Rice Field

We are long overdue for a new blog entry!

Hmmmmm…where to start……well, we’re 36 weeks pregnant! Baby girl #2 will be here soon! We’re so excited and trying to tie up some loose ends before she arrives and changes our world.

We’ve been building a relationship with an organization called Generate Hope (http://www.generatehope.org/) that walks beside girls who’ve been rescued out of sexual trafficking here in San Diego. On Monday night we had a couple over for dinner who serves with the organization. The wife is in the process of raising some financial support so that she can serve the rescue home as well as the treatment center full time. Please pray for her. I (Christiana) am looking forward to coming alongside her and empowering her as she serves in this capacity.

I’m going to start joining the residents of Crash Inc. (http://www.crashinc.org/), a recovery home for women, on their morning walks around our neighborhood. It’ll be a couple mornings a week and for me, will only be for a few weeks till the baby comes but I’m looking forward to getting to know these girls better. My sister-in-law, Rebecca, and I went to the home a couple days ago to meet the staff and the 40 residents. We received a warm welcome from everyone and have been “approved” to begin building relationships there starting with the morning walks.

Derek, our friend Colin and I are doing live music for a trunk show for local hand made artists in our neighborhood this Saturday. Anyone is welcome to come if you’re in the area.

Thats it for now. More to come….

Slavery in the form of Sex Trafficking is a horrific reality of our world today. In the US alone, it is estimated that there are 100,000 to 150,000 sex slaves who’ve been kidnapped from all over the world and sold here in our own cities.

My (Christiana’s) heart has been burdened for this issue for several months now. As I listen to God, I’m hearing His invitation to join Him in pursuing rescue and justice for these victims…. that are literally in my back yard.

There is a home in my neighborhood that has been approved as a safe house for rescued victims of sexual trafficking. I’m not sure what it will look like but I’m offering myself as a volunteer to help in the restoration process.

Sept 25-27 is officially an international weekend of prayer and fasting for victims of sexual trafficking. Its led by the efforts of the Salvation Army. Myself and a few of us from NieuCommunities are participating in this weekend of remembering in prayer, those who suffer and those who work to see God’s Kingdom come in these dark places.

Next month I’ll be attending a 2 day global forum on human trafficking. I sense that this is an important part of my development for God’s purposes here in the down town San Diego area.

“So if the Son makes you free, you shall be free indeed!” John 8:36

Derek returned Monday night from a week long house boat trip with a group of 15 guys from CRM. It was a fun, spiritually refreshing week for him (we’ll post more on that later…)

A day or two before Derek returned, BOTH of our bikes were stolen from our front patio!

Of course, as when our car was stolen, my first reaction was disbelief, which quickly turned into sadness and even a little anger. Derek’s bike was a good bike we had bought for his birthday a couple years ago. My bike was a gift from a friend who had spent a lot of time fixing it up for me.

Any way you look at it, having something stolen from you is no fun.

When I told Derek, his first response was, “God will provide.” And He will!
So now we’re anticipating how God might do it. We’ll keep our eyes out on Craig’s list and at yard sales, in hopes for a couple of great bikes that perfectly fit our needs.

Our friend Peter’s front door is right outside Naomi’s bedroom window. Naomi likes to yell his name out her window and press her face up against the screen. Peter laughs at his view of her from his porch that I never get to see. The other day he documented her faces through the screen.

I share the photos with you here.

On Tuesday nights, about 15 of us gather as a community in Golden Hill to study about topic related to “missional life.” For the next 8 weeks we’re going through a workbook called, “The Tangible Kingdom,” written by a group of CRM folks.

The book begins by describing God’s call and purpose for all of us who follow Jesus as a call to be “sent.” The term “missional” basically means living as “sent ones.” A paragraph stood out to me that I wanted to share with you here. I hope it inspires you and encourages you as you live out the Kingdom of God in tangible ways in your own neighborhoods.

“Sometimes GOING will require a 30-second email to encourage a friend, a five minute walk across the street to help a neighbor, or the willingness to give up a quiet evening with your spouse in exchange for inviting some friends over who don’t know Christ. Other times, GOING may require a week-long commitment, a large chunk of money, or even a lifelong commitment to leave your city or country to serve God.
Whatever the case, the word GO will cost you something. It will require that you creatively look for the opportunities that God provides you to leave what’s natural and self-serving in order to extend love to others.”

Recently we had the opportunity to help deveop a group of young people as they prepared to go on a ministry trip in Arizona. This group was putting on a 10 day English learning camp for Bhutanese Refugees.

Derek led the group in worship through music and scripture reflections for their 5 day training. He also helped the group form as a band to teach songs to those they were gong to serve.

Christiana did a 3 hour teaching on “Culture and Worldview,” helping the team learn what it means to be cultural listeners and ultimately trust God to communicate beyond their barriers.

We’ve been in Golden Hill for almost 2 months now! In some ways, time has flown by! Yet we feel so at home here that 2 months has felt much longer.

This past weekend, Derek and I led worship for CRM’s new staff orientation retreat. A few times a year, CRM welcomes new missionaries on to their staff. As a part of their orientation, the new staff are taken to a retreat spot for some refreshment and spiritual formation. Derek and I were privileged to lead worship for the group as they begin their journey in ministry with CRM.

This summer’s retreat was in Idyllwild. Its a beautiful mountain town just above Palm Springs. My mom was able to join us and spend time with Naomi so we could both participate in the weekend.

Enjoy some photos from our time in Idyllwild….. (if you click on the photo you can see it in full view)

One of our favorite things about living in Golden Hill is getting to walk or ride our bikes around the neighborhood.

Our neighborhood is fantastically colorful. The flowers, the homes, the people, the food, the music…. all an expression of God’s creativity.

We’ve spent the last 3 weeks listening to God has we get to know our neighborhood and our city. There are glimpses of God’s grace and love here everyday.

God loves this city and He’s inviting us to join His love.

Enjoy some pictures from a recent walk through the neighborhood.