Ministry Update #6 - Peaks and Valleys

It has been a long time since our last update, and so much has happened that we thought it would be important to update you all on what's been going on.

JUNIA UPDATE

First of all, our baby girl, Junia Grace, is almost three months old! Someone told us that the days may be long, but the years are short when it comes to raising kids. That is something we have found to be true in raising Junia. It seems like we blinked and she's already 3 months old.

She has started to smile socially, which melts our hearts. Here are some pictures of her smiling.

She's also starting to be more vocal. Whether it is cooing or babbling, it is all incredibly adorable.

All that to say, she's doing great. She's gaining weight and starting to sleep for longer stretches during the night (much to her parent's pleasure). Her two month check up was great because it showed she is hitting all the benchmarks for a healthy baby.

We were so grateful to be able to take the month of March completely off of work for family leave. It was such a precious time getting to know Junia and bonding as a family. It was a steep learning curve, but we are so incredibly thankful that Junia is part of our family. The sleepless nights and exhaustion are absolutely worth it when we see her adorable face every day.

MINISTRY UPDATE

Both or us got back to work at the beginning of April and have had a lot to catch up on.

High School group added a few new students while Jeff was gone and they have made an excellent addition to the group dynamic. Jr. High continues to go strong and grow. Throughout the month of May, Jeff has been doing the "Youth Group Olympics," where students have competed to win gold medals in various events. When they win an event, their name goes on a plaque in the youth room and their record will stand for an entire year until next May, when others can try and beat their record from this year.

Coming up in July, Jeff is taking a group of 7 students to a conference-wide gathering called UNITE (formally known as CHIC). It will be taking place at Biola University July 18-23. We are super excited to see this group of students going. Please keep this group in your prayers as they head to Southern California at the end of July.

Although jumping back into work just before Easter was a bit overwhelming for Chrissy, she was delighted to mark her return by planning an Easter egg hunt for the kids. An incredible team of volunteers stepped up while Chrissy was on leave and she has really enjoyed seeing them pour their passion and creativity into our Sunday Morning kids gatherings twice a month. This has also freed Chrissy up to begin preparations for two major upcoming projects: 1) Summer Kids Camp and 2) Missional Serving Communities. Chrissy is excited to work with Jeff on developing their own curriculum for Kids Camp and looks forward to her first summer kids camp with Rocklin Cov. Chrissy is also thrilled to finally see some momentum with Missional Serving Communities. She and Pastor Mike have had several meetings over the past month or so as they prepare to launch a pilot group in the Fall.

HOUSING UPDATE

The name of this post is "Peaks and Valleys" for a reason. We have had some great peaks these past couple months. Welcoming Junia into our family, taking some time off, and coming back to a very excited church family have all been great moments for us. But we have also had our fair share of valleys the past 2 months.

At the beginning of April, our landlord let us know that the owner of the house was intending to sell and he gave us our 60 days notice to vacate. This sparked a frenzy of trying to find a new place to live on top of having a newborn at home. Both of our anxieties were pretty high for several weeks as we struggled to find a new place to live. We applied to what seemed like over 50 places, with many of them being snapped up before our applications were even processed.

Two of the places that we were candidates for, we ended up losing to someone who offered a years worth of rent upfront and someone who signed a 5 year lease (we were only wanting to sign for 2). It was an extremely discouraging few weeks.

We are pleased to report, however, that we were finally able to find a place that isn't too far from our current house. It is a little more expensive for rent, but we really like the owner, and he really likes us. Please pray for us as we begin the moving process. Pray for patience and grace with ourselves and with each other. Our move-out date is May 31st.

FUNDRAISING UPDATE

Another "valley" we have experienced the last few months has been financially. When we first embarked on fundraising, we were (and still are) grateful for everyone who was able to support us financially. As we are looking at starting our second year of fundraising, everything seems to have gotten more expensive. Whether it is rent, gas or food, it seems like our money is buying less and less.

We are in the midst of starting another round of fundraising for our second year, so please pray that there would be people who can step in and help support us financially this upcoming year. Last year, we received many generous one time gifts that helped sustain us. While we are grateful for everyone who is able to help support us financially, we are hoping and praying for people to help support us on a monthly basis. Monthly support is our the backbone of our finances and it helps us have a better understanding of where we stand.

Our hope is to raise an additional $1000 a month, which is an intimidating number, but we believe beyond the shadow of a doubt that we are where God has called us, and God will provide a way for us to continue living into our calling.

If you know someone who would be interested in partnering with us financially, please do not hesitate to give them our contact info. While we will gladly accept one-time gifts, we are really hoping to find monthly supporters to help ensure a steady flow of support. We believe that God is a God of abundance, so please pray that we are able to experience that aspect of God's character in this next season of our lives.

Again, we are so grateful to all of you who are able to support us either financially or spiritually. We are convinced that we are right where God wants us, which makes all of the financial hardship a little less terrible. Thank you all for your continued support.

PRAYER REQUESTS

1. That partners would step up and help support us financially on a monthly basis.

2. That Junia would continue to grow and thrive.

3. That we'd be able to adjust to our new roles as parents and continue to have moments of joy with our baby girl.

4. That we'd be able to settle quickly into our new home.

5. For safe travels for Chrissy (IGNITE cohort at Mission Springs in early June) and Jeff (UNITE in late July).