New MSM Video

I get the opportunity to speak about MSM at the high school I teach at on November 18th. We are very excited for this opportunity, please be praying that the Holy Spirit goes before me and opens the eyes and ears of not only the student body, but the staff as well. This is an amazing opportunity since it is a public high school! This weekend I put together a video that I will be showing the student body, check it out.

Mustard Seed Ministries Video

More miracles!

We have recently recieved a couple donations towards the Mustard Seed Ministry food sharing pantry.  This above picture is a large load of non-perishables that were donated in memory of Brian Haisch, a childhood friend of mine who just passed a couple weeks ago.  The Haisch family decided to put the money (that would have gone to flowers for the memorial) towards food that would help others in need.  We are honored and inspired to be blessed with this.  Thank you Keith and Leo!

Above is yet, another food pantry donation!  Tigard Community Friends Church held a talent show and gathered many items from the attendants for a gift specifically designated to Mustard Seed Ministries.  Thank you TCFC!  We are so encouraged by the support and love you have shown our family and ministry.

Andy has also been asked to speak, on Nov. 18, at a Woodburn High School assembly!!!  He will be sharing many stories from our travels as well as the vision of ministry here in Hubbard.  This is a HUGE miracle!  God has given Andy so many amazing opportunities to be the Light of Jesus at this high school.  Please be praying for him as he prepares for this.

These are awesome testimonies of how God has shown us His favor for this new season of Mustard Seed Ministries.  With all that we have been going through (adjustment to life NOT on wheels, Andy starting a new job, having a new baby, building the food pantry, getting sick, homeschool, car/RV problems and life in general) He continues to go before us, even if we are not ready.  Before we even have shelves in the pantry, we have food to begin stocking!  Without even asking, God has provided an unusual opportunity to communicate His Good News to a huge group of high school students!

We have had some time to pray more vision for Mustard Seed Ministries.  Our next activity will be taking a flier, our kids, and the little red wagon around the neighborhood to begin spreading the word and communicating to our little town of Hubbard, that we, the Coulombe family/Mustard Seed Ministries, are available.  That can mean many things….available to share food, a listening ear, prayer, discipleship, a ride to the grocery store, etc.

Please be praying with all of us as we seek His face, live Life, and love on our neighbors.

Lucilla Ann Coulombe

We’ve recently received a few requests of our sweet new baby girl, Lucilla Ann!  She is now 4 weeks old!  Can you believe it?  Luci is fitting into our family quite nicely!  Avery, Ally, and Eva are still enamored of her (mostly Ally and Eva) asking to hold her all the time.  The adjustment has been a little rough at times but we are persevering!  If you want to see more pictures of the fam, just click on our Flickr pictures!

Big Buster, tape, mud, and Spanish

We wanted to give a brief update on what has happened in the last couple weeks…related to “ministry”.

1) We have found a lovely little spot to place Big Buster!  He will be parked close by, in Woodburn, so that we can get a few things taken care of before we officially put him up for sale.  Thank you to our friends who have blessed us with valuable space on their property!

2) HOWEVER…Big Buster is unfortunately stuck up in Ridgefield, WA.  He will not start.  We are praying and beginning the search for a good diesel mechanic.  Any ideas???

3) Andy and good friend Aaron Chaffee taped and mudded the drywall in the food pantry today!  Next will be shelving and stocking it with food!

4) Someone has generously given us a Spanish, cd and workbook, set!  Praise the Lord!

Blessed be His name…no matter what the situation!

Big Buster is in the market for a new owner

So, after much prayer as well as working through a lot of emotional attachment we have decided to sell Big Buster.  In a weird kind of way Big Buster is kinda part of our family.  He was with us in thick and thin, he gave us shelter, warmth, coolness, and freedom.  Most importantly, he allowed us to reach out to the least of these on our journey and follow God’s call on our lives.

We bought him back in May 2008 for $23,000.  Although to many of you who followed us it seemed like all we did was fix him, he really did quite well on the trip and other than a few issues (mainly tires and a bad transmission computer that only intermittently reared it’s ugly head) it was a great RV and did all that we asked of it.  We put about $10,000 into him over the year: $1,200 in new tires, $400 in front brakes, $250 in front barrings, $3,500 in replacing the transmission ECU (main computer), $4,000 in converting the fuel system into running on both diesel and vegetable oil, as well as miscellaneous repairs.

Our asking price is $25,000.

There are so many things to list about Big Buster, and this really isn’t the best place to do it.  If you have any questions click on the “contact” link above and email either Serenity or I.

Church Under the Bridge

Check out Church Under the Bridge!

We would love to see more join up with this ministry and have an opportunity to see a little glimpse of the Kingdom.

Next date for this outreach is October 25!

Building the food pantry

We have been envisioning the Mustard Seed Ministry food pantry for a while now.  I think we were in Los Angeles staying at a county park on the beach directly underneath LAX when the Lord gave us a vision of what MSM was supposed to look like when we returned to Hubbard, Oregon.  A simple food pantry was one component.  Not one where the poor traversed public transit, were given a number and waited in line to get a prescribed bag of canned foods, but one where people from the neighborhood can come and hang out, get specifically what they need and in the right season can even get fresh corn, strawberries, tomatoes and other fresh produce grown from people’s own backyard gardens.  We would not have a layer of service that separated us from the poor, but rather we would have the opportunity to commune and build relationship with people who live around the corner.  This is our heart.

This past weekend, despite coming down with H1N1, I, along side Paul Morse, a member of Tigard Community Friends Church just up the road in Tigard, Oregon, began the process of framing, putting up drywall and shelving an 8′ X 16′ space in our garage.  It came together very nicely and I didn’t vomit on Paul once (that would have been nice, build a brand new food pantry and the first thing I do is throw up all my groceries in it   Next weekend I plan to mud and tape the drywall and then soon after my plan is to put up shelving.

a before shot

Paul (the journeyman)

done with the framing

now time for the drywall

Andy (the apprentice)

Just enough room for us to park The Werewolf (or VW Vanagon) with the food pantry on the right

and Avery approves

Prayer meeting update

This last Tuesday we held our second meeting to pray, discuss, and intercede for the people of the Southgate area.  Thank you Pastor Craig and Lia for joining us, we are always greatly encouraged to see who God hand-picks for these times.

These were some of the key prayers/themes that popped up through the evening:

• Through all of our efforts of service and relationship, Jesus would be what people see and ultimately set their hearts upon.
• That the whole community would be included and touched by the efforts of MSM, the church, and individual members of the Body of Christ.  So often, large portions of communities are missed/left out because the focus of ministries are only targeting one group of people.
• Unity among the churches in this area would continue to grow- becoming more and more like the Body of Christ (1 Corinthians 12)
• We need to learn Spanish!
• That the Lord would give extra creativity as we pray and brainstorm ideas to seek out the lost and broken.
• That our hearts would stay humble and teachable
• That MSM would not be tempted to sensationalize but keep things simple and authentic.
• Volunteers would find peace and joy as they serve and spend time with Mustard Seed Ministries.
• That the food pantry would remain filled and useful for this community.  (As I write, Andy and our friend, Paul, are building the walls and shelving in our garage!)
• That the Coulombe family would continue to serve together, including our children in ministering the love of Jesus to whoever we meet.

Thank you all for continuing your prayers for this small family ministry.  There have been moments recently when we wish we were back on the road in Big Buster, especially when we are battling the sometimes very clausterphobic feeling of suburbia.  However, we know that our Father has placed us here to continue the good work He has started in this community, and our family.  We ask for prayers of perseverance and faith, as the Lord develops our character.  And that Jesus stays in the forefront of our minds so that all other things fade away.

One step at a time!

Article on MSM in HomeLife Magazine

Jason Boyett is a freelance writer and speaker whose writings have appeared in a lot of publications including Relevant Magazine (one of my favorites). We stayed with his family in Amarillo, Texas while on our journey last year and even got the opportunity to speak at his church.  He interviewed us for an article that is coming out in the October issue of HomeLife Magazine, a Southern Baptist publication (not the snake taming sect), but is linked here if you want a sneak peek.

Praise and prayer

We are praising the Lord for the small and big stirrings that we have felt during the last few days.  God is the Great Connector and Networker…we are continuing to find this as Truth!

We have a date set on the calendar for Andy and a friend (who is providing his talents and some materials) to begin working on the food sharing shack in our garage!  Please be praying that finances and extra materials show up for that weekend.  We say “show up” because God literally dumped premium plywood onto the street, in front of our house, that will be used for the sharing shack.  He is sovereign, creative and has a great sense of humor!

We also have the next prayer meeting set for October 6.  Please be praying, in advance, for the right people to come, His voice to be heard, and freedom to reign as we fellowship and pray together for this community.

And last but certainly not least, we are hearing and being encouraged that yes, God has put us here for a REASON!!!  Community members have voiced and are seeing that Hubbard is lacking in services and dedication to help the poor.  Some folks have even specifically prayed for a food pantry of some kind.  If that is not something to be praising Him for, I don’t know what is!  I am amazed and thankful for God to have all the plans laid out.  He DOES know how things are going to work and all he needs is willing workers.