PETA...are you serious???

Hey guys, I haven't written a my final thoughts yet on the homeless project, which I hope to either later tonight or tomorrow, but I need to talk about something I find absolutely ridiculous. What do I find ridiculous you ask? PETA! The maniacs that run and support this organization are freakin' lunatics. It's not that I don't know or care about cruelty to animals, because I do and I think that it is very wrong. What goes on in many places is terrible and should be stopped, but PETA is CRAZY!! I have watched many numerous videos and read many articles on this subject so I know what I'm talking about. Now for those of you who don't know, I am not a vegetarian. I have no problem with eating meat. I do think that animals should be killed humanly, but I see no problem in killing them. If you think I'm wrong then please enlighten me...I love a good debate. This blog however is not supposed to be on how people kill animals, it's on PETA. Those who have no heard much about PETA might be wondering why I hate the organization so much. It's because of the things they support. For starters, they support the bombing of buildings that are used for animal testing...BOMBING. For the people that may think there is nothing wrong with you, let me ask you this: Is it of for me to bomb houses of people who own coffee from non-free trade plantations or own diamonds from Sierra Leone? After all, those diamonds and coffee were made available only through the exploitation of impoverished people in Africa and Latin America. I see no difference there. Let me just say that I don't think bombing people's houses would be right, I'm just making a point. Bombing animal testing facilities is wrong, plain and simple. Another thing the love-filled people over at PETA support, o I'm sorry I mean started, is a campaign called "Holocaust on Your Plate". That's right Holocaust...like the one suffered by the Jews in WWII!!! Are you kidding me?? They equate the killing of animals in slaughter houses to the killing of the Jewish people. It is absolutely disgusting that people would compare the mass killing of millions of innocent lives to that of freakin' animals!! I'm sorry, I don't care what you say...animals are not the same as humans. Humans are better. Let me repeat myself...HUMANS ARE BETTER! I'm sorry if I hurt the feeling of animals...o wait no I don't! Some of you may think at this point that I hate animals, I'm sorry if you do because that is not true. I love animals, especially dogs and eagles...I don't know why but I love eagles. I agree that it's horrible what some people do to animals, but that doesn't change how I feel. Here are a few reasons why humans are superior to animals: 1) God says so...read Genesis 1. Now I know it says nothing of eating humans, but we are talking about superiority not food. 2) Humans have been eating animals for thousands of years. 3) I guarantee you animals are not having debates about this right now...therefore we are better. Well, I have to finish my spanish homework so I'm going to end it here. If you don't believe me or want to read more about the PETA morons go to the PETA kills animals website. Thanks for listening folks...sorry this was more a rant than thought on God, life, etc.

A wretched sinner saved by grace,
Jordan

Homeless: Day 3

Ok well I didn't write much yesterday so I'm going to write for yesterday and a little of today. Yesterday was the best day I have had all year long. No I haven't gone crazy, and yes I am still living homeless. There is just something about living on the bare necessities and being completely content. For the first time this year I had no worries about who other people saw me as. I was just me. It was so freeing to sit on the sets of the chapel barefoot in my smelly t-shirt and jeans and not have a care in the world. I just sat there and talked with my new friends about life, politics, philosophy, and everything else under the sun. It didn't matter what I looked like or how I smelled because no one else cared. For once we took each other for who we are not who we look like. I think that is one of the reasons why so many people don't like what we are doing, it makes them feel uncomfortable. It is not normal for someone to not shower and just sit outside all day long like a hippie and not do anything. It not normal to be careless how we look to other people. I want to know, why is this not normal? Why can't we accept others for their true self and not for their looks, clothes, and friends? I truly believe that if we did this we would all be happier. No one would annoy others because they were trying to impress someone, or make them like who they aren't. We would all be ourselves for once in out lives and the world would get along...it's too bad the idea of the world getting along is more of a joke than a dream anymore.

Just as my day was amazing, so was my night. I went to sleep earlier than I ever have at Houghton, and slept through most of the night. As time goes on you really do get used to sleeping on cardboard boxes. I can't even imagine what it will feel like to sleep on a mattress again. Anyway, as usual there were some drano bombs set off last night. The best part of my night, seeing cape girl run after the sound of drano bombs at midnight...haha. But as usual I woke up happy and refreshed. I was also able to stay fully awake in both of my classes, which were both very enjoyable. Well, I haven't done much today so I'm going to end it here. Maybe I will write more tonight...

A wretched sinner saved by grace,
Jordan

Homeless: Day 2

Hey all, hope everyone is doing well. I'm ok, a little hungry, a little sore, and a lot tired but this is quite the experience. It's a weird feeling knowing that there are many people who I have never met that are supporting me and at the same time the same number of people who think its pointless and stupid. It's hard to tell where people truly stand because many of those who are against us have never talked to us or know all the facts about what we are doing. For those of you who still dont know our intentions please read my blog from yesterday and get informed. Now don't get me wrong, if you disagree with me and have all the facts straight, then great. I have no problem with that because everyone is entitled to their own opinion. If you have taken the time to talk to us and find out what we are about then thank you. Now if you havent taken the time to talk to us and you say we are doing nothing then you are flat out wrong. You are thinking about it, talking about it and reading about it. That right there is proof that we accomplished our goal. Our goal was to raise awareness throught the campus about homelessness. Who can honestly sit there and say we didn't do that?

While it is frustrating at points, it has also been quite encouraging as well. Numerous times I have walked past people outside or sat near people in class that are talking about it. Most of those times the people have said encouraging things or are supportive in our actions. So thank you to those who support us AND to those who don't support us. Keep talking and debating.

A wretched sinner saved by grace,
Jordan

Homeless: Day 1

"The homeless now have a face." This is something Jenna told me today. It really hit me when she said it because that is why we are doing this. We are not doing it because we think we can truly know what it is like to be homeless. (that would be foolish and ignorant) We are not doing it because we want attention or to try to start conflict. The reason we are doing this is to put a face to the people on the street.

Let me ask you a question, How many times have to stopped and helped a homeless person in any way? For those of you who HAVE actually helped a homeless person, how many homeless people have you encountered? Is the number of people you have helped and the number of people you have come across close? If not ask yourself why. Let me digress here for a second, I am guilty of this as well. I have helped one homeless person in my life, but I have come across many more. I want you to know this because I used to think like a lot of people. I used to think that the homeless people got themselves in their position and they don't deserve my help. This argument makes sense in a world absent of God. Fortunately for us we have God, so that argument falls short. I agree that for many homeless people, it is their own fault. However, this does not give us a reason to not help them. Look at it like this: We are all sinners, we choose to sin every day. God in spite of our sin still chose to come to this earth to save us. We got ourselves into the mess we were, or still are, in. We didnt deserve any help, but God helped us anyways. We are called to be Christ-like, would God help the homeless? We know through the Bible that he not only would help the homeless, but he DID help them. Not only did God help us, but those that told us about Christ helped us as well. Whether it was your parents, pastor, missionary, friend, etc. someone told us about God. Those people helped us when we didn't deserve help. Was it foolish for them to help you? I would say no, they cared for you and wanted to save you from yourself. Why would you not want to do the same?

Thanks for sticking with me through all that...back to the story. Last night was quite interesting. Everything was going well, minus the whole pouring rain thing, until about 1 in the morning. We were woken up by the sound of "drano bombs". We don't know why people were setting them off, but they scared the crap out of us. Josh woke me up telling me that there was someone shooting a shotgun, because that's what it sounded like. Haha, so we freaked out a little and all ran into the chapel. Inti ended up calling the cops just to be safe, even though it turned out to be nothing. So that created a little excitement for everyone! The rest of the night went well. Some people, me for example, slept fairly well while others got little sleep at all. It was a new experience sleeping on rocks with just a blanket and some padding I cut from a couch that was out by Shen. It was good though. I woke up happier than I ever have at 7:15 in the morning...for those of you who don't know me I am NOT a morning person by any means. After waking up and eating a small fruit bar someone gave me, I went to class as usual and tired to stay awake. Today has not been too much out of the norm for me. I did some homework outside on a bench, came to the campus center to do some work, and talked with my friends. I'm not going to lie, at this point I am pretty hungry. I will survive though, and I already have and will continue to learn things through this experience. Please, if you agree, disagree, are curious, or have no idea about what we are doing come talk to us. We would love to chat with you about are motives behind doing this. Just remember to keep an open mind, and we don't always have to agree but we should ALWAYS strive to understand each other. Thanks for listening.

A wretched sinner saved by grace,
Jordan

Homeless

So...today is the start of our homeless experience. We started at around 6 p.m. after our "last dinner". While I'm only 2 hours into it, it has been interesting and thought provoking. It was weird to sit on the steps of the chapel to do my homework, because I had nowhere else to go. It started to get cold and all I wanted to do was run inside and get warm. (and yes I know I am inside doing this..shut up) It was weird to think about the fact that I cant go to my fridge and get something to drink or eat. I have nothing but my books, a Bible, and a blanket. Its hard to concentrate on anything because there are so many thoughts flooding my head. I don't fully know what I am thinking or feeling right now, so I will wait till tomorrow when I have experienced a little more. Keep us in your prayers, there are around 20-25 people doing this. More importantly, keep the real poor, downtrodden, and social outcasts in your prayer. They need it the most and those are the people God was drawn to. That isn't a coincidence. More to come tomorrow...

A wretched sinner saved by grace,
Jordan

Project Surrender Goals

So I'm new to this whole blogging thing so if my thought are jumbled just bare with me. For those who don't know Matt Whittemore, John Herr, JD Zaner, and I have started a little project called "Project Surrender". ( Thus the name of my blog) The whole point of Project Surrender is for all of us to totally surrender our lives to God's control of our life. Along with surrendering to God, we are giving up things of this world that distract us from God. These things we are surrendering are different for each of us, but they all have the same meaning: "What can I give back to God to lose myself so that others might gain?" For me I have been convicted of a few different things...

I have felt called to start giving more money to the poor, especially the poor in Africa. I have joined a Mocha Club The Mocha Club is an organization where you form "teams" that concentrate on a specific impoverished group of people and raise money for those people. My team is called "Children of Promise"; and we are raising money for HIV/AIDS orphans in Africa. Along with the Mocha Club, I'm going to start sponsoring a child in Africa, hopefully from Uganda. Doing these two things are just small ways in which I can share my love for Christ to those who may have never seen His amazing love.

Another thing I am sacrificing is my time. I believe is one of the biggest things anyone can give, and yet one of the things people hate giving the most. We as humans are so consumed in ourselves that we don't want to give even a few minutes of our day to anyone else. That is why I have decided to give up my laziness and and time spent doing frivolous things. It hasn't been easy, because I am so used to doing whatever I feel like whenever I feel like it. That is why I need to sacrifice it though, because this life is not mine, it is God's.

One of my passions in life is supporting and getting involved in humanitarian organizations. I have tried to increase my involvement in these groups since starting Project Surrender. First, I'm traveling to Washington D.C. to attend the Northern Uganda Lobby Day on October 9th and 10th. It's a two day event that included speakers from all over the world and an opportunity to meet with my representative to discuss the war in Northern Uganda. It will be the experience of a lifetime and I encourage everyone who has a burden on their heart for the horrible tragedies in Africa to go. Along with Lobby Day, I'm going to participate in the nationwide Gulu Walk. This event is a one day walk to raise money and support for the war in Northern Uganda. If this sounds like something you might be interested in go to the Gulu Walk website for more info. Lastly, I have joined an organization called Evangelicals for Social Action. In my own words, the point of the organization is to "put and end to apathy in Houghton College and America" The first event we as a group are doing is living as homeless people for 4 nights. We are going to sleep outside on Houghton's campus, only eat food that is given to us by others, and have nothing but a few blankets and the clothes on our back for most of next week. I am excited and nervous about this at the same time. I know how rich of a learning experience it will be, but also what a challenge it will be. I'll be writing everyday of the homeless project, so I'll let you know how it turns out.

One thing I want to stress is how this blog is not meant to show you my accomplishments or brag about what I have done (frankly, what I have done means nothing), but to encourage you to look into your own life and see what you can sacrifice. Also, maybe some of you will get some ideas from this as to what you can do for yourself. I want this to be encouraging to all who read it. Before I end I want to ask you one question, "What can you sacrifice to God?" Please think about this, and more importantly, act upon it.

A wretched sinner saved by grace,

Jordan