We are STILL ALIVE!

Cheers. We are back. Sorry for the long delay. As you can imagine, we are still in the biggest transition of our lives. You would think that living in NYC for almost five months now (can you believe it?) we would be entirely settled – FORGET IT! Now don’t get me wrong, we are enjoying every minute of getting to know this wonderful city and its many opportunities. Yet, daily we learn that you must live by the 11^th Commandment - Thou shalt be flexible! The word “flexible” has a lot more meaning to the Gregory household. For instance, you relearn “flexibility” when you…

· Wait your turn to get in the bathroom (did I tell you we only have one!);

· Arrive at a subway stop to find there are no trains running in the direction you are going;

· Jump in a taxi at the same time as someone else that is determine not to get out and wait for the next one;

· Arrive two minutes late to move your car to find a $65 ticket nicely tucked under the windshield wiper;

· And the classic – when you come out of the subway to find it is POURING DOWN RAINING (and you did not bring your umbrella)!

And yet, we are excited about being stretched for the things of God. We have met many great people and families throughout New York City – from Harlem, the East and West side, down and up town, Brooklyn , Queens, New Jersey, etc. The harvest is plentiful for the kingdom to come in greater ways.

Thank you for all the phone calls, prayers, letters, emails, text messages, etc. They mean more to us than you know. Please continue to keep us in your thoughts and prayers. Here are a few ways that you can pray:

1. More small groups to be launched in Harlem and throughout the city;

2. Salvations and decisions for the lord;

3. Our outreach to marriages and families;

4. Family times full of laughs and unforgettable memories;

5. Two or three key leaders to catch the vision and run with the plan; and

6. Happy holiday season with family and friends in NC.

The Gregory’s

A Sending of Peace!

This past weekend I (George) got an opportunity to visit the great state of North Carolina – home of hot now Krispy Kream Doughnuts, cow pastures and most of all - my dear family. I had great moments with a few friends but the moments that I had to spend with my mother, father, sister and my two nephews was exactly what the doctor ordered. Although I did not get to spend much time with them, it was well worth the flight and effort to get there.

As most of you know, Tondra and I have a big heart for marriage and family ministry. Well, check out where I got my start. My father and mother have modeled an excellent marriage and have laid the foundation for a family that loves God and desires to impact his kingdom. They have been married for 40 years and still have plenty to go. Praise God that in an age where marriages end quicker than they begin, there is still hope for a healthy model to follow.

As I was leaving I thought I would take a photo to show the NYC Gregory’s (Tondra, Jaylen, and Camryn). As I was taking the photo everyone said goodbye with a “peace sign”. When I got home and thought about that moment, it made me realize that my family was sending me back to NYC with the “peace of God”. The peace of God (Shalom) means – completeness, soundness, welfare, and safety. As we continue this season of our lives in this new land we need God’s peace and blessings. In 1 Sam 1:17 Eli sent Hannah away by saying, "Go in peace, and may the God of Israel grant you what you have asked of him."

As we have been given God’s peace as a sign of his love for our lives, please stand with us as we ask God to:

1. Grant us good health. As the fall cool down beings pray against colds, viruses and any sicknesses.


2. Grant us a great location to have our services. Location is everything and we need “THE” place to inspire, motivate and teach God’s peace.


3. Grant us His provision with partnership from other churches and individuals that have a heart and understand missions and church planting in NYC.


4. Grant us connections and favor with 2-3 key business men and women that will get behind this church plant in major ways.

Prayer: My God grant us his peace and grant us the things that we ask of him according to his will. Amen.

Camryn's First Day of School

This morning Tondra and I walked (and rode the subways) both of our kids to school in New York City! Can you believe it? It seems like yesterday that we were contemplating moving - but here we are.

Today, Camryn started school at an excellent Christian school in Manhattan. Her acceptance into this school is truly a testament that God answers prayer and gives gifts of favor to his children. As soon as she walked through the door (as she held back the tears) her new teacher (from the south) asked her to be the class leader for today and she gladly accepted with a dry face. She talked all afternoon about her new friends and how cool it was to have lunch in Central Park! What an amazing day!

It's a joy to see our kids flourish and step out in faith. This move is about much more than Tondra and I relocating to plant a church. This is a family move in faith. Each of us has given up many things to make this move and we have all stepped out in faith into many new and wonderful things.

Please continue to pray for us...

• God's hand of protection, provision, peace, power and presence on each of us as we go throughout the day;


• Favor with everyone we come into contact with;


• To be lights in darkness;


• To decrease that God might increase. Amen.

Jaylen's first day of SCHOOL!!

He did it. Jaylen attended his first day of school today. His report - "It was all good". Thank you for your faithful prayers and support of Jaylen. He has met new friends, new teachers and will get his very own metro (subway) card tomorrow. He is really a funny guy. He actually thinks we are going to let him ride the subway by himself to school!!

Please keep Jaylen in your prayers as he will be challenged academically and socially this year. He is up for the challenge, but would like for you to lift him up in his new challenge.

Hello Kitty!

Near Toys-R-Us in Times Square there is a Hello Kitty store. I really like this store because Hello Kitty is my favorite kitty in the whole world. This is one of the reasons I wanted to move to New York! When I walked into the store I was shocked (that means surprised)! They had Hello Kitty everything – suitcases, backpacks, clothes, hats, pens, purses, jewelry, and much more! I enjoy shopping and I look forward to my next trip because there are a lot of things I have my eye on.

Please pray that:
1. I get more friends that live on my block or close by.
2. I will be able to come back to North Carolina and visit soon.

What’s Missing in this Picture?

You guessed it – MY TWO FRONT TEETH! At first I was afraid of my teeth falling out because I thought I would not look cute, but people tell me I look cute still (as you can see)!!

I have been waiting for a while for my teeth to fall out. All my other friends have already lost their front teeth. I also wanted some money under my pillow - how else do you think I could buy something at the Hello Kitty store? I was a brave girl because Jaylen (my brother) pulled my teeth out.

Photo Updates - Fun Shots

It's amazing how refreshing taking pictures can be. What's more amazing is our ability to share our photos with the ones we love! Enjoy - http://picasaweb.google.com/pastorgg/FunTimes.

The Gregory's

“Jaylen’s Believe It or Not”

Robert Ripley's life was an unbelievable adventure. For thirty-five years he explored the uncanny and witnessed the amazing. He was a world traveler who visited over 200 countries, seeing places few people had even heard of. Like Ripley, Jaylen is on an unbelievable adventure in New York City! Although hesitant in moving to NYC, Jaylen has found this strange land has exceeded his expectations. In his own words – Welcome to “Jaylen’s Believe It or Not”…

"I didn’t want to move to NYC when my parents first told me we were moving. Mainly due to the things that I had to give up that I really liked. But they really do have some things I like in NYC - and here they are:

• It has the most beautiful park 2 blocks away from me (Central Park).


• It has a turtle pound were you can catch turtles of all kinds.


• It has my favorite baseball team - the New York Yankees.


• My 2nd favorite quarter back Brett Farve who plays for the New York Jets is also here.


• It also has one of my favorite major league soccer teams - NYC Red Bulls - in which I have gone to a game with my Dad. I advise you to go to one too.


• NYC has the most wonderful shopping area (Times Square). I’ve already bought (we’ll my Dad has) many things there."

Please pray:

1. I will make more friends at school;


2. I will join a sports team; and


3. Pray for my parents to allow me to get a pet!

_______________________________

Wow! What a powerful life lesson. Like Jaylen, God has to ask every believer at times, “Will you believe me or not?” Many times we get so comfortable with the status quo and the familiar places in our lives (physically, mentally, spiritually, etc.) that we are afraid to believe God when he speaks.

In many respects we are like the Israelites when God spoke of his mighty deliverance from Egypt to the promise land. At times the Israelites complained of leaving the land they were comfortable with in order to walk through the wilderness to get to the land of promise. Yet for every complaint and objection, God showed the Israelites his faithfulness in leading them to a new land. It’s up to us to “believe God or not”. For Jaylen, he found out that God’s word is true – “God is able to accomplish infinitely more than we would ever dare to ask or hope.” (Eph 3:20)

Are you believing God or not?

Apartment

Hello to all of our family, friends, supporters, encouragers, etc. Sorry we have been off line for the month of July (we got a little distracted with the small move and all)! Many people have emailed and called asking for all the updates and prayer requests. So here they are:

We arrived July 16th to a newly renovated apartment located on a tree-lined street in one of the greatest sections of New York City – Upper West Side. Although the first place fell through (see the blog dated June 25^th), God showed his hand of mercy and provision in a greater way. To view some photos of our new home please visit - http://picasaweb.google.com/pastorgg/OurNewHome02! Despite it being a two-bedroom one-bath apartment (a little small from where we are coming from) it is big and spacious for a NYC apartment. It has plenty of sun light with windows facing north throughout the living room and bedrooms. We have a nice size living room for entertaining, a dining room off to the side (extra bonus), and a kitchen with a half wall to allow full viewing of the front area from the kitchen. Daily we enjoy the private backyard (a common sitting area with a playground area for the kids), and short walks to two well-known parks (Central Park and Riverside). Although we brought our car with us, we love the short one block walk to either the red lines (1,2,3) or the blue lines (A,B,C). God has truly given us a gracious entry into New York living. Thanks for all of your prayers and advice.

UPDATE - UPDATE - Jaylen and Camryn

Jaylen

Because of your faithful prayers, God has opened a door for Jaylen to be accepted into one of the top middle schools in our district! We just got the call late Wednesday evening. We feel this school will undoubtedly continue to build Jaylen’s academic strengths while helping to develop and grow areas of weakness.

While Jaylen is missing all of his friends at home in NC, he is meeting new friends daily. He has even learned to skate board on a new board called

“Rip Skate”. George tried to “rip skate” and almost “rip more than his skate”! He is looking forward to joining a soccer league and attending a major league soccer (MLS) game on August 17 between NYC’s Red Bulls and Toronto. As most of you know Jaylen loves nature, lakes/ponds, animals and bugs. We have all of them within minutes of our apartment. Central park has given him access to all of the things that he thought he would miss in NC. On an outing to Central Park’s Turtle Pond, Jaylen not only caught two turtles but discipled a NY teenager in the art of catching turtles. In fact, the teenager went on to catch four turtles that day and thanked Jaylen for his tutelage!!!

Camryn

Camryn continues to be the life of ANY party, subway, taxi, etc.! Like Jaylen she misses all her friends in NC (even to the point of tears last night before bed)! However, she has many new friends both young and old. One friend (Chakira) lives in our building and has taken on the status as our “second daughter”. They are inseparable!

The other day I asked Camryn what she liked and disliked about NYC. She said she liked the fact that all the stores and shopping was near our apartment but did not like the fact that she HAD TO WALK EVERYWHERE! When she thought about it some more she said she had one more thing that she did not like. She went on to say – IT STINKS (referring to the typical smells of any large city – trash, dog (and sometimes human) urine, and body odor)!!! I told her that it did not smell all that bad and she replied, “I am lower to the ground than you are Daddy – IT STINKS DOWN HERE”!

UPDATE - UPDATE - George and Tondra

After unpacking and getting our new apartment set to live and entertain, we are finally rested and ready for what God has for us. We are excited to be on one of the greatest ministry teams that one could ask for. One of the over all tasks that we have been assigned is continuing to building and cover the marriage and family ministry – a task we are not only excited about but feel called to. Within the next few weeks we will organize a meeting with leading couples in the church that have a heart to lead and disciple other couples through NYC. From there we hope to start 10-15 small groups that will give hope to couples and families throughout the city.

In addition, the excitement is in the air for MSNY-Harlem! We have met many people that have expressed interest in helping us to build this site. Right now, the plan is simply to survey and get to know the land, the people and the cultures. We are meeting with old and new Harlemites and people with a great desire to reach this historic neighborhood. We have no doubt that God is going before us preparing the way and setting his divine hook in the hearts of individuals, families, government officials, community leaders, the hurting and the lost. God has called us for such a time as this.

Wow what a journey! We are here! We continue our journey of faith like Abraham and Sahara – leaving our land, our family and friends and going to a place that he has showed us in a distant land! What an amazing adventure we are on – following God, trying to obey his voice, fulfilling the call, establishing his kingdom and sharing the good news of our Savior. We would not exchange one day or moment of our adventure. Where God calls – He provides. Where God is – that’s where we want to be – in His perfect and divine will!

We need your prayers...

• Although Jaylen was accepted into one of the top middle schools in our district, we still need your prayers for Camryn’s school. Registration will happen soon so please ask God for his divine will to open the doors of the right school.
• The right teachers, classmates, friends, etc. for Jaylen and Camryn. Also pray that God’s light will shine through them in miraculous ways to their teachers and friends.
• Please continue to pray for us (especially our kids) as we are really missing our friends and family in NC. It has only been three weeks and we are missing everyone dearly. While we are meeting new friends, it is still hard to say good-bye to all the friends that have been apart of our lives for the last 10 years.
• Key contacts for Harlem and God opening doors of favor – meeting location, community people, government officials, business people, families, etc. Pray that God would send partners and like-minded people to help run with the vision.
• The divine plan and strategy for reaching the city. Specifically where to put our hands and where to place our feet. There are so many ways to reach a city, but we believe God has a specific strategy and plan.
• Financial partners that will see the vision and want to stand with us.

UPDATE on our New Home

We are one step closer to embarking on our Big Adventure. We are signing the lease for our new apartment in NYC this week. Please check out the photos -http://picasaweb.google.com/pastorgg/OurNewHome. It is located on the Upper West Side just a few steps from Central Park!! That's what I call the Eph 3:20 blessing. It's definitely a downsize from our current home, but God will multiply the space like two fishes and five loaves of bread. Now we are packing and getting ready for the move on JULY 15. Please pray:

• We are able to sell all our furniture that we cannot take with us.
• Our move is met with the peace and provision of God. We need to raise around $25,000 to cover moving expenses and the initial fees for the apartment.
• For the strength and joy of the Lord as we depart and take this big leap of faith.
• For our kids to hear God's call to NYC and for a greater purpose other than going to the "Hello Kitty Store" and the BIG "Toy-R-Us" store in Times Square!!!

Thanks for standing with us.

Update on our home

Our house has officially been rented. After one month of being on the sales market with no viewings, we decided to rent and sell in another year or two when the market rebounds. The second day being on the "rental market" it was secured by a great couple. Thanks for all of your faithful prayers. We will be leaving for NYC on July 15. We leave on this Monday (June 16) to find our new home in the BIG APPLE. Please pray that we find the right location, right price, right school district, right neighbors, right landlord, right where God wants us...close to Central Park! What are you waiting on - PRAY!

UPDATE – UPDATE – UPDATE

Thanks to God and the four years that many of you have stood with us, Tondra is now a graduate with her Masters in Counseling from NC State University in Raleigh, NC. She has proven that you can be a wife (to a busy pastor in two cities), mother of two, friend and faithful intern without giving up on your dreams and educational pursuits. Again, thanks for standing with us through prayer, keeping the kids, sending encouraging cards and helping us to push through for breakthrough. “THIS GRADUATION IS FOR YOU.”

Initial Phase of Launching

*God’s financial provision (personal and for the church plant)

*Individuals and families that will be on the initial launch team (unity, clarity of vision, strong leaders but humble followers, readiness to fulfill God’s vision for a new church plant in Harlem

*God preparing the hearts of the community where we will plant the church

*Clarity of target audience and creative strategies in which to outreach

*Partnering churches that will commit to prayer, investing financially, investing resources, investing people, etc.

George and Tondra

• Selling or rental of our current home. We need this in order to move.

• Passionate quality time with God – receiving revelation, inspiration, vision, discernment, etc.

• Against any demonic attacks on our unity, love, commitment, compassion, intimacy

• Next level faith, ministry calling

• Favor with God and Man

• Physical strength and protection

• Great faith and the joy of the Lord
  

• A heart of supernatural love for the people of Harlem

Jaylen and Camryn

· Good schools (academically challenging, safe etc.)

· Divine selection of friends, classmates and teachers

· Transition to be good (moving from the south to the north, new friends, living conditions, culture shock, etc.)

· God would reveal in their hearts their calling and place in this move

· The peace of God which passes all understanding (Phil 4:7)

Location, Location, Location

Safe, conveniently located, affordable neighborhood to live near Central Park

Best location for the church to be planted