Time to catch up! Sorry folks!
Hello there...it's almost Christmas time and this term has flown by! Aaron and I have meant to sit and blog so many times but our bodies have lurred us to sleep too soon! For those of you who are just hoping into our blog we are out in San Diego with our four kids after Aaron left his job at Furniture Row of 10 years, sold our house and tons of stuff and followed our Lord Jesus to attend discipleship school here for one year! Our first term was absolutely amazing and hard and full of so much. I am going to do my best to update you on some major highlights!
Here we got to celebrate Aaron's best friends Cisco's daughter, Serena's birthday! Next to Rachel is my mentor, Cat and then Analisa who is going to Oaxaca, Mexico as a missionary with Cisco and his family for at least two years
What a blessing this school is for our family in so many ways. After we got back from our week of camping the Lord has continued to move and bless in our lives. We had two major weeks at school that we definetely want to share with you. One week was an amazing week of prayer and worship. It was an entire week that school was only at night and we had amazing worship, prayer and messages! It was amazing. We had a sitter set up for every night and it was the first time Aaron and I got to go and fellowship and worship together. It was wonderful. After that awesome week was Thanksgiving. Last year we had finally started a family tradition that we'd wanted to do for some time of serving on Thanksgiving day at homeless dinning hall. This year we signed up Rachel and Malachi with us to serve at San Diego's largest homeless outreach. That morning the Horizon Christian Fellowship takes buses and picks up the homeless and brings them to their school campus. Rachel and I worked in the children's ministry area while Aaron and Malachi washed the feet of the homeless and gave them new socks. Halfway through our morning Rachel and I took a break and went to check on Malachi and Aaron. The haircutting station was packed....probably 40 hairstylist lined up and cutting hair...it was amazing. Right next to that was the foot washing station. It wasn't super busy so Aaron was walking around telling people to come have their feet washed. I saw two little boys waiting for hair cuts with no socks or shoes and Aaron asked their mom if they could get their feet washed and new socks. The minute one of the boys sat...he was probably close to Malachi's age...Malachi excitedly served him and washed his feet. Absolutley not one grumble. It touched my heart so much. After that Rachel stayed to serve with the feet and Malachi came with me. They both had a wonderful time and truly blessed us to see the Lord shine in them. After that was an afternoon of cooking...with one of our favorite teachers, Maria...who had offered to watch Isaiah and Caleb that morning while we did outreach. Aaron and I know what it's like to be alone on the holidays after moving around the country for the first five years of our marriage and we felt the Lord wanted us to open our house to the "orphans" at our school(anyone who worked at the school or went that had no family here to be with). Our house was so full! It was absolutely one of the best Thanksgiving days we have had. From people dropping in from 5-10pm to so much laughter, games, eating and our kids throwing plays in their rooms for our entertainment. Also one of our classmates, Randy, a retired Navy Seal, had brought someone he had met hiking a hill(they call it a mountain here...but we're from CO...you know). His name is Bosco and did not know Jesus. He had no where to go and just happened to be hiking that morning and Randy saw that he had a military tattoo and invited him. The Lord moved all night through so many testimonies and gospel shared. He didn't leave till after 11pm. The night was just full of joy...praise Jesus for this amazing family He has given us here. The body of Christ is amazing when we are walking like the body.
Overall we had 21 people over that night and it was wonderful. Right after Thanksgiving we decorated our home and got ready for any term finals we had. Every week our Fridays are outreach. I know we have shared a bit on Facebook about outreaches so I will give a brief about what we do. Since Aaron goes to outreach in the day he gets a lot of opportunities to serve ministries that need help and for me at night we do end up doing a lot of straight evangelism at malls, trolleys and even a try at a bingo parlor. Aaron has gone to homeless areas in downtown and handed out water and offered prayer. We also have volunteered with the kids to serve at a huge Asian Hindu celebration with a former Hindu who is now a Christian pastor and his wife who try to reach the Hindus. There was from 5-8000 people there. It was wonderful. We made free balloon animals to bless the kids there and others got to talk with so many people. It was sweet. Also another week that was super was Design week. Every day of our week we learned how the Lord has created every aspect of who we are to be like Him. We took series of tests individually and really learned things about ourselves and each other. Our dispositions, strengths, emotional maturity, spiritual gifts and natural abilities. It was amazing. I think as we continue on it is so neat to know these gifts He gave us and finally in so many ways walk in them. It's amazing that even today, as we did our second day of our homeless outreach during break, that I met a man who probably has been homeless for years and years. He loves Jesus deeply and his prayer over us touched our hearts and brought us to tears. And I saw in this man, Harry Smith, the gift of a pastor/teacher and word of wisdom. He had never been asked about pastors in his family or probably told that he has a gift. He does and the Lord is using that gift even in a man who doesn't recognize it but loves Jesus. Just think if we all knew our exact design and walked empowered by the Holy Spirit which Christ gave us when He left what world changers we would all be for His kingdom.
As we finished this term we have learned so much about the Lord, His design for us, His love, the Word of God and most of all the community of Christ. Reading through Acts as one of our classes it is so neat to see how the first "church" is and has been lived out around us from our last church, Summitview serving us so much when Caleb was in the NICU to the amazing acts of service in all the teachers here who are volunteers and the amazing love everyone here has for each other....it is amazing. Praise Jesus...
Tonight...I will pause a bit and we will come back with more stories about this term...we love and miss you all!
Some fun pictures from fun in our backyard...so blessed to have Aaron home!
The birthday girl!!
Here's Larry on the left(One of Aaron's classmates) and Aaron's mentor Seth
Ha ha ha! Randy fell asleep...from left to right here are three ladies in Aaron's day class, Natalie, Tirhaus, and Rosie.
Here a group decided that they need to play a game called Ninja...I did not partake but it was hillarious to watch!. From left to right, Chelsea who is a graduate, Willie who is Aaron's classmate and Abraham who is a grad.
Foosball was super fun that night too...from left to right...Sophia on the chair( my classmate, Dziugas' sister), Bosco( the random hiker), Dziugas my classmate...he is from Lithuania, then Gary a grad and Marlon who is Aaron's classmate.
And food...tons of food..Nancy is on the left who just graduated last week, then Drew next to her is a grad and me and Crystal who is in Aaron's day class.
Overall we had 21 people over that night and it was wonderful. Right after Thanksgiving we decorated our home and got ready for any term finals we had. Every week our Fridays are outreach. I know we have shared a bit on Facebook about outreaches so I will give a brief about what we do. Since Aaron goes to outreach in the day he gets a lot of opportunities to serve ministries that need help and for me at night we do end up doing a lot of straight evangelism at malls, trolleys and even a try at a bingo parlor. Aaron has gone to homeless areas in downtown and handed out water and offered prayer. We also have volunteered with the kids to serve at a huge Asian Hindu celebration with a former Hindu who is now a Christian pastor and his wife who try to reach the Hindus. There was from 5-8000 people there. It was wonderful. We made free balloon animals to bless the kids there and others got to talk with so many people. It was sweet. Also another week that was super was Design week. Every day of our week we learned how the Lord has created every aspect of who we are to be like Him. We took series of tests individually and really learned things about ourselves and each other. Our dispositions, strengths, emotional maturity, spiritual gifts and natural abilities. It was amazing. I think as we continue on it is so neat to know these gifts He gave us and finally in so many ways walk in them. It's amazing that even today, as we did our second day of our homeless outreach during break, that I met a man who probably has been homeless for years and years. He loves Jesus deeply and his prayer over us touched our hearts and brought us to tears. And I saw in this man, Harry Smith, the gift of a pastor/teacher and word of wisdom. He had never been asked about pastors in his family or probably told that he has a gift. He does and the Lord is using that gift even in a man who doesn't recognize it but loves Jesus. Just think if we all knew our exact design and walked empowered by the Holy Spirit which Christ gave us when He left what world changers we would all be for His kingdom.
As we finished this term we have learned so much about the Lord, His design for us, His love, the Word of God and most of all the community of Christ. Reading through Acts as one of our classes it is so neat to see how the first "church" is and has been lived out around us from our last church, Summitview serving us so much when Caleb was in the NICU to the amazing acts of service in all the teachers here who are volunteers and the amazing love everyone here has for each other....it is amazing. Praise Jesus...
Tonight...I will pause a bit and we will come back with more stories about this term...we love and miss you all!
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