Potter Periodical

Adventure Institute Grant!

2011-05-03T13:36:00.000-07:00

http://www.refresheverything.com/adventureinstitute

I need your help to win a grant from Pepsi to fund my wilderness program!

I'm competing for a $25k grant for use on outdoor gear to jump start an outdoor ministry with inner-city teens. The catch is that I have just one month to accrue as many daily votes as possible in order to win.

It's Pepsi's version of a grant popularity contest.

So that's where you come in.

I need your help to vote this project through. If this grant can be in the top 15 finalists then it will be funded.

Would you be willing to register and vote everyday for the next month?

All you need to do is follow the link to http://www.refresheverything.com/adventureinstitute. Or (if you're in America) vote everyday by texting the phone number 73774 with 106058 as the message.

You could help fund a ministry $25,000 just by clicking a link for the next 29 days! Pretty cool!

So put it on the calendar, set an alarm, tell your friends, start the smoke signal fire, whatever it takes to remember to vote as often as possible over the next month.

Thanks!

Cameron Potter

He's a Moving

2010-12-01T15:52:00.000-08:00

2010-10-22T21:31:00.000-07:00

Wouldn't it be cool to win one of these: Madsen Cargo Bike

Fall 2010 at DC Academy

2010-09-28T14:06:00.000-07:00

Upon returning from our road trip, Cami and I had 10 days to prepare for the Fall semester. In that time the school got a facelift (all at the hands of my husband), we reworked the school schedule and enrolled all our students. Cami spent the majority of the week working on construction projects while I handled most of the administrative tasks. Along with the help of some generous students Cami ripped out desks, painted walls, hung new blinds, updated computers and built new storage compartments. It was a lot of work, but in the end well worth it.

As for the change in school schedule, we now have two groups of students working at different times during the day. From 8am-Noon the residential students are split into a boys and a girls classroom. Then from 1pm-5pm all our non-residential students are in school. There were two main motivations for this:

1. The school was designed for the residential students, to give them a safe environment to focus on their schoolwork without all the distractions and influences of public school. Unfortunately, this wasn’t really happening with our former schedule. Having residents mixed in with non-residents gave them access to money, drugs and a plethora of other temptations the residents are trying to avoid by entering our program. It also made if very difficult to enforce program rules. So although these students had signed-up to be in a residential treatment program, they were given a free pass 8 hours a day – not really an effective path to recovery.

2. Secondly, we are short on staff and this new schedule helps us utilize them most efficiently. Rather than needing teachers for 40 students all day, we simply need them for 20 students twice a day, which reduces the number of classrooms we need running at a time.

Limited staff has always been an issue here at DCA but we are especially low this semester. Technically, we only have 1 part time teacher at the moment. She spends her mornings in the residential girls classroom and then manage our attendance office in the afternoons, as we have lost our secretary as well. Cami runs the other classroom for nine hours a day. He spends the mornings with the residential boys, supervises students during their 30-minute lunch, teaches chapel (the only time all our students are together) and then runs the non-residential classroom in the afternoon. Daily I am impressed with his patience, compassion and consistency as he spends nine hours, without a single break, pouring into angry, unmotivated students. Yet as of this week he has a TA in both of his classes. So he is still in the classroom all day, but at least now he can step out to use the bathroom if he needs.

Although it is an enormous amount of work, Cami has been grateful at the opportunity to return to the classroom with the students and get back to the basics. We spent so many months trying to make the school work with unqualified help that the classrooms were getting out of control. Our enrollment is the smallest it has been (38 students) since we started here 3 years ago, but we believe that we are more effective now than we have been in quite some time.

As for life at home:
Cohen is now 5 months old! I am continually amazed at how he grows and learns so quickly. Just two days ago I was looking at some family pictures we had taken in late July – he looks so different now, much more like a baby and less infant-like. He has been rolling over for about 2 months now, but only rolls from his tummy to his back at will. He scoots around some, and is slowly becoming aware of the fact that he can move himself. He sits up on his own, but much prefers to be standing. And he has started eating more foods. He loves rice cereal! I cannot feed him fast enough; he actually whines a little between each bite because he is so anxious for the next one. Cohen is always full of smiles and really enjoys it when we play with him. He continues to be a happy, laid back baby who already shares his dad’s love of literature. We are so grateful to have him in our lives.

And cause pictures are so fun:

The Newest Challenger

2010-09-22T15:42:00.000-07:00

(que the Rocky music)

And a few more pictures just for fun

best buddies

"Cohen are you awake yet"

Well get him out so we can play!!!!

video

2010-09-17T13:42:00.000-07:00

I uploaded some new videos on our youtube channel. They were too big for blogger but the link is just to the right. Hope you enjoy.

Our Summer Roadtrip

2010-09-14T15:00:00.000-07:00

Six weeks in an RV! Surprisingly, Cami and I loved every minute of it. With 30 feet to share between the three of us, we had plenty of space….but being able to take our home with us as we traveled was the best part. We covered seven states and drove over 5,000 miles on our trip! As you can imagine, there is more to say than should be put in one email. So I have decided to just list the highlights and if anything specific sparks your interest, you can ask and I will tell you more. :)

Some of the best nuggets we came away with are:

We can and should expect more from the parents/guardians of our students.
New ways to approach rehabilitating the families alongside the residents.
Fresh ideas on how to train and equip staff without requiring an excessive amount of time and energy from our already overworked directors.
Innovative approaches to discipline and handling behavioral issues.
Some of the latest resource on teaching teens conflict resolution and communication skills.

Things we are most grateful for:

Becoming a part of a larger community of people working toward the same mission. There are hundreds of people doing what we do around the nation with the same goal in mind: restoring the lives of broken, ‘at-risk’ youth.
The boundless hospitality and comradery we were met with at each program.
A chance to take a step back and reassess what we do and why we are here.

Struggles that face us now:

Funding – every program we visited was 12-15 times more expensive than our program and many of our participants already struggle to cover the tuition.
Staffing – how do you run a high quality program with qualified personnel when you don’t charge your participants enough to pay them? We need people willing to raise support.
Where do we go from here? There was much momentum before we left in June, but since returning everyday needs have taken over and the progress has slowed.

A few highlights:

Many of the programs we visited were close to National Parks, so we visited: the Grand Canyon, Zion, Yellowstone, the Grand Tetons and Coral Reef.
Camping in the North Cascades with most of the Potter clan.
Introducing family and friends in Oregon to our handsome baby boy.
Cohen is a champ and took to life on the road without ever looking back!

I think that is enough for now, but I will post again in another week with news on what life has been like since we returned. Thanks again for all your love and support.

Random Snipets

2010-09-13T16:42:00.000-07:00

Pookey's mom left :( Less that a week after I posted of her return I got word that she left. Apparently she came by our apartment the night she left, but we were both working late.

Last Tuesday one of our previous students stopped by. It was at least the 5th time a student has asked to move in with us. On two of those occassions we said yes. Tuesday was not one of those times. And suddenly I wonder, how many other teacher are put in that position? Oh how I wish we had a mansion to help all these teens.

I want to quit my job. Don't get me wrong, I have great job and an incredibly flexible schedule to accommodate my new life as a mom. I just don't want to work anymore, but quitting only leaves my husband to pick up the slack. So I work.

I will post highlights from our summer trip within the next 24 hours. I am just waiting for Cami to look over what I have and see if he wants to add/change anything.

She's Back!!

2010-08-04T15:31:00.000-07:00

I promise I am working on a summary of our trip and that will be up soon, but this could not wait....

POOKIE'S MOM IS BACK!

Many of you probably don't know, but last October Cami and I took in a dog, Pookie, so that her mom could join the women's program -- in an effort to protect her we will call her Susie.

To make a long story short, Susie had/has a severe heroine addiction but was hesitant to join the program because she would lose her dog. Susie has no one, Pookie is literally her only family member. So there she was, on the stairs outside our apartment, with nothing but her dog standing in the way of her recovery.........so we took in her dog.
It was an emotional ride that only lasted about 6 weeks with Susie leaving and returning a couple of times, but in the end, she fell off the radar and her road to recovery seemed to be cut short. Yet in that short time her and I became very attached. She felt almost like family and with us caring for her baby, we were invited straight into her heart.

Well, as I was sitting here in my living room working I heard someone outside asking about Cami and Deidre repeatedly, so I peaked my head over our balcony.

And there Susie was!!!!!

In that wonderful black DCD t-shirt!

She has returned and entered the more intense program in an effort to turn her life around. We can't talk yet.....we have to wait 2 more weeks for her to finish orientation. But then I will hug her and celebrate with her as she travels this difficult road. I have hope as the Dream Center has a few recovery programs and after failing in the less rigid of the two, she has returned to join the program that says she is serious this time.

I cannot wait to hear all that has happened in the last 9 months, introduce her to my new baby and hear about the journey she took to get back to this place.

Today is a day worth celebrating!

On Parenthood

2010-07-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

It seems that everyone is asking, "So what is it like to be a parent?" But the funny thing is, life doesn't really feel much different than it did before. I know that much has changed, but it is hard to quantify it. And this is just our new normal now. Perhaps this is the case because we have such a delightful baby. I know many new parents really struggle and we have had our moments, but for the most part it has been a rather natural adjustment. Cami even says he is ready for number two!

Cohen is a very pleasant little man. He is content in most situations and loves to take in everything around him. He is wide eyed and inquisitive. Cohen is learning how to "talk". He loves it when we talk to him; he holds eye contact and tries to mimic the movements of our mouths. He has taken to talking to his toys now, it is really quite fun to watch. His smile is so bright and lights up his whole face. He really is a delight to have around and it is fun to watch him learn new things. As a matter of fact, he discovered that if he kicks his legs vigorously while in his bouncy chair, the toys go wild. Well the other day he was in his car seat with a monkey dangling in front of him so naturally he began kicking his feet like crazy. Unfortunately, the monkey didn't bounce around like his other toys and Cohen was quick to tell the monkey that he was unhappy with his performance. He is so fun!!!!!

Hopefully I will be able to upload some new pictures soon.

Road Trip Update

2010-07-13T13:22:00.000-07:00

We are currently 2/3 of the way through this summer road trip and still going strong! I was worried that we would be exhausted and tired of living in such a small space with our environment constantly changing, but that is not the case. We are all enjoying ourselves quite a lot actually.

So we started out in Arizona, Cami visited a program while I helped my good friend Rebecca prepare for her wedding. After the Father's day wedding, we went back down to Mesa for another day with the wilderness therapy program there. The program we were scheduled to see next canceled last minute, so we spent a week visiting the Grand Canyon and Zion National park.

After our time in the national parks we traveled to south-central Utah to visit another wilderness therapy program. Next we headed to northern Wyoming and visited a 40,000 acre cattle ranch for troubled boys. From there we swung by Yellowstone, drove through the Grand Tetons and are now in Idaho about an hour outside of Boise at another ranch for struggling teens.

Visiting the various programs has inspired some great conversations between Cami and I. We are learning a lot and as we hoped, seeing new ways to approach our teenagers. I really think we are going bring a lot away from this whole experience. In addition to visiting these programs, Cami is writing an article summarizing what we see. So when that is done I will forward the link to all of you.

Lily Andrea Potter

2010-07-13T11:20:00.000-07:00

This entry is dedicated to our ever-so-special cat

Lily Andrea

Cami and I adopted Lily when she was 2 months old, shortly after we married. She is a spunky, adventurous and often mischievous little kitty. She is playful and quirky but slow to trust strangers. She loves to run around outside stalking anything that moves (and is smaller than her). Sunbathing is how she spends her afternoons and she is extremely affectionate around dinnertime. And she puts up with our antics, although it is clear they annoy her.

Needless to say, we love our cat immensely!!!!!!

So as you can imagine, we were heartbroken when she bolted from the RV last Friday night. The wilds of Yellowstone were just too much for our headstrong girl to ignore any longer............
That is right, Lily made a run for it. And when Cami tried to catch her, she just thought he was playing and ran off even further. It was late and very dark, so our cat disappeared into the darkness rather quickly (dun, Dun, DUN). I was convinced she would return, but when morning came and there was still no sight of Lily, I began to worry -- we had to checkout of our campsite by 11am.
To our surprise (and the surprise of the campsite hosts) our site was available for Saturday night as well. So Cami and I paid for another night and waited for our kitty to return.

We waited and waited and waited and waited and waited.

Although we were in an incredible national park, we spent the day in our RV, occasionally stepping out to search the acres of nearby forest for Lily. Dinnertime came and went and still no sight of Lily. Around 9:45 Cami went out on one last scouting trip, this was our last chance, we had to leave in the morning.

He searched, I prayed. He searched some more, I prayed some more.

After 30 minutes in the woods with no luck, Cami began his return to the RV. As a last ditch effort, he turned on his headlamp, looked into the forest and called for Lily. Suddenly, there was a little green pair of eyes, gleaming in the light. And they weren't afraid of him. Cami called for Lily again and this time an unsure meow responded. Stepping into the forest Cami realized that Lily was still apprehensive. Cami decided to sit on the forest floor, shine the light on himself and continue calling out for our kitty. Slowly but surely the meows grew louder and before he knew it, Lily was in his arms!!!

HE FOUND HER!!!!!!!!!

2010-06-02T17:26:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick synopsis of our life at the moment

DC Academy:
We have arrived at the end of another semester, a semester that was probably the most difficult we have had since being here. It's hard to believe that this is the close of our 3rd school year here at DCA. Even though it is a small school, we have seen well over 200 students in our time here and worked alongside several wonderful people. Unfortunately, we will be losing the majority of our staff again and will have to start next fall with a whole new team of people yet again.

Ranch:
We are making some progress towards purchasing and running a teen ranch. Nothing is official at this point, but we are in the process of seeing years worth of dreaming coming to fruition. We are still a LONG was off from there being anything tangible at this point, but we want to share that we are the closest that we have ever been. Towards that end, Cami and I are taking a 6 week road-trip this summer to tour other programs that are already doing what we want to do. The idea is to see what others are already doing and learn from them, rather than trying to start a program out of nothing.

Family:
Cohen Nathaniel is already 6 weeks old! Cami and I have been so blessed to have TONS of help. My mom arrived the day he was born and stayed for 10 days. While she was here Cami and I simply recovered and adjusted as she took care of everything. She literally did everything (cooking (lots of cookies ) cleaning, grocery shopping, laundry, changed diapers, you name it). As you can imagine, we were all sad to see her go. But a few days after she left, my 15 year old sister came to visit for a week full of fun adventures (shopping, beaches, etc.) And the day after she left Cami's mom arrived. She stayed for a week, and again Cami and I were spoiled by her servanthood! And they keep coming: this weekend Cami's sister and dad are visiting at the moment. We are so blessed by all our family and it has been fun to introduce them all to our son.

And here is my new favorite picture

Welcome Cohen Nathaniel Potter!

2010-04-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Born April 22nd at 1:03pm

9lbs 1oz 22 inches long

WARNING! Several of our lady friend have requested a telling of the birth experience; so if you would prefer to stay innocent, do not read on.......but if you just want the highlights, scroll to the bottom.

Before I tell you about the actual birthing, there are a few things you need to know:

Our baby was due on Monday, May 3rd.
Cami and I wanted this be as natural of a process as possible, uninterrupted by human convention or unnecessary 'standard' medical procedure.
At our last visit the doctor told us that if my water broke to call him immediately and that he would induce labor because without the amniotic fluid the baby's risk of infection increases.
My mom worked as an OB nurse for 25 years, so we really listen to her wisdom.
All the books we read encouraged us to stay home through the first part of labor, as we would be more comfortable at home than at the hospital.
On average, first time labors last 12-14 hours, with the majority being fairly light while the uterus dilates.
Our doctor is wonderful and was excellent through the whole process, so understand that most of the negative things said below were a result of my emotions not my satisfaction with him.

On Thursday morning I awoke at 6:15am to warmth spreading down my legs and quickly ran to the bathroom yelling to my husband, "Cami, my water just broke!" Luckily I made it to the toilet in time for most of the amniotic fluid to make it in. Cami quickly made his way to the phone and called my mom who was on constant standby. As I sat on the toilet, I heard him respond to my mom telling him that we had 24-48 hours to get the baby out. In addition to that, based on what I had read I knew I probably had several hours before the baby would come. So I opted not to call the doc and got in the shower (let's be honest, my legs were covered in fluid).

At about 7am I started having contractions but was doing a horrible job of telling Cami when they started, so we were not really able to time them very well. Cami decided to shower as well and I tried to finishing packing our hospital bag. As he was in the shower I found myself running to the bathroom every 3 minutes because with each contraction more fluid would leak out. That is when I realized, these are really close together.

Now out of the shower Cami started putsying around the apartment, also expecting several hours of labor at home. However, my contractions were very intense, very close together and I was experience immense back pain that did not give me much relief between contractions. At one point I was laying on the kitchen floor, but eventually made it to the couch. At 7:30 my husband reluctantly called our doctor and left a message. Within the next ten minutes I was telling my husband that I was really scared and didn't know if I could make it through. I was just thinking, this is really hard and I have so long to go, how am I going to make it. Even though I had read a lot, I was really scared and didn't understand what was happening. We were going to wait for the doctor to return our call before we left for the hospital, but Cami remind me that everything we read said the stages can come so quickly that you might not see them pass. If it was time to go, it was time to go. So he took a load of stuff down to the car as I laid on the couch. I asked the Lord to let the pain subside long enough for me to make it down our 47 steps to the car. Almost instantly all the pain was gone and I headed out the door. Once in the car (about 7:45) our doctor called and chastised us for not being on our way to the hospital, but I assured him that we were.

We arrived at the hospital some around 8:20. They wheeled me up to pre-labor room and a nurse began to get me all checked in. Although we had preregistered, we were not in the system. In addition, she could not find any doctors. Honestly I think they really weren't in a hurry because it was my first labor and I wasn't screaming or complaining too much. A couple of residents showed up in the room about 8:45 and informed me that they were going to check to see if my water was broken and if I was dilated at all. The next thing they said was, "we see the head." I was fully dilated and plus 1 (basically the baby was quickly entering the birth canal and I was less than an hour from needing to push this baby out). The feel of the room changed very quickly and I was immediately transported to a delivery room. I just remember being annoyed that my doctor chastised me for not rushing to the hospital immediately and he wasn't even there yet.

At about 10 am the pushing contractions began and my doctor was there (he is actually a very kind, sweet man and I am glad we had him as our doctor). I don't really remember much of the next several hours, besides lots of pushing. I remember feeling like nothing was happening and getting really discouraged. Earlier in the morning one of the nurses had commented that I was near the end (apparently most women push for 30-60 minutes) so I thought, "okay, I can do this until noon." However, I was pushing with all my might every couple of minutes, but there was no crowning. My doctor and nurse were not constantly at my side, so I knew that the baby wasn't coming anytime soon. Everyone kept telling me that there was progress, but I didn't feel it.

Noon rolls around, and our baby is still in the birth canal, not yet past the pelvic bone. At this point they realized that he is posterior (face up) and that is another reason why this is taking so long. I have to lay on my left side and start taking oxygen between contractions because they are worried about the health of our baby due to the length of time. I am discouraged and tell my husband I don't know if I can keep doing this if nothing changes. The nurse informs me that they will only let me push for 3 hours before they intervene. At the end of each contraction my doctor is chanting, "stay, stay, stay" to the head, but it keeps retracting back in. Then my doctor disappears again for several more minutes and although my coaches (nurse, husband and friend Tracey) are super encouraging, I know not much can be happening if my doctor is not even in the room! Moments later he returns and explains to me that even though I don't want an epidural, it is looking like he might need to use forceps to get the baby out, at which point I will need an epidural. He had been out talking to anesthesia and they were going to set up a port, just so we would be ready in case forceps were needed. Yet with the next contraction our baby was through the birth canal, crowning and I was up in stir-ups. And for the first time, my back didn't hurt! Relief!

More pushing and more pushing and more pushing! I don't remember him saying anything, but apparently, the 3 hour mark came and my doctor asked for the forceps. Yet again, the threat of intervention was all we needed. With the next contraction the head was out and we were done! Because he had been in the birth canal for so long, the nurse called in a team of pediatricians to check out our baby, but he was fine and healthy 9lbs 1 oz. Because he took so long to come out, his head was REALLY molded and his face swollen. My doctor did end up giving me an episiotomy, but I still ended up tearing the rest of the way :(

Later we discovered that baby Cohen had so much trouble getting past the pelvic bone that he actually has a scab on his head due to all the friction. They also ran a bunch of extra tests because he was so big and his head so molded, but he is healthy and fine. We have experienced no troubles with breastfeeding and I am actually not sore at all (well not in the breast, the tear is definitely painful).

Water broke at 6:15 am Thursday morning
Fully dilated and +1 by 8:45 am
Started pushing at 10 am
Cohen Nathaniel was born at 1:03 pm without the assistance of any medication
He is a happy, healthy, beautiful delight to have around

Pictures Galore!

2010-04-19T21:09:00.000-07:00

Here are a couple of pictures of how our "nursery" has turned out.
That B-E-A-UTIFUL crib is just another one of the many gifts our Father has blessed us with.

And because Ro so politely asked, a picture of me at 38 weeks.

And finally, of the 4 years Cami and I have lived here we have had the privilege of going to the Long Beach Grand Pris 3 times --- all for free!!!
Here are a few pics from the race.

Recent Hiking Pics

2010-04-07T21:48:00.000-07:00

Wasteland

2010-04-07T21:19:00.000-07:00

So we have reached that point in the semester, a very familiar point that we reach each semester but always seems to catch me off guard. It is the point when:

I wonder why our staff still need our guidance so many times through out the day.
I have to daily remind myself that our most veteran-ed staff have only been working with us for three months.
many of our students have decided to give up on the semester's work.
many students have given up on learning because the material requires just too much thinking.
Cami and I spend hours each night discussing how we can do what we do better, but eventually try to intentionally distract ourselves from work so that it doesn't become all consuming.
we both begin to wonder if what we are doing is actually making any difference at all.

It's a rough point, but a very familiar point. The point when I begin to wonder if I have the energy to keep bailing buckets in order to keep this boat afloat.

It is my desire to affect change, to help this organization run more effectively and efficiently. But I have reached my limit. There is not much more change I have the authority to make. And unfortunately, I work for such a large organization that my voice is not loud enough to be heard by those who really hold the power. Add to that the fact that they are so far removed from us, they don't understand the impact their decisions have.

This is the point when Jesus reminds me that if I spend my life serving at the Dream Center because He wanted me to meet one person, to love one person, to be His hands and feet to one person, that is a life well spent. I may not be able to build an excellent residential program or develop a good alternative education system for inner city teens. I may not leave any impact on the Dream Center as a whole, but I will have fulfilled my purpose and His call. It is at this point that I remember why it is that I do what I do everyday. Not to leave a legacy, not to influence change, not to make an impact, but to love like He first loved me, to pour out my life in response to His call.

Hosea 2:14-16

"Therefore I am now going to allure her;
I will lead her into the wasteland
and speak tenderly to her.

"There I will give her back her vineyards,
and will make the Valley of Achor a door of hope.
There she will sing as in the days of her youth,
as in the day she came up out of Egypt.

"In that day," declares the LORD,
"you will call me 'my husband';
you will no longer call me 'my master'."

Affective vs. Cognitive

2010-03-06T21:21:00.000-08:00

Cami came across this the other day and I could not stop laughing. I vividly remember the moment in my senior year at MBC when I had this same epiphany.

Thank You!

2010-02-17T09:23:00.003-08:00

If you would have stopped by our home last Wednesday, this is what you would have seen:
Cami and I spent the entire evening assembling and sorting! YHWH blesses us so abundantly! And as I sat amidst the massive piles thanking YHWH for taking such good care of our child, I realized that we weren't just sitting in our blessing. I was humbled when I realized that we are reaping the benefits of our parents' blessings as well. Both the Potters and Tafallas have dedicated their lives to serving the Lord - as missionaries and pastors. Our parents love to give gifts and have often expressed that they wished they could give more, but as I sat in my living room last Wednesday evening I wondered, "what more could they give?"

So this is my thank you. Thank you mom and dad Potter. Thank you mom and dad Tafalla. Our child is reaping the benefits of your faithful service to our beautiful Lord. Thank you for understanding the value of eternal blessing over material blessing and for the many sacrificing you have made along the way. Thank you for teaching Cami and I what it is to live life surrendered to our most gracious Saviour. Thank you for your commitment and perseverance. Thank you for these many blessings. The four of you are the best parents we could ever ask for. Thank you!

Jehovah Jireh

2010-02-17T03:36:00.000-08:00

So last Wednesday was the day and let me just say that God goes way beyond providing for our needs - He spoils us! In addition to all the stuff we were given, the team in the warehouse told us they were low on supplies and would like us to come back in a couple of weeks to get some more and will continue to hook us up throughout the baby's life with whatever we need. So here are the details:

As for everyday essentials we got:
Over 600 wipes
Over 400 diapers
56oz of Bubble bath & Wash
56oz of Head to Toe Wash
27oz of Baby Lotion
22oz Baby Powder
40oz of Baby Shampoo
6 tubes of Desitin
5 bottles, 150 bottle liners, 2 pacifiers
2 Breast pumps, 84 nursing pads
Teething Ring, Munchin Food Processor
An Avent Bottle Sterilizer

And for the really fun stuff we got:
An Eddie Bauer Pack & Play
An Eddie Bauer Booster seat (designed to fit a child from 40-100lbs)
A $130 High Chair (we saw it at Target the other day)
A Jogging Stroller (just happens to be the very one we registered for)
A beautiful Bassinet
An Activity Seat

But we also got:
A new living room rug
A dehumidifier
An excellent new vacuum
A shelving set
And an air mattress (for when everyone comes to see our little one)

In addition, my brother and his wife welcomed a little boy into the world yesterday (!!!!!) and we are able to bless them with a infant car seat and travel bed.

And because pictures are always fun (and I am really proud of myself).......
Cami, one of our students and I summitted Mt. Baldy on Monday - a 6.5 mile hike with nearly 4000ft of elevation gain.

Me and one of our students on the way up

Taking in the view

Pregnant pose on the Summit

Authority

2010-02-09T20:57:00.000-08:00

Sorry there was no post last week, we were in Phoenix at a conference. But through some conversations we had while there, Cami and I have been wrestling through some ideas about authority.

Before I get started I want to say that I am not exactly sure how I want to say what I am about to say. So I hope it all makes sense as I try to share some recent musings with all of you.

The Dream Center is good at many things and not very good at other things, but one area that the Dream Center really shines. This organizations is excellent at teaching its disciples the value of honoring your authority. I have always been a fairly compliant person and have never really struggled with authority issues, so I didn't think I had much to learn in this area (conceited I know) but I have learned so much about what it means to honor authority since working at the Dream Center. And for that I am very grateful. It is refreshing to be a part of a community that values this principle so much.
From my experience, I do not believe that the American church is very good at this principle. Especially when the authority figure is not a Christian, but doesn't the Bible say that ALL authority is appointed by God......I am not sure about you, but all includes non-Christians in my mind. So why is it that if I believe God is telling me to do something: like change positions, or start new programs, etc. (not ethical issues, that adds other dynamics) yet my boss is not in alignment that many would say that I am justified in continuing down the path I feel God has told me to pursue. Do I not believe that God is capable, do I not believe that He can change the heart of my authority. The example of Moses and Pharaoh comes to mind. When it was time, Pharaoh released them and God was greatly glorified. Generations later Rahab said, I have heard of your God and what He can do, I don't want to defy Him. Moses did not leave until Pharaoh released him, until god softened Pharaoh's heart. What has changed? God hasn't.
I am sure I could continue to unpack these thoughts, but I must admit that a blog is a weird place to share such ideas. So I think I will stop for now, though I would love to talk with any of you about this further :)

Oh! But before I go, tomorrow Cami and I get to go "shopping". The Dream Center gets thousands of dollars worth of donations from different companies. Those donations are stored in a warehouse before they are distributed to the community, but tomorrow Cami and I get to go through the warehouse and pick out whatever we WANT. They were very specific that we should not only take what we need, but what we want as well. Just another reminder that God is our Jehovah Jireh!

So here are some pictures of the "nursery" (a.k.a. the other half of our dining room) but more furniture will be added tomorrow!!!

From the living room looking into our dining room/nursery

From the dining room into the nursery.
As you can kind of see in the background there is a nice sized closet in the nursery also.

And finally from the hallway into the nursery

Baby, baby, baby!

2010-01-26T21:00:00.000-08:00

As of yesterday I am officially 6 months pregnant ~ 26 weeks and 1 day for those of you who want specifics :) We have entered the third trimester and the nesting has really begun. I try not to let baby dominate our conversation, but with all the motion going on in my lower abdomen, our little one makes it hard for me to think about anything else. But I will try....

School is going well. It is now the third week of school and I think we are all getting into the groove of the new schedule. Our new teachers are still here praise the Lord - the first month always is the make it or break it mark and we seem to be standing strong.

Oscar came to church again on Sunday. Then he and Cami went for a bike ride on the beach. We are so blessed that he is still pursuing relationship with us and hoping that Sundays will continue to be a day we can spend together.

There have not been many additions to the "nursery" since last week, but we did get a friend to agree to paint a large tree on the wall for us. I was going to post pictures of where we currently are, so you can all experience the progression, but the camera got left at work. So perhaps we will post some tomorrow :)

A New Year...

2010-01-18T21:42:00.001-08:00

Sometimes it seems that things change behind your back.

You've been busy working on some other project in some separate corner of your life, and when you return, nothing looks the same.

In many ways, that is the value of a blog. It lets you sit down and think to yourself, "hmmm...what has happened since the last time that I wrote?" It forces you to notice the changes, to become aware of the things that so quickly become routine.

Since we last posted (I use the royal we, since I - Cami - haven't posted in probably over a year) school has started, Oscar has moved out, and the baby room is beginning to take shape.

School is always a handful. As much as we plan and prepare beforehand, it seems that the game is always changing seconds before kickoff. This year, we changed the schedule to make it possible for 3 teachers to teach 12 classes and constantly supervise 35 kids. Then, after a week of classes, one of the teachers decides that he doesn't want to work with unmotivated kids anymore, and quits....via text message...15 minutes before the beginning of school. I'm not sure what your momma taught you, but if she didn't teach you how to quit properly, call her up and ask her how it's done. You should know. Really...

So now we get to figure out how 2 teachers, with some administrators helping out, can handle the school. That will be interesting.

Oscar left. We made an agreement that he wanted to be treated like an adult and pay rent, $50/month, to live here. He hasn't paid in 3 months, moreover, he decided that he wasn't interested in paying or working something out for it. It seems that he had gotten tired of trying to become a new man. He stopped coming to church, stopped visiting his baby momma, and baby, and would drive down to South Central to hang out rather than look for work.

Since leaving about a week ago, we did see Oscar at church this Sunday. He seems to be doing okay, and seems less hardened than he was a week earlier. The Lord doesn't give up on His kids. That's one of the ways I really want to be more like Him. Never giving up. Being just, being merciful, being strict, being gracious. I feel like I can't hold on to all of those. Like I'm trying to juggle them and can only hold on to 2 while I'm throwing the other 4 around. Ah, how unsearchable His wisdom, how far my thoughts and ways are from His.

Baby room. This is Deidre's new passion. She is the definition of a pregnant nest-er. We have been to IKEA twice in the last 2 days. We've put up curtains, assembled bookcases, arranged stuffed animals, and organized parts of the house that I haven't seen in months. I didn't know that the nesting carried over into other areas of the house as well; found that out the hard way. I'll have to bring my "A" game to all my household chores for the next couple of months :)

The baby room is starting to look like a room, which is a big first step for us, seeing as how it used to be part of the dining room. We'll have to put up some pictures when we get a chance. I'm sure that all the die-hard fans that have read this far are going to be interested in seeing what we've got. I must say that Ro inspired the dividers, which look good (lil' shout out to the homey Ro). The dividers are ceiling to floor length curtains, which are definitely Lily's favorite part of the house right now. She's taken to curling up on them.

On a separate, ending note. Deidre and I were thinking about applying for WIC. I'm not sure if I'm a fan of WIC or not. Government welfare vs. going it on our own. We definitely qualify financially for it. Just not sure if we qualify morally. Free money? Responsibility? Anyway, we'd love some feedback and advice if you've got any.

Cheers
C & D

Oscar (continued)

2009-12-16T22:19:00.001-08:00

Oscar was in the program from April to September 2008. Although he did not finish the program, Oscar did begin a relationship with Jesus Christ and got a taste of life outside of the 'hood. It is typically our policy to require 6 months to pass before students who did not graduate the program to enroll in DC Academy. However, when Oscar showed up in Robert's office this last January an exception was made (Robert is our boss and the director of the program). About five weeks after enrolling Oscar turned 18 and received a large sum of money from his mom's life insurance policy. As a result, a bunch of drama ensued with his father and Oscar was again homeless. At school we noticed a significant change in Oscar. He was less motivated, rarely attended and nearly gave up on school entirely. On one of the rare occasions when he did attend, Cami discovered that Oscar was living with drug dealers because he had no other options. So Cami offered our home.

About a month later, Oscar and his girlfriend decided it was time to tell her parents that she was pregnant. That was a long emotional night that left Oscar feeling alone and worthless. About two weeks later he called Cami. Oscar sat down in our living room and told us he was tired of being a "low life". He was ready to change, but knew it wouldn't happen in the 'hood and asked for our help. He wanted to live with people that would make him go to church and help him make good decisions. He wanted to be around the Dream Center, because this was the only place he had experienced hope before. Before even talking to him, Cami and I already knew the Lord was asking us to take him in, so he move in that night.

It has been an interesting 6 months so far, full of joy, hope, frustration, discouragement and trials. There is too much to sum up in a story, so here are a few highlights:

1. Oscar's son Ryan was born 11 weeks early on Tuesday, August 11th around 9:15 am (the second day of the semester for us). Ryan was released from the hospital in late September and is doing great!

2. Shortly after Ryan was born Oscar discovered that his papers expired, so he is not a legal resident and unable to work. Luckily Immigration understands that a teenager is not likely to stay on top of such legal matters, so he has not been deported. Rather he gathered papers to prove he has been residing here in the States and is now just waiting on the money he needs to get his papers reinstated.

3. Oscar has court dates due to driving without a license. Since moving in with us, he has started to attend those rather than just try to hide from the system. He is courageously taking the first steps in taking care of his past mistakes!

4. He started attending a local high school for teen parents, but unfortunately quit going around the end of November.

5. He has found another ministry, Homeboy Industries, that is willing to give him work until he becomes legal and then they will help him get another job.

6. On the night that I started the first blog about Oscar he walked out of Homeboy to discover some of his old gang members waiting by his car. They convince him to drive down to the 'hood and get 'jumped out' (a common gang practice of beating on the "traitor" for a specified amount of time and then just leaving them there to suffer on the street). To Oscar's advantage, some of his 'friends' were there and held the group back a little, so no major damage was done. Unfortunately, the head dog informed Oscar that "the hood is for life" and that it doesn't matter what he has done, they still expect him to run missions. Although it wasn't the smartest choice, we do recognize that it was a courageous one and an attempt at leaving the past behind.

7. One time while reading the Bible together Cami asked Oscar to summarize what he had just read. Oscar began to recap the story by saying that Jesus was around people who make pants. "Make pants," Cami asked. To which Oscar responded, "The Levites." :)
There is probably so much more to tell, but those are a few of the things that stand out. As you think of us and Oscar here are a few things to keep in mind:
~ He struggles to make the tough decisions because he has never had to before.
~ We often have to convince him to stay, that he is worth the effort as Oscar would rather quit and submit to the lie that says he will always be a lowlife.
~ Cami and I are not experienced in all of this. We want to be Christ's hands and feet to Oscar, but we don't want to rescue him either. We are doing our best to teach him to stand on his own two feet, but he has never had to before and there are people in his life offering to carry him.

Well that is probably enough for today. Thanks for reading! And if you have any questions that I may have aroused, please ask. I love to share our story and Oscar's.

Also, Ro (Cami's older sister) has encouraged me to share some of my musing about living here in LA doing what we do. So you can expect some of that soon, rather than just stories.

Thanks again for reading!!!!

So I guess it is about time..........

2009-12-16T21:01:00.000-08:00

I introduce you all to Oscar :) But before I do I want to make a few notes:

1. Sorry I did not post last week and am late this week - Cami has been working every night on a business proposal, requiring full use of the computer hence the lack of blogs. As for the business proposal, you will all have to wait to know more about that - sorry, but Cami will fill you in soon. It is worthy of its own blog and he will do such a better job explaining it.

2. It is the last week of the semester!!!! And there are 3 things I want to highlight about that:
A)We are so excited for a much needed vacation (which we get to spend with Cami's family in Japan!), but there is still a lot of work to be done in the next three days.
B) End of the semester at DC Academy often means loss of staff, and this time is no exception. We are losing 3 teachers and our secretary. Leaving Mr. and Mrs. Potter. That's right, we will be the only returning staff :) God has already filled 2 (maybe 3) of those positions, but we have been functioning spent this entire semester being short staffed. We can function if those positions get filled, but it would be nice to be fully staffed (again, another topic worthy of its own blog).
C) We tried a new algebra track this semester and I am proud to report that is was an astounding success!! I taught a regular Algebra 1A class, while Cami taught a class that teaches the same material, but is paced to take the entire school year (it contains a lot of review as well). In years past very few students ever passed Algebra, close to 30%. This semester, we are looking at a success rate of nearly 90%. Needless to say, we are very pleased.

And finally Oscar

He was born in El Salvador, but his family moved to South Central Los Angeles when he was still in grade school. For those of you who don't know, South Central is one of the worst parts of LA, completely overrun by gang activity. A lot changed for Oscar at age 14. In addition to starting his high school career at Crenshaw High (known worldwide for its gang activity and failure in the classroom), his mother lost her battle with cancer. While grieving the loss of his mother, he was also fearing for his own life every time he entered the school building. Although he was able to lay low in the 'hood, many dangers faced him at school. He is small and way too trusting. One day, out of fear for his life, he took a knife to school which not only got him in trouble with the administration, but also caused several gangs to start pressuring to claim a side. For the sake of protection, Oscar picked a side and joined the gang that occupied the blocks closest to his house.

At age 17, after failing to complete any high school credits and getting kicked out by his dad because he had been running missions for the gang, Oscar found himself homeless and in the office of his school counselor. She happened to be an old colleague of our boss Robert and recommended DC Teen Discipleship. Both Oscar and his dad agreed it was the best choice and Oscar was in the program within a few days, despite a 3 month waiting list.

That is when we met Oscar.......

To be continued (it was getting really long, but I will post soon I promise)

3rd Annual Whaley/Potter Thanksgiving

2009-12-01T21:16:00.000-08:00

We spent this Thanksgiving weekend in the home of our dear friends Jason and Hannah. They were so welcoming and hospitable - we spent three days relaxing, playing games, have great fellowship and, of course, eating TONS of delicious food. I wish I had pictures to show you all the gourmet dishes Hannah made for us. She loves to bake and we love to eat everything she makes. This was Oscar's first "white" Thanksgiving, so he was especially delighted by all the food. It was a wonderful time full of great fellowship.

As is our tradition, we all went for a hike the day after Thanksgiving. We did Carr Canyon, a hike near their home that is 6 miles round trip, to the top of the peak pictured on the left.

Everyone showing off their pregnant tummies
(Hannah 32 weeks, me 18 and the other two are just full of turkey and other deliciousness)

This was Oscar's first "white" Thanksgiving and he definitely enjoyed all the wonderful food traditions :)

A Day on the Mountain

2009-11-24T20:07:00.000-08:00

This Saturday Cami was able to take his first "Adventure Institute" trip. The Adventure Institute is something my husband has been dreaming about and planning for quite some time. It will one day be a non-profit organization combining at-risk youth with transformative outdoor experiences. But for now, it is day long excursions with select students designed to build Cami's understanding of the adventures available around LA, get our students out of the city and simply keep my husband sane (he needs his nature!!).

So here are a few pictures from the adventure

Oscar all suited up for the morning mountain air

Andrew and Yesenia (Mary's younger sister)

And the view!! The team hiked to the treeline on Mt. Baldy. Maybe next time they will summit!

And of course, the love of my life!!! Isn't he so hot!

P.S. Sorry I am a day late, we were at work late last night trying to fix computer problems :(

16 on the 16th

2009-11-16T20:41:00.000-08:00

First, let me update you on what happened with the story I told you last week . So our former student Ana came over on Wednesday to get some math tutoring and told us that here dad's boss had posted his $20,000 bail Tuesday morning. Once out, Ana's dad tracked down all the necessary paperwork and was informed that he was wrongfully charged. He had been locked up for vehicular fraud (fraudulent tags) but it turns out the cops who arrested him were not very thorough in their investigation and he should not have been arrested. Furthermore, they forced him to leave his 17 year-old son David stranded at the airport. David had just home returned from two months helping relatives in Mexico.

The worst part about it all is that Amy and here siblings grew up in the inner-city of LA, a community that breeds hatred for law enforcement. Ana and her siblings already struggle with trusting cops, feeling like they are always out to get them. While standing at the airport David said to me, "I hope this just teaches [dad] that all pigs (i.e. cops) are bad." Why are they the ones who have to been hastily charged and treated so poorly? At least there dad is free again.

Now for the title.......16 weeks that is. Today I am officially 16 weeks pregnant with our first child (40% of the way wooo whooo!!) Luckily I was spared from morning sickness and have rarely experienced any side effects - that just makes it harder to believe that I am actually pregnant. But my emotions have been a little unusual as of late.....let's hope that is pregnancy related :)

And here is a picture of our other addition: Oscar - he joined our family back in April and is a real delight to have around. You can expect to discover more of his story in future posts.

For those who have been asking, there is not really much of a baby bump to capture yet, so no pregnancy pictures for now.

A Night with the Potters

2009-11-09T23:28:00.000-08:00

In light of the fact that our blog has suffered gross neglect recently, I set a goal this weekend. Every Monday I am going to update our blog and if there is no new news on the Potter front, I will just highlight one of our students. So today comes, the first day and my intentions are good. After work I would make dinner, enjoy a leisurely meal with my family, go grocery shopping and then update the blog before reading a little and catching some z's.

But this is how my night went:

Dinner was thrown together quickly and my husband ended up eating in the car. He had to stay late at work to help search all the boys because rumor was one of them had an ounce of weed, but he left before he heard the outcome of the search because we had to be at our boss's house by 6 to watch their toddler and 4 foster children. After an eventful dinner with them, we headed straight for the grocery store still thinking the rest of the night would play out like planned. Cami, Oscar and I had a lot of fun at the grocery store and were all giggles on the way home until we got a call from one of our former students Ana. Her dad had just been arrested, leaving her younger brother and van stranded at the airport. So we quickly dropped off our groceries (couldn't let the milk spoil) then picked up Ana and her mom and drove to LAX. By the time we got there they had taken her dad away. So the ladies headed to the police station with the police and we took David (who had just returned from Mexico) home. Then I dropped Oscar and Cami off at home to work on English homework and hit the road again. Ana and her mom are now safely back at their homes and I have just returned to mine at 11:27 pm.

So I am still writing on the blog (I just set the goal two days ago, I can't compromise already) but I think the Potter update will have to wait until another day. It is way past my bedtime.

P.S. I do have a softball sized parasite growing in my lower abdomen. But more on that later.

Many Adventures!!

2009-07-22T23:32:00.001-07:00

So here is a post I just found (12/16). I started during our vacation back in July but never finished it. It is still incomplete and contains old news, but fun pictures :)

We have been traveling around the Northwest for two weeks. Here are a few pictures from our adventures.....

the whole group (minus Trevor) on Mt. Hood

Kara and I in a snow cave on the way up

Enjoying ice cream at Multnomah Falls (two of our recent graduates who are traveling with us)

blowing bubbles with Josiah Wilson

No Titles for This One

2009-06-22T20:41:00.000-07:00

I don't even know how to start this. No catchy phrases or insightful thoughts to begin us, just the truth.

Today one of my students showed up late to school. As I was writing her a pass to class she gave me no reason for her tardiness, but told me her mom should be calling. This is common practice for our students and I was sure she had missed the bus or something of the sort. At lunch she asked me if her mom had called yet, but she had not.

It was not until this evening that I discovered why she was late today. This student, as with many others, lives in one of the gang infested projects of Los Angeles. Before it was time for her to catch an 8am bus to school, a group of gang members had gathered in her backyard. Now I am not sure what happened next, but I know it ended with one of them getting shot and being abandoned there by all his hommies. It was her family's responsibility to ensure he received medical treatment. And before she was certain he would live, she was at school. And sometimes I wonder why they just can't focus on their schoolwork.

P.S. The car is fine. Some bolt they replaced broke, but we are good to go now.

Cars

2009-06-20T18:22:00.000-07:00

In three weeks we will be taking our little Marvin on a long road trip up to Seattle and then around the NW for two weeks before we head back home. In light of this upcoming trip we decided to have a tune up. Luckily there is a man that does all the mechanic work for the Dream Center and he gave us a screaming deal --- he changed all the belts, spark plugs, fluids and the list goes on. Praise the Lord for generous people.

However, we were pulling out of a parking space this morning and as I shifted from reverse to 1st gear there was a rather unnerving sound and then . . . . . . . . Marvin wouldn't move :( He revs but no movement. Ironic that there was really nothing wrong with our car earlier this week but we had it looked at anyway. And now, two days after getting it back from a mechanic it is not running. Oh the joys of life! Luckily work is right next door, church is less than a mile away and we have enough groceries to get us by for a few more meals.

Our friend will look at it again on Monday ---- let's just pray that whatever is wrong wont be too expensive to fix.

4 Toothbrushes

2009-06-04T22:45:00.000-07:00

Last night I walked into our bathroom and was delighted to discover that our toothbrush holder was full. And then moments later Cami said to me, "Hey did you notice all the slots in our toothbrush holder are full?"

We recently had a couple of additions to our family. Two of our students who have been kicked out by their parents have both found harbor in our home. I wish you all could meet them and see how wonderful they are. Maybe someday :)

Cami later said, "it is like we are finally complete."

Who would have thought that toothbrushes could be so exciting?

Confession and Recent Events

2009-04-14T20:59:00.000-07:00

So I feel like I should confess to all of you......I had a pepsi yesterday :(

I had decided to give it up for a year and have done well so far, but yesterday was my downfall. I will not make excuses or explain why I did it, but I will say that I have not fallen off the horse entirely. Or if I did, I have climbed back on and plan to be faithful with the rest of my commitment!

Thanks for listening!

We have had a lot of activity around here recently. In February I turned 27 (how did I get into my late twenties so quickly). And the next week Mom and Dad Potter came to visit. Actually, they had work to do in the area, but we will take any excuse to have them around for a while.

About three weeks later Cami and I celebrated our 3 year anniversary! There is a lot I could say, but I will sum it up with - marriage is fabulous and the most wonderful gift God has blessed me with. The weekend after our anniversary my dear friend Bri came to visit. We didn't do much exciting, but we didn't have to - oh the joy of good friends. It was so refreshing to share life with someone - to truly experience the beauty of knowing and being known. I love having Bri around and talking through life ponderings together, I swear my have such better thoughts: deeper, fuller, insightful thoughts when she is around. Thanks friend! You are a blessed gift from the Father!

(this is a lame picture, I know, but it is all I had from this visit.....packing the car to go to the airport)

And the day before Bri left Ro flew in! Ro got to stay with us for a week as well. She was doing some work in the area also, but we saved plenty of time for fun. I am trying to convince her that LA is the best place for her to live - all the connections and opportunities here - I think I make some valid points and I think I might be convincing her. We will see.Easter was also exciting, but I will write more in detail about that later.

Oneyeariversary!!!

2009-02-15T22:53:00.000-08:00

For many it is not that big of a deal to have lived in the same home for a whole year --- but for us, it is quite an accomplishment. In the first 23 months of our marriage Cami and I lived in 5 different apartments in 3 different cities. Talk about transition! But here we are, having moved from our home in Portland just two years ago and actually staying in one place for 12 whole months.

I wonder how much longer the Lord will have us here....it feels fairly permanent, but so did Portland :)

A couple pictures (because they are always fun) of some of our students hanging out in the apartment with us.

Two Things We Love About Living in LA

2009-02-06T20:44:00.000-08:00

Sorry we haven't posted in so long......rather than try to catch up, we are just going to skip to the current. So the things we love:

#1 Watching the US National Team beat other countries. On Father's day in 08 we watched them beat Barbados 8-0 in a World Cup Qualifier and a couple weeks ago we watched them beat Sweden 3-2 in a friendly match. Here are some pictures from the most recent game.

#2 Getting to camp on the beach in February!!! School is out this week so we went to the beach for three days. The weather was perfect and we had a wonderfully refreshing time.

But the days off had to end in the snow :) So after we packed up camp, we drove two hours into the mountains and went hiking.......that's my husband for you from the beach and bathing suits straight to backpacks, snow and mountains. It was an adventurous day!

Recent pictures

2008-10-19T22:25:00.000-07:00

This past Saturday Ryan (on the left) and Phillip (right) allowed Cami and I to take them on an adventure. They are both graduates of the program - Phillip lives close enough to still attend DCA, but Ryan does not - so it was especially great to have him around. We took them boulder. It was fun to see them be boys and enjoy one another so much. They were inseparable when they were in the program! These are two boys that are a continually reminder that the Lord truly works through this ministry. Many times people still marvel at the change in them, especially Phillip. These two remind us that we truly are new creations in Christ.

After climbing we took them to Little Tokyo, for my beloved Japanese cuisine - Ramen. It is all homemade and they serve it in bowls the size of your head. Oh it is so heavenly.

After climbing Cami and I rushed off to our first quincenetta! What a fun cultural tradition. We only stayed for about an hour, but I heard today that the party was still going past midnight. The young lady that was honored is such a woman of integrity and a great joy to have around.

Sorry the pictures aren't great.

And finally a picture from our most recent dinner with students. These are a couple of the boys currently in the program. Together we made turkeyburgers, grilled squash and some fabulous cucumbers. It was great to hang out with these boys outside of school.

1 Thessalonians 1:3

2008-10-11T19:20:00.000-07:00

I wish that there was an encouraging story to tell you, but it has actually been a rough time around here lately. Not that anything out of the ordinary has happened, we are just at that point in the development of many of our students. We have had several leave the program recently, either by graduating or simply giving up. The transition is always a difficult time. Although there are some students who really change for good, there are many who just skate their way through the program. We do the best we can to identify this pitfall, but we can only bring them to the living water, they must choose whether or not they are going to drink.

As I mentioned in a previous blog, we had four students run away a couple months ago. Two returned, but one of them left again a few days later. I have kept in contact with the girl who left the program and spent last Thursday listening to her talk about her new life. While telling me that she is not doing bad (not making bad decisions) she also unveils that her and her dad are not speaking, that she thinks get drunk is fun and she hopes she wont get kicked out of school for always sleeping through it. And while talking with her I saw Sad Girl. She also has left her program, but what is worse is the fact that she is cutting again. Sad Girl tried to hide the evidence, but I still called her out on the fresh wounds all the way up her arms. It is so hard to see these ladies robbed of their joy. You can see it in their eyes. A hardness returns to their gaze. There is also a girl who just graduated the program but is still attending our school and I think the look in her eyes is the hardest to be confronted with. I pray that I can be compassionate toward her, but I find myself getting angry every time I look at her. Not that I am angry at her, my blood just boils as I see the enemy come and snatch the hope right out of these kids I love so much. I found myself saying, "I wish I didn't love people so much." But the reality is, I am very grateful the Lord allows me to share in a portion of His love for these kids. Every time my heart breaks I am tenderly reminded of His deep love.

There are a few who are so drastically different and sincere, they are a constant reminder that we are truly impacting lives. I just often wish we could see more of the harvesting. But not all are called to harvest. So I will continue to plant and trust the God who causes growth.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support.

An Update

2008-09-04T23:42:00.002-07:00

Just wanted you all to know that Sad Girl is back in the program. I am not sure why they made the exception, but I am so happy they did - and she is too. We cannot talk to her yet, but everyone who has seen her said she is grinning from ear to ear (I wish you could all understand how much of a victory that is).

And Eli is safe. He met a girl on the bus and went home with her. Apparently he is living with her family in Canada somewhere. I know it seems crazy, but when you know your family doesn't want you, going home with someone who does is quite appealing. Although we were all upset that he was 'missing' for 10 days and there was a detective assigned to his missing persons case, it is nice to know he is okay. Eli just doesn't know what it is to have people actually care when he goes missing.

Prayer Request from Liberia

2008-09-04T23:42:00.001-07:00

250,000 orphans in Liberia
30,000 under the age of five die each year
375 children were adopted between 2005-2007
The Government is about to pass a law that will stop adoption and orphan and strand the 800+ children in the care of adoption agencies

Friday - September 5 - is our chance to present our case to save the lives of thousands of children. The House of Representatives have drafted a new bill - due to be passed next Thursday. The adoption agencies have gone through the bill and changed a few major points that would essencially close adoption. Tomorrow (Friday) is our day to present our case to win them over to pass our bill.

4pm we will be hosting 14 members of the committee at the House of Representatives will come to our compound to see what we have to say.

WE NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!

We are putting together a presentation to win them on adoption and show them clearly how this bill will stop adoptions and harm Liberian's children. This is our only chance to save the lives of these children. We NEED YOUR PRAYERS!!!!!

Pray for favor - the Lord turns the heart of kings. As a good friend reminded me - God hardened Pharoah's heart time and time again but when it was time he opened Pharoah's heart to show the power of the Almighty God. Pray that this is the opening of Pharoah's heart!

I love you all. Thank you for fighting this battle with me. I need you now. Liberian's children need you now. PLEASE PRAY!!!

Sherri

2008-08-31T11:42:00.000-07:00

It has been an interesting week. Still no official word on Eli (although there is rumor that he is just partying with some friends here in LA, or with his brother). Sad Girl has made some really poor decisions but is still set on coming back to the program. Hopefully she can hold on for 23 more days.

In addition to that, four kids ran from the program yesterday - two boys and two girls. One of each came back, but the other two spent the night out on the streets together. They came back this morning and are both being dismissed from the program. My heart is so broken right now. The girl that is leaving is one that I was so close to. I see so much of myself in her. It is so hard to watch someone you love so much make so many of the same stupid decisions you made as a kid (a little taste of parenthood I guess). I just want her to believe that she is beautiful and valuable. But she doesn't. She thinks she is trash and that the world would just be better without her so she continually makes trashy decisions. If she could only she how precious she is I know she would choose life, but she doesn't. I knew she was going to run. On Thursday I told Cami that she would, I just didn't think it would come so soon. I thought I might have more time with her, but I don't. I am glad this is all coming out now. She is young and if she chooses to begin dealing with the lies that bind her now, she will discover freedom soon.
Her parents live a little ways away, so I did get to spend the morning with her and say goodbye. I just wish it could have been a happier ending. Her parents are sending her to a lock down facility now. It is hard to watch, but we all know it is what she needs. I just hope she believes in herself enough to actually make it through.

A Call to Prayer

2008-08-24T21:10:00.000-07:00

One of our students is missing. He is from Montana and was on the bus home to visit his family, but no one has heard from him since Wednesday. He was a student about ready to graduate the discipleship program and he is 18. He got on the bus at noon on Wednesday, with $100 and a calling card. He called his grandma on Wednesday and said he was on his way, but did not tell her where he was. He was supposed to arrive home on Thursday morning but no one has seen him. His uncle missed a call from a pay phone two blocks from the greyhound station in Portland.

His name is Eli, he is native American. Please help us as we search for this young man. Because he is an adult and considered a graduate of the program, there is not a whole lot we can do legally, but we have informed the police. Please pray for Eli, his safety and that we find him soon.

I know it's not a great picture, but it at least gives you an idea :)

Eli in the back playing his flute.

In addition, I ran into Sad Girl at church today (check the blog titles Blessings to read about her). She was really bummed today because (as she put it) she really messed up. She left the program a couple of days ago and is really regretting it. She talked with her leaders and they have a policy that you have to wait 30 days before you can re-enter. She is really scared to mess up some more and greatly desires to be back in the program. Although I am worried about her, she seems to be making good decisions at the moment and I was refreshed by our conversation. She is already a different person. This is the first time I have been able to talk to her in two months. Her countenance is different. She is more talkative and less sorrowful. There is just a new presence about her, she is peaceful. Please cover her in prayer as she has to walk through the consequences of her most recent mistake. Please pray that this time will pass quickly for her and that she will be back in a process of healing soon.

Thank you for loving these kids with us and fighting for them alongside us. I will update you on both Eli and Sad Girl as soon as I can.

Hooray!!!

2008-07-15T21:17:00.000-07:00

Today my runaway came back! I was so excited to see him, although he definitely thinks that what he did was kinda funny, and feels like he mentally has started the program over from the beginning...I'm still glad that he came back!

Prayer

2008-07-14T22:21:00.000-07:00

I'm really bummed right now. The hard part about being so immersed in ministry is that you really start to feel like a parent. Not that I know what's best for these kids, or have all the answers, but I really do care about them. Which is why when kids make dumb decisions it's really hard to stand by and watch. It's a great picture of Christ, but right now, unfortunately, that doesn't really make it feel any less sucky.

On Saturday night a student that I have been close to for the last 6 months, a student that I love a lot, that loves me a lot, decided that he didn't want to be in the discipleship program anymore, so he RAN from church... just left. I know it sounds a little anti-climatic but you have to understand that running away from the program is the same thing as deciding to get back into the drugs and alcohol and gangs and girls that he has been able to stay away from for the last 6 months. It makes me really sad because he was doing SO well. It was very much like he just gave into the attacks of the evil one. If you could join me in covering this little one with prayer I would appreciate it.

Blessings!!!

2008-07-13T21:45:00.000-07:00

Bri and I on the roof of the Dream Center with LA in the background.

Making breakfast in Ro's kitchen.

Fun times at a rodeo with the best friends a girl could ever ask for!

Blessing #1

Two weeks ago my good friend Bri drove all the way down from Portland to visit us and experience our lives here in LA. We were so honored to have her come all that way to see us, and I was especially blessed by her presence. We didn't do anything extravagant, we just spent time together. It was so refreshing to be around someone I feel so known by and that I know so well. There is depth to our friendship that I do not experience here with my friend yet. Bri and I have shared so many dreams and passions, intimate times in prayer that it just feels safe and comfortable to be around one another. It truly is a gift to have friends like her.

Blessing #2

We got to go to Oregon for my father's 50th birthday party!! We weren't there long, so we didn't get to see many of you that we miss so dearly, but we did get to see most of the family, including Cami's side. Ryan and Nelle (who live is Japan) flew to the northwest the same day we did, so Cami's parents picked them up and then we all went down to Salem together to hang out with Ro. It was a quick day, but so wonderful to be with family. Sorry we didn't have more time to see the rest of you. :(

Blessing #3

There is a young lady I want to tell you about. For the sake of this story I am going to refer to her by her street name, "Sad Girl". Sad Girl is a 19 year old mother who has had a life you would not wish upon your worst enemy. When I first began at the Dream Center, I think it was her mission to make my life as difficult as possible. So I just hugged her all the time, continually told her how much I loved her and just lavished her with affection. She never really hugged back, but I know she enjoyed it. Unfortunately, do to a whole bunch of things, she was kicked out of the school in April. In the last few weeks that Sad Girl was in my classroom, every day she spent the majority of the day at my side. She was so depressed and suicidal I couldn't even trust her with staples. We had many conversations about the fact that hurting herself hurt me, I don't think she fully understood how true those words word but she definitely hoped they were. Anyway, back to the blessing. After Sad Girl got kicked out of school she talked of entering our women's discipleship program . She wanted to join the teen home, but being 19, she was too old. The women's home is a year long commitment and Sad Girl really struggled. At times she would tell us she was going in the next day and then text a teacher, "not doing it, dancing with the devil." Or "the devil has got my heart forever." But it finally happened!!!! Two and a half weeks ago Sad Girl checked herself into the program!! She is still in her orientation period, so we cannot speak to her yet, but I see her around a couple times a week. And the most amazing part is, she smiles!!! Not just a little grin, but a full on smile, teeth exposed and all. I have prayed so may times that she would experience joy and freedom and I can see the joy all over her face!! Sad Girl is no longer sad!!!!!!!! I wish I were better with words. I wish you could understand what a victory it is just to she her smile. I am speechless. What else can I say.
Please do pray for her. Discipleship is not an easy program and many back out. She is close to her neighborhood, which sometimes makes it more difficult to stick with the program. She needs everyone on her side, fighting for her heart. I truly believe she is a conquerer and we will continue to have great stories about the changes that God is doing in her. Thank you for rejoicing with us.

2008-06-14T16:11:00.000-07:00

so, for those of you who like American Idol, you should check out Nashville Star and support our boy Coffey. he is a member of our church and just an all around great guy. check it out mondays at 9pm on nbc and don't forget to vote for him.

here is a video of him with our worship team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xMmM0jBk1Zw&NR=1

A few issues i have been wrestling with

2008-06-14T15:37:00.000-07:00

Milk vs Steak
During my years at bible college, especially my senior year, my fellow students and I were continually warned by our professors not to become snobby bible college grads. And I fear that I might not have heeded that warning so well.

Cami and I are so blessed to be a part of a church that is truly transforming lives. Every time we gather all I have to do is talk to the person next to me or look up to the balcony and I see at least 100 people who were hopeless but are now finding hope here. My church is an odd mix of extremely wealthy (not to mention extremely generous) people and those at the bottom end of poverty. The whole mission of our church is to bring in those the rest of society has given up on, give them a place to belong and a place to get back their feet and hopefully find Jesus in the process. That is why I love my church so much. But that means that the sermons are milk to the spiritually immature. Sundays often tend to feel like motivational meetings. I just feel that we could be giving more substance to our people. But perhaps this is my selfish desire to be fed myself. How much meat do you bring to the immature?

I guess I have just found myself in a place where church is no longer a time to be fed, but a time to encourage those around me. It is a time to come together and make sure we are still all on the same page - knowing that everything we do is for the hopeless. I must continually remind myself of the youth pastor's words, "Why don't you every find steak on a kids menu? Because if you want it, you need to be able cut it up and eat it yourself."

Wealth and Poverty
Cami and I recently watched an episode of the show 30 Days. It was created by the same guy who did the movie Supersize Me. The premise of the show is to spend 30 days in the life of someone else. In this particular episode, the main character and his fiancee move to Columbus, OH and get minimum wage jobs to discover what it is like to be amongst the thousands of working poor in the USA. For 30 days they lived in a dumpy apartment in a dangerous part of town, relied on public transportation and were without health care. The man ended up get two full time jobs, spending an average of 18 hours a day away from home and his fiancee walked to work to save the 2.70 it would cost them in bus fare.

In addition to the harsh reality of how difficult life in the shoes of the working poor actually is, this episode also brings up some rather disturbing statistics. From 1997 to 2007 Congress did not raise minimum wage a single penny, but received cost of living increases of their own, to the tune of $27,000. How can we live in the richest country in the world and have so many people struggling from day to day. I live in a city full of people hoping to survive from one day to the next, when less than ten miles away live people who have abundantly more than they could ever need and continually gain more. Why is it that the rich just get richer and the poor never seem to get a break? Greed is so ugly! And I wonder how much of it is in me. Why can I not be more like my friend Andrea who gives everything she has away? Why do I need a nice home and nice clothes? Is it wrong of me to desire to own a home some day? Do I really need to own a home, could that money help turn someone's life around, give them the break they have been waiting for?

Now I know owning a home is an exercise of financial wisdom, but what about all the other things I so desperately "need", like my new indoor soccer shoes. When does it become greedy and selfish ambition? Do any of you ever ask these questions? Lord, am I faithful with all that you bless me with?

A Quick Update

2008-04-23T19:41:00.000-07:00

The last couple of weeks have been a little unusual around these parts. Here are a few of the not so exciting things that have been taking place.

1. I have confiscated two packs of cigarettes, a bong and quite a bit of weed from students in my home

2. A kid got shot 50 feet from my front door.

3. One of my students was standing less than ten feet from the incident mentioned above.

4. Another student missed two days of school to "take care of his beef" (i.e. shoot the people who are out to get him), but apparently this is freeing him from his ties to his gang

5. The FBI has been using my boss's office the last couple of days, so he has been wandering the halls (he wont really tell us anything about who they are talking to or what they are investigating)

6. I cannot remember the last day I did not hear a helecopter circling.

And now for the uplifting things:

1. My dear friend Andrea came to visit for a few days (we went to the beach, saw the largest religious painting in the world and hung out with Jay Leno, etc. etc.)

2. One of the above mentioned students has been sober for 11 days!

3. A couple of weeks ago we had three boys over for dinner and then went to our church's Thursday night service together. Last week 8 students showed up and roughly 15 are planning on joining us tomorrow for lasagna before church.

A Little Bit About My Cousin Damion

2008-03-16T14:33:00.000-07:00

Damion Marx didn't do things small.

He got engaged under a fireworks show on the Fourth of July, was married in Chile on a reality TV show and once spent five straight days in a sleep-optional Texas birding competition.

And so when he was "bitten by the birding bug," as he says on a Florida Atlantic University Web site, the 35-year-old Ph.D. student did that big, too, writing his dissertation on wading birds in Lake Okeechobee and reveling in research that sometimes had him waist-deep in Florida muck.

Or on small airplanes.

During a routine aerial nesting survey, he died Thursday morning when a Cessna Skyhawk crashed in western Martin County. Also killed were fellow FAU graduate student Phillip Heidemann, 43; lab technician Gareth Akerman, 36; and pilot Jeff Rozelle, 36.

"It's tragic, absolutely tragic," said Gary Perry, dean of FAU's College of Science. "They had done these trips so many times before. It was just standard operating procedure for them."

Marx's wife, Luli, is a professor at Palm Beach Community College.

A video the couple made in December during a trip to the Bahamas ends with Luli standing next to a Christmas tree, where she announces she is pregnant. On the screen, "We're so excited" and "Happy 2008!" appear.

Thursday morning's trip was one of the final flights in a three-year study on how the water levels of Lake Okeechobee affect bird nesting habits.

The sky was blue. The sun was shining.

"This is what biologists love to do, get out in the field and experience it first-hand," Perry said.

"We're devastated," Perry said. "We've just lost three of our people."

Marx "was one of the smartest guys I knew in Dale's lab," he said.

Marx earned a bachelor's degree from the University of Oregon. His first job was with the National Audubon Society at the Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary in Collier County.

Marx and his wife were married in November 2006 in Santa Cruz, Chile. The wedding was captured on the Style network's Married Away.

For their anniversary, Luli Marx made a gift for her husband — a video with photos of the smiling, sometimes goofy couple, accompanied by the song Better Together.

It ends with a message from Luli to Damion: "I can't wait to spend the rest of my years with you. All my love, forever."

The above text are excerpts from an article in Friday's edition of the Palm Beach Post.

I don't really know what else to say at this point. My cousin was one of the smartest people I have ever met. He was kind, compassionate and full of passion. Although Damion had a little bit of a temper, he always had a smile on his face. Damion loved life and he loved the outdoors.

My whole family is really shaken by this tragic loss. It is just hard to believe that we will never see his face again, feel his love as he hugs us or delight in the sound of his contagious laughter. In some ways it is comforting to know that Luli is carrying his child and come August we will have a tangible part of Damion to hold again, but that poor child will never be held by their own father. Damion's younger sister, Danielle, is also pregnant with her first child. I only hope that these two births will help my family find joy in this time of extreme loss.

Thanks for you prayers,
Deidre

Graduation Sunday

2008-03-09T18:41:00.000-07:00

Today was a glorious day at church. Every three to four months we have a graduation for all the people who have completed the discipleship program. It is such a refreshing service and a great reminder of why we do what we do everyday.

For those of you who don't know, the Dream Center has a men's, a women's and a teen discipleship program. Each is designed for people who have hit rock bottom and need some drastic measures in order to get their lives back on track. Many of the people who enter the program are addicts, gang bangers, prostitutes and the like. It is amazing to see the transformation that happens in each individual as they dedicate a year of their life to dealing with their deep scars and facing many of their devastating decisions. This program takes tons of discipline and a daily decision to surrender and submit. It is so encouraging to see men that look like hardcore gang members praising the Lord with all their heart. Every graduation is a sweet gift to those of us who work in the trenches with those in discipleship.

Two of our students graduated today, Geo and Rick. Although I am really proud of the both of them, I am kind of sad to see them go. I have only been teaching at the Dream Center Academy for 6 weeks, but Cami has been their teacher since August and I really began to care for these young ones. I know them graduating and leaving is evidence of a job well done, but watching them go it is going to take some getting used to.

So the DCA is a private Christian school for inner city kids. About 1/3 of our students live here at the Dream Center as a part of the discipleship program and the other 2/3 are from all parts of Los Angeles. I never wanted to teach in a private school and here I am doing just that. But our students are not the typical Christian school kids. The majority do not have a relationship with Christ and neither do their parents, they just send their kids to our school to get them out of dangerous situations. Cami and I are learning a lot about graciously administer tough love. It is sometimes exhausting to be the ones who hold high expectations of kids who are ready to surrender to drugs and gang life. But then days like today come and we are reminded that we really are helping these kids to change the direction of their lives.

In other news, we have officially move yet again. This is the 3rd apartment since we left Portland, but I think it will be the last for a while (Lord willing). It seems like we have finally settled into the roles the Lord had for us. When we left Pdx we knew it was to fulfill some great call the Lord had for us, we just weren't sure what that was and I think we have found it. The Dream Center is why the Lord called us to Los Angeles. We are able to use our passion for education to influence the lives of young, broken, inner city youth and be an avenue of Christ love to them at the same time. There are so many possibilities for us here and I am excited to watch our dreams unfold. Thank you all for you love and support.

Perhaps I will post some pictures soon of our new home. We love you all.

In Memory of Midi and Nathan Mikasa

2008-01-08T16:40:00.000-08:00

When Cami and I first moved to LA we were blessed with the best neighbors in the world - Dave and Mini Palmer. In addition to them, Fountain of Life (a church plant they are a part of) embraced us into their community. In a time of great solitude, Cami and I were given community and friendship by this church. The whole body was a true blessing to Cami and I . We have moved away from that church and community but are still very attached to some of its members.
I have chosen to repost Dave's most recent entry because it is one of great impact. The community that so quickly made us part of their family has suffered a great loss and I was hoping that in this time, the community Cami and I have with each of you could reach out to them. Please weep with my weeping friends.

I have been grieving since the morning of January 2, when I received news of the death of two members of our church plant here in Long Beach. Mark and Midi Mikasa, and their 4 year old twin boys Nathan and Lucas were returning home from a family gathering on January 1 when their vehicle was struck by a pickup truck that had run a red light. Midi died at the scene, and Nathan died of his injuries at the hospital early in the morning on January 2. Mark and Lucas were hospitalized for several days but have since been released and are recovering at home.

Both Mark and Midi have been very dear friends of mine for 15 years, ever since college days at UCLA. Mark and I lived on the same dorm floor in 1992. He began attending the dorm Bible study I was leading, and became a follower of Jesus. Midi also was a member of our campus fellowship at the time. She is respected and admired by all who knew her as a woman of exceptional kindness, compassion, humility, care for others, and sensitivity.

Mark and Midi were founding members of our church plant in Long Beach and have played a very active role in the life and ministry of the church. We miss Midi and Nathan immensely and are heartbroken for Mark and Lucas.

Last Sunday morning we had our first church service since the accident. Mark, Lucas, and their families joined us as we remembered Midi and Nathan, and took comfort and hope from the truth that they live forever in unspeakable joy in the presence of God, and will greet each of us on that great day in the Kingdom of God.

Please pray for Mark, Lucas, their family, and our church. We've lost two members of our family. We trust that in the sovereignty of God even this will work for all of our eternal good. But it is obviously severe and painful nonetheless.

A trust fund for little Lucas Mikasa has been set up, as well as memorial fund for Midi and Nathan that will help with funeral expenses. Please allow me to invite and encourage you to send a financial gift for one or both of these funds in honor of Midi and Nathan. If you would like to make a contribution, all the information you need is here: http://www.folcov.org/mikasas/

Above is a picture of Midi reading to some of the children in our church: her twin boys, Lily, and Joy Teter. (Her son Nathan is sitting between Midi and Lily. Lucas is on the other side of Midi.)

Thank you for your prayers for us.

In sorrow and hope,

David

2008-01-06T18:36:00.000-08:00

This is the best youtube video I have ever seen. Take the three minutes to watch it, it is great!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J5z4Vs26-TI

Thanks Jonah!

2007-12-11T00:20:00.001-08:00

Last week a good friend of our used his connections and blessed us with tickets to Disneyland and Disney's California Adventure Theme Park. We spent the entire day running around like little kids, going on great rides and enjoying all the Christmas decorations. Here are a few pictures from our day in the magical kingdom.

Thanksgiving!!!!

2007-12-03T18:06:00.001-08:00

This year Cami and I decided to take a little road trip for Thanksgiving. Which really not all that unusual considering we generally travel to see family for the holidays. However, rather than the 3 hour drive north or south, we went 9 hours east!

Despite the fact that we no longer have any family close enough for a weekend trip, Cami and I were committed to spending our holiday weekend with loved ones. As a result we drove to Hereford, AZ. We had the wonderful privilege of spending the holiday with some very dear friends - Hannah and Jason Whaley (some of my closest friends from college).

We spent the weekend eating TONS of absolutely delicious food! Spent the evenings playing intense rounds Nerts and Settlers of Catan.

Drove around the little town they now call home and visited the military base Jason works at. In addition to that, we went on a beautiful hike in the mountains nearby. At the top you look over one side and see Arizona and the other side is Mexico. It was all so beautiful.

It was a really windy day, but the wind ceased while we were on the top, so we actually got to enjoy the view for a while.

What is even more amazing, by the time we got back to the Whaley's a storm started to roll in. We got the hike in just before the mountains received a crest of snow.

The whole weekend was a treat. Cami and I were spoiled by our dear friends. I needed the fellowship desperately, as I often get lonely here, and it was good to be with people I know and feel known by. We came home refreshed, which seems to rarely happen when you go on a vacation.

Our dear Lord, has given us so many things to be thankful for and this weekend was truly icing on the cake. I hope your Thanksgiving was a sweet as our's.

Exciting Weekend!

2007-11-19T19:48:00.000-08:00

Our friend D'arcy flew down from Portland this weekend. We went on some fun adventures, rock climbing at the beach, repelling down 90ft cliffs and eating at some great local joints. But really the best part was just hanging out and enjoying one another's company. It is always good to reconnect with close friends. Here are a few pics from our day at the beach.

In addition to that, I was unofficially offered a new job. The Dream Center Academy (Cami's school) asked if I would be interested in taking over one of their classrooms. They would match Cami's salary as well as give us an apartment right next door rent free!!!!! There are some details that still need to be worked out, but it looks like we might be in another apartment before Christmas!! I will give more details when it all becomes official.

The Simple Things

2007-11-15T15:40:00.000-08:00

Yesterday during lunch I was talking with one of my students about his birthday that just past. He is a community kid, so he lives at home with his family and was able to have areal party. He was telling me all about the gifts he got: money, clothes, games, etc. So I asked him if he had a favorite. He responded with much joy in his eyes, "A card! My dad sent me a card."
What a difference a simple card can make.

Today was the first time I had to say goodbye to one of my students. All week he has been telling us that he was going to get released. So he went to court this morning and came to school around 11am. He was beaming! And sure enough he was released from our program. I ran into him as he was gathering up his things and I told him that I was happy for him but that I was sad to see him go. A little later we walked up to me, gave me a hug and said he would never forget me or our talks.
What a difference a simple hug can make.

I must admit that I am scared for him. I am scared that being back in his 'hood with his gang affiliations will lead him to make stupid decisions. But I know many of us at Optimist spoke a different message than one he has ever heard before and I just hope that message continues to resound in his heart as he heads back to the 'hood.

2007-11-13T19:37:00.001-08:00

I don't know why I choose to wait soo long between each post. My procrastination just results in tons of stuff to update you all on, which inevitably ends in really long posts. So I am sorry for the delay. I hope you can all make it through the many things I have to tell you.

Today at school was the one day a month we (the teachers in my classroom) meet with our students' social worker - the day we get a little glimpse into their backgrounds. First of all, I should explain that there are about 25-27 students in my homeroom and 6 teachers (nice ratio). Half of our students are "community kids" which means they do not live in the dorms on campus or one of our six group homes. They either live at home with family or in another organization's group home. These are the ones that we have no follow up with and are therefore more difficult to handle. Unfortunately, it is not their social workers we meet with.

So I have six students in my section, three from the community and three from the dorms. The dorm that is assigned to my homeroom is the dorm for students with anger management issues. As a result, my students all have a very short string. I have to be very careful in all of my interactions them. These boys are accustomed to using anger and intimidation to get through in life. Sometimes I am so amazed at how sensitive they are and at how easily they are angered. But then we have days like today. Days when I see that these boys have never had any structure in their lives. Their parents are raging alcoholics who are so consumed with their own addictions that they don't realize the addictions brewing in their children. No matter how much these boys act up, their parents take little notice. These boys live in the ghetto, without any structure or support from home. Who can blame them for turning to aggression and force to survive? My heart breaks at each glimpse I get into their stories.

And then there is, umm, we will call him Sam. Sam comes from a wealthy family. Both his parents are highly educated and have provided everything their son has ever wanted. Everything but boundaries. Sam is the result of what truly permissive parenting leads to. He reminds me of a character in a book I just finished, the spoiled princess in George MacDonald's "The Wise Woman" (great book by the way). Her parents gave her everything she ever wanted and neglected to give her anything she needed. MacDonald's character so perfectly depicts Sam. He refuses to do things he is told, simply because he is told to do it, and will go out of his way to make sure he does not do it, even to his own detriment. Additionally, Sam has no remorse for the extremely violent outburst of rage that landed him in juvi and now in placement. Just as "the princess never thought of telling herself now how naughty she was, though that would surely be reasonable. On the contrary, she thought she had a perfect right to be angry." Complacency, by those ravaged from poverty and addiction to those "blessed" with wealth and "success", strange how they can result in the same end. Now I know that we cannot lay all the blame on the parents for the child's actions. But one must wonder who these boys would be today if they had been parented differently.

The crazy thing about comparing Sam to Macdonald's spoiled princess, is that she is the character I identified with most. Over the last several days I have been confronted with my own wretchedness through this character. In the story, the princess's outer appearance is a reflection of her inner beauty. As the wise woman holds up a mirror to the little girl she sees "a child with dirty fat cheeks, greedy mouth, cowardly eyes . . . stooping shoulders, tangled hair, tattered clothes, and smears and stains everywhere. . . That is what she had made herself." Just as I daily make foolish decisions that result in a similar inner distortion. As the fairy tale developed, I was humbled by God's unconditional love for me. Thankful, the wise woman (like our Father) sees past the ugliness. I was most encouraged by this last exchange from the story that I will share with you: the young princess asks, "How could you love such an ugly, ill-tempered, rude, hateful wretch?" To which the wise woman responds, "I saw, through it all, what you were going to be. But remember you have yet only begun to be what I saw." So perhaps I am not that different from Sam. Although I have been parented by a perfect Father.

Speaking of our perfect Father, Cami and I have had the privilege of clearly seeing one of the ways He takes such perfect care of us. As many of you know, we are planning to raise support here soon, but the process has been stunted a little (lots, and lots and lots of paperwork). As a result, money is tight - REALLY tight! As the first of this month approach we began to feel the intense pressure of our finances' tight grip. I have picked up to full-time at the school and 3-4 nights a week at the restaurant, but it still wasn't gonna come together. And then I checked the mail. Cami had forgotten to pick up his last paycheck from restaurant he worked out this summer. Miraculously it found its way into our mailbox and we were $131 closer to meeting our bills. Two days later we got a refund check from our electricity company for $85, a check we had no idea was coming our way. Talk about perfect timing!!! But these two checks are not the most encouraging provisions we received. There is a third and it came to me on Wednesday, November 1st.

I was working at good ol' CPK waiting tables. One particular table was this very sweet older couple with their adult son. We did not talk much throughout their meal but just as they were finishing up the wife asked me what brought me to LA from Portland (my name tag says Portland on it). So I told her, "God told us to move." Her and her husband inquired further and it became clear that they know Jesus too. They were very familiar with the church we are attending and we excited to hear all about what Cami and I are doing. They paid for their dinner with a card and as I dropped it off the wife shook my hand and said, "here is a little pentecostal handshake for you." She had slipped me money and I put it in my back pocket. At that point her husband nearly made me cry. He looked me straight in the eye and told me, "Jesus is pleased with the work you are doing." Even now I am so blessed by those words that tears well up in my eyes! Anyway, they went about their way and as I bussed the table I realized that they had left me a 20% tip on the card. I was shocked, I thought the money she had handed me was the tip. So i pulled i tout of my pocket and discovered $60. They gave me $60!!! And at the very time that we needed it most. I know that my Jesus takes cares of me, but sometimes I forget how perfect His provision is. Even though we have not yet finished all the paperwork to be supported, He still surrounds us by people who give so generously to us (not to mention the jobs too). What a great God we serve.

So those are all the updates for now. There is much more I could say, but I will save it for another time. And hopefully it wont be as long as result. We love and miss you all sooooo much. Thank you for continuing to pour into our lives even though we are so far apart now.

And for your delight, a few pictures of our newest apartment (we move too much!).

Cami hard at work in our office/bedroom. He is almost done with his 4th out of five papers for this semester (yeah)!

LA is in the background, but it doesn't really show up in the picture. But it is still a pretty view from up on a mountain not far from our new home.

All the Happenings

2007-10-09T16:08:00.001-07:00

Has it really been that long since our last post?! Some much has happened that I know it must have been six weeks, but they have been so full that they have just flown by. so here are the recent happenings . . .

1. The Move
We moved into our new apartment on Sept. 23rd, a much needed transition. Just last night I looked at our gas expenses for the month of September . . . over $300!!!! Thankful we are both much closer to work so we are saving money and time with our shortened commutes.

2. The Wedding
A couple days after the move we flew back home for my brother Andy's wedding. It was sooo beautiful. My brother is so in love and he has married a beautiful woman of God, I am really excited for the both of them. As come with weddings, most of the family was together. It was really nice to hang out with my brothers and get to know my new sister-in-law better. There have been so many weddings in our family lately, it is really exciting to watch our family grow. It reminds me of God's amazing grace and His restoration. We were a family full of broken lives, many of us scared of any kind of intimacy. But by God's strength my parents fought to make us a tight family and most of us have now been able to expand our hearts love others and invite them into our family and our hearts. It is more exciting than I can express with words.

3. The Masters
Cami has started his masters study a Prescott College and he is doing great! After long days at work he is diligent enough to come home and get a few hours of school work done before calling it a night. I am so proud of him and his dedication.

4. And finally The Teachers
Cami and I both love our new jobs!! It is so great to spend each day using our gifts as teachers and our passions for education to impact the lives of inner city youth. Just today I had the privilege of talking with a student about life and motivation. He told me that it was too late for him and there was no point in trying in school. But I did not hesitate to contradict that lie and talk with him about who he wants to be. I am amazed at how quickly these students want to give up, thinking who they are today is who they are always going to be. But then again I have to remember the streets they come from. Most of the boys in my school are considered men on their streets. There are not many men much loder than them around and they will be lucky if they make to age 23. Everyday they are faced with adult situation and decisions, choice they are not yet equipped to make but are forced to carry the responsibility for. No wonder they think its too late - according to their streets they have already reached maturity and are almost at the end of their life, there is not much time, nor room for change. Thank God He offers a different message and allows be the honor of carrying that hope to my students. Maybe one of them will head down a different path than the one their street is taking them on.

So that is us . . . oh yeah, we started attending a new church on Sunday. Cami's school is attached to a church close by so we decided to start going there. It is Angelus Temple - a mega churh here in LA. Neither Cami and I are really mega church kind of people, but we know this is where we need to be. On Sunday Cami and I were both impacted by the intimacy of our God through a specific song. It is a song that we sang at NECF and were both very blessed by. Since then, the churches we have gone to have all sung that same song on our first day there. It is like the Lord gives us a little taste of home everywhere we go. Additionally, the preaching seems to be solid and straight from the word. This is not only a place to be fed, but a place to serve - they have over 140 ministries serving the people of LA and are committed to empowering all of God's people to get out there and serve. So I admit I was skeptical at first, but I beleive this is going to be an awesome place for us.

It Is No Lie

2007-08-25T22:02:00.001-07:00

As of this last week I (Deidre) am officially an employee of Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services. I will be working as a Teacher's Assistant at the organizations high school. Optimist High School (OHS) is a non-public school that offer specialized education to youth within one of its many programs as well as a select few referred to the school by LA Unified School district or other local districts.

As a TA I will be in a classroom with 12 students and two other teachers. OHS demands that it holds a 4-1 student teacher ratio at all times. At times I will simply be assisting students as they work through their self-study items and at other times I will be teaching my own class. That is all I really know right now. I spent the last week learning how to de-escalate aggressive situation without using any force, or touch for that matter (we are a strictly hands off organization), but my school training does not begin until Tuesday, Sept. 5th (two days before students return).

I cannot express how excited I am at this opportunity. All the students I will be working with are either neglected, abused and/or what's considered "at-risk". These are the students my heart breaks for, the ones I was put on this earth to love and I am so excited that I finally get to do it. Just earlier this week I was reading in Acts where Paul recounts his conversion before his accusers. He tells them of how Jesus instructed him to seek out Ananias that he might know his "assignment." I have found my assignment. It is to love and encourage these students. I believe that God has given me a very specific call - a call to give hope to children in hopeless situation, to believe in the ones many have given up on, and to help them reach their fullest potential, wildest dreams and hopeful equip them to lead self-sufficient lives.

Unfortunately, I will not get to do this full time quite yet. Due to financials, I asked for a part-time position so that I can still wait tables part-time. Being that it is a non-profit organization that demands such a high student teacher ratio, salaries are not too great. But by God's divine plan they just happened to have a part-time position (for a minute there it didn't look like they would). So I will be teaching half the day and serving pizza the other half. Oh the life! :)
The plan is to support raise soon. Cami's job pays half time and he is to raise the other half of his pay. Once we have raised what we need, I will be able to leave the restaurant industry and give myself fully to teaching. But until then, I believe this will be a good transition, allowing me opportunity to fulfill my "assignment", while still leaving space for me fulfill my higher calling of loving my husband well. I know that my wifely duties are about to increase now that he has begun his masters and will have less free time for household duties.

As you can see, many changes are in the works, and yet more are still to come. In addition to all the above it looks like we will be moving also. Both of our teaching jobs are rather close to one another and about 25 miles away from where we currently live and on the other side of downtown LA. So in the next month we will not only have started two new jobs and begun Cami's masters work, we will also be moving, quickly followed by the third brother's wedding in three months.

I am ready for the day when all the dust settles and normal, regular, even mundane life begins. . . but then, what's the fun in that ;)

School...

2007-08-23T18:36:00.000-07:00

Let's see, where do I start....
This week has been an interesting one. This is my (Cami's) second week teaching in the school, and every day this week has been a new record for the amount of discipline that has been handed out in my classroom. Thus far, today has, by a long shot, been the worst. A boy was caught cheating, then cussed out the TA, then refused to do what he was told or go where he was supposed to go. Then, another boy got caught trying to steal markers from the classroom so that he could go sniff them latter. On top of that, my pencil holders full of pens and pencils disappeared today. Rough day.

Interestingly enough I found out today as well that one of the boys in the program (a 15 year old with a 2 month old son) has a hit out on his life, and had a rival gang member threaten to kill him at this upcoming Saturday's church outreach. As this guy, "John" we'll call him, was telling me about his gang and how proud he was to be part of it I couldn't help but feel really sad for him. This is his life. Not only that, but he is proud to be a gang member. This isn't a kid that wouldn't fit in anywhere else either, he's an intelligent, handsome, friendly guy that's quick to befriend others and be the mature one in the group. Breaks my heart.

Pray that, in His infinite mercy, God would grant me the wisdom to respond to kids that cheat. It was difficult not to fly off the handle with that boy today, something about cheating makes me feel taken advantage of...
Also, that I would have words to say in conversations about gangs that would show these kids the love and acceptance of Christ in a way that doesn't turn them off, or perpetuate the perception of Christ as a weeny and Christianity for suckers.

Some changes...

2007-08-18T17:01:00.000-07:00

I apologize for the large span of time between this and the last informative post on this site. For a while it felt like nothing was happening in our lives, and now, all the sudden, it seems that nothing is the same.

As I am writing this I am in Prescott, Arizona, having just finished my graduate school orientation at Prescott College. I am currently equal parts terrified and excited to get started. Terrified because one of the other current students was telling us that in order to get her work done she would sleep from 12am -1am, then wake up and work till morning when she went off to work. Excited because this is a program that I get to design and follow my passions and study only things that I am interested in.

Other recent changes include:

Deidre getting a new job at Optimist Youth Homes and Family Services. She starts as a Teacher's Assistant on Sept. 5th. I'll let her tell you more about it when she gets a chance.

2 weeks ago I started teaching in the residential boys classroom at the Dream Center Academy. The boys are a bit of a handful, but I've discovered that I thrive on challenges, and LOVE having a job that keeps me on my toes. After years of working jobs just to pay the bills it is refreshing to have a job that is meaningful and stretching for me.

Along with both of our job changes our economic status has shifted as well. We are technically considered half-time missionaries at this point, as the position at the Dream Center is only paid half time, with the understanding that the rest will come from support. This has been (yet another) step of faith for Deidre and me, as we have already started working these jobs without the funding lined up. We just know that we are doing what we are supposed to be doing and that the Lord will take care of the rest.

Having said that, we are looking for a smaller apartment closer to our work in order to save on both rent and gas money. The idea of moving is not really appealing to either of us, but the shrinking budget makes cheaper cost of living a necessity. If you have any interest in supporting us let us know! We find ourselves in dire need of both prayer and financial support.

We will keep you updated as our lives progress in the coming months. It is good to be living in the reality that the Lord gives us the desires of our hearts, and that He actively leads us to where He has for us. Deidre and I both would never have imagined ourselves here a year ago, but we know that this is where we are supposed to be.
Thank you all for supporting us as we go.

Support Letter

2007-07-23T12:56:00.000-07:00

We just finished our first support letter! It looks great! If you would like it e-mailed to you lemme know!

Dragons

2007-05-09T21:42:00.000-07:00

For those of you that don't know me [Cami] well, and I mean really well, you may not guess that I love to read children's books. Books like the Chronicles of Narnia, Harry Potter, and the occasional piece of childish sci-fi mind candy that my sister throws my direction. I'm not sure why exactly, but the simplicity of these kinds of books tend to really drive home good messages for me (the obvious reason, of course, is that I actually am a child, which is the most likely solution).
A while back I came across a poem written by A.A. Milne, the author of all the Winnie-the-Pooh books. This poem was in a collection titled, "Now we are Six", by which I can safely assume that he wrote the collection for six yr olds', which seems to be about my level. It goes like this:

KNIGHT IN ARMOUR

Whenever I'm a shining Knight,
I buckle on my armour tight;
And then I look about for things,
Like Rushings-Out, and Rescuings,
And fighting all the Dragons there.
And sometimes when our fights begin,
I think I'll let the Dragons win ...
And then I think perhaps I won't,
Because they're Dragons, and I don't.

A.A. Milne
Now We Are Six

Something about the brilliance and the simplicity of this poem echos in my soul. As a six year-old I had dragons that I would fight, and now as a 24 yr. old I still have dragons that I fight. And, on top of that, both then and now I have the occasional, or not-so-occasional, strong urge to give up fighting, and to let the "dragons" win. As I was re-reading this poem tonight I realized that I will admit to having dragons, but I have never really tried to sit down and think through what they actually are. What is it that I'm afraid of? What makes me insecure? What keeps me from pursuing the things that I want, and the things that the Lord wants me to be?

I realized that there is a lot of doubt in me. I doubt that I am up to the task the Lord has put before me. I doubt that I have the talent or the skill set needed to pull off any kind of outdoor ministry. I'm not confident that I am who YHWH says that I am.

This six yr. old poem also reminds me that I am not who I want to be. That I am not finished growing...and that after all, I can't let the dragons win because ...well...because they are dragons! "Childish" truths seem to be the purest form of truth, and the form that I need to be reminded of most often.

Inspired Toward Faithfulness

2007-04-20T21:29:00.000-07:00

For the last couple of months I have found myself in a rather discouraged stage. Cami and I moved down here because we felt the Lord tell us it was time to pursue our dreams. But I am still just waiting tables. Now I am thankful for my job at the California Pizza Kitchen (CPK) - it pays the bills, but it is not exactly what I would call my dream.

As many of you know I spent the last two years in Portland waiting tables. Although I really enjoyed the people I worked with (and miss them immensely), I did not really like my job. I mean, I am an educated woman with passions and a desire to transform the world. I have big dreams, dreams much bigger than being a waitress. But I knew that the Lord had me there for a reason and a time - I had a purpose to fulfill. Yet even with that peace, I was elated when the Lord released me from my time at Stanfords. He prompted Cami and I to move in to LA to pursue our dreams. Finally I was gonna impact lives and do what I long to - I was moving so that I could become a teacher in the inner city. Now as you know, we didn't have any jobs set in stone when we left, we were still waiting on some paperwork to come through before we could apply, but the need is great and everyone we talked to said we would be hired in no time.

No time . . . it has been some time now and still not even an interview. I have been amazed at the ways pursuing this dream has been hindered. Through it all I began to ask the Lord if I was ever gonna get to do what I was designed to do, or maybe my destiny is to be a waitress. In moments of defeat I almost believed that lie, but deep inside I knew that God created me for more. Through my wrestlings with the Lord I realized that I still had lessons to learn before I could step into the classroom, not sure what those lessons were, but sure that was part of the reason I was not yet teaching. And this last Tuesday the Lord opened my eyes to one of those lessons.

On my drive to work I called a dear friend of mine. Tuesday was a day of great transition for her so I was calling to check in, little did I know I would hang up the phone convicted and inspired. This friend of mine also waits tables. However, she will be leaving in less than three weeks. As we talked about life she told me of how the Lord has burdened her heart for the people she works with. They are bound by the enemy and at many times have treated her unfairly. Yet she is broken for them, even spending an hour weeping for these people because they are lost. My friend was living what the Psalmist wrote in 119:136, "My eyes shed streams of tears because people do not keep Your law." She recounted to me her ponderings of whether or nor her life has really made a difference with these people. She has faithfully prayed for her co-workers, purposefully pursued relationship with them, all in an effort to share the love of Christ with them, but she wonders, is it gonna last when she leaves. And she knows that it is the Lord who pursues people and transforms hearts and will continue to work in the lives of these people, drawing them to Himself once she is gone. She just wants to know, if she has been faithful and made a difference.

Well, I don't know what impact she has made on her co-workers (though I am sure it is great), but her heart sure impacted me. I too am a waitress, surrounded by people who do not live in the joy and freedom of life with Jesus. Yet not once have I prayed for the people as CPK. I spent all my time disappointed that I wasn't doing my dream, that I was 'blooming where I was planted.' God placed me in this specific restaurant for a specific purpose and time. I realized in that moment that if I am not intentional now, with the hearts of adults, what makes me think I am going to be intentional once I am a teacher. If I do not pray for my co-workers today, what makes me think I will pray for them once I am in a profession I desire. So clearly I saw that I have not been faithful in with the little God has given now, so there is no way He is going to entrust me with more. Thankfully, He softened my heart to receive this lesson and gave be such a great friend to be an inspiration to me.

I just thought you all might like to know what the Lord is doing in me in this period of waiting. Thank you again for you prayers and support. And thank you my dear friend for being faithful to our Saviour and allowing Him to use you to inspire those around you. I needed it.

A couple PS thoughts:

- Nothing is official yet, but the meeting with the Dream Center was phenomenal and there is potential for partnership soon :)

- Here is the website to the church we have been attending if any of you wanna check it out: http://folcov.org/

- Here is a link to our neighbor's blogspot. They are wonderful people with a beautiful baby girl and are definitely God's gift to us in this time of new beginnings: http://palmerspilgrimage.blogspot.com/

This could be interesting...or it could not be.

2007-04-10T11:17:00.000-07:00

So I (Cami) just found out that the Dream Center wants to meet with me next week. I've been calling them and trying to get them to set up a time to meet, and they called me back and said, "How about next wednesday at 11?" Which is of course exciting, but also terrifying. They asked if I could e-mail them to give them an idea of what I was talking about before actually walking into the room. So basically, I'm going to try to walk into an executive office at the Dream Center and convince them that 1) They need an outdoor program and 2) They want me to run it. I feel like a true business man.
I'm glad that they decided that it should be a little more than a week away, hopefully I can work through a professional pitch by then. If you could join me in praying for this as well I would appriciate it. Pray that the Lord's will be obvious, and that I would diligently obey. Thanks!

What's go'in on?

2007-04-05T22:29:00.000-07:00

What's go'in on? That's really the question that we've been asking ourselves. What is going on? Deidre and I moved down here about a month and a half ago and sometimes it seems like nothing has really happened. Of course, then we look at what has happened and it seems like a ton.
First the job situations:
Deidre now works for the California Pizza Kitchen, which is a pizza restaurant that feels a little like a step down from Stanford's, but it's really just a job to pay the bills. But hopefully it won't be for too much longer, only till we get set up substitute teaching, but I guess we'll see about that.
I now have 3 jobs- one EMT-ing for special events like Ice Hockey games and Eric Clapton concerts (I'm working the Long Beach Grand Prix this next weekend, I'm kinda excited about that) it is only occasional work, and pays $8/ hr. so it is kinda supplemental as well. I also work for a company called the Boojum Institute. This is a institute that does Outdoor Experiential Education and takes kids on backpacking trips and ropes courses and fun stuff like that. This job doesn't happen too often, so it's kinda part time as well...which is the reason for the last job. The last one is new, and I start training next week, it's at a restaurant down on the waterfront here in Long Beach. It seems like a really nice place, and the people are friendly.

Other than that, church has been really good recently. We were just over at the pastor's house for Easter earlier today and got to talking about starting a high school ministry at the High School that is (literally) across the street from us. Something like 4000+ 10-12 graders that are African American, Hispanic, or Samoan. Sounds perfect for Deidre and I, we'll see if anything works out with it though...

I guess, other than that we've kinda been hanging out seeing if all this stuff can come together somehow, knowing that the Lord is faithful, and He knows that getting hired on at the school districts as substitutes is taking forever - it's not an accident. Living that reality is tough for Deidre and me both right now. Thanks for supporting us as we follow Him!
C&D

Obsessive?

2007-02-28T14:27:00.000-08:00

Well...for those of you that know my wife at all, you'll know that 1) she has brown hair and eyes and 2) LOVES to watch Law & Order. In our old apartment in Portland, we used a bent-up coat hanger as a TV antenna, which worked just fine. However, down here in the big city the 'ol coat hanger trick doesn't seem to be working quite as well. Last night, Law & Order was on, and Deidre is not one to take missing an episode lightly...so here is what our new and "improved" TV antenna looks like...

(click the picture to enlarge it)

It really does work better when you're hanging on to it too... This is reason enough for me never to get cable, not only does the TV entertain me, but my wife does now too!!

Our Address

2007-02-25T21:25:00.000-08:00

Per the request of many of our friends I decided to post our new address.

6477 Atlantic Avenue Apt. S147
Long Beach, CA 90805

So now you can mail us real letters or find a satellite pic of our home on google maps, or whatever else you would do with such information.

Home

2007-02-25T11:56:00.000-08:00

Here we are!! We made it to LA, found an apartment and got all settled in - well at least mostly, there are still some pictures to be hung a few boxes to be gone through.
Thanks again to all who helped us move out, it was nice to have you all around our last day in Portland.

Move in day was a little hard for me, not only were my arms overworked, but it was a little sobering to remember back to the previous Friday. We had so much help we didn't know what to do with it all, but on Wednesday it was just Cami and I. It wasn't that we minded the work, it was just a stark contrast to move out day. It became plain that we know no one in this city; there were no friends stopping by so ready to help, eager to get one last hug, no one to break for lunch with and we didn't even have anyone to call. Yet God is faithful to meet us in every moment.

As Cami and I were struggling down the hallway with our heaviest piece of furniture (a hide-a-bed couch) a neighbor came out his door with a toddler in tow. He offered to help (at which point my arms rejoiced!!) and then introduced himself as David with his daughter Lily. We quickly introduced our Lily (our cat) and although we think she is adorable, relinquished the fact that his Lily is cuter than ours. David offered to help some more, but we were mostly done and sure we could do it ourselves. As we walked away I turned to Cami in wonder at this man's spiritual destiny - my spirit sensed a similarity. My wonder was met with Cami's question, "Did you see his shirt?" "No, was it a Christian t-shirt," I asked. Sure enough, the Spirit had leapt inside me when I met this man. Just as we finished our last load David came by again to see if we needed anything. We were pretty set, but when he invited us over to meet his wife we jumped on the chance. Dave and Mini have been married four years, have one child and were previously missionaries to India. Their mission focuses on urban slums around the world, so when they returned to the States to have Lily they planted themselves in the inner city. Not even one box has been opened and we already have friends! God quickly met me in my lonely place and gave me neighbors who not only know and love Him, but have similar dreams and passions as Cami and I do. Not only that, but they invited us to their church (which is a couple of blocks from here), that is geared towards the inner city. It was just another little way that God confirmed we are in the midst of His sovereign plan.

Our apartment is in North Long Beach, about five blocks south of Compton. It is a little pricey, as is everything in this area, but we really like it. The building was originally built as a hotel in the 1940's and has about 300 units. Old hotel means there is a pool, hot tub, sauna, tennis courts, basketball court and work-out room (now that's incentive to come visit, as if Cami and I weren't already enough). Our apartment is in the back by the pool and courts, and it faces west so we have a view of the beautiful sunset every night. It has a nice kitchen, comfy living room, as well as two bedrooms and two bathrooms. So to all of you who promised to come visit, we have plenty of room for you although the extra room looks more like an office than a guest room.

Today was our first Sunday in town, which means the church hunting begins. This was the part of the move I was dreading the most - we loved NECF sooo much and the idea of not being there every Sunday is heartbreaking. I tried to have a good attitude today, but it is hard not to compare. I don't want to say NECF is better than another church, it is just home and nothing ever compares to home. The worship is different - outside of the one man dancing in the aisle, Cami and I probably moved more than anyone else in the whole place. It is also hard not to know anyone, to be the new person all over again. Luckily we met Dave and Mini so we visited the church plant they are helping with, but they were out of town this weekend. We went to their church anyway, Cami thought we would get a better taste of how they treat newcomers if we went knowing no one. It was a pleasant experience, the people were really friendly and the message was centered on the word, but Jerry wasn't leading our fabulous worship team and Pastor George didn't give the word. Like I said before nothing compares to home.

Tomorrow is the day we refine our resumes and then the job hunt begins. And for all of you who are wondering about Lily, she is doing well. She handled the drive really well for a cat, outside of the not eating very much and dry heaving a lot (poor kitty). She has become very acquainted with her new domain. It did take a little getting used to, but once we brought in furniture she recognized she made herself right at home.

Thanks again for all your prayers and support. We love you lots and miss you tons!!
Here are some pics of our new home.

25, Homeless and Unemployed

2007-02-17T21:41:00.000-08:00

Who would ever have guessed that on my 25th birthday I would sit here without a job and no place to live. It is true, yesterday (with the help of many loved ones) Cami and I packed up all of our belongings into a moving truck and hit the road. We are currently in my hometown (Redmond, OR) visiting my parents and then tomorrow we are off again. The hope is to arrive in Compton on Monday afternoon in time to view an apartment before its office closes and if it is right, have a home come Tuesday!

This is all such a new experience and my mind cannot quite grasp it - reality has not sunk in yet. For the first time in my life I will not be an Oregon resident, will live in a town where I am the minority and be surrounded by a culture I am only beginning to understand. Sometimes I ask God, "Are you sure I am the one you want to send? A small white girl from a tiny hick town in rural Central Oregon going to the inner city of Los Angeles? In addition to that, you want me to teach in the public schools! But I am not yet qualified and I have never taught in a high school classroom." Thankful my God is big, my God is powerful and my God accomplishes the impossible. So yes, He wants me to go. He chooses the foolish to shame the wise. It is not about who I am or who Cami is, it is about who God chooses and He chose us. So yesterday we said goodbye to Portland and tomorrow we will say goodbye to Oregon.

Our last week in Portland was emotional, full of excitement, adventure and heartbreak. It was perfect. The week started with an emotional last day at church. Walking into the classroom for the last time and having a handful of girls run up to give me a hug was enough to make me cry - man am I gonna miss those hugs. In service Pastor George called us to the front and had all the youth in the sanctuary come stand behind us. Then with sincere, passionate hearts a few prayed for us and the tears were flowing once again. At the end of service Pastor challenged the body to dig deep and bless us as we go. By the end of the week our church had given us more than one month's worth of our expenses. We were awe struck and fell to our faces thanking the Lord that He had allowed us to be His vessels in this family as their lives dually impacted ours. Thank you Northeast Community Fellowship - you will forever be a place we call home. After church we had a last lunch with family and that night some friends threw us a going away party.

Tuesday we hiked up Mt. Hood with our dear friend D'arcy. Although we did not summit, I was proud of how far we made it for my first time mount climbing. And besides, now we have a goal for this July. Mt. Hood, be afraid, D'arcy, Cami and I will conquer you soon. After the hike we had a wonderful dinner with the Bruce/Bell family (pictured above) before going home to crash for one of our last nights. Wednesday was the last day of youth group followed by a sleep over with some girls from church. The rest of the week was filled with packing and friends stopping by to send us off. And that is where we are now.

To some of you this decision may seem a little foolish, but it is a decision we did not make out of logic. This decision is one made in faith through the prompting of the Holy Spirit and nothing is going to keep us from pursuing it. God has given us too many confirmation to for us to be thwarted by simply things like no home and no job - those are just minor details that He will work out soon :)

And the adventure continues!!!

2007-01-21T10:17:00.001-08:00

So, it turns out that it is pretty difficult to find a place to live when you don't live in the area. Deidre and I have been talking to some people down there and looking on the internet at apartments and we have now had 2 very interesting encounters in our quest for a place to live in Compton.

#1 Deidre called up a place that we had heard about and was talking to the manager about different amenities that are included in the apartment. The manager seemed a little flustered and after Deidre asked if there is a washer or dryer on the premises the manager seemed to lose it. She burst out, "Why are you asking all of these questions?" to which a somewhat flustered Deidre replied, "...because I'm interested in renting an apartment from you...?" This calmed the storm, but only for a moment. Deidre then asked if they had a pet policy and was promptly hung up on. Why...we don't know.

#2 Then there was this other apartment that we found on the internet. Looked good, sounded good, we talked to the manager and it seemed like it would work (with the exception that you have to provide your own refrigerator...never even heard of a place not having refrigerators before). So with this exciting lead I call a contact that we have in Compton to ask him about it. I describe where the apartments are located and he knows immediately where they are. He describes them as looking pretty good, looks like they're well taken care of. There's definitely not even one white person that lives in this 60 unit building. Lots of young people, right across the street from the swap meet - which makes it a pretty rough neighborhood. Blood territory - blood territory through and through (at which point this friend asked, "You guys are sure you don't have any crypt affiliation right?"). And then he said the doosy, "My wife would never let us live there...she would be too afraid". So...I guess the apartment search continues!

Just for fun...

2006-12-24T15:10:00.000-08:00

Here are some rather flattering pictures of the two of us.

There has to be a first

2006-12-23T13:38:00.000-08:00

So here it is, the very first Cami/deidre blog. With all the changes that will soon be coming Cami and I decided it would be good to establish a blog page so all of you that desire to know about our life, ministry and the like have an easy way to access that information. So here we are writing a blog in hopes to develop a new habit of blogging.

For those of you who are unaware of the changes to come let me outline them for you. In February we intend to relocate ourselves to the sunny city of Compton, California (in the south central region of LA county). Currently, neither of us have jobs, but we see that the Lord has opened a door and asked us to step through it. So Cami is applying to both hospitals and ambulance companies. His preference would be to work as an ER Tech at St. Francis Medical center, but we will take whatever job he gets. This job will merely pay the bills while Cami investigates the other opportunities that are arising. You see, there is a ministry, Here's Life Inner City (HLIC), that has all of the equipment for an outdoor educational ministry and many church who desire such a service, but there is no one to lead the ministry. This is where Cami comes in!! As many of you know this ministry is Cami's dream come true!!! However, there is still some networking that needs to happen and some logistical matters that need to be worked out before he could do it full-time, hence the EMT job. While Cami is working as an EMT and networking for this ministry possibility, I will be substitute teaching in the Compton Unified School District, provided I pass a subject test on January 20th.

So plan is to move to Compton mid-February, so that Cami can network and I can get my foot in the door in the school district. We will stay until mid-June, then travel to a few family events and land in the Portland area sometime in early July to report back to our family and friends of all that has happened. We will spend some time support raising and the like. Hopefully, we will then return to Compton in August at which time Cami will resume his masters work and no longer have to work as an EMT. My early months in Compton will help us determine if I should try to sign on full-time as a teacher or remain a substitute and work on my masters as well.

As you may have gathered, there are many questions still unanswered and quite a few uncertainties. But one thing is sure, God has asked us to go, to join Him in the work that He is doing and invited us to pursue our dreams. So here we go! Throwing caution to the wind in pursuit of something Great!