Gene Ort

A mountain man in India. This man has only heard the name of Jesus in his village for the first time just recently.

This word is for him and for me, for we were all created in His image…

Luke 10:27 “Love the lord your God with all your heart, mind, soul and strength.”

Heart: From the deepest place of truth expressed in the inner part of man.. resulting in care of the richest kind with the purest emotion.

Mind: The place of intellect, wisdom and understanding. The place that hungers to learn more about who God is and what He has done and what He has planned. Where we ponder His mighty deeds, the creation and wonder at His beauty, innocence and holiness.

Soul: The sum of your eternal self. The part of you thats hardest to understand because it’s not your flesh, but the image of God in you. The part of you that knows you were made for more than this world has shown you. The part that lies awake in the middle of the night and prays to the Father for all of life to be restored to what it was meant to be in the garden. The part that longs to walk with Him in the cool of the day.

Strength: The hands of action and movement. Putting love into motion.. for the things that God loves, His children. To love Him with all your strength is to let His love move you. It’s to lift the burdens.. and move the obstacles out of way for you and others.

After some pretty intense travel getting to Biejing.. we were greeted by four nameless men. We were whisked off pretty quickly and before we new it, we were walking down winding dark streets and long dirt roads. We arrived to find a building that you would never expect was a “gathering”.  Think abandoned industrial 1930’s NYC.

Every time I go on one of these trips I am humbled by the sacrifice these warriors of God endure.  Like a blast of reality, we are forced to walk into their world. They smile wide and share what they have. They celebrate God with abandon. They are generous with their love. They look to us for help.. I look to them for inspiration.

It’s forbidden to do what they do. Nothing can stop them!

It’s 4:15 am here where I am. We all just spent most of the night on a “night train”  out of Beijing. It was a 10 hour ride in one of those sleeper cars.  I am going to bed real soon..  but before I do..

It’s almost dinner time back in Niles where I live. Mary emailed me and she is cooking chicken..  I love what she does with a chicken..

Imagine cooking dinner on this every night..  If you have food…

I have a prayer on my lips already.. “Father God, don’t let me look away from their need.”

Video by Dustin Holliday. Dustin is the Director of Outreach at Christian Fellowship Church in the Washington DC area and close friend of Jack. He also leads a missional outreach to Nicaragua.  He joined Jack and I in Cambodia to get a first hand look at the One Prayer Church planting efforts. While we were traveling and shooting video, Dustin was using his mad video skills and a flip camera to capture these behind the scenes shots. It’s a rare look for me because I am always behind the camera.

We had a great time.. lots of fun in the midst of some pretty intense work in very high heat and humidity. Dustin was incredibly helpful. Several times I took him up on his offer to carry the gear. A 50 plus lb. back pack full of lens, mics, batteries etc.

Dustin is a warrior. He and Jack are cut from the same fabric. Leather I think. Camo black leather with kevlar coating and built in GPS tracking and radiation detection and spider venom antidote. Yes… they eat spiders. No, I did not. You can insert whatever sissy descriptive term you like right here.. but I did not eat the giant jungle spider.. and I have no plans too.

Warrior: ” A warrior is a person experienced in or capable of engaging in combat or warfare”.

I spent 5 days with Jack and Dustin together. Wow… I would tell you what they talked about but I want to live a little longer  ( if you get my meaning). What I did witness and can share is these guys are intense.  Both these guys are highly trained in self defense. They can hurt you so fast and in so many different ways that you would need a slow motion camera and instant replay to figure out which way to fall down.

But these warriors have chosen to use their tougher than nails skills for the Kingdom of God. I have witnessed them using their “get it done” mentality to impact a village for Christ and bring lasting change that will save lives now and for eternity. They may have hands of steel with attitudes to match but inside of them both beat hearts of gold.

It was an honor to serve God along side these warriors and a surprise when Dustin called me “the warrior videographer”.  I kinda like that..   Shootin pictures.. takin names.. For God’s Kingdom… now and forever..