church update

this is a little late, but for our friends that we don't see at church... we finally have a pastor at Living Bridge! we prayed and hung on for 18 months and found that as always, God does provide at the right moment, sometimes when you are not expecting it. I believe it was at a moment for me when i was really questioning the purpose of living bridge and whether it was for God's purpose or our own. it also came at a time when many of the other long time members really hunkered down and started to pray. previous to that, i think we were going more on our own power than God's power. (my thought only. i can think of 2 people that might disagree with me... but that's ok too :). thanks for all your prayers and to those of you who allowed us to bend your ear with what was going on.

here's our leadership team at our first retreat. pastor rick is third from the left. it was at this place, up in the scott's valley/santa cruz mountains called "fasting prayer mountain of the world". hilarious!! only thing i can say is that koreans can come up with the most pompous names. and it was cold. i am wearing a down jacket, wool padded mumu boots and long johns under my jeans. plus 2 long sleeve shirts and a cashmere turtle-neck sweater. i also brought a fleece blanket. i think i was the only one that day that was NOT cold, esp in the morning. the others were wearing only light jackets and fleece pullovers.


Pastor Rick started last November. he spent a few months observing and trying out a few ideas on us but has recently really moved into his role as shepard and stepped up his intensity in terms of training and challenging us (the leadership team). i think it is fair to say both William and i are really amazed at how having a caring and Bible-focused pastor has changed our church. he has managed to slowly and carefully start a redirection down the right path of prayer and focus on God, rather than of fellowship and material things.


it has been hard for past year, seeing a lot of the people at church get together more for social reasons. and having no spiritual leader meant relying on administrative leadership to hold the church together. that can only work for so long... people (whether christian or not, crave the passion that comes with true renewal of their hearts and mind.) since we didn't have that, it was really only the social aspect that was keeping people there. talk about thin juice!

both pastor rick and his wife, yvonne have had a wonderful effect on the church. to have a pastor that desires to get to know you and personally takes an interest in what is going on in your life, has filled both of us with a renewed sense of energy and dedication. i personally have not felt this since I left our church and pastor down at UCLA. it has been a long dry spell... and there is a reason the Bible says that we are not islands! we just can keep it going by ourselves. we need each other and we need God to stay on track. and yvonne, oh where do i start. she is like my long lost sister!! i can't tell you how many times we have talked the last couple months to discover yet another thing we have in common. she is so wonderful!

we know that everyone has weak points and things they have to work on. as we get to know him better and vice versa, we will see those things in each other. but many of us feel that God brought Pastor Rick and his family for His purpose and it has given us a renewed faith, not in the pastor but in God. Knowing that He will work through Pastor Rick to move us forward, is the best feeling in the world right now. right up there with getting spontaneous hugs and kisses from your child!

on a side note, see this little shack i am standing next too??

this is the shack we spent 9 hours in for our first leadership retreat. you know i am not tall... that shack was not either. it had one flourscent bulb in it and commercial grade carpet on a wood slab floor. there was no heat. the instructions on the wall said:
register - YES!
shoes - NO!
electric blanket - YES!
electric heater - NO!
vaccuum - YES!
pay - YES!
thank you for visiting

yes it was cold. and we huddled for the first 3 hours. funny thing though... away from the comfort of all our material things, sitting on our butts in the cold, we had a really good time of reflection on mary and martha and what it means to be doing the right thing at the right time. wonderful pastor. awesome faithful God!