Waiting expectantly...

"So now come back to your God, act with love and justice, and always depend on Him" Hosea 12:6

I my study of Hosea I keep coming across a common theme that seems to reflect an important aspect of God's heart.  It has to do with God desiring our trust, our acknowledgement of Him in our days, our dependency on Him...  

The verse up top popped up at me this morning, so I looked up the word "depend"-- the word in Hebrew is QAVAH (kaw-vaw) and it means "to wait, look for, hope, and expect".  It basically means that God wants us to wait in expectation, anticipating His action.  David used this word often in the Psalms, 

"I am counting (waiting) on the Lord, yes I am counting (waiting) on Him, I have put my hope in your word."  Ps. 130:5

To wait on God is not to just sit around and have empty hope that something magically will happen.  It is to take Him at His Word, to anticipate His action when we're seeking Him, it is to count on Him...  It's expecting His favor, when we walk upright with Him...  It's believing for His provision, when we obey Him... It's trusting that He's working, when things don't seem to make sense...  It's depending on Him, because He is God.

My prayer is that we'd acknowledge God in every season, in every decision, in every move... then wait in anticipation for Him to do more than we can even dream of. 

God I wait on you.

The beginning of a new journey

This is my first blog about our future plans for South Bay Church.  It feels good that it is now 'officially' public and we can openly talk about our dreams with friends and family.  Here's what's going on:

We have been serving at Northwood Assembly Church since we met during college.  I've worked as the assistant pastor for the college ministry (www.genesischarleston.com) for many years, and currently as the youth pastor for 6-12^th grades. 

Last fall, we were approached by some close friends, Andy and Stacie Wood. They asked us to consider joining them in a vision to start a church in one of this country’s largest metropolitan areas.  We were in a great season of our lives--ministry was going great and we were expecting our second daughter. At first, we were close-minded and hesitant to the idea of moving, but as they shared the vision, we felt a tremendous stirring in our hearts by the Holy Spirit that we should be a part of this.  These are some of the facts about this area caught our attention:

• 95% unreached with the Gospel
• One of the strongest liberal and anti-God forces in America
• A technological hub of the world: the home of Google, Yahoo, Microsoft, Cisco Systems, Apple, EBay, HP, and dozens of other multinational companies.

If you haven’t guessed yet, it is the San Francisco Bay Area--more specifically, the Silicon Valley.  Our hearts were captivated by the magnitude of the vision and the tremendous potential in this area.  It is one of the most diverse, affluent, and influential metropolitan areas in the world.  It is a mission field that has been ignored by many.  Can you imagine the impact a multiplying evangelical church could have if it reached the people who most influence the world?

Well, after many months of prayer, we believe God is calling us into this journey and we’ll be joining the staff of South Bay Church.  Archie and Rebekah Jackson are also part of the team. We’ll be moving to California in August 2008.  

Our current church, along with many other churches, have committed to support us in this vision.  However, we are now beginning the process of raising our personal salary and building a support team, who is a group of people who partner with us by offering their prayers, encouragement, and finances (www.southbaygiving.com).  The goal of this team is to support us during the early years of South Bay Church--until it is self-sustaining.

If any of you are interested in joining our support team, let us know! Please be in prayer for our family as we enter into this exciting season of our lives!  

Believing BIG,

Filipe, Mandy, Lily & Cailyn Santos

Up in New Jersey

Wow, so many things going through my mind.  I'm sitting here in my room in a retreat center somewhere in New Jersey.  I was asked a couple months ago to be the "speaker" at this retreat for a Brazilian church from Connecticut.  It's really weird being here for many reasons:

1. New Jersey is where I first lived in America - 16 years ago!
   
2. Most of the people I'll be speaking to are older than I.
3. I miss my family tremendously right now.
4. I'm not used to teaching/preaching in Portuguese 
   
5. I'm doing 5 talks in the next 3 days.  
   
6. Brazilians are late for everything - the first session was supposed to start at 7:30, it is now 8PM and we haven't even had dinner yet!  
   

Though those things make me feel strange, I'm trying to focus on the positives of this trip.  The things that excite me, like:

1. I got to visit old friends from Jersey and shared the vision of South Bay Church with them.
   
2. The weather here is not nearly as humid as Charleston.
   
3. I get to do one of the things I most enjoy in life: teaching God's Word.
   
4. I worked things out so that I don't have to go to Mexico next week for a Mission Trip. Though I love mission trips, I was not looking forward to being away from my family for another 9 days!
   
5. Being here allows me to relax (somewhat) right before I enter one of the busiest seasons of my life (raising money for South Bay Church).
   
6. This place is beautiful and I'm right by a lake where I'm sure I'll be spending some time with Jesus in the morning!

Well, let's see how it goes.  Please pray for me and these crazy brazilians I'll be sharing God's Word with.