Well things are moving along in Santa Cruz. We just got done with awesome 70 degree weather. We didn’t use the wood stove for about a week and a half (the Buffalo team is experiencing something different). Last week Linda and I invited some of our friends from San Luis Obispo to do some ministry with us. There names are Casey and Linnea and they are into deliverance stuff (praying for people to get free from spiritual bondage, etc.) Since we’ve been discussing the Kingdome of God Linda and I thought it would be a good idea to bring in people who do a lot of healing, praying for the sick, the dead, and other power oriented Holy Spirit things. We had a great time and they prayed for most of us. Casey shared a sermon on Sunday, mostly prophetic words for our church, and then we ate big. The experience prompted a lot of good discussion on praying for people and miracles. We discussed: what we agreed with, disagreed with, would like to try, and would never try. In all, our desire to demonstrate God’s Kingdom through love and praying for people increased. Casey and Linnea are crazy for Jesus.
Everyone has jobs. Rachel and I are working two jobs and both of us feel that God has given them to us and doesn’t want us to leave either of them. Jeff looks like he might get a job a Bethany University as the bookstore manager, which would give him access to many students. Laben is continuing to do odd jobs. Alana is doing nanny stuff. We all prayed for jobs and God gave them, now we are trying to align schedules with our values. It’s fun.
When Casey and Linnea came up we had our babysitter Sara come up. We were having dinner, so I asked my wife to invite her and tell her she could bring a friend, so she brought her friend Kaley. We all ate together and Casey asked them if we could post flyers on the campus for a Bible study. They said we could and they could post them for us! It was pretty funny. Kaley said she has a friend who would be interested in coming to it. Afterward, Kaley started asking me about our church by asking, “Where do you guys meet?” I told her I was the pastor and we met in the house. She seemed indifferent, but we sent them home with Salsa(!), pizza, and other goodies. They said they like Indian food, so guess what’s on the menu.
We are going to have a BBQ & Easter Egg hunt at the property. Our property is so big that we figured it would be a great idea. Plus most of the folks we will invite to church would be the ones coming to the BBQ, so it seems like a great idea. Our house is 20min out of SC, but it is really incredible. Please pray that people would follow the prompting of God and join us.
The fact that I am a pastor is leaking at the coffee shop. One night a co-worker asked me if it was true that I was a pastor. I said, “Yes” and then did some cool karate moves. He asked me what that meant because he had no idea what a pastor was. I told him and he seemed pretty intrigued. He is trying to find another job and he and his girlfriend are making rent, but not really eating; we’ll see what comes of that. Anyways, he really wanted a cigerrette, but didn’t have any money, so I gave him $4 for some smokes. Evangelism! I made a batch of salsa and gave it to another co-worker whose father I have been praying for. She loved it and is sure to get an invite to the BBQ, since we’ll have more salsa. Seeds are being planted.
Things are good, people are being stretched, those who don’t know him are being loved, and God is being worshipped; sound like church to me. Oh yeah, surf is definitely up.
