Nate and Christiana

Now that you’ve seen our lovely city of Burbank, we thought we’d share the wonderful home that God has provided for us, especially since many of you won’t be able to see it in person (although guests are always welcome!). You’ll probably observe the fall decorations, which are a tribute to my mother. She creatively decorates her home for every holiday and season, and I suppose I’ve inherited the custom. Nate thinks it’s “cute”, so I guess I’ll continue the Norris tradition. It’s been ironic this year since the temperatures have remained in the 90′s here in Southern Ca. I feel like I’m “pretending fall” and perhaps subconsciously thinking that if I decorate for fall, that it will feel like fall. I’m sure that it will be the same story in Cambodia. I’ll probably attempt to decorate for Thanksgiving with fall leaves etc., when it’s a tropical sauna and we’re fainting from the sweltering heat. Haha…I wonder if I’ll try to do snow decorations in December…the Cambodians will think I’m crazy, since they’ve never seen snow, and if I have kids, they’ll be totally confused too. It’s going to be fun!

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Last weekend Nate and I met my Uncle Tom and Aunt Barbara in L.A. for dinner. They treated us to a great meal at Jerry’s Famous Deli and then we went back to their hotel and visited for a while. It was such a treat to catch up with these two wonderful people. Thanks Uncle Tom and Aunt Barbara!

Nate and I were incredibly blessed this past weekend to be a part of the Harvest SD Church Fall Retreat. The church, hailing from San Diego, asked Nate to be the speaker for their weekend getaway. The retreat was held at Lazy W Ranch, in the mountains near San Juan Capistrano. Our connection to the church was that one of their members is also a student at The Master’s Seminary. We were overwhelmed by the warmth and hospitality lavished upon us by this amazing group. It’s a relatively young congregation (mostly from UCSD), but we were overcome by their maturity and love for the Lord. Nate’s topic was “Stewardship” and he preached 4 sessions. The first was a mini session on Friday night, introducing the topic, and the main sessions were “Stewardship and Money”, “Stewardship and Time” and “Stewardship and Ministry”, all spread between Saturday and Sunday. The messages were convicting, yet encouraging, and it was a joy to be fed by the man that has captured my heart. It was also my first time being in the “fishbowl” of ministry, and I had been a little nervous about being the “speaker’s wife” at a a retreat. Neither of us knew what to expect from this unfamiliar congregation, but both of us ended up being blown away by God’s grace in every aspect of the weekend. My fears melted away as the church quickly, genuinely welcomed us. Nate also found it easier to speak to them, since they seemed so eager to listen and learn. We thank all of you who were praying for us, and we praise God for His wonderful mercies to us!