Futures

Hello all!  First of all, we apologize about not updating as much as we would like, it's been a pretty busy set of weeks here in beautiful Sligo.  Second, we are realizing more and more each day just how much our supporters mean to us and we think of you all very often.

We recently had a visit from a gentleman named Abner, who is working in Lebanon preaching the gospel to refugees fleeing from the war.  He also works with the YWAM base there and it was great for the team going to Lebanon to meet him and ask some great questions.  Abner (originally from Brasil) was speaking on the importance of evangelism to Muslim believers and how to hold a discovery Bible study.  A discovery Bible study is a great tool to use when digging deep into the Word.  It is essentially just using the Scripture alone to see what God is saying.  Abner also challenged us to hold true to the Word of God.  He said that we will have to compromise either the world or the Holy Spirirt.  His teaching was very impactful because it caused us to really check our motives when we choose to do what we do.

While Abner was here, we also had the chance to participate in the Children's Evangelism Fellowship (CEF) holiday Bible camp.  Think of it as a vacation Bible school held during the final week of October.  We were the main staff for the duration of the camp and really had a great time with the children.  We played games, helped out with songs, memory verses and Bible teachings.  The camp ended with a party for children of all ages on Halloween night.  It was fun to see all the kids dressed up and watch the Jungle Book as well.  Sorry that we don't have pictures throughout the week, we aren't allowed to post pictures of the children, but know that Irish children are darling!

This past week we had one of the best weeks (in my opinion).  Maged, the base director from the King's Lodge in England, came and spoke about hearing the voice of God.  We absolutely loved his style of teaching and what he had to say about drawing closer to The Lord in obedience.  He spoke out of so much love and obedience for our Father that it was difficult not to enjoy this week.  The Holy Spirit fell so heavy upon all of us as we dug deep into Scripture and practiced hearing the word of God.  It is so encouraging to know that each believer carries the authority of the Holy Spirit and is able to clearly hear His voice.  It is not always easy, but with some practice, we can hear God's voice beckoning us into a deeper relationship with Him.  Don't we serve an amazing God?

One nugget that I really want to leave with you all from this week is a quote that was shared with Maged some years ago.

     "Our God is the genius communicator.  His ability to communicate is far greater than our inability to hear." 

Powerful words spoken by a man who is truly on fire for The Lord.  I hope they encourage you.

The title of this post is "Futures" and for good reason.  Korina and I (plus Baby Bean!) really want to share our vision for our future within ministry.  We know a lot of you read this blog, but may not know exactly what our long term plan is for our lives.  I'm hoping to clear up some questions now.

We are currently attending a DTS at YWAM Sligo in Ireland.  This school has been years in the making for our lives and we know each and every day that our Father has clearly called us here.  We will be leaving for our outreach in Morocco the second week of December and will be returning to the states in late January.  Once back in the states, we are planning on staffing with YWAM on a full time basis.  We are continually praying for direction as to which base we will attend and God has revealed and confirmed many moves for us in the near future, so please continue to pray.

We have a heart for the lost.  God has fostered this compassion for people  in our hearts in many ways; through jobs and experience He has intentionally placed in our lives.  I love food, but even more importantly,  I love to teach.  I feel that God has given me the ability to portray clearly information and I love to help explain difficult things to people who are asking for more.  This gift has been prayed over me for many years and I finally see it coming to fruition.  I want to lead my family in the footsteps of Christ, asking Him what step to take next and walking in faith as we are obedient to the Father.

Korina, as many of you know, has a strong mothering spirit.  God has revealed to her that she will be a mother to and of the nations.  This is very exciting as she gets ready to mother our first child.  Her strong faith causes others to draw close as she loves them like a  mother does.  Others draw to her for advice regarding many different issues.  Her goal is to continue to allow God to reveal this capability in her and her family as walks out in obedience to His will.

We are continuing to step out in faith in every aspect of our lives.  Any decisions we have been making in regards to our lives, have been taken up to The Lord.  God speaks to us in amazing ways, and it is exciting to see glimpses of our future.  For this to happen, we also need your help.  We need your prayers all the time that we hear God clearly and follow His will.  We also need help financially.  Outreach costs for us are currently $2700 that is due by the first week of December.  Beyond that need, we are seeking out monthly supporters who want to joins us in seeing the nations changed.  Once we graduate DTS and return to the states, we will live off of full support from generous donors who believe in what we are doing.  Please pray and consider joining our team as we impact the nations.

None of what we do can be accomplished without the help of our supporters.  God gave Korina and I each and everyone of you for a very specific purpose and we look forward to discovering that together. Please continue to pray for us regarding the health of our little one, our finances, and our futures.

If you would like to partner with us financially, please visit here to make an online donation.  For tax deductible purposes, please send checks to Singing Waters Christian Center, PO Box 1544, Avalon, CA 90704 with a sticky note attached with our names on it.  PayPal is  probably the best options, you can send money to justin.barigian@gmail.com.

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

Be encouraged by this Word.  When we seek Him, He hears us.  Best of all, He will respond!

Leaving on a jet plane!

We bought our plane tickets yesterday. I woke up, looked at my husband who was already on the ipad looking up any last minute deals he could find, and then, just like that, we bought them. A few weeks ago we had close friends offer to purchase our tickets as their way of getting involved in the movement Justin and I have committed to. It was humbling and overwhelming to say the least.

(photo from Korina's first DTS 2007)

Ready or not, we are going. Praise God! We also have had more friends and family voice their commitment to prayer and financial support in just the last few days alone. It's looking as though God's favor really is on us in this new season. In all reality, once our paychecks pay off the last few bits of personal debts, our committed supporters and our savings will get us there! Seeing our flight confirmation has really made it so much more of a reality.

We still need to raise enough in financial support to cover the rest of our tuition and travel costs to our outreach locations, about $6,600. If you would like to be involved in any way our church here at Singing Waters has offered to be our median so that checks made out to them can go to us for tax deductible donations. I'll touch more on that later. 

We can continue to raise support while we are there as well, but would love to be able to commit as much time as possible to the ministry and not as much focusing on support raising. Either way, this continues to be a faith growing and God-perception shattering experience. We hope, that those of you who read this are also encouraged to see just how powerfully God can move as well.

We are currently praying that God would prepare our hearts for all of the things we will encounter while on our DTS. We are praying for flexibility, for safety, for peace, that we would be impactful, and be impacted. We are praying that God would go before us and provide ample opportunities for us to serve people and be infectiously genuine.

Please join us in these prayers specifically as we prepare. If you do feel a leading to partner with us financially, donations can be made via check to:

Singing Waters Christian Center

PO Box 1544

Avalon, CA 90704

(on memo line write "Justin Barigian YWAM")

Also, you can visit our fundraising page here!

We love you all and pray for you often. If there are things we can pray specifically for please comment below or shoot us a private message. Love and blessings from Catalina!
-Justin and Korina

BAM!....whhhooooaaaaa

 A group of my friends decided that "BAM!...wwooaaaahhh" should be our church slogan.
God shows up in powerful ways and then leaves us in awe every.single.time
The way we have been experiencing God has left me feeling overwhelmed and simultaneously excited. I now expect God to show up. I expect Him to work in powerful ways regarding healing, and prayer and worship.


But one of the areas I so often don't trust God- money.

 (basically my face when God asks me to let go of "my" money)

I claim a great and powerful God who can make mountains move and raise the dead to life....but there is no way He would provide enough money for us to make it.
I don't give God enough credit to take care of my most basic needs but I do trust Him to speak to me and direct me. I have taken ownership of my finances as though I am entitled to them in the first place. Is the God who is God of your children, God of the earth, God of miracles and God of works, also the God of your finances?
Ugh...this one hurts to the bone.
"You can have it all Jesus...except my paycheck"

In the trusting of what seem to be impossible financial hurdles I am choosing to trust that God is big enough to provide for me in the ways I need it. My one prayer is that I would be a good steward of what He has given. Break my heart Father, and make it new.
Prayerfully choosing to go into full time missions through YWAM has been the biggest challenge to trusting God in this way. It was back in 2007 for my first DTS and it is now.  You basically ask God to provide financially in every aspect- including your "paycheck". Relinquishing control of this is ...hard to say the least.

Life on the island is getting busier as the summer season approaches. We soon qualify for our commuter books which will save us hundreds in travel over to the mainland (chipotle here we come!)
My family came to visit for Easter which was SO FUN -obviously

 We are blessed to be sharing in life with the Dominguez family and our church family at Singing Waters. I am working on two things- my fear of man's opinion of me and my financial expectation of God. Justin is working on being trained up as a teacher and being bold in his calling. We are looking out at a landscape full of potential roads in different directions and asking God to direct us along the way. We have many choices and each one is God-filled.

Our hearts are being softened to people as we have prayed for more compassion and discernment about the hearts of those around us. We long to ease the burdens of those in longing by praying with them and for them and, hopefully, being a little bit of Jesus to them in their day.

Anything could happen in God's economy.
Anything

Let's say 'yes' to the not knowing, the uncertainty, the willingness to let God move in our lives. Let's relinquish control, and say 'no' to fear. Let's have fun.

And before you know it- you'll find yourself saying "God works like this 'Bam! Whoa!'"