and clothed the main living space in a coat of sun yellow. But over the past week, with the team, we have:

• Connected all the plumbing
  “Welcome to Hattiesburg, please dig around this sewer pipe, we think there is a hole in it.”


• Screwed down all the sub-floor boards (and patched the missing spots)
  “Welcome to Hattiesburg, please climb under this house and hammer in some nailers between these joists”


• Installed a tub in the bathroom
  “Welcome to Hattiesburg, oh the tub we had donated won’t fit through the door of the bathroom?”


• Painted the exterior and replaced missing siding
  “Welcome to Hattiesburg, try to sawzaw that at a matching angle to the other ones.”


• Built cabinets and shelves
  “Welcome to Hattiesburg, you have never built cabinets? Me either!”

All jokes aside we really accomplished a ton and this (year long) project should come to a close by the end of the month. It is amazing how much can get done with help.
In the same way, Jesus could not accomplish His mission here on earth without laborers. He saw how much work was to be done and knew He couldn’t do it alone (well, He could do it alone, but not being 100% man). In chapter ten of Matthew Jesus gives the disciples authority over unclean spirits and the gift of healing. (“Welcome to Galilee, go touch some lepers.”) The disciples went throughout the land of Israel healing the sick and spreading the good news.
While Jesus was on earth He needed disciples how much more does He need them today; while He is not here in human form? We are all called to follow Him and be willing field hands for the Lord of the harvest.

There is still so much work to be done even right here in Hattiesburg; as Jordan and I enter our last month we are so blessed to have workers with us.

Peace and Love,
Jess and Jordan

A picture from one of the framed out windows (we will have some before and after pictures soon, and some brag photos of the kitchen cabinets!)

Sowing Love

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do everything for the glory of God...just as I try to please everyone in everything I do, not seeking my own advantage, but that of many, so that they may be saved. Be imitators of me (St. Paul), as I am of Christ.
- 1 Corinthians 10:31,33 - 11:1

Earlier this week I recieved the most uplifiting and encouraging email I have recieved in a long time. This is what it said:

Hey Jordan!

I follow your blog. I think it's incredible...I don't know if you actually know this, but I was a bit lost from the Lord when I came down here to AmeriCorps. Lots of reasons for this-- but I REALLY struggled with it. You talked to me ONCE about it, high up on the scaffolding on that house on edgewater and that night I went home and started reading my Bible again. It has been a bumpy road , but I feel Jesus in my heart again, and I thank YOU for it. I know God puts people in our lives for reasons, and that seems to be the reason you were put in mine. Now, I have a great Church, I volunteer there in Youth Group and in Sunday school and I am completely fulfilled spreading the word and serving God. Thanks Jordan! Hope this wasn't too corny!

We always hear people say it in sunday school, in church sermons, bible study and Paul says it in the passage above; always be a living example of Christ because we never know who we will touch throughout our day.

What does it mean to be a living example of Christ? Paul tells Titus in his letter, "Bid slaves to be submissive to their masters and to give satisfaction in every respect; they are not to be refactory, nor to pilfer, but to show entire and true fidelity, so that in everything they may adorn the doctrine of God our Savior." - Titus 2:9-10

That is probably one of the hardest commands, especially for those which may have a boss (master) which they don't particularly get along with or agree with. Because we are Christians, we are called to at all times praise Jesus and live according to his example. When Jesus was whipped, tortured and crucified, he did not curse those who were "master" over him. Instead he silently endured the pain, knowing that his one and only Master up above would take care of him in the end. We are in the same way called to be subject to our boss', putting forth our best effort in the work that we do despite the differences we may have with our boss. Thus, we set the best example we can of Jesus Christ. This means not gossiping about our boss with co-workers or cursing his/her name while they are gone.

On the other hand, if we are the boss, we are told, "Masters, treat your slaves justly and fairly, knowing that you also have a Master in heaven." - Colossians 4:1 We all are subject to God our Father in heaven, so just like we want God to treat us with love, respect and forgiveness, we are to treat those under us with love, respect and forgiveness. How are we to curse, punish and/or treat those under us unfairly and at the end of the day go to God and ask him to have mercy on us? Jesus Christ was the perfect example of a leader when he washed the feet of his disciples. (John 13:5) In order to lead people in this world, we must do it by example through serving the needs of the very people we lead.

We interact with people every day. Our familys, our co-workers, people at the store, and people we pass by on the street. With every person we have a chance to show the love of Jesus Christ. Every time we smile at someone we spread love into that small fragment of their day. Jesus brings tremendous joy and courage into my life. If the only thing I did in this world was share/give that joy and courage to everyone I meet, then my soul would be satisfied.

Once we become believers in Christ we are filled with fruits of the Holy Spirit. These fruits are: Love, Joy, Peace, Patience, Kindness, Goodness, Faithfullness, Gentleness, and Self-Control. (Galatians 5:22-24) Paul, after sharing with us the fruits of the spirit, goes on to tell us that since we are filled with the Holy Spirit and must cultivate those fruits, we must also use those fruits having "no self conceit, no provoking of one another, and no envy of one another." (Galatians 5:26)

Now, living out the way which Christ would want us to is tremendously hard to do. Like the email above states, it will be a "bumpy road", but we need to be constantly reading the bible, attending church services and be in fellowship with other believers so that we may grow the fruits within us and gain better knowledge of the scripture and understanding of what Jesus is asking us to do. If we stay constant in our long journey of spiritual growth we will live more joy filled and fruitfull lives which will benefit not only ourselves, but the people around us. Like the mustard seed is such a small seed(photo at top), but the mustard plant grows wild and strong; our lives can plant small deeds of kindness into the lives of others and some day we will actually bring Gods Kingdom here on Earth and be prepared for the day in which Jesus Christ will come again.

Jessie and I say the prayer that is to the right of this page every day. We adapted the prayer from St. Francis of Assissi and customized it to our daily lives and needs. We encourage everyone to share the prayer with us and together we will grow.

Peace and Love,

Jordan and Jess

HE IS RISEN INDEED!!

Therefore we have been buried with Him through baptism into death, so that as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, so we too might walk in newness of life. Romans 6:4

Easter is just the best. I am not a big “holiday” person; Christmas is good and Thanksgiving is probably my favorite, but holidays are just a little to Hallmark-pushy for me. I prefer to enjoy each day rather than just the ones when all the stores are closed. Easter IS special though. It is the holiday that separates Jesus Christ from the rest.
Today He rose from the dead!
Not only do we have a martyr that died for us, we have a reason to praise (Sunday has come!).
Easter marks new life; Jesus’ new life, our new life in Him, as well as the new life of the season. Spring is upon us here in Hattiesburg (sorry to make everyone in the north jealous, but it is nice). Things have turned green, are budding and sprouting (see photos of Mr. Halloway’s garden; those are little peach trees and rows of potatoes). The birds and the bees are excited too. The house we are working on has a little wasp problem. They have been building their own little subdivision in the porch ceiling. With new developments showing up daily we really have to keep them up to date on our zoning laws. One day we were eating lunch out on the porch and we noticed a giant bumble bee. It was hovering a few feet out from the porch at about eye level. When a wasp got near the house the bumble bee would zoom over and attack. It was a little hard to see what exactly he/she did but the wasps flew away. The bumble bee would shoot across the street to Mr. Halloway’s house and do some counter strikes then come back to its position in front of us. It was a good show and we loved it because the bee was keeping the wasps away from the house. We don’t know why it was so aggressive but it never took a rest. We think maybe the bee has a nest going in the bush out front.
Cardinals and blue jays have been swooping in and out, chasing each other and singing. We even saw a woodpecker knocking on the telephone pole. I have been reading Little Flowers of Francis of Assisi and the last chapter had a wonderful story of Francis traveling along a road and coming upon a group of birds on the ground. He began to preach to the birds and more flew down from the nearby trees to listen. Francis explained how blessed the birds were; their species had been preserved, they had the freedom to fly anywhere, and God had provided for their every need (food/water/trees for nesting/new clothes). Then he explained how the birdies should be on guard against the sin of ingratitude and should constantly praise their creator. After the sermon the birds spread their little wings, bowed their beaks to the ground, and took off singing to the heavens.
We, in the same way, need to be constantly praising our creator and savior. Easter is the perfect reminder for us. Spring is beautiful and each flower should trigger songs from our heart to the one who made the earth. The thought of Christ’s resurrection should easily prompt worship.
One more thing to remember: He prophesied His death and renewal and was 100% correct; we should trust and obey everything He foretold. (He will be back!!)


“You ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart.”
(A line from my favorite Easter hymn)

Peace and Love on this very great day,
Jordan and Jess

They killed my King

"While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Why, one will hardly die for a righteous man--though perhaps for a good man one will dare even to die. But God shows his love for us in that while we were yet sinners Christ died for us." - Romans 5:6-8

There was a Man who walked this earth preaching about loving one another and praying for your enemies. He asked those around Him to follow His example and to live their lives in the service of others.

One night He even washed the feet of His followers so that they would learn that leading people is through serving them. Later that night, He was in a garden praying when one of His friends gave Him a kiss on a cheek, a sign to those who were out to arrest Him.

They arrested this Man because they feared the truth which He was speaking. They were comfortable with their power, riches and fame. They took this Man to higher authorities to put Him on trial for his death. This Man was beaten brutally and mocked all the while.

The King of kings was given a crown, but it was made of thorns. He was given wine but it was sour. He was given a purple cloth to be wrapped around his bloodied and cut up body and the praises He recieved were followed with spit, laughter and blows to the body.

This Man was then given a cross and forced to carry it up a hill, all the while being mocked, spit on and whipped. He was then nailed to the cross and raised before all as a warning to anyone who might try to live by His example. If you do what He says and follow His ways, you too will be nailed to a cross.

While dying on the cross, this Man spent energy to speak, when his body was barely able and the words he spoke were of forgiveness for those who put him there.

This Man was completely innocent and He endured a death no condemned man should. Jesus Christ died for you and me. Who am I to deserve the suffering which He endured? How can I ever be worthy of the pain which His mother went through, watching her Son stumble to His death? I love this Man, but when faced with death am I strong enough to say He is my friend, or must He continue to wake me up each morning with the cocks crow to remind me that I am only alive because of Him? How do I find the courage to complain about an aching body from work or
simple criticism when You were strong enough to remain silent through Your punishment?

Grant me mercy, oh Lord, that I may live a life worthy of Your death. Through Your suffering make me strong so that I may carry Your cross with You.

Today You died Lord. I am forever indebted to service.

Love Wins Again

“If I have the gift of prophecy, and know all mysteries and all knowledge; and if I have all faith, so as to move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. And if I give all my possessions to feed the poor, and if I surrender my body to be burned, but do not have love, it profits me nothing.” – 1 Corinthians 13:2-3

Over the last year I have sought to reduce all my possessions down to one bag. I have given my life to the service of others. I have spent my time praying and searching for all wisdom in Gods Word and I have tried to practice in my life what it is that Jesus preaches about. Thanks to the power of God, I have been successful in all things.

When I look back at my life, my successes and my failures, my dreams and my realities, my faith and lack thereof; I can not help but marvel at the brilliance and wisdom of God. My God is a loving god, a forgiving God and a providing God. He has blessed me with a strong and close family who is always there for one-another. He has blessed me with friends who support me in all my dreams, seek with me all answers to this sometimes confusing life and most importantly are (and always will be) there for me when I just need company. Lastly, he has provided me with a new family in Christ which has been built in my travels. Those who have offered me rides, places to rest, and food to eat. There are many I keep in touch with and to this day I consider them a part of my life.

In all these things I find love. Whether everyone knows it or not, it is in them that I find the beautiful and loving face of God. Today I am here to announce that I have once more been blessed by God and once more he has secured for me an everlasting promise. I asked Jessie Wambold, my companion and best friend for the last year, to marry me. She answered with a YES!!

I met Jess in AmeriCorps, day one. We were assigned to the same “pod” (temporary groups before we were put in teams). She immediately caught my attention with her stories about traveling the world on her own. Who wouldn’t be impressed by a cute girl, 5 foot tall who, when she was 18 literally traveled around the world on her own. Confidence, happiness and love were beaming from her face and enthusiastic attitude. We remained friends through the first 3-4 months of AmeriCorps. It was in Vermont that we were put on the same team and began reading the bible together that we began to grow closer together. Both of us spent each night reading the New Testament starting with Mathew, in search for God knows what. I being raised Catholic and her Evangelical Free, allowed for good conversations about our understanding of Christ.

The deeper we read into the bible, the closer we became spiritually. With her I felt a bond that I never felt before. With her I felt the Holy Spirit alive, not only in her but in myself. Vermont came and went, and soon we were put back on our first teams. However, the thousands of miles did not break our communication. We continued reading the bible each night and discussing our thoughts about what we were reading on the telephone. We were both attending different Sunday Services but sharing what we learned and experienced. Our relationship seemed to be growing at a constant pace and our understanding of Christ seemed to be growing at a faster pace.
It was towards the end of our third round in AmeriCorps that we decided we wanted to continue our service of those in need, but this time we were going to do it under the authority and dependency of Jesus Christ, not Uncle Sam. One thing about Jess that is most attractive and similar to myself is her ability to dream; her ability to have a vision and work towards that vision with all faith and determination that it will become a reality.

After AmeriCorps we began the next phase of our life (AmeriCorps calls it our “life after AmeriCorps). Entering AmeriCorps we both had different visions of our separate future, after AmeriCorps we were on one accord with our dreams, we were on one accord with our God and we were on one accord with making our dream a reality.

What Paul states in the passage above is important. One can know all things on this earth, have all faith in God and give all their possessions even their life to others, but without love there is nothing. Without getting to know the inner-soul of another human being we miss out on what life is all about. Whether it be a friend, family member or partner in life we are called to love one another. Not just be kind to one another, but to actually love them. We are called to be patient and kind. We are called not to be jealous, a braggart or arrogant. We are to act proper and not degrade ourselves or seek things for ourselves. We should not be provoked by others or count the times we are wronged. We should give no credit to that which is unjust and we are to rejoice and live in all truth. And finally, we are called to believe that anything is possible, be willing to handle anything that comes our way, always remember that Christ has filled us with all hope and use his strength to endure all challenges that may come our way. When we abide in love, we will never fail. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

I look forward to loving Jess the rest of my life.

Peace and Love,
Jordan Schiele