Stop By and Stay a While

We’ve really come to embrace the art of “stopping in.” At our home we are glad and count it an honor to receive guests formally and informally (pre-planned and scheduled as well as surprise visits). We also love to “pop in” and visit other homes without having to call ahead and just spending quality time and maybe enjoy a small meal or drink. From the American/western mind-set there are times that seem inopportune where the space and time of ‘home’ is sacredly personal, but as we embrace living in our predominantly Hispanic community and seeing our neighborhood, city and the nations won for Christ we realize that those boundaries are not necessary or beneficial. This month we would like to share with you some of our visits and visitors and hope that you will pray with us that they will keep coming and “stay a while,” in other words that they will connect to God and His local church body, Fuente para las Naciones.

Visiting Homes
We have really enjoyed walking around our neighborhood and visiting the children and parents that came out to our VBS last month – there were 146 children and we visited every one of them that live in our neighborhood (which was about 140 of them). Maribel and Jacobo live across from the park diagonally across from us and have five children between 2 and 10 years old. On one of our visits to their home they invited us into their home and over a glass of limonada (fresh lemonade) began to open up about their life and needs (from raising their children, to fighting drug and alcohol addiction, to staying caught up on bills while hours are being continually cut at work). Knowing that we were from the church they asked us for help, but then Jacobo said, “I’m not really interested in getting involved in religion.” We shared that we weren’t visiting them to get them involved in religion, but to offer them what God had planned and intended for their lives from the beginning. Jacobo responded, “Oh, in that case, definitely – that is what we want.” They have invited us back to their home to study the Bible and work through some of these needs with them from God’s perspective on a weekly basis.

Please pray for these times to be fruitful, that both Maribel and Jacobo would be there and that what God wants to do in their lives would be accomplished.

Alegria’s Pupusas
We’ve also gotten to know Alegria from El Salvador during these visits to homes. During a conversation started over food and culture (great topics by the way!) Fabiola invited her over to our house to teach everyone at our Bible study on Wednesday night how to make the famous Salvadorian stuffed tortillas called pupusas. It was a great opportunity for our church to get to know her and her to get to know us.

We are now praying that we can continue to strengthen our relationship with Alegria and her husband and two children. Would you pray with us that they would come out again to study God’s word and fellowship with us again?

Friends from Preschool
The other night we invited one of Rebecca’s new friends from preschool, Giselle, her parents, Marta, Rigo and baby sister over for dinner. After four hours nobody wanted to leave because we were all having such a great time getting to know one another and the kids were having a blast playing with one another. We were surprised to hear that in nine years of living in the United States they have never been invited over to somebody else’s house to eat and spend quality time together. Both Marta and Rigo are very open to learning more about Jesus.

We are excited and blessed that Giselle (pictured above playing with Rebecca), has been such a great friend for Rebecca and now ask that you pray with us that this family may come to know Jesus as their Lord and Savior.

A visit from ‘afar’
We were so blessed by Abiding Place Christian Fellowship (pictured above) ‘stopping in’ on us and praying for and with us; doing service projects, helping us get away and rest up a little, minister with us and so much more. There are too many highlights to share, but one definitely was the movie night we asked you to pray about last month. Our core church group all came out to our house and enjoyed the experience together on the big screen along with plenty of delicious, buttery popcorn – we will definitely have to do something like that again as we saw deeper community being grown within the larger group, an opportunity for people to invite friends of family to participate and really left us all thinking about the powerful message of faith and following Christ presented in the movie.

Chavela’s Art Class
During one of our weekly Bible studies located at somebody else’s house one of the host’s adult daughters came over. During a brief conversation we discovered that she was talented and interested in various types of artwork. Fabiola asked if she would be willing to come and teach the women’s group the following week how to do one of the art projects (metal relief). She agreed and again there was a great opportunity for us to continue building relationships both within the group and with new people that we are meeting.

Please pray for Chavela, the lady that came out to teach us (pictured above at top of picture in white), her two boys and her also had joined us for our Easter potluck after the service – we are now praying that she will come and “stay a while.”

Please Pray With Us For:

·Men’s Retreat - June 11-13

·Sports Club at South Park – June 15-17

·WOW Jam Outreach at South Park – June 21

·Maribel & Jacobo, Alegria, Chavela, Marta & Rigo and their families (all mentioned above).

·Our team: Chad, Fabiola and Norma. Tiffany, who has been a part of our team since starting the church planting phase in January, had to return to Chicago and so will no longer be a part of the ministry here in South Central Los Angeles. She will be missed in many ways as a team member and a friend/sister in Christ. We trust God and look to Him to provide the missing pieces and the strength to continue strong in what He has us to do with a smaller team.



Thanks for ‘stopping by’ and reading and praying with us.

We appreciate you and send our love,
Chad, Fabiola, Rebecca and Justice Wolyn