God said "Go"....again...

It's Packing Time Again!

Wow! We have some exciting news to share with everyone. A few months ago, God began to stir our hearts . We weren't sure what the stirring was for, but we knew God was up to something. Then an opportunity came a-knockin. 

Jady was offered a job at Antioch in Waco, TX. It is the church we were sent out of to plant Mosaic in Seattle six years ago & it is the church All People's was planted out of as well. They want Jady to come help produce the World Mandate conference and serve the movement as a whole. We prayed about it, sought council and decided that it was a God opportunity for our family. 

So, we are moving back to Waco...never say 'never' right? Despite some of the cultural adjustments we will feel (we have been on the West coast for six years) our family could not be more excited. Genuinely excited. One thing we have learned on this journey is that whenever God guides us into a new place, it is GOOD. 

Jady will be able to use his gifts and passions in practical ways as he helps serve the movement and World Mandate - that is going to be really fun for him. Also, a lot of our family lives in Waco. Elizabeth's parents, and all of our siblings, their spouses & children...LOTS of family there. The family aspect is such a refreshment for all of us...not to mention free babysitters...

Hmm...you have questions???

When Are You Going?

Here is the kicker...we are moving on Sept. 5th. That is correct, just one week away. It may sound sudden, but everything is lining out perfectly. It is also the best time for our family, All People's Church and Antioch to transition. The World Mandate Conference is in two weeks, so we will be able to be there for it.

What About Adoption?

This move is going to make completing our adoption easier. Praise the Lord! Our adoption agency is actually located in Waco so we will be able to work with them directly. You may remember California won't accept our Washington paperwork, so we were having to re-do everything. Well, Texas will accept it and all we have to do are a few updates. Thankfully, we haven't spent any money on our California process, so no adoption funding is wasted in the move.

How Can We Pray?

You are so sweet to ask that. Really, sweet. We would love it if you pray with us. Obviously there are tons of things, but here is a short list. 

• Pray for all the practicals. Safe travels, emotion adjustments, Sophie's new school, and that we wouldn't shrivel up in the Texas heat.
• All People's Church has blessed us to leave and we want to pray that blessing back on them. Pray that the transition on their end is smooth as other people pick up the jobs Jady was doing.
• If you have known us long, you know that we have moved many times when we lived in Seattle, then San Diego & now Waco. Over the past six years, we have lived in eight houses. That is a bunch of houses, but we are ready for a home.We would love, love, love to be able to buy a house. Please pray that we would be able to get money together for a down payment. 

Thanks for your interest in our lives, and for praying along side us as we simply obey God each step of the way! We will keep you posted...now, back to packing.

                            The Griffins

Jady playing drums at World Mandate 2009

World Mandate Conference

Dog Days of Summer

Goodness! Summer has come and gone. It really is incredible how time flies. We just marked six months of living in San Diego. God has done so much in us these past six months. We feel envisioned for the future and full of joy that we get to walk with God and follow Him where He leads us. So many things to tell you, but here are a few:

ALL PEOPLES CHURCH

Jady Leading Worship @ All Peoples Church

• Perhaps you remember the Iranian man who showed up at church a few weeks ago. After coming he began to meet regularly with a man from the church to discuss who Jesus is and what following Him means. This past week he made the decision to accept Christ! 
• Another couple from church had a language tutor who was Iranian. They gave her a Jesus Film video. She eagerly thanked them and said, "I have seen Him!". Twelve years ago Jesus appeared to her in a dream and motioned for her to follow Him. Lets take a moment and celebrate that God is moving among the unreached people of the earth...even here in the USA!
• These next few weeks are full of activities as we gear up for the fall. Join us in praying that God gives us the right strategy to reap a harvest this year!

MOSAIC

Just wanted to give you an update on how Mosaic is doing in Seattle. So many of you have journeyed with us as we planted the church there. Things at Mosaic are thriving and growing! Here are a few things that you will love:

• Mosaic now has staff members who were born & raised in Seattle. In church planting, this is a huge landmark!
• More and more families are attending Mosaic. The kids ministry is growing and growing. Praise God, such an answer to prayer!
• This year there is a day and night training school again filled with a diverse group of students who represent many spheres of society.
• Mosaic has it's first two missionaries! Two girls are going to Uganda to serve the long term works going on there with our network of churches. Whoo!!!! We have always said that Mosaic would touch the nations & it IS!

GRIFFIN FAMILY

• We attended the annual conference for Antioch Network of Churches in North Carolina this July. It was a great time of refreshment, equipping and clarity for us. Thanks so much for praying for that trip. Plus, our kids LOVED getting to spend the week with Jady's parents.
• Sophie starts pre-K on September 1st. Wasn't she just born???
• Tait's speech continues to surprise us. I know I say it every time, but THANK YOU for praying. His progress is stumping the therapists and we know that God is speeding the process for our little guy.

Blessings to you guys as the school year kicks off. We love living life with each of you and are so grateful for the choice you have made to be involved with us. Much love!

                                                The Griffins

July Has Come & Gone

Popcicles on the Doorstep

The summer is half gone & God has done some big things. Below are a few testimonies of what God has been up to in San Diego & our lives over the past month.

•  In the past month almost 30 people made decisions to follow Jesus!
•  A man from Iran came to church because he wanted to know more about Jesus. A friend of ours began meeting with him for weekly discipleship & this Iranian man is SO hungry. He reads his Bible for 30 minutes every night!
• Tait had been denied continued financial scholarship for his speech therapy. Insurance didn't fully cover it & we were left without the help that Tait needs to overcome his speech barriers. After 2 weeks of unreturned phone calls a lady named Esther calls me back. As I am explaining our financial situation she asked about the adoption we are in middle of. She screamed at me over the phone when I told here we were adopting from Uganda. She was from Uganda...the same city we are adopting from! She fell in love with me then and had Tait's speech fully covered until he turns 3 in March! He happily resumed speech therapy this past week. Praise God!
• As you know, we are in the process of adopting a little boy and a little girl from Uganda. The main hurdle is the financial cost of adopting. This week we received a $6,000 grant towards getting these little kids home to us!!!!! That brings the remaining amount we need to $18,000. God can do it! If you are interested in helping us reach our goal, check out the adoption tab at the top of the blog. 

Prayer Requests

• Our network of churches is having a conference in North Carolina next week. Jady's parents are watching the kids while we are there. Flights were really expensive, so we are driving, yes driving with another couple from All People's Staff. We leave tomorrow night and drive non-stop until we arrive on Monday at the conference center! Whew! I'm sure it will be one for the memory books. Please pray that we have safe travels, our kids do well, and that God really speaks to our hearts while we are there. 
• Pray for the remaining $18,000 we need for our adoption. 
• After the conference, Jady is flying to Texas to lead worship at a youth camp there. Pray that he would be refreshed in the midst of a busy schedule and that God would move powerfully in these kids lives.

Thanks so much for living life with us. We love you guys! 

The Griffins

Fifi and Adoption Grants

Sophie & Baxter resting in the shade

We have a newfound family routine for these summer afternoons.  When Tait wakes up from his afternoon nap, the kids & I go out on the front little courtyard. We eat popsicles and sit in the shade with the dog. It is a fabulous tradition!

Tait's Speech Testimony

At Tait's most recent speech assessment just a few months ago the results were a bit rough. They said that his receptive language (what he understood) was at the level of a one year old & his verbal language was at a 9 month old level. He is two. So, thats a bit of a bummer. You guys have joined with us in praying and these past few months he has made massive strides in his speech. They just updated his receptive speech to being at a 2 year old level. Thank you Jesus! He is saying new words almost every day & we are so encouraged. He can't say Sophie's name yet, so he now calls her 'Fifi'. Its pretty cute if I do say so myself. Thanks for your prayers, they are working!

Tait & Fifi after baths

All People's Church Turned 3!!!

A few weeks ago All People's Church celebrated it's 3rd birthday. God has done so much over the past three years in this city. Check out this video that shares some of the testimonies people had to share: All People's Birthday. Our family is so blessed that we get to work with these amazing people at our church.

Adoption Grants 

We still have $25,150 to raise for our adoption. One of the grants we applied for will be reviewing applications this week to determine who to award money to. We would appreciate your prayers that we would receive one of their grants. If you want to know more about our story of adoption, click on the 'Adoption' tab at the top.

Thanks so much for being on this journey with us. Love you guys!

The Griffin Fam

Summa time, summa time, sum-sum-summa time!

It's summer time!!! The mornings are cloudy and the afternoons are hot. But, apparently that is an average June in San Diego. Hope you guys are all having fantastic summers and getting quality time with friends and family. We've had some fun summer moments so far...

Out celebrating our 8 yr. wedding anniversary!!! 

On May 31st we marked 8 years of marriage...that went by fast & we look forward to decades more! The past month we have been super busy it seems. I have been working hard to get our adoption moving as fast as possible...in case you didn't hear, our whole homestudy portion of the adoption got paid for!!!! Jady has been doing a lot of preparation for the coming fall at All People's Church & creating new media pieces for the church. He is becoming an expert surfer...I however, am not. :)

Sophie with some of her new friends at a birthday party.

Sophie is doing great. She blows us away daily with her desire for people to know Jesus. Whenever we go anywhere she reminds me to share with them about God. If she sees a homeless person holding a sign on a corner she prays that God would provide for all their needs. Plus, she is organizing an outreach for kids at the church to go out to a playground and tell other kids about Jesus. She is a better church planter than Jady & I combined.

Tait with his ape friend at the zoo.

Tait...oh, Tait. He keeps us laughing every minute. His name means 'cheerful rock' and he lives up to it. He still loves drumming, in fact he falls asleep with his little drum sticks. Speech is progressing with him and we love hearing him add new words. The most popular word recently has been "poppy" aka popsicle. A summer time favorite!

A college lifegroup at our house

Jady wears several hats at All People's Church. He is one of the preaching pastors, leads worship, helps in creative aspects...You may also recall that one of our new responsibilities here in San Diego is working with college students. In the fall we will be leading 'Awaken' the college gathering. There are 100,000 college students in the area & we want them all! This summer we have a college lifegroup meeting in our house weekly. It has been so fun getting to know some students and dreaming into the fall. 

We would appreciate your prayer with us in a specific area. Currently our support is $3,000 under budget per month. As you can imagine that means things are pretty tight! God always provides as we have seen many times. However we do feel like it is important that we really pray into getting $3,000 per month. This will help us cover our basic monthly expenses and also provide for the increase of adding two children into the monthly budget. Please pray with us that God opens some doors for us in this area. If you want more info on this look at the tab at the top 'Partner with us'.

We love you guys so much and are thankful for each of you. Blessings!!! 

The Griffins

Why San Diego???

Hey everyone! Hope you guys are finishing up the school year and are getting ready to jump into summer. Summer is starting to set in here in San Diego. Its a bit warmer, days are longer and the beach is staying busy. Speaking of San Diego...

We wanted to give you some information on San Diego & the particular area that All People's Church is serving in. Also, some information on what we are doing in San Diego. Here are some things about our new city that you may not know:

* San Diego is one of the most diverse cities in the United States.
* 56% of people in San Diego do not claim any religion
* Less than 5% of people attend a church
* Over 100 languages are represented within the city
* The greater San Diego area has 2.8 million people and is located on the border with Tijuana, Mexico.
* It is the 6th most expensive city in the United States. (thank you supporters!)

All People's Church has been in San Diego for 3 years. It is located in the City Heights neighborhood. This particular area is one of the nations poorest with the average income of $11,000 per capita. The area is full of immigrants, refugees and the poor. Our Sunday Services are in Horace Mann high school. It is one of the most diverse high schools in the United States.

Jady has his hands in a lot of things. He is one of the senior leaders and is working with the different ministries helping them develop and grow. He leads worship on Sunday mornings. This coming fall we are both going to be very involved in helping launch the college department forward. We live very close to San Diego State University and will focus our time reaching out to students who attend SDSU and Point Loma University as well.

We are so thankful to each of you who make this happen. Everyone who prays for us and our new home of San Diego...thank you! For those who support us financially, we are beyond blessed at your generosity and faithfulness...thank you!!! Love you all, and thought I would end with a few pictures of a church service, Sophie & her new friend Anna, & the kids at the zoo.

Blessings,
Jady, Elizabeth, Sophie & Tait

It's May!!!

It's May! Hope you guys all had a great Mother's Day. We had so much fun. Sophie was getting over strep throat, but she managed to pull of a wonderful dinner that she made with Jady. It was adorable watching the kids help cook, set the table and make cards for the grandmothers. Can't wait for Father's Day.

Things at the Griffin house have been good. There have been some big developments with Tait's speech. He is starting to try and tell stories. He hasn't even attempted to it before. Sophie started ballet. A girl from the church comes over once a week and they have class in the living room. Believe me, it is incredibly entertaining. Jady is still surfing every day he can & he is getting better every day. I (Elizabeth) am attempting to make her house look like Anthropologie on a budget...not quite there, but I have high hopes.

All People's Church has been great. We are building more relationships with people and getting excited about the things God has for us here. One of the things that we are going to be focusing on this fall is the college. Jady is going to take more of a role with the college service called "Awaken". There are tons of college kids in town and our church meets just a few minutes from San Diego State University. It's a hot bed for God to do something big & we can't wait to see what it is.

You may remember we told you guys about our adoption hitting a bit of a snag. Not just a time delay, but needing God to provide money to move the process along. Thank you for praying because it appears that our entire homestudy is paid for!!! Whoo!!! Now we can do the next step in this adoption and bring Ford & Etta home.

We love you guys. Thanks for being on Team Griff!