As we get closer to 2008 I feel i must post some notes pondering all the things that have happened in my life in 2007... so on Christmas Eve at 1:39 am ... here is my first post in such regard. Here is my little "article" i wrote for our family New Years Letter!!!
I sat down to write this years part of the Diacogiannis Dispatch and started by reading over my journals from the last year or so. I love looking back at 1 year and seeing all the things God has brought me through. It is overwhelming at times; His Grace, Faithfulness and Love.
As most of you know I am living and breathing different air then the rest of my family. I moved down to Bend Oregon on April 20th full of excitement and anticipation of the plans God had for me in this new place. Little did I know or imagine the adventure that lay ahead of me. The story that brought me to Bend is far to long to be held within the pages of this New Years letter. I will do my best to condense this adventure I have been on in a few short paragraphs.
I was hired at Red Robin a month before the move, so I started work 2 days after moving here. Going from full-time ministry at North County Christ the King to Red Robin was so strange. I was not at all prepared for the people, lifestyles and lack of God in that place. On the flipside I was not prepared for the boldness and kindness of the Christians in the very same place! Red Robin soon became a big part of my life. Over the summer I worked 40+ hours a week and loved every minute of it.
Westside Church is my second or third home depending how you look at it. There is my house… the place I sleep and am writing this, there is The Bird were I spend lots of hours a week serving people Smiling Burgers and Bottomless Fries, and then there is my Church. The move to Westside has been the hardest, most rewarded thing I have ever done. After 6 months of tears, prayers, walks with Jesus asking and searching for the reason why I was brought to this place; I felt His releasing into a new ministry and passion. I am now the Lead of Connections for Oneighty. Oneighty is the High School Ministry at Westside and if I didn’t have bills to pay I would spend so much more time there with the amazing team of leaders and Pastors. My goal in Oneighty is to be the bridge between being a “newbie” and “in the family”. I LOVE High Schoolers. They are on such a different planet than most of us, but what they need most is the Love of Christ poured into their lives in a tangible way. This is the goal of Oneighty. I could go on and on… just ask me in person sometime… and be prepared to see the fireworks in my eyes and the spring in my step increase as I talk about the things God is doing in the young lives of Central Oregon!
Grace. Faithfulness and overwhelming love. These are the things that sum up my last year. Grace from all of those who watched me do the craziest thing of my life. Faithfulness that only comes from my Father in Heaven and overwhelming Love from both. I am so blessed. I know where I’m at. I have a piece of the future in mind and I know that my Jesus will be with me every step of the way. He hasn’t let go of my hand yet, but keeps encouraging me to trust Him, and so here I sit; Trusting in the One I can’t see but I know is real. Believing for a destiny and living a life that was not in my plans, but my greatest joy is knowing that I AM right where God wants me. May each one of you find this joy in your life. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Bend Oregon.
