March Team Blog Up and Running!

We're packed up and ready to head out!

Keep up to date with the team I'm a part of by
clicking on the following link ...

http://gccindiamarch2010.blogspot.com/

Thanks to everyone who gave support and is praying for us!

The Waiting is the Hardest Part

Singer / Songwriter Tom Petty wrote the words that title this post, and although he was speaking about waiting to find the perfect love, his words could never be more true for the current state I'm in while waiting to head out on my next great adventure.

This picture above is one of my personal favorites from my first trip to India in 2005. We were waiting to reboard the train from Chennai to Trichy, at one of the many depots we stopped at along the way. I remember several emotions that I experienced along this train ride, but the most prevalent emotion was the anticipation to get going and nervous excitement to dive into the mission at hand. I'm experiencing this once again as I write this today.

When I look back at this picture, I wonder what this woman was thinking about while sitting at the station. I think about where she was headed. Who might she be going to see? Was she excited to get to wherever she was off to?

My bags are packed, for the most part, as we had a packing simulation last weekend. My visa paperwork is filled out. I've got all my meds ready and shots updated. I just need to get on the plane and go!

There is (however) much that lays ahead of me in the next couple of days. The band has our last practice tonight. We'll be selecting the final set lists for the concerts we are going to perform. I've gotta find some quality pants to work in while on the ground in the colony. I need to tan a few more times, so I don't get burned over there, while working in the sun. I need to spend some quality time with Angie, because I can already tell how much I'm going to miss her while I'm gone. This is the first time in our marriage we'll really be apart for more than a couple of consecutive days.

If you're reading this, please pray for me and my team. Pray for my peace of mind. Pray for my wife and dogs. Pray for those I'm traveling with on the plane. Pray for the Irula colony in Kalavai and those outside that are also experiencing the concerts.

I'm looking forward to having some great stories, video and pictures to share when I get back. Keep an eye on the blog while I'm over there, just in case I get a chance to blog and update this thing.

But seriously ... right now, I need to just get going. Onward into the great adventure we go, God. It's you and I - together! Let's change the world.

The India Soundtrack

During the mission to India, I'll be both working in some form of construction during the day, and at night a few of us will be using our musical gifts to both lead worship and perform for the local community of Kalavai. We've had a few practices so far, and the music is really starting to come together. I've developed a real heart for the music we've chosen to share while we're over there. Here is a short list of some of my favorites that we'll be playing, and a bit on why they speak to me personally, in regards to this trip to India.

In Your Eyes : by Peter Gabriel
There are few songs that are dubbed "secular" that without any question can in one way reflect the heart of worship towards the most high God, and then in another way be totally disregarded as simply an 80's love theme to the film "Say Anything". I've loved this song and it's songwriter for years. I don't know what or who Peter Gabriel was writing about when he wrote this song, but every time I hear it, I think about abandoned worship towards the God I love and serve. "In Your Eyes I am Complete. I see the Doorway to a Thousand Churches."

Share the Well : by Caedmon's Call
I discovered Caedmon's while at Taylor and their 40 Acres album became one a few that never left my 5-disc CD changer. This band unearthed a feeling within me that music was about discovering what more God has to say to you personally than any Bible study or Theology course ever could. The band traveled internationally to South America and India to see where God wanted them to be and who they could serve, and during their travels they recorded their masterpiece album, also entitled Share the Well. This song is (in my mind) the theme song to each and every missions trip to India that GCC sends out. "You know I've heard good people say There's nothing I can do it's half a world away. Maybe you got Money. Maybe you got Time. Maybe you got the Living Well that ain't ever runnin' dry. Share the Well. Share with your brother. Share the well my friend. It's takes a deeper well to Love One Another. Share the Well my Friend."

Man in the Mirror : by Michael Jackson
Say what you will about the man who wrote this song, and his jaded past, or his recent resurgence in popularity due to his death - But deep down Michael Jackson was a loving person and cared when nobody was willing to provide for the least of these. Jackson indeed was a showman, but he was not all show. He understood that it took personal sacrifice and action to make his love for others known. He reached out to both young and old and made sure the those who were invisible or suffering felt loved. He knew that significant world change was a personal responsibility and started with him alone. "If you want to make the world a better place take a look at your self and Make a Change."

Pray for me Bother : by A.R. Rahman
This is a new song that we are doing simply because it is big in India right now. The songwriter is the same composer who wrote most of the music for last year's BEST PICTURE Oscar, "Slumdog Millionaire". The song is pretty simple and is about the searching for truth in a world with many influences. In the end, the songwriter simply asks for us to pray for him / her so that they may find real truth. I believe this song speaks to many in the Indian culture, which is why it is so popular. There and MANY gods in the Hindu culture, and I can imagine that finding repliable answers for a reliable deity are hard to come by in the day to day life of someone living in India. "Lookin’ for the answers to all the questions In my life. Will I be alone? Will you be there by my side? Is it something he said? Is it something he did? I wonder why he is searchin’ for the answers to stay alive."

Mother India : by Caedmon's Call
This may be my favorite song that we're doing while in India. It's a prayer for blessing and a realization of God's grace over India. There is so much work to be done and there is a lot of need all over the country. We are 50 people who have 10 days to make Kalavai a better place to live and hopefully help others come to know the one true God. But God is already in India and will be there after we leave. He will continue to love on Kalavai and all of India for the rest of time. Our trip is but a grain of sand in comparison to the amount of time God will be amongst the people of India, and His love for them is for them is eternal. "Father God, you have shed your tears for Mother India. They have fallen to water ancient seeds that will grow into hands that touch the untouchable. How blessed are the poor, the sick, the weak. Father, forgive me, for I have not believed. Like Mother India, I have groaned and grieved. Father, forgive me, I forgot Your grace. Your Spirit falls on India and captured me in Your embrace."

On Raising Financial Support

This is my second trip to India, which means this is also my second attempt at raising financial support for the purpose of missions. I'm not a fan of this practice but understand it's importance. Mostly because money gets you there, once way or another. You can either pay your own way, pray for $3,000 to just show up at your doorstep, or ask loved ones, coworkers and friends for the money to pay your way.

The last time I went to India, I decided to help pay part of my way. in the end I gave $500 of the $2,500 required for the trip. I wanted to do this because I thought that was a lot a of money to ask of people to help me raise, for a trip that they would have no benefit from in the end. I felt ashamed in a way to ask for money for something like this. I saw the trip as a sacrificial responsibility on myself, both in taking up the call to go and getting myself there.

I still feel that way, but with things being the way they are these days, I've gotten over the reservations within asking others to help support my efforts to get back to India this time around. And you know what ... I've found that God has taught me so much in putting the responsibility on others to support me. Here is what I mean ...

1) I'm putting more trust in Him to provide. He will get me there if he wants me there, or put the desire to help in others hearts, hoping they will catch the vision and give towards the cause.

2) I'm becoming more charitable myself. Haiti happened right in the middle of my fund raisiing and I knew that I was supposed to give what I could towards that effort, plus a few other people who are in need of financial support for their own endeavors.

3) I'm more thankful for the friends I have. You won't believe how powerful it is to see how your friends come through for you and show how much they believe in you. Whether by support in prayer, monetary gifts, or encouragement - it all counts in my book, and I've had a ton come through since deciding to go to India. Even more interesting, support has been coming through both the strangest and most surprising of sources. I'm blessed.

4) I've been called to live a better life and story. I'm 20 pounds lighter and healthier by placing my own finances towards getting in shape rather than paying my own way and now can add this element into part of my story about India.

5) I'm allowing others to come along for the journey and mission that God has set out before us. People who invest in you for the work you're called to do normally pay attention and stay up to date on how things are going for you. People will be touched by my story. The community of Kalavai will be forever changed because my support team helped get me to India this time around. What better reason to give towards the mission at hand and plan God has for my team ad the rest of us all.

So here is the update : I thinki'm close to finishing my total support funds for India. I'm so thankful for all of those who have given up their resources financially, as well as prayers and well wishes. I will never forget what help you've been to me and thte team leaving in March. As a special thank you, the tema of artists heading to Kalavai are going to be offering to all of you a free concert the night of February 25th, at 6:30 PM - in the GCC Attrium. we'll be performing much of the music that we plan on sharing with those in Kalavai, as well as offer out some great worship, that will honor our God for the opportunity we have to take part in his plan to change the world. You're all invited to be a part of this. The entire India team will be commissioned for the mission after the concert is done. I hope you'll be able to come.

The Story of KC3 : Kalavai Colony Comm. Center

KC3 in Kalavai from Gene Ort on Vimeo.

This is one of the construction projects I'll be involved within during my time in Kalavai, along with the construction of new homes, digging of latrines for clean sanitation and the over all betterment of the community.

Who Doesn't Love Sawyer?

Wrapping Up "LOST"

This show has been a staple at my house for the last 5 years. When the first season began, I was pretty skeptical and thought that a show about a mystical island with polar bears seemed pretty silly. But after a few late nights watching the DVD's with my house mates, and trying to figure out what in the world was going on, I was hooked. I was fascinated by the two main characters, Jack and Locke, and knew that these two men were going to help provide some of the best TV drama for years to come, or until all answers became clear within a series finale.

There were several moments when I thought this show had gone off the deep end. There were multiple times I thought this show reflected pure brilliance. And like any good show, I hated every cliffhanger provided. Every unanswered, obscure confusion. Every twist that didn't go the way you were thinking (or hoping) it would. I've ate up every minute and storyline.

Which now brings us to tomorrow night's Final Season Premiere. Producers and writers are promising answers to (hopefully) a lot of fans' questions and are saying that a end will come to the story, come May. I'm excited to see where this season takes the survivors and additions to the Oceanic 815 folk. But I have a few questions ...

1) Who's really dead now? Several characters are reported to being reinstalled into the cast, so that open up a huge line of questioning ...
2) Did the hydrogen bomb blast right history and send the story back in time to before the initial Oceanic plane crash?
3) Who are the new folk that say "were the ones who are gonna win", and what are they fighting for? If Ben says "We're the good guys." ... what does that makes these people?
4) Who was Jacob referring to when he said "They're coming."?
5) Who is Jacob's nemesis on the island?
6) Do dead people come back to life on the island, or are they just figments of the cast's imaginations?
7) Where is Desmond, and how does his story intertwine with the reboot?
8) Who's gonna die? I predict a final showdown between Jack and Locke.
9) Why is the island so important to Ben and Widmore?
10) What ever happened to Claire?