Sheahan's Life http://www.sheahanlife.com Most recent posts at Sheahan's Life posterous.com Wed, 15 Feb 2012 13:24:00 -0800 New Apprenticeship http://www.sheahanlife.com/new-apprenticeship http://www.sheahanlife.com/new-apprenticeship
In Mid-Januray we graduated a bunch of apprentices that are now in the process of seeking what's next in ministry. The sky is the limit. We'll be sending them soon. I will give you an up date on them in another update. 

But below is a photo of a bunch of new apprentices starting their time with us. 
We have started this apprenticeship with Life Compass. This is a time of discerning gifts, natural abilities and learned skilled along with our personalities to help determine how we work best, what are passions are and ultimately to come up with a vision statement for life ministry. We see so much fruit from this segment of our apprenticeship. This is exciting stuff. 
Maria and I get to do a lot of team teaching through this time as well as individually coaching and mentoring. 
It will be cool to see where God plants these Kingdom minded folks. 

Thanks for keeping us before the throne. 

Shaun and Maria 

Photo2

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Mon, 06 Feb 2012 20:19:06 -0800 Graduating the Apprentices http://www.sheahanlife.com/graduating-the-apprentices http://www.sheahanlife.com/graduating-the-apprentices
A few weeks ago I officiated over the graduation of 9 of our apprentices. They are ready. 
Several of them are going to help us to plant another missional community in another area of Golden Hill. 
One couple is looking at Palestine for their future. 
They are really, really ready. 
They have learned to passionately follow close to Jesus and to walk like Him too.
They are world changers.
It will be exciting to see how God uses them in His Kingdom work.

Thanks for being a part of this…It really does make a difference.

Shaun and Maria 

Table

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sun, 15 Jan 2012 10:49:28 -0800 Darkness has no Borders - The Sheahan's http://www.sheahanlife.com/darkness-has-no-borders-the-sheahans http://www.sheahanlife.com/darkness-has-no-borders-the-sheahans

166962_2798221587057_100402513

Tijuana, Baja California, Mexico

A constant question I get from many people is if I ever see violence when I go to Tijuana and if so, have I ever been caught in it.  My answer is always no.  I only hear the stories, see the newspapers, and once in a while I have seen the bullet holes in a wall here and there.

   One of those stories came today when I went to see Elva whom I’ve been mentoring for a while now.  We prayed together for one of her neighbors, an elderly couple that has 5 young grandchildren living with them.  One day as they are watching the evening news, they viewed a news report about their 3 kids, a daughter 18, a daughter 20 and their son 23, being arrested by the police because they had been kidnapping and torturing people for ransom.  Grandma and grandpa were devastated to say the least! This occurred a couple months ago.

   Today the sentence was given: life in prison!  People around the community are divided in how they feel.  Some say they deserve it and they cannot believe that the grandparents didn’t know their kids were involved in this kind of stuff.  Others are thinking of the little ones, buying diapers, bringing a kilo of beans or rice to help feed the kids.

    A few days ago, one of the kids got pretty sick.  They took him to the clinic, but grandpa had to borrow money from a man that owns a business in the colonia.  He borrowed 3,000 pesos, about $225.00 dlls, and had to give the title of his little hut of a home to the owner of the store for collateral.  When grandpa went to make a payment, the owner said “I didn’t give it to YOU in payments! I want you to pay me back all at once”. 

   I wonder what God thinks, what side would He take?  How does He want the believers in that part of the city to respond?  What is the future of those kids?  It's overwhelming! And somehow, in ALL this, I have to remember that God has a heart for children and the lost, and that He is beyond all the darkness around us, the darkness that has no borders… So, thank you for keeping us safe through your prayers!

 

Maria Sheahan 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Mon, 12 Dec 2011 11:10:36 -0800 Sheahan's update Dec 2011 http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-update-dec-2011 http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-update-dec-2011
Liliana_y_maria
  
Img_9004
  
253713_214927805208115_1000007
Liliana and Maria  Maria, Elva, Yasmin, Titi      Shaun and Maria 

I sat across from Liliana this morning listening to her heart  as she talked to me about Fernanda.  She said, I often go looking for her at her house so we can spend time together, but she is never there!  I have to go on the streets of her neighborhood to find her.”  Last time she was gone three nights, before she finally appeared.   The sad part of this is that no one looks for her.  If she came home good, if she didn’t come home, no one would even notice.

Fernanda has a mother and a father at home, but she is so overwhelming that people don’t want her around.  At school she was expeled.  When she comes to the kid’s club, they sometimes have to ask her to not come a time or two just to be able to have some control… Yes, you read it correctly, I said at the kid’s club.  Fernanda is 6 years old.

There  are only two girl’s that can make her mind them.  Those two girls  are Liliana’s daughters.  Fernanda would sit on one of their laps for maybe 10 minutes max  before she would go get into trouble again.

I hear Liliana’s frustration and at the same time her love for Fernanda. As we talk about some options and the “bigger picture”, she tells me that she feels that I  (Maria) am as much a part of loving Fernanda as she is. Liliana truly wants me to understand this.  “Maria, your investment in me, is my investment in Fernanda….and the other girls and women that I minister to.” 

It’s kids like Fernanda and families like hers that Liliana let’s the Good News flow to.  It’s people like Liliana, leaders like Liliana that God has called me to invest in.  Leaders like her, and Cristina, and Tere, and Lupe and Elva and others like them that are making a difference in Mexico…that are Good News to others.  This is the Kingdom of God, and that is one of the most exciting things I get to participate in.

Thanks for investing in us!!! 

Maria and Shaun Sheahan 


year-end gifts

John Hayes, founder of innerCHANGE and author of Submerge, Living Deep in a Shallow World, recently wrote this about our work:

 "There is a 'come and see' authenticity about NieuCommunities that is so reminiscent of Jesus calling the disciples out of fishing boats on the shore of Lake Galilee I can almost taste the salt air. At the same time, the "come and see" community is balanced by a "go and do" mission that gives me hope for inside-out change in neighborhoods in the global city."

"At a time when many are talking about missional communities, NieuCommunities quietly and expertly goes about doing it---forming young men and women and transforming neighborhoods. The vitality of NieuCommunities is less about what is being said than what is being lived."

If you can make a much needed year-end gift to help us keep living the life John has described, you can give directly through our web site. Your investment will help transform leaders, neighborhoods, and cities. And we will be deeply grateful.

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:29:33 -0800 Changes and Transitions http://www.sheahanlife.com/changes-and-transitions http://www.sheahanlife.com/changes-and-transitions
Two weekend ago almost all of us that are part of NieuCommunities San Diego (NCSD) went on a 2 day 'envisioning' retreat in Tijuana, Mexico. It was intense. It was a lot of work.  We are all about growing leaders and over the last 3 years we have done just that and done it well…so well that we have grown too leader heavy. So we needed to envision what God may have us do with this great problem. 
In short, we are going break up our ONE community to plant other missional communities that share and live out the Way of Jesus and they will be connected by our ongoing intensive apprenticeship (discipleship) hub. 
But let me share  my co-worker/elder and Directors, Rob Yackley's, words with you…he captured it well.   
 

Thanks so much for praying for our envisioning retreat in Mexico last weekend. God graciously shielded and guided us through an exciting but also emotional time for our community. As with the human experience of giving birth, the birthing of a new community is filled with both joy and pain. Seeing a new life emerge is amazing, but there’s also the sobering reality that life will never be the same once it happens. That’s especially true when you’ve really loved your life the way it is and you’re about to birth not just 1, but 2, or in our case, maybe 3 or 4 new communities.

Over the weekend we fought hard to lean into our future, to release one another to God, but also to tend to the hearts and relationships that God has lovingly knit together. We sensed we would need to be willing to transition from being a singular, self-contained community to becoming multiple communities that are uniquely different but somehow connected and mutually complementing, but we just weren’t sure what that should look like. But here's a picture of what I sense God is birthing:

Imagine a sunflower. At the center of the flower is a dark orangish brown eye, and around that center are lots of beautiful yellow pedals. Each part of the flower has its own unique look, texture, and function, but it's only whole when each part is connected. That’s a beautiful picture of what God is forming here in San Diego and perhaps how our communities will grow around the world. From what was once just a one-size-fits-all center, (our intensive apprenticeship), we are about to birth several missional communities all around us. Like pedals on a sunflower they will be more pourus and accessible to our neighbors and extend our reach into the city and even beyond it. Whereas the apprenticeship focuses on forming people for missional life, these missional communities will be more focused on living out that life in the neighborhoods they inhabit. And like the sunflower, the apprenticeship and the multiple missional communities that radiate out from it will remain intimately connected to one another and deeply rooted in the missio dei—the mission of God.

Rob

The Sheahan's position will change a bit. We are targeted to plant a "flower pedal"…I mean missional community in Sherman Heights as soon as God moves us there….yep, this is the place that housing is tough to come by. We will keep our eye open for a house but we really feel like it is important to keep our family a priority so at this point we plan to put off the intense push to move until Josh graduates from high school in June…but if that elusive home does pop on to the radar we will move forward. 

Meanwhile Maria and I will emphasis leading, teaching, coaching and mentoring the apprentice's (the middle of the flower) that we currently have and those will be are coming (there is a waiting list). 
We will also continue to be part of the "elder" team that will help encourage the new leaders that are heading up the new missional communities…I'm not sure that all makes sense but we are excited and will be busy taking on a bit more leadership as NCSD has a more profound and far reaching impact on San Diego and beyond. Of course our relationships in Mexico, the Refugees, our homeless friends and other assorted people that need to experience Jesus will still be a priority. 

We sure appreciate your prayers through this transition… 

Thanks,
Shaun and Maria 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Wed, 09 Nov 2011 06:58:25 -0800 Neighbors…Sheahan's http://www.sheahanlife.com/neighborssheahans http://www.sheahanlife.com/neighborssheahans
Pastedgraphic-1

Little Foot… really? Yep. Little Foot is a short energetic x-vet that lives near our home between Chula Vista and National City near and alongside the river. Homeless Little Foot peddles in front of our driveway several times a day on his way to ‘work’. There are 4 sections that the homeless occupy near the river. The Jungle (looks more like a forest to me), the Swamp (it’s definitely a swamp), the Ridge and the riverbank. Little Foot has been living for four and a half years in a tent on the Ridge. He’s a newcomer. Others have been there for 7, 17 and 35 years. Can you imagine? 

These homeless are different from the one’s downtown. Downtown has many rescue missions, shower options, free meal places, shelters etc. Little Foot and his 15 too 30 friends, have no rescue missions, food banks, free meal places, etc this far south. Once and a while a church will have free food days but that’s pretty sporadic. Mostly these Jungle/Swamp/Ridge/River people go out ‘canning’ for a living. They scavenge for cans and anything else that they can get to recycle for cash. They kill rabbits for an occasional meat dish. Many have bikes with homemade trailers they pull around to be their scavenged treasures on. Others hit a shift or two on the free off-ramps too. These guys are like modern Mountain Men living off the Urban land they roam.

They carry out their own justice too…most all these guys have been in jail at some point in their lives’, they know they don’t want ‘outside’ justice anymore. I assure you I would not want their form of justice either…those quicksand traps look pretty scary to me.

Fifty-year-old Little Foot comes from the ‘res’ in New Mexico. The tribes in the San Diego only deal with local tribes…he’s not local…he gets no help.

He actually works really hard at what he does. When he gets his break he wants to have a house and car, “you know, live normal” he says. The elusive ‘break’ is a common concept among most homeless.

He doesn’t drink or do drugs anymore…straight for 7 years he claims…I believe him.

These folks are real people with real stories and real daily lives. To have someone from the ‘outside’ just to  talk to and ask their stories is a pretty cool thing for them…it’s pretty cool for me too because Jesus always makes His way into our conversations… 

I'm reminded of Jesus question: 'and who is your neighbor?' For us, that would be Little Foot and his elusive friends...

Thanks for keeping us with our neighbors! 

Shaun and Maria Sheahan 


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Tue, 11 Oct 2011 11:25:26 -0700 Marriage and Mexican's - The Sheahan's http://www.sheahanlife.com/marriage-and-mexicans-the-sheahans http://www.sheahanlife.com/marriage-and-mexicans-the-sheahans

Pastedgraphic-1

WAY TOO much of this. NO!                                               

We really aren't naïve about the condition of marriages today. Maria and I know how badly marriages are suffering both in the church and outside the church. It’s tough. They’re fragile...and to have a marriage that still has love, romance and respect after many years is hard to find too. But that's not only what's desired amongst married couples, it's also this Holy and Healthy reflection of Christ and His church that needs to be seen by our kids and the world at large. 

Thanks to many of you, we attended a 5-day marriage workshop from 9am to 9pm everyday to take up the fight for good marriages. The marriage workshop was amazing. We went hoping to gain more tools for our ministry toolbox, which happened, but we also were so very blessed with friendship, testimonies of His work in peoples lives, and an amazing tune-up for our own marriage. We actually started to do weekly ‘homework’ to keep the tune-up intact and we are soon going to start a small group of marrieds that might need what we were given. Blessed to bless. Thanks so much for sending us and praying us through this workshop…it was so worth it.  

P1010022

P1010021

Spanish speaking parents receiving tutoring info.                     Maria translating the tutoring info. 

The line formed was WAY longer than we had imagined. It was a strange mix. The student would approach the registration table first, followed by the mom and sometimes dad. The young student would talk to us in English as the parent was forced to use their child to translate from  Spanish to English. Of course they were very excited that they could talk to several of us directly in Spanish.

They were there to pick up a new backpack full of school supplies and to sign up for after school tutoring for their child. In this part of town supplies and tutoring are really hard to come by for sure. What a great opportunity for ministry. Several from NieuCommunities will be tutors this year. Can you imagine the conversations? First grade through 12 grades have this opportunity for school help and friendship…pretty cool huh? About 200 are taking this opportunity. What a way to get to know our neighbors!

Thanks so much for standing behind us,

Shaun and Maria Sheahan 


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Mon, 05 Sep 2011 18:11:53 -0700 August Rest? http://www.sheahanlife.com/august-rest http://www.sheahanlife.com/august-rest

August was designated as our ‘Sabbath Month’. That sounds like we actually took the whole month off and just rested huh? Not exactlyL We did suspend our normal scheduled meetings, trainings, and events but we didn’t hang out in hammocks sipping ice tea with little umbrellas either (why does ice tea need an umbrella anyway?).

What we did do was take time to do a lot of stuff that we had been putting off, couldn’t done, or needed to catch up on.

  For example, the cars received a lot of attention: Yep, We grease monkeyed our old cars in an attempt to get a few more miles out of them. Hope that grey tape holds for another year.

Books got read, you know, those books that grab your attention but gather more dust due to busyness. Some of those books actually got read. That was restful, challenging and encouraging.

  Three trips were made to John Wayne Airport in Orange County where they are doing some big time remodeling. We were able to rip out a bunch of coffee shop equipment for free that will help us start our community coffee shop in this up coming season. I mean we filled a 12 by 20 foot trailer full of stuff they were going to throw away. Some stuff we’ll sell because we can’t use it while other stuff we’ll use.  We have another run to make this month too.

  We did take a long weekend to Phoenix to see my mom and another weekend in Bakersfield for a memorial service. Both hot places…what were we thinking?

AND NOW: We are gearing up for this next season that started Labor Day Weekend by moving two of our teammates to a new home.

  Two big things that will come up quick: In mid-September we are scheduled to attend a week long marriage workshop designed to give us tools to help others strengthen their marriages. We think this will have some great applications in our community and those we minister too. But, this will be a great time for Maria and I to ‘tune-up’ our own relationship as well. The workshop is intense. Five days from 9am to 9pm with sessions over lunch and dinner. Wow! Intense. This comes a week before we celebrate our 22nd anniversary. Would you pray for us during this workshop? Pray: Endurance,  learning mind/heart, openness and vulnerability to allow the Holy Spirit to work deeply in our marriage and equipping us for others.

  Some of you gave some extra $ so we could afford this opportunity…that means a lot to us. We intend to make that a good Kingdom investment. Thank you so much.

  The Second big thing coming: Whether you're in a big church or a small community, you have probably felt the tensions inherent in community and mission. Should you spend your time with the neighbors, developing significant and meaningful relationship? Or with "your people" worshiping God and shaping people to live missional lives. We often struggle to honor the church gathered while simultaneously rallying and releasing missional communities for our cities. Well, we (NieuCommunities) are hosting a weekend conference that will talk through these tensions. It will be a lot of work. I think it will be really worth it.

Of course our crazy, wild and wonderful regular rhythm of mentoring, training, refugees, Mexican’s, homeless, college students and more starts up too. Looking forward to it all…

Pray for us…and let us pray for you. Let us know how we can do that.

Thanks so much for partnering so well with us.

Shaun and Maria 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Wed, 17 Aug 2011 20:01:15 -0700 Refuge for Refugees http://www.sheahanlife.com/refuge-for-refugees http://www.sheahanlife.com/refuge-for-refugees

Raj and Chandra Family, Cousins and friends

I think I have mentioned Maria's work with the refugees that live in the Auburn Apartments located in City Heights. This place is where many of the refugees that come to San Diego get their start in the US. San Diego is a designated refugee city, so City Heights can look like a UN meeting with all the mix of languages, cultures, foods and clothing.

Maria works with Laurie Yackley our good friend and co-worker, teaching English as a Second Language...and they do teach English but that is almost secondary to the amazing relationships that they are building with a Buthaneese family that have been their focus.
Chanrda (dad), Raj (mom), and their 3 kids somehow pull off life with all odds against them. In fact they are ripe to be exploited in so many ways. It's not uncommon to hear about these refugee men working hard 12 hour days for $3.00 hour. Ouch! Chandra works really hard for 12 hours a day in a restaurant that pays him 8.00 an hour...but any tips that come in go straight into the owners pocket. It could be worse.
The kids are learning English. They go to a really rough school that boasts 42 languages spoken on campus. Wow!All that to say, it's not easy!

But there is Good News that Maria and Laurie bring each visit. The Good News of friendship with no strings attached. The Good News of someone that cares and they aren't even paid to care. The Good News is a strong expression of the incarnate Jesus through Maria and Laurie every week.

Others from NeiuCommunities like Janny and Carli who go to tutor a Somali family's kids weekly are Good News too. The scent of the Kingdom is there.
Chandra and Raj rarely ask for anything but once in a while they ask if it's possible for them to see the ocean. It's five miles from their home but they just don't have the means to make it happen. It might as well be 500 miles away for them.
This a a major undertaking. When one family from the Auburn apartments goes to the beach suddenly their family grows in numbers with cousins and friends that just show up. We never really know how many will actually need rides no matter how many times we tell them that we only have seats for 14.
It is moments like this that Maria and Laurie recruit their husbands(Shaun and Rob) to mobilize several cars, lots of snacks, beach chairs, tons of sun block, and a readiness to both heard cats and get ready for to play the role of Life Guard. These people don't swim.
After double buckling (because they exceeded the limits and we just can't say no) we roll. We strategically set up on the beach as close to the lifeguard tower as possible. Then the 3 of us that can swim well stand on the beach and just constantly count little brown heads over and over. It's like herding catfish.

After 2 hours of counting, handing out snacks and building sand castles we head home with the same number that we arrived with...Hallelujah! They were thrilled to have this moment at the beach. That's part of the Good News...Part of the Kingdom in action. Part of letting others know about our King.

Thanks,

Shaun and Maria

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sat, 23 Jul 2011 19:53:42 -0700 A day in the Life of Shaun http://www.sheahanlife.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-shaun http://www.sheahanlife.com/a-day-in-the-life-of-shaun I TRY to see Luis once a week but Church Planting conferences, hosting a Road Trip (Mission Exposure Trip) and life got in the way of getting down there.
Luis and Aide run the home for boys in Tijuana. Luis has a been a friend for more years than I can count. I go so we can encourage one another. I go to see his 20 plus boys, and his amazing wife and the other workers. And when ever I go I try hard to take someone with me. This time it was Nick one of our apprentices. He'd gone through some tough stuff lately and needed a break from the norm and what better way to get cheered up than wrestle around with 20 fun boys.
While at the home Luis told me about one of the new boys. I had heard Carlitos (not his real name) had come but had yet to met him. He wanted to come. he was so glad when he got the news that he was going to get the privilege to live in an 'orphanage'. Wait...nobody wants to intentionally end up in a home for boys do they? Well, no, that is, unless his own home life was so miserable that a boys home looks good. That's sad but that was Carlitos' story.

Luis explained to me that Carlitos had been beaten in the womb. I mean, this kid wasn't even born before the harshness of life got to him. The father hoped to kill Carlitos but Carlitos was born alive... but not well. He needed a surgery to correct some things in his little body. One of the surgeries left a part of his intestine hanging on the outside of his body. His mom put a zip lock bag over the exposed intestine to catch the 'stuff' that would come out. That was a really sterile way of dealing with it huh? I saw a picture of Carlitos with a huge smile as he lifted his shirt to expose the gross baggy. I didn't get the reason for the smile but he was joyful in his suffering.
Here's the real tragedy: the doctor that started the surgery would not complete it until he was paid in advance and in full. Carlitos came from NO MEANS. Paying a doctor was not going to happen. Carlitos lived like this for 4 1/2 years. Unbelievable huh? Why didn't infection kill him?
Along comes Rita, an American, that should not have been in the same scary impoverished neighborhood as Carlitos but she was...and she saw Carlitos and God's plan was unleashed. Money was raised, surgeries were performed and zip locks were thrown away but the scars still remain.
Carlitos, now 10 years old, has still got the smile. He is such a happy kid. He's so excited to be with Luis and Aide and they are absolutely the best to be with...God has spared Carlitos life! Makes me wonder what God has in mind for this broken but healing little man...it must be something incredible.
Shaun

(Carlitos is one of the happy boys pictured below)

278670_10150261763319145_67663

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sat, 02 Jul 2011 10:55:27 -0700 Sheahan's with Sayid and others. http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-with-sayid-and-others http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-with-sayid-and-others

It looked like a picture from a UN refuge camp in some far away country. Over 40 languages represented. Styles and colors of clothing were amazing. The kids were going crazy as though they had never seen balls and balloons before...It was total chaos it's in most beautiful form. At any moment I expected a UN truck to pull up with load of food stuff for this refuge camp but that only happens in true refuge camps. This was taking place in the Auburn Apartments in an area of San Diego called City Heights which is a designated refuge center here in the US.
We took some friends from Seattle there to just have fun. Water balloons. Face painting. Games. Dancing. The kids exploded into balloon sword fights mounted on the back of their human horses or played homerun wuffle ball and painted way more than just faces...it was like they had never played before!

The adults loved watching as they gathered on the outer perimeter of the chaotic parking lot turned sports field. Few spoke english so most were translating into one language and then another to get through to communicate to neighbors and us.
But Sayid (the name he let us call him) spoke pretty good English. He and his family just arrived two weeks ago from Pakistan where they had lived the prior year but they were actually from Afghanistan before that. He and his family fled because their live's were being threatened for their mere association with the Christians.
Sayid had seen a lot. Too much death, wounding and misery in my way of thinking. He worked for a Christian organization that was bent on helping his people. It was clear that Sayid knew Jesus...both the Jesus of the bible and the Jesus of the Koran. I am not sure I would call him a Muslim but nor would I call him a Christian. The only thing that was clear was his passion for knowing and following Jesus.We were abel to exchange contact info before we were pulled away from Sayid to go have tea with our Butanesse friends but later I saw my team mate Matt praying with Sayid. That was good.Sayid and his family were moving to a another place the next day. They had no idea where in San Diego county they would end up but before we parted ways he promised to get hold of me when the dust settled...he also ask for prayer as they try to settle in this new place that has a lot of strange dust.
I really hope we do have another opportunity to be with each other. I really hope and pray that the Jesus he follows leads Sayid into the middle of God the Fathers's heart...Jesus is good at that.
Thanks for keeping us in peoples lives like Sayid and his family.
Shaun and Maria

PS...
This just happened:In faith we just made an offer on a house in Sherman Heights. There are no rentals available that our family can fit into there and even the house we offered on is only two bedrooms BUT it's in the neighborhood near our team. Sherman Heights is a Latino barrio full of homeless men and women wondering the streets Sherman Hts. is located a mile from down town San Diego and two blocks from the notorious Logon Heights gangs that are starting to resurge a bit. I know, it's not 'the American dream' neighborhood but it is where the Kingdom needs to be...Will you pray for this house. For our faith finances. For our family in this potential transitional time. For His will to be done here on earth as it is in heaven....
I will let you know what happens ASAP and THANKS for Praying :)

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Fri, 17 Jun 2011 08:30:22 -0700 Homeless? My friend on the Street. http://www.sheahanlife.com/homeless-my-friend-on-the-street http://www.sheahanlife.com/homeless-my-friend-on-the-street We teamed up with the experts in the homeless population in our area and went to hang out with some of their friends that live on the street. We brought a garbage bag filled with individual sized bags of a variety of chips, a box filled with packaged snacks, and hot coffee with the fixins...
Our frist friend was sitting on his neatly laid out sleeping bag. This former Marine from many wars back was sitting cross-legged with his legs covered by the entrance of his unzipped sleeping bag reading a book about horses in pre-historic times. He was positioned just off the side walk far enough against the fence to be considered on the property of the restaurant that he 'worked' for because he knew the police couldn't run him off from private property that gave him permission to perch.
Dale (not his real name) worked in exchange for coffee, a meal, bathroom and his little sleepig-bag-sized chunk of land that allowed him to sleep overnight. He was always there and almost always with Ben (again, name changed). Ben's stuff was there but Ben was out when we arrived. We offered Dale, chips, snacks and coffee. He only wanted coffee for himself but took some snacks and chips for Ben that would be returning soon.Dale was glad to see us. He has been on the streets for a long time and in this spot for several years. He was glad to field our questions and he was real good at at conversing...

Dale had been a career jockey and loved it. In fact his son in West Virginia was jockeying for a living as we spoke. He told us all about the profession, how bets were place and how jockeys were paid. He loved the job but with age came weight and with weight came the need for another job which he found on the pipe line in Louisiana.
That shifted our conversation to the intricacies of Oil Platforms and that whole industry. He held 5 of us spell bound with his stories, close calls, storms and just the way life was on an oil platform off the coast of Louisiana.
Hanging over the sea on this man made barrier reef for all those years also made him an expert on sea life. He knew all the latest research on whales and, yes, sharks including the statistics of shark attacks on humans (Im not taking up surfing anytime soon).
Again we marveled and hung on his words...and then all of time froze for a split second while I remember that Dale was a poor, crazy, ignorant homeless man....The thought struck me like a bolt of lightening: he is homeless but he is not ignorant. He is out of a paying job but he is working. He has reason to despair but he is enjoying us instead. He is suppose to be either crazy or strung out on some chemical or something and he is about as clear thinking as anyone I have ever met.
He is hopeful that he will get paying work soon. Dale should have been miserable but he was quite content. We were suppose to be 'ministering' to him but...well, you get the picture. This was a Kingdom moment.

I may have put all homeless into one sad box. My bad.

But later that night we met James...but that is another update on another day...

Imgres

(Not Dale)


Shaun and Maria Sheahan

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sun, 05 Jun 2011 18:03:30 -0700 Sheahan's Up Date! http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-up-date http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahans-up-date

     I think when it gets right down to it we really enjoy working with high school and college students. We recently started a “Life Study” using the Bible as our reference. These young ones are nearly desperate for guidance, validation and significance…the world certainly doesn’t supply what they need but God speaks pretty clearly through His Word.

      A few of them have been challenged for the first time with this wild concept that they can actually accept Jesus’ invitation to follow Him. Following Him can lead to other wild concepts like being loved to the point of death…Jesus death on the cross. That Jesus is preparing us to be His bride…wow, that’s pretty relational and nearly divinely romantic.

     They entering a real life call to walk with the real loving Jesus. I’m amazed at the hunger and growth that is occurring as the Holy Spirit takes hold of their lives in these little weekly meeting times in our home. Please pray for these times together: These young ones. These future Kingdom leaders.

     Maria spent time in the Mexican camp I help establish when I first went to Mexico in my younger days. She spent time with a gathering of Latino leaders from all over Central and South America and Mexico. They gathered to share inspiring stories and to be inspired by like Maria… Lots of tanks were filled with encouragement. Great weekend was had by all.

     While she was there, I was giving an educational Historical tour of California to 4th graders. They learned HIS-story as I taught history. Sharing my faith and God’s stories are my priority. Some parents and a few of the kids had never really heard how much God loved them until this tour. It was really worth it.

     Last week Josh was driving our mini-van on his way to his school internship when the brakes went out…BAM…he rear-ended another car on the freeway. We are praising God that there were no injuries at all…the other car was hardly damaged…but our car was a total loss. This is our second mini-van in a year to die. Needless to say, we are in a bit of challenged place with the loss of the car that had liability only insurance. Our financial scene is a little scary right now between low support, health bills and now the loss of another car. We gladly accept your prayers.

     Next week we hit the streets seeking to feed the homeless, yes, but more so to befriend them as much as they will let us. We are teaming up with a well-established ministry called City of Refuge that knows the streets inhabitants well. They feed them out of their own homes daily then they spend time with them on the streets too. We hope to encourage them as they encourage us.

       Then Shaun was chosen to head off to Dallas for a Church Planting Conference with 5 others from Nieucommunities. I'm really looking forward to this. His bride is super important to me.  

Never a dull moment…Thanks so much for supporting us through our Kingdom journey of service to the King.

Shaun, Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan

I

P1000779_copy

Maria with Latino Missionaries 

P1000790

It doesn't take much to total cars these days. 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sat, 14 May 2011 12:07:11 -0700 The Sheahan's http://www.sheahanlife.com/the-sheahans http://www.sheahanlife.com/the-sheahans
169024_1768934552040_149951663

The Sheahan’s

April, 2011

A couple weeks ago a few of us went on a 5-hour walk through the neighborhoods that lay just to the south of Golden Hill in San Diego. These two neighborhoods, Sherman Heights and further south, Logan Heights, have reputations that get worse the further south you go.

Gangs. Severe Poverty. Mostly Mexican and Chicano. Rough places where White’s don’t normally walk around for 5 hours much less live there.

So what motivated us to wonder these hoods? Two reasons: 1) We had the opportunity to hand out flyers that would give some of the the poor opportunities to basically “buy” fresh-hard-to-get produce for free. Spend 20.00 and get 20.00 back at the new Farmers Market in Golden Hill. Not all poor have access to fresh produce…but now they do. 2) I have really wanted to know these places more intimately – not just their reputation from a distance but who these people really are, what their houses are really like and to see first hand the ‘scary hoods’ nearby.

White pretty Carli was my street mate…she worked one side of the street while I worked the other. My protective fatherly instincts forced me to keep a close eye on Carli. I could see in front of her that she was about to encounter a front yard full of boom boxing, tatted and tattered young men of varied racial/ethnic backgrounds. I stopped to watch: do I ready my thumb on 911? Do I get ready to do a rescue…by myself!? To my relieved surprise these guys greeted Carli with dignity, respect and interest in her flyer. “Wow, Shaun chill out!” That just broke the reputation I had of this hood. They may be in a poor place but they aren’t necessarily acting poorly.

Just as that happened a man greeted me in Spanish. He actually seemed to expect this Caucasian (me) to reply back in Spanish and when I did just that, he didn’t seem the least bit surprised. This older jolly looking smiling Mexican man had lived in this well maintained and manicured home for over 40 years and loved his neighborhood.  Forty years! He had just returned from visiting his hometown in deep Mexico which he told me about with enthusiasm. Then he looked at me and said in Spanish, “I think you’d make a good neighbor, you could move here”. He told me that 5 years ago he wouldn’t have made that dangerous suggestion to a white guy, but now it has morphed into a “little safer” barrio where, in his words, “many beautiful colors live next to each other”. He seemed to think that adding more different colors to this barrio would be a beautiful thing. I think Jesus would have agreed.

As the encounter reached it’s end I shook his hand, thanked him for his time and told him my name. With a laugh and a smile, he told me his name: Juan Casanova… and he won my heart that day. As I walked away I told him I would consider his suggestion. OH man, I forgot to give him a flyer!

I don’t know much about heaven, but I do think it’s a place that will be full of different colors too.

Pray for the Sheahan’s as we ask God where our next home will be and how He will provide for it. 

And thank you for being with us.

Shaun, Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan

shaun.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 948-3787 * maria.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 495-9691 * www.sheahanlife.com

162 1st Ave Chula Vista, CA 91910

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Thu, 14 Apr 2011 07:16:57 -0700 March Sheahan update http://www.sheahanlife.com/march-sheahan-update http://www.sheahanlife.com/march-sheahan-update Thanks for being behind us...

NieuCommunities San Diego (NCSD) , is bursting at the seems. We have 23 people 16 of which are apprentices being readied to send. We have just added 4 more. But in the last 6 months we sent 5 others out. That a really good thing. For a mentoring community this is a lot of people to keep on your relational radar.There is a real sense that NCSD is pregnant and about to give birth to some new Kingdom initiatives or works. We get a strong sense that we should move a little south of Golden Hill into Sherman Heights to set up a sister NieuCommunities site in this mostly Hispanic and depressed neighborhood.
Maria and I are already crossing the border into Mexico, Maria works with refugees in San Diego and we both impact the Community of Golden Hill near down town San Diego... but Sherman Heights is intriguing...If we birth a new sister community most likely it would be Maria, Matt Chapman and me leading the new sister site. We have started to walk the streets of Sherman Heights praying as we go..the need is high but we don't want to move out unless the Spirit leads the way.We'd appreciate your prayers as we ponder and pray through this. We are still looking for the elusive house too...maybe we'd find it in Sherman Heights...

Thanks so much for keeping us before the throne and able to be involved in His Kingdom work full-time...

Shaun and Maria Sheahan

1170866054_m2jqr-m

Some of NieuCommunities San Diego (we are in there - really)

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Mon, 14 Mar 2011 20:55:20 -0700 Sheahan Up-date http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahan-up-date http://www.sheahanlife.com/sheahan-up-date

Shaun and Maria...admiring His creation!

179420_496886412708_518587708_

I realize I’m a little behind…but it’s been worth it. The busyness has been fruitful.

We minister to several very distinct cultures: 

Yesterday Maria and I walked into a little church that is known for hosting Refugees in San Diego. We walked in and took the closest seat we could find…then we looked around. On the ‘white’ side of the church were all white folks including us. Across the aisle were “colorful” people mostly with darker skin. They wore bright colors and head wraps. The ladies had outfits that wrapped around and drug the floor and were beautiful. The men were dressed up and pressed. Even the kids were strutting their stuff. This side was where all the Refugees from Africa and Bhutan/Nepal were sitting. Since they were the reason we were there, we changed sides and joined the colorful one’s. They are here at this church because one very overwhelmed man has loved them and his church offers them food. His church is accommodating but not really sure how to embrace these colorful one’s that don't speak English.

   We met 20-year-old Gerald a Refugee from Africa that translated for those who spoke Swahili and 15-year-old Josh from Nepal who translated into Nepalese. Their faith in Jesus is brand new and their hunger to grow is evident.  We see potential in these guys which has prompted us to pray about asking them to let us disciple them. We can actually imagine them becoming spiritual leaders among their people. There is also a knot of young girls that seem to be great candidates for discipleship too.

We’d love to add these refugees to our already crowded plate. The need is huge but the workers are few…

Here are a few more things that are on our cultural plates:

1.     Training enthusiastic American young adults to become missionaries. They are fun, high tech, energetic, idealistic, frightened, unsure, pampered, teachable, willing and wanting to make a Kingdom difference. We teach, train, mentor, take them with us in our ministry and then send them off to where God calls them.

2.    Leaders in Tijuana. Strengthening the church in Mexico by strengthening their leaders. It’s the norm for Mexican Christian leaders to never have had any investment or training…ever! That can mean a weak church. It’s amazing to see the maturing that happens when even just a little investment is made. This is awesome to be able to help lift up equipped leaders.

3.    The diverse culture of down town San Diego: Hipsters, Gangs, Homeless, under the radar Latinos. What a beautiful mix of crazy colors and diversity…and we run into them all. They are invited to our monthly picnic in the park, monthly community worship and into friendships with Jesus...and us too.

4.    Helping to create a local coffee shop as one of NieuCommunities missional expressions in the neighborhood of Golden Hill. This is new for us but I can see huge potential.

That’s our world and we love it! YEP, it challenges us in so many ways but it’s so worth it.

Shaun and Maria Sheahan 


Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sun, 30 Jan 2011 12:54:00 -0800 January Sheahan's UpDate http://www.sheahanlife.com/january-sheahans-update http://www.sheahanlife.com/january-sheahans-update

In NieuCommunities we all get to be a Mentor/Coach to several of the younger one’s but we also are Mentored/Coached by other staff members as well. It’s a vital part of our community and missional training. This last month we were able to receive 3 days of  training from a Pro which allowed us  to refine these skills. This was so helpful!

  This year Shaun is taking on a new apprentice. Chaz is a flaming red headed, married w/o kids, MK that grew up in Japan. He speaks it well. He is a quiet man with a giant appetite to grow godly. This should be fun.

  It looks like Maria might be mentoring Carli. Carli is also an MK kid that was born in Spain but grew up in Germany. She is also super excited to figure out how to be God’s woman.

  The beginning of each new year is when we all re-covenant to Communion with God, Community with each other and God, ministering to people in our Context and for us on staff, to empower and train the apprentice’s that are seeking to live a missional life.

  This year we are going to make a bigger effort to reach out to those in our Context. Shaun will be adding to his ministry a time of ‘hanging’ out with under privileged school kids in an after school program where he hopes to meet the kids families, most of which are Latinos.  Feel free to pray of him.

  Maria (mostly) and Shaun (assisting) will also be raising leaders in Tijuana. We will be leading a two weekend Life Compass conference with 12 leaders from Tijuana and Ensenada. Life Compass is designed to help people understand God’s direction for their lives and then give them a ‘map’ to follow as well. This will be the first time doing this in Spanish. This is so cool. Pray for Maria who is leading the way.

  Housing: We are still the only ones that don’t live in Golden Hill near down town San Diego. We are working hard to find a place that will fit a family of 5 adult sized people and is still affordable. We are considering houses that appear to be ‘haunted’  which is to say really run down and not inhabitable without lots of work. We could use your prayers and if fixing up ‘haunted’ houses sounds like a ministry option for you let us know.

  Please know we are grateful for your prayers for the Sheahan family.

Thanks for backing us up and loving us well.

 

Shaun, Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan

Guess who turned 50 in January?

 

shaun.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 948-3787 * maria.sheahan@crmleaders.org 619 495-9691 * www.sheahanlife.com

162 1st Ave Chula Vista, CA 91910

 

P1000583

 

 

1170866054_m2jqr-m

 

 

110000493_101_12-1

 

 

Sheahan-1-8

 

 

P1000285

 

 

Img_9352

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Sat, 08 Jan 2011 12:00:49 -0800 A Look at NieuCommunities January 2011 http://www.sheahanlife.com/a-look-at-nieucommunities-january-2011 http://www.sheahanlife.com/a-look-at-nieucommunities-january-2011

Sheahan-1

Josh, Maria, Shaun, Kaory and Jeremy

We just finished our first full year cycle of teaching through the 6 *postures (*trainings: Listening, Submerging, Inviting, Contending, Imagining, Entrusting) with NeiuCommunities our missional/sending community here in San Diego.

NeiuCommunities is a community of believers that trains young committed believers to live a missional lifestyle and then sends them to wherever/whatever we discover God’s calling for them to be. Maria and I are on the staff that shepherds, teaches, mentors, disciples, creates, ministers and gives cross-cultural experiences to the process of learning. We do this on both sides of the border. FUN!!

We ended this year with Imagining and Entrusting knitted together. Imagining is basically a time that we get our apprentices to “Imagine” or envision what their particular ministry walk with Jesus looks like, and what their particular passions, strengths and aspirations are. We actually cap that time by having everyone write a vision statement. After a time of refining those statements which includes getting feedback from the whole community we then slip into the next posture of “Entrusting”

Entrusting is when the apprentice learns how to entrust God and His people with getting them into their vision statement. This is when we start to send our learners out. I want to share some of the steps/initiatives we have either started taking or are about to take as some first steps in the sending process.

SOCCER league. David and Chaz invited a few neighborhood teens to refine their soccer skills. Thirty teens later they are starting to get to know these kids better and will take the steps to invite little groups to their home to eat and share their Gospel inspired lives.

COFFEE shop with a community missional emphasis. Golden Hill neighborhood does not have a great place to hang out. Matt and 4 others of us can already taste great cup of coffee and see a cool environment and a place where a community hub is created to do events ranging from immigration discussions to live music to worship nights to any topic that impacts our lives, to you name it. Staffed by mostly NeiuCommunities apprentices we can see this impacting the business community as well as all those that live in the vicinity allowing God to speak through a different venue to an unreached crowd.

YOUTH center. In Golden Hill there is a secular non-profit youth center that offers an after school program of tutoring and fun. A bunch of us NeiuCommunity people are in the ‘background check’ process now that will allow us to volunteer. Mostly the poorer Latino kids use this center. Our goal is to help tutor yes, but more so get to know the kids and their families that live mostly under the radar due to their shaky immigration status. Ultimately, we’d like to form a youth group out of this experience, letting the Gospel have its place.

CRASH.inc is a rehab center for women recovering from substance abuse in Golden Hill. Several of our women have been simply walking with these women once a week. The next step is to actually enter their group home and teach some life skills like conflict resolution and communications while deepening relationships. The goal is to form trusted relationships and let God ultimately speak. 

INTERMEDIATE Discipleship (Ok, I admit, we need a better name for this). There are new believers and curios onlookers that have come about as a result of God’s work through NeiuCommunities. As a result several of us can see the need to form a group to start the process of discipling these curios non-believers and new believers to what a walk with Jesus looks like and who He really is. That’s exciting.

Grupo, Mexico women have learned to listen to their community, see needs/opportunities and respond in the most loving ways that express the Gospel in life giving ways by serving the poor, reviving the local church and creating small growth groups.

PUBLIC works in developing countries. Nick builds hospitals here in the States. He really would like to create and empower teams that could build hospitals, schools, clinics and childcare in developing countries…works that benefit the community as a whole. He will be traveling to Mexico to join a work there and learn. Then he plans to take a team to Haiti to actually build a public work this year. Wow. How cool is that?

INDONESIA. John and Bri have a heart to mobilize Latinos to reach Muslims. We sent them to Frontiers Missions. They are currently building a team with Frontiers Mission and another missionary couple that spent many years in Mexico. They hope to be in Indonesia with a team of Latinos in late 2011. It’s happening.

Misc.: Poor Tijuana women selling their artisans through a NieuCmmunities outlet enabling them to fed their children. Mentoring young Mexican men in the Home for Boys in Tijuana. Offering Life Direction Discovery seminars in Spanish empowering people in Baja. 

Those are some of the place/initiatives we are sending our apprentices too as they become more and mare ready to “GO”. Maria and I get to carry our years of experience, our personal passions, our God given gifts/talents and our own visions into NeiuCommunities in order to help others become “sent”. All I can say is what a privilege and honor to serve in His Kingdom this way. 

What would make us much more effective would be moving to the neighborhood of Golden Hill next to Downtown San Diego. We are the only one’s on our team that don’t live there. Housing for a family of 5 is a real challenge. We have been trying for over 10 months to rent or buy but so far we have only found one of these rare affordable beasts and someone else beat us to the punch.  Prayer needed. 

Shaun for Maria, Jeremy, Kaory and Josh Sheahan 

January 1-8-11

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Tue, 23 Nov 2010 08:27:00 -0800 South Africa Mission Adventure http://www.sheahanlife.com/i-tried-to-send-this-like-2-weeks-ago-it-didn http://www.sheahanlife.com/i-tried-to-send-this-like-2-weeks-ago-it-didn

Begin forwarded message:

Subject: An update from Jeremy out of South Africa.

 
 
 
 
 
An update?!? This late?!?Ha... yeah

Dear Friends,

Thank you for all your prayers and support. I know it’s been a while since my last update. Oh wait… last time you heard from me I was probably asking you for money… But after a little more than 2 months there is a lot to tell, probably more than I would ever be able to write down. So you can ask me all about it when I get home in a month.

Lets see, how shall I start off this update? English class wasn’t exactly my strongest subject… Let me start off by saying that if you thought I was going to loose weight here in Africa, you were SO wrong. The food here is very delicious and very filling. A standard South African meal usually looks like Pap (a porridge made of ground maize), some sort of meat (usually chicken) and sometimes cabbage or spinach. And you don’t really use spoons or forks. It’s all hands baby! And I must say, I’m getting quite good at it.

I currently reside in a little room behind my host family, the Bocabas. They have 3 kids that are still living at home. Betty (25), Thabang (22) and Morongwa (18). There are also a whole lot of youth that hang out at the house where I stay. I have been making lots of friends and we’re always hanging out or walking somewhere. One of my friends named Sifiso calls me “Lekoah lakah” which means “my white guy”.

Besides doing stuff with the team and my friends like visiting orphanages and other ministry, I have a "personal ministry". My personal ministry is teaching guitar to anyone who wants to learn. Some of these kids are very talented and pick it up very quickly. Others, not so much, but they're trying. But unfortunately, a lot of them don't show up on a regular basis, so it’s necessary to just drop everything and hang out with them when they do come. 

Umm… yeah… that’s the update. I’m not exactly sure what else to put in this thing… I’m doing really well. I have been making lots of friends, eating lots of food, reading a lot and getting to know Jesus. What more could you ask for? Not much. Not much.

Again, I would like to thank you for all your prayers and support. Sorry for not sending an update earlier. It’s difficult when you’re busy all the time and the Internet isn’t as accessible. Yep. That’s my excuse.

 Thank you,

Jeremy Sheahan 


 
 
 
 

 

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan
Thu, 28 Oct 2010 07:43:57 -0700 It's happening!!! http://www.sheahanlife.com/its-happening http://www.sheahanlife.com/its-happening

This is really exciting: some of NieuCommunities core values are mentoring and sending.

John and Bri Coghlan have been with us for nearly a year now being mentored, challenged, and nurtured for this moment: to be sent.

They will head to Seattle, where John is from, to finalize preparations to go to Indonesia. Yep Muslims!

But

There is an amazing twist. They really want to train Latinos in that context to form teams to reach Muslims. Bri is from Guatemala, John has the heart and language of a Latino…it makes sense. The Coghlan’ are super gifted. In His power they will do this!!!

I had the joy of mentoring John and I will so miss those times and miss the Coghlan’ but that is part of life in a ‘sending’ community. Go! And make disciples!

The world needs GOERs like John and Bri! People like John and Bri really, really need SENDERS like NieuCommuites and you.

John and Bri being sent by us at NieuCommunities:

Image001

Shaun and Maria Sheahan

Sheahanlife.com

Crmleaders.com

Permalink | Leave a comment  »

]]>
http://files.posterous.com/user_profile_pics/359750/722902556_0911_sheahan-105.jpg http://posterous.com/users/3sTwRNvbQRXj Shaun Sheahan Shaun Shaun Sheahan