By: Ernesto... it's a long one ;)

So.... As all of you know we are moving on July 30th up to Southern California. The cool thing is that even though it it bitter sweet, God is already opening a very exciting ministry opportunity before we've even arrived! Here's the story which you will see is seeping with God's sovereignty and divine will!!!
Renae and I have been thinking about where we'd attend church, what sort of ministry we'd be in and those kinds of things a lot lately. We had thought about attending the church that I used to go to in Santa Clarita and assumed that's where we'd go. That's where we knew people, that was a familiar and comfortable place for us to be and along with all the other “new” things, this would be one of the only things that was familiar. We were pretty sure that's where we'd attend but were still open to anything God might bring our way.
So at the end of May we sent an email out to all of our supporters giving an update on finances and letting them know we'd be moving to So-cal. I would be going to Eternity Bible College and Renae would be attending CSUN. I was putting the contacts in the "to" section of the email and inserted the name "Matt Moore." For those of you who don't know Matt is Renae's cousin and so, naturally he would receive our updates. However for some reason the Matt Moore that we emailed was not Matt Moore of Oregon, but rather Matt Moore, Elder at Cornerstone Simi Valley and professor at Eternity Bible College. Needless to say I was pretty embarrassed that I'd emailed one of my future professors by accident and even more embarrassed when his response was "give me a call, I'd like to talk to you sometime." "Great" I thought, “already in trouble before my first day of school.” However, like He always does God had a plan. When we called Matt he told us about a church that Cornerstone was planting in Canoga Park, CA that was multi-ethnic, multi-class and multi-lingual the kind of church that outsiders from that community would look at and say "the only reason those people would get together regularly and be friends, has to be supernatural." Matt told us about the church and gave me the pastor, Britt Fuller's email and the emails started flying!!!
Last weekend I visited the Canoga Park area with the main goal to find housing for the move. We had been praying that when I went on this trip that God would make it very clear where He wanted us to live. We didn't just want our home to be a place that we lived, nor did we really care about the amenities of the apartment or the security of the neighborhood but that God would surround us with neighbors that we could witness and minister to. All day long I searched and searched saw about 15 apartments and yes some of them were nice and in our price range but none of them really felt like “home” I didn't feel like God was really confirming any of the places. Which was getting even more frustrating as the day went along and I checked off one by one the places I was going to see. I had arranged to meet with Pastor Britt and his family at the end of my day. They were going to show me some units that were available in their complex and talk to me about the church. They live in a low income Mexican American apartments. They moved from Chicago out there to live in the community, become part of the community and minister to them. As I opened the door to the complex there were kids EVERYWHERE. My first thought, Renae will love this! I met Pastor Britt and his wife and the apartment manager showed us around. I loved it. It wasn't too clean, the pool was small, the complex was small and squished together, but I loved it. Why? Honestly I don't know. It wasn't exactly a sight for sore eyes. It was more the kind of place that most people would be forced to live in not where they would choose to live. I sat down and talked with Britt and his family and through our conversation God really confirmed this is where He wanted us to be. Britt didn't force me or say “you should really move here.” He was just honest and upfront about the ministry they were doing and asked me to pray about it. They were some of the most genuine, loving people I'd ever met. I had never really seen Matthew 25:40 lived out. Here I was, a stranger to them. All they knew about me was that I was a believer and because we were their brother and sister in Christ, they were willing to do anything to help us. They offered to sleep on their own couch so we could have their room for a while, they offered to sign our lease as co-signers if we couldn't prove income, they offered to talk to friends to find us an extra bedroom if we needed somewhere to stay for a while. I was blown away by their love, compassion and kindness. I didn't tell Britt when I left how excited I was or how I felt God was confirming this place to me, naturally I wanted to talk to Renae first.
I rode the train home and had a lot of time to pray and think. It was pretty clear, this is where God wanted us.
So, that's the plan! As of right now an apartment won't be available until September 1st. However because God always provides there just happened to be a member of this church plant that was opening a room in their house to help people transition from wherever they were to this new area. So that's where we'll be living for our 1st month, in this guys' spare bedroom.
This is our first public announcement that we will be living in this area and being a part of this new body, but it's sad the response and feedback I got from many believers when I was talking about this being a possibility. Their responses were “well, is it a safe neighborhood?” or “will you try and move somewhere nicer when you have the money?” or “why would you live there? There are so many more places you could live that are much nicer.” Honestly, when did Jesus call us to live in the safe and comfortable? How much faith does it take to do what is familiar and comfortable to us? We're moving there because we know God is calling us to move there. We're not moving for us, for our comfort, for our safety but rather we're moving their for Him because He's called us.
Things to pray about:
-Jobs: I have a job set up at Olive Garden serving tables again, but Renae still needs to find something. We're really hoping that she'll be able to find a nannying job. Some leads so far but still nothing solid.
-Living stones Church: They just had their 4th meeting last Sunday. Currently they're meeting in homes but are trying to get access to a rec center right in town to meet there. Currently the congregation consists of about 25 people. Some middle to upper class Anglo Americans and some middle to lower class Mexican Americans. Very diverse, exactly what they want! Check it out!!! at www.livingstonesla.org
-Our last 2 weeks at DOFO: Last night was our first of what we believe will be many “tear nights.” When kids are telling us “don't go, we like you! You guys are so cool!” or “who will teach us bible study?” After hearing that all day long our emotional dams usually overflow at the end of the day. We know this is where God has called us and there's hope and joy in that, but still it's hard.