Life in the Bay Area

So we are hitting the 6-week mark here in California and sort of settling into life. The biggest news is that we've found a great place in San Francisco - affordable, close to people we know and really cute (yes - Brook writing. It was built in the '30s and has lots of character). It felt like God was leading us to it - we had looked all day outside the city and stopped by to pick up some mail. We stumbled upon an open house and it was a great place! The landlord was willing to work with our income situation and is even letting us move in a week early without charging us extra. We are planning to start a house church with two other families nearby and we are praying to be salt and light in this neighborhood.

We are also getting our projects off the ground and getting to know the amazing team of church planters here in the Bay Area. There are so many faithful, creative people here trying to reach many different ethnic groups and populations. Dave had an opportunity to preach in a church in San Pablo recently and it's encouraging to be back in ministry.


Church Network Hub California is also getting off the ground. Our vision is to provide administrative services to church plants and small churches so pastors can be freed up to do ministry. It's taking a lot of work to build relationships and communicate our vision for this ministry. Several churches have "signed on" and we have several opportunities to present to various groups of church planters. Dave will also be helping with 3 teams coming to the Bay Area to serve and hear about the vision planters have to reach this largely unchurched area.



In the meantime, our family is adjusting to the pace of life and enjoying exploring the area. The parks, library, state parks and such. We love the weather and look forward to being in the city. The only thing we aren't enjoying is the traffic! But the other day, even Samuel prayed that he was thankful God called us here. We see His goodness all over and his hand everywhere. He is especially restoring Dave's and my heart for lost people and renewing our passion for building the kingdom. There is a lot ahead to fall into place but we are so thankful to be part of what God is doing here. Thanks for your prayers!

My camera is still in a box somewhere but i snapped this with my phone at a nearby state park. Very cool old carousel.

So we really moved to California

So we've been a little remiss at blog updating but we arrived in California on May 27th. About 2 days before we left Florida a friend of an aquaintance offered us his large, kid friendly apartment in Oakland to sublet very affordably until August 1st. Also, I signed a new client for my little healthcare billing company. It was more testimony to God's provision getting us here. The kids are adjusting well and we are enjoying the significantly cooler temperatures here in Northern California. After a day at the San Francisco Exploratorium and a lovely drive over the Golden Gate bridge and back through the hills towards the East Bay, Samuel said, "Dad, I think it was a good idea to move here." Right now we are in the initial stage of loving everything - different trees, farmer's market, Trader Joe's. I'm sure this will give way to some adjustment challenges (like the sheer volume of people which is mind-boggling) but for now we are just enjoying the adventure and exploration.

There is still a long way to go to getting settled. We are working hard to get the Church Administrative Hub and short term team mission program off the ground and running. It feels like a huge task most days! We are also looking for housing in the city which poses its own challenges when you are looking for an affordable, family-friendly place. Both are tasks that need much divine inspiration and we are looking forward to seeing what God does in the coming 6 weeks.

Please pray for provision and clarity of vision as we celebrate what God has done to get us here and look forward to what He's going to do in and through us here.

Counting down the days!

Everywhere we look it seems like things are falling into place for this move. There is still a lot that needs to happen, but it has been amazing to see how God is at work. I (Brook) visited San Fran a few weeks back. Out of that trip is growing a more concrete vision for our work there. There are three projects that Dave and I will be developing together:

First, a Church Network Hub that will serve the many small and growing plants in the city. One of the challenges newly planted churches face is that as they grow, their administrative needs grow but not enough to hire a full-time person. Pastors, who would rather be with people, often end up filling this role or hand it off to volunteers. Our vision is to have a quality service that pools resources to offer project management, communication and print services and financial services to keep these churches running well with minimal stress on the pastors. Part of my trip was meeting with California state leaders and the director of a similar hub in Seattle to pull this project together. We were able to have a set up meeting with our first client while I was there. Since I love to organize things, this will be my main project.

Secondly, Dave will be working on a short-term missions program to coordinate teams of all sizes and ages to serve various ministries in the city. We are hoping this will include training, serving and encountering God in fresh ways for both the people who serve and the people who come to serve. I am looking forward to seeing Dave use his gifts in equipping and training again.

Third, we will be keeping our business which will change from Healthcare Billing Solutions to Integrity Small Business Solutions (or something to that effect). San Fran is a city of entreprenuers and small businesses run by people of many different cultures and approaches. In talking to some local business people, it seems there is a need for similar services that we are offering the churches we serve - administration, bookkeeping, resource pooling, etc. We hope that this not only helps us make a liveable salary but also gives us an incarnational place in the marketplace and helps us build relationships with all different kinds of people in the city. A business person in the community is going to help us through this process, start as our first client, and introduce us to his contacts.


There are still many details to fall into place but every step of the way we see doors opening and feel God's leading. It's exciting to see!

We covet your prayers as we get towards the last few weeks of our time in Florida. Our one-way tickets are purchased for May 27th. Not much time left as the boxes pile higher around the house! Please keep the following in prayer:

****Housing - Our heart is to live in the city of San Francisco. We want to be immersed in the culture of the city, have a place we can use for hospitality ministry and be near the people we want to serve and reach. This would be a miracle! We've looked at many options and will stay with friends until something works out. Also, our house needs to sell here. We are praying that happens quickly and also that it would be a blessing to another family. Finances will be tight, especially the first few months, and we are looking forward to seeing how God will provide.

*****Last minute details - Packing continues and apparently the children still need to be fed and kept happy in the process! We all need physical and emotional strength to end well and stay kind to each other. And we need all those small miracles and wisdom in daily decisions to keep up with all that needs to happen.


*****Grace for all - We will be leaving family, friends and familiar surroundings and ask for your prayers to minister to our kids and the family we are leaving as well as to be ready for whatever adventure this move brings. I'm sure it is going to be harder and better than we can dream up right now. We'll need that grace that brings strength and sustenance with every little step.


If you haven't heard Bebo Norman's latest album I would highly recommend it. A line from one of my favorite songs on the album says, "Let my ruins become the ground you build upon." That is my prayer. The last two years have been a process of tearing down, removing debris and getting back to the core of following Jesus for His love and grace, not some ministry or expectation or formula. I'm seeing the signs of rebuilding. It is exciting and scary and amazing all at once.

Preparations continue....

A few things the week has made the impending move the San Francisco more concrete: A huge garage sale - our house is looking less and less cluttered My replacement at Practice Solutions has been hired and trained. The job was an answer to her prayer as she had been looking since October. The kids are wrapping up their school year activities including Classical Conversations, our homeschool co-op. Here is Samuel receiving an award for becoming a "Memory Master" - the top prize in the program.



I'm flying to San Fran tomorrow (Sunday) to meet with some of the church movement leaders, look at a house for rent in the city we are considering and try to solidify details. It will be an important trip for connecting our heart and vision with the vision of the church planting movement there and also to make our plans for moving in late May. Please keep the following items in prayer:

*Clarity of thought and communication during two full days of meetings with state level leaders as well as some from out of state who are going to help us get the administrative hub off the ground.

*Grace for Dave as he cares for both kids on his own while I'm away.

*Open eyes to see where God wants us to live and build friendships with neighbors. We are looking specifically in the Sunset District - a largely Asian part of the city with the Russian area just across the Golden Gate Park in the Richmond Disctrict. It's also the district that seems more family oriented than other parts of the city and it tends to be foggier so it's cheaper than the notoriously high rents in the city.

Thanks for your love! We are realzing how many amazing people we've known in this season and how blessed we are. Only one month to go....

One a personal note, it has been such a freeing thing to de-clutter our lives. After 11 years in the house stuff accumulates and piles up (even though neither of us are shoppers!). It feels freeing to let go of stuff i've been holding on to "just in case I might need it someday." Looking into the unknown, God seems more trustworthy in the big things (like selling our house in a crazy market and finding a place to live in an expensive city) and the small things (like Samuel finding things to get excited about moving to California and people being able to use many of the things we are getting rid of). I feel like He is rebuilding my faith in Him even though I have certainly doubted His purposes over the last 2 years. How humbled I am at all He has done for us and all He will do in the future. What a wonderful Father.

More specifics on California...

We are busily sorting stuff and getting ready for our move the 3rd week of May. It seems to be moving so quickly but we are seeing God's hand in so many ways that we both have a tremendous peace about everything that is happening. Several people have asked about what we will be doing once we arrive in the San Francisco Bay Area so here are some details:

Our first project will be starting an adminsitrative hub that will serve the small and growing church plants in the SF Bay area. Many of these churches need bookkeeping, help with project planning, newsletters, databases of fundraising contacts and members, etc. Being small and growing the church staff wants to spend time buidling relationships and minsitering to their people and they do not have the resources for full time staff. Our vision is to pool resources and centralize these functions to serve these churches. I (Brook) am excited to use my compulsion to organize things for the kingdom.

As this is getting established, we will be working on getting to know the area and build relationships with the various ministries there. This will help us establish a centralized way to coordinate short-term mission teams into the Bay Area. As a popular vacation destiantion, the San Fran Bay area could be a great place for groups of people to serve and vacation at the same time. This fits well with our passion and something that Dave is particularly gifted at.

This will all be along side a wonderful church planting community. We've spoken with many planters over the last few monts and there is a great spirit of cooperation there. We are hoping that being part of this community will help us discern what direction God may have for us in church planting. We are excited about the Russian-speaking community there and we are open to whatever God has for us in the future. Like any missionary relocating to a different culture, it will take us about 2 years to get settled and adjust to the area. I am planning on brushing up my Russian language and am trying to get Sam excited about learning Russian as well. From there, we will see what God does.

Finally, we'd like to request your prayers on a couple things as we embark on this adventure. There are still many details left to fall into place (for example, a place to live when we get there) but we are seeing God pull all this together so beautifully that we are confident those things will work out. Please pray with us on the following:

* Kids - Lilia is blissfully unaware of the impending change but Samuel is starting to realize that he will be leaving friends, family, baseball team, homeschool community, etc and gets sad sometimes. Please pray for his adjustment.

* Dave's family, who lives in Sarasota, is understandably sad about us leaving. Please pray for comfort for them and a peace about not having us so close anymore.

* Selling our house! We are praying that like it has been to us for 11 years, this house will be a blessing to another family.




We will miss the lovely Gulf Coast but I'm sure we will enjoy the lovely Pacific Ocean!

A Long Overdue Update

Well, it's been quite a while since the last "Maturo Messenger". For those that don't know, that was our newsletter from our IV Staff days. It's hard to believe it's been almost two years since we left IV. In some ways, it's gone by quickly, and in others, it's been excutiatingly slow.

So we think it's time to update everyone on what we've been up to. Admittedly, we have been exceptionally poor in keeping people up to date with our lives, so this is an attempt to catch people up and let folks know what we're doing now.

To pick up where we left off, Dave left IV staff at the end of the '07 school year. It was an amazing 10+ years on staff with IV and we saw God do great things over those years. We really enjoyed our time on staff and all the great students that allowed us to be a part of their lives. We keep up with many still (thank you, facebook) and see some from time to time. It was not easy leaving staff but we felt it was time.

Around the same time we were finishing up with IV, we were doing some reading on the missional church and were getting very excited about what was going on. Through some friends of ours that moved to Seattle, Dave got in touch with a pastor there that was looking for someone to start a college church across the street from the University of Washington. It was a dream job in every way. A three-story former frat house with two floors of dorm-type rooms, two basement apartments and a main floor that could be used for meeting space and a coffee shop. It couldn't have been more perfect.

After a few months of talking with the pastor, Dave took a trip to Seattle and spoke at the church that wanted to start this college church. Everything went very well and we were looking at moving as soon as possible. Then everything started to go wrong. It gets very, very complicated, but after eight more months of nothing working out, we finally had to let go of the dream job. Needless to say, Dave was crushed and went into a bit of a tail spin. He left the one job he loved with the belief that God had something better in store only to see that disappear as well. As you might imagine, this was not a good time. (don't worry, it gets better).

The next step was to try and find a job. So what does a guy that did college ministry for 10 years do? College ministry, of course. After a few months, many resumes, a few interviews and even a trip to Missouri, nothing had come through.

During this time Brook started her own medical billing company and then shortly after started managing a credentialing company as well. Dave watched the kids and worked part-time at a golf course. It paid the bills (sort of) but it wasn't what either of us wanted to do.

That brings us to a few months ago. For some reason, one day Dave decided to contact a church planter that he met during his trip to Seattle. A few emails back and forth ended with Dave getting the name of Linda Bergquist. Linda is a church plant strategist in San Francisco and was intersted in talking with us.

A quick aside....during these past couple of years, Dave has been very influenced by the book "The Shaping of Things to Come". If you haven't read it, please do. I'll get into it another time, but it had a major impact on how Dave did ministry his last year on staff with IV and continues to impact him daily.

Anyway, during the first phone conversation with Linda, Dave brought up "Shaping" and a specific idea in the book. Turns out Linda came up with the concept that was talked about in the book! It was at this point that Dave started to believe something was up. Up until this point, we were having a tough time figuring out what God was doing.

After quite a few more conversations, we planned a visit to SF. For those that don't know, SF has always been Dave's favorite city and is less than an hour from where he grew up. Our hope was to figure out if SF might be where God wanted us to be. At worst, at least we'd get a few days away in the greatest city on earth.

After a few days in the city, we were very much enjoying ourselves but not necessarily seeing where we were going to fit. We had spent the day with a former student of ours and afterward the two of us were sitting in Ikea eating dinner (who knew they had a food court?) trying to figure out what we were going to do. Brook had multiple job offers in the Bay Area, but neither of us wanted Brook to work full-time. We loved the city and the church planters we had met, but we didn't see how it could work out.
An hour or so later we are sitting at Linda's kitchen table when she brings up the idea of creating a mission program in San Francisco that would host teams from all over the country with the idea of growing and supporting local church plants in the Bay Area.

It clicked. For the first time in a very long time, we both saw something that could work. Something that would allow us to do ministry together, continue to homeschool the kids, use what we've learned in our years on campus and taking teams overseas, fit both of our gifts and satisfy our desire for a missional communtiy. We were so excited we couldn't sleep and spent the next couple of hours jotting down ideas of what the program might look like.

These last few months have been both exciting and difficult for us. The prospect of finding what we've been looking for has encouraged us, but we've also been through this before and are trying to be cautious as well and not get too excited. But we believe we are to the point of letting people know what is going on and asking our friends to join us in prayer.

There are still quite a few things that need to be worked out, logistical and otherwise. Our desire is to be in SF by the beginning of summer which isn't very far away. We've begun the groundwork of putting together the mission program and believe we've done just about all we can do from here. Now we need to get on the ground in SF and put it all together.

There will be time for specifics on these things, but we think we've written more than enough for now. We will use this blog to update what is going on and a little more about the project. On top of all of this, there are 16,000 Russians living in the area of SF that we want to move to and very few, if any, missional churches reaching out.

So there you have it and now you're all caught up. This entry is quite long, but hopefully it makes up somewhat for our silence over the past couple of years. Thank you for your patience both in reading this blog and with us in general. More to follow...sooner than later.

A Russian Orthodox church in San Francisco.