Joy

One of my favorite things about living in our apartment complex are all the kids we have around!! When we first moved in to this complex, we knew that God wanted us to love on the kids that would become our neighbors. Initially we would get shy glances, maybe a stare, and if we were lucky a hello.  Over time the kids started to warm up a bit. We would help them get a toy stuck out of the tree (Chris's height has helped us in this), bake some cookies together, or play a game.  


A few months ago we started a missional community gathering in our complex, led by our upstairs neighbors.  This is basically a family gathering where we come together to eat and learn about what it means to be a disciple.  Everyone is invited to this.  Well, once the kids found out, there was no stopping them.


Every Wednesday the apartment is full of almost all the kids from our complex.  At first they weren't sure what we were doing when we held hands and prayed.  They watched us greet each other with hugs, and they watched us be family together.  Now whenever we come home we are greeted by hugs, the kids are praying with us, and they even feel like we are family.  They share their struggles with us, and we get to love them and demonstrate what it looks like to love God and love others.  Even their families have started to come around to see what our times together are all about. These kids are an amazing joy, and I am so excited to see what God has in store for them!