We hope you enjoy this weeks’ video Blog!

Hey our friend

God is good and that is true for every day of your life!! During the last week we had a big event in our neighborhood which was called National night out. It is a day to bring the community together with the purpose of crime prevention and to get to meet the local police. I enjoyed meeting people and seeing updates on things that are going on in North Beach. At the a friend of us and his church small group was able to pray for all the police officers. Please keep praying for our police in this challenging time!!
I wonder if all of us as Christians could do something similar to bring the community together  to build relationships? Lets keep pondering on that.

Thank you for all your prayers for our 81 year old friend who faces eviction. Last week many people gathered to show their support in the park!! Lets keep praying

Remember Little things done consistently brings change!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

Recently Jen and I watched the new Will Smith movie Concussion. The film was about head injuries of football players in the NBA and how a doctor fights for the truth. The doctor is a man from Nigeria and he worked hard to get all his degrees. His job now is to examine people who died. When he does that he finds out that football players that died often had the same kind of problem in there brain. He does research for which he pays from his own money and through the research he knows that he is right. The injuries came from a continuous hitting of their heads. Since the NFL is a huge organization they try to shut him down, but he did not give up because he wants to do what is right. He keeps fighting for the truth even if it meant for him to be sent back to Nigeria.

One thing that really spoke to me was the fact that he put everything on the line to do what’s right. He did not quit or back down till the truth came out. And when the truth came out he did not even look for a benefit for himself, he just wanted the truth and the right thing to be done.

It is a great parable for our lives as well. There will be days when we face things where we know what’s right, but it will cost us something to do the right thing. Many times in life it is easier to just choose the easy way, but this is not what Jesus called us to. He told us that it will be hard and that it will create challenges, but it is worthy in the end. So if you have opposition in your life, don’t quit. Keep moving forward. Let God guide you how and make a difference. We are called to make disciples and bring the good news to everyone we know, so lets do it and remember:

 YOU CAN DO IT!!

Hey our friend

I hope your week was as good as mine! I (Markus) had a great birthday celebration last week. It was a so much fun we went hiking for 2 hours and then celebrated with 2 friends. Each one shared something special they saw in me. I felt so encouraged after this time. I want to encourage all of us to tell people around us what we love about them. You will see how it lifts them up.

Thank you for all your prayers for our 81 year old friend who faces eviction. As of this point there is nothing new to write so lets keep praying!!

Remember opposition is not bad, it will strengthen your muscle!!

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen

Going through high school I experienced bullying in my life. It was a hard season and it created bad memories. But if you don’t deal with bad memories with people, you give them the power to isolate yourself from people and to believe something that is not true.  They start shaping the way you make decisions and they start shaping how you see people and lead to isolation. I guarantee you that there are many people around that experience isolation because of memories of bad experiences in the past.

If you are on the side of the memory one thing you have to start doing is to forgive and move on. You have to let go of the hurt and the pain and give it up to God. That is the key way of seeing change come. Next you need to make a step out of your bubble and start to talk to people around. Yes I said it before, you might have some bad experiences but you will not be able to find true community if you don’t go out there. So try today and connect with someone

But what about if you are on the other side and you have people around you that isolate themselves? One of the key things is to show that you are a trustworthy person. I remember many people that I met over the years that first were hesitant to talk and build relationship, but over time they started opening up and trust was established.  But it takes time. They might watch you on how you interact with others and how you react to others and based on that might be open for trust. When they see good things they start to replace the bad memories. So we need to be real and extra loving with people around us.

Lets all do our part to break loneliness and isolation!!

Hey our friend

Wow God is awesome. This week we were randomly able to encourage a group of young people in the coffee shop with what we are doing in North Beach. He literally brought them to us in the coffee shop. We also could celebrate this week with our friends Tim and Karol since they got the key to there apartment which they were able to buy for 30% of the value. God is so good!! We want to encourage you this week to remember moments of Gods goodness in your life. Those times are great reminders when we face uncertainty and challenge especially with all the thingredients goIng on in the world around us.

Also please pray with us for the families of the victims in Munich germany. Pray for God’s peace and comfort in this time of grief. Also  keep  praying for favor for our 81 year old friend who faces eviction. Pray for Gods favor for him to find an apartment that he can afford (the average one bedroom goes for 3500 dollars and studios are on average 2500 dollars).

Remember to shine his light into this world by showing Him through the way we live our lives.

Have a great week!
Markus and Jen