Ummmm, where did June go??!!?? HELLO, it is-like-gone…and stuff.

Yah, that is how I feel, like a dumb blond (sorry for the offensive language). I guess that we have just been so EXTREMELY scattered due to lots of visitors and events, and regular life stuff, like house-sitting, moving and hanging out with friends, that the month passed in the blink of an eye. I am absolutely floored (is that the correct word?) that July is here. I mean, really, where did the last month go?

Here is a pictoral view of the last couple of weeks:

Visit with Tim’s Mom and Grandma: (We missed you Ron)!

Playing at Hafer Park.

It was a tad bit warm.

Visiting the OKC memorial. It is an amazing place.

“Am I allowed to do this, mom?”

Mother, Son. Grandma, Granddaughter.

Taking in the atmosphere of the Memorial.

Life is good…and I am really white.

Grandma and Tim: Just Chillin’.

Next Big Thing: My parents came out for a visit…Hooray!

A day at the ZOO!

Little Monkey.

Grandpa on duty.

Little Goose.

Grammy’s turn.

Little Tiger.

Really, we did see live animals…

But I thought that you would rather see pictures of people.

Ice Cream Time!

“That man looks very strange…”

The strange-looking man…who makes balloon animals!

Do you think she likes her yellow turtle bracelet from the strange-looking man who makes balloon animals?

Playing at the park is much more fun!

Weeeeee!

To the pond we go!

“Ducks! Fish!”

Feeding the ducks a four-day-old peanut butter sandwich. Mmmm.

We did tons of other things, too! Thank you for coming to play with Keira! (And see us, I suppose).

Next up: Playing with EZRA! Keira just LOVES this little boy!

Isn’t he adorable?!

Keira thinks so, too.

Although he is a bit older, they have lots in common.

We had so much fun with you Ezra! We will miss you while you are visiting Momar and Dudad. Come back soon!

Swim Party!

Some friends of ours had a few people over to enjoy an afternoon in their pool! Just because!

We has an awesome time.

The Mission Team from Wildwood came out!!!!!

Ready to work…and work they did!

Cleaning the sidewalks.

Cleaning the windows.

Buying supplies.

Sanding down the very uneven walls.

This is what the air was filled with. Yikes!

Ripping down unnecessary phone lines, cable lines, and ducting.

Tearing up floors.

Tearing up more floors…and discovering a hidden stairway…cool.

They also hung several doors, put up trim around the doors and floors, and

MOVED US OUT OF GUTHRIE FOR GOOD.

Unbelievable.

Simply amazing.

We cannot get over how much they accomplished in this one week.

We are hugely, hugely blessed.

Saying “Thank you!” is not enough!

This work which may seem standard or elementary or basic, just isn’t. The impact that this will have on this block, this neighborhood, this district, this CITY, will be immeasurable. People’s lives will be changed forever because of your hard work here. And because of that, we are grateful. Thank you.

Okay people…we have had another full week!  Sorry for these “catch-up” type posts…

It started off with Genesis to Revolution at the Refuge, which was an amazing few days of reading through the Word. There are multiple references in the Word to the “public reading of the Scriptures” so we decided to go ahead and do just that! We had one music stand, one mic, and two speakers.  We didn’t even need any of these things, but it was fun to have them.  All we really needed was the BIBLE!  People brought the version that they felt comfortable reading from (which included Spanish and Mandarin!)  and if someone did not have one, we had plenty to chose from.  People took turns reading verse by verse for 15 minutes to two hours!  We had some stellar warriors out there (especially the ones in the wee hours of the nights/mornings)  It was awesome to see God work in the hearts of those who were reading as well as those who were sitting around and listening.  There were people shouting for joy, jumping around in excitement, praying for others, sitting with their heads in there hands, and even weeping.  Just A-MA-ZING. 

For more info and/or pictures check out the Refuge website.

This last week also included a visit from Tim’s Mom and Grandma!  It was so nice to see them!!  We took them around the city and showed them the “sights.” One place that we spent a lot of time at was the OKC Bombing Memorial.  We also checked out the Refuge and hung out at a very nice park in Edmond.  It was a great time!

Right now you should be looking at lots of neat pictures…but they won’t upload…Argh!

Also, we have been staying with a friend whose wife is on a mission trip to Sierra Leone and he wanted some accountability while she is gone…long story…so that has been good, but a bit time consuming…

…which has left little time for moving!  So, no, we have not fully moved out yet.  We have made a few trips back and forth to grab some boxes to put up in our apartment in the Refuge, but all the major furniture is still there.  Seeing as it takes about $12 in gas to get up and back from the city, we are trying to figure out how to get the rest of the stuff in the most economical manor!   

Memorial weekend was a great time because we were able to see and visit with so many amazing people!

We started in Tulsa (I have very few pictures) where we hung out with a family who felt called to open up their house once a week (well they are up for visitors anytime, but I mean as a set time) for believers to gather together and seek the Lord.  They do this every Saturday evening/night (as sometimes it goes long into the night).  Through a string of events they heard about the refuge and wanted us to come up and share about what God is doing in this city.  It was a wonderful time!  They were such open and honest people, just wanting to serve God with everything they have.  

Here are some pics from the backyard:

Keira enjoying the abundance of Limestone

…and the many trees!

She also loved hangin’ with all the people

…and jumping on the trampoline!

(I guess that you can’t post vertical pictures?…Just turn your head!)

Keira did well sleeping there also…she tends to be a great sleeper wherever she is, which is SO nice.

We came home Sunday and met up with the Buday’s (our very good friends from California).  They came out to visit and check up on a building that they own out here.  It was AWESOME to see them.  We were able to meet their little baby girl, Ruthie, for the first time.  She is just precious!!

We took Andrea around Bricktown and downtown, as this was her first trip to OKC.

As we walked along the Riverwalk we saw lots of ducks and even baby ducklings!

(Keira tried to jump in several times…I think we need to start swim lessons)

We all had a wonderful time hanging out!

Okay, except for having to take baby Ruthie to Urgent Care…poor baby was all rattley in her chest and coughing up gunk.  But Keira had fun playing with her car seat while she was in with the doctor!

(oops, I thought that I had a picture…I forgot that my camera ran out of battery…)

THEN we were able to see some more Amazing people, Paul, Laura, and Gracie, from England!  We met them a couple of months ago when they were out here on holiday from New Zeland.  They are considering moving to OKC (of all places…doesn’t it blow your mind how God orchestrates things?!?)  We are praying them in as they are warriors!  

The girls have fun playing together.

(Even on the dirtiest floor that I have ever seen–the downstairs floor of the Refuge)

They are now home in England where Gracie got to meet one set of her Grandparents for the FIRST time! (She was born in New Zeland while Paul and Laura were living there and serving at a church)  Everyone was super excited!  Yay for being home again!  We will be praying for an open door for them to step through to get out here!!

And THEN, Tim’s aunt and uncle were passing though Oklahoma so we were able to hang out with them for a bit as well!  Fun times!  They are Wonderful!!

Tim, George, Gail, and Keria at the OKC bombing memorial.

(side ways again…bummer)

Phew, that was a busy few days!  Now we are packing up our house/apartment in order to move TOMORROW while in the midst of facilitating the reading of the Word from beginning to end, 24 hours a day, until we are done.  Tim is calling it Genesis to Revolution.  It has been going so well thus far…

Oops, I forgot to mention some people who will be visiting us as they pass through the wonderful state of Oklahoma!  Silly me!!  These folks include:

• Gail and George (Tim’s aunt and uncle)
• Anna and Mandy (Friends on their way to visit Josh and Char in Kentucky)

Hooray for visitors!

This is my attempt to catch you all up and let you know what the Lord has been doing around these parts. (Just a few of the hundreds of things that he has done)!

Let’s backtrack and then bring you up to speed:

• The Lord told us to move here in March-ish of ‘07 to use this building (25 small apartments and a large warehouse area) that we own for the furtherance of His kingdom, not to build up our own kingdom.
• Moved here in June of ‘07 excited and nervous.
• The crack house (the apartment building) had just been shut down about a month before.
• Tim started cleaning out the building…TONS of trash, thrashed furniture, bad appliances, etc.
• Started meeting/reacquainting with some of the regulars on that street.
• Tim started painting walls and scraping up bad flooring.
• God continued to allow us to build relationships with people on the streets.
• At the end of summer or beginning of fall the Lord started stirring in the hearts of some people we knew to do a workday on the building. So we did one.
• More people began to hear about this building…The Refuge, they started to call it…and more work days began. I think we did one every other Saturday.
• At the beginning of fall a church had been praying for a location to do a “block party” where they wanted to minister to people in need - physically and spiritually. Somehow they heard about The Refuge and felt that it was the location they had been searching for.
• The Block Party happened. Many more believers heard about how this once scary street was being infiltrated by the Light and being transformed by the Lord.
• There was much excitement in the air. Many more work days were scheduled…pretty much every week…there was a lot of renovating to be done.
• Some how a news reporter heard about what has happening on California Ave. and came down to interview Tim and Craig. The report aired on Chanel 9 News in the beginning of November.
• More people heard about The Refuge and they told other people…lots of people began to get a glimpse of what the Lord can do, and wants to do, in every city!
• Believers’ hearts were stirred. They wanted to be active in their faith. They wanted to be apart of making a difference in the lives of broken people. They called, emailed, and came down to the building to see how they could contribute or be apart of this movement of God.
• God began to change the vision of what the Refuge was to become. We had originally pictured a women’s and children’s shelter of some kind. Then we envisioned a transitional house for women and children, which would include job training, parenting classes, life-skills classes, tutoring, etc. with one or two on-site managers. Now we are seeing that the Lord whats to create a tight-knit community of believers, living in the building, and then eventually a few women/women and children in transition will move into the building. They will have an enormous support group and example after example of what life can be like if one surrenders oneself to the Lordship of Jesus Christ. The believers in the building will be in relationship with the women and children and can disciple them in the ways of the Lord, as well as in how to succeed in the day to day basics of life. There will still be classes from time to time, but not necessarily a set schedule, or program. It will be more experiential learning or hands on learning (which i think we can all attest is a much better way to learn anything). Each family in transition will also have a support group that does not necessarily live in the building. This group will sponsor them and also disciple and minister to them, both while they live at the Refuge, as well as when they leave the Refuge and go live out in the city somewhere.
• We are blown away at this new revelation…genius…God is amazing.
• We were totally pumped about this. Others were excited. People began to pray for who would be living in the Refuge…for both believers/disciplers/missionaries and for the women and children.
• The Lord started telling people that they were to live in the Refuge as disciplers/missionaries.
• He told Tim and I that we were to be in this role as well.
• Whoa. Most people thought we were crazy…some people thought that it would be awesome.
• Things were looking great! We thought that we would all be able to move in around the end of January. And then…
• Then, Satan sent in a really good worker of his. He was very sharp, seemed to be trustworthy, knew scripture, said he had a heart for the homeless, etc, etc…but quickly he began to show his true colors. He started telling us how we were doing everything wrong, that we were not listening to the Lord, that we were not following building codes, that we were not doing things the way that God would do it, and so on. When this did not discourage us from continuing on with what we felt the Lord was leading in (though it was discouraging), he began calling the fire marshal, the city inspectors, and anyone else who he thought would shut this thing down. But we have yet to be “shut down”. We witnessed God birthing vision and hope into the hearts and minds of EVERY inspector that came through those doors. It was absolutely unbelievable. They each gave us check lists of things that we needed to do/fix/change…we are still working on these, which is a bummer because it is taking SO long, but isn’t amazing how what Satan was trying to use against us, God turned to make it GREAT! ( Because now we are doing everything to code, and even better-which we didn’t even know that there such things that we needed to follow because we were just remodeling-so there will be no reasoning for lawsuits or anything of that sort)!
• Work days have started again (they slowed to a stop around the holidays and have slowly started back up again).
• Somehow a reporter from The Oklahoman heard about The Refuge and did a story about it.
• More and more people hear about “the refuge” everyday and offer their services if they have a specific skill or knowledge of trade, or their time to help in any way.
• Someone recently donated carpet for all the hallways.
• Someone continues to donate cabinets and flooring.
• Someone bought us lawn care equipment that we might be a blessing to the community and manicure the local empty lots.
• We are praying in the heating and air units-to buy and be installed
• We are praying in new windows and new doors (for the ones that need them)
• We are praying in a sprinkler system for downstairs.
• We are praying for favor with the local business owners, that we will be of one mind and heart for this area of the city.
• We continue to pray for the relationships being built with the homeless, that we may begin to make a difference in how they view the world and life.
• We continue to pray for the relationships being built between believers, that little differences in what we believe will not stand in the way of us linking arms and fighting for the Kingdom to come here on earth.
• Praise be to God for Who He is and What He is doing in this City! May He be moving like this in a City or town near you!

We have had the privilege of housing several people these last few months. Some have been friends, some have been acquaintances, and some have been family. Some have stayed for a few days, others for a few weeks. It has been awesome to have other people around. When others are here it keeps me on my toes…cleaning, preparing linens, cooking for more people. I LOVE it!

People who have visited since January:

• Anna

• Micah

• Glen

• David, Beth and Kaitlyn

• Michael Smith (Tim’s Cousin)

• Barry and Julie (new friends from Cali)

Soon to arrive:

• Rich, Andrea, and Ruthie

• Tim’s Mom and Grandma

• My Mom and Dad

• maybe YOU?

I am realizing (again) that I do not do a very good job of updating the Californians with how the “ministry” is going out here.  I think that is because so many things happen pretty much each day, that I am overwhelmed with the task of passing all the information on…I actually started typing out a post to catch everyone up and it was way, way too long!  Now, I know that the Refuge site is probably where y’all go to look for this kind of info, but Tim is rather busy these days and rarely gets to blog about anything as well, so, hmmm, how to solve this delima?  I do not know…I will try to think about it more and blog more (maybe even for Tim on the refuge site)?

So, did I ever mention that Tim, Keira and I are going to move into the Refuge?  If so, no need to read on.  If not, here goes…So we moved out here with the idea that the Lord wanted to use this crazy building to help people in need by providing some sort of transitional housing…then it became providing housing for women and children in need…now it has become providing a place of growth and transition for women and children by having believers living among them to be an example to them and help disciple them…which we are very excited about!  It is amazing to me how God plants big vision into his people and then slowly (oh, so slowly) begins to bring the picture into focus.  As He has been sharpening this vision he has also put it on our hearts to be some of those people who live among the women and children in transition.  We are thrilled at this next step in this adventure!  Now, we just have to wait until we can all move in!  (”we” being all the amazing disciplers/missionaries/warriors that are planning on moving in-about 20 so far)!

God is up to BIG stuff in OKC!  Uniting hearts for the furtherance of HIS kingdom!

* I will do my best to explain what BIG stuff he is up to as the days go on! *

I just posted some ways on how to save money, because many people are realizing their need to reevaluate how they are spending their money, as we are having to as well. Well, in the midst off all this, God keeps blessing us from time to time with gifts of money, friendship, and amazing items like these:

Incredible! One day there was a package sitting on our porch, and this is what was inside! It is even more amazing because Tim has been wanting a french press and this specific grinder for some time now! He also loved the cups! Now we make our coffee at home all the time! Delicious! Thank you, Lord, for giving us such little, unnecessary things, just to bless our socks off. You are such a loving and gracious God!

If you are getting nervous about your finances and making ends meet during this time in American History, here are some random tips for saving money:  (This is not an official list or anything…I have just been thinking of these things lately…)

1. Start eating at home more, much more.
2. Try eating out only once a week, maybe even once a month?!? (impossible? Not really, you just have to be organized and pre-plan your lunches and dinners…even pack food in a cooler if you are going to be out all day and night).
3. Start walking or riding your bike to locations that are close enough to do so. (i.e. the gym! the grocery store-go a couple times a week instead of just once every two weeks, the park-kids love to go on walks to the park, not just be at the park, the library, baseball (or whatever sport) practice…etc.
4. Consider carpooling.
5. Instead of buying things for your home because they would be nice to have, only buy what is absolutely necessary…and, better yet, get what is necessary from a friend, a garage sale, or a second hand store.
6. Realize that fashion is just vanity. You don’t need to have all the latest clothing or accessory items. A few items here and there will do just fine.
7. Stop drinking soda or even juice…water is much better for your body anyway.
8. Stop drinking Starbucks or other over-priced foo-foo drinks. If you need coffee, make it at home. Have an appointment at a coffee shop? Invite them to your house instead.
9. Eat smaller portions at dinner so that you have left-overs for lunch or dinner another night that week.
10. Instead of going to the movies, rent movies and stay at home. You could even look into Blockbuster online or netflix and save on the gas to get to the video store.
11. consider reusing ziplock bags…we reuse plastic containers, why not plastic bags?
12. use less toothpaste at each brushing…it is amazing how much you save.
13. If you like to have painted toes and nails, do them yourself.
14. Attempt to find a hairstyle that is low maintenance, that maybe you could even trim up yourself?
15. Consider dropping a phone line…either cell or home.
16. Drive the speed limit and avoid quick accelerations. The slower you drive your car, the more gas you save.
17. Consider not driving/not insuring one of your cars (put it on non operation status)
18. Buy clothing at a second hand store. (I have found several nice items for Keira at goodwill-even a sweater from gymboree with the tags still on it - $1 - amazing).
19. Eat dessert and sweets much less.
20. Drink tap water on occasion…you could even refill your empty water bottles and put them in the fridge, ready to be enjoyed.  If tap tastes yucky, add a few drops of lemon juice to it.
21. Have people over for dinner/lunch rather than going out to dinner/lunch. Make a simple meal…the conversation and time spent together are more important than the gourmet meal.
22. Consider using cleaners made from household items, cheaper and safer.
23. Actually use scraps to make your scrapbooks, rather than buy all the beautiful, coordinating, expensive stuff from the store. True creativity!
24. Use store bags as trash can liners…even in the kitchen…you will have to empty it every day, but it saves money!
25. Cancel your magazine subscription.
26. Check books out of the library or borrow them from friends rather than buying them.
27. Cancel your cable and TiVo and whatever other entertainment deal you have…Basic channels have enough “entertainment” and you can rent movies (or better yet check them out from your local library for FREE), read a book, read blogs, go for an evening walk, play games with the family or friends, write letters to people, and the list could go on and on…
28. Have a garage sale, or put items, that you don’t really need to have around anymore, for sale online.
29. Move in with friends or family to save on rent. (we just might be doing this one real soon here!)
30. Take shorter showers.
31. Keeps lights off until it is necessary to have one on.
32. Unplug appliances that are not in use-they are still drawing electricity out if they are plugged in.
33. Again, only buy what you need.  DO NOT let sales get to your brain and make you think that you need to buy whatever item is on sale! (Why is it that that happens)!?!

Alright, so these are just some ways that I thought of to save a little here and a little there, which adds up to a lot saved and in your pocket!  If you have any other great ideas, please share them as a comment!  Thanks!

leanne

Viruses, as far as I am concerned, are EVIL. I mean, really, do they serve any good purpose in life? Please, if you know, tell me, because currently I have a biased hatred for them. AKA: we have been sick a lot this year. Hee hee.

This week Keira had some sort of stomach bug that had her throwing up one day and then having diarrhea-ish stools for the next few days. Then I had an upper respritory virus (the common cold). And now I have what Keira had, minus the throwing up part (I either have a milder case of it, or I just know how to not throw up even when I feel nauseous). To top it all off, some of Keira’s teeth are making there way in, so she has been feverish, lethargic, and in lots of pain. So, yuck, yucky, yuck. Not fun.
Unfortunately, this scene has been a common one in our household this year. Keira has had a stomach bug twice and a cold at least two times. I have had the stomach thing once, but have had about four or five colds, and Tim has had the stomach thing once, the flu once, and a cold once or twice. Bizarre.

So, if you are feeling like we never write or call, please know that we love you and that we hope to be back into the swing of life here really soon. Thanks for understanding!

Lord, please let this be the end of our sickness season. But, You know what is best for us…so if sickness is it, bring it on.