David and his host Family in Mexico

David is an apprentice with NieuCommunities here in Golden Hill. Both Derek and I have developed a meaningful friendship with David as we’ve walked beside him for the past year or so. We’ve seen him grow and develop in his spiritual gifting as he follows Jesus and is obedient to the things that God has for him.

For the past month David moved down to Tijuana, Mexico to live with a family, submerging into the culture as a way of learning and listening to God. Though we’ve been able to see David here and there as he commutes up for work and for our sunday night gatherings, he has spent the majority of his time getting to know a culture, a language, a neighborhood and a family with a posture of listening to God.

Before David moved, we as a community surrounded him in prayer, blessing him and sending him as a servant of the Lord Jesus Christ and an extension of our community here in San Diego. It was a powerful moment of empowering David and sending him to cross the border as an apprentice of Jesus.

A couple days ago Anika and I, along with Laurie and Maria from NieuCommunities crossed the border and visit David and his Mexican family. Maria is on staff with NieuCommunities and is originally from Tijuana. Over 20 years ago, Maria served with an organization that cared for Mexican children, mentoring them and teaching about the love of God, in hopes that these children would make decisions that would help them break out of the cycles of disfunction that most of them came from.

Lily was a young girl that Maria mentored. Lily now works for the same organization to care for and mentor young girls. David’s home-stay was with Lily, her husband, Alex, and their 3 kids.

When we first arrived at the home of Lily and Alex, we were warmly welcomed and invited to their table. We enjoyed a delicious meal of fish tacos together and clumsily communicated through the language barrier. At one point I asked Maria to translate for me so I could ask Lily and Alex some questions about their time with David. First I told them how I’ve been blessed and encouraged by the stories I’ve heard about their family through David. I thanked them for loving David and embracing him into their family.

“How has your time with David been so far?” I asked. Both Lily and Alex expressed with sincerity how much they have enjoyed having David in their home, how they’ve grown to love him and how they’ve felt deeply loved by him. “He’s a good son,” Alex said.

There were many teary eyed moments as Lily and Alex described their experience of having an American young man live with them and touch their hearts in a profound way. They opened up more of their story to us and we finished our meal by laying hands on the whole family and praying for them.

I saw the light of Christ in this beautiful family. They love Jesus and they long for more of him. I got a glimpse of Kingdom of God in the lives of Maria, Lily, Alex and David and the way their stories all intersect. I was also filled with excitement and vision as I processed with David what it might look like for us to continue to invest in this family and others, empowering them as leaders in their own culture and context.

I think often the most transformational experiences in life happen when we obey God to cross the borders of our world and enter into experiences where God can speak to us in new ways. Its in these unfamiliar places where God use us in unexpected ways, changes us and ultimately show us the depth of his love for us.

I’m grateful to God for bringing Maria and her husband Shaun to our community in San Diego. I’m grateful for their 20+ years of serving God in Mexico. I’m grateful for the fruit of their ministry in Lily and for Lily’s faithfulness to follow God, to believe and to have Hope for what God can and will do in her life and in her family. And I’m grateful for David and his obedience to assume the posture of a servant, an apprentice, a son, a friend and a leader for God’s Kingdom come on earth.

Lily, Maria and Anika

Each day we have a couple learning times where someone from our community will facilitate a teaching and discussion on topics like getting out of the boat to follow God’s Call for our lives, world-view and culture, what it means to submerge into people’s lives like Jesus did, how to see and live in God’s Kingdom Realities and finally we help them process what God might be calling them to live out when they get home. Tomorrow we will commission the road trippers back to their home towns and bless them as they go to live missional lives in their own context.

Today I taught a 2 hour interactive learning time on the subject of the Kingdom of God. In preparation for teaching, I re-read the first 3 chapters of Dallas Willard’s, Divine Conspiracy. It was an incredible study time for me as God began to reveal more about himself and what he ultimately wants for all of his creation

Here’s an excerpt from what I wrote and taught today. Hopefully it was meaningful to them as it was for me.

…..
(we first spent some time reading through some of Jesus’ Kingdom parables in Matthew, pulling out what the parable seems to be saying about the Kingdom of God.)

What do the parables of the Kingdom tell us about how life is meant to be lived?
Not many are living it! The Kingdom of God/heaven is presented as an alternative, abundant reality–a contrasting life–that on one hand:
• we’re caught up in (like in net),
• on another we’re called to hunt down (like buried treasure),
• and on another we’re asked to go out and invite others into (like a party)

But in all these cases the Kingdom of God changes our lives forever. It opens up a new and better world to us, to all of us. It transforms us at our core and allows us to live NOW like we were created to live.

JESUS was the living expression of God’s Kingdom rule on earth. Through him we see the possibility and availability of the Kingdom come in ordinary human existence. The life of Jesus had an explosive impact on society in that day. Juke 8:1-3 says “ Jesus traveled from one town and village to another, announcing the good news of the Kingdom of God. The 12 disciples were with him as well as some women whom he had healed and others who just wanted to follow him. He was famous! Thousands would gather to hear his words and see what he would DO. People started going to desperate measures to get to Jesus, like tearing through the roof of homes! What was it about Jesus that was drawing people like this with so much curiosity and passion? Dallas Willard says, “They were only responding to the striking availability of God to meet present human need through the actions of Jesus. He simply was the good news of the Kingdom. He still is.”

In Luke 4:18 Jesus reads the scroll of the prophet Isaiah which says, ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Then Jesus rolled up the scroll and said, “Today this scripture is fulfilled in your hearing.”

Jesus was announcing the Kingdom Reality. Within God’s Kingdom, the poor find good news of God’s love. Those in prision and captivity, both physically and spiritually will find freedom. Those who are blind will see in God’s Kingdom and the oppressed will be released.

To see with Kingdom eyes means that we see the world through Jesus. Jesus came to proclaim that God could and would reconcile the world back to himself; back to its original intent!

And we are now the “body of Christ” – the Spirit of the Lord is on us, anointing us to preach good news to the poor. Sending us to proclaim freedom for prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to release the oppressed….

Golden Hill view of Down Town

This past week, as we explored scripture together, it became clear to us that fasting is not just something suggested by God but is an important part of the our followership of Christ.

In the old Testament, fasting was often practiced to pray for God’s mercy and grace for oneself or on behalf of another. It was also practiced to ask God for protection or wisdom. Another purpose for fasting was for ministry preparation; a physical discipline to represent a dependance on God for all things. In the New Testament we also see fasting practiced as a way of praying healing and deliverance for others.

Our community practice for the week was to fast together, focusing on the various purposes of fasting an asking the Lord to reveal to us HIS purpose for our fast together.

At sundown on Wednesday we concluded our fast by taking communion together at Golden Hill park, overlooking down town and the water. It was such a sweet time of remembering Christ together. Naomi sat quietly while we prayed and read scripture and then she sang and ran around, making it an even more precious experience.

Jesus tells us in Matt. 6 that God is our provider for everything. We don’t have to worry about what we’ll eat or what we’ll wear or about the future because God is with us and knows what we need. This fast for me was an incredible reminder of God’s provision and my dependance on Him for everything.

Then there’s a Isa 58 where God tells us what it means to truly fast.
6-9″This is the kind of fast day I’m after: to break the chains of injustice, get rid of exploitation in the workplace, free the oppressed, cancel debts. What I’m interested in seeing you do is: sharing your food with the hungry, inviting the homeless poor into your homes, putting clothes on th shivering ill-clad, being available to your own families. Do this and the lights will turn on, and your lives will turn around at once.Your righteousness will pave your way. The God of glory will secure your passage.Then when you pray, God will answer. You’ll call out for help and I’ll say, ‘Here I am.’

There’s an elderly asian woman who lives in the ally around the corner from our house. Her name is Lai and she has the face of a child in a weathered, dirty and broken body. Lai doesn’t walk very well, she has a walker, wears a large down jacket, smokes a lot and has lost most of her teeth. She asks people for money or food or cigarets outside some of the local stores.

I’ve spoken to Lai a few times but I’ve never actually sat down with her. Yesterday, after our thursday morning community prayer, David and I went to sit with Lai for a bit. It wasn’t long but just long enough for me to see Jesus in her beautiful eyes. I touched her hands and put my arm around her, in hopes that she would tangibly feel the love of God for her through me….even just for a moment. What she didn’t know is that I was experiencing the love of God for me through her.

In these moments with people like Lai I believe we, followers of Jesus, can call out to God and he will answer, “here I am.” And in this kind of fast, we will know the presence of Jesus who longs to reconcile all things back to himself, especially “the least of these.”

This morning a quote stood out to me that I wanted to share.

“Every time I am willing to break out of my false need for self-sufficiency and dare to ask for help, a new community emerges - a community of the weak - strong in the trust that together we can be a people of hope for a broken world.”
-Nouwen, Walk with Jesus

Living in missional community is not easy. It doesn’t always come natural to be honest and depend on one another in our brokenness. But as we, NieuCommunities San Diego, practice this interdependence we are beginning to experience the freedom and comfort of the Holy Spirit in ways we never have before.

And, as Nouwen says, we become a people of hope for a broken world. We become a prophetic expression of God’s intent for His world. In this broken world, we need collective expressions of the values of the Kingdom of God lived out in authentic ways by devoted followers of the ways of Jesus.

In loving one another, we are strengthened and inspired to love the world around us.

NieuCommunities San Diego, Easter Morning

As a community we just finished reading the book, “Making Room” by Christine Pohl. It was a wonderful read, telling the story of God’s heart of welcome and inclusion for all people, especially those who are forgotten, rejected and oppressed.

It was especially inspiring to dialogue as a community about what it looks like for us to practice hospitality together in light of the blaring needs that we see right outside our front door! The poor, the homeless, the addict, the hopeless, the lonely….. all in need of God’s extravagant love. And His love is expressed most tangibly through the community of his people - He even calls us “the body of Christ!” Jesus Himself comes and touches people through the Church, His Body. What a beautiful mystery.

We’ve decided to start a once a month lunch in the park. Its a time and space where we can invite our neighbors, our friends the folks who live on our streets etc… to join us for a meal.

Sharing a meal brings people together to celebrate our equality and acknowledge the image of God in all humanity.

Hospitality can be overwhelming when you try to carry the burden alone. The risks involved continue to be a burden and even a potential danger when you try to carry it as a family unit. But when hospitality is practiced as a community, the responsibility is shared and Jesus’ love is felt by both the host and the guest as a privilege, no longer a burden.

Making Room, By Christine Pohl

Naomi looking out our window in her own special way....

Over the years, early mornings for me have been sweet times of Communing with God. There’s something about the newness, freshness and stillness of the morning that allows me to hear from God and anticipate His presence with me throughout the new day.

Today is trash day. I don’t know how it is in your neighborhood but here, on trash day, sounds on our street are different from any other day. Trash day is when the homeless community, those who spend their time here in Golden Hill and those who walk up the hill from down town, dig through our trash bins to find items to recycle. The lifting of trash bin tops, the clinking of bottles and cans…. its a sound I’ve grown to love.

These men and women who go through our trash every thursday are people of worth and value, created by God for purpose. I believe its true in my head but I’m not sure that I always believe its true in my heart. “God, give me your heart,” I prayed this morning as I watched out my window as the stream of homeless men and women passed by our home and dug through our trash.

Mornings are a wonderful time to reflect on yesterday and gain perspective for today.

Yesterday morning began at 6:30am. Anika and I met my Sister-in-law, Rebecca, to walk over to Crash Inc., a treatment home for women in drug and alcohol recovery. On Wednesdays, Rebecca and I go on morning walks with the residents of Crash Inc. Each morning we walk with a different girl to hear her story and get to know as many girls as we can.

Yesterday I walked with Shanae, a 26 year old girl struggling through the jungle of alcoholism that has torn her away from her 3 kids, her job and her basic health.

God is the God who SEES. He sees these beautiful women though they often feel invisible and worthless in our society.

I spent the rest of the morning at home with Naomi and Anika. Naomi has been sick so she’s extra clingy and mellow. Life with two little ones is especially a challenge when one of them is sick. When they both need you at the same time, its a balancing act that mother’s become experts at performing.

Colin came over for lunch to have some coaching time with Derek. Colin joined our community in January as an apprentice for the year.

I put Naomi down or a nap and headed out the door to meet my midwife for coffee.

Jana is the midwife who delivered Anika 4 weeks go. She was amazing, not just professionally but relationally and even spiritually. She wore a cross around her neck and had a warm and loving presence about her. I’ve been wanting to hear her story so I asked if I could take her to coffee. She accepted.

The miracle of birth is probably the most profound experience of God I’ve ever had. More and more I’m realizing that birth is not as much a medical procedure but more so a natural part of the cycle of life that God designed our female bodies to embrace, even in the midst of pain. And the rewards are truly indescribable.

Jana is catholic and lives by the birth center, less than 10 minutes from my house. Hopefully I was able to encourage her as I listened to her story, shared mine with her and affirmed her calling as a midwife.

Bri stopped by our house around 4:30 to drop off a book she had bought for us to donate to Generate Hope, an organization that helps to rescue and come alongside victims of sex trafficking here in San Diego. Bri and her husband are a part of NieuCommunities here as apprentices. It was good to spend an hour or so with her.

Right as Bri was leaving, Emily, our neighbor drove up. We stood in the driveway talking for another 30 minutes or so. Emily is due to have her first child in June. She lives alone but her boyfriend, the baby’s father, will move in with her soon.

Meanwhile, Derek spent the last part of the afternoon hanging out with Naomi and making guacamole for us to take to a Birthday party for one of the guys who live across the street.

On Sunday, Nick, our neighbor, called and invited us to his Birthday Party. So last night we went to a small gathering of some of his friends, his dad, his sister and the 4 of us. Nick is gay and lives with his partner and 3 other guys in a large blue house across the street. We’ve had Nick over for dinner and have had many interactions with all of them as neighbors but have never been in their home.

I know God was celebrating Nick’s life with us last night.

So that’s what a day in my life looks like. I wonder what today will hold….

She’s absolutely amazing! We’re all 3 mesmerized by her.

Naomi’s adjustment as a big sister has seemed to be very smooth so far. Having Anika around is just a normal thing to her now. If we walk in the room without Anika, Naomi will ask, “where’s baby Anika?”…always wants to make sure she’s ok. Its pretty cute.

treasured moments...

Sisters!!

Daddy's girls

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….

International Weekend of Prayer and Fasting for Victims of Sexual Trafficking

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