FAMILY

Family is the greatest earthly gift God could have given me/us. My family is my everything! They are my best friends, my support system, my accountablity partners. They are incredible, God fearing, perservering people. And it took me way too long to realize that! I have always loved and appreciated them. My sister has always been my friend but it wasn't until the past couple of years that she became my best friend. Four years ago my family started to change. We lost my grandpa, my cousin, and my cousin's daughter all within 7 months and it was a HUGE reality check for all of us. Life is short and you never know when its your turn to go live with Jesus. I think we all at some point or another wish we were with Jesus already but when you loose someone at a young age your perspective changes a little bit. You understand that God created your family to be a community, a strong force and example to the world of what God's family looks like and acts like. There are so many broken families in this world and it breaks my heart. They are not just divorced parents but its uncles, aunts, cousins, grandparents, parents, children....all not connecting, all not uniting for a common cause. They are hurting, separated and living their lives alone. None of this is how God intended it to be and yet sin enters our lives and tears us apart. It has become my prayer in the last four years that no one would ever have to go through what we have been through in order to turn their families back to God and back to each other. I pray that people would lean on family when there isn't a crisis. That they might treasure their family for everything it is and everything it could be. My family isn't perfect....or anywhere close to it, but we are united. Our ties together are growing, and everyday there is more of a desire to all be together....extended family and all.

I LOVE MY FAMILY!!! I would do anything for each memeber....even if it means affending them to take a step forward in healing. They are amazing and God is doing great things =)

Life back home

A week from today I was making my 17 hour journey back home after being in France for 3 weeks. The journey home was filled with exhaustion, excitement, anticipation, and reflection. After three weeks of learning, walking and lots of doing, I was emotionally and physically drained. I had learned so much about the church history of France that my heart was broken for the Christians that lived there. Their hearts are so torn and their job as a Christian is so tiring that even thinking about it now drains me. They face a lot of trials that a Christian in the U.S. doesn't even think about. Buildings for example are not easy to come by and its not just finances that keep churches from purchasing a building, its the mayors that won't accept them into their town, its the government system that oppresses the church. France is filled with spiritual oppression which really made me think about just how blessed I am to be living in a country that embraces every religion. I mean, as I am writing this I am sitting in my office at church which covers acres of land and offers just about every kind service you could ever imagine. Churches like Saddleback don't exist in France. I had also just spent three weeks away from my family and the comforts of home. I had to share a bathroom with 7 people. I shared a room with Cami, Adrianne and Mandy and slept in a bunk bed. So on the plane ride home I was so excited to get back to my house and just relax on the couch all by myself. I am definitely a person who needs alone time to think and process events on a daily basis.
Physically I had walked more than ever!!! We climbed about 50 stairs a day through the metro and walked about 8 miles or more everyday. It was a great way to get in shape but I will admit by the end of three weeks I was ready to get in my car and drive =)
I've had a week now to adjust to life at home again and reflect on everything I have learned in the last month. It was an amazing trip!! I can't even begin to express how much I learned and grew because of the contacts we had in France. I have been inspired, stretched, and motivated. God also confirmed while I was there why I am now sitting at a desk inside the High School Ministry office at church. This is where my heart is! I am serving not only my coworkers by doing task like answering emails and phones or hanging Nerf guns on the office wall, but I am serving students. Students who might now have great role models at home. Students who need Jesus, and it is fabulous!!

Paris (a little late)

So I wrote this blog post while in Paris and wasn't able to post it. I'm going to take a couple of days to post old post I wrote and never posted and then I'll update you all on the end of the trip and life now =)


France is a place that continues on the cycle of “move 2 steps forward 1 step back.” They are a country with so much history that it is hard for them to move into the present and think about the future. Lives are centered around the France of the past. People are either moving away from the church or are deeply consumed by the Catholic Church.
The past week has been a huge learning experience for me. I have loved the city of Paris and its people. The buildings are incredible and tell such amazing stories of what life in France use to be and what the values were. Kings had HUGE chateaus; bigger than anything we see in the U.S. Churches were architectural masterpieces. The streets are cobblestone; the parks are outrageous and filled with water fountains and stunning flowers. There are cafes and pubs lining the streets and always filled with people. Life here is very different and yet very similar to life in California. People are busy, and driven by money. One of my favorite things here happens around 5 o’clock. As everyone is getting off work the café’s and pubs begin to fill. People take a break from the chaos of life and grab a cup of coffee or a beer with coworkers before heading home for dinner and family time. I love that Parisians know how to take a break to build relationships. The people here are way friendlier than I expected and actually want to help you. The other night we were at a restaurant that was run by an older women and her husband (a ma and pa kind of joint), and they were helping us learn French by showing us how to write different words and say them. It was really neat that they cared to take some time with us so we could go other places and order food =)
Okay so on to what we have done so far. Ours days are long and busy. Monday-Friday we have French class from 9-12 at the church we are connected with. Then 12:30 everyday is lunchtime, which is the biggest meal of the day here. They normally eat for lunch what we would eat for dinner. MarieFrance is our cook and we LOVE her!! She is full of energy and a wonderful lady (she is about 32). MarieFrance is an excellent cook and has been making us meals from different parts of France. We’ve had a lot of chicken, a fish dish, ratatouille and some other wonderful dishes. The afternoons have been different each day. We have visited the Louve, Notre Dame, Versailles, the Eiffel Tower, and Monet’s garden in Giverney, a Lebanese church, Marie Antoinette’s village and the Arc de Triumph. My favorite place so far would have to be the gardens at Versailles. They stretch over at least 100 or so acres and are absolutely beautiful. There are tons of different water fountains; flowers and even a little lake that you can rent paddle boats on. It was breathe taking how vast it was and to think that King Louis lived there was even more incredible.
Aside from tourist things we have learned a lot about the religious population and culture here in France. The majority of the people are catholic or nothing. There is a large group of witch craft happening. The evangelical church, which is what denomination the program we have connected with is, is considered American and not realistic. Parisians are open to Christianity but not to the church. Church history runs deep here in Paris, so the thought of attending church is often tied to the rituals and history of Catholicism. The fantastic thing though is that the Evangelic pastors in Paris and the surrounding suburbs are now joining together because of Pastor Michele to spread the “modern” Christian church. Side note, Pastor Michele is the pastor that spear heads a church in the city of Clamart, which is where we are staying. He is also the pastor for the 9 month program called Cijeim Force, which I will explain later. Michelle is an amazing man with a heart to change to the people of Paris. He is also working on connecting with churches in the United States so that we (the church in the U.S.) can partner in prayer and missionaries for the communities of France. It is really empowering and motivating to hear him speak and tell of his dreams for this country.

That’s it for tonight….there is a lot more to tell but it is super later here so its bedtime =)