This year we decided to ride more than double the distance. Our goal is to ride from Birmingham, AL to Atlanta, GA (approx. 174 miles) on the weekend of Nov 20-21. A larger group of friends has assembled, each using the event to raise money for a ministry where he/she works or volunteers. We decided to call this event the Cycle of Love 2010 (cycleoflove.org) as we all share a love for our neighbor – our community of Historic South Atlanta.

I chose to represent the South Atlanta Bike Shop – a youth development program/ministry I started 5 months ago. I shared the story and heart of this program in our last family newsletter, which you can read here on our blog . In short, the program allows youth from our community to work in the bike shop and with the points they earn they can purchase a bicycle of their own. In the process they work alongside a Christian mechanic/mentor that holds them to a high standard of work ethic and performance.

Joining me on this trip will also be Evan and Devin, two of the boys that have been participating in the bike shop. I am so excited about this because these two will spend two days on the road riding their bicycles alongside black and white urban ministry leaders, an experience that cannot be substituted with any afternoon activity.

As I prepare for the longest bike ride of my life to represent the ministry of the South Atlanta Bike Shop, I wanted to ask that you prayerfully consider supporting this ministry in a two-fold way, both components of which are equally important in order for the ministry to function:

1. Contribute towards the operation of the bike shop (rent, tools, parts, helmets, bike locks)
2. Contribute towards our family support account to allow us to dedicate time to this ministry

Thank you for your continued support whether financial or through prayer. We could not do the work we do without you.

Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya, Tobi and Eli

October was an exciting month as we took our very first road trip as a family of four. We’ve taken several short trips in the car with the kids, but never traveling more than a few hours from home. After our last trip down to South Carolina back in June, I hinted that we were done with the airline industry (at least for a while) and wanted to give driving the 16 hour drive a whirl. Surprisingly, the trip went really well and the kids did great for being strapped into their carseats for so long. We borrowed a portable DVD player, which made the hours go by so much faster. In fact, Kaiya spent most of the drive watching her favorite videos and looked like this: 

And Tobi like this:

But, on occasion we found them enjoying other activities like these:

We made several stops to stretch our legs, spent the night in a hotel room and after traveling through seven states we finally reached our destination of South Carolina. We spent a few days with my family and then Andrej and I left the kids with my parents and embarked on yet another trip to the neighborhood of South Atlanta.

We had spent the months in between our previous trip there in June and this one asking God what he had for our family. We spent hours discussing the decision with our friends and family and praying together for God’s direction. However, at the end of the day neither Andrej nor I could say without a shadow of a doubt that God was calling our family to relocate to Atlanta, but on the other hand we could not say that he wasn’t calling us either. We knew the only way a decision would be reached would be for us to go back to the neighborhood and spend more time learning and listening to God.

As Andrej and I drove south on I-85, our conversations tended to focus on two things. We talked a lot about “calling” and what it meant to be “called by God” to join Him in something specific. Neither Andrej nor I have ever heard God audibly speak, so how does one discern calling  from any other feeling you may have. Secondly, our conversation landed on the what-if-we-are-pregnant topic. I was about 95% sure we were expecting our third child, but since this one was not planned, I refused to get my hopes up until I saw a positive test.  We also discussed baby names, but if you’ve been reading this blog long you already know that conversation went nowhere.

When we pulled onto the street where our friends, and possible future teammates Nate and Melissa Ledbetter were now living, we prayed for our hearts to be open and that God would make it clear what part he wanted us to play in His redemption of this neighborhood. Our friends had just moved into this new house, one street over from where they were living when we visited in June. Even though it was only one street away it was like a different world. We noticed right away that it was certainly a lively street. People were out on their front porches or congregating in the street and music was coming from a nearby car that several men were gathered around.

As we got out of the car, we noticed two kids about the same ages as our own kids playing in the front yard of a nearby house. We would later learn that particular house was a known drug house. Sadly, we also learned that on the first night our friends moved into their new house there was a shoot out in the street in front of their home. That story coupled with the image of the kids innocently playing in the front yard deeply impacted me.

You would think a story like that would send me running, but in fact I believe God used it to hit on the very things keeping me from making the decision. The first one being calling, Melissa had said that you have to know God has called you to this type of ministry or when guns are being fired in front of  your home, you will be ready to pack and move as soon as possible. Secondly, my kids safety has been a huge factor in this decision and for some reason knowing that there were children living in that environment and their parent(s) were drug dealers completely broke my heart. Those kids deserve better. Those kids deserve hope and a future just as my own kids do.

Thankfully, we had three days with the Ledbetters to process these thoughts of calling, safety and if and where our family would fit into the ministry. As we stood in their kitchen catching up and discussing the schedule and plans for the next few days, Nate asked if there was anything we wanted to see or do during our time in Atlanta. My husband piped up to say that the schedule looked great and the only thing we needed to do was go to a store with a pharmacy so we could purchase a pregnancy test. After the excited congratulations had been said and the surprise wore off, we dove head first into three life changing days spent learning, exploring and praying over South Atlanta.

Melissa and I did make a target run that afternoon, and I purchased the much anticipated pregnancy test. It was all I could do to make it back to their home to take the test and see the results. When we walked in the door, Andrej, Nate and another guy, Matt, were waiting on us and they were about to head out into the neighborhood to give a tour to Matt who was interested in volunteering with Sub-Urban. Before they left I quickly went to the bathroom, administered the test and within seconds the test showed a positive reading. Elated and shocked at the same time, I shared the news with Andrej and then with our dear friends, and yes even with Matt. Baby Ciho #3 was on his or her way!

The days that followed were incredible and both Andrej and I began to see ourselves living and working in this neighborhood. We took in a lot of information, but unlike our initial visit in June, we had plenty of time to process everything with the Ledbetters. We learned about possible schools for our kids to attend, possible homes that we could rent within the neighborhood and we discussed possible roles that both Andrej and I could play within the ministry Sub-Urban. We also did fun things around Atlanta as well. We ate at yummy restaurants, went to Atlantic Station and even popped into IKEA for a few things. On our last day, we visited the Martin Luther King, Jr. museum.

However, the thing that impacted me the most happened just before we left. Andrej asked me if I wanted to go for a walk with him in the neighborhood. Honestly my first reaction was to ask, “By ourselves? Without the Ledbetters or their gigantic American bulldog?” Andrej answered yes and reminded me that if we moved to the neighborhood, we could not live in fear. There would be no reason to come if I was afraid to leave our house. I agreed and we set out to discover the neighborhood, get a better look at some of the houses that may be available for us to rent and of course to pray.

This walk was a turning point for me as I was able to look beyond the run down buildings, boarded up houses, glass shattered streets, graffiti covered walls and see God’s redemption. I was able to see smiles on peoples’ faces even though their living conditions were meager. I was able to see hope that a neighborhood could be restored and be a safe place for the families to raise their children. I was able to see past the crime, prostitution and drug houses and see neighbors who really want to better their community and see peace prevail. I wasn’t afraid and I didn’t feel threatened, in fact it was the complete opposite. Every person we met, either walking or sitting on their porch enjoying the sunshine, went out of their way to greet us and make us feel welcomed.

Andrej and I prayed as we walked and then prayed with Nate and Melissa when we returned to their home to say good-bye. We left knowing that we would be in touch with them soon as the decision was weighing heavy on our hearts. We drove north to have dinner with some great friends that we worked with in Slovakia, the Desnoyers and the Tichys. Another plus for relocating to Atlanta is that we already have friendships with people that we admire deeply and are a piece of Slovakia right here in the States. We had a fun evening catching up and laughing, and it was a perfect ending to our time in Atlanta.

We headed back to my parents house to collect hugs and kisses from the two kiddos we missed terribly. We enjoyed hearing all about the adventures Kaiya and Tobi had with their grandparents riding the tractor, fishing, playing in the yard, collecting hickory nuts and having a blast.

We shared about all of the things we learned during our time in South Atlanta, and my family was ecstatic to hear that the biggest thing we learned was that we were expecting another baby. Unfortunately, we didn’t have much time left before we had to load up the car and retrace our path back through those seven states until we arrived home. The rest of the pictures from our road trip are located here.

Soon after our return, we made the final decision to step out in faith and trust God with relocating our family to South Atlanta to join Sub-Urban. All of our conversations about calling, safety, faith, foolishness and trusting God left us thinking how could we not be a part of this adventure. How could we say no to joining God in something so life changing and incredible. We are definitely looking forward to this next chapter God has for our family. You can find more information on the ministry, our roles and how you can be a part of the journey in the sidebar just to your right, and more information on the ups and downs of the journey so far will be coming soon.

Other October happenings:

Even though the trip down south was the major event of the month, there were a few other fun things we did in October.

In early October, we joined friends at a local Pumpkin Patch/Apple Orchard for some fall activities. Those pictures are located in their own album here.

October ended with a fun Halloween party at Kaiya’s school and trick-or-treating with our neighbors. Kaiya LOVED her pink poodle costume my mom found for her at a consignment shop. Tobi was a puppy dog at Kaiya’s school party, but the costume was too big and the hood kept falling down over his eyes so he refused to keep it on. On Halloween night, we opted to put him in a smaller bear costume that was Kaiya’s a few years back. Remember her as the bear? Anyway, it was a bit too small on Tob, but he didn’t seem to mind.

Halloween night was perfect weather wise, unseasonably warm, and I like to think that was God making up for last year when Kaiya and Andrej trick-or-treated in a torrential downpour. We joined our good friends and neighbors for a Halloween party and then headed out into the neighborhood to fill the kids’ buckets with loot. Both Kaiya and Tobi had a blast, and Tobi fell right into step with the big kids and went up to each and every door as if he had been trick-or-treating for years. It was a fun night for all. The pictures from the Halloween related events are located in their own album here.

November and December rewinds are coming soon!

Dear Family and Friends,

We hope this letter finds you doing well and enjoying this holiday season. We have some exciting news to share. First of all, we are excited to announce that we are expecting our third child in mid-June. We couldn’t be happier, especially big sister Kaiya who already knows what she wants to name the baby. Secondly, after several trips down south and much time spent in prayer, we have decided to step out in faith and relocate our family to Atlanta to join an urban ministry called Sub-Urban. In the paragraphs that follow we want to share more about the neighborhood, ministry and vision God has given us for this community.

Where

The South Atlanta community (originally called Brownsville) is a historic African-American neighborhood originally founded for freed slaves after the Civil War. What was once a mecca for the African-American community in Atlanta is now a neighborhood in distress, struggling with crime, gang-related violence, prostitution and drug houses.

However, to do justice to the community of South Atlanta, we have to mention that the above is not the entire story. There are neighbors that care and look out for each other in redemptive ways that we have not see even in our neighborhood in Michigan.

Why

Many of the children growing up in generational poverty, having been oppressed, end up becoming oppressors – dealing drugs and participating in gangs. We believe that God’s heart is broken over the state of this community and as we’ve genuinely asked God to show us His heart, ours were broken for this community as well.

What

We are planning to relocate our family to this neighborhood to roll up our sleeves and join neighbors in working to strengthen the spiritual, social and economic vitality of the community.

A quote by an aboriginal activists group describes the posture we want to maintain: “If you have come to help me, you are wasting your time. But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.”

We need each other – we look forward to investing in this neighborhood as much as to the ways our neighborhood will invest in us.

We will be joining a ministry called Sub-Urban, which is part of a family of ministries under the umbrella of FCS Urban Ministries. We will not be alone in our efforts; we will be joining a team of people that we can learn from and work alongside.

The mission of Sub-Urban is to connect neighbors across race and class lines to transform neighborhoods. Three major areas of its focus are (with more details on Sub-Urban.org):

1. Spiritual Rebirth: Prayer Vigils, connecting neighbors into our local church
2. Social Networks: BBQs, Internships (Atlanta-London Merge), Collaborative Office
3. Economic Development – Foreclosure Redemption Strategy and a future Farmer’s Market

Our roles with Sub-Urban

Andrej’s role is going to be a systems architect, neighbor, and activist. He is going to use his experience with web technologies and technology in general to help equip and empower the various ministries under the FCS Ministries family to live out their mission. In addition, Andrej will build street relationships while refining relational “systems” that help care for people in an effort to see spiritual revival and community transformation. Andrej will also develop and give oversight to communication systems that connect neighbors, churches, volunteers, and leaders into relationship.

Jessica’s role will be building relationships with other young moms in the neighborhood as well as giving oversight and planning to gatherings, trainings, fundraising events, and community gatherings among neighbors.

What you can do

We cannot do this alone. We need a giant prayer network praying for us, our children, our neighbors, and our efforts in the neighborhood.

We will also need financial support, both one-time/start-up costs and on a monthly basis. Andrej will work part-time for his web-development business, but in order to focus on the neighborhood transformation as a family we will need financial support to cover the rest of our needs.

We recognize that this is a lot to ask in this economy, but we didn’t want to stand in God’s way of providing for our family through generous hearts of our brothers and sisters in Christ. We want to ask that you pray about what involvement you may want to take in partnering with us in South Atlanta.

Our goal is to move to Atlanta by the end of January but we will need to have at least 3 months worth of the 2009 support budget ($7,5K) in the support account before we can move. Our needs are:

• Minimum Wage ($10,5K for 2009)
• Insurance  ($15,8K for 2009)
• Other Ministry Expenses ($3.5K for 2009)
• Moving expenses ($2K)

If you’d like to join our prayer team or partner with us financially, please fill out the enclosed response card. All financial gifts will go through FCS Urban Ministries and are tax deductible.

Please contact us if you have any questions or if you know of a church or a small group that would be interested in hearing more about the work in South Atlanta.

Thank you! Love,

Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya, Tobi and Baby Ciho #3