Once a month...?

I guess I'm making it a habit to post once a month... I barely even check my email. I remember when I had zero kids and I thought I was so busy... now I know better. At least I'm grateful in hindsight, right?

We are busy trying to build relationships with our neighbors, and to get to know the needs of the people and the community around us. It has been a tremendous step out of my comfort zone to do this... in the past, when Peter and I were dating and newlyweds I was so incredibly afraid of people I did not know. I would have panic attacks (I'm not kidding... hysterical sobbing, shaking, cold, clammy sweating. I couldn't breathe.) any time I needed to meet someone new, or be in a place that I was unfamiliar with. I was so shy, I barely managed to go grocery shopping without Peter with me! I am so glad the Lord prepared me over the course of 6 or 7 years for now!

So, before I go on I wanted to share that our apartment is on the bottom floor, right in front of the exit to the garage and the parking lot, so we are in the perfect place to meet people. Right from the start we had nosy people peeking in to our front window as they walked by, (it annoyed me!) but eventually we began to pray for the people that were interested in seeing our lives. Next we timed when we would open our door. People are creatures of habit, and we knew when they would either leave or come home, so we made sure we were available to introduce ourselves and say hi.

This weekend we had an open house party for our apartment building. We were really hoping that we would have a good number of people come... and we did! We had 4 different families come and hang out! (One family with a mom who barely speaks english, but she came!) And, we've had two other people from two separate apartments in our building begin to knock on our door! Where will we go from here? I don't know. I do know that I was incredibly humbled by the stories that we heard on Saturday. I don't even know where to begin to minister to these amazing souls with lives that I could never imagine living... histories, and pain, and sorrow, and growth... And I am so amazed that something as simple as inviting them into our common, un-exciting lives would cause them to open up their pasts to us... they were in our home, almost strangers, sharing intimate things about themselves. I am just moved to tears to think about the time that I have wasted being afraid to invite someone in... how many friends could I have made? How many seeds could have been planted? How much growth could I have experienced? Thank you, Jesus, for teaching me, and allowing me to be your vessel! Thank you for knowing where I am going, and thank you for going before me!

We are experiencing a lot of opposition from the enemy... and unfortunately he is using our brothers and sisters elsewhere to do this. There is a lot of pressure being placed on us to be someplace else, or to devote our time and energy in other places. It is from a simple lack of understanding for what we are trying to accomplish. We are also trying to initiate community outreach in our church, but it has been a long uphill battle against tradition and politics... please pray that the Lord's will would prevail and that there would be a revival in our church, and other churches to serve in ways that are unconventional, but much more effective than the ways we usually do things!