the hood...my home

Sunday, April 29




I know I talk a lot about my neighborhood. 
a lot. 
So today I thought I'd share more about the journey in coming here. 
it didn't exactly just happen....it was a process! 

You see, my husband and I grew up in sunny california,
spending massive amounts of time at the beach, going to disneyland, eating mexican food, etc.
ie: a wee bit insulated

but a few years ago Kevin and I started asking ourselves a question,
"does our life and marriage matter?"
 I mean, yes, we knew our lives mattered to us and our families and friends.
But beyond that, was our life and marriage making the world a more beautiful place?

Our hearts craved a vision where our marriage was about more than just "us" and being comfy.
{don't get me wrong, I still love my fro-yo and bach same as the next girl}
But man oh man, it sure can be hard gaining perspective on the deeper things in life when you live in the midst of some of the richest zip codes in the US. 
Where driving a range rover is absolute top priority.

so we figured, as christians, we'd see what the heck Jesus did when he was on earth.
{i mean, JC's a pretty good place to start when you're looking for answers, right?}
and pretty much it was this...
he hung out with the poor, the prostitutes, the hurting and the broken.
and guess what? this scared us half to death...like no joke. 
last time we checked we didn't know any poor people or prostitutes. epic fail.

so we decided to get a lil' brave, 
and ask God to show us what this might look like smack dab in the middle of our city.
aaannndddd He did.
just two miles from where Kevin grew up was an immigrant neighborhood we'd never even noticed before.

and so with our knees knocking, we decided to move in, and it changed our life. 
that was the start of our marriage on mission.

my apartment was fully stocked with loads of cockroaches, 
and mold, 
and cracking cabinets, 
and did i mention cockroaches? 
i was so afraid,
like"what the heck did I just do?" kind of afraid.
but you know what, i knew this was God's will.

and it changed our lives. 
we started to know the people in our neighborhood,
most of them immigrant families from central america. 
they became our best friends. 
they taught us what it looks like to live in community- 
mostly, to just BE.
in the last 4 years,
Kevin and I have opened our home to anyone who needed love.
daily we have kids over who want to play or read or bake.
mostly they are saying "I just want someone to love me, to notice me"
and we get that incredible privilege!

we fail a lot,
 and sometimes lock our doors while the kids pound on it.
but mostly that front door is wide open.

we have led workshops on cooking and basketball,
we have crammed 60+ ppl into our apartment for a baby shower we hosted for our neighbors
and learned all about mexican baby shower games, haha!
I started a girls group for college aged girls doing crafts and games and just hang out.
we've discipled kids, and been hurt by them.

but the bottom line is we've tried to love like Jesus.
and it's rocked our world, hard.
we're not perfect,
but i'm learning that really we just need to be available.
because when we are open is when God brings people into your life!

it's been a joy.

love Katie  

9 comments :

  1. That's an incredible story of faith! How amazing and rewarding!

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  2. So enjoyed reading your (continuing!) story of community and neighborhood, Katie! What fantastic thoughts! Reminded me a great deal of similar thoughts from David Platt's book, Radical. Have you heard of it?

    Much love to you!!!

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    1. Emily! Yes, Kevin and I read radical two years ago when he was in Indonesia. It was amazing and we were so inspired! love ya!

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  3. What a sweet story and such inspiring faith. Thank you for sharing :)

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  4. Not many people have such convictions or the willingness to serve the Lord through living like Jesus, and I love that you are willing to do so. May Christ continue to teach you and may you continue to grow and learn more deeply about His will for you! I wish more people would think the way you do and DO the will of God. As a youth leader and as a leader in my church in general, I hear a lot of excuses or a lot of the pull that the world has on these people, and when some of them remove THEMSELVES from the focus, I see so much light (just like I see in you). Bless you, and thanks for the great comment you left me on my blog yesterday.
    Your sister in the Lord,
    Victoria

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  5. thank you for visiting my blog and following. I'm your newest follower, I look forward to getting to know you.

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  6. I love your story. This is exactly where I feel we are headed. Thank you for the inspiration.

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  7. I am curious to know what is an "immigrant neighborhood"? Just because people live in the "hood" like you say doesn't make them immigrants.

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  8. This post made me smile, what a blessing you guys are to your neighbors and what a blessing they are to you!! It also made me laugh because I literally just wrote about frozen yogurt and the bachelor today:)

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I LOVE hearing from you friend:) Your comment will make my day!