Fire Update

Things have continued to get even worse for the San Diego community. This is becoming a Katrina type of disaster in scope and magnitude. As of 4:00 pm Tuesday, over 550,000 thousand people have been displaced. My step father's family all live in the San Diego area. Their story is typical of many of our residents. First, Great Grandma Lees got a call to evacuate her home in Rancho Bernardo on Sunday evening. She fled to my uncle's house who live in Poway. Early Monday morning they had to evacuate Poway. Now two families where on the move to a second uncle's home in Encinitas. Then yesterday afternoon they had to evacuate Encinitas. Thankfully, the Santa Ana winds that have fueled these fires are forecast to die down tomorrow afternoon.

The San Diego community has rallied around the needs of so many displaced people. Almost everyone who has not been evacuated has someone displaced staying with them. Most churches have organized the home placements because the shelters are full and there are no hotels for hundreds of miles. A group of folks from my Monday night Bible study went down to the local Red Cross this morning and went through the volunteer training. They were each deployed to these maxed out shelters. All of the National News broadcasts were here this morning and evening. The constant smoke in air reminds you of how heavy the situation is.

San Diego Fires

We are asking for your prayers for our city and county. Yesterday fires began to burn when the Santa Anna winds blew in from the desert and the humidity levels dropped into the single digits. As of now, over 300,000 San Diegans have been evacuated and many have lost their homes. Fortunately, we are safe because we live at the beach and the winds from the ocean protect us. Many friends have been evacuated. Our Mayor claims this is the worst fire by far that has ever hit San Diego. Please join us in prayer for those around us who have lost everything. Also, pray as we minister to the thousands who are in need who have sought refuge at the Quail Com Stadium and other shelters.

Drew's Word

"I've only known Jim for about two months but it feels much longer. He is one of those people you meet, hang out with a few times and feel like you've known all along. He's the good neighbor everyone wishes they had. The type of person you want your other friends to meet. Certainly the type of guy that people feel comfortable around and aren't afraid to be themselves with.

God put Jim in my life one day while surfing in Ocean Beach. I had
just moved to San Diego a week before and was already feeling pretty
isolated. With a limited network of friends in the San Diego area, I
knew I would have to trust in God to find a new church. Community is
really important to me, and I knew being disconnected from the support
that comes through fellowship with other believers would be dangerous
in a place like Ocean Beach.

After bumping into Jim out in the water and having a brief friendly conversation in between waves,
he invited me to church. Since then, I have not only found a wonderful body of believers to worship
with, I have also found purpose for being here. I know in my heart that God has big plans for Harbor.
Even in the short time since Jim has arrived, I can so tangibly see how God using him, not only in
my life, but in the lives of those in and outside our church. He's a pastor's pastor, one whose presence
is felt far beyond the pulpit."

Thanks Drew for encouraging words.  The Gospel is changing lives in San Diego!

Cool Injuries by Michelle Huster

Every Monday night Jim and I lead a Bible study in Mission Hills with some really cool singles. We are the only married couple and these guys and gals lead some really interesting lives. They have such a heart for Jesus and it inspires me in my walk with Him.

Jim has an "ice breaker" every week to get to know everyone's name. He goes around the room and has them introduce themselves and state their favorite food, sport, etc... This past week the item was your worst injury.

Now on a side note, many of you may be thinking that is a little sick but let me give you some background about Jim's family. I love to get together will all the Husters (His dad Richard and step-mom Pen and all six siblings). They tell stories about the past which are quite hilarious about trips taken etc... One thing I found out early on when I married into the Huster family is that they have high pain thresholds and really don't think your that "bad off" unless there are bones protruding and gushing blood. The Huster motto is, "Just rub some dirt on it." One time Tasha dove into the pool and hit a float and hurt her neck. She complained for a few days and finally her dad took her to have an x-ray. (He's an orthopaedic surgeon) It was broken!

Not only does the current generation of Husters exhibit this amazing tolerance for pain, this kind of toughness goes back a generation as Grandmother Huster had a pretty bad injury with her hip and didn't care to ride in an ambulance but preferred to ride in a car and just be seen in Richard's office. She went home that day and did great! At least Richard and Pen saved on doctor fees because Richard was able to treat most injuries and Pen is also an RN.

Don't get me wrong, they took wonderful care of their children and parents! The stories are so funny to hear about and each sibling and even the parents have their full share of injuries to tell from skiing accidents, skateboarding, bee stings on the lips and hornets from the garage, getting hit with a golf club by grandchildren, broken arms, broken legs while having to raft down the Colorado River, fingers, toes, ankles, hips, necks, road rash, etc... Really the family is quite athletic and so the more you play, the more chances of accidents can occur. Ken is known in the family as the most daring! I was the safe and cautious one so these tales really intrigue me. Faith has inherited my cautiousness while Isaac has no fear and had staples in his scalp by age1.

So this leads me back to Bible study. As we went around the room people told of skateboard injuries, shark attacks, broken backs, cracked skulls, you name it, and someone had experienced it. Then it was my turn to share. I knew just the injury that had been the worst for me. As everyone got quiet and listened to my injury, I said proudly, "A broken tail bone during child birth." The group went wild!!! None of them had ever experienced child birth but knew it was painful and many had shared breaking a tail bone and how horrible it was. All the tough guys soon claimed me as the "Champion!" I felt quite good about my accomplishment. It is hard to impress surfers, rock climbers, sky divers, etc... I know the Huster family would be proud that one of their own won out on the worst injury and became the coolest of the group if only for a moment!

Who does your hair? M- Huster

Wow! I just had my first multicultural experience. I don't know if it was because it involved a sweet Chinese gal or maybe it was just a California thing. Anyway, I went to get my hair cut yesterday because it had gotten so long and hot. I didn't have time to go closer to downtown because I had to pick up the kids from school in less than an hour. I drove by our local supermarket and in the complex there was a salon. Only one other person besides the stylist was there so I thought she could probably work me in pretty quick. Boy was it quick!

As I go up to the counter she asked, "What can do for you?" I no speak much English, shampoo? cut? style?" I said yes and we headed back for the sinks. The no speak English part should have clued me in but I decided to take the plunge. And plunge I went...she washed and conditioned my hair in less than 2 minutes. She flipped up my chair and whirled me around into the styling chair. She then asked, " Ever had razor cut?" I replied, "Yes, especially in the shower when I shave my legs." The next thing I know she whips out this handy dandy razor and begins to slash away at my hair. She kept saying, "Your hair too thick, it need be shorter and thinner, only take a minute." She was right! Hair was flying. I felt like Edward Scissor Hands was at work! Surprisingly when the "hair" settled, it looked really cute but way too short! As I took a deep breath and went to pay, she startled me by saying, "Come with me!" She led me to the back room and told me to lay down on the table. Then she started putting hot wax on my eyebrows! She said, "Eyebrows need waxing, to bushy, I make them sleek and clean." I never noticed that my eyebrows were bushy and now with that hot wax in her hand, I wasn't going to argue. She ripped off the tape which made me jump. She laughed, "Oh, that hurt?" I didn't have time to reply because her phone rang. Now all I could think about was that she was going to have to do the other side! She came back and did it again plus she broke out the tweezers and plucked a few strays that escaped the first attack. Finally she sat me up and gave me a mirror. She asked, "Do you like? All better now, makes eyes look brighter." Yeah brighter, my eyebrows were lit up like a firecracker with red marks.

At last it was all over and she said, "That be $20." I thought, Wow! I got all that and drama too for 20 bucks! I paid a lot more in SC for just a shampoo and cut. In all honesty, I do like my hair and eyebrows. The moral to this story is...when your in Southern California, ask your neighbor "Who does your hair?" and make sure you speak their language.

I never did get the gal's name but by the time she was finished with me, the salon was full of eager customers. I plan on going back, at this rate I will really save some cash because she cuts my hair so short I won't need to go nearly as much as in the past!

The Truth

It is so easy to to get caught up in performance mode. Last Friday, I posted a blog as a proud father about Faith being "Student of The Week" at OB Elementary. That evening I laid in bed and became extremely convicted about the values I was teaching Faith. See, after I posted Friday's blog, I made sure that Faith saw it. I made a big deal about her award, no harm done? This was one of the first true achievements Faith had been awarded and I made a huge deal (positive reinforcement, right)? Any other parent would do the same? Problem though:What happens when she is not first or the best, how will she react? Reality is I want her self worth to be built on the unconditional love of her heavenly father not on performance. See Faith needs the Gospel in her achievement as much as anyone. Here is a stark truth about Faith - Last week my mother was visiting from Florida and Michelle caught Faith telling grandma Lees to "Get out of my room!" This was followed by a poster she made for her door proclaiming "NO Grandmas!"(you can imagine her tone of voice). That is my "student of the week" pretty stinking and selfish.

When I got home, I took Faith to her bedroom and sat on her bed and had a "talk". I talked with Faith on a heart level and wanted her to know that I was very disappointed and was going to take privileges. I finished our time together by telling her how much I loved her. I told her that my love is not based on whether she was first or last but on the fact that she was my little girl. Nothing could ever change the fact that she was my little girl and I would always love her.

When you are loved unconditionally, it frees you up not to be driven to be first but let others shine. Hopefully, this was a teachable moment for Faith, I know it was for me. Next, time I will make a big deal and blog about a character issue, like serving a classmate if it happens (I hope so).

P.S. Faith loves her Grandma Lees so much and felt very badly for what she had done. Thankfully, Grandma Lees loves her unconditionally too!