Some photos from our Trip to Indianapolis

We went to Indy just a little while ago... i may have blogged about it, but I really want to say thank you to Micah and Marla and all the saints at Family Fellowship in Franklin for hosting those of us who needed a place to stay... You all refreshed our spirits!

And thanks to the Gurka house group from Common Grounds Church, Indy. You guys (Aaron) really loved on us. We also love you, Arsene!

inundation of kids

yesterday, we had a flood of kids come in after school... i may have written about it. it was great, but too short. we sent the kids off after hot chocolate and popcorn.

this morning, we had a meeting with Jesus... it seems that He and the guys at corporate are moving toward a more "long-format" daily involvement with our local kiddos...

we're scrounging up all our crayons, dusting off the songs about Jesus, and "going there"

all this on the verge of Lew and Judy, Aaron and Seth, all going out of town for 10 days... Pray for them... Pray for all of us...

Time of prayer

We have been attempting to buy the house across the street. It is our hope to provide our community with a shelter there. It's a stretch, but many are coming together to make it happen. Thanks to Jan and all the folks who are pulling with us in prayer. Please pray pray pray.

It'll take miracles to get us to April, when the lease is up for the community folks at their house across the way; when we'll want to be moving them in...

Please pray that all the work on the new house gets done well. roofing , drywall. carpet. stuff like that


could anyone come and help us? where are you all? we know you're out there. we're only a little ways away, in Cinci. I've seen your pastors going to guatemala, india, africa... won't you all come here? we need you, too.

Been thinking

It's been a wonderful couple of weeks. a group of the grubbykupps went to indianapolis to visit Family Fellowship, last weekend. There was wonderful snow, good time with Micah's church, adn a visit with Aaron from Chris' church house group... We also spent quality time with Arsene. It was great to share the Gospel in Micah's chuirch on sunday mornign, too.

Chris really shared from his experience of deepening faith here, having been beaten by our local friends, and welcomed into the life of christ here in Northside with violence... He has gone from a visitor to a true resident. It's wonderful to see Jesus building the Church here.

We love Arsene, who is applying for political asylum. He is from the Ivory Coast, where a violent rebellion has cost the lives of many who are dear to him... please pray for him. He is an olympic athlete, and has suffered a setback in his career that could jeopardize his application for amnesty. it is really our hope that he can have a quiet life here and see his sisters arrive insafety from Ghana, where they are refugees.

Please pray for their recovery from cholera.

thanks to all who pray with us for the redemption of this cracked rock we spin on.

i've been off the blog for a while. sorry to those of you who get bored by my request for help over here... as you may have read, we're making an offer on the house across the street, trying to establish homebase for loving this corner of the world...

the people of grubbykupp...the folks who have moved into this corner with us...we're all feeling a really intense time here.

we've emerged from the fire of discovering violences here that we had only heard or read about before coming here. some of us have strong resolve, some have a new committment, but most of us are holding our breath, waiting on Father for his next move...

i am appalled at my recent exposure to folks in the church who disdain concern for the poor. i am disappointed by the inaction that characterizes the regional church's application of its wealth..
i am guilty...

but i am confessing! would you join me? Let's put it out there that our wealth cries out against us, as we spend it on priorities that the Lord hasn't ordained... yeah, i'm talking about how the cincinnati churches are willing to move 10 million dollars into neighborhoods that they would never move into themselves... that is a far cry from transforming the city by the actual, living, presence of the PEOPLE of God, as neighbors, in the city...

this is dead wrong. we've been retreating too long.