Leaving a Legacy

God has really pushed the two of us this week, not only to our limits, but also extended our view of who we thought He was in many ways.

We  found out that we are proud parents of a little girl!  I can't believe that God trusts me to raise a little girl, but I trust He knows best and will make me into the most capable father.  God grant me the grace and energy for children, my living legacy.  Daughter, I love you more than words can describe.  I will do my best to follow after our Father's heart and set an example of what true love looks like.

Just when you think that you understand who God is, He laughs and blows your mind. This week we watched video lectures on living a Biblical worldview. We were taught how to seek after the Father's heart by using an Old Testament structure.  Everything from government to education was covered.  God really knows what He is doing doesn't He?

I am challenged to stop reading the Bible in a lazy way believing that it is all allegory with some history thrown in for good measure.  The videos changed our view of how we approach our ministry.  Too many times have we just expected God to send down miracles without us doing any work. God is big enough to perform this way, but if He is asking me  to join Him in work, who am I to say no.  I am tired of expecting God to rain down manna while I am now in the Promised Land.  He will bless us, but He is asking us to be odeient in action.  

We were so blessed to be apart of the YWAM Ireland meeting on Monday.  It was so encouraging to hear about just how much God has done in this beautiful country in the last 7 years.  It reminded Korina just how God works as well.  Just like Korina, YWAM experienced a death of sorts, a rebuilding on new foundation, and finally a birth. God is so awesome in fulfilling His promises!  Mama B also got to cook an awesome Chicken Tortilla soup that everyone loved!

This week is going to be a memorable week.  We celebrate the lives of two wonderful mothers in our lives.  One of which lives in heaven and the other who is going to be a grandmother for the first time. God brings it into perspective as He prepares a new mother here.  This Thanksgiving, we celebrate motherhood and everything that it entails.  Love, compassion, truth.  Our moms resemble all of these things.  They show us the tender heart of God and showcase His loving kindness.  I am one proud  husband, son and soon to be father, of all these mothers in my life.  All of you add to the legacy that I am creating for my children.  A legacy that will be overcome by God's goodness in my children's heart.  A lifestyle that resembles The Lord in any way I can.

As you prepare to give thanks to your family this week, please keep us in your prayers. We call you all family and want to know what you are up to this week so please let us know.  We need your help with financing our ministry as well.  If all of our readers would even consider donating $15, we would be blessed.  Please click here to help or e-mail us at justin.barigian@gmail.com

How are you leaving a legacy, not only for your children, but for the greater good of all of God's creation?  Live fully, to the highest calling God has for your life, and you will be amazed at the results.  We sure are.

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!

Home again, home again, jiggity jig

"The mountains are calling and I must go" - Muir

We made it Oakhurst!

(Last Coney before we left...it was so good I cried)

Our goodbye from Avalon was overwhelming and filled with tearful hugs. We have never had such an amazing community of people send us off. Our hearts were both broken and filled with hope at the road ahead of us. We continue on with joy knowing we will see them again in just a few short months. It was a tight squeeze but we fit it all! Our car is awesome :)

We had a great visit with Justin's parents on our way up the hill and got to share more about this new journey. It's hot in Fresno but their solar powered air conditioner made it amaaaaazing. 

We have had the blessing of visiting with friends and family here in these mountains. We really did miss them all so much. We have been able to visit with our future YWAM base friends and talk more in depth about our future stay on base. 

We are also prepping for our support dinner here soon next week and getting excited to see more of our friends before we leave. 

I am feeling great now that I am in my second trimester! Yay! 

 

Baby is now the size of a lemon and I am hyper diligent about feeling for any movement - even though I know I have a few weeks to go before I'll feel anything. I also have a little bump now! Well, not that little haha, my torso is so short baby has nowhere to go but out!

We will find out the sex of the baby while we are in Ireland! We really don't have a preference although everyone else seems to have a pretty strong opinion about it hahah. 

Now taking bets....and name ideas ;) 

We will post again soon before we leave!

All the details!

Because we know you want em ;)

If you haven't seen the video yet-

We are having a baby! Say whaaaaat?!

So first things first...YES we are still doing our DTS

NO we will not be having the baby overseas 

YES I will be getting great prenatal care while abroad (like we would even go if not, ha!)

YES we will find out the sex of the baby- but mostly for our family's sake

NO we don't have a preference on boy or girl (although there are some strong family opinions already haha)

I am officially done with my first trimester as week twelve comes to a close. I have been blessed to not have too much nausea, small snacks have been a lifesaver at keeping it at bay. But I am mostly looking forward to having energy again! Also, this kid wants ALL THE SALT, and lime, and vinegar, and never wants sugar or desserts (the one things that proves I'm pregnant as my sweet tooth is ravaging sans baby)
Justin is so much more attentive and loving than I ever would have expected. He is constantly serving and loving me when he isn't working his butt off at work. His love overwhelms me.

We are receiving this as the blessing that it is :)

You have been prayed for and longed for little one. We had a lot of heartbreak on our journey to you but God saw us fit to be your mommy and daddy and we will do our best to bring you into this world and love you with every breath.

We are confident in the journey God has placed before us, because we are confident in our maker. 

We will be leaving the island in 11 days for Oakhurst.... holy cow.

We leave for Ireland two weeks after that.

We leave for Morocco in December and head home at the end of January (just hours before my 34th week so I can still fly home)

Once we are home in Oakhurst, our prayer is to staff with YWAM Yosemite full time. 

For now...we take it one hour at a time, savoring every relationship, every moment with those we love. 

We had a small support dinner here and hopefully one more once we are in Oakhurst. We still need to raise about $3,500 for our outreach and committed monthly supporters for our time staffing full time once our DTS is over. We need LOTS of prayer coverage in this giant phase of transition. Prayer that we would be able to be effective in our ministries, loving in our serving, and have the discernment necessary in the many choices we have ahead of us. Also, that we would be great stewards of all that we have been given. 

We are so humbled to have been the recipients of such generosity while here on the island. From having the Dominguez family opening their home to us, to friends freely giving of their time and energy to get us to this point in our journey toward YWAM, we have. been. blessed.

Now we have a whole other set of prayers that come with finding out you're going to be a new parent.... you parents already know what they are I'm sure. If you think of us, pray for us? 

For now I am savoring the sweet moments of watching my belly grow, daydreaming about our little one, and looking forward to taking walks though the rolling hills of Ireland in the fall.

freeeeeedom!

God is so good!  We have been so blessed these last few weeks in so many different ways.  It is so easy to see how much the Lord loves us and how His hand guides us throughout the day. 

 Just last Sunday, Singing Waters held a healing service that was open to the community and there was a huge turnout.  God moved in amazing ways and people were healed physically and spiritually.  It was a fantastic experience to be apart of the team that helped usher in the presence of God and an even more memorable experience to be used by our Father to heal individuals in His name. 

We really wanted this post to be an expression of how grateful we are for each and every one of our readers and supporters.  We have been floored by the generosity of everyone who has donated not only financially, but time and prayer on our behalf.  Because of our supporters, we have been able to use our income from work to reconcile our debts before we leave for DTS.  If you have been following us, you know that this has been on our hearts for a few months now.  By focusing our income on these debts, we now can attend our DTS free of obligations elsewhere.  The only other loans that we have are school and a car loan.  Thank you for praying with us and continuing to donate to our DTS. Your prayers have helped give us vision and discernment regarding the many decisions we have in front of us. Your generosity is so humbling and so overwhelming. It continues to be a confirmation of the direction God is taking us.

We have been really learning so much about the way God works and how He fulfills promises, changes hearts and draws us nearer.

We have 68 days until we leave for Dublin and just 53 days till we leave the island! It’s coming so quickly!

For the time being we have been visiting with family, celebrating the 4^th, working, falling in love with each other every day, taking pictures, making lifelong friends, and taking the occasional flying fish tour with our friend Captain Mike.

Tonight we write with gratitude and a heart full of anticipation in the things God can do. With all the love and virtual hugs one can give –Team B

Business as usual...maybe?

     Life around here has been what some may call, "business as usual".  While that may fit the bill for most of what we are doing lately, it is far from the truth.  It would be a disservice to our Maker to just call the last month "usual" because of the blessings He has poured on to us.  

     We are working like crazy lately, trying to save as much money as we can for DTS, but also really getting involved as much as possible downstairs.  Justin had the chance to speak on something God has placed on his heart.  God has shown him that we need to look more closely at how we evangelize.  The focus needs to be on the individual receiving love from a believer.  Too many times do we focus directly on conversion, that we miss an opportunity to really love on people the way Christ did.   

Justin was blessed to be a part of this church by sharing his heart on evangelism.  We are excited to further extend our knowledge on this subject as we approach our start date.

     God is also preparing our hearts for a special healing service that we are going to be a part at Singing Waters.  The leaders have been earnestly seeking after the heart of God and what it means to be bold.  He placed it on our hearts to have a healing service here at the church.  We could not think of a better way to be bold for Jesus and count on Him to show up at this service.  Tons and tons of prayer has already gone into this and will continue to as we near the service.  We just want to show the city of Avalon that we serve a God who heals, all you have to do is call on His name.  We are asking Lord, thank you in advance for your presence.

     So, I think we are down to something like 68 days until we move off the island and 88 days until we hop on a plane and head to the Green Isle.  Every couple of days we are finding out more information regarding our DTS.  There are currently 12 students attending our DTS in Sligo, with the count being 8 men and 4 women.  We know that for the duration of our stay in Sligo, we will be in a hostel called the White House which is situated near central downtown (if one would say that there is a downtown Sligo).  The hostel has been rented out to YWAM so we will have full rein over the place.  This is super exciting because we will be able to make it our home and be able to live right in the city that we will be serving in.  From the White House, we will be attending our lecture at one of the local churches, just a short walk away.

  

The White House (not a great pic, sorry!)

 

     After lecture phase, we know that there will be a small group performing outreaches in both Lebanon and Morroco.  Please pray for clarity for us as God show us exactly which country He wants us to serve in.  We aren't quite sure how we will be serving in these countries, but will update as soon as we find out.  

 

     Support raising has been going very well, but we still need a large chunk of our DTS covered while we are saving.  We have our plane tickets (as we posted last week), which is a huge blessing from God.  Besides our plane tickets and the support that we currently have, we are still in need of about $6,000.  God has been so gracious with us and promised us the full amount once we reconcile a previous debt.  He has asked us to be bold in using money that would otherwise go to our DTS and put it toward this debt.  We will have this paid off in about two weeks and couldn't feel more blessed.  

     Funding is necessary for us to attend our DTS, but we are also looking for support in ways of some supplies.  We would love to invest in a nice DSLR camera like a Canon Rebel T3i or similar.  Also, Justin is in need of a camping backpack since his bag is just a little too large to take internationally.  We have a fair share of necessary clothing, but may need items that we just don't seem to own like rain boots, light rain jackets, and other light, waterproof clothing.  If you would love to help us out with these items, we would be forever blessed by your support.

In the meantime, we are choosing to dig deeper into God's word and not fall complacent as we look forward to DTS.  It is not easy by any means because our hearts are already there in Ireland (as well as Oakhurst!).  The Lord has blessed us with a calmness that seems confusing at times, but is greatly appreciated.  We are planning a support dinner here on the island for mid July and may even have one in September in Oakhurst before we leave.  If you want to help out in any way, let us know!

Action photo on the Rib Runner looking for dolphins!

     Lastly, we would love to thank each and every one of you.  By reading this blog, you are supporting our desires and dreams every day.  We can never thank you enough for all of your support.  

     If you would like to know more about our fundraising campaign, please visit https://www.youcaring.com/justinandkorina.  You can donate online via WePay or PayPal (for online donations, we recommend PayPal).  If you want to be old school, you can mail your checks to the church (check our website above!).

Once again, thank you for all that you do.  We love you all dearly!

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

A Generous God (plus a little something about you needing to get a free catalina vacation)

"I love you soooo much I'm going to provide enough funds for you to not only pay off your personal debts before you leave for your DTS, I'm also going to place someone in your life who will pay for your flights....but I'm not done yet."

Sligo, Ireland (photo natgeo.com)

THAT my friends is the kind of God we serve! With all assurance and expectation our God is paving the way for us to embark on this exciting new journey. We are experiencing Him in every thread of this amazingly complicated and intricate life. 

Your prayers for us are heard and felt and appreciated! Thank you to every one of you who has supported us thus far in one way or another. The gifts we have been given have been overwhelming and so confirming at the same time. 

As of now we are on track to leave for Ireland in September. We have found out that our outreach location could be either Morocco or Lebanon, both largely Muslim cultures, both steeped in rich history and lively people, both desperately needing to know about the God that pursues them daily and wants to know them intimately. 

Lebanon ruins (photo natgeo.com)

We have been blessed with the plane tickets to get there and we are inching our way to our financial goal. We still need to raise enough funds to cover the rest of our tuition costs but we are remaining faithful in how big our God can be. 

Morocco (photo travel.natgeo.com)

Right now we are looking at leaving the island on the 2nd of September and spending a few weeks in Oakhurst before our departure to work out storing our things and tying a few loose ends. Next month, on a date to be determined, we are going to have a fundraiser dinner and silent auction to go towards YWAM.

Otherwise, things are going pretty well here in Avalon. We are working a lot and serving a lot here at Singing Waters. We are seeing God do a lot of breakthrough in this community. In our time in prayer we have seen people healed, watched people find their spiritual gifts, heard God speak in powerful ways, and gained vision for more long term ministry. 

Plus it was Angie's birthday and we had a "Your Team" party for her. Which subsequently involved all of her celebrity crushes making up "her team" and her getting her own throne for the night and top hat with all of her "team mates" and then this happened...

We are looking forward to the summer season and having more friends and family visit before we leave the country for a little while. Which reminds me....

IF YOU ARE INTERESTED IN VISITING WE WILL HAVE THE HOUSE TO OURSELVES JUNE 14TH-26TH!

All you need to do is get here! Free accommodations on Catalina Island?! Get over here!

But really, come visit us while you can because this opportunity comes once in a lifetime- not to mention we can get you on countless tours for free, we can save on food by eating at our house, all you have to worry about is your boat ticket ;) just sayin'

Alllllrighty folks, till next time, 

J&K

Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid

There is this really awesome story set within Matthew 14 that really portrays how I am feeling lately about everything going on.  The disciples are out on their boat and the water starts to get rough.  They are freaking out and Jesus, who is doing His thing and chillin out on the water, says, "Take courage, it is I; do not be afraid." (Matt. 14:27)  Peter, who was somewhat skeptical was like, "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You on the water." (Matt. 14:29)  Jesus told him to come and Peter did.  This whole time Peter was walking on the water and then as soon as he took his eyes off of the Lord, he began to sink.  Jesus reached down and grabbed him out of the water.  I love this story because it shows us that Jesus was right next to Peter, just waiting to help him in his time of need.  Lately I have been feeling like Peter; the Lord just beckoning me to "Come".  That is exactly what we have decided to do.

The Lord has blessed us lately with rest and some relaxation.  Just last week we were able to visit Korina's sister Tonia, and her family.  It was such an awesome time for us to catch up, love on them and receive love from them.  Later on that evening, we were able to score some great tickets to a Yankees-Angels game at Angels Stadium.  It was a very close game, but in the end, the Angels prevailed and Korina made sure I knew that she was exceedingly happy.  We were up quite high in the nose-bleed section, but it was still a beautiful evening for some great baseball with my lovely bride.

The following day, we thought we might visit Magic Mountain because why not?!?  Since we have season passes from last year, we didn't have to pay for a ticket and use our friend pass for Rick and some of his friends.  It was such a blast just having some fun and reliving old high school times with Korina and Rick.  Even though we aren't still in high school (Praise the Lord), we are still some pretty cool cats.

 This much needed break gave us some great perspective on our journey.  We just want to love on people and enjoy the blessings God has given us.  We have been blessed in order to be a blessing and we couldn't be more excited about this journey.

We have been officially accepted into YWAM Sligo for DTS and now we are focusing our efforts on support raising.  Much prayer on our part and yours (thank you) has made this not only an exciting process, but a possible one.  Supporters that we did not even expect to have felt the call of the Lord to support us in immeasurable ways.  God has blessed us with lowered school payments and a discounted tuition rate for DTS.  These have all been signs that God wants us to continue to pursue traveling to Ireland and loving on people there.

Although we still need to raise $8,000 total (at least half by September) its looking like our current goal is to raise $1800 by June 15th to purchase our airfare.  Tickets right now are very inexpensive for the amount of traveling that we need to do.  These funds will not only help us purchase our airfare, but also transportation from the Dublin airport to the YWAM Sligo base.  Please pray about your role in partnering with us, because honestly, we need your help.  God has been so good to us and we cannot wait to bless more of those around us through this DTS.  To give online, visit here.

Thanks for catching up.  Let's step out on the water and walk with Jesus.