What a year! We have seen how God has been with us through the great times and the very sad times.
After staying very busy with learning a lot about low income housing and community development, Al took a role as executive director with a non-profit that helps entrepreneurs start up a business. (Economic Growth Business Incubator http://www.egbi.org/). It's a small non-profit with a lot of potential. He is also on the board of directors for some non-profits in town that are targeting the underserved areas of the community and schools. He stays very busy.
We have helped again this year with putting on dinners at the schools here in the neighborhood in order to get parents to come to the school for special events. We wanted to get the school moms involved so we planned a tamale making party that took the entire day. The ladies were excited to help out. Judy now knows some more of the moms of the kids and also knows how much lard goes into tamales. Wow! We have had the 2nd annual dinner at our home for National Night Out and were so pleased with this year’s turn out. We have such a mix of people on our street and it was great seeing everyone having a good time.
Judy has also been doing crafts with a variety of groups. She did a few classes in the government assisted living complex in East Austin , also a few with the teen moms at the high school and with the kids in the neighborhood as a way to keep the kids busy while the parents have a meeting. The biggest thing was preparing for Hope Fest which has taken place the last 5 years at Reagan high school in the neighborhood. The woman who had headed up the crafts area was not able to do it this year so Judy took that on for about 200-300 kids. Judy thought everyone was having fun until one little girl actually fell asleep while doing the craft. She now has a better idea of what to do and what not to do next year. She also helps out at the nearby elementary school library.
Our community group has “adopted” a high school class, AVID (Advancement Via Individual Determination) which helps those kids who may not be thinking about college, get more prepared for college. We have put on our 2nd annual dinner for them and then do crafts and games. We also took them to the movies. They are great kids.
We have also expanded our involvement with helping with low income housing by building some small homes in the neighborhood for people who would probably have a hard time finding housing. They should be finished the start of the New Year.
We continue to be involved at church. Judy does her Bible storytelling and Al helps with the offering.
If you have time and interest you can look up all the sites below to see pictures of the grandkids and read about what they are up to. Britt and Greg are still in NC, but Greg is now the director for a Christian camp in north Raleigh called New Life Camp.
Justin and Sally are in Austin. Justin heads up the “For the City Network” (http://www.forthecity.org/) which has come about through our church. It hosts a center that houses other non-profits in town that target the needy, orphans/foster kids and their families.
Mark and Alli are in Dallas as she continues with her medical training at Southwestern and Mark is working at a graphic design company called “Element X Creative.” We have travelled to North Carolina a few times (one because Britt had her tonsils out) and they have come here. The picture was taken at Camp John Marc’s 20th anniversary; all but Sally had worked there.
We got to go to Tucson to see Al’s family and then up to Phoenix for a wedding of the son of Judy’s good friend, Kelly and so got to spend time with her wonderful college friends. It was great to see you guys!
The sad news of the year was the death of Judy's Dad, who would have been 90 this year. He had been in poor health. She got to see him before he died. A few months later her Uncle Marshall died. He was one of the nicest men you'd ever know and the two of them were quite a pair of great men. We wish you all could have known them. Also, our friend, Cliff Tyrance, (Justin’s AAU basketball coach) died suddenly of a heart attack. For a few years we spent a lot of time together as an extended family and Cliff was a wonderful role model for those young boys. We’d like to send our love, sympathy and prayers out to his family and friends.
For news on the kids and their families:
http://gregandbrittany.blogspot.com/, greg@newlifecamp.com , http://marknlopez.com/, http://elementxcreative.com/, http://marknlopez.blogspot.com/, http://alliandmark.blogspot.com/, http://salandj.blogspot.com/, http://austinstone.org/, (this is our church’s web site and has links to some wonderful sermons especially the one titled, “History of Redemption.” It was made into an illustrated book.).
Thanks for taking time to read this. We hope you have a meaningful Christmas as Luke 2:11 states "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a savior, which is Christ the Lord." Happy New Year.
We love you. Al and Judy
Friday, December 24, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Year end 2009 and Happy 2010
Happy New Year 2010!
We hope everyone is doing well and that you have had a joyful Christmas or Hanukkah. Another year has just flown by. We have had some big things happen this year. We’ve been in our new home now for a little over a year. We’ve been very happy with the move.
In June Mark married Alli Bryan in Dallas. It was a beautiful wedding and reception. They lived in NYC this summer where Mark had a summer job and then moved to Dallas where Alli is in med school and Mark is doing contract work in motion graphics and broadcast design. You can see what he has been up to by going to his web site: http://marknlopez.com, also, their “family blog” is http://alliandmark.blogspot.com.
At the end of last year Dell had a large reorganization that affected the part of the company that Al worked in. He decided to take the package offered to executives. He was asked to stay on for 6 months to complete a smooth transition of his organization and he left in August. Since then as he considers and explores his options he has had time to really get more involved in the neighborhood / community. It is great to see how God’s timing had allowed us to downsize our home and have all our kids married off and then have the restructure at Dell take place. We’re sure that something will develop that will enable some organization to benefit from his experience and energy.
Judy continues to teach the Bible to kids twice a week and has plans on starting up a craft ministry with the teenage mothers who attend the high school here. (Right now there are over 30.) Al has been very busy learning about the low income housing rules in order to help people be able to afford a place to live. He is also working with a struggling non-profit Community Housing Development Organization to help them get back on track.
In October Britt and Greg had their third child, Bryce. He is just a doll and his sisters adore him. To see more about them you can go to Britt’s great blog: http://gregandbrittany.blogspot.com/
Justin and Sally are expecting their 2nd child around March 5th. Justin is working with the church as the executive director of For the City. You can see what he does at http://forthecity.org/ and http://vimeo.com/8078438/ . (Which is the message from the church on Dec. 6th was a video that has Justin talking about 15 minutes into it about what he is doing. Also, E. M Taylor, lady that talks about the neighborhood history lives down the street from us.) You can also see more on their family at their blog: http://salandj.blogspot.com. (Believe me it is worth looking up just to see Justin and Annie as Oompa Loompas and Sally as a pregnant Dora the Explorer.)
We have been learning lots about serving in this neighborhood. We are learning more and more about how to help folks beyond charity and toward development – community, family, spiritually, etc…
We’ve worked with some homeless families, and with a family who’s home burned down and is staying in our duplex while their home is being rebuilt by others who help people in need. Of course, this family has had to continue paying their mortgage payment (on their burned down home) since they didn’t want to foreclose and end up with bad credit. They are a wonderful, hard working family.
The neighborhood has a great assortment of people. We have lots of ice cream trucks that drive around playing their music. The neighbors do a lot of grilling and most of them grill in their front yard so there are some great smells and it is a great way to meet your neighbors. We love the smells and sounds in this neighborhood.
We do a lot with our church community group that meets in our home. We help put on dinners at the middle school in order to have families get involved in the literacy nights, orchestra recitals, math night, nutrition night, etc.
We have adopted a teacher and her classroom from the high school in the neighborhood. The school is really struggling with achieving acceptable academic performance, but we are trying to help this young teacher with some moral and tangible support. We supplied some student supplies that the school doesn’t supply and the kids’ parents can’t afford when school started. We had a dinner at our home with about 18 of her kids where we did a Christmas craft and played games. The kids were all great and at the end of the night the teacher told us that the kids wondered if it would be ok if they just spent the night. One of the girls who looked like she was having a bad time came up to Judy at the end of the night and gave her a hug and said it was the best time she has ever had. The teacher also sent us an email saying how the kids had told her what a good time they had. Most of these kids come from troubled homes with gangs in the street.
We help out with rides especially for one family who has 4 kids but no car and one of the kids goes to a charter school that doesn’t have a bus.
We had a “National night out” dinner at our house where neighbors are supposed to go around and meet the neighbors by going to the homes that have these dinners. That may take another year for neighbors to accept us a little more. We had some come but not too many.
We have attended many neighborhood meetings that are trying to improve the environment of the neighborhood. Everyone just wants a safe, clean place to bring up their families. This place has a ways to go but we see progress being made.
Our family was able to be together on Thanksgiving in Raleigh. That was a special time with all the grandkids!
Well, this should give you an idea of what we’ve been up to this year. We thank God for all His blessings of forgiveness, love, mercy and grace which is the motivation for the work we do, and we thank Him for you, our friends and family. Write us: jude.lopez@yahoo.com.
With much love, Judy and Al
We hope everyone is doing well and that you have had a joyful Christmas or Hanukkah. Another year has just flown by. We have had some big things happen this year. We’ve been in our new home now for a little over a year. We’ve been very happy with the move.
In June Mark married Alli Bryan in Dallas. It was a beautiful wedding and reception. They lived in NYC this summer where Mark had a summer job and then moved to Dallas where Alli is in med school and Mark is doing contract work in motion graphics and broadcast design. You can see what he has been up to by going to his web site: http://marknlopez.com, also, their “family blog” is http://alliandmark.blogspot.com.
At the end of last year Dell had a large reorganization that affected the part of the company that Al worked in. He decided to take the package offered to executives. He was asked to stay on for 6 months to complete a smooth transition of his organization and he left in August. Since then as he considers and explores his options he has had time to really get more involved in the neighborhood / community. It is great to see how God’s timing had allowed us to downsize our home and have all our kids married off and then have the restructure at Dell take place. We’re sure that something will develop that will enable some organization to benefit from his experience and energy.
Judy continues to teach the Bible to kids twice a week and has plans on starting up a craft ministry with the teenage mothers who attend the high school here. (Right now there are over 30.) Al has been very busy learning about the low income housing rules in order to help people be able to afford a place to live. He is also working with a struggling non-profit Community Housing Development Organization to help them get back on track.
In October Britt and Greg had their third child, Bryce. He is just a doll and his sisters adore him. To see more about them you can go to Britt’s great blog: http://gregandbrittany.blogspot.com/
Justin and Sally are expecting their 2nd child around March 5th. Justin is working with the church as the executive director of For the City. You can see what he does at http://forthecity.org/ and http://vimeo.com/8078438/ . (Which is the message from the church on Dec. 6th was a video that has Justin talking about 15 minutes into it about what he is doing. Also, E. M Taylor, lady that talks about the neighborhood history lives down the street from us.) You can also see more on their family at their blog: http://salandj.blogspot.com. (Believe me it is worth looking up just to see Justin and Annie as Oompa Loompas and Sally as a pregnant Dora the Explorer.)
We have been learning lots about serving in this neighborhood. We are learning more and more about how to help folks beyond charity and toward development – community, family, spiritually, etc…
We’ve worked with some homeless families, and with a family who’s home burned down and is staying in our duplex while their home is being rebuilt by others who help people in need. Of course, this family has had to continue paying their mortgage payment (on their burned down home) since they didn’t want to foreclose and end up with bad credit. They are a wonderful, hard working family.
The neighborhood has a great assortment of people. We have lots of ice cream trucks that drive around playing their music. The neighbors do a lot of grilling and most of them grill in their front yard so there are some great smells and it is a great way to meet your neighbors. We love the smells and sounds in this neighborhood.
We do a lot with our church community group that meets in our home. We help put on dinners at the middle school in order to have families get involved in the literacy nights, orchestra recitals, math night, nutrition night, etc.
We have adopted a teacher and her classroom from the high school in the neighborhood. The school is really struggling with achieving acceptable academic performance, but we are trying to help this young teacher with some moral and tangible support. We supplied some student supplies that the school doesn’t supply and the kids’ parents can’t afford when school started. We had a dinner at our home with about 18 of her kids where we did a Christmas craft and played games. The kids were all great and at the end of the night the teacher told us that the kids wondered if it would be ok if they just spent the night. One of the girls who looked like she was having a bad time came up to Judy at the end of the night and gave her a hug and said it was the best time she has ever had. The teacher also sent us an email saying how the kids had told her what a good time they had. Most of these kids come from troubled homes with gangs in the street.
We help out with rides especially for one family who has 4 kids but no car and one of the kids goes to a charter school that doesn’t have a bus.
We had a “National night out” dinner at our house where neighbors are supposed to go around and meet the neighbors by going to the homes that have these dinners. That may take another year for neighbors to accept us a little more. We had some come but not too many.
We have attended many neighborhood meetings that are trying to improve the environment of the neighborhood. Everyone just wants a safe, clean place to bring up their families. This place has a ways to go but we see progress being made.
Our family was able to be together on Thanksgiving in Raleigh. That was a special time with all the grandkids!
Well, this should give you an idea of what we’ve been up to this year. We thank God for all His blessings of forgiveness, love, mercy and grace which is the motivation for the work we do, and we thank Him for you, our friends and family. Write us: jude.lopez@yahoo.com.
With much love, Judy and Al
New Years 2009
In case you would like to know more about what is going on in our family here are some more details:
Al and Judy felt led to move to one of the poorer neighborhoods in town in order to become a part of that community, meet the neighbors and help out when there is a need. Our church is targeting this neighborhood and is in the process of building a church there. We are working with others in the area who are connected with the schools and the different community organizations that have to do with helping the poor. We hear from these other groups about families or individuals who need temporary housing because of some bad situations that have occurred in their lives and we have them stay next door. They have a few months (depending on the situation) to find a job, save some money and get back on their feet. We have lots to learn. There are lots of sad stories, but, by the grace of God, we get the opportunity to show some that He is a loving God. We have met a wonderful man who works at a private school in town. They end up with lots of leftover food so he delivers the leftovers to our neighbors. We have also helped put together meals for some of the school functions. We’ve helped in the clean-up days and there are lots of other things we would love to get involved in once we get settled and find the time.
We suppose in time we will form some kind of a non-profit organization having to do with helping with low-income housing and getting the people into some training and once the church is built it will also offer a preschool for some of the neighborhood kids. There is a lot more involved in this but that gives you an idea of why the letter is so late.
Britt and Greg are still in NC with Greg in seminary and working in the sport’s ministry at the church where they have been attending. They had another baby girl, Lydia, in May so Johanna has a little sister. Britt stays busy with the family and teaches exercise classes and is involved with the church and her neighborhood since they too have just moved with a similar intent of moving to a neighborhood where they would like to make a positive impact.
Justin and Sally have also had a big change in their lives. They had baby Annabel in March. The live in Austin . It has been great seeing my children as parents. Justin also just resigned from DELL and is now working along-side the church as the Benevolence and non-profit head. He is learning lots. Sally stays very busy with Anne and teaches classes at church and has been getting trained to teach exercise classes too. It is so nice that we go to the same church.
That leaves Mark. As stated, he got engaged in December to Alli who is a graduate of Texas A&M where Mark went for 2 years but they didn’t meet at school. They met at the summer camp, Camp John Marc, where all the kids worked. Mark has been going to the Savannah of Art and Design in Georgia and graduates the end of May and Alli is in her first year of med school in Dallas. Dallas is only a little over 3 hours from Austin so that won’t be too bad. Alli is from Dallas so the wedding in June will be in Dallas.
Please remember to change our address:
7206 Providence Ave.
Austin, TX 78752
We love you and pray for God’s blessings on all of you through Christ His Son.
Love, Al and Judy
Al and Judy felt led to move to one of the poorer neighborhoods in town in order to become a part of that community, meet the neighbors and help out when there is a need. Our church is targeting this neighborhood and is in the process of building a church there. We are working with others in the area who are connected with the schools and the different community organizations that have to do with helping the poor. We hear from these other groups about families or individuals who need temporary housing because of some bad situations that have occurred in their lives and we have them stay next door. They have a few months (depending on the situation) to find a job, save some money and get back on their feet. We have lots to learn. There are lots of sad stories, but, by the grace of God, we get the opportunity to show some that He is a loving God. We have met a wonderful man who works at a private school in town. They end up with lots of leftover food so he delivers the leftovers to our neighbors. We have also helped put together meals for some of the school functions. We’ve helped in the clean-up days and there are lots of other things we would love to get involved in once we get settled and find the time.
We suppose in time we will form some kind of a non-profit organization having to do with helping with low-income housing and getting the people into some training and once the church is built it will also offer a preschool for some of the neighborhood kids. There is a lot more involved in this but that gives you an idea of why the letter is so late.
Britt and Greg are still in NC with Greg in seminary and working in the sport’s ministry at the church where they have been attending. They had another baby girl, Lydia, in May so Johanna has a little sister. Britt stays busy with the family and teaches exercise classes and is involved with the church and her neighborhood since they too have just moved with a similar intent of moving to a neighborhood where they would like to make a positive impact.
Justin and Sally have also had a big change in their lives. They had baby Annabel in March. The live in Austin . It has been great seeing my children as parents. Justin also just resigned from DELL and is now working along-side the church as the Benevolence and non-profit head. He is learning lots. Sally stays very busy with Anne and teaches classes at church and has been getting trained to teach exercise classes too. It is so nice that we go to the same church.
That leaves Mark. As stated, he got engaged in December to Alli who is a graduate of Texas A&M where Mark went for 2 years but they didn’t meet at school. They met at the summer camp, Camp John Marc, where all the kids worked. Mark has been going to the Savannah of Art and Design in Georgia and graduates the end of May and Alli is in her first year of med school in Dallas. Dallas is only a little over 3 hours from Austin so that won’t be too bad. Alli is from Dallas so the wedding in June will be in Dallas.
Please remember to change our address:
7206 Providence Ave.
Austin, TX 78752
We love you and pray for God’s blessings on all of you through Christ His Son.
Love, Al and Judy
Christmas 2007
Dear Friends and Family,
We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Al continues his work at Dell. He will be starting his 10th year in 2008. Those 10 years have flown by. He leads a church group that meets in our home once a week. When he finds some free time he enjoys taking a ride on his motorcycle. (For those who might be wondering, no, Judy does not accompany him on his “bike.”)
Judy spends a lot of her time visiting Johanna (her granddaughter), Britt and Greg in NC. She also took a few trips to Rockford, IL to visit family and wants to thank them for being such a blessing to her. She continues to busy herself with some volunteer work, with teaching Bible lessons and with some sewing/quilting lessons.
Our youngest son, Mark, who is now 21 has been attending the Savannah College of Art and Design and just loves it. He is in Broadcast Design which is creative work on the computer dealing with motion graphics. This summer he worked again at Camp John Marc and he got to go on a mission trip to Moldova with our son-in-law, Greg. He was able to use the experiences he’s gained from working with the kids at camp. He also participates on Fridays with helping kids in Savannah who live in the Projects near his school.
Justin continues to work at Dell. Justin and Sally stay busy with many church related things. We see Justin and Sally about once a week since we now attend the same church. They are expecting their first child in March causing Al and Judy to wonder how life can get any better…a grand child living in town! But then, during the high point of the year, a family trip in October to Mexico to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, Britt and Greg announced they are expecting their second child!! 2008 is already shaping up to be an incredible year. Sally just put in her notice to quit work so she can get things ready for the baby. They are going to be such great parents.
Britt has been teaching aerobic dance and Pilate’s classes all year, along with volunteer work and being a great mom and wife. Did you know it is possible to put a baby down to sleep without the baby first being fast asleep in your arms? Granted, Johanna is an incredible child but it has been great to see what wonderful parents she has, also. Greg is attending Seminary classes along with his teaching English and coaching basketball. They put up with us begging them to move to Austin but the reality is they may end up in Moldova. (Yes, Judy had to look that up on the map and no, she would not be able to visit there as regularly as she does to NC so we wait to see how God leads them.)
2007 is almost over so we want to take this time to let you know how special you are to us and thank God for all of you! May you all have a very happy and Blessed New Year!
Love, Al and Judy
PS. Judy’s e-mail has changed. Please take note. It is now: jude.lopez@yahoo.com
We want to wish you all a very Merry Christmas and Happy Hanukkah.
Al continues his work at Dell. He will be starting his 10th year in 2008. Those 10 years have flown by. He leads a church group that meets in our home once a week. When he finds some free time he enjoys taking a ride on his motorcycle. (For those who might be wondering, no, Judy does not accompany him on his “bike.”)
Judy spends a lot of her time visiting Johanna (her granddaughter), Britt and Greg in NC. She also took a few trips to Rockford, IL to visit family and wants to thank them for being such a blessing to her. She continues to busy herself with some volunteer work, with teaching Bible lessons and with some sewing/quilting lessons.
Our youngest son, Mark, who is now 21 has been attending the Savannah College of Art and Design and just loves it. He is in Broadcast Design which is creative work on the computer dealing with motion graphics. This summer he worked again at Camp John Marc and he got to go on a mission trip to Moldova with our son-in-law, Greg. He was able to use the experiences he’s gained from working with the kids at camp. He also participates on Fridays with helping kids in Savannah who live in the Projects near his school.
Justin continues to work at Dell. Justin and Sally stay busy with many church related things. We see Justin and Sally about once a week since we now attend the same church. They are expecting their first child in March causing Al and Judy to wonder how life can get any better…a grand child living in town! But then, during the high point of the year, a family trip in October to Mexico to celebrate our 30th wedding anniversary, Britt and Greg announced they are expecting their second child!! 2008 is already shaping up to be an incredible year. Sally just put in her notice to quit work so she can get things ready for the baby. They are going to be such great parents.
Britt has been teaching aerobic dance and Pilate’s classes all year, along with volunteer work and being a great mom and wife. Did you know it is possible to put a baby down to sleep without the baby first being fast asleep in your arms? Granted, Johanna is an incredible child but it has been great to see what wonderful parents she has, also. Greg is attending Seminary classes along with his teaching English and coaching basketball. They put up with us begging them to move to Austin but the reality is they may end up in Moldova. (Yes, Judy had to look that up on the map and no, she would not be able to visit there as regularly as she does to NC so we wait to see how God leads them.)
2007 is almost over so we want to take this time to let you know how special you are to us and thank God for all of you! May you all have a very happy and Blessed New Year!
Love, Al and Judy
PS. Judy’s e-mail has changed. Please take note. It is now: jude.lopez@yahoo.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)