Seasons...

So in a more normal part of the United States, when it is the season of Fall, the leaves change colors and it's really gorgeous and pretty! I normally do not get to experience this part of the "season", since in California, it was still a hot 84 degrees earlier this week! I was fortunate to see this as I was out in Cincinnati, Ohio for the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in mid-October. It was a really neat time of being out there with ~10 other people from my church, and being among other Christian believers who are in the mindset of community development in the the neighborhoods where we live....and trying to live out what it means to be incarnational, like Jesus was, and to really love God and love our neighbors. I also got to attend a few different workshops that were focused on education, after school programs, and identifying with the poor...all were really neat and helpful! I also connected with a lady who is from the Pasadena area, that started an after school program through one of the churches there. She was such an encouragement to me throughout the conference as I kept bumping into her and conversing about the conference. One important message that I remember from the conference, is that Bart Compolo shared that if you are going to relocate to a differnet place, you need to go with people, or you need to go and be meeting people that are already in the place you are going to. This is important for the significance of community, and how that will be helpful in a venture to a new place, and being able to be in Christian community.

Right now I am still in a transitional phase in my workplace. My position recently changed to more of a supervisor/lead teacher position. This means that I am helping with more of the administration aspect at the after school program, helping with structures/programs, and helping to support the teachers. I am enjoying it in all the newness that it is, but still adjusting to the longer hours, getting to know more of the students, and learning different systems. Please pray for my adjustment, and for good mentorship and support from co-workers as I am new into this position.

Prayer Requests for the neighborhood: With my new work schedule, it seems that I am more on a time cruch now. Please pray for time opportunities of still being able to take care of personal tasks as well as things I'm working through with my Servant Partners development plan...AND...get to spend time in the neighborhood and connect with neighbors.

I want to share some highlights of these past few months:

My parents and me at the Lighthouse Run 5k/10k in East LA! :) This is us right after Dad and I ran the races.

My birthday celebration. We celebrated my 24th birthday at Exposition Park with neighbors, Servant Partners friends, church friends, and Fullerton friends. What a joy it was to be with everybody and celebrate together. God is good!

Who doesn't celelbrate their birthday with Superman?! Ha ha :-D Here is my boyfriend, Scott, and me, along with college friends - Mia and Jojo!

A [silly] picture of my roomates and me! Liz, Regina, Sierra, and me. Please continue to pray for us, as we have lived together for 1 year, and will be staying together for until June 2010 at least! Pray for our house dynamics, for love/service to one another, for us to have more time to hang out with one another (as our lives are all pretty busy and do not always match together to spend time with one another), and for a continual presence in this community!

Summer Updates!

It's been a couple of months since I've updated the blog....the summer has been slower as far as my workload with the students...but there's been a lot of busy and exciting things going on. The summer is winding down, and I am starting back to working with the middle school students next Tuesday, September 8th! Way excited about my new staff and the new school year and what God has in store!!!

I wanted to share some highlights for you...
-Summer Camp with my students was really neat and exciting! It was a roller coaster of ups and downs...but great overall. During the last 3 weeks, my students and I got to take art classes in visual arts and ceramics. I think it was really neat that God meet me in my desire to learn and explore more with art this summer...and he used the opportunity for me to get to do that with my students..yeah!
-The summer time for Servant Partners was for us to reflect, use tools, and ask close friends/peers/mentors to figure out what our spiritual gifts are. This was a very neat discerning process, and out of those spiritual gifts, we were trying to figure out what some long-term development plans could be....and then figured out what we could do for that within this 2nd year of the internship. 2 gifts that seem to be more of my key spiritual gifts are mercy (caring for others, empathizing, etc.) and governments (organizing, structures, etc.). I am currently finishing up my development plan and figuring out what I will be focusing on for my 2nd year. Some of my plans include learning more Spanish through meeting with a friend/neighbor and using my Spanish workbook, meeting with a mentor in the non-profit world to learn more about inner-city youth ministry, and long distance running...with an end goal of running the LA marathon in March 2010! :-D Quite exciting. Please be keeping all of those things in your prayers and follow up with me and help hold me accountable.
-Got to spend 1 week with my brother, Joel, up in Seattle. It was such a great time of rest, spending time with him, and enjoying some of the touristy sites up there! We went to the Boeing Plan in Everett, to the Underground Tour and Pikes Place Market in downtown Seattle, and whale watching up in Anacortes and got to see Orca whales in Canada (eh!). I really enjoy spending time with my family... and it was good to be fun and silly with Joel while there. We had some really great conversations and I loved it! And I almost left Seattle without some rain..but it did sprinkle on us on the drive to the airport...of course.
-My friends who have been going through some difficulty with physical illnesses have been doing well and progressing. Nick (brain injury while in S. Africa) is doing great! I met up with him for some dinner and hang out time and he's doing great. His arms are still a bit weak and need more strength, but he is going to physical theraphy, and should be back at CSUF in Spring 2010! Daniel (Hodgkin's Disease) has been doing good...the chemo has been helping to fight off the bad cells in his body. I was able to play frisbee with him a few weeks ago, and he's still been up and about, singing, dancing, and worshipping while at church! :) And Lisa (paralyzed from back in March) is doing better...her recovery is being a more slower one, but little things are improving for her through her physical therapy and through God! Thank for your prayers for these friends, and please continue to pray for them! :-D

And some things to be praying about please:
-Looking at the next 2 months, they are quite busy and full with some runs, Servant Partners meetings/retreats, and the Christian Community Development Association (CCDA) conference in Cincinnati, Ohio (Oct. 21-25). I am really excited for all of these things. Please pray that I will continue to seek God during times of difficulty and give Him glory for the ways that He is moving in my life. :-D
-It's been 1 full year of the internship! Recently our SP team was reading in the book of Acts (book about the early church, after Jesus was crucified, and then Jesus' disciples were being persecuted for sharing their faith) about the early church and the community of taking care of needs and how beautiful that is! We want that not to just be something read about and see as neat, but we as a class want to have that lived out even more. We have grown so much as a class through ups and downs with personal lives, ministry projects, physical difficulties, and more...but God has continued to shape and mold us to loving and serving one another. Please pray that we continue to seek each other, to be vulnerable, and to meet each others' needs like the community of believers in Acts 2! :-D

In the Words of C.S. Lewis...

"Imagine yourself as a living house. God comes in to rebuild that house. At first, perhaps, you can understand what He is doing. He is getting the drains right and stopping the leaks in the roof and so on: you knew that those jobs needed doing and so you are not surprised. But presently He starts knocking the house about in a way that hurts abominably and does not seem to make sense. What on earth is He up to? The explanation is that He is building quite a different house from the one you thought of — throwing out a new wing here, putting on an extra floor there, running up towers, making courtyards. You thought you were going to be made into a decent little cottage: but He is building a palace. He intends to come and live in it Himself." (CS Lewis)

*Thanks to DJ Ben for the reference! :)

My Name is Sarah...and I want to give glory to God

At Church of the Redeemer, we typically have a time of testimonies. People stand up and share about how God has been at work in their lives...and as a person stands, they say, "Hi, my name is _____, and I want to give glory to God." and the rest of the church chimes in and says, "AMEN." And then the person continues on and shares about how God is at work. I always enjoy hearing these testimonies and got to share my own testimony a few weeks ago about how God has been at work in my workplace among some of the students and through a series of different things that were difficult for me emotionally, but how God has been victorious through it all, how he's been preparing me in stages, and how he's given me a calmness and peace.

I want to give God the glory for a few other things as well. I went through mostly a whole school year of working with middle school students, an age group that I never really thought I would work with, but God used this opportunity to mold and shape me more in working with youth, He humbled me, and He allowed His glory to be revealed through my weakness. I have definitely let pride get in the way while in the workplace, and especially being in a place where my teaching is being questioned by 6th graders on a regular basis was definitely difficult. God has been very clear and spoken to me through some of those difficult days and said, "Sarah...your identity is not found in this job, in these students that you work with, or your coworkers....your identity is found in God and God alone!" That promise that God is at work, whether I am having a good or bad day with my students and God's glory being revealed in the workplace and at work through the lives of my students through their improvements, and through conversations about God and faith and praying with my coworkers has been a great encouragement to me everyday. One scripture that I continually meditate on and come back to is Lamentations 3:22-23: "The Lord's lovingkindness indeed never ceases, For His compassions never fail. They are new every morning, Great is thy faithfulness." Seek God in all places of your life...especially in the workplace....He will be clear and show up, even if you are not asking for it! :-D

So we have also finished our 1st year of the Servant Partners internship! I cannot believe it. Time has gone by very quickly, and I feel that I have grown so much more in the past few months with my teammates through joyful and difficult situations. This summer we will continue in our ministry projects of hosting bible studies with our neighbors. We are also going through a period of discerning our natural gifts, acquired skills, and spiritual gifts (gifts set). This will help determine what the 2nd year of the SP internship will look like, and what areas we should focus on, especially for ministry.

Something that has been more dificult for me recently is finding out heavy news about some friends. Please be in prayer for my friends for physical healing.
My college friend, Nick, that I knew through Intervarsity and Camp Titan, went to South Africa to volunteer there for the summer in hopes of figuring out more of what he wants to do with his life and such...was horseback riding, he fell off, was knocked unconscious and rushed to the hopsital. Nick had a blood clot that the doctors were able to take care of, but then had an infection in his lungs. He was taking a medication that had paralyzed his body, but he was just recently taken off of the medication and so he has been able to move his arms, legs, hands, etc....and is hopefully going to be able to speak soon. Nick is heavily sedated, and when they tried to breathe using the ventilator, he was struggling. They also just found out that he has pneumonia and is going to be treated with antibiotics. Nick is healing in God's timing...but please continue to pray for him that he will be patient and strong through this time, and that he will feel God's presence at work through this, and the power of people that are praying for him. And I want to praise God that his family has been able to go over to South Africa to be with him during this difficult time, and relay information back to us in the states through emails and facebook messages.
I also found out this past week about my friend and coworker, Daniel, who was having some coughing problems for about a month. After medicine trials and numerous tests, Daniel found out that he has a tumor in the center-left of his chest that is above the sternum and below the heart, and is about the size of a grapefruit. Some things to pray specifically for Daniel and his wife are that the tumor would be benign (cancer-free), that it would be easy to remove, that the cough supressants would help with Daniel's cough, and that he would be present and take things day by day. Daniel has shown a great sense of peace and calmness as he has shared, which has helped me to taking this in and receiving this information about a dear friend. Praise God also that He has allowed Daniel to receive so much these past months with work, in his recent marriage with his wife, and that he had received a clear word through prayer about not beginning to intern with Servant Partners until a later time.

Thank you for your prayers!!!

My friend, Nick...please pray for him!

SP Commencement for the 2nd years: my PLN buddies - Scott and Daniel...please pray for Daniel!

My SP Team - Lisa is in the middle in the wheelchair...please continue to be praying for her for physical healing and the rest of our team as we are continuing our ministry project until the end of August.

Estudio de la biblia

Never did I think I would be sharing about the Spanish bible study I went to with my neighbors...but that's where I was this past Friday. I have grown to love and appreciate my friendship with Javier, Eliliana, and Sergio. I have enjoyed the silly awkward moments of "No se" because we do not know enough of each others' languages, I have enjoyed talking to them about their work and experiences in Chiappas, and just this past Friday I enjoyed seeing them be excited to study from the bible and to share openly about their prayer requests. Please continue to pray for the interactions with my friends. Pray for Sergio's father who has prostate cancer, pray for Javier's relatives who have been having trouble, and pray for Liliana to be able to sell tamales/champurrado without any difficulty....and also for her new baby! She is about 5 weeks pregnant. Please pray that they will also form new friendships with other people that attend the Spanish bible study and service at Church of the Redeemer...and that this new Christian community will be good for them.

We also are starting to have bible studies on Wednesday evenings with some of the women in our neighborhood. Please pray for the continuation of this, and that the women would be eager to come and study God's word to learn and grow more, and that this can be a place where they are free to open and share. Pray that Wednesday night will be an evening that these women look forward to, to receive God's truth and fellowship with one another. And pray for wisdom for my roomates and myself in planning, leading the bible study, and just being present during the study. Some of the youth guys have been going over to the other SP intern guys' house on Wednesday evening to spend time together in fellowship. Please pray that more young guys will attend and that they can begin to have a time of studying God's word as well. A couple of the SP intern guys also got the chance to have a bible study in Spanish with their Guatamelan neighbors, so please pray for more interactions with that as well. And please pray for the North of Jefferson team that is trying to coordinate with some other members from church to begin a bible study with neighbors.

As we are coming to the end of our 1st year of Servant Partners (I can't believe it!!!), we are attending a retreat this weekend. We will be leaving on Thursday afternoon and returning Sunday evening. It will be a good time to reflect on how we are doing emotionally, physically, and spiritually...it will be good to spend time with one another, and a good refreshing time to take some time of relaxing. Pleae pray that this will be a good time for all of my team.

Summer plans... you ask....I will continue to work at the charter school doing summer camp with the students. I plan to take a roadtrip in mid-June with my roomate, Regina, up to the UC Davis area to hang out and watch her brother's graduation. I also plan to visit my brother, Joel, in late August in Seattle. As far as Servant Partners, we have less meeting times, but it is still time for our ministry projects, so are to continue being present in the neighbordhood and continuing with our bible studies.

A picture of my neighbors and roomates at a birthday party for Liz and Regina at our apartment, back in April. From Left to Right: Javier, Liz, Regina, Eliliana, Javier, me, Sierra, and David (another SP intern)

Lyrics from "The Road Is Easy" by G-Vo

I first heard G-Vo's music from my roomate, Liz (since they both went to UCLA), and later had the pleasure to see him in concert. This guy's lyrics are what moves me most.

One of my current favorite songs from him is called "The Road Is Easy"...here's some of the lyrics that I feel are most harsh...but truthful at times. And don't be misunderstood...G-Vo is Christian...but these are some things about the Christian faith that are not so highly looked upon. G-Vo challenges his audiences to really live a holistic life, a life dedicated to serving God, and a life that is more Christ-like than world-like!!!

The significance of being significant / is being of significance in your brother's predicament / Pluralistic, double minded, relativistic/ Bands of misfits, hermits, the world's biggest cynic / You Christians are actually nothing like your Christ / Cuz you preach about faith but live by western sight / It's the third world perspective, Irrespective of your feelings / Why do pastors get paid 3 million for their healings / Corporate America, yo we worship the flag / Plus a woman's worth is based on the worth of her bag / Me, my father, mother, brother, all cramped in one bed / But when you're poor you can easily put God ahead / The road was easy up until I saw a man on the ground / I tried my best to walk by him, walk directly around / I looked back and saw the man being helped by Samaritan / And realized my faith was krap, filthy religion

Enjoy online: http://www.myspace.com/gvomusic

The Steadfast Love of the Lord Never Ceases

I couldn't understand what my roomate was telling me when I heard the words, "Lisa is in the hospital...she can't move her body and she's in the Emergency Room."

The thoughts that flooded my mind were: "What?! Lisa was just fine last night when we were at bible study...very energetic as her usual self, just a little bit of pain in her neck, but nothing huge....how could she now be....paralyzed?"

My friend and Servant Partners teammate - Lisa - entered the Emergency Room @4 am on the morning of Friday, March 13th. It was a month ago today, and there have definitely been ups and downs....but God has continued to be faithful to Lisa, to her husband - Eric (and other fellow friend/Servant Partners teammate), to her family, and to her Christian community - Servant Partners, Church of the Redeemer, and many friends. At one point, Lisa was not able to feel anything in her right arm, she was not able to eat food, and she was not able to talk. I was not present during those times with her at the hospital, but I can imagine that it was difficult for her and the people around her...especially because Lisa is quite a talkative and in-motion type of person. Amazingly and through God's presence and healing, Lisa is currently at a rehabilitation center in Pomona, in which she is doing therapy everyday. Lisa is now able to talk, she is able to eat food, she has been regaining more feeling throughout her body, and she is able to flex her left bicep and move her left arm! Praise God!!! Throughout this whole time...something that has become a shelter of peace has been to sing worship songs.....Lisa has actually also done better as there have been times of people singing worship songs while in her room....and it has been good/helpful for me to sing to come to God wit my worries and concerns, to lay them at His feet, and to find shelter in worship! Amen. I have also found this to be good for my soul in other areas of my life...to sing worship in times of praying, in times of seeking what God is doing at work in my life, and in times of worry/concern....singing worship songs have blessed me!

--
So on an unrelated note....with things going on in the neighborhood, a couple of weeks ago, my roomate - Regina - and I got to go to Liliana's house to help make tamales! It was quite the experience and I got to practice all the Spanish I had in me (including the Spanish that I didn't know I had...ha ha). Regina and I successfully made many tamales after watching and learning from Liliana. She takes about 25 minutes to make 50 tamales....I think we took about an hour...but it's all good. Her husband - Javier - , other apartmates, and friends were there while we were there, so we got to talk with them as well (some in Spanish and some in English....and overall, a lot of Spanglish!) Hopefully some time soon, we will be able to invite her over to our apartment to eat a meal.


Thanks for your continued prayer...here are some new prayer requests:
-Regina, Liz, and Edith are celebrating their birthdays this upcoming Saturday with a birthday party at our apartment and we are iniviting many neighbors in the community and are wanting to kick off a time to start a bible study for people in the neighborhood...so please pray that the planning of the party and the party goes well, as well as follow up with neighbors to be engaged more with the bible and prayer!
-More opportunities to meet and talk with Liliana and her husband and housemates, and for them to come to a Spanish service at Church of the Redeemer
-For the young adult fellowship in connection with some of the 2nd year Servant Partners interns....that they would be wanting to seek Jesus into their daily lives and for their studies (as some are in high school and college) and for them to want to be connected with the fellowship community through each other and the leaders
-LISA: For her to be encouraged during this time as it is difficult for her since she's typically such a mobile person and now she is relying on other people to do things for her, and also for continual recovery and healing through her therapy
-For work, during these last 2 months of the school year that God would continue to bring me energy, patience, compassion, and love for the students....and new mercies every morning! Also, guidance from God about a decision for what job position I will do for the following school year.

A Poem

This is inspired from the poems that my students wrote at my school...well, mostly the structure of it and yeah.... here it goes...rough draft...please no tomatoes :-D

"I am from Hesperia" (rethinking the title...I know)

I am
from Hesperia
the homeland of tumbleweeds, dirt, and heat
but always a cool breeze in the evening

I am White
German, English, Native American
Proud.

I am
from parents of military fathers
the middle child
the only daughter

I am from
hamburger helper
homemade jams and jellies
and the best stuffing from scratch you've ever had

I am often associated as the child
with the brains, the looks, the athletic skills...
but that does not define Me.

I am
and always will be a runner at heart
a math nerd
a girl that is overjoyed with silly and simple jokes

I am
a daughter of God
who seeks justice for the needy
and is growing in compassion, serving, and love

I am from faithful friends,
a blessed family,
and amazing HD, Dorm, IV, and SP communities

I am from the most beautiful red words of Jesus Christo
"Your faith has saved you,
go in peace."

Refining

I joined Servant Partners, my 2 year inner city ministry internship, because of many reasons....God calling me to be in the city (living and working here)...wanting to grow in compassion for those God loves...taking a step of faith into trusting God as Jehovah Jirah - thee Provider in my life...to be amidst a community of fellow Christians that care about similar things....to seek justice...to spread the gospel....to see the Kingdom of God present in a place where many think God has abandoned (but really is ever so present)...and to see where God will lead me!

BUT...I didn't know what God would be stirring in me....things that He is at work of refining in me that need to be worked through in my character. I didn't know prejudice thoughts would evolve because of 1 difficult experience on the streets of downtown LA...but God is working through that and from a sermon at church I realized that God is there to help me rewrite this "card" in my mind. I didn't think that my students would challenge me in ways that made me question my approval from them and my approval from my coworkers and my own self esteem in the work place....but really it brought me to a place where I can seek God for patience, mercy, and compassion for my students...because mine is not enough, and see the students with new mercies every morning, just as God sees His children on Earth with new mercies every morning/every day! :-D I didn't think that God would bring up something from many years back - forgiveness that I had not truly given, and how I need to seek wisdom from friends and scriptures, and to really pray and cry out to God about that. I didn't think that my fear of death of loved ones would come up again, but 1 John 4:18 says "There is no fear in love. But perfect love drives out fear, because fear has to do with punishment. The one who fears is not made perfect in love."....and since Jesus Christ is perfect love, I need to lean more into Him to help me take away this fear. INTERESTING....God has been doing a great deal of refining for my character, especially through some things that I was surprised about, but it has been good....what blessings from the Lord! :-D

So we are now 2 weeks in to our ministry projects that will continue for 6 months. Our end goal is to have 2 small group bible studies in this area of South LA that are in partnership with our church. So....we are just continuing to be more intentional and proactive about building relationships with our neighbors, being out in the community, sharing the gospel with people, and eventually inviting people to be a part of the small group bible studies!

I would greatly appreciate your prayers for a few things:
-There is an idol at a house close to our street (kinda like the golden calf in Exodus that the Israelites were worshipping) ...we have learned more about it and have been praying for the destruction of it...so please join us in prayer for that....and pray that we get to have conversations with the people who live there who are already open to spirituality, but show them the real God who is worthy of worship!
-Pray for continued interactions with our neighbors in this community
-Pray for reconciliation among our neighbors in our apartment complex
-Pray for Liliana (she sells tamales and champurrado...I shared about her before) that she and her husband, Javier, are able to have enough money to make ends meet and that my household and others continue to have conversations with her and that they come back to church again
-Pray for continual conversations with coworkers about Jesus and for the Kingdom of God to be very present there

Thanks so much for my supporters, prayer partners, and loved ones! :-D Remember to please email to keep me updated with things going on for y'all...and also if you get any senses/thoughts while praying for what is going on for me here in South LA. Take care and blessings!!!

Fasting and Prayer

In connection to the church that I have been attending - Church of the Redeemer in South LA - and in preparations for the beginning of our upcoming ministry project in the neighborhood, we have been going through a time of 40 days of prayer and fasting. We are about 1/2 way through, as this was week 3 of that time period. During this time period, God has been bringing up many different things for me that I need to be praying through, and really just lean in to Him more for wisdom, strength, patience, and peace! Some of those things include difficulty at work and asking God for more patience, compassion, and love for the students....dealing with the difficulty of previous deaths of loved ones in my life and healing, fears, and forgiveness through that...satisfaction that I have found in food, that really needs to be changed and my satisfaction should be in God alone! ("Why do you spend money for what is nto bread, and your wages for what does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and delight yourself in abundance." -Isaiah 50:2) This morning at church I was reminded that as a believer in Jesus Christ, we are in a spiritual battle...in which satan will use opportune moments to try to tempt us, or make us feel worse about ourselves, or make things difficult....pretty much do anything that will take us away from furthering God's kingdom. So as it has been difficult and emotional with certain things that have been brought up in my life during this time of prayer and fasting, I am glad that God is so powerful and is right here with me and is lifting me up to press more into Him and put my full dependence to God...not myself and not others, but in the everlasting God who I can always rely and depend on! I am excited to see what God will continue to do during these 40 days of prayer and fasting, and how He has been at work through people in our church, through the neighborhood where I live, and throughout the area of South LA. :-D

Some exciting things that have been happening include being invited to our neighbors' wedding that was a few weeks ago. It was a very joyous and celebratory time to be there! It was quite funny...we were getting ready to leave because we didn't really know anybody else besides the bride/groom and another couple of neighbors that were there....but we passed by the groom's family's table, and they stopped us, insisting that we stay. When we said that we didn't really know anybody, they start introducing us to lots of people and just make us feel very welcome...and then also bring over the 8+ eligible bachelors at the wedding! Ha ha.... but it was quite a good rest of the evening getting to talk to the married couple and their relatives.

I also got to pray with one of my neighbor's also when her younger brother had been injured and they were on their way to the hospitable...in the rush of finding all that out, Ashley (our neighbor) was a bit shooken up, and I just knew that God was stirring in me to pray with her. So after going in my apartment, I went back outside and got to pray with Ashley before she headed out with her dad to the hospitable. We prayed that night that the family would return back at a reasonable hour...and it was only about 1 1/2 hours after they left, that they returned...with having to go to ER and getting stiches! I believe that was a work of God because when you go to ER, you're on a list waiting based off of priority to your injury, and getting stitches is typically not a top priority...so praise God for answering that prayer and helping to meet their family in the midst of worry and concern.

I continue to get to see Iliana (really spelled - Liliana...but it sounds like Iliana) about 1x/week on my way to work with my co-worker and fellow SP buddy, Scott. We purchase tamales, champurrado, and get to talk with her. She recently suggested that I go to her house for a meal...so please pray for wisdom and discernment about when that might happen and for the opportunity to get to know and her family better! :)

Thank you all for your continual prayers...God hears them and has been at work in this city and in my life! Please keep praying...pray for good health among my team and people at my workplace and people in the neighborhood...pray for God's spirit to be moving in our neighborhood and for people's hearts to be softened as we will be soon getting to know more people in the neighborhood and having conversations and sharing about Jesus...pray for compassion, patience, and love for me while I am at my workplace, and discernment/wisdom about what I will be doing for work during the summer and for the next school year (they are going to open a new middle school....so not too sure if I will move also and work with the middle schoolers, or stay at the elementary school where I am at)...pray for God's kingdom to come forth and for this area of LA to be a place where God's name dwells! Thanks sooo much for your prayers!!! <3 :-D

Some pictures!

People that I enjoy spending time with! Hosting some SP friends at our house
for food and prayer!

Taishia's wedding....Regina, Sierra, and me

At Taishia and Philipp's wedding...all decked out! :-D

At Daniel and Casey's LA Wedding Reception...the PLN Crew

Champurrado and Tamales!

Looks good huh....that 1st image is a picture of a tamale, and the 2nd picture is champurrado, a "warm and thick Mexican" drink. :) And why am I posting these pictures...let me explain.

In the mornings I go running at the Expo Park/USC area. As I was leaving from my run on the way back to my apartment on Thursday morning, I notice that there is a lady with a shopping cart, and so I ask her what she is selling. She tells me that she is selling champurrado. I ask "Cuantos" <--How much in Spanish. She says "1 dollar". I try to ask in my broken Spanish if she will be there 'manana' so that I can buy some the following day...she says yes and proceeds to get me a drink. I say "Oh no....it's okay...Esta bien." But she still continues and hands me the cup of champurrado. Then I ask her what is in the ice chest, and she says Tamales.. "Quantos", "$1". "Okay, manana." But she insists on getting me a tamale right away. Quite generous. Then I am trying to ask what time she will be back the following day... I hear "Cinco"...I'm thinking "She gets here at 5:00 in the morning?! YIKES!" So I explain to her that I will bring money to her tomorrow morning.

I continue to walk back to my apartment with my champurrado and tamale in my hand...quite delcious. And the only words I can think of to say delicious are "Masarap" <--from the Tagalog (Filippino) language....no where close to Spanish. Hee hee. Anyways....as I keep walking, I start to hear the shopping cart behind me and I see that the lady is walking behind me. So I go back and ask "Donde viven?" She lives close to me, as we figure out through my broken Spanish and her broken English that is more advanced than my broken Spanish. And we continue to have a conversation through our broken-ness of different languagues...but we are able to have a conversation...Praise God! :) And then we eventually separate ways....but I just thought it was definitely an amazing opportunity from God to meet this lady who lives and works in my neighborhood and talk with her, get my morning breakfast, and practice my Spanish. Ha ha.

Please pray for Iliana, as this is what her job is...and she is raising 3 children by herself! Pray that God continues to provide enough resources and income for her....and that her family is well taken care of. Pray that I will get to see her again and continue to have conversations as we are both growing more in learning Spanish/English. And pray that Iliana will be curious to know more about Jesus Christ, if she does not already have faith in Him in her own life. :-D

My Refreshing 2 Weeks

I have been blessed! I have a job that I was able to have 2 weeks off since I work at a school...that lined up perfectly with our Christmas break for Servant Partners...and I also had many of those days at paid holidays, which is awesome! :) Praise God!

So because of my break, I was able to go home for 2 weeks to spend time with my family, spend time with high school friends, and also get to spend some time in Fullerton for a few days! It was really good to spend time with my family...Joel flew in from Seattle and was here for a week...so it was everybody here for the Christmas (except for Chris since he's in Korea cause he's in the Air Force)...and it was really joyful and fun to spend time with everybody. I had some pretty awesome hangout times and conversations with all of my family members...especially tonight when my Dad shared more about how and my Mom met and how they dated and then eventually were engaged and married! :-D I thought it was really precious when my Dad said "I love our mom more today than I did when I married her." AWW!

I got to spend some time with high school friends...including a few that I've known since elementary school which is way awesome. It's been cool to see how God is at work among all of us and it was great that we can all still get together, despite all the different places we are living and such.

I also got to spend some time in the Fullerton area for a few days and get to spend some time with friends from the dorms, Intervarsity friends, Newsong friends, and visit my old work at the Boys and Girls Club! A huge part of my heart is in the Fullerton area...because of how God shaped/molded me while I was there...and because of the people there.

For me during my time off, I would say the most restful part of everything was just getting to spend time in God's word (which is difficult for me when I go home....I just get distracted), I was able to read some devotionals every morning as well as reading from Leviticus and Psalms...and a little bit of 2 Kings to prep for my sermon that I will be giving in February with Servant Partners (please be praying for that...eeck!). I also enjoyed getting to spend time reading my journals from when I was in the Philippines, as well as my journal from different bible studies during these past few months with Servant Partners. It's neat to see what God has been doing since I moved to LA. A couple of things that really stand out to me are that I've beeen growing of just being more culturally aware of different things and I'm learning what it means to anticipate needs and serve others .... and I'm learning more of what it looks like to be open to when God is leading me to have a conversation with a neighbor or co-worker, while not worrying about the time factor (as most of you know, I'm a big stickler for time...but God and some friends have been helping me to be more loose in this area for the sake of furthering God's kingdom). And God is definitely growing me more in compassion and patience with my 6th grade students that I work with in the after school program. My constant prayer everyday when I go to work is that as how God grants us, his children, with new mercies every morning...that I will have new mercies every morning with the students I work with. I need to not hold grudges or see the wrong that they did the previous day and hold it over their head. It's been a good prayer...and good for me to open my heart in that way...definitely difficult on certain days....but I'm just learning to see my students in the same way that God sees us as His children! And it's a beautiful picture :-D

Well...that's been my 2 weeks! Tomorrow I'm going back to Los Angeles...my new home, not just a place that I visit anymore. Here are some prayer requests for while I go back:
-These newt few months is when we will be starting our ministry project in the neighborhood...so please pray for our time in the community to be filled with good conversations and for people to be open to sharing about their lives and about the needs of the community...in order that God's work that is already existing in the neighborhood to be furthered more to meet community needs
-Pray that my apartment complex will learn to love each other and grow with one another more....not just that my roomates and I are the only ones that are trying to reach out, but that our apartment complex will come together and be a true community that God speaks about in scriptures...one that takes care of all needs!
-Pray for my work at the after school program that I can continue to build relationships with the students, that the students will seek education as something that they desire and are passionate about, and pray for my Spanish to keep improving! Also, I will be needing to make a decision about helping out with Physical Education in the mornings...so pray that God is leading that decision. Also pray for continual conversations about the Bible, faith, and ministry with my co-workers :)
-Pray for my whole team as we will finally be regularly attending Church of the Redeemer (yeah!) a local church in the area where we live, that we will be partnering with for our ministry projects
-Pray for my family: Daniel is job searching and has been having a difficult time...so guidance with that....Joel is seeking more of learning about what religion can be in his own life, so just that we can continue to have good conversations....Mom: continual patience with her work since she works with students in special education classes and for healing as she has been having pain throughout different parts of her body....Dad: he is thinking of going back to work part-time at his old work (he's been retired this past year) so just a lot of patience with that, and for him to not stress out so much...Chris: for him to come back safely from Korea and to settle in Vegas for the last 4 1/2 years of his service

And here are some lovely pictures from the 2 weeks :-D

One of my favorite streets in Fullerton during Christmas time...you can't really tell, but there are all these global lights that are hanging from the trees :-D

My favorite Taiwanese restaurant! :) Thanks Jayson :-D

Gwenstar and me at her casa...Placentia Manor...where I used to live!

Kha Kha and me at Quickly for boba and dumplings!

The cute ducks at one my favorite parks: Tri-City Park

J-Hsieh and me at CSUF!

Sears Family Pictures: Daniel, Me, and Joel

Sears Family Pictures: Daniel, Joel, Me, Mom, and Dad

Cultural Love: Jen, Cor, Lati, and me :-D