Gordon Family Mission

Pittsburgh Project Changes Lives

2011-07-04T10:13:00.001-05:00

I have finished my first week of work at the Pittsburgh Project and it has been an adventure!

The Pittsburgh Project is a non-profit community development organization that seeks to change the city so that "Pittsburgh will be called a City of Truth, where once again men and women of ripe old age will sit in the streets each with cane in hand because of age, and where the city streets will be filled with boys and girls playing there (adapted from Zechariah 8:4-5)." For 25 years, the Project has been running programs to meet this vision.

I am working as a technical staff member for the Homeowner Services division. Basically, the Pittsburgh Project hosts teams of volunteers all summer long who come to Pittsburgh to help fix houses of elderly or needful citizens of limited means. My job is to be a "craftsman" work leader. I am responsible for guiding and teaching the volunteer teams to safely complete repair projects all around Pittsburgh. I am also responsible for caring for the spiritual needs of the homeowners and team members.

The reason we do this is because of the moral transformation that occurs in us because we believe in Jesus Christ. The entire Bible includes directives to take care of the poor, needy, orphans, and widows. In Galatians 6:6 Paul directs us to "bear one another's burdens." Because Jesus makes us free from the Law, we are now free to fulfill the law of Christ by bearing one another's burdens. The word for burden here means an experience of something that is particularly oppressive.

This is more than a "working vacation" for students that makes them feel good about themselves. This is a discipleship opportunity for students to experience living out the law of Christ by bearing the burdens of a homeowner in a practical way. Saving faith in Christ is more than a mere intellectual assent to the truth, it includes a moral transformation that requires putting faith into action. The students and leaders participating in the Pittsburgh Project are doing exactly that. What they do glorifies God.

Here are a few snapshots of students repairing a leaky roof by installing a new layer of shingles.

Students covering the leaky roof.

Reloading the nail gun.

In addition to students, we have college volunteers who get materials and assist with teams. They are invaluable. Here is a shot of one of the best ones on top of the completed roof.

#1 College support staff modeling on the new roof.

I have been driving around in a work van that can only be described as "the beast." This 1 Ton van has been reconstructed from parts of lesser vans.

The BEAST.

It possesses advanced features such as satellite navigation.

See how steep the sites are in this neighborhood.

It feels great to be doing hands on ministry again instead of merely studying all the time. I look forward to an exciting summer with the Pittsburgh Project. Starting in the fall, I will be working as a pastoral intern at the United Presbyterian Church of Freeport, PA. I am looking forward to that experience as well.

Moving to Facebook

2011-06-25T16:36:00.000-05:00

Due to my blatant neglect of the blog (despite my lofty aspirations of keeping up with it). I have decided to use Facebook to keep up with everyone. If you are interested in keeping up with what we are doing, send me a friend request on www.facebook.com. Say hi when you get a chance! I appreciate your patience! It has been a terribly busy year.

NOT Going Private

2010-10-15T21:20:00.000-05:00

A number of you responded to an earlier post in which I stated that I was going to take our blog private. Due to some limitations of the blogger software, we could only have a maximum of 100 readers if we were to take the blog private. So, we have decided not to take the blog private.

Baby Zeke Arrives!

2010-10-14T14:48:00.000-05:00

Baby Zeke has arrived! Ezekiel David Gordon was born on September 23rd at 6:18pm. He was 20.5 inches long and weighed 7lbs 15oz. He was born via Caesarean section. We thank God that Mom and Zeke are doing well. We have had almost constant help from the grandparents since Zeke was born. This has been very important since I didn't get much time off from school. The entire community at PTS has been extremely supportive. People at have been absolutely fantastic. Here are a few photos...

The excitement of Greek Continues

2010-08-02T12:23:00.001-05:00

I am officially 1/2 way through summer intensive Greek! I have completed the final exam for term 1 biblical Greek (aka. Ελληνιστική Κοινή). Today, I began term 2.

This milestone is a testament to God's grace and supernatural blessing. Great endurance (or ὑπομονή) was needed. Believe me when I say that I do not posses the needed endurance. Moving and getting settled in Pittsburgh has been a difficult time for us as a family. Josiah has been sick. Now that he is mobile, Josiah has discovered how to throw a fit if he does not get what he wants (which is often). Jenny is 8 months pregnant. I have been sick almost the entire time (even now). We have been struggling to figure out how to pay for everything. As Pastor Charles in New Orleans would say, "I'm not complainin', I'm just explainin'."

We have established that it's been tough going, but here is the great news: God is providing in practical and supernatural ways. Practical ways: Doctors have diagnosed Josiah with asthma and provided a treatment that seems to be working; Our parents have been making regular appearances in Pittsburgh to take some of the burden off of us; We were approved for Medicaid and food stamps; Through many different treatments, I am beginning to feel better. Supernatural ways: The new baby is not breech (This runs in Jenny's family. Josiah was breech); Jenny and I have not killed each other and still kind of like each other. I got an "A" in first term greek.

The examples here are clear. Too often I think that I chalk up good fortune to coincidence. But if we really believe that God exists and cares for us, how can we think that anything is really random? I often wonder how much of the Universe can be explained in a systematic fashion, with the origins of the system pointing directly to God. I guess I will have to wait until fall semester to explore this question in more depth. In any life situation that could go either way, I try hard to remind myself that life is not random. I try to thank God for all things.

As my class moves forward into the murky depths of greek, I look forward to doing more bible translation. We are moving through the gospel of John in the Nestle - Aland greek new testament. This is the best part of class.

It's all Greek to Me

2010-07-24T18:26:00.002-05:00

Our blog has been on my mind a lot these past months. I sincerely apologize for the lack of effort on my part. I am glad to be posting again.

I am sure you have heard the expression "It's all greek to me". There is a very good reason why this expression exists. Greek is very different from english and the alphabet is full of squiggly doodles. As I am writing this update, I have just finished the midterm exam for the first semester of New Testament Greek. It's very cool to be able to pull the richness of information out of the original texts. The written greek language contains more information than written english. I might blog more about greek later, but for now I want to give a family update.

View Pittsburgh in a larger map

Jenny, Josiah, and I have moved to Mr. Rogers Neighborhood so that we can study at Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. The above map shows where the seminary is, and you can play around with it to see more of pittsburgh. (The google earth view shows 3-d buildings). Our move was one of the best moves we have ever made. We rented a 26 foot Penske moving van. Jenny, Josiah, and my mother drove up on a Friday, and my dad and I drove the rental van to Pittsburgh on Saturday. We received lots of help loading from the folks at Deepwood Veterinary Clinic (long story) and some awesome help unloading from our friends in Pittsburgh (as well as a surprise guest helper from Centreville).

As soon as the move was over, Josiah went to the emergency room because he was having trouble breathing. In addition, I went to urgent care for a sinus infection, and Jenny went to urgent care as well. In short, we all got sick soon after arriving. In addition, my summer greek class started a few days after we moved. So we are still in a process of unpacking, getting well, and preparing for baby #2. You can pray for us! I will try to update about Josiah. He has athsma and allergy issues. Our doctors here are getting it under control. We thank God for our parents, who have been periodically visiting/helping us since we moved. Their help has been key.

Over the summer in addition to summer greek, I am putting together a seminary budget for us. Our original plan was that Jenny would work some to generate income while I went to school full time. Our hope was that I could finish in 3 years. Then Jenny became pregnant. Now, we are waiting to see. Our backup plan is a direct loan from uncle sam. We would rather not incur debt to go to school, but we may have to incur some debt to get through year 1. A number of our supporters were asking us about supporting us financially, and we are still working on the best way to handle this one. I will keep you posted about it. In our lives thus far, God has provided for our every need (including finances). We know it will work out just fine.

While here we are checking out some of the local church outfits. Eastminster Church, and the Open Door are two we have visited. We hope to check out more. We would like to worship together with a diverse (both age diverse and ethnically diverse) body of believers. We live in an area that is racially mixed. Going to an all white or all black or all Korean church seems bad for us. We are hoping to find a church outfit that is intentionally diverse bringing all parts of the local community to worship God together. He is worth it!

Here are some funny quotes to end the post:

"Hell isn't merely paved with good intentions, it is walled and roofed with them." - Aldous Huxley

"Build a man a fire and he will be warm for a day; set him on fire and he will be warm for the rest of his life." - John Calvin

Major Update

2010-03-22T16:14:00.000-05:00

I have been extremely delinquent on my blogging for the past three months, so this post is a major update post!

Big news: Jenny is pregnant! We expect to have our second child in September of this year. What a blessing. The morning sickness is almost over, we hope. Things are going to get very interesting in the fall! In the mean time, we will anticipate the growth of our family.

Jenny, Josiah and I have visited Gordon-Conwell Seminary, Pittsburgh Seminary, and Princeton Seminary. I found out last month, that I was accepted to all three schools. After a long discernment process, we have chosen Pittsburgh Theological Seminary as the place to go for additional training. Our plan is to live on campus and to begin biblical languages during the summer semester (July). This is extremely important because with the new baby arriving in September, I need to lessen my load a bit to be available at home as much as possible.

I have recently been approved by the session (governing body) of our home church (Centreville Presbyterian Church or CPC for short) to come under care of CPC and begin the inquirer process. The inquirer process is the official process of the Presbyterian Church, U.S.A. for those who are exploring a possible call to become ordained ministers. This is the first step in a rigorous process that includes discernment, evaluation, and training. This process will coincide and augment the training I will receive in Seminary. The next step in this process is to become approved as an inquirer by our local Presbytery.

Josiah turned one year old on Feb 5th. We were going to have a birthday party for him, but it was cancelled due to the major blizzard that hit the Washington, D.C. area. It was a shock being in New Orleans for two years and coming home to one of the most severe winters on record. Brrrr! Where are the palm trees? We did manage to give Josiah some cake and presents despite the snow.

I have been working full time for Home Depot in the interim to make some money. In addition, I am taking a class called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. This class is awesome. It's a lot of work, but I am also going to receive graduate credit for this class. If you have ever been curious to know the scope, history, and motivation for the world Christian movement, take this class. If you have ever been interested in missions, take this class. This class will make plain the continuity of the bible (old and new testaments). This class also seeks to educate believers on exactly what God is trying to do in this world. This class is offered all over the U.S.A. Please, take this class. Ok that is the end of my pitch.

Jenny and I are involved in some other activities around Centreville until we leave Centreville for seminary in the summer. We are volunteering with the high school youth program at Centreville Presbyterian Church. (We really enjoy working with youth.) Jenny is involved in a women's bible study, and I am working with the missions support ministry. We are attempting to limit our involvement so as not to become overloaded but at times this is difficult.

In addition to our volunteer ministry activities, we were asked to preach a sermon for missions month at CPC. Our sermon topic was "God's call to missions" and the overall theme of missions week was "bearing fruit that will last." You can check out a link to the audio for the sermon here. The sermon was preached on 1.31.2010. This entire sermon series featured some amazing speakers that give clear examples of how God uses normal people for His purposes.

Last but not least, we were blessed with help from my parents to purchase a new car. With my full time work schedule, it was clear that we needed a second car. Its a small minivan made by Kia called the Rondo. Our old car has taken some abuse in New Orleans and has high mileage but it still runs. We are going to think very hard about whether or not we want to keep two cars in Seminary or sell one of them. I am thinking we will sell one, but we are going to wait and see.

After a period of uncertainty, God has yet again brought us into a time of purpose and direction. He has sustained us financially and spiritually. We are very grateful to Him for this. It has been hard coming back to Virginia for a number of reasons. Once a person has a significant encounter with the Kingdom of God like we did in New Orleans, one can't help but feel odd. We have gone through so many significant changes in short time. It can be hard to relate to friends and family. The re-integration process is proving to be kind of nasty.

This may be the last public blog post for some time or ever, as it is becoming clear that as "computer savyness" becomes ubiquitous, putting all kinds of public information on the internet is becoming unwise. Do not be surprised if this blog disappears in the not too distant future.

Get a Job

2009-11-13T14:56:00.000-05:00

Well, It's time for me to get a job. I am looking at doing some temp work to make some money until we leave for school. My current work options are now over and it's time to beat the streets and find a job.

Visit With Friends

2009-11-11T21:38:00.000-05:00

On our way back from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, we stopped by our friends Anne and Brian's place in Plymouth, Massachusetts. We had a great time. They recently had a little girl named Cassie. She's super cute and drooly. I had a great time geeking out with Brian and playing guitar with Anne. Jenny, Josiah, and I had fun hanging out with Cassie as well. It wasn't all play though, I assisted Brian with some projects around the house. Together, we were able to achieve completion on some tasks. We also got to visit Anne and Brian's current church which is a vineyard church. It was a great time. I am constantly amazed by how some friendships develop with time. God has provided us a special bond with other believers that goes beyond what we could have without Him. I truly respect and love Brian and Anne as brothers and sisters in Christ. I guess that means by proxy, Cassie is a niece! Enjoy some photos:

Seminary Process Update

2009-11-11T21:14:00.000-05:00

Well, two things have happened recently. 1) After much consideration, I have dropped Reformed Theological Seminary from my list of possible schools to attend. I did this because of cost of living, resources available from the Virginia campus, and because Reformed does not correspond with the Presbyterian Church (USA). 2) We went to visit Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in South Hamilton, Massachusetts. While there, I met with admissions, financial aid, students, faculty, and sat in on some classes. Jenny, Josiah, and I got to stay on campus and eat at the cafeteria. Overall, our impression of the school was great. The concentration on exegesis and languages shown at GCTS is exactly what I am looking for. GCTS also has a study abroad program with Jerusalem University which I am interested in. This would be an expensive school for us to attend, but if God wants to, He can make a way.

What is Seminary, Anyhow?

2009-10-26T14:38:00.002-05:00

Seminary

This word has been dominating our lives lately. I don't exactly remember how we got this way. I think it involved a sense of calling to vocational ministry on our part. And then, a realization of my lack of bible knowledge and understanding. Next, a realization that my gifts are aligned with helping, teaching, and administrating. Somehow, it seemed like a good idea at the time.

It still seems like a good idea. As I have started the process of applying, going to seminary has become increasingly scary. It's a big decision. Also the possibility of becoming a real-deal pastor is extra scary. Being a pastor is a big responsibility. But God has brought us a long way. He continues to open doors and bring confirmations. We are stepping out on faith here.

So I have been able to narrow the selection down to the following schools:

That's it for now. We will be visiting these Seminaries soon. We will also be seeking direction from some folks who are more advanced in their faith in Christ than I. This includes our church session, which is the governing body of a Presbyterian Church.

Pray for us. If you think about it, reach out and encourage me please. I need some encouragement!

Bathroom Agenda

2009-10-26T14:10:00.005-05:00

Once we arrived in NOVA (NOLA to NOVA... that's funny), we (Aaron) immediately began helping to finish an addition to Jenny's mom's house in NOVA. Jenny's mom was kind enough to let us live at her place for a year while we prepare for Seminary. Without this place to live, our transition to NOVA would have been very difficult. It's an expensive area to live. In our attempt to answer God's call, we have made some life decisions that will limit our income. Despite these sacrifices, God continues to provide for us. Luke 12:28, "If then God so clothe the grass, which is today in the field, and tomorrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith?" Pretty awesome.

So back to the construction project... Jenny's cousin is also currently living with Jenny's family in the old farm house. This old farm house is at least 100 years old. It needs a lot of love to keep going. And it only had one function bathroom!! The addition project includes a new bathroom and laundry room located in a space that used to be an old shed and bathroom. The encapsulated bathroom was non-functional before our remodel.

Like most remodel projects, this project suffered from "scope creep." This is every project manager's worst nightmare. Somehow, by God's grace, we survived. 5 weeks later, we have a completed addition! (well, mostly completed). Here are some photos for your enjoyment. Ciao.

Leaving Nola

2009-10-24T15:14:00.017-05:00

Leaving New Orleans! Wow I couldn't believe that it was actually happening. Jenny, Josiah, Jeff, Kris, and I worked hard to make sure that God's ministry in New Orleans that we were a part of would continue.

Forward Edge is still sending teams to New Orleans. FEI still partners with Pastor Garrison and the New Genesis Bible Church. The difference is that from now on, no full time FEI field staff will be in New Orleans. Forward Edge will use trained Facilitators to lead the various rebuilding and ministry teams. These facilitators will work with the FEI office staff to line-up work projects and coordinate trip details. This is a big step for the New Orleans ministry! Now that the projects continue without us, the longevity of the program is improved. The tools are there, the van is there, the trailer is there, Pastor G and the people are there. The recurring overhead costs of the program are almost nil.

It's cool to see that God doesn't really need us to keep His work going. He invites us to be a part of His work for our own benefit and for His glory. So even though we are gone, I have kept in touch with some of the FEI facilitators, office staff, clients, and of course, Pastor Charles. Teams are coming to NOLA throughout the fall! Halleliu-JAH!

Before we left the city, we tried to see as many clients and friends as we could. We even had a chance to visit some volunteers in Sandpoint, Idaho. Here are some photos of our goodbyes.

Once we finished our goodbyes, it was time to pack up all of our things and move to Virginia. Our old friend and FEI facilitator Derek helped us drive the 22 foot moving van over 1000 miles over the Appalachian Mountains.

View Larger Map

I did not realize that Derek was a trucker, but apparently he's ready for the long haul. Our friend April also helped us to move. She and Jenny took Josiah in the Exploder. It was a tough trip. I think trying to move in 2 days was pushing it a little bit... Lesson learned. So now we are back in Virginia and working to apply to Seminary, and survive the advanced yuppie culture~! YIKES.

It's Been a While...

2009-10-24T14:02:00.004-05:00

Since I have posted to our blog! A lot has happened in the last four months. Since it's been 4 months since we put out any updates, I figure I at least owe everyone 4 posts. I'll try to catch everyone up in a way that makes sense. The next few posts will be about what has happened in the past few months. Then I'll post what is happening right now.

Josiah Eats Some Rice Cereal

2009-06-16T16:55:00.008-05:00

Yes, I am one of THOSE parents. One who publishes photos/movies of their kids doing normal things and acting like it is a miracle. Well, it IS a miracle... to me. The video is cute as well. I guess you really need to be a parent to understand. Enjoy!

Mission Trip to Rural Upstate New York

2009-06-16T13:43:00.009-05:00

Last month, (I know it's been like 3 weeks) I had the pleasure of being involved with a group of people on a mission. The mission: To assist some elderly believers in Upstate New York with their houses, to encourage people in their faith, and to draw closer to God and each other. This group came together from Centreville Presbyterian Church in Centreville, VA. They asked me to come with them to help out and assist with construction tasks.

Photos By Chelsea

While in New York, we slept in the basement of First Presbyterian Church in Watertown, NY. It was so cold. 30 degrees when we arrived. This southern boy from New Orleans couldn't handle it! I am grateful that it warmed up to 70 degrees as the week went on. The work sites and contacts were provided through MINC Rural Rehab, and extension of the Presbytery of New York. We worked on two work sites, one 15 minutes away an one 30 minutes away. I was with the group who went 15 minutes away.

Our job was to work with Mrs. Irene to repair her house. Mrs. Irene is an elderly widow that needed a helping hand. The front porch on her modular home was crumbling and unsafe. Her roof was leaky and in need of repairs. We spent the week working on these two projects and getting to know Mrs. Irene. We were able to complete 60% of the re-roofing project and tear down/rebuild the front porch. Mrs. Rachel was our work coordinator from MINC Rural Rehab. She provided direction and materials. She also made sure we were doing the work correctly.

The other group worked for an elderly couple putting a new roof on their trailer home. This group built trusses to increase the slope of the roof to assist with snow load. (Lots of snow in upstate New York) This couple invited us to their church for dinner one evening. It was great getting to fellowship with the rural community. On Friday night, this team was able to lead a youth group event at the same church. How awesome!

Our evening devotions were great and we were able to minister to each other and worship the Lord together. We even got a chance to successfully enact the conflict resolution guidelines laid out in Matthew 18:15-17.

¹⁵"If your brother sins, go and show him his fault in private; if he listens to you, you have won your brother.

¹⁶"But if he does not listen to you, take one or two more with you, so that BY THE MOUTH OF TWO OR THREE WITNESSES EVERY FACT MAY BE CONFIRMED.

¹⁷"If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church; and if he refuses to listen even to the church, let him be to you as a Gentile and a tax collector.

NASB from www.biblegateway.com.

Going through resolution this way leads to healing and relationship. We know that relationships that survive struggle have been proven and are richer for it.

Overall our objectives were completed and Jenny, Josiah and I were able to spend some time in the Northeast (Jenny and Josiah stayed in Virginia). I give God all the glory. He showed up again and cool things happened.

Thank you for your support over the past two years!

2009-06-01T16:36:00.008-05:00

Your prayers and financial support have been greatly appreciated. Without you, our involvement in God's work in New Orleans would not have been possible.

God's favor and provision have blessed us, as we have raised over and above the amount of money we were personally responsible for raising. At this time we ask that you discontinue your financial donations for our personal support, since the rebuilding program in New Orleans is now capable of operating without full-time FEI staff on site.

During our time in New Orleans, we have seen God bring about significant progress. God has used the rebuilding process to further the racial reconciliation of His people. We have seen at least seven new believers in Christ baptized by the New Genesis Bible Church, our local ministry partner. We have seen that church go from a shell of a building, to a functional ministry center. By August of 2009 we will have worked with 43 volunteer teams on 22 homes (13 homes completed) and 8 churches. We pray that there will be many more volunteers that come down to rebuild lives in New Orleans. We also ask you to pray for us as we work to complete two more homes by August.

We would like to take this opportunity to strongly encourage you to continue your support of Forward Edge International (FEI). In our opinion FEI has the best short-term missions program around. In addition to the Gulf Coast, FEI has relief and community development ministries throughout the U.S., in Oaxaca, Mexico, and at two locations in Nicaragua. In Managua, FEI has built a Villa Esperanza or “Home of Hope” where young girls are living. These girls have been rescued from life in a garbage dump and a difficult future of scrounging for food and being sold into prostitution. FEI also has an emerging child sponsorship program.

Once again, we ask that you please consider maintaining your support of FEI as a first-rate Christian organization that is literally changing lives. You can continue your monthly pledge by going online here and selecting “Apply where needed most.” Or you can contact Karen at karen@forwardedge.org or 360-574-3343.

FEI’s rebuilding ministry in New Orleans continues. There are still many, many homes and lives that need to be rebuilt. FEI is still sending teams to help. If you are interested in serving God by rebuilding in New Orleans, please contact Matt Harris at matt@forwardedge.org, or 360-574-3343.

As our time in New Orleans is coming to a close we praise God for all the work he is accomplishing in New Orleans. We keep none of the praises or glory. We are thankful to God for letting us be a part of his ministry here in New Orleans. We are also thankful for the entire FEI staff and specifically, Jeff and Kris Thompson for serving us in so many ways over the past two years.

In August, Jenny, Josiah, and I will be leaving Forward Edge as full-time employees. Leaving FEI is sad, but we hope to continue the relationship by leading short term trips whenever possible. We will be moving back to Virginia to pursue God's call on our lives: to help people learn to engage their faith in Christ by serving him in practical ways. We believe the next step is seminary training. Please pray for us to receive guidance (what educational track to pursue), direction (which school to attend), and a smooth transition as we leave New Orleans. Please also pray that our time in Virginia will be a time of spiritual renewal for us to draw closer to God.

Thank you again for your support! We will keep you posted as we continue on the adventure God has made for us.

Josiah Turns 3 Months Old

2009-05-06T08:22:00.013-05:00

Yesterday, Josiah turned three months old. It is hard to believe it's already been three months. It's also hard to believe that it's only been three months! So much has happened and he has already changed so much.

His Feet are not huge - it is merely the camera angle!

He's been growing fast, and we are sleep deprived, but that is to be expected I guess. While we have been learning to be parents, the recovery work has been continuing. Jeff and Kris Thompson initially led all the teams. since March, I have been back to work full time and we have experienced the new challenges of having Jenny at home and me at work.

When he was a few weeks old, Josiah was diagnosed with Fibriomatosis Colli at Children's Hospital here in New Orleans. Fibromatosis is a correctable condition. His neck muscle was bruised internally during birth. The bruise turns into scar tissue over time and causes the muscle to contract. Since his diagnosis, he has received physical therapy at home and at Crane Rehab center. He has been making very good progress. This condition can restrict range of motion in the neck, cause torticollis, affect vision, and affect balance. In addition, this condition can hinder developmental progress and cause the baby's head to be lop-sided. Lots of people must be praying for Josiah, because none of these things are happening to him. In fact, as he grows, the size of the tumor is shrinking. He appears to have full range of motion in his neck. He does preference sleeping and looking on one side, be we notice that this preference is going away. We will continue the physial therapy and today, we are taking him to a doctor to see if his head is going to be round or flat on one side. If his head is flat on one side, a helmet may be required for him to sleep in. We will keep you posted. We thank God for the good health that he has given Josiah .

We have also been blessed to have many of our immediate family members (and some friends) come and visit us. We are very grateful that hey have been able and willing to come.

We will continue to keep you updated on how Josiah is doing!

The Rebuilding Continues

2009-04-20T18:11:00.015-05:00

It has been a while since our last post. I lot has happened here in New Orleans since then. The rebuilding process has continued forward. We have continued working on three of our existing projects and picked up a new project as well.

Sister Jackie's house is all done! Halleliu-JAH! We are excited that her house is finished and that it's ready to be lived in! I will have to install a dishwasher in there as soon as Sister Jackie buys one, but other than that I think she is good to go. Several teams worked on finishing up this house. First Presbyterian Church from Indiana, Grace community Church from New Hampshire and First Christian Church from Idaho. They put in the cabinets, stairs, floors, and finished up the last odds and ends. Jeff Thompson, our boss put in a laminate countertop to finish the kitchen! I had the pleasure of working on finishing up the electrical wiring for the A/C compressor and the exterior lights. This turned out to be a big deal since we had to replace some exterior siding to provide for the lights and find the A/C wire. It was buried inside the wall!

We continue to work on Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Phoenix's house. We are getting very close to finishing Mrs. Phoneix's other side and Mrs. Phillips house as well! We have had folks from Circle of Love Ministry in New York, Grace Community Church in New Hampshire, First Christian Church from Idaho, as well as from Seattle University working on these two projects. We are getting VERY close to being finished with both houses. There remains some electrical and plumbing work to do at Mrs. Pheonix's house and trim/finish work to do at Mrs. Phillips house. Our goal is to finish both of these houses by the end of summer. We have a few weeks before our next team arrives, so I plan to work on some of the more challenging projects to get them finished up.

We have picked up a new work site since our last post; the Prosper families house. Mr. Prosper is a man who's house was completely under water. His house is located directly adjacent to the London Avenue Canal, which flooded during Katrina. He has a wife and two kids and has been struggling to rebuild his house without any funds for construction. At the same time, he is renting an apartment in another part of town.

This is a miraculous story because Forward Edge did not have any funds to assist the Prosper family. So we couldn't even get volunteers to help much because there were no materials to work with. At the exact same time as we started trying to help the Prosper family, God freed up a bunch of financial resources to purchase materials. I had a previous volunteer team send me a $300.00 check and tell me, "you will know what to do with this." Well, it seems that God wanted to assist the Prospers! This is just one example of the blessings God bestowed upon the Prosper family. We were able to take their house from a shell with rotten siding, to a dry house with a bedroom, working bathroom, and rough kitchen. The Prospers will soon be able to move into their house while they are fixing it, saving them over $800.00 per month. God is good!

We have had teams from Iowa, Idaho, and Seattle making this blessing happen!

On a sad note, we recently said goodbye to our long term volunteers Brenda & Steve. These two individuals came down last year for three months, and this year for six months. They lived in an RV outside New Genesis Bible Church and were our "Special Teams" squad. They did so much work I can't even begin to describe all the things than happened. It was a LOT. Brenda and Steve are an example of what God can do when we are obedient. They could have chosen to spend 6 months in the U.S. Virgin Islands scuba diving. Instead, they were listening to what GOD wanted to do with them. As a result, many people were blessed and God got the glory! We love Brenda and Steve and are missing them already!

On a happier note, Jenny and I have been adjusting well to having Baby Josiah around. The first weeks were very tiring. Doing two teams back to back was also hard with an infant! But God brought us through it and provided for all our needs. We will have another post about Josiah coming soon....

In conclusion, it's been an awesome few months since Josiah has arrived. Thanks to our awesome co-workers/bosses Jeff and Kris, Steve and Brenda and all the volunteers God's ministry with Forward Edge in New Orleans has continued to rebuild lives in the wake of Katrina. Things are still a long way from being fixed down here, but the volunteer teams have been decreasing. Based on current teams, there will not be a need for full time field staff here in New Orleans after this summer. Please pray that we can clearly discern what God wants us to do next. We feel like training is in order to prepare us for our next assignment. One thing is for sure, we still feel called to continue doing ministry. We are just not sure what the future holds.

Mommy & Baby Update

2009-02-08T11:49:00.005-05:00

Hi everyone!

The past few days have been a rush of excitement. Jenny's mom made it in late Friday night. This is a HUGE blessing because I was able to get some sleep. Talk about zombie... I was running on empty. Friday night, grandma and I took turns sleeping in the chair and the cot. Saturday, we were able to bribe the nurses with some smelly hand lotion to snag us a second hospital bed. AWESOME!

We have had a team in town this past week from Frankfurt, Indiana. This is their second trip to New Orleans. The team did an awesome job without us. They worked at Sister Jackie's house and built a handicapped accessible ramp for New Genesis Bible Church. I will post pictures when I get some... (I've been here since Thursday!) On their way out of town, the team stopped by the hospital to say hi! It was an awesome experience to have a team in town that cares about us so much! We have had other visitors as well. Steve and Brenda stopped by to see us Friday night and Jenny's cousin Connie and her husband Dirk stopped by on Saturday. It's been great to have so many people stop by to visit us. Being away from home we were missing our families, but the great people down here have made it so much easier to handle being away from our family.

Today is Sunday and we are still in the hospital. Mom is doing fine. Her recovery is coming along very well. The incision looks good and her pain has reduced from an 8 out of 10 to a 3 or 4 with the aide of percocet. We could have gone home today, but little Josiah is not doing so well. He's finally started to nurse correctly, but he has lost 12 oz. He now weights 6lbs 3oz. Jenny's milk has not come in yet and little Josiah needs more. His bilirubin level is 14. Bilirubin is what gives people jaundice. It's normal for babies to get a little jaundice, but when the levels get into the teens, the doctors start to worry. Eating and pooping helps babies eliminate the bilirubin in their bodies. So we need to supplement Josiah's food with some formula. So, we will be staying in the hospital an extra day and we are praying that we don't have to put Josiah in the UV "toaster" to treat his jaundice. Here are some additional photos for you to watch and enjoy.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!

2009-02-06T01:18:00.008-05:00

HAPPY BIRTHDAY JOSIAH BENJAMIN GORDON!!

Birthday: 2/5/09 13:22
Weight: 6lbs 14.6oz
Height: 19in

Today, we got a son! It wasn't expected. his due date was supposed to be 2/28. Last month we found out that he was in a breach position. Our OB, doctor Grace, scheduled a caesarean section for 2/19. Tuesday, during a routine sonogram, we discovered that Jenny's amniotic fluid was low. This morning, the doctor took another sonogram and confirmed that the fluid was low and decreasing. We went in for a c-section at lunchtime. It's a good thing that Dr. Grace warned us we may have to have the c-section today. We spent all day Wednesday preparing our house and packing. And aside from Tylenol infant drops, we have everything at home we need for little Josiah (initially).

Jenny did great during the procedure and so did Dr. Grace. Speaking of grace, God gave extra grace because I did not pass out or throw up while I WATCHED THE WHOLE PROCEDURE. The operation was text-book perfect and both mom and baby Josiah are healthy. Thank you Jesus! Below is a sideshow of the whole day. I did not include any really gross photos, and I censored the naked baby photos for a G rating. If anyone really wants to see the pictures of Josiah being born where he is covered in bloody mess, send me an email and I will email them to you. They are actually quite beautiful. (I guess I say that because he's our son!)

THANK YOU FOR ALL YOUR PRAYERS AND SUPPORT! WE ARE VERY HAPPY!

A New Year - With Changes

2009-01-20T12:14:00.006-05:00

2009 is here. For us, it is a year of changes. For our country too, changes are happening. A new president and regime. We need to pray that this new leadership will be better. Let's pray for reconciliation and not Unitarianism. Let's pray for positive change.

In New Orleans, work still continues. Some rebuild organizations are running out of money and labor. For now, Forward Edge still continues to rebuild homes and lives. We have finished 1/2 of Mrs. Phoenix's house. Now we are moving forward with Mrs. Debra's house. We have had no volunteer teams since the beginning of the year; however, we have several long term volunteers who have been diligently pressing forward.

Volunteers from New York and Oregon @ Mrs. Debra's House

Coming up, we have a very busy spring work schedule. We have many volunteer teams scheduled to come to New Orleans this spring and summer. In addition, Forward Edge has a lot of volunteer teams scheduled to go to Texas. Jeff and one of our long term volunteers, Steve, were in Texas this weekend to establish a Forward Edge "base camp" for volunteer rebuilding activities.

Jenny and I are very excited about our first baby, which is now due February 19th! Jenny's most recent visit to the OB doctor revealed that the baby is in a complete breech position. At this time in the pregnancy, the chance of the baby turning is low. The best option seems to be a cesarean section. At this time, a c-section is scheduled for February 19th. So keep praying for us! And thank you for all your prayers thus far.

Jenny and her mom at the baby shower

This weekend was Jenny's "surprise" baby shower thrown by Kris, Angel, and Sister G. It was awesome. Jenny's mom even snuck down to New Orleans to visit! What a blessing the shower was to both of us.

Mrs. Elizabeth's House is Finished!

2008-12-18T13:51:00.002-05:00

Wow, it's hard to believe. After a year and a half, Mrs. Elizabeth's house is done. Despite being kicked off the job, we were able to get some volunteers into her house to work. Also, Presbyterian Disaster Assistance - Project Homecoming, was able to continue work on her house after Forward Edge was kicked off the job. The whole story is available in previous posts.

It just goes to show that no matter what circumstances we encounter, God can achieve His purposes. So we give the glory to Him and say THANKS to our Presbyterian partners down here in NOLA. Enjoy these photos sent to me yesterday by David from Project Homecoming.

Mrs. Phoenix's Move In Day

2008-12-16T10:42:00.005-05:00

We have some great news... Mrs. Phoenix has moved into her house! Yesterday, we moved in the furniture and put together the rooms. Jeff, Kris, Steve, Brenda, Jenny, and I all put in a long day to gather together all of the furniture they have purchased over the last two years. We went to a furniture store, two storage units, and another house to gather all of it together. The house looks great and we all sat down to eat Christmas Dinner together before we all went separate ways to visit relatives for Christmas.

What this means is that Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Phoenix are going to be living in Mrs. Phoenix's house as of NOW. Debra and Jeremy are going to remain in the FEMA trailer for a little while longer until Debra's house is finished. The reason they are going to stay in the trailer is because to an autistic person, changes to routine are not good. Debra does not want to move Jeremy around until he is ready to move into Debra's house in the ninth ward.

A HUGE thank you to all who helped to get this house completed. Thanks for being available to help. Enjoy the sideshow below and know that God accomplishes miracles!

Snowy Update - Picture Albums

2008-12-14T12:48:00.005-05:00

Greetings all!

How do you like that... snow in New Orleans! Dec. 11, we got some. The last time accumulation was recorded was 2004, and before that 1989. We actually drove through the snow to Mississippi. while in Mississippi, we cleaned out our last warehouse space. So now, all of our obligations are met in MS. We can still send teams there if they want to go; however, we will simply go there with tools to lead the teams. Bob and Diane were our staff in MS, but now they are in transition. They are raising support and praying about the next step. Please pray for them.

The Johnson Family: Monica, Bob, Diane, Paige

I updated our picture albums, so you can now see all of them if you go to my PICASA profile. We may not we be able to update this blog as often as we want, and pictures can sometimes say more than words.

Support Bob and Diane Johnson!

2008-12-10T21:10:00.006-05:00

This holiday season consider giving the gift of relief to those affected by disaster.

God is faithful in meeting all of our needs. This is a truth we have come to understand on a more personal basis while on the mission field this past year. We want to take a moment to thank each and everyone of you who has sacrificially given of your time, money, and prayers to help keep God's relief work in New Orleans going through your generous support of us.

As we reflect on God's provisions we want to share with you an opportunity for you to bless some friends of ours. There is another Forward Edge missionary couple that needs your support. Their names are Bob and Diane Johnson. You can check out their bios here. Bob and Diane Johnson are making a transition within forward edge. Their step-down grant is getting ready to decrease and they need to raise some additional support monies to continue providing disaster response. Bob and Diane Johnson are trying to raise an additional $2,600.00 per month to continue their disaster relief ministry. Please consider supporting the Johnson Family. This holiday season it may not be possible to commit to monthly support; however, you may be able to give a one time gift.

Click here to donate to the Johnson's support. Thank you for using this opportunity to turn earthly wealth into heavenly riches. This is the definition of "transformational giving!"

Fall Team Rush is Over! Time for an Update!

2008-12-04T23:25:00.004-05:00

September, October, November, and December have all been a rush of activity and excitement. We have had many teams back to back including one from Centreville Presbyterian Church. All our teams have been focused on a primary goal: To get Mrs. Phoenix, Mrs. Phillips, Mrs. Debra, and Jeremy out of their FEMA Trailer and into their house!

First, an update on our fall. Since fall began, we have worked on Mrs. Jackie's house, Ms. Ronny's house, Mrs. Elizabeth's house (that's right!), and Mrs. Phoenix's house. I also had the privilege to assist Bob Johnson on a house in Mississippi, Russell's house. Jenny and I also were able to be a part of a couple New Genesis Bible church outreach events.

Mrs. Elizabeth allowed some of our repeat volunteers to work on her house! This is a big step for her. She still does not like our Forward Edge staff in New Orleans, but she is now mentally well enough to accept volunteers to help her. Presbyterian Disaster Assistance has agreed to work with her to fix the other side of her double shotgun house. Her side is DONE. That's right! Halleliu-JAH!

The New Genesis Bible Church continues to slowly grow it's congregation. One of the volunteer teams from Pennsylvania has just donated the money to construct a wheelchair ramp for the church which is MUCH needed.

Mrs. Phoenix's house is ALMOST DONE. We are praying that they will actually be in by Christmas!! In fact, I picked up a dining room set for them today and delivered it into their COMPLETED dining room. Below are some photos I took today and represent the most current status of the job. We have gas service scheduled to be installed tomorrow, 12/5, and we have electric service scheduled to be installed on 12/9. WOW. As soon as services are installed, all we have left to do is install appliances, touch up paint, and CLEAN UP!! Once they move into one side of their double shotgun house, I think that we will finish the other side. This will be determined shortly.

Jenny is doing well with the pregnancy. This week is tough because she got sick. She is ok, just miserable for a few days. Please pray for her speedy recovery. I want to post more about this fall season to give you all a more in-depth view of what GOD has done. Thanks for all your prayers.

Shalom,
Aaron & Jenny (+ baby)

It's Going to be a Boy!

2008-11-12T17:09:00.005-05:00

Jenny and I went to the 20 week ultrasound appointment and we found out we are going to have a boy! The due date is still Feb. 28th and we are excited! We were able to share this news with a team from Milwaukie, Oregon. Interestingly enough, this is the same church that was here in New Orleans when we found out we were having a baby.


From Baby Pictures

From Baby Pictures

We have been VERY busy with weeks and weeks of teams, but I hope to post several more times this month to get everyone up to speed.

Please continue to pray for Mrs. Phoenix and Mrs. Phillips and their family. We are trying to get them into their house by Christmas.

Hurricane Ike Aftermath Around NOLA

2008-09-13T20:54:00.006-05:00

Today, Jeff and I drove around our area to survey the coastal flooding produced by Hurricane IKE. We drove to Mandeville, LA on the north shore of lake Pontchartrain. We did not see any major flooding or damage. Then we drove to Slidell, LA and on to Venitian Isles, LA. We could not access New Orleans East from Hwy. 90 due to standing water. We saw a hummer driving though and the water was up to the bumper on the hummer. Next, we proceeded to Plaquemines parish where we heard there was severe flooding. We were not able to get there because the police have blocked off the area. A majority of this parish is flooded severely. It will be weeks before the cleanup and rebuilding can continue.

Tomorrow we will head west toward Houston, TX and we will do some immediate disaster response as well as survey the damage. We hope to identify potential opportunities for volunteer teams to assist in clean up and rebuilding. Pray for all people affected by the hurricanes this year.

We are Back and Ike is Ready to Hit

2008-09-11T19:52:00.004-05:00

We are back in New Orleans after an extended evacuation to Mississippi. During our time in Mississippi, I was able to Help Bob Johnson (another FEI field coordinator) to work on one of his client's houses. The client's name is Russell and his house is a cinder block-on-slab construction. We did a LOT of ceramic tile in this house and it is turning out beautifully. This will be Bob's last project before him and his family move to New Orleans to work with us. Check out the photos below to see us returning from Jackson, MS to Moss Point, MS. Also included are some photos of Russell's house.

Hurricane Ike is poised to strike Texas in a couple days. We are getting tropical storm winds as Ike passes by us. Pray for reduced damage from this storm. This has been a bad hurricane season. Hurricane season officially ends November 30th. (Photo courtesy www.weather.com)

From Evac and Russell

New Orleans - Terrebonne Parish Stealth Reconnaissance Mission

2008-09-03T20:31:00.004-05:00

Hello everyone! We are back in Moss Point Mississippi waiting for power to be restored to New Orleans. Mayor Nagin gave up of restricting access to the city today - so it's back open. Click here to read the article. We woke up early this morning and ran a secret black-ops mission into restricted territory. New Orleans is not bad. There is some minor wind damage. Terrebonne and LaFourche Parishes are in bad shape. This area is where Gustav directly impacted land. There was a lot of wind damage. In Thibodaux, the police chief told us that they lost 40% of their power poles. It will take weeks to restore power to the area. There is an immediate need for volunteers to tarp roofs and clear debris. Red cross will begin food distribution in this area tomorrow from their Westwego base camp. If you are interested PLEASE contact FEI immediately at (360)-574-3343. Ask for NATE. We are currently putting together quick response relief teams. Please consider serving in this way. There is also a need for tarps, and button cap nails (button cap nail guns). We are thankful to God for sparing the gulf coast from a cat 4 or 5 hurricane. We also thank God for putting us in a unique situation to respond to the needs of these people in southern Louisianna. Let's get going!

We are in Jackson, MS - Evacuation is Mandatory

2008-08-31T13:40:00.005-05:00

Last night at approximately 1:00am, Jenny, Rocky, Darth, and I arrived in Jackson, MS. We will be staying temporarily with some friends there. Bob and Diane Johnson and their kids are in Jackson as well staying at the Perkin's Foundation Antioch House. We are going to try to get some serious rest while we are here because after this storm passes we will be VERY busy.

Yesterday, as we were packing, we heard that Gustav was strengthening (hurricane photos from www.wwl.com and www.weather.com) and Mayor Ray Nagin was issuing a mandatory evacuation order. We realized that this evacuation was not a drill. This is the real deal. We changed our strategy and got everything that is valuable out of our apartment. We emptied and unplugged our refrigerator. We set all remaining possessions on top of furniture off the ground. We even strapped down our trash cans to the fence outside to prevent them from flying into a window.

Once we packed all our valuable possessions into the van, we loaded up our cats and headed to to the New Genesis church building to complete the boarding up. We met Pastor Garrison there and boarded up the doors and remaining few windows. We secured all things on the grounds as best we could and sealed the sea container where we put our tools. The city was eerily quiet as we boarded the church. The city was looking more and more like a ghost town. Everyone was leaving!!

Once we got the church boarded up, we helped a neighbor move a generator into his house. Then it was a quick prayer for safe travel and mercy for the gulf. After that it was, "See you later, Brother!!" We were all getting out. We got our neighbors and client's cell phone numbers. We made sure all out important people were in fact getting out.

Next we joined the mass exodus of vehicles leaving the city. We left at 6:30pm and did not arrive in Jackson, MS until 1:30am. Jackson is only 180 miles from NOLA. We were soooooo tired as we drove. Our family and friends kept us awake by talking to us on the phone. Thank God. We ended up leaving our personal vehicle in Pascagoula, MS. We took 2 vehicles to Jackson, a 15 passenger van, and Jeff & Kris's pickup truck. We also packed up Jeff and Kris's essential files, computers, and keepsakes. Kris is in St. Louis and Jeff is on his way back from Africa.

We still pray that Gustav poops out or goes west, but it looks like Gustav is set to hit Louisianna. That's it for now, I am really tired, but I will post more soon. Don't forget to pray for the Gulf Coast.

Evacuation Drill Activated: Gustav Approaches

2008-08-30T09:23:00.009-05:00

Gustav is now a category 3 hurricane. Forecasters expect that Gustav will increase to category 4 today or tomorrow and will maintain at least category 3 status when it makes landfall sometime late monday/early tuesday. The weather service models indicate Gustav making landfall in south/east Louisiana to the west of New Orleans. That means that New Orleans would be on the strong side of the storm. This scenario indicates a great threat for the west bank areas of the city. We are praying that Gustav makes a turn and moves farther away from already crippled New Orleans. (Hurricane photos from www.wwl.com)

We have been watching hurricane Gustav over the past few days trying to determine the threat level to New Orleans. We have determined that the threat level is high and we have activated our phased evacuation plan. We have already evacuated the Forward Edge vehicles and expensive tools to a safer site in Mississippi. We have already boarded up the New Genesis church building. In addition, we have secured our remaining tools and materials inside a sea container at the New Genesis site. Below are pictures of the evacuation drill.

The city of New Orleans has not yet called for a mandatory evacuation, but it has activated the City assisted evacuation plan. We expect a mandatory evacuation to be issued this evening, followed by a contra-flow traffic pattern in effect on Sunday. Govenor Bobby Jindal and Mayor Ray Nagin have already activated a state of emergency. The National Guard is here and ready. Costal parishes adjacent to New Orleans are under a mandatory evacuation beginning today at noon. To read more news about what's going on click here.

The storm could miss us. That would be very nice. With a pregnant wife however, we are going to leave today and evacuate to Jackson, MS. until the storm passes. There are several other storms active in the Atlantic at this time and we are watching them carefully as well.

Before we leave, we have to pack our important items. We also have to pack up Jeff and Kris's important items because they are still on their Africa mission trip. They are scheduled to return on Monday, which is the day the Hurricane is scheduled to arrive as well :-P. We are ready though, we evacuated their personal vehicles with ours to Mississippi. We will be driving their pickup truck and one Forward Edge van to Jackson with all our stuff in it. Katrina showed us the cost of waiting too long to act. I know that evacuation is expensive. I know that the storm could miss us. But it's not worth the risk. We also know that God ultimately controls the storms. But we must perform our due dilligence as he instructs us to.

Pleas pray for Jenny, and I. Also pray for Bob and Diane, David and Lynn, and Jeff and Kris. Also, prayers for the City and Gulf Coast are appreciated! We will try to keep you posted as we can.

Back in the Swing of Things

2008-08-25T15:38:00.004-05:00

It's been a wild month for Jenny and I. Between morning sickness for Jenny and travel, it's been exciting to say the least. Immediately upon returning from Costa Rica we traveled to Mississippi to assist Bob and Diane Johnson. The purpose of our visit was to help them complete their last work projects in Mississippi. They will be moving to New Orleans at the end of the month to work with us! Jeff and Kris will be taking more of an administrative role as Bob and I take on the day to day responsibilities. We worked in Mississippi for 5 days during which time we did flooring and some roof repair. We also got to spend some time getting to know the Johnsons who graciously allowed us to crash at their house.

Upon our return to New Orleans, My sister, Rachel, and her friend Kristen came in to volunteer.

We worked on Ms. Phoenix's house in the 7th Ward a.k.a. the Treme neighborhood.

We worked on drywall finishing. Rachel and Kristen did a great job considering that they had never finished drywall before!

It was great having family come down to volunteer.

Kristen suffered an injury when we dropped a sheet of 3/4" plywood on her big toe (accidentally). It really hurt and we felt bad. The toe was not broken thank God!

After Rachel and Kristen left, we were back into planning mode. We have many teams coming in this fall to work here in New Orleans. There is a lot of work we need to do to prepare. We need to do some construction work to prepare the sites for teams. We also need to do some work to the New Genesis church building to prepare as well. I took a few days to go help a friend move last week because I really felt like he needed to help. Now it is time to ramp up for fall!

Costa Rica Trip

2008-08-06T16:36:00.010-05:00

Hola!

We just got back from a 10 day trip to Costa Rica. It was an awesome trip. We traveled with a group of about 50 youth and leaders from our home church, Centreville Presbyterian Church to the villages of Guapiles and Roxana in the province of limon. The conditions for the residents of Roxana are tough. Many of the people work in Bananeras (Banana plantations) for a few dollars a day. In addition to building relationships with the youth of the village, our evangelical outreach included working on two micro businesses and a church building.

View Larger Map

One micro business was building hydroponic planter boxes for local families. The families can turn over 11 crops per year using the hydroponic method. These crops of lettuce (lechuga) cilantro (cilantro) and celery (apio) can be sold for supplemental income. The planter boxes must be covered from the rain here as it rains too much for these crops to handle. We were able to tear apart old wooden pallets and construct over 100 boxes. We even got to set some up.

Another micro business we worked with was a sewing business. This business was nicknamed "textile" production so that some of the young men on the team could feel better about sewing. The goal for this business is not yet clear, but may involve sewing clothing for sale to tourists. We brought a few Serger sewing machines to assist the ladies. In addition, we helped get the production shop set up and did a test run which included our team making items.

We also worked on a church building. The building was little more than a steel frame with a steel roof. We worked on welding steel wall frames and screwing cement board to the frame. We also fixed the pews and built a cross for the church to display. This particular church is a local bible church, but our outreach was hosted by Verbo Church out of San Jose. Part of our trip also included conducting 1/2 of the church service on Sunday. An unexpected, but good surprise!

Check out the pictures below!

8_2008 Costa Rica Team

The people were awesome and it was very hard to say goodbye to our new friends and our CPC family!

Team 472 from Oregon - Milwaulke Covenant Church

2008-07-24T18:49:00.005-05:00

I am a couple weeks behind in posting about this team. They came from the Portland, Oregon area and worked hard for a week in the heat. They worked on Sister Jackie's house doing drywall. They also worked on Mrs. Phoenix's house doing framing repair, wiring, and drywall. One member from this team, Johanna, fell from a ladder and broke her leg. It was a difficult thing to go through for everyone (especially for her and her family). I am happy to report that the surgeons at University hospital were able to fix everything up so that she didn't even need a cast. They put a spike into her bone to hold it together! The crazy thing is that the night before she fell, we prayed for her as a group. I am not sure how it would have gone down if we had not prayed...

As with many of the teams we have had this summer, this team was a "family" team. That means there were children on the team. We have seen some great things happen to families who go on mission trips together. Also, we get to play a little when there are children along which is good for all of us. One day we went to the Audubon Insectarium.

Team 472 - Milwauke Covenant Church - Portland, Oregon

Baby on the Way!

2008-07-04T12:17:00.005-05:00

NEWS FLASH: We are going to have a baby!

Last Tuesday, Jenny and I went to the O.B. doctor at Tulane-Lakeside Hospital. We found out that she is 5 weeks pregnant. The baby will be due about February 28th. We are so excited! This is a huge blessing! While we were in the hospital, an ultrasound allowed us to hear the baby's heartbeat. Right now the baby looks kinda like a blinking lima bean. Click below to see the ultrasound photo.

Baby Pictures

Finishing Up Elizabeth

2008-06-30T06:31:00.004-05:00

Here are some photos of the work we did at Ms. Elizabeth's the week of 6/23/08. We had a group of great volunteers from Pennsylvania. We are almost done with Ms. Elizabeth's side of her double house. On the last work day, we had some relational challenges with her that I pray will be resolved shortly so we can finish up her side. Click below to see the photos.

Team From Pennsylvania

Hard Working Volunteers Brave the Heat

2008-06-24T21:03:00.004-05:00

It is still hot... and our team of 28 from Florida just left and we have had an amazing week! They were great servants in Christ to the people of NOLA. This team provided new opportunities and challenges because we had many members under the age of 13. We worked on 3 different work sites. One work site was clearing an overgrown lot for Child Evangelism Fellowship. They plan to build a community outreach center on the lot but are bogged down in the zoning and permitting process. The second work site was helping Sister Jackie from New Genesis Bible Church (Our partner) hang some gypsum wallboard panels in her house. The third site was putting a roof on a house in the upper ninth ward. Please click below to see a photo album of our work.

Team 503 From Florida

This week we are working on Ms. Elizabeth's house in the ninth ward again. It's been a slow process for this house complicated by the fact that she lives there and also by the fact that she has special needs that limit how much work we can do at one time. We are working with a team of 5 people from Pennsylvania this week. They are on loan from Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) whom we have partnered with. Even though this was supposed to be our "down week" we are happy to use the help to make a difference!

Next week we will have a team of 24 from Milwaulkee, WI. We are not sure what we will be doing yet. No matter what it is, we are praying that it will be exactly what God wants us to do.

It's Hot Down Here...

2008-06-11T21:27:00.004-05:00

It has gotten hot down here in the Crescent City. Daily temps are in the 90 range but it feels hotter. It's worse inside houses with no air conditioning. It's more important now to stay hydrated and take small breaks. But we find that it's possible to do work, it simply takes longer.

Just recently we returned from a short trip to Virginia. While we were home, we connected with Centreville Presbyterian Church and Vienna Church. We had an opportunity to be a part of the current sermon series. Click here to hear the message. The sermon is under New Vision Statement on May 4, 2008. While we were home we got a chance to visit family and friends. We even got to see our old dog, Bayou.

Since we returned to New Orleans, we have been trying to help several families finish up their houses. We were helping the Lewis family button up their house. The electricity was turned on last Thursday! Now they can move back in. Other than some minor finish work, this house is done. We have also been working hard on Ms. Elizabeth's house. She only lets us work when she's feeling alright, so we have to take advantage of the opportunities presented to us. We have been able to put the finishing touches on 3 of the five rooms on her side of the house. Once we finish the kitchen and the bathroom, she can move in. After she moves in, we get to start remodeling the other side of her house. We have also been working on the Phoenix/Phillips sisters house. The framing repair is nearly complete. The electric and plumbing are underway. We are hoping to have volunteer teams this summer complete the drywall. We are also currently helping Ms. Phoenix's daughter, Debora replace the wiring in her house in the Ninth Ward. She is rebuilding her house and some thieves cut the electrical wiring out of her house to sell for scrap. It's horrible behavior to steal like that. But this is reality for people down here.

We have a team of 28 people coming from Florida Saturday and we are estimating two teams a month for the rest of the year. We need more teams! Please come volunteer your energy to rebuild New Orleans.

FEI Team from Idaho Makes News!

2008-05-06T09:33:00.010-05:00

A volunteer team from Sandpoint, Idaho recently made the news in their locality. click the link below to read the story!

Click here to read the article at the Bonner County Daily Bee.

View Larger Map

Experiment with picture galleries

2008-04-23T13:31:00.003-05:00

This is an experiment only.. This is a test to see if I can embed an album into the blog!

Gulf Coast People

APRIL E-LETTER

2008-04-12T10:22:00.006-05:00

Hello Family and Friends! 4/9/08

We’ve just said goodbye to our final Spring Break team of the year. These past two months have been quite the whirlwind of activity with the many volunteer teams we have had here. Since the middle of February we have worked with five wonderful teams! Although it was a lot of work, it was so exciting to see volunteers at our client’s homes week after week! The message of Christ's love and hope continues to grow in the hearts of our homeowners, volunteers and our own with each swing of the hammer or stroke of a paintbrush. We have now worked in twelve homes and four churches alongside 11 volunteer teams! We have seen 4 families get into their homes since September because of th

e work of the volunteers. Although we work on many different houses we are currently focusing our efforts on the homes of 4 widows: Miss Elizabeth, Mrs. Lewis, Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Phoenix. Aaron and I continue to do well. The Lord is challenging us daily as we face the small tests that come along with the title of missionary. We also find ourselves looking towards the future a lot these days. We grow more and more excited because at the end of the month we will be making a trip up to Northern Virginia. We will visit family and friends as well as continue to raise funds and people for God's work in the gulf! We thank each of you for your continued prayers and monthly support that consistently meet our daily needs. We could not do it without you!

Volunteer Teams:

We want to thank each team member who has come to New Orleans over the past seven weeks. With your help so much has been accomplished! Thank you for your labor, friendship, and prayers! In February we had a team of 18 from Frankfort, Indiana which consisted of volunteers ranging from

age 14 to 82. Their group consisted of people from four different churches in the Frankfort area! That’s unity in Christ! The Lord is moving in a mighty way in Indiana. In March we had two churches from Sandpoint, Idaho team up to bring us two teams back to back! They brought a total of 46 people over 16 days. The teams were tightly packed into the New Genesis Church house, but each team member demonstrated amazing flexibility and joy of spirit. They were so fired up by the Lord that they have already planned a return trip in May! Hallelu-jah! Next we had a team of 22 from Portland, Oregon who was joined by individuals from Rhode Island and New York. Satan was working hard against this group in the form of travel delays, sickness and injury, but the team never gave up hope or tr

ust in the Lord. They all returned home safe and no one had to go to the hospital! Our most recent team, made up of 12 people, was from Houston, Texas and although they were only here for a short amount of time the Lord worked in their lives in a mighty way! We know we will see them again too! Each team that was here worked on all of the widows homes. Below is an update of where each family is in the process of rebuilding.

Miss Elizabeth:

I have heard from many people that they wanted to know more about Miss Elizabeth since I wrote about her in January. Thank you all for your concern and prayers for her! She currently lives in a double shotgun (or duplex) on one side while the other side is refurbished. Since January her house has been leveled and sided, the back rooms rebuilt, the drywall and electric repaired, her walls textured and painted and in three rooms laminate wood flooring has been installed! Miss Elizabeth continues to thank the Lord for the volunteers and their kindness. It amazes us that even though Miss Elizabeth can be difficult and sometimes moody the volunteers always reach out to her. In the end she seems to have the largest impact on the people that work in her home! Please keep her in your prayers since she has been broken into twice. Nothing was stolen and she was not harmed but she continues to live in fear. We have installed bars on the windows and iron security doors in the front and back of the house.

Mrs. Lewis:

Another home we have come to do a lot of work in is the Lewis house. Mrs. Lewis is in her 80’s and is the mother of 11 children. She has diabetes and had her right leg amputated just before the storm. Two of her daughters, Carol and Linda, have taken on the role of primary care givers while her home is being restored. Linda lived with Mrs. Lewis before the storm and cannot wait until the house is completed again. One of her sons, Thaddeus, has been working right along side of the volunteers, and even continues to work after they have gone. The family is very close knit and in love with the Lord. They are so kind and share their gift of hospitality with each team that arrives by fixing them a hot lunch! Since January we have been able to repair rotten sills, tear down old siding, re-sheath, install house wrap, and install vinyl siding. Contractors finished the plumbing, HVAC, and electric just in time for volunteers to insulate and drywall the home. This week Thaddeus will begin texturing the walls!

Mrs. Phillips and Mrs. Phoenix:

These two ladies are sisters who live next door to each other. Both of their homes were damaged in the flood so now they live in a FEMA trailer in front of both of their houses. We have begun work on Mrs. Phoenix’s house, but are still working out the details for Mrs. Phillip’s. There is always a flurry of activity at the Phillips/Phoenix trailer, whether it be playing with their visiting nephew Micah, making lunch for the volunteers, or chatting up a storm, they always keep busy! Mrs. Phoenix’s daughter and grandson live in the trailer with them, totaling four busy souls. Since January we have been able to repair framing, scrape/wash/repair siding and windows, as well as prime and paint the siding. The house has also been leveled by a great contractor. Soon it will be time to call in the electrician, plumber and HVAC men!

Prayer Requests:

Please continue to pray for Aaron and I, that we would grow deeper in our relationship with one another and with the Lord. Also pray that we would be protected from sickness and exhaustion. We are enjoying the life of missionaries but are still trying to find the appropriate amount of rest and relaxation needed in order to continue to serve. We will be traveling North April 24-May 5, please pray for the Lords protection and guidance as we travel and present. Please also pray that Forward Edge would secure more volunteers and funds for materials for the gulf coast projects. Thank you again for your support, encouragement and love! We could not do it with out each of you going to the Lord on our behalf!

In His Grip,

Aaron & Jenny Gordon

Spring Break has Broken!

2008-03-18T14:47:00.004-05:00

Hello long lost friends. Spring break is in full swing now and it has taken its toll... We have moved another family back into their home. Ms. Ermatine is one we have been working with since fall. Her double shotgun home in the upper ninth ward was flooded out up to 5 feet. She has finally moved back into her home! We had 5 volunteer teams and our special forces team work on her home. We have battled and negotiated with sub-standard contractors to get her electric and gas services restored. We have negotiated with the City to get her inspections passed. The Lord has been faithful, and now she is in her home. She is too glad! And for and 89 year old, she is still active and full of life. She was cleaning and unpacking boxes even before we finished. Halleliu-JA!

Ms. Elizabeth is still a work in progress. She has her ups and downs, but we are encouraging her to pray with her prayer partner and read her bible. It seems to be helping. It has been very difficult for her after losing her mother recently. One side of her house is almost complete. Every volunteer team we have had this year has made a showing at Ms. Elizabeth's. All that remains on one side is finish work... paint, trim, doors, floors, and cabinets. She will be in soon. We are praying for 4 to 5 weeks. We will see what God will do.

The Lewis family is another family we are helping to get in. Their house was filled with water and a massive fuel tank from a railroad yard nearby floated into the house, damaging the framing. When we first stopped by their house in the upper ninth ward last year, the house was just sticks. Now, we are hanging sheet rock. We have had 2 teams back to back from Idaho. Each team with over 20 members. These teams have been working at all the sites, but have rally made progress at the Lewis house. They have been involved in elecrical work, siding, and drywall hanging/taping at the Lewis house. We are praying that they will be in their house in 4 to 5 weeks as well.

There is yet another family we are helping right now. Her name is Ms. Phoenix. She is in her mid eighties and her Seventh Ward house was flooded up to 7 feet high. Her road home money was approved and it should be enough to just barely rebuild the house... with volunteer labor. We are currently performing framing repair and house levelling. Her project is intense and needs lots of volunteer hours. We will do whatever the Lord allows to help her move out of her FEMA trailer and back into her home.

Jenny, the cats, and I are tired, but doing fine. I caught a flu from Idaho and it's been nasty... I am praying that I will be better by Friday when our next team arrives. If you are reading this, please organize a team to come to New Orleans. Our main need is volunteer teams!!

What We Are Doing

2008-01-16T11:07:00.000-05:00

The picture above is of Ms. Elizabeth, Derek, and myself. Ms. Elizabeth is a 67 year old client we have been working with. Ms. Elizabeth and her elderly mother, Ms. Louise, were evacuated to Houston, Texas after the hurricane. At first, she was relying on her church members to look after her property in the Upper 9th Ward. When they returned from being gone almost a year, her house like many others was trashed. To make matters worse, a lot of her heavy iron bars from the windows and doors were stolen.

So Ms. Elizabeth and her mother moved back into a broken unsecured house. Ms. Elizabeth was now taking care of her elderly mother because her mother had become dependent. Ms. E used what money she had received to fix her house. She hired contractors from the area and was SEVERELY taken advantage of. The contractors did substandard work and overcharged. In the end, some of the people she hired stole from her. At this time her mother's health began to decline and her mother was confined to a wheel chair and stopped talking.

Ms. Elizabeth was able to hook up with Catholic Charities and receive a case manager to assist her in receiving aid. Through CARE (Crescent Area Recovery Effort), Ms. E hooked up with Presbyterian Disaster Assistance (PDA) and Forward Edge.

Initially, our involvement was small. Derek, Jeff, and I went to her house to replace some circuit breakers and visit. Next, we installed a window air conditioner. We took a load of donated appliances and beds to her house. Eventually, we took over management of her house leveling project. Her house was so badly damaged that it needed major foundation reworking. At this time her elderly mother, Ms. Louise, passed away. By the time we showed up to begin the major construction, she was sad, upset, and frustrated.

Ms. Elizabeth was upset and suspicious and we could understand why. We later learned that even her home church was giving her problems. She had lost trust in her home church as well. I told her she could call me anytime no matter how mad at me she was. She exercised that option! Even though we were helping her, she was not happy.

She was scared that her house would be exposed to theft. Part of the leveling process requires the removal of siding and floor boards to gain access to the foundation piers and beams. She lives in a "dope area" and does not feel safe with her house in a construction phase. We went out of our way to secure plywood over any possible openings. We did our best to reassure her in her concerns also. Jenny and I provided many small informal talks to help her get out her concerns and work through some of the anger issues. We tried to reassure her that Christ loves her, and that he will judge those that have wronged her in His perfect way.

In the process of leveling the house, we had to tear the back two rooms out of the house. We were able to save the roof and 3 exterior walls, but the rest was rotten and broken. This made Ms. E very upset. Jenny and I tried to explain to her that this was the best option. We are now in the process of re-framing those back rooms. As Ms. E saw our re-framing progress, her mood made a 180 degree turn. She was trusting and happier.

Later, she told me that the leveling crew and Jenny & I are the only workers that have ever done right by her. That is amazing to me. I praise the Lord that we were able to help her regain some trust. Several times throughout the process so far I have wanted to give this case away to another organization. I am glad that with God's and Jeff's help we were able to stick it out for the long haul and prove that we care about Ms. Elizabeth.

Bringing in the New Year!

2008-01-09T17:49:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone!

I am sorry that it has been over a month since the last post. I have been trying to "catch up" and produce quality blog entries in the right order. This hasn't worked out so well for me as you can tell. It's time to keep the entries rolling, so here goes...

We have been attending services at New Genesis Bible Church. This is the church that is our “home base”. The actual church building was damaged during the storm and condemned. It was torn down during the summer. By God’s grace, the manse next door was not totally destroyed. A volunteer team from Harvest Calvary Chapel, Riverside, California (Greg Laurie's church) gutted the manse. Teams from Crossroads Church, San Jose, California, Central College Presbyterian Church, Columbus, Ohio, Grace Community Church, Rochester, New Hampshire, and others helped Riverside build the manse into a church, office, tool/material storage, and hostel for volunteer teams. This building was just a small double shotgun house… the Riverside team transformed it wonderfully.

New Genesis is Pastor Charles Garrison’s church. The church had over 80 members before the storm. The congregation now sits around 20 members. Pastor Charles has a vision to get the members (who are scattered around the country) back into their homes. This is why we and Forward Edge have partnered with his ministry. He will not rebuild the church building right away; rather, he will use the money to help the neighborhood recover. This is Forward Edge style. FEI looks for local ministries and, as the spirit leads, comes along side of them with resources and volunteers.

Thank you Jesus for Pastor Garrison’s ministry! The church has Southern Baptist roots. Corporate worship is on Sunday at 10:00am and bible study is on Wednesday at 7:00pm. Hymns and songs of praise are sung a capella for now. This church is mixing styles with the teams that are coming in. Pastor has involved Jeff and myself in the service. I am the new “messianic brother”. We will be faithful to the spirit’s leading in terms of how we get involved with the church. Hallelu-JA!

We have been out in the neighborhoods visiting with people that Pastor Garrison knows. Pastor is a AAA POET. (Appointed, Anointed, Approved Preacher Orator Evangelist Teacher). Clever, no? He's an affable intelligent man with a gifting for connecting with people and helping them to understand who Jesus is. A lot of the people we have been meeting we will be helping out with volunteer teams.

On Christmas, we went with New Genesis to serve the homeless downtown. Since Katrina, there are a lot of homeless... more than usual. With FEMA trailer parks closing down, more people will become homeless. We enjoyed sharing our time with the people under the overpass. Jenny and I both feel blessed and thankful for all the provisions God has given us.

Since we have arrived here in September, Jenny and I have coordinated 2 forward edge teams and worked with a total of 5 teams. We have worked on 7 houses and 3 churches. It's been a whirlwind. We have also been out of town to go to three weddings. One of them was in Colorado right after Christmas. It was an adventure! We are happily looking forward to not traveling for a while!

Even in this short time we have been here, we have seen what a difference hope can bring to people. It's a blessing that we are able to share the hope of Christ with all the people we serve and work with.

Christian Volunteers in the Local News!

2007-11-17T05:24:00.000-05:00

On November 13, WWLTV Channel 4, New Orleans, broadcasted an eyewitness news feature on Katrina recovery volunteers with one thing in common: Faith. Two teams of "Quiet Heroes" were featured in this clip. One team was from Harvest Calvary Chapel in Riverside, California. One team was from Central College Presbyterian Church in Westerville, Ohio.

Jeff, Kris, Jenny, and Aaron were priveleged to come along side these teams. Forward Edge provided worship, transportation, tools, materials, and trash handling for these teams. The teams stayed in the New Genesis Bible Church. Pastor Charles Garrison of New Genesis has partnered with Forward Edge. The partnership allows Forward Edge teams to support the ministry happening in & around New Genesis. If you look carefully, you can see Jenny, Aaron, Jeff, and Kris in the video.

The two teams featured here truly had the hearts of servants. Because of volunteers such as these, people are taking notice that the church is making a difference in Jesus name. Hallelu-JAH! Please send more volunteer teams to New Orleans to rebuild lives and homes. There is so much that still needs to be done!

Click link below to watch the video: (BTW: The cross outside the church glows at night)
http://www.wwltv.com/video/?z=y&nvid=192549&shu=1

The Church where the Riverside team worked was Greater New Home Baptist Church. Located in the Lower 9th Ward. On the map below, the church has a large blue roof located southeast of the arrow. The original church is gone and in the picture below, you can still see where neighborhood houses had floated into the church yard.

View Larger Map

Derek Arrives

2007-11-11T19:02:00.000-05:00

Derek DeWitt arrived in New Orleans on September 15th. Derek is a volunteer who will be helping us with ministry tasks until Thanksgiving. Derek is 18 years old and just graduated from high school in Rossville, Indiana . Derek was connected to Forward Edge through a friend and felt the Lord calling him to serve in the Gulf Coast before he attends Central Bible College (link) in Springfield, Missouri.

Arriving and Getting Set Up

2007-11-11T18:57:00.000-05:00

We made it to the mission Field! As our friend Dennis said, “The hardest part of the mission is over.” OR IS IT? We arrived and met our new landlord to get the keys to our basement apartment. This apartment resembles a cave. In a strange way, it’s very homey. The ceilings are approximately 6’-10” high. This means that the beams running across the apartment ceiling barely clear my head. Our house needed some minor repairs and some paint. The water from the storm was only about 8” high in the house where we are staying. So we are getting base camp set up. This will be a comfortable place of rest where we can recharge our batteries and people can stay.

Travelling to New Orleans

2007-10-30T13:31:00.000-05:00

On Tuesday, September 11, Jeff, Kris, Jenny, and Aaron went downtown to see the monuments and memorials. We got a chance to see the White House We also saw, the Washington Monument, Federal Triangle, Lincoln Memorial, Korean War Memorial, World War 2 Memorial, Reflecting Pool, National Mall, and the Air and Space Museum. We even had some time to eat dinner with Aaron’s Dad in Chinatown.

The next morning, final preparations were made and we hit the long and dusty trail. As you can see, we crammed everything we own into a box truck and Uhaul trailer. Jeff provided excellent packing direction. He has professional packing skills.

Our trip was roughly 1200 miles.

View Larger Map
We stopped in Chattanooga, Tennessee for the night. The next morning, we braved the fallout from Hurricane Humberto as we rolled across the delta into New Orleans.

We hit a few bumps on the way down including adding oil to the box truck; however, the coffee magic of Starbucks helped to smooth out any bumps. (Except for the road bumps in Louisianna.)

Party for Jeff & Kris / Goodbye Aaron and Jenny

2007-10-30T13:24:00.000-05:00

The time has finally come for us to depart from NOVA. Jeff and Kris, our mentors and partners in New Orleans, drove 1200 miles in a box truck with NO A/C to help us move… talk about example servant leadership! Jeff and Kris were Forward Edge facilitators for the CPC youth mission trip to the gulf coast in 2006. We held a small party in their honor on Monday, September 10 @ CPC. This party grew into a goodbye party for us as well. THANK YOU to everyone who helped to plan, set-up, take-down, bring food, etc. THANK YOU x 30.

The party was a great time. It was difficult to say “see you later” to our brothers and sisters in NOVA, but it was joyful that so many people showed up to say “later”.

Cats

2007-10-01T22:59:00.000-05:00

Praise God! He has made a way for us to bring our fur-balls down to the swamp (or bayou… or delta… or marsh… or costal wetland. We don’t want to offend anyone here). Our landlord has agreed to let us bring our two cats down to our apartment for no additional fee. Furthermore, the pet-food representative for Jenny’s mom’s vet clinic Deepwood Veterinary Clinic has agreed to cover the cost of pet food for two years. This is such a God moment because we did not budget for additional cat expenses. It has always been our intention to give away our cats. We have tried by posting fliers and asking people we know to adopt the cats. We both think that God allowed us to keep the cats to ease the life-changes we are experiencing and provide companionship for us.

We Found A Place to Live

2007-10-01T22:50:00.000-05:00

Using the ultra hi-tech “Craig’s list”, and the combined powers of our mentors Jeff and Kris, God has broken through for us yet again. We have been able to sign a one year lease for an apartment. The address is: 607A North Saint Patrick St., New Orleans, LA 70119. Not only that, but our rent is exactly $800.00 per month, which is what we have budgeted. Apparently, due to shortage of housing after the storms, the prices for rent on available units have increased.

Our apartment is located exactly in the middle of the city in a neighborhood called… “mid-city”. This neighborhood seems nice. From what we can gather, there was anywhere from 1 inch to 4 feet of standing water in this area from rain and the lake-view levee collapse. Our apartment is located in the basement of a large house that has been converted into 4 apartment units. Although we have not seen it, Jeff and Kris have viewed the apartment and told us it is “acceptable”. We trust them 100%.

"Final" Preparations

2007-09-25T08:20:00.000-05:00

During the last two weeks before our departure, we found ourselves going to see our family and friends as well as wrapping up our affairs in NOVA. We visited our families in the area and made a trip to Woodstown, New Jersey to visit Jenny’s relatives there. While in New Jersey, Jenny’s Aunt Barbara arranged for her pastor Brian Joyce of Asbury UMC to pray over us and “Send us off.”

During this time, we said “see you later” to our family members and Aaron said goodbye to his breakfast group. Aaron’s last breakfast meeting was supposed to be the final discussion of Watchman Nee: The Normal Christian Life. The discussion never happened because the time was used to invite families in for fellowship instead. Aaron went ahead and posted a discussion to the discussion blog site.

Commissioning

2007-09-25T08:08:00.000-05:00

We had our official commissioning as missionaries of CPC on September 2, 2007. We had a part in both Sunday morning worship services.
We were introduced and there was a traditional laying of hands and prayer. Although this officially marks the beginning of our charge as missionaries, this seems more like an intermediate milestone. We have been praying and preparing ever since last year. We are excited to be sent by CPC to Forward Edge to take part in God’s work in the Gulf Coast.

A Wrinkle in Time

2007-09-25T08:04:00.000-05:00

After several difficult weeks, we made it to New Orleans. We have moved into a basement apartment in the middle of the city. With much help from our mentors/partners Jeff and Kris we completed the move safely. Once we arrived, the apartment we selected on Craig’s List needed some TLC. We still do not have Internet access except for the neighborhood coffee shop. This past weekend we were in Maryland for the wedding of our friends April and Nile. Now that we have some time to breathe, are able to update our blog. This has been a long time in the coming. So, I am going to post a series of entries that will catch the blog up to what has been happening with us lately. These posts are going to go “back in time” to pick up after our last informational post.

Farewell, Pooch...

2007-08-28T08:45:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, August 27, Jenny and I drove to Waynesboro, PA to deliver our beloved pooch, Bayou, to her new parents.
It was very hard to give up our dog... we really love her. She is probably the cutest dog in the universe. We know that her new parents, April and Nile, will love her and take great care of her. This process is one major step towards our move to New Orleans. Acts 2:44 NIV - "All the belivers were together and had everything in common." We have to remind ourselves that we are only stewards of the material blessings God bestows upon us. We still have two cats that we have been trying to give away. Perhaps God only wants us to be willing to give them up. Perhaps we will be able to take them with us. Please pray for the Spirit's leading in this matter.

The Summer Mission Season Draws to a Close… and Final Preparations to Leave Begin!

2007-07-25T11:28:00.000-05:00

It’s been a tough summer. In addition to the normal summer mission projects, we have been preparing to leave for New Orleans. We have both been trying hard to make sure we tie up loose ends here in Virginia; however, it seems like there is always another thing to do before we leave.

One thing that we have done to help us prepare is block out the month of August for preparation time. We have tried to limit our time commitments during this period so we can spend time getting ready to leave.We have many things to do before we leave. Just to name a few: we have to continue raising support, decide what we need to put into storage, decide what we are taking, decide what we are throwing out, make a will, organize our finances, complete Forward Edge in-processing, and find a place to live in New Orleans. This list does not even include spiritual preparations.

We need to increase prayer time and scripture time. We need to read the counseling books provided by the Stephen Ministers. These are the most necessary preparations.

Only one more mission trip to go: Colcord, West Virginia. We will be taking the middle school youth group to do a construction mission project in the hills of West Virginia. Once this trip has completed, it will be August, and that means final preparations!

On The Market!

2007-06-11T22:27:00.000-05:00

As of May 21, our townhouse is on the market! 10 days past schedule due to some unexpected surprises during remodelling. This is a big step towards our goal of moving to New Orleans by September 1st, 2007.

We have moved into our friends house in Gainesville, Va. We will be house-sitting all summer. God has really worked out the details in miraculous ways. It's a neat "coincidence" that this house became available just at the right time for us. Now we are praying hard that our house sells soon. The market is slower right now, so please pray with us that God will provide a buyer.

Now our next step is to raise support!

Rebuilding Together was a Success!

2007-05-03T07:06:00.000-05:00

On April 28, 2007, Jenny and I led 15 CPC members to the Pathways house in Reston. This was a home for mentally challenged women. We re-painted the 5 level townhouse. We used the infamous "cool platinum" color! We also drylocked the laundry room. The mission was a total success! This is a yearly event that goes every year in April. We advertise at our church starting in Feb/March, and sign up sheets are available in March. Rebuilding Together is hosted by RPJ Housing, Which was started by a Presbyterian... AWESOME!

Check out the Photos!

Training Mission: Facilitate a Group of 30 from New York City

2007-04-25T21:31:00.000-05:00

Above is a picture of Jenny and I with 30 students and adults from the Reformed Church of Newtown located in New York City. We recently returned from this trip we facilitated to the Gulf Coast of Mississippi.

This was our first official trip with Forward Edge International (FEI). This trip was not our first time leading a mission trip; however, this trip represented a series of new challenges because of the size. There were logistics involved that normally are not an issue. Transportation to/from work sites was one such challenge. As facilitators, we stayed with the group 24/7. We were in charge of leading daily work and evangelism activities. We were also in charge of facilitating nightly discussions and prayers.

This trip was construction oriented with several serious evangelism activities intermixed. We worked on three job sites. Our construction activities included sheeting, roofing, sheetrock, and flooring. We went to a local housing project to play with neighborhood kids. We played with and organized a mini-Vacation Bible School for children in a trailer park. We also were able to do some prayer walking.

We were hosted by New Covenant Church in Moss Point, Mississippi. Everyone who worked hard to host us did a great job! We met so many fantastic people that are a part of New Covenant. We also had the privilege to join New Covenant for worship and bible study.

There were two other families of FEI field coordinators that were involved in our activities. The Thompsons and the Bothas. They had their own teams to deal with for part of the week, but then they were able to help us with Newtown. At one point, we had 3 teams for a total of over 60 people staying together in the New Covenant community center building.

God was working in a major way during the entire trip. We were able to see clear answers to prayer. We were able to have awesome fellowship. We were able to reach many members of the community. One such story happened at our Robin Hood Lane work site. One of the homeowners called "L.W." was so moved and empowered by our group showing up to work on his house that when we asked him to come to church with us on Sunday, he did! Below is a picture of the group with L.W.

One last story about how God was working on this trip. One of the members of the Newtown group, Vicki, was given $100.00 by a friend. This friend said, "I don't know what this money is for, but God does." One night during the trip, L.W. was riding his bike when suddenly, he was hit by a car. He was rushed to the hospital where he was treated for minor injuries. His bike was his only mode of transport and it was totaled. L.W. was very depressed. So the group from Newtown used that $100.00 to buy L.W. a new bike. He was overcome with Joy. He praised God through his tears.

In short, the group was great, and the trip went well. It was a learning experience and an encouragement for Jenny and I to press on to our calling. Oh! and FEI still wants us to come so that's a good thing. :-)

Progress and Training - The Road to New Orleans

2007-04-25T12:10:00.000-05:00

We are moving forward to the mission field. After discussion with Forward Edge International (FEI), there is a need for us to serve as field coordinators in New Orleans. We will help with the long term Katrina rebuilding project. We have begun to move forward with our plans to raise support and sell our house.

Goals:
1) Our first goal is to sell our house. We want to put it on the market May 11.
2) Our second goal is to leave for New Orleans on September 1.

In order to meet our goals, we need to fix our house, raise support, and deal with all of our "stuff". We will also need to train. Our training will be multi-faceted and will continue once we reach the field.

Our support materials are ready to go. FEI has accepted us for the field coordinator position. We have presented our calling to Centreville Presbyterian Church (CPC). Our goal is to be sent as missionaries from our home church to FEI. Currently, we are going through the process of figuring out what our support from CPC will look like. Once that is defined we will continue with fund raising and training.

If you have a moment to pray for us, please pray that we can accurately discern God's timing and that we would have faith enough to be calm during this transition!
Thank you very much.

The Decision to go Full Time Has Been Made!

2007-02-23T10:40:00.000-05:00

We have decided to go to the Gulf Coast to coordinate disaster recovery efforts with Forward Edge International!

Last week, Aaron attended the Forward Edge International Facilitators Conference in Portland, Oregon. It was a great opportunity to meet key people in the organization, and to learn about the various facets of FEI (Forward Edge International). FEI is a trans-denominational relief and missions organization dedicated to mobilizing ordinary people to be the hands and feet of Jesus. At the conference, Aaron heard heart-breaking tales of humanity from the people serving as field coordinators in various locations across the globe. Aaron also heard of the good fruit that is coming from FEI's efforts to mobilize ordinary people to minister to God's children. Check out the FEI website: http://www.forwardedge.org to learn more. The worship was amazing, as it was clear that the spirit was moving in the people that were present. A critical training was also provided at this conference: How to raise funds.

After the conference, through prayer and consideration, we made our decision to go with FEI. During the conference, the spirit moved Aaron from outside this group of missionaries to the inside. This was one of the indications of our calling to go. FEI had need for field coordinators in the gulf coast. After prayer and fasting, we think that God is calling us to use this opportunity to go into full time ministry. This is very excitiing and scary.

The details are taking shape right now. More details to come soon.

Preparing for a Mission... Bringing it All Back to Center

2007-02-15T18:48:00.000-05:00

Jenny and I have wanted to serve God is some capacity ever since we were dating. The first years of courting and marriage had us scatterbrained all over the place. We were switching jobs and volunteering in various capacities. We were moving from Virginia to Maryland and back to Virginia. We were also working out our relational differences and learning how to live well with each other.

Now, a few years later, we have a much better understanding of how to have a marriage that is honoring to God and one another. I think it would be impossible to take on a serious full time mission without a unified homefront.

It was also necessary for us to adventure into different career fields and move around. Sometimes we just need to figure things out the hard way. It was only when we focused on God and less on our own ideas that we started honing in on our purpose. God has been faithful. It was only after we started spending time with God daily, praying consistently, reading the Word daily, and obeying God that he started revealing the next steps to us. God planted the seed for a mission in our hearts, but it wasn't until we got into the right season that God caused the shoots to break out.

"Mission" Statement

2007-01-30T23:48:00.000-05:00

This blog site has a mission. That mission is to document the Gordon family mission. Here we will post a listing of events, trips, and stories related to our mission to serve God. We will include photos and explainations. Some of the content is bound to be emotionally moving. We hope that this site will encourage others; especially friends and family.

So what is our mission? Our mission is simply to "make disciples" of Christ. It is constantly evolving as we discover what that means for us.