Prayer Request: Jess, Randi and Nate are asking for some very focused prayer. Since they have been in Israel they have been hit with a lot of spiritual warfare. The next 4 weeks of their journey are especially vital. Thanks in advance for lifting these folks up to the Lord. - Bonnie
Awakening The Bride To Hunger
Shalom from Israel!
20,000 miles later…
It all started with a yes cry to follow Jesus wherever He goes. We stayed in Africa because God gave us a word to, and since that day, nothing has been the same.
20,000 miles later, we find ourselves once again learning the simplicity of the Gospel. A message that will work in the dirt and in the palace.
A Time of Awakening…
I find myself in Israel and for three weeks, the western world has been my new home. I must confess I have had a rough time adjusting to the lack of dirt around me. I miss seeing African children singing and playing. I miss the presence of Jesus that seemed so readily available in the heart of Africa. We knew that Jesus had called us to Israel for a purpose.
On a personal note, I had quickly fallen asleep while in the first world. We were hungry in Africa and knew that the Holy Spirit would always come running. We were always watching and waiting for His presence and He would never disappoint. It was very easy for me to lose that gift God had given us once we entered into Israel. I honestly quickly fell asleep.
Throughout our time here, Jesus has been drawing us more to Himself. We had in Africa, learned lessons of simplicity and love. We had learned dependency on Jesus in a deeper way than we had ever known. And here, in the very places that He once walked, Jesus was going to wake me up once more.
The Feast of Passover has been celebrated throughout this week. Many refer to it as the Feast of Intimacy. In John Chapters 13-15, Jesus takes His disciples, those whom He loved the most, away for one last meal together. He washed their feet, He loved on them, and He reassured them of the fulfillment of His promises towards them.
He even lets them know that He is going away to prepare. He says that He will prepare a room for them. In fact, many rooms, and that where He is, they (and we) will also be. Jewish tradition mirrors Jesus’ words to His closest friends.
When a man is about to marry a woman, in Jewish culture, He will leave her for six months to a year. During this time, He will go to His father’s house and build a room for his bride in His father’s house. Once he has prepared a place for her, He will return. And there they will live together in His father’s house.
Another interesting connection between Jewish culture today and Jesus’ last meal with His friends deals with communion. Before Jesus would be arrested, He broke bread with His disciples and gave them His body and His cup to take from. Within Jewish tradition, when a man and woman are about to be married the bridegroom will offer his bride a cup of wine. If she is pleased with Him, she will drink from His cup.
During my time here in Israel Jesus has been asking me two things: Will you enter in to the place I have prepared for you? And will you drink from my cup?
He has awakened me once again to His promises both to myself and a dying world. There is always enough because He died. I want to enter in to that place with Him. Whether I find myself in the first world at times, or living in the third world, I know that His promises and the promise of His presence are always the same. He has a yes cry for His bride.
We are learning more about His cup. One that is both suffering and joy. And we are pleased with Him and will drink. We drink because we are thirsty for His presence, and we drink because we are pleased with Him and recognize what He did and what He will do.
The trust of a child. Dependency is our goal. We want more than ever to waste our lives on Him. And each day we decide. He is still enough for a dying world.
When we were in Shiloh, we stood in the ruins of the temple where Hannah prayed (1 Samuel). Hannah was desperate and because of her desperation and trust, God remembered her. We asked Jesus for that same desperation while there.
We want to leave Israel not just with memories of places and great ministry. We want to leave with more hunger for Jesus. More than we have ever before had.
While in Israel He is has done a similar thing for us. He has washed us, loved on us, and reassured us of the fulfillment of His promises towards us.
He is awakening His bride…
A Wedding Gift From Jesus to His Betrothed...
As Randi and I have traveled throughout five countries in the last six months, over and over we hear Jesus telling us, ‘Keep going girls!’ We are understanding more and more that we can do nothing without His presence. There have been times when we have been waiting before the Lord that we have begun to truly cry out to Him and know that we will die without more of His presence. Most people would read what I just wrote and conclude it is the result of youthful zeal. However, I believe this is what Jesus is asking of His bride today. She must hunger for Him. This hunger will transcend cultures, youthful zeal and more. It is a gift from Jesus to His betrothed.
As we have followed all we can do it ask Jesus for more hunger. I can remember when we were in Mozambique. We met a room full of pastors who had family members die of starvation. These are those who know about desperation and hunger. And because of that, their hunger for Jesus was breathtaking. Most of them had been used by God to raise the dead. They were working in miracles and yet could not even read. Sometimes I truly believe that God’s Kingdom is upside down to the way we see His kingdom in the west. It is a kingdom where the last become first. The poor become rich. And the weak become strong.
Heidi had the pastors pray over us for God to give us hunger. True hunger. I can remember being on the floor of the prayer hut for a long time. I can remember my face pressed against the dirt and the masses of students squished on the floor next to me. It was then that God began to give me more of a gift of hunger. We are so desperate for His presence. And we know we need it more than we need breathe.
In churches in villages and cities throughout Africa, God has given us one message. He has said to get on our face and call others to desperation, to hunger, and to crying out for His presence. As we go to minister and preach, That is what we do. We know now that we cannot make it up. We cannot play church. And each time as we cry out for His presence and wait for Him, He comes running, He really, really does! I remember times where I have seen the presence of God sweep throughout a place as we worship and cry out. Sometimes He just tells us not to preach and to call up the sick and demonized. There have been times when the presence of God was so thick in a place that we could not get up to lay hands on people. We watch as He heals and sets people free. He is teaching us laid down love.
While I was at the Wailing Wall here in Jerusalem, I was taken into a vision of Jesus. In the vision, I saw Jesus. He looked tired, hungry, and sleep deprived. I can remember His eyes. They looked desperate. He took a hold of my shoulders and looked into my eyes. He said, ‘I am hungry for my bride, and I will not rest until I have her.’ My time at the Wailing Wall was life changing. Understanding that Jesus is hungry for His bride on the earth changes all my ‘no’s’ to ‘yes’’ when it comes to running with Him to the ends of the earth.
Crying out to Jesus and hungering for His presence is the message of our lives. At the end of the day, we know that He feeds the hungry, and His presence comes when we ask. He will run when we call His name. This is the Jesus we are learning.
Love For A Dying World…
As we have spent time in Africa, life has begun to look different. Most of my days are spent in the dirt, holding children, preaching, worshipping on my face with them, and learning a new culture, a new family. Holding the poor and learning from them as they teach me about life and His kingdom. Jesus spoke to me one day as I was in the dirt. He said, 'It is not enough for you any longer to sit in the dirt with the poor and the children to learn about my kingdom. I am now calling you to sit with me and learn about my kingdom by what I show you in the secret place.' What He showed me is a paradigm shift I believe God is asking His bride to take today. I cannot love the poor because of my own ability to love. I just cannot do it. I cannot give my life away for my love for humanity. I do not have enough for a dying world by myself. In fact, I am learning that I can do nothing without Him. I am falling in love with Jesus. And as I see Him, I see that He always has enough for a dying world. He has enough love for a nation. His love is complete sacrifice. It is a love that lays down His life for His friends. This love, His love, goes beyond human capability. It is the reality of Heaven coming upon the earth.
I was reading another book yesterday by Heidi and Rolland Baker. In it, Heidi talks about the reality of seeing the face of Jesus. She writes, 'Just focus on His face. You will only make it to the end if you can focus on His face. Focus on His beautiful face. You cannot feed the poor, you cannot go tot eh street, you cannot see anything happen unless you see His face. One glance of His eyes and we have all it takes to lie down. We are not afraid to die.' Rolland goes onto write, 'His call is for our lives...He is looking for people who will carry His glory. He really really is. But you have to be dead in order to carry it. And when you carry the glory, you will carry it out to the poor, the broken, the dying, and the lost. You will. That is the call. That is the heartbeat of Jesus. That we carry Him to the broken. But you cannot carry Him until you have seen His face. You have to know that holy place.'
A place where we will freely give away everything for the joy set before us, His face. It is a state of utter sacrifice but filling love. It is a place where we cannot make anything up. I am learning more and more of that lesson. As we have been in village churches and churches in cities, Randi and I have fallen on our knees each time as we go to minister and invite His presence. And He comes running! He really really does. His face. It is only Him that can change the nations.
Recently, Randi and I were invited to minister at a church meeting in Kentucky via computer from Israel. It was one in the morning our time and seven at night in the states. We had never ministered via computer before. The cameras were on, and there we were on the screen. We ushered in the presence of Jesus. Worship was amazing and we found ourselves on the floor unable to get in view of the camera. As Jesus swept the rooms, both in Israel where we were at and in America, I marveled at His presence and love from a distance thousands of miles away. We prophesied for hours. The Holy Spirit fell on the people as some were on their face. What a God. And it is all for Love and nothing less.
We want to be so holy given to Jesus that He can use me to see revival sweep throughout the third world; throughout the African world, throughout the Muslim world. It is all simple. The Gospel will forever remain simple: Love the one in front of you. The love of God will see nations changed in a day. Who are those that will go to the depths of His heart to reach it? We have set ourselves to be one of them.
And this is what we are learning each day as we learn to lie down. Desperation always ushers in the presence of God. He will always feed the hungry. His kingdom is one where the thirsty drink and the hungry eat. The poor have been our greatest teachers.
Back to Africa...
We are traveling via Ethiopia back to Uganda next Thursday morning, April 11th at 1 am.
Our schedule for the next month brings us through Uganda and Tanzania.
We will be in America for the month of May before heading back to Mozambique, Africa to start another seven month journey.
We love you all very much! Thank you for your prayers and encouragement!
Behold The Lamb Who Takes Away The Sins of The World!
Who Will Ask The Lord For A Nation?
“The thrust for international missions will be totally revolutionized over the next decade, as intimacy with Jesus becomes priority in the life of the believer over evangelism itself. Ministry to the Lord will take priority over ministry to others and thus empower our ministry to others. The love of God will be restored to its rightful places as the chief commandment, thus enabling us to carry out the second commandment-to love our neighbors as ourselves…A new generation of missionaries is being raised up, whose hearts are captivated by the lover of their souls.”- “The New Mystics by John Crowder
As we boarded the little plane and lifted off of the narrow dirt airstrip in Sudan, I began to ask Jesus of this new breed of missionary that He is now raising up in the earth today. Of those who would lay down their lives for loves sake. Those that because of intimacy would see entire nations come to Jesus.
Over the last six months of our lives here in Africa, Randi and I have learned that we cannot make revival happen in the nations He sends us. We do know, however, that when we cry out to Him from love and desperation, He comes running! He does, He comes running! More and more we are catching the heartbeat of God for Africa. It is not a slow one, but a fast beat. We long to see God change nations in a day!
We have seen Jesus show up in both the dirt and in governmental offices in Africa. We have watched as He has healed, delivered, and saved by mass, but it is in the moments when we see Him touch the one that we are wrecked and undone by His love for a dying world.
While in Sudan, God began to ask us if we wanted a nation. I spent many nights awake as God began to lay a nation on my heart that I had never before considered.Can an entire nation turn to Jesus? We are about to find out.
Love Costs Something
In Matthew 19, Jesus encounters a rich young man who wanted to radically follow Him. He asks Jesus, ‘What do I still lack?’ In the story, Jesus gives a call for laid down love. He says, ‘If you want, go sell all, and give to the poor, and then, come follow me.” Laid down love is always voluntary. Love will cost us something.
What Would Happen If We Ran To The Ends of The Earth? Literally.
This is our heart’s cry. Who re those that because of loves sake will get low so that the Lamb would receive the full reward for His sufferings? No matter the cost, love covers all.
As God now calls us to Israel before returning to East Africa, we stand amazed at all that He has done. Across five nations He has taken us. What a God!
From Africa to Jerusalem
We are traveling to Israel tomorrow , March 17th through Ethiopia. Please remain in prayer for us. We are believing God to miracles and visitation.
We will be staying with a Jewish family in Jerusalem and Nazareth.
We will be returning to Uganda on April 11th.
Our contact information will be updated once in Israel.
Much Love,
Jessica Orr , Randi and Nate Blick
Personal Email: Jessie_orr@yahoo.com Blogsite: www.xanga.com/Jessicaorr Tanzanian and Ugandan Cell: +011255786972814 USA Contact Address: Jessica Orr c/o Susan Murray 106 Melrose Court Fort Mill, SC 29715 USA
...THAT THE LAMB MAY RECEIVE THE REWARD FOR HIS SUFFERING...
…That The Lamb May Receive The Reward For His Suffering…
Greetings from Yei, Sudan!
My second case of malaria has come and hopefully gone at this point. While in Uganda I had been developing symptoms but after crossing into Sudan, maintained a very high fever and a list of other interesting symptoms. My trip to the hospital was an eventful one. The generator that gave the small building power was being turned off soon, and quick blood tests showed that I had malaria again.
I understand that in the West, Malaria is a foreign and very scary word. Let me assure everyone that we were thankful it was malaria this time. I have dealt with it before and knew what to expect. There had been an outbreak of cholera and meningitis here and we were thankful that it was simply malaria.
On a more interesting note, a large spider bit my foot. The swelling has gone down, but I still look like I have a case of elephantitis :o)
What an eventful week.
I wanted to thank all of you for your prayers and love. I am so thankful to have so many who love me and email. Emails to us are like Christmas presents.
I also wanted to address some questions that I usually receive when I get sick here in Africa, especially with malaria. As I mentioned before, I know that malaria is a dreadful and unknown disease in western ears. Let me reassure again that I am in good health at the present and so much more in love with Jesus and ready for the next step, which is in Africa.
Who Will Lay Down Their Lives For Love Sake?
While in Sudan, God has again began to speak to me. Again and again He has been asking, Who will lay down their lives for loves sake?
Nearly six months into our journey in Africa, Randi and I are more desperate for Jesus than ever before. We want to follow Him wherever He goes.
More and more we are finding Him in some of the most remote places on the earth.
Here in Yei, we have been staying with a new Iris Ministries Base directed by Michele Perry. It has been amazing to be with fellow Holy Given ones!
To be honest, most of my time spent in southern Sudan has been spent on my face. Sickness had aided in that, but the Holy Spirit has wrecked us for more. When we signed up and gave our lives away for Him, it was because He showed us Himself.
In Mozambique, Jesus asked me to go to the ends of the earth with Him. My answer will always remain, ‘Yes Jesus!’
While on my face here in Sudan God began speaking to Randi and I of a vision He had downloaded into us and me a long time ago. Multitudes of African and Middle Eastern children flood the visions that God has been giving us. A dream of building a home in Africa for rescued children. A beginning of a new family.
We believe that this vision of building a base here in Africa is getting closer each day. And it all comes out of intimacy.
The reason that I am not rushing back to the comforts of the states each time I get sick with malaria is because of love. There is a love and revelation of Jesus that transcends youthful zeal.
I give my life because of love and nothing else. Ambition has no place in intimacy. This is what I am learning. His Kingdom is upside down.
The Children Will Carry The Kingdom To Earth
The African culture is becoming more and more my own, and as I watch children who know Jesus face to face, I can see revival hitting regions, nations, and the world.
I believe revival will begin with the children.
While worshipping, God began to show me a picture of His kingdom. I knew that He wanted me to be apart of His kingdom coming more to Africa. But as I tried to lift His throne and carry it to the earth, it was much to heavy for me.
A little African girl came up beside me in the vision and took the throne, placed it on her head (In Africa, women will carry almost everything on their heads) and carried it to the earth.
We are excited because we know that the children God entrusts us with here in Africa will know heaven more than earth and will carry His kingdom in their culture!
The vision? Simple: Take in all the kids.
Loving In The Dirt
Holding children is one of my heart’s delights and we have had our share of it while in Sudan. We have truly caught a vision for the same in East Africa and are expectant at what the next year holds.
What then will we say?
We will carry with us His presence into more of Africa as He calls us. We will go wherever He goes and follow Him to the Ends of the Earth. This is the reality of laid down love.
We Are Headed to the Holy Land!
Randi’s brother Nate has now joined us for our time in Sudan. We will be traveling back to Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday to finalize travel to Israel.
In Israel we will be meeting living with a Jewish family in Jerusalem and Nazareth. During our time there we will be preaching, and ministering throughout Jerusalem, and also scouting out future possibilities.
We will be returning to East Africa in April.
Check out of Website!
For updated pictures, video, and contact information please view www.xanga.com/jessicaorr
*Note: Sudan pictures and video will be update next week.
Contact Information Update:
*Our phone will be working Tuesday march 13th when we reach Uganda.
You can phone us at 001+255786972814
Again, thank you all so much for all of your love and prayers!
Much love!
Jessica Orr, Randi and Nate Blick
Personal Email: Jessie_orr@yahoo.com Blogsite: www.xanga.com/Jessicaorr Tanzanian and Ugandan Cell: +011255786972814 USA Contact Address: Jessica Orr c/o Susan Murray 106 Melrose Court Fort Mill, SC 29715 USA
