I have a big lump in my throat and when I think about the things that have moved me in the past hour and past weeks. I find myself in tears.
Clayton and I decided last night on our 'date night' that we would hire a DVD. This time it was my pick, and I chose a film staring Will Smith who plays the role of Chris Gardner, and Smith's son Jayden, titled 'The Pursuit of HappYness. So why am I all gushy about a movie? That's not me right? 'The Pursuit of Happyness' is a story about holding on to hope - even when your situation is hopeless. It follows the desperation and determination of a father with his five year old son, as they struggle to get through each day wondering where they will sleep at night, while clinging on to hope of a brighter future together.
I'm not writing to promote this film (although I do recommend it), but wanted to acknowledge that God has been speaking to us and giving me a greater level of compassion towards the helpless and homeless people around us. Yes, there are homeless people in Melbourne, but we were never really exposed to them in any significant way. It's not the same here. Everyday, I see homeless people holding up ratty cardboard signs around the traffic lights reading, "Homeless n' hungry" or "Please help. I'm hungry". They're not just on the street corner, they're outside most department and grocery stores. So how do you respond to this? How do you respond the request for a dollar? It's pretty confronting. My reaction was, (and it sickens me to recall it) but was, things like "hey don't invade my personal space" and "I probably shouldn't give them any money because they'll probably only use it to spend on cigarettes, alcohol or drugs," or "We actually don't have that much money, and if I gave a dollar to everyone that asked, I'd soon be broke." These sentiments soon changed to, "Hey, these people are actually genuinely homeless and helpless" and "Sure, what's a dollar anyway. They obviously need it more." But I'm ashamed to say, that even when we've parted with a dollar here and there, I have piously thought, "Well, at least I can ease my conscience and convince myself that we're doing the right thing as good Christians should. God has changed all of this. So I weep now for them and I want to help them.
I don't want to announce to you all that I have instantly become as generous and selfless as Mother Teresa. No, I won't be heading off to Calcutta anytime soon. But God is changing me. He is changing both of us. Mother Teresa said don't look so far to give love. "Love begins at home. She saw too many people running to Calcutta, wanting to love the poor. That's easy, she wrote "to love people far away." But you will find Calcutta all over the world if you have eyes to see." She was clear about this. "The streets of Calcutta lead to every man's door." The saintly mother was talking about giving love to aging parents or a disabled loved one, or to your own children - love at home. If love was there, "love and peace and compassion in our own homes first" -then peace would thrive "in the world", she said. So I'm going to continue to focus my attention toward loving my family and being the best mother and wife that I can, but I'm also going to be open to God using me wherever and however He chooses - whether it be in L.A or Knox.
This new burden for the homeless and hungry has now influenced us in our search for a spiritual home (a church to belong to) over the next couple of years. We're not going to be satisfied with a church that just has nice programs, good teaching, great worship, or even a loving community - those things are good and important, but right now, we want to be part of a church that brings God's love in both spiritual and practical ways to the most hungry and desperate people around us. We are going to check out Lake Avenue Church, which has an arm of the church which focuses in this area of ministry. It also has a fruitful prison ministry to young people. It's probably no coincidence that Clayton is currently midway through a book about the juvenile justice system, that he has to read for a suject his taking in Christian Ethics called, "No matter how loud I shout." Anyway, the church itself seems like a rather large church with multiple services like CityLife, thankfully they also do small groups and even mid-sized groups that they call 'hubs'. So it shouldn't be to difficult to get connected. Tomorrow night we'll be visiting a sub-church that they have on Sunday night called 'Warehouse', which sounds like it is along the emerging church track - you know, more culturally relevant and so on. So we'll see how that goes. We met some other Fuller families who mentioned that they attended this service. Otherwise we might try to make it to the Saturday night service.
To check out Lake Avenue's website follow the link listed to the right of this page under the list of Relevant Links. (Funnily enough, their website looks a lot like the CityLife Church site before it was updated!) To check out the outreach ministry work that we're interested in being involved in, you'll need to click on the links titled 'Homeless Outreach' and 'Juvenile Prison Ministry'.
Will of course keep you posted.
Thank you to those who have being praying for us in our search for a church home.
Saturday, 31 March 2007
Thursday, 29 March 2007
Tuesday, 27 March 2007
I passed!
Yes, that's right I have got my Californian drivers licence. Such a relief to have that out of the way. It's not just that the steering wheel is on the left side of the car, but the indicator is also on the other side, so that also takes a bit of getting used to. In the driving test, on one occasion, I flicked the indicator the wrong way. The assessor just assumed that I had misheard her. At least I didn't flick on the wind screen wipers instead - I've done that countless times. Yesterday, after putting both kids into their car seats, I (twice) went to the passenger side door to get into the drivers seat! I'm actually getting used to driving on the other side of the road quite quickly. Although, every now and then, I go into 'auto pilot' and revert back to my Australian habits. Don't worry mum, it mostly only happens when there are no other cars around.
Saturday, 24 March 2007
Disneyland
 |
| Coombs trip to Disneyland |
A dear friend of ours back home, was very generous and gave us some money prior to leaving saying, "This is for the boys." This has enabled us to purchase a year long family passport to Disneyland. So it's Disneyland as often as I can manage it for the next 12 months!
Monday, 19 March 2007
Thursday, 8 March 2007
Our first week in the US
The flight:
The flights actually went really well. The boys were surprisingly very well behaved and I think that they generally enjoyed the new experience - very interesting for them. Other passengers actually commented on how well they did. We packed activity books, story books, sticker books, extra snacks, a few toys, sleeping bags... We made use of the bassinet for Nath - Judah had trouble sleeping on the chair and consequently SLEPT VERY LITTLE! He even tried to get comfortable in the bassinet - despite exceeded weight restrictions. All in all we had great success flying and are very grateful to God for this.
Arriving at our new place:
Arriving at our apartment was exciting, although also quite daunting as we realised all the things that we would need to do over the next few days and weeks. We had power, but no telephone, no pillows or bed coverings (we brought sheets from home so we managed to get by) and no lights in the bedrooms ( this is because they do not have lights!) I think we're supposed to use lamps in the bedrooms instead. The community coordinators had left a bottle of drinking water in the fridge and some toilet paper - so that was helpful.
Life here:
We are settling in here quite nicely. The boys got over their jetlag in a matter of days and are back to their normal sleep cycles. Both boys are adjusting very well - probably better than we are! So far we have made friends relatively easily - the level of community and friendship, the love and willingness to serve and support is lovely. We have really been taken back by it all. We've managed to get along to a playgroup, and I have attended a Fuller wives support group that had a great creche for both boys - they both love it. We've also discovered a children's playroom and outdoor play area all safe within our apartment complex - so the boys are thrilled.
We're really happy with our place - it is quite new and clean. One of my favourite parts is the laundry - because there is no laundry! We have a neat little cupboard with an awesome washer and dryer. We're loving living in a small place because it is easier to keep up with and organise.
If we look outside our 3rd storey windows, and look down,(see picture) we see a major freeway, but if it's a clear day, we can see a marvelous range of mountains that seem quite close. Apart from living alongside the I -210, we are really enjoying living with so much within walking distance. We're right by the Fuller Campus - which is really pretty and there are great shops just a few blocks south. We like Pasadena - it is one of the nicer parts around L.A. It seems like a fairly safe place to be. Having said that, I don't think I'll be heading out to the shops on my own after dark. So far probably the worst part of living here is the smog levels. If you look to the horizon, you probably won't even see it!
Contrary to what we had heard, the shopping here is quite expensive. We thought that stuff over here was generally less expensive, but this is only the case for some things. If it's American, it is probably cheaper than what we pay for it back home. So like for example Fisher Price toys and Apple Mac, i-pods, Levis, Nikes etc are all cheaper here. But your general everyday stuff like groceries is quite costly. For example, a little jar of herbs/spices, that might be around AU $2 back home, is around US $4 here!
The Roads:
Towards the end of our first week, we are still understandably, a little nervous about driving around here, so you could say that we've become more safety conscious. I mean, imagine negotiating the traffic, navigating around unknown territory and driving on the other side of the road - all with the most precious cargo in the world - your kids.
So needless to say, we've been looking at Volvos! I mean and who wouldn't be when for the same money, you could choose between a 10 year old Honda, a Toyota or a 5 year old luxury European car. Yesterday afternoon I drove home a beautiful 2002 Volvo V40 1.9T Turbo Wagon! It's got driver, passenger and side window-curtain air bags, and 4wheel ABS, and being a turbo, I've got sufficient power at my disposal for slipping on the the freeways when other drivers want to cut me off. 
We also got ourselves an in-car tracking /navigational system and it has become our best friend. We've called her Madison (after the name of our street.) She really helps take the stress out of driving around here - particularly on the labiryth of freeways and ramps. Look at what we've conquered! See picture:
Church:
We have visited Mosaic - Irwin McManus' church. We were delighted to find that like CityLife, there are no titles; Irwin is just Irwin - not Pastor Irwin or Reverend Irwin as it can be over here. Actually, I'd go as far as to say that it is probably more casual thant CityLife. Irwin preaches in jeans and a T'shirt. To our relief, we fit right in wearing jeans and rubber thongs (or flip-flops as they call them here). Many would consider Mosaic rather cutting edge, and I think that we'd agree. Irwin targets his 'conversation' (message) to 'humanity' rather than just Christians or the lost, so that some how it is incredibly relevant to both! The average age is 24 and the majority (80%+) is single! So it is very much a young adults church! We're praying about whether or not this is where God wants us to be. I think that if we did get connected with Mosaic, that it could potentially re-focus and reposition us in a big way. One of the things that impressed me about the church is their acute focus on their reason for existence. They are not about helping make Christians feel comfortable and looked after. They are all about serving and reaching the lost. I was also really impressed with a article that Irwin wrote about restoring broken lives. There are some incredible testimonies in this church, of tragically broken lives being transformed and renewed by Christ. So that's exciting. Anyway, we have not fully settled on Mosaic yet. We really want to be sewing our lives (over the next 2 years) into the church that God want us to be a part of - and not just the place that seems hip and happening if you know what I mean. Will keep you posted.
That's enough for now. I'll try to keep future posts a little shorter.
The flights actually went really well. The boys were surprisingly very well behaved and I think that they generally enjoyed the new experience - very interesting for them. Other passengers actually commented on how well they did. We packed activity books, story books, sticker books, extra snacks, a few toys, sleeping bags... We made use of the bassinet for Nath - Judah had trouble sleeping on the chair and consequently SLEPT VERY LITTLE! He even tried to get comfortable in the bassinet - despite exceeded weight restrictions. All in all we had great success flying and are very grateful to God for this.
Arriving at our new place:
Arriving at our apartment was exciting, although also quite daunting as we realised all the things that we would need to do over the next few days and weeks. We had power, but no telephone, no pillows or bed coverings (we brought sheets from home so we managed to get by) and no lights in the bedrooms ( this is because they do not have lights!) I think we're supposed to use lamps in the bedrooms instead. The community coordinators had left a bottle of drinking water in the fridge and some toilet paper - so that was helpful.
Life here:
We are settling in here quite nicely. The boys got over their jetlag in a matter of days and are back to their normal sleep cycles. Both boys are adjusting very well - probably better than we are! So far we have made friends relatively easily - the level of community and friendship, the love and willingness to serve and support is lovely. We have really been taken back by it all. We've managed to get along to a playgroup, and I have attended a Fuller wives support group that had a great creche for both boys - they both love it. We've also discovered a children's playroom and outdoor play area all safe within our apartment complex - so the boys are thrilled.
We're really happy with our place - it is quite new and clean. One of my favourite parts is the laundry - because there is no laundry! We have a neat little cupboard with an awesome washer and dryer. We're loving living in a small place because it is easier to keep up with and organise.
If we look outside our 3rd storey windows, and look down,(see picture) we see a major freeway, but if it's a clear day, we can see a marvelous range of mountains that seem quite close. Apart from living alongside the I -210, we are really enjoying living with so much within walking distance. We're right by the Fuller Campus - which is really pretty and there are great shops just a few blocks south. We like Pasadena - it is one of the nicer parts around L.A. It seems like a fairly safe place to be. Having said that, I don't think I'll be heading out to the shops on my own after dark. So far probably the worst part of living here is the smog levels. If you look to the horizon, you probably won't even see it!Contrary to what we had heard, the shopping here is quite expensive. We thought that stuff over here was generally less expensive, but this is only the case for some things. If it's American, it is probably cheaper than what we pay for it back home. So like for example Fisher Price toys and Apple Mac, i-pods, Levis, Nikes etc are all cheaper here. But your general everyday stuff like groceries is quite costly. For example, a little jar of herbs/spices, that might be around AU $2 back home, is around US $4 here!
The Roads:
Towards the end of our first week, we are still understandably, a little nervous about driving around here, so you could say that we've become more safety conscious. I mean, imagine negotiating the traffic, navigating around unknown territory and driving on the other side of the road - all with the most precious cargo in the world - your kids.
So needless to say, we've been looking at Volvos! I mean and who wouldn't be when for the same money, you could choose between a 10 year old Honda, a Toyota or a 5 year old luxury European car. Yesterday afternoon I drove home a beautiful 2002 Volvo V40 1.9T Turbo Wagon! It's got driver, passenger and side window-curtain air bags, and 4wheel ABS, and being a turbo, I've got sufficient power at my disposal for slipping on the the freeways when other drivers want to cut me off. 
We also got ourselves an in-car tracking /navigational system and it has become our best friend. We've called her Madison (after the name of our street.) She really helps take the stress out of driving around here - particularly on the labiryth of freeways and ramps. Look at what we've conquered! See picture:
Church:
We have visited Mosaic - Irwin McManus' church. We were delighted to find that like CityLife, there are no titles; Irwin is just Irwin - not Pastor Irwin or Reverend Irwin as it can be over here. Actually, I'd go as far as to say that it is probably more casual thant CityLife. Irwin preaches in jeans and a T'shirt. To our relief, we fit right in wearing jeans and rubber thongs (or flip-flops as they call them here). Many would consider Mosaic rather cutting edge, and I think that we'd agree. Irwin targets his 'conversation' (message) to 'humanity' rather than just Christians or the lost, so that some how it is incredibly relevant to both! The average age is 24 and the majority (80%+) is single! So it is very much a young adults church! We're praying about whether or not this is where God wants us to be. I think that if we did get connected with Mosaic, that it could potentially re-focus and reposition us in a big way. One of the things that impressed me about the church is their acute focus on their reason for existence. They are not about helping make Christians feel comfortable and looked after. They are all about serving and reaching the lost. I was also really impressed with a article that Irwin wrote about restoring broken lives. There are some incredible testimonies in this church, of tragically broken lives being transformed and renewed by Christ. So that's exciting. Anyway, we have not fully settled on Mosaic yet. We really want to be sewing our lives (over the next 2 years) into the church that God want us to be a part of - and not just the place that seems hip and happening if you know what I mean. Will keep you posted.
That's enough for now. I'll try to keep future posts a little shorter.
Wednesday, 7 March 2007
Our FREE Fiji Holiday!
It's been a worthwhile stop over in Fiji. Apart from breaking up the long flight over, our stay has provided us with some much needed rest from the exhaustion that we left Melbourne with! I should also mention that Fiji has also been a great platform for adjusting the kids sleep cycles in preparation for L.A. time.
Some highlights or points of interest include:
• Our Mana Island Resort stay where the kids (more Nathan than Judah) were treated like royalty and became instant celebrities. It got to the point where many (if not most) of the resort staff knew them by name, and all the other guests knew of them. "Bula Judah, bula Nathan" was a phrase often heard. (Where 'bula' means hi or hello in Fijian.)
• The frangipani and hibiscuss flowers - They just fall off the trees here.
• A brief stint of snorkeling. Very hard to pull off with kids.
• Our last night at the resort when the boys hit the dance floor, stealing the show with their very funky dance moves. The other resort guests made comments like - "Who needs island dancers when we can watch these two?" My only regret was that we didn't manage to capture it on video, (I hadn't brought the charger with us) otherwise I'd show it here. It was truly priceless. I did however manage to get a short snipit of footage on our still camera back in the room. These moves were probably influenced by the island dance performance that we had just seen.
• Fresh, sweet pineapple.
• Lounging around in the pool everyday. The boys just loved it.
• Buffet breakfasts literally by the beach. We were able to let the boys play in the sand and paddle in the shallow waters while we finished our breakfast.
• Clayton taking the boys paddling in a kayak.
• The Fijian people - they are so friendly and love kids.
• The relief of the air-conditioning that greeted us each time we returned to our room.
• Clayton water skiing.
• Nathan's fascination with the frogs that we saw around the island when it was wet in the evenings. He chirped on an on about 'da fog' that was out 'da door'. By contrast, Judah was not at all impressed with the frogs. I suspect that his perception of frogs being inherently bad, was most likely influenced by a kids DVD that we have watched a lot of, where the a frog plays the role of a significant threat to the lives of the colony of bugs and ants. Judah proclaimed of our accommodation at Mana Island, "We can't live here in this home because there is frogs out there."
• Beach side massage treatment - it was nice to feel pampered.
• This one was not a highlight as such, but certainly a point of interest:
Clayton managed to loose his rubber thongs at the marine activities center, so had to get around on the last day on Mana bare foot. This was fine until he had to walk along the hot wooden jetty to board our departing catamaran. While aboared and conpemplating the temperature of all the concrete jetty and paths that awaited us back at Nadi, his resourcefulness became known to all. He cut up an old T-shirt that he happened to be wearing, and grabbed a number of brouchres and made make-shift booties! Not exactly fashionable, but they certainly saved the skin on his feet from what would have been severe burns.• The Mercure BBQ buffet dinner - Generally speaking, the food in Fiji is nothing to write home about, but on this occasion, I was suitably impressed. Simply select all the fresh vegies you like, choose the meat, and it is stir-fried just for you. Also, the banana cake was worth a mention - arguably one of the best we've ever had. While on the subject of food, the fish of the day on our final night at Mana (Trevally) was outstanding.
• Church at Nadi. Particularly sharing in worship and communion together.
Monday, 5 March 2007
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