Stories: Kyra’s House Church
In the midst of being unemployed for close to a year God stirred up in my heart a desire to cultivate community with the amount of free time and love for hosting that he had lavished me with during the same season. Even though I knew that I would be eventually moving away from Santa Monica I did not want to miss what God may be wanting to do in the very present moment. I connected with Pastor Michael over the summer and he was very supportive about the endeavor in prayer and action as he connected me with Beirut and April whom he recalled lived in Santa Monica. I also had a close friend in the neighborhood that had expressed a growing desire to connect with community in a deeper way so it was an effortless connection to invite her to the SM House Church.
Our first meeting was in July and consisted of Beirut and I meeting over a healthy dinner down the street to get to know one another. She was keen for other members to start joining our meeting. April and Madison then joined shortly after and the three women became regulars looking forward to our intimate gathering at my home each week. Over the last 4 months we have shared yummy meals, supporting a local women's health organization called Claris Health, vulnerable prayer requests, learning how to pray out loud, reading straight from the bible in larger portions, and witnessing God's work through the Spirit in our midst on a daily basis as praise was shared in our group text thread.
The ladies knew early on that I was eventually moving to Long Beach so when that plan materialized even more so with the news of my engagement and upcoming marriage -- there was a bittersweet response as April in particular was very discouraged. They were all very excited with the upcoming changes in my life but I knew that a careful transition was needed. We were able to process our thoughts for the transition when Pastor Michael came to visit and it was truly a blessing. He connected us with the only other HC in west side LA which happened to be where Beirut's son was a part of! Now April is looking forward to carpooling with Beirut and Brooke to the Westchester HC in the new year :)
