Rainy days are good for the soul

Living here in Southern California, almost everyday the sun shines and the kids go out to play. They love to run and push their bikes around the courtyard and enjoy regular visits to the playground across the road. But today it rained. Rain really should not come as a surprise to me - I mean, it is winter after all, and I was brought up in Melbourne where it even rains in summer.

'Where are we going today mum?" Judah asked expectantly, as he does just about everyday. I replied, "I'm not sure. It's raining today." "Let's go to the park!" He suggests. "No, the equipment will be all wet." "But I like that. Because then you can go faster down the slide." He can be such an optimist. After explaining to him that we didn't play outside when it is raining because we might catch a cold, I determined that today would not dissolve into a day of watching DVDs and the kids running around our tiny apartment going crazy. So we read stories. I have to prepare the next curriculum guide for our Playschool by tomorrow, and the topic that I chose is on transport. So we read about Cargo ships, transportation in the third world and astronauts in space shuttles. Judah decided that he would very much like to travel to space when he grows up. We played hide and seek and Judah practised writing a few words on a straight line. We made a picture of a steam train arranging and gluing different shapes of construction paper together. We even made bread and sticky cinnamon rolls together! Such wholesome fun. I thought to myself, about how he had learnt so much and how we had enjoyed so much quality time together without even stepping out the door.



I think that rainy days are not only good for the garden, but good for the soul and the taste buds!

News from the womb

Today I went for my routine once a month check up with my obstetrician. Dr Fong checked on the baby's heart rate (as usual), only this time, she picked up (as did I) an irregular beat. I could probably best describe what we heard as being a strong beat, that stopped or stalled momentarily after a number of regular beats. She decided that she would look further into it and pulled out the ultrasound device and had a look. After looking for a short while, she concluded that everything looked fine, but wanted to monitor the heart rate. So they hooked me up to a fetal monitor which documented the baby's heart rate over a longer period of time. Again everything looked fine. But my obstetrician wasn't comfortable with ignoring her initial observations and made an immediate appointment for me to have blood tests done and to visit a pediatric cardiologist for a fetal echocardiogram to better define the heart rhythm. [From what I gather, an echocardiogram is essentially a more clearer look (using the latest ultrasound equipment) at the baby's heart - it's structure and function.] Apart from taking some wonderful 3D footage of our beautiful baby, the specialist was able to reassure me that the all of the baby's organs as well as the heart, were perfectly formed and there seemed to be no cause for concern.

So what was all the fuss about? Was our baby just trying to get my attention, (he or she has not had much yet) begging for a photo shoot, or was or is there something wrong? Well they say that most fetuses with with an irregular heartbeat have a good prognosis if the heart is structurally normal - which it is (Praise God). The blood tests may shed further light on the subject, but essentially, we have no cause for concern or worry, as the baby's heart was not consistently irregular and in most cases, fetal heartbeat irregularities sort themselves out if not before birth, at least by 1 month old and no medications are required. So perhaps our little one was just crying out for some attention. We managed to get some great photo print outs and a DVD record of the whole ultrasound. We'll be back for a follow up appointment in 6 weeks time too.

We found out a little more about our baby from the specialist who noted that our baby's skeletal measurements recorded as being 27 weeks and 5 days old rather than the 25 weeks and 6 days which is based on the first day of my last period. - i.e. big for his or her age. This did not come as any great surprise to me as both Judah an Nathan came slightly early and neither were underweight. This babe (also like big bro Jude) has a large head - yippee for me! (If anyone knows how to copy footage off a DVD, then I could post footage of the ultrasound on our blog.)

So praise the Lord that our baby's heart looks great. I thank the Lord for giving me complete peace through all of the tests today and the strength to drive another 20 minutes away to a specialist after having blood work done. And I'm grateful for my awesome doctor - who as it happens attends the Mosaic church. Appreciate your prayers that the blood tests all come back clear too.

Recent Pix of the boys

Pix from our most recent visit to Disneyland

Update from Clayton

Ange is doing really well. We went to the doctor (for our first visit) last week and had an ultrasound and whatnot. It was wonderful to see the baby for the first time. Ange is nearly 15 weeks now and everything looks normal. The due date at the mo is April 24 which could mean early to mid April for us, though this is quite a different pregnancy (yes yes I hear your thoughts loud and clear - we also think so, but only time will tell whether 'different' equates to different gender).

Judah and Nathan are well. Nathan's 'picking' is finally healed, (recall that since June Nathan has had an open sore on his forehead because he keeps picking the scab). Nathan's communication is beginning in earnest which is very precious. He is a very affectionate boy and often initiates cuddles and says something which translates to 'I love you' (ayubyoooo). Judah is a thinker and a strategist. He always has a plan; always has an agenda, which can be very annoying when we're trying to put him to bed. He calmly explains his agenda highlighting the conflict with ours with phrases like 'I was just...' (with accompanying exasperated hand movements). From time to time this is also accompanied by 'How many times do I have to tell you Dad?' We are doing our best to frame him in at this stage and he is sometimes disciplined when he crosses the line into insolence, but really its so cute, and its great to see how his mind works and the things that are important to him. Nathan had been pleading with us for a bed for several weeks. He would hop on Judah's bed at night and refuses to get off - 'NO - I syeep doodah bed' (he curls up, shuts his eyes and sucks his thumb to make the point.) So a couple of weeks ago we went to IKEA (what a miserable place that is) and got a bunk bed. They absolutely love it and despite the horseplay nobody has fallen off the top bunk yet which is yet further proof of God's existence not to mention his personal care for us.

I am in the midst of a revolution in my thinking. I've always thought of lecturing in a bible college - training up the next generation of church leaders - as being my dream job. Getting paid to use my gifts, and not having to keep pulling programs off. However, I somehow felt that I would not get it that easy and was destined for another season of hard yakka in the front line before retiring to academia later in life. Though officially the story has only changed to the point that we are now flirting with the idea of further study, both of us have an incredible peace and a deep sense that this is indeed what God had planned all along. Of course the nature of a faith step is that I may well have to turn around and say 'you know what, scratch that last bit - we got it wrong', but at the mo, we are just going with what we know. We still feel very much called to serve the Church. But the benefit of the PhD is that when we return I will actually be qualified to do something that I love and we will be released to go where God positions us and serve the local church in whatever capacity God opens up for us without the pressure of looking for a job, as perhaps may be the case without the PhD. Furthermore, what better way to serve the Church than involving myself in training its future leaders?

SO. What does that mean? Well I need to pull together a few PhD applications before January when the deadline is. I will be applying for at least two schools over here - Fuller and another one near Chicago called Wheaton. If I get into Wheaton, we will think very very seriously about taking it. They accept 6 PhD applicants per year (out of a pool of between 50-60) only. Each of these get a full tuition scholarship and a stipend for living (which of course doesn't total cover living expenses unless we decide to live on porridge and sleep in the library but would be a darn sight better than the situation we're in at Fuller where we're paying hefty tuition and living expenses with absolutely little respite). For what its worth, I have looked at PhD programs around the Melbourne area, but could find only one bible college in Mulgrave that offers that award. Mulgrave's Phd is 100% research based (ie go and write 100,000 words and come back to me, and oh, that'll be $30k thanks), while the programs here all involve a significant coursework component which would allow me to develop to an advanced level in a number of areas such a biblical languages.

Anyway, I've been very self indulgent and this is turning into some kind of journaling exercise. The above represents nothing more than how we currently believe that God is leading us. We are simply trying to be obedient to His promptings and faithful in the gifts that He has given us. I would ask you to keep us in prayer as we walk down this road and discover where it might lead.

We’re all enjoying life here immensely and would love to hear from you all more.

Much love to all.
Clayton

We're having a baby!

Yes, you read that right. Our third child is due in April.

Nathan turns 2

On September 13 we celebrating Nathan's 2nd birthday. We celebrated with friends at the Fuller Playground with a giant 3 foot wide pizza and a nemo pinata.

Coombs Family Update

Sorry that it has been so long since I last wrote an update. I can't believe that the last time I update the blog was for our camping trip to Yosemite! Boy how time flies.

We are loving the our time at Fuller. We are well and truely part of the community now and loving it. A more centralized apartment was one of the perks that came with taking on the role as community coordinators here. So we're here on the ground floor and have a patio area and access to the courtyard with a nearby barbeque and small playground. Living in our new apartment has meant more spontaneous socialising, and outdoor fun for the kids. We were recently reflecting on how God had generously answered the prayers that we had made when we had originally started looking at housing options here. We basically had one of those 'wish list' type prayers that just seemed unreasonable and totally unrealisic - to pay the cheapest possible rent, and live in the nicest possible apartment! Turns out that 5 months into our stay here, we are living in arguably the best apartment in the whole of Fuller Housing, and paying close to the cheapest possible rent (after a rent reduction that comes as a form of payment for being community coordinators). God is so good at blessing us.

We are really enjoying being part of Christian Assembly - the church that we have made home. There's something incredibly genuine and authentic about the worship and leadership there. We have just started leading a Life Group through the church, but will be focused on reaching Fuller students and families- there is an alarming number of seminary students who are either disillusioned with the church, or just haven't made church a priority. So we have a heart to reach them and reconnect them with a healthy church experience.

I've recently launched a playgroup/preschool cooperative within the Fuller community. We're running a trial run over the summer for a limited number of families (although 12 has quickly grown to 18!) So far it is going really well. We have support from the Seminary and will be officially launching the Preschool CoOp in the 'Fall' (that's their Autumn). It has taken a lot of time and effort, and continues to, but I have a terrific team of parents who are working hard to make it happen. Our next move is to expand the program to accommodate more families - kind of a must, given that we have not even officially launched it yet. I guess that I'm just really thrilled to see something get off the ground that serves to meet a real need that was not previously being met. Families are getting connected, and children are having a blast!

Clayton is studying hard. He's doing a Greek intensive (learning biblical Greek in 10 weeks instead of a year!) Loving it though. He seems to have a knack for languages. Wish I could say the same. He has found out that he can finish his Masters in Arts Theology (in biblical studies) (with overloading) by spring (that's the start of 2008), and be ready to start the Doctorate of Ministry program here. This particular program is designed for ministers who are in full time ministry, so studens of the doctorate program take on one subject of course work per year and fly over here a few times for intensives. We have both really felt like this is the most obvious next step, before heading home to Australia in time for Christmas 2008 for him to work through the main bulk of the on-site intensives so as to reduce future travel expense. It will then just be a matter of finishing off the doctorate (hopefully while serving in a full time ministry position) with one subject a year with an intensive class that is taught by Fuller professors in Australia. While both Brian and Mark were here we were able to talk with them about their experience in the program and both seemed to feel that it enriched their ministry to the church.

The boys are growing up so fast. They are at the stage where they have become good friends and love to play with eachother. One of their favourite games is play wrestling! Whether it be on our bed or in a grassy place, they just love to push one another to the ground and climb all over eachother. It is strangely, quite lovely to watch. The boys have found new friends in two girls who recently moved into the apartment directly above us. They are 5 and 2.5 years, and have been adopted from Ethiopia. They really are delightful little girls and play so nicely with our boys.

Judah is doing really well these days. He is well adjusted and settled in now and seems to be really enjoying life. He is also quite the hospitable type and is often asking people if they would like to come to our apartment to play or eat with us. He just loves having people around. Although he is loving life over here, he still talks a lot about his family and friends back in Australia - recalling memories from time to time. He is really looking forward to having my mum come to be with us in a few weeks. We are learning more about how he thinks and realising that he has a great mind. For example, he builds lego structures with perfect symmetry and draws complex and detailed pictures. The other day he was drawing all of these continuous lines all over his page and when I asked him what he was drawing, he replied, "I'm drawing a road system." He loves riding his 'big boy bike' (with training wheels of course), and playing with his little friends. We've started him earning pocket money by collecting plastic bottles and cashing in at the recycling centre. He is enjoying this.

Nath is going through that 2 year-old stage where he wants to be independent and do everything that his brother can do. This can be a little frustrating at times, like when he insists on walking down stairs all on his own, and he carries on and resists you holding his hand. Talking heaps as usual too. He can say some funny things. The other day I was smelling his feet, and I said to him, "You have stinky feet!" He then grabbed one, pulled it up to his nose, and exclaimed, "Smells like hamburgers!" We both then cackled laughing as he repeated this a number of times realising that it was humorous. We bumped into a fellow Auzzie in a local park the on the weekend just gone, and he commented on how Nathan had the begining of an American accent! I suppose that it was only ever a matter of time.

We are living more like residents now (as opposed to tourists) - doing less sight seeing and making less frequent visits to Disneyland. Actually Disneyland is to be avoided during the summer holidays - imagine waiting in the hot sun in a queue for 90 plus minutes! We'll probably brave it again when my mum comes in late August - early September when the crowds are less impressive with kids back in school.

Anyway, loving life and yet still looking forward to being back home.

Keep in touch.

Angela.

Camping at Yosemite National Park

Camping at Yosemite National Park

Click on the image above to view our pictures.

We got the job!

After two rounds of interviews, and what has seemed like around a month of waiting, we finally found out that we have been chosen to take on the role of Community Coordinators within the apartment complex that we are currently living in. This has been a huge answer to prayer financially, as this job will credit us with a substantial reduction in our monthly rent. It is a job that I should be able to manage largely on my own - even with the kids. Furthermore, this role would not violate my visa restrictions which prohibit me from gaining employment.

Our appointment as Community Coordinators also means that we will be changing apartments. Fortunately, it will not be a big move. Actually it's just across the courtyard. Our new apartment will be virtually identical, except that we will be on the ground floor, and have doors leading out to the courtyard! So it's 'goodbye' to the noisy freeway that we currently overlook, and 'hello' to a great barbecue and the complex playground, both just steps away.

From what we have been able to gather, the primary function of this role seems to be to help build 'community' - organising social events, welcoming new arrivals, helping manage conflicts or issues arising from living in close community and there even seems to be a more pastoral side to this role. The more practical aspect of the job seems to be things like, liaising between fellow residents and the housing office, publishing a monthly newsletter, opening up apartments for those who for some reason do not have their key card on them and other general 'house keeping' duties. It's estimated to take up an average of 12 hours per week.

We will be assuming our role as Community Coordinators as of July 1, but the apartment will not become available until July 8.

Fuller Wives Support Group

I just love this group of ladies. This group is so precious to me. We naturally share so much in common, and are able to share in a really authentic and down to earth kinda way. We laugh over the crazy things our pre-schoolers do and say, and spur one another on in our role as mothers, wives, and more importantly, in our walk as daughters of the King. I have the wonderful privilege of having become great friends with many of these women. In particular, Eva in red, holding her youngest of three, Heidi wearing the black v-neck, and directly left of me, Kate, who is 'mom' to 'the other Judah' - yes there are others out there!

Hiking with the Myers

Hiking Trip with the Myer Family

Click on the image above to view pictures from a hike that we took with another family on the weekend at a national park located just a short drive from our apartment.

Coombs Family Update

Hi, sorry that I have not been posting quite so regularly. Over the past couple of weeks I haven't managed to find the time. But hear I am, the boys are asleep, and I have a moment of calm. Rather than sharing a thought or experience, I thought that this time I'd give you a run down on how we are each doing.

Clayton:
Clayton is doing really well at balancing the pressures of an impressive study load, with family life. I've been impressed at his increasing capacity as he will often rise as early as 5:30am even after studying late into the evening. Fellow students are astounded at how parents like Clayton are keeping up from week to week, doing so well, and yet still actively involved in raising their young families. I know that only a generation ago, men had very little involvement with their children, but I only have to look at how wonderfully my son's lives are enriched by having their father take such an active interest in their lives.

As I type, Clayton is in week 8 of 10 for this quarter. So far, he is doing really well. He is absolutely loving the challenge and the tremendous satisfaction that comes from gaining a slightly 'fuller' revelation of, and deeper insights into God and His character, though his study of the Minor Prophets in Hebrew. Already very thankful for being able to study here at Fuller, as subjects like these are simply not available in Australia. He is also very grateful for his lecturers; for their depth and breadth of knowledge. And it seems that his lecturers love him too!

Judah:
Well, Judah has been journeying though a rather rough patch, but seems to be through the worst of it.  About a month ago we decided that it was time for him to be rid of his beloved dummies. When he was ready, he did so - fully understanding the permanency of his actions. We had a little ceremony. Judah threw his dummies, and Nathan his bottles, down the trash shoot. There were high fives all around, cheering, praise and shouts of excitement.
Anyway, Judah was doing just fine until it came time to go to sleep. How could he sleep without them? Well, for the next few nights, I would sit by his bed side stroking his head until he would fall asleep. Naps were another story. He just didn't know how to go to sleep during the day. On top of being short of his usual sleep quota, our son was also (for the first time), showing signs of feeling unsettled with all the changes that where in his life. It seemed that any changes, even the smallest and pettiest, were the source of great insecurity.
In all of this we found that Judah was remarkably in touch with his emotions and able to express some of his troubles with us. One of them was to do with not having a house to live in. Perhaps living in an apartment was all too much like living in a hotel, and somehow lacked the sense of permanency and security that he was looking for.
So it seemed that his dummies had provided a greater source of comfort and security than we had first realised. For a few weeks, our little boy found it hard to hold himself together with regular tantrums which were becoming increasingly difficult to manage.
In desperation, we turned to God, who was able to reveal a few insights in Judah's soul. We also sought wisdom from a few family members and friends. We've discovered a real blessing in having a child psychologist in the family - Thanks George - your wisdom, insights and strategies were both practical and effective. Thank you to those of you who prayed for us during this time. Your prayers made a big difference. Judah is now back to sleeping well, even back to taking his nap, (although I'm having to restrict it, in order to ensure that he can go down to sleep at night). We haven't had any major tantrums now for over a week, and there has been a massive improvement in his behaviour. We still get the usual 3 year old battle of the wills, but all in all, he's back to his usual happy self again. Praise God!

Nathan:
Nath is changing a lot. He's just gone 20 months and is growing like crazy. He has a lot more hair. Since we've been here, I've had to cut it twice already! He's getting stockier too. Still a cute size, but just more solid. He's more active than ever. Very much the wriggly boy. Loves to be able to walk around independantly and will wriggle and squirm free of you so that he can run about and do his own thing. He still enjoys a good cuddle though. This morning Clayton and I were having a hug, and reaching his arms up towards us, he pined, "I want tuddle. I want tuddle."Every day we are left astounded at his development. He seems to have quickly acquired the skill of constructing sentences in order to effectively express himself. He's even using words like I, I'll, my, mine, and me correctly. Some examples from today, "I want breakfast", "I'll do it mama!" and "Give me the wallet!" He will still occasionally refer to himself as Nathan instead of 'me'. Like, "No, don't push Nathin!"  I almost forgot to mention that he has started trying to recite his numbers in order, 1 to 10! It's amazing what is coming out. It's not even like I push him or make any special effort with him. I take no credit.

Me:
I enjoyed a lovely Mother's Day on Sunday. I was woken to receive presents; chocolates, body lotion and bottle of massage oil. I was given a card that said on the cover, 'For you, Mommy'. (Gotta love the American spelling). I was granted a luxurious sleep in, and brought a beautiful cooked breakfast; omelet, toast, OJ and fresh fruit. We attended the morning service at church, and came home for a nap before heading out to Santa Monica Pier. We had a lovely afternoon together. Judah and Nathan kept on insisting that we were at San Diego. (We'll take them there some day.) If only everyday could be Mother's Day. Monday morning came around all too quickly and with a great thud!

I've been enjoying my new friendships a lot and just loving the Fuller Wives Support group. Realising that although this is a really close community, it is also a very transient one. There are students coming and going every term.

Caught up with some family friends Tom and Janette Boland, from the church that I grew up in. Spent half a day at Disneyland with them which was really nice. It's amazing how you can just take off where you left off with friends that you haven't seen for so long.

I'm enjoying interacting with Clayton and what is going though his head. It's making me hungry to get into some study for myself. I am considering the possibility of doing a few subjects next year. At the least, I'll audit some subjects - that means sit in the classes and have the option of completing assessments. It's virtually free, you just don't get the piece of paper for it.

So that's a summary of how we're all doing.

A place we can call home - for the next little bit

It's our second week now, and we love it. That is, Christian Assembly Church in Eagle Rock. It is the first place that we have truly felt at home in. The direction, health and warmth of the community at CA has really appealed to us. As has the quality of the children's ministry, the solid teaching and the church's commitment to mission.

CA is not in Pasadena as such. But it's probably a 5-10 minute drive. Although the church is large in number, the actual building itself is not terribly big, so you attend one of four weekend services, and feel as though you are part of something a little more intimate. So although it is a big church, it doesn't have that 'big church' feel that can sometimes be overwhelming at first and difficult to connect with.

This weekend we attended the Sunday night service which is supposedly an identical service, but targeted toward 18 to 35s. We are interested in this service because there are a lot of Fuller students who attend. (It's also nice to have the weekend more freed up.) After Fusion services, they operate a cafe where they serve an afforable and tasty meal, coffees, smoothies etc with live music. The proceeds from the cafe go directly to support the Christian Assembly orphanage in Kenya. It's a good place to connect. Judah and Nathan had a bit of a dance, and toward the end of the night retreated to a corner to play with some toys that were there.

Next week we plan to visit a Life Group that meets in Pasadena. We're looking forward to getting involved and serving with this group of believers.

Judah goes missing...

Today Judah decided that we would be playing a game of Hide and Seek, or as the Americans call it, Hide and Go Seek. Imagine the situation; we live in a tiny 2 bedroom apartment for which there is only a hand full of suitable hiding places, and since we had played hide and seek here a couple of times already, I was already pretty familiar with all of the hideout spots - or so I thought. There's the wardrobes, the pantry, and a couple of other tighter cupboards. Then there's more conspicuous places like under the rug! So you get the idea - when we play, I'm merely amusing them with my wondering around calling out "Where's Judah?" or "Where are you Nathan?" You can pretty much know for certain that their hiding places will be both obvious and unoriginal. The other thing is that when they hide, they are usually not all that focused on staying hidden, and will typically, make some noise or move around so that you can hear them.

Well, today it was different. Today our little game of hide and seek went to a whole new level.  I took Nathan in to the bathroom with me (that's our counting room) while Judah went to hide. I counted out loud "One, two, three....eight, nine, ten. Ready or not, here we come!" We wondered around the apartment checking all of the usual places. Nathan looking with me saying "Where's Dudah gone?" "I don't know." I would reply. After checking all of the usual places and not having heard any movements, I started to get slightly concerned. "Judah? Judah where are you?" No reply. Could he have left the apartment? He had never done so before, and was generally the sort who would be too scared to venture off on his own. I decided that I would just need to look more thoroughly. I looked briefly under his bed, a place that we had never hidden before. No. Not there. I got Clayton involved in the search. By now, Nathan is well practised in asking and answering the question, "Dudah? Where's Dudah? - I dunno." We decided that we had better check outside in the corridor. No. "Clayton. Check the garbage disposal room. He could be in there." No not there either. Now, although not panicked, my concern is growing. He could have ventured off down the lift, and if he did that, and got out at the car park, he'd be stranded there without a key card. I ran down the corridor and checked the car park. I called out, "Judah? JUDAH? Judah are you there?" First floor, "Judah?" Still no sign.

It felt like it had been maybe 15 minutes since we had begun to play, but in reality it had probably only been 5 or 10. Desperate situations call for desperate measures. "Judah? Are you here? I've got ice-cream!" That didn't do it. A short time later he emerged. He had been so determined to stay hidden that he had accidentally wet his pants, and needed to make his way to the toilet. Where had he been? Hiding under his bed, behind a suitcase! I had looked there, but obviously not thoroughly.

We all had a good laugh and big sigh of relief. We congratulated him on his hiding skills, and thought it prudent to just remind him that he should never leave the apartment on his own. That was it for our little game today. Oh, and yes; it was not long before I was reminded of my earlier inducement for ice-cream.

A word of wisdom from Judah

You remember that verse in John about Caiaphas prophesying without knowing it or intending to about the way Jesus' death should be interpreted (Check out Jn 11:51)? Well on a much smaller and less serious scale, Judah said something to me just before we left for the US, the significance of which he could not possibly have understood. It was a very innocent moment - fun too, but deeply profound. Here's how it happened:

Judah was playing with his lego, and rather than just sit there passively watching him, I decided to play with him. Actually I didn't really engage (I was thinking about something else) but I wanted him to have the benefit of thinking that I was. Perhaps externalising my frustration at just not getting activities like lego (I've never been much good at lego) I began to randomly stack one piece on another, ignoring their size, shape and colour, to see how high it would get before it toppled over. Judah was clearly put out, and kept saying 'no, NO that's not how you do it Dad!' I persisted assuming that I needed to expand his stubborn little mind to other possibilities, until in frustration he protested "It doesn't matter how high it goes Dad!"

Those words hit me between the eyes. I've often said that God seldom has any interest in revealing the 'grand plan' of our lives and frequently leads us simply by showing us the 'next step' (See Ps 37:23 - one of my favourite verses). I've actually forgotten exactly what thoughts I was preoccupied with that day that were preventing me from playing with my son, but to be honest, based on raw statistics, there is an extremely good chance I was thinking of the distant future (what's after the next step?).

For the first time Judah had my full attention. I looked down and suddenly realised what his project was and why he was so frustrated with me. He too wanted to see how high he could build, but was intent on laying a good foundation so it wouldn't fall over. He was fastidiously covering every square of the green base mat before he would allow the construction to proceed to the second level.

And then I got it. It doesn't matter how high it goes. It just doesn't matter what the distant future looks like. It doesn't matter how or even if every dream I have will come to pass. Actually there's an awful lot that doesn't matter and very little that does. What matters now is following Jesus and taking the next step of obedience. Again I felt God confirm to me the step of faith we had taken in early 06 because for us the next step is laying a foundation - not building a tower.

And then I just lightened up and played lego.

Something I'm wresting with

[I have to apologise for the length of this posting. I won't apologise for it's content, but I do apologise for 'preaching'. Just know that it is myslef that I am preaching to. Writing this has really helped me crystallise my thoughts. It has been helpful to be able to articulate the stirrings that have been wrestling within me. It is more for my benefit that this is written, but I would be interested in your thoughts and invite your comments. - Ange.]

We are still probably feeling a bit displaced with the whole church thing. Not sure where we fit at the moment. This process of 'church shopping' [you need to know that I cringe at using the term] has been quite discouraging, and at times, disappointing. But negatives aside, I can see how God is using this process and our exposure to different expressions and traditions, to get us to start to really evaluate what we actually believe about church and the way that it should be. We have had to come to the realisation, that part of our dissatisfaction should really be put down to our cultural differences. I suppose that we have been looking for a CityLife Church here in Pasadena, and it just does not exist. That's probably a good thing. I mean we need to learn from and be exposed to a church expression that is different from where we have come from. Unfortunately, with that, a little discomfort is par for the course.

Before this past weekend we had only visited evangelical churches. I was starting to think, that it was obvious that the reason why we had not yet found a place that we felt comfortable in was because we had not yet visited a Pentecostal church. Surely, once we did, we'd feel more comfortable and at home right? I'm going to take a risk in sharing the following, (as I know that our blog attracts a rather varied audience), but at our recent visit to a local Pentecostal church, sadly, the reverse was true. Truth be known, we actually felt more uncomfortable there than we had at any other church. A strange admission coming from someone who grew up in a Pentecostal church.

We have firmly founded beliefs in the person and the power of the Holy Spirit, and believe that the gifts of the spirit are very definitely still for today, but are just wondering what a healthy expression of Pentecostalism looks like in the local church context today. God is God and I believe that it is up to Him to initiate any 'out pouring' or demonstration of His power. It is not our job to try to manipulate or generate some moving experience. Any efforts in this, are likely to lack authenticity and well let's face it - fruit.

Like the apostle Paul advises, we 'eagerly desire the greater gifts'. So yes we want to be instruments of God's miraculous power, healing the sick, being a prophetic voice, and so on, but can't get away from the sense that God has granted us these gifts for our equipping in our commission, and not just for a Christian 'bless me' session.

Why is it that we don't see so many signs and wonders in the church? Is it because the church has 'programmed away' the Holy Spirit? I don't think that's it (although I do concede that it could be part of it). The Holy Spirit is made welcome in our praise and God is much bigger than any time schedule or program. I suspect, that we don't see so much of His manifest presence anymore, because God in His wisdom, sees that we as His children, unfortunately have the propensity to get caught up and distracted by signs and wonders, loosing focus of our mission. The Corinthian church is case in point. The correction that Paul brought to the Corinthians was that we are to be more about love than the miraculous. Why do you think that Jesus performed miracles? Well he healed the sick because he loved people and had compassion, but I think that more generally speaking, He performed miracles as a sign so that people would believe that He was the Son of God and be saved. Is it possible that we don't see the miraculous in our churches because it is the lost who need a sign of God's love and we are not bringing them in to His house? Yes, prophesy is for the edification of the church, but edification to what end? The end of feeling good and being able to reassure ourselves that God is still moving? No. Edification to the end of becoming more Christlike and so, a better witness.

I ask a more basic question... For what purpose are we still here? I mean, why are we on earth? Is it not to be Christ's ambassadors, his army, his instruments to a lost and dying world? Let's not loose that focus. Jesus says in Matt 7:21-23, Not everyone who says to me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of my Father who is in heaven." What is that will? In Matt 25:31-46, Jesus talks about the how the sheep and the goats will be separated, and how only His sheep (the righteous) will be invited to take up their inheritance - eternal life. The righteous are commended by the King, "I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me... I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." Getting back to Matt 7, Jesus says, "Many will say to me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, and in your name drive out demons and perform many miracles? Then I will tell them plainly, ' I never knew you. Away from me, you evildoers!'

I recall a time, that God used me to administer a miraculous healing. It was the most natural and yet amazing thing, and it was the biggest honour to be involved in what God wanted to do in this particular girls life. This girl was not in relationship with God and was suffering chronic back pain from an injury she sustained from getting beaten up on the streets. God used my then simple and childlike faith to demonstrate His love to this young woman. I never saw her again, so I don't know whether she came into right relationship with her heavenly Father, but I say all this to say, that I know, experientially, that God's power is still very much alive today, and that God does want us to be His instruments of love to reach this lost generation. So I'm not renouncing my Pentecostal heritage nor am I walking away from the expression of being a Pentecostal Christian, I'm just re-evaluating the place for spiritual gifts in the context of commission and church.

I believe that God has called us as His sons and daughters, to GO. But not just to 'go', but to go in His power. God's power will only flow through us, once we position ourselves to be poured out. Why would God bother to display His awesome power for any other reason, than to be glorified? I'd suggest that we do not glorify the King unless we are going about His business. The challenge that I am wrestling with at the moment is, what does that look like? How do I minister to the lost and dying world that is around me?

In a sense He has called each one of us to be missionaries. Missionaries don't travel to far off countries and different cultures just to minister in a kind of haphazard manner, sharing a smile with the check-out-chick who looked a little glum, or putting an arm around the shoulder of a colleague who was needing a little pick-me-up. Don't get me wrong, those things are great, but I suspect that missionaries give of them selves in a more intentional and purposeful way. I suspect that they focus their attention to the hungry and thirsty, to the lonely, the sick and those imprisoned with injustice. They travel to Burma and raise orphaned children who have had their innocence torn away from them to serve in an army that killed their parents. They live on the streets of Bangkok administering the love of Jesus to the family across the canal whose son is dying of AIDS. They go where Jesus is.

The question that faces me and you, is where is Jesus in our context? Where is my mission field? I don't think that we have to leave our own neighbourhoods to find injustice, hunger, brokenness, sickness, pain and suffering. I don't think that we have to look too far to find the people that Jesus came to save.

Anyway, this is just something that I'm (or we're) wrestling with at the moment. Please pray for us, as we wrestle with all of these things, that we would know where God is leading us, and that we would be doers of the word and actually GO. And getting back to our 'church shopping' (for want of a better term), at this stage, it's looking more and more likely that we will go back to Mosaic (not Pentecostal) but an extremely healthy and vital church that is getting on with the great commission. Please pray for us that we would be led by God in our decision of where to be planted, as it is with this body of believers that we will partner with in our 'GOing'.

Kidspace and our adopted caterpillar 'Mary'

Kidspace

Click on the image above to view the pics.

Yesterday, we went to the most wonderful place. It is called the Kidspace Children's Museum. It is located right next door to the Rosebowl, so it is a very short drive (within Pasadena). Anyway, the boys had a brilliant time climbing up massive 2-3 story high structures, exploring through caves and human size ant holes and stomping around in a man made creek. They played water games, tried to pedal around on a tricycle track, and we even adopted a caterpillar.

I've noticed that Judah is not your typical boy when it comes to bugs and creepy crawlies. He's actually a little bit scared of them. (Not sure if this is nurture or nature - actually I suspect that it's a bit of both, okay, it's a lot of both. I mean he's naturally cautious, but I have to admit to being a bit 'neurotic' when it comes to spiders.) So I decided to enquire about their caterpillar adoption program. I thought that this might help him (and me) overcome his (or our) fears a little. The shop assistant told me, that for just $4, we could take home a tiny caterpillar in a little container, watch it form a chrysalis, and then of course, become a butterfly. I was tickled by the concept, and delighted at the potential learning opportunity for my children, but with my aversion to creepy crawlies, I was starting to have second thoughts. I explained, "Oh, but we live in an apartment." "That's no excuse!" She cried. I was reasured that they came with a little instruction booklet. So I paid my $4 and carried home a bug in a gift shop bag.

I introduced the concept to Judah and he was delighted by it. I told him that we needed to name it and take good care of it. I suggested a couple of names that I thought would be cute. You know, Katie the Caterpillar, or Kurt. I was going for the 'c' sounds, but Judah would not be influenced. He had decided that her name was to be Mary. "But what about Cloe, or Kimmy?" I inquired. "No, it's Mary." Judah replied. So Mary it is.

So far we've watched Mary eat some of the sugary mixture at the bottom of her little enclosure, and we've noticed that she likes to sleep a lot. She seems to have started building her cocoon, so we'll have to get on to making her a larger shoe box home to transfer her into, so that once she becomes a butterfly she will have some space to move. The museum has a butterfly release ceremony day, but I think that we might just let her go free as soon as she is ready.

We're going to try to visit Kidspace at least once a fortnight. I'm looking forward to Judah getting those pedals going on the trike.

Gratitude, contentment, trust

Hi all. Clayton here - at last!

This will be my first ever post on our blog. Sorry I've been silent for so long! I guess Ange is doing such a good job, I've been just slacking off.

Well God has truly been good to us. We are settling in well to our new life here and are really enjoying it. I was just wheeling Judah and Nathan back from the park last week and Judah said to me (as he now often says): "Dad, I just love this place. I love these buildings. I love our apartment. I love the park..." (then he went on to say how he loved a lot of other things including what he'd had for lunch, but you get the picture - I think he was happy). The boys have been really spoilt over the transition time with lots of time and attention from both parents. Things are settling into a more normal pattern now with me out of the house most days either at class, studying in the library, or reading in our apartment complex' very own study lounge.
Getting back to study has been absolutely wonderful. The teachers here are brilliant. I am taking three classes and not one dudder. In general the assessment tends to be more but smaller assignments which is good because you have to keep up and remain engaged in the subject material for a sustained period. Actually with one of my subjects (Hebrew exegesis:Minor Prophets) its just plain more than I'm used to, but I think that's probably my favorite subject. Most of the actual detail or at least many of the highlights of our family life in the US so far I see Ange has updated you on, so I will finish this post with a thought from friday's assigned reading. Christians should consider the past with GRATITUDE the present with CONTENTMENT and should look to the future with TRUST. That really hit me, firstly because all three I think are a challenge at one time or another, and its good to be reminded, but secondly, because I think this sums up where we're at right now, but at the risk of destroying the simplicity and profundity of the original let me personalise it. For our part, its: deep gratitude for what has been, delight at what is, and excitement concerning the future.

Settling in

As anyone who has ever travelled will realise there are some cultural adjustments that we've had to make. Here is one humorous incident as an example:

Coffee creamer
What is coffee creamer?? I'm at a disadvantage here as I've never really developed a coffee habit, so I'm unaware generally of the world of coffee - we may well have this product in Australia. However, even if we do its prevalence and placement in the refrigerator section at the supermarket is definitely different over here. Oh, is coffee creamer any good I hear you ask. Well I don't know - I've never experienced it in coffee. But drinking it straight...well it sure ain't big M. Now the story.
Probably our third day here, and we were severely under resourced. We had no car, no mobile phones, no duna or blankets on the bed, no pillows, no rubbish bin, no food...for those who've seen Dumb and Dumber, it was one of those 'our pets HEADS keep falling off!' experiences. Apologies to those who haven't - um please don't rent it out and see it, it was squalid and mainly unfunny, though it had a few good lines! Anyway, it was a bit of a vicious circle. OK, lets go get some provisions. How shall we go? Ah no car. Go where? Um, lets call up and check? Ah, no phone (yes we had a landline, but we didn't realise until fully two weeks into our stay that you had to dial '1' in front of every number so we thought it didn't work - highly frustrating). Well lets get a mobile phone. But where? Lets call around...ah no phone...lets use the internet (one of our neighbours generously neglected to password protect their wireless network. Its OK. we have our own connection now. Hold the judgement...gosh). Ah nothing within walking distance. Well lets buy a car then...ah no car yards within walking distance...well lets call around...anyway, you get the picture. This particular day I had decided that I was GOING to get a mobile phone each for me and Ange in the morning and if I still had the energy, I'd jolly well buy a car in the afternoon.
Hmmm. the morning was a testing time. I walked probably 10 minutes to the local 'Target' store. They had prepaids, but in Australia, prepaids are a bad deal right - gotta get a contract. I asked somebody at Target where another mobile phone (Cell phone idiot) shop was. 'Oh you just continue down Lake' I was told. When I overcame my lack of a sense of direction (which is only further confounded by the fact the cars go the wrong way) I proceeded down Lake. I had walked another perhaps 10 or 15 minutes when I saw a bank. 'Focus on the task at hand' said the little white angel on my right shoulder'. 'But you'll need a bank account at some stage' argued the little black angel with horns on my left shoulder'. Guess who won? Well a full hour and a quarter later ("What's your social security number sir?" "Um what's that? I brought my passport...) I emerged from Wells Fargo bank and continued 'down Lake'. I walked for what felt like another half an hour and after asking several times to make sure I hadn't missed it, finally found the mobile phone shop. I waited for ages, and was finally served. I equivocated, educated myself about US cell phone connections, bantered backwards and forwards with the salesman (playing the naive Aussie card does make friends quickly but it didn't get me a discount this time). Finally (I seem to be using that word a lot) I made my decision and went to sign the contract...'what's your social security number sir?' 'What's that...I brought my passport...?'. The long and the short of it was with no 'social' and no credit history I would have to pay $400 per connection - 1000 bucks Aussie - to be held for a year, just in case I proved to be bad news at paying bills. Naive Aussie. Nope - no way around it. Sorry. YOU'RE SORRY?!?!
By this stage I was ready to get anything. I found a mobile phone shop I'd missed on my way back would you believe, heard the same story and just got two prepaid connections.

Where does coffee creamer fit into this story? Patience.

Anyway, on my way back, I stopped in at Target for some provisions. I might as well get some groceries while I'm here I thought (Target here sells groceries too). So I loaded up with a few essentials that I thought I could fit in my backpack, and before I checked out I thought - boy I need a big M. Of course I realised that they wouldn't have big M here, but, well any flavoured milk would do. Just beside the milk, where I expected flavoured milk to be I saw it. 'Macadamia and white chocolate' it said and 'coffee creamer' in fine print. What an interesting and irresistable comination I thought...coffee, macadamia, and white chocolate...must be tried. The sad thing is that even though it was not what I expected I toughed it out and drank most of the bottle. These americans sure do like rich things I thought. Rightly curious and feeling a little green I read the nutrition information table. Even then I didn't get it. 2 grams of fat it said (Big M has 4), and 9 grams of sugar (Big M has between 9 and 9.6 depending on the flavour...per 100 mL serving size). Convinced it was better for me than big M but just inexplicably sickly rich, I kept drinking...until I noticed the 'serving size'. Wait for it.

ONE TABLESPOON!

I guess you're supposed to just put it in your coffee...

Tipping

Hi all. For one of our class assignments we were asked to reflect on a cultural practice from a Christian perspective. I find it difficult to nail down exactly what a Christian perspective is supposed to be, so I just reflected on the cultural practice of tipping (which largely involved recounting ananecdote) from my perspective (as a Christian). Enjoy:

I’ll be honest. We’d been putting it off ever since we had arrived in the US, but there was an inviting looking pizza restaurant right in front of us, and well, we were hungry, we’d promised the kids dinner, we felt like pizza, and frankly, we were sick of fast food. ‘Looks good’ ventured Angela (my wife), ‘…I’ll go and check out the prices…?’ ‘Sure, whatever’, I said characteristically. ‘Looks like it might be a tipping joint though’. It was too late. Our 3 y.o. Judah piped up, ‘Oh yeah, pizza Dad! I want [to] eat pizza! I wike pizza. I’m hungwy Dad!’ We sat down awkwardly, but our discomfort soon dissipated. We were waited on zealously and persistently by an attractive young girl who loved our accents, asked us about Australia, brought crayons and coloring books for the kids (?!?), served the most magnificent complimentary bread unexpectedly ‘just so the kids would have something to start on’ and warmly welcomed us to California. Happy lass. Must have really enjoyed her job. ‘This is definitely a tipping joint’ I remarked wryly to Ange in one of the very few spare moments we got. The short story: we had an exceptional experience once we lightened up, it was a tipping joint, I tipped, it didn’t hurt, and we’ll do it again. Now some explanation.
Tipping is not a common practice in Australia, and it may sound silly but both my wife and I were particularly nervous of it when we first arrived. We just couldn’t work it out and we didn’t want to offend anybody. Fifteen percent of the total was easy enough to work out, but then we got confused. Tipping was obligatory for many services – not just in restaurants - we were told. Other services had different rules of thumb ranging between 10% and 20%. So far so good. But then you have to tip more if the service is ‘really good’. Well then, what is really good service and how is it measured? How much more for really good service? Wouldn’t it be better then to get served poorly so you didn’t have to tip much? What if the food is bad but the service is good – or the other way round? Are there circumstances under which a tip should be withheld? Is the size of the tip a reflection of the quality of the service only, or the generosity of the tipper also? Do kind people always tip more? Should rich people tip more? Do Christians tip more? Do we demonstrate ‘unmerited favor’ in how much we tip, or should we encourage young people to work harder and show respect by being stingy? And what about bill splitting? (Do people even do that here?) How do you even work out 15% without a calculator anyway?
As you can see, this relatively simply practice can be highly confusing and even intimidating for the outsider.
Now some brief critique. Actually I learned something from a practice which I previously despised (because I didn’t understand it). It doesn’t hurt to be generous. And if I have to get deep, well God is generous, and we should be generous. The ‘requirement’ to ‘be generous’ caused me to evaluate just how stingy I can be. What’s a few more bucks anyway when you swipe four and a half grand on your card four times a year at Fuller? So thumbs up for tipping…but I still don’t ‘get’ the rules of this strange new game.

Cultural criticism and the Vietnam Vet

I think we all have a tendency to oversimplify issues which we've never had to really face - particularly a class full of zealous young idealistic bible college students. I particularly have struggled in this area and have learned through much pain to be at least a little quicker to listen and slower to speak; and not to pass judgement too quickly.

This tendency is intensified in a course where we are invited to do 'cultural criticism' (though I'm learning that doesn't always mean paying out on the culture in which we live). Anyway, I was sitting in a class the other night which I'm enjoying called 'Perspectives on Christ and Culture'. We were invited to critique a particular aspect of culture which the lecturer considered an obvious anomoly. 'In groups of two', he said, 'discuss whether you think its right to kill people under certain circumstances. Just say, you're government has sent you off to war. For the benefit of your country, is it right to kill?' He was asking patriotic Christian Americans to reflect on the circumstances under which their loyalty to their country overrode their loyalty to God and the precepts of Scripture.

I actually have thought about this question, though I've never had to face it. I was going to answer that I personally probably couldn't kill even under those circumstances, though I was honestly still uncertain whether that was because I am a Christian or because I lack the courage. But the guy sitting next to me answered first. He is a Vietnam Veteran. 'Well I've been there' he blurted out. 'I've had to face this. I was in Vietnam and yes I killed people...its all very well to sit here and theorise about it but none of these people have ever had to face it.' Even now, decades later, he was close to tears. He told me about the trauma of Vietnam, of wrestling with his own conscience, about being ordered to kill people, and about carrying out those orders, about how he'd come back from Vietnam and experienced the pain of rejection by the very country that sent him to war. And he told me how he'd lost his marriage and a lot of years to alcohol trying to make sense of it all. He also told me of the judgement of many Christians who only wanted to know 'so, did you kill anyone?'

I spent a lot of time talking with my new friend after that class. He has a burning passion for the people and the issues about which Christians don't seem to care. He now runs a mission to down and outers in downtown LA. Druggies and the homeless (he promised to take me down someday). He is passionate for God, and surrendered to the point of recklessness in his faith and obedience. 'I'll go where no-one else will go', he said, 'because I just don't care'.

I still don't really know what to make of all this, except that his life is a testimony of God's grace - and yet he has felt and still feels the crushing weight of the judgement of many Christians - I praise God that at least this time, I wasn't one of them, that I shut my mouth, opened my ears and learnt some stuff. I told him of my growing passion to help the down and out, and he told me unforgetabbly, 'I'll take you down there, but the best thing you can do is to survive the next twenty years. Love your wife, stay married and raise those boys good'. I pray that I'll be able to keep that perspective for the long term, no matter who else God gives me a passion to help.

My heart is broken...

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.

3 Year Old Chit Chat

Here Judah talks with complete strangers about 'how it all works'.

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.

Everyday Fun

Everyday fun

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!

Photo journal of our day at the Getty Complex

Getty

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.