Learning Hospitality

We've been in our home 8 weeks today. Years ago God taught us both that we are to use our home to show Christ's love for others. So let me tell you a little about how we already have roommates.
Long story short, one of our friends is getting married in a March. Her fiance happens to be from Brazil and needed a place to stay from January till then. To my surprise Jason suggested that we be the ones he should stay with since we had an extra room and our location should be pretty convenient for wherever he worked. It was fine with me. We had been living with other people 6 out of the last 12 months without any major problems. Why not while we were used to it? Now, we had probably met Filipe about 2-3 times prior to this when he had visited the states a year ago. But we had heard a lot about him from our friends who had spent summers in Brazil and had full confidence in letting us stay with us.
So on December 14th he moved in. It was neat to see what we had learned from our previous experiences. Like making sure to talk about expectations right at the beginning for example. Now the more people you put together, the more opportunities God has to refine each of you. So we're being reminded that nothing is "ours" but belongs to God for His purposes, that grace and forgiveness are necessary for community, and that God is honored and reflected in that community. And of course the things that Filipe teaches us as we get to know each other better. His love for God is contagious.
Something unexpected God has done is to provide opportunities to teach the youth we come in contact with about purity and God's design for marriage as we explain why Kristen doesn't just let him live with her or why she doesn't spend the night.
And we'd also like you to meet our newest edition, Jordan.

Happy 2010!

Now is a time where we're all evaluating the past year and looking forward to what the new year will bring. It's kind of like a fresh start. One of our favorite verses is Prov. 16:9 "In his heart man plans his way, but the Lord determines his steps." It couldn't be more appropriate for the past year of our life. We'd have never expected to be back in Lafayette and least of all homeowners. But we have much to be grateful for and much to look forward to!
As you know we've been working at Bridge since May and God has been leading us to look for a home in the neighborhood where we can be more effective in ministry and in identifying with those we are building relationships with. And He has blessed us beyond measure!

Only a block away from Bridge, this former Habitat for Humanity house has become our home. It's only been about a month but as we meet our neighbors and become familiar with the "North side" of town we're beginning to feel like a part of the community. We're surrounded by families that have been involved at Bridge for years and they have warmly welcomed us. The high school kids are starting to visit more and feeling more comfortable at making themselves at home here. We could tell countless stories about how God has provided for and directed us.

One of my favorite stories so far is about putting in our mailbox. As Jason was getting everything prepared one of the kids from down the road came by to say hi. Jason handed him some tools and they went to work. I can't express the delight I felt as I watched Jason patiently teach him how to screw in the bolts and the pride the boy had as they completed their project. At the time he wasn't coming to Bridge so it was special to be able to touch his life in a different environment. It blessed us to see how God was already answering the prayers we've prayed for months. The boy is now regularly coming to Bridge and we enjoy seeing him and learning about the neighborhood from him. It's amazing what a 10 year old can know and teach us! Here's some pics of them working.