Two weeks

It's been two weeks today. Two weeks from the day we drove out of LA and into the East Bay. Little did we know what adventures lay ahead of us. We were finally able to move into our house this last Sunday after being here for 12 days. 12 days of staying with friends and even strangers as we waited for renovations with this house to be completed. Well now, three months past the deadline, repairs are still being made. We've moved in... although we can't unpack yet b/c of all the work still being done. We are camping out in our house with our boxes, thankful for a place to sleep.

Our time has been full with house calls and visits and long talks with contractors and sub-contractors and owners and associations and random construction workers... as well as with Mosaic. This Sunday was our second official gathering. We are still in the process of finalizing a location and a time. The first Sunday we met at a park in Berkeley... the second Sunday at an arts center near the Cal-Berkeley campus. We haven't yet been able to find a location and a time that line up together... but hopefully soon.

Mosaic Bay (as I want to call it but we haven't formally decided yet) is going amazingly well. Our first Sunday at Live Oaks Park attracted just over 50 people, both from the East Bay and San Francisco. About 30 of those people are from the former church, the Berkeley Mosaic, while the others are new- friends of Mosaic LA attendees or fans of Erwin McManus. We are in the process of defining our non-negotiables or core values, and experimenting with times and locations. Such adaptability wouldn't be possible without email and cell phones. What did we do before this technology existed?

I am doing fine here, as some of you have asked. In fact, it feels completely natural and normal for me to be here doing this. That's the best I can describe it. Though I've only been here 14 days, I feel like being here (though the exact location is subject to frequent change) in the Bay area is just right where we belong. Exactly where we are supposed to be. For example, although I've never met in a park for church before, that felt entirely normal.

The only real challenge I face is my sense of responsibility. I feel compelled to be responsible for everything, every detail. And I can't for the life of me prioritize. I want to move, help lead Mosaic, find a job, financially provide, fix up our house... all at the exact same time. It's made for quite a few headaches. I give headaches to others too when I try to "micromanage" everything. Please pray for me specifically in this.

Well, I better go. We don't have Internet access very often although I'll check it as often as I possibly can. I do miss you, my friends. My concept of home has been on the move for the last four years, if not more. Home, to me, has always been, where my friends are. Wherever you are, that is where I am, at least in part.

Love
nik