39 Weeks and Feeling All The Feels

There is something that happened today. The reality of what life will soon be really sunk in deeply. The "inevitable" became exactly that, inevitable. Just when I think "Oh no big deal there's plenty of time" my husband says the words "Yeah, you might get to meet your cousin next week, Grey!" while talking to our nephew.

Next week.

Today marks 39 weeks.

And then I remembered pregnancy is 40 weeks (more likely 41) ....next week....maybe.

HOLY CRAP

Between all the travel and moving and "nesting" and daydreaming I kind of forgot to remember that little fact. Soooo this is pretty much how I feel in the meanwhile…

Don't misunderstand me, I am READY to see this little girl. We are set as far as the necessities go. Her room is almost ready, but she won't be in there right away anyway. We are as ready as you can be, I suppose, technicality wise. But our hearts...

My heart is full of so many feels. I am brought to tears at the lifetime of prayer and anticipation that has gone into this pregnancy. I am slightly sad at the passing of the season of just my hubby and I, being kids and being crazy, responsible for just ourselves. Our hearts are equally full of anticipation, hope, and "what the hell are we thinking?!" moments. I feel blessed beyond measure that I have the opportunity and privilege of having a low risk pregnancy that allows me to deliver in the comfort of my own home (AND that I even have a home of my own to do so) I know so many who would have been couldn't.

 God saw us fit, despite ourselves, and we are saying "yes" to His "yes". Just like every other step we have made in our crazy life journey....we are saying "yes" and a few "if that's what you're into, God."

When I think of where we are now, and all that had to happen for us to be here, I cannot help but feel loved so much by my Jesus.

Justin built us a bedside co-sleeper- cause he's already an amazing daddy

In our time since being home God has provided an adorable little home for us, a job for my husband (that he didn't even have to go out and hunt down) innumerable hand-me-downs and gifts for our little one, the amazing care and support from our midwife, Alex, food every day and a hope for the future. We moved into my dad's old place, an adorable little apartment on your way towards Bass Lake. It's a little mother-in-law unit on the bottom story of a house (our landlords are AMAZING and so generous) We made this little Hobbit hole in the woods all our own and it feels SO good to be in our own little space again.

The sneakiest of sneak peaks into the nursery

We brought a little bit of Morocco home with us

Justin was approached by an old friend for a position at Starbucks. Not ideal, considering his expertise, but hey, it can pay the bills for this season. Well, that was an unfair assumption of what God really had for him. Not only does he get to work in an air conditioned, well lit, environment, there are windows! This might sound pretty ridiculous to most of you but those are huge perks to a chef who is used to

much more of a harsh work situation. AND, he will be making enough that we can afford to have me stay home with our little one and pay off some major student loan debt. He is only two days in, but loving it so far.

We still plan on volunteering much of our time with our dear friends at YWAM Yosemite, just not full time as staff right away. Once we said yes to God about this releasing to work, the blessings overflowed. Funny how that works. We are praying about the ways we can be used locally to minister to our community here. Part of setting down roots is getting plugged in and we are opening our hearts to the people of this town as much as we can. Justin has incredible reach at his job and is even encouraged in his pursuits there by other believers. I have an incredible opportunity to host women in my home or even at my second home, Cool Bean, to really dig into the Word and just "do life" with these people.

We are leaving our hearts open to where God leads us next, our next steps. For now, we are relishing these moments, living for today.

I better get back to folding our little one's laundry and daydreaming about dressing her up….

Priorities ya know?

Note the computer for size reference…IS THIS REAL LIFE?!

Pray for us if you think of it? Just that God would be glorified in our story, that we would have a worshipful and successful delivery here in our home with Justin and our midwife, and that our little one continues to grow happy and healthy :)

Plus, I am OVER keeping her name a secret, so she can come already so I can shout it from the rooftops! (It's too rad not to)

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.

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!

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.

Tis March

Wow, God has been very good.  We apologize that we have not updated in a while, like too long of a while.  Things have been great here on beautiful Catalina Island. Since our last update we have made a lot of progress in life.  First off we both have great jobs!  Korina works at a little shop called Bella Portofino.  It is a little jewelry boutique that is attached to one of the local hotels.  Korina enjoys it, mainly because she can hide behind the counter.  She can’t tell you how many times people joke about that on a daily basis, but it is still funny.

I have also received a great job here on the island.  It’s a restaurant called M that is run by a catering company.  We operate as a pop-up restaurant about once a month and fill our schedule with other catering gigs.  We even cater for celebrities that come to the island!

Valentine’s Day was fun at the restaurant because it was crazy busy.  Korina and I weren’t able to celebrate on the actual day, but I think flowers and a pretty card made her feel special!

God has been showing us some really cool stuff here not only about our journey together, but some of our next steps.  First off, we are looking at moving into our own place once we can find one suitable to our needs.  We are excited about being able to provide a space for others to visit us and truly engage in the spirit of hospitality. Until we find that place, we will secretly enjoy our Moscow Mules in our room.  Shhh, don’t tell anyone!

Singing Waters has been a fantastic home for us as we continue to grow spiritually. We are both involved in Bible studies and are actively involved in numerous ministries during the church services.  Korina has helped out with worship a couple of times and thoroughly enjoyed it.  I had the chance to teach a few weeks ago about how God called us to give up all we had and move here to the island.  It was awesome to be used by God in such a powerful way.

Thank you for all of your prayers.  We know more of you pray for us each and everyday than we realize and for that we are forever grateful.  The Lord has shown us grace and mercy beyond measure.  We cannot wait for what the future holds for us and wait expectantly for the Lord to reveal that to us.

Please keep the following in your prayers

-That a place for us will be revealed in God’s time and be exactly what we need

-Continued support and favor in both of our jobs

-Direction as we enter into this next season of our lives

-For Korina’s extended family: Her cousin Dennis passed away last week from a stroke he suffered in December.  We thank God he went peacefully and that he gets to see Mom everyday.  

Peace be with you.
JB