New Valley Unplugged

Check out the pics from our first ever concert at New Valley! It was a great night. Thanks to everyone for coming out. If you have a favorite musician that you'd like New Valley to host, just let us know!

Scott's First Entry

Hey Folks, our pastor just got a brand new camera and is excited to be a part of the photoblog. The blog is open to anyone. So if you have some pics, send them along. Check out Scott's first pics!

More Picnic Pics

Picnic Pics

Easter

A few pics from our Kidz Easter Egg Hunt...

Mercy

We are learning a lot at New Valley about this thing called Mercy. We are learning that it's often times more fun to look outside of ourselves and our living rooms and our cable TV. And to get up off of our couches and find neighborhoods we've never been to. And meet those people and serve those people. We are learning, too, that we can share the gospel by getting up off our butts and serving people with our hands and feet..even more than our mouths. We are learning that community development and God's redemptive plan involves building relationships with people different than us.

This past Saturday we had an awesome time (and an awesome turnout) painting the home of an elderly woman in Tempe. We joined up with the very cool folks at First Pentecostal Church in South Phoenix. Here are some pics.

Work Night

We had a blast working on our new facility together. About 15 folks showed up. We made some great progress! Thanks to everyone for coming.

Here are some shots Scott (our pastor) took...

Lunch with the Westbergs

We miss the Westbergs. Eric and April were with New Valley from close to the get-go. They are folks who love God and desire to serve them with their whole lives. A few months ago, Eric took a position in a new city. Actually, a new continent. They now live in Germany. But this week, they were in town for (literally) hours. A few of us got together at Pei Wei for their return.

Scott, our pastor, is just plain weird around a camera...

One of New Valley's cutest...Rhys

Phoenix Rescue Mission Christmas Fun

Having tried a number of different things for our Mercy Ministry (serving the poor, social justice, playing a part in redeeming the world) - some good, some not so good - we tried a staple in this realm..the Rescue Mission. If you're not familiar with them, they are pretty much in every major city in America. Their role is to rehabilitate homeless men. And they are pretty good at it.

We are trying to find something we can commit to on a regular (monthly) basis, and the Rescue Mission is one of the places we are considering (we are still looking for someone to own it). So..we decided to take part in their annual Adopt-a-Family for Christmas event. It was a lot of fun! It was their biggest one to date, giving gifts to over 1500 people.

When we arrived (7:30am and about 45 degrees)(yes, it was in Phoenix), there was tents to set up and two tractor trailers full of gifts in garbage bags to pull out.

Kira and the Trailers



Leland, the Moving Man



Erin, The Servant Queen



Mike, The Servant King



Erin was everywhere!



After all the bags were pulled out and organized into groups, folks started arriving in droves to get their gifts. They went through the little Disney line we created, went to chapel, and then got to Kira and me (Jeff). We basically served as traffic cops, holding folks up until there was room at their designated table to get their gifts. This was the best part as we were able to interact with pretty much every family that came through. We brushed up on our Spanish, that's for sure. :)







Yes, even the mascot from Red Robin was there!



The Crew



All in all, we had a great time! Thanks to each of you who showed up! Thanks to Katie Olmstead, too! (She was with the late shift). :)

Christmas Shindig

Sorry for the delay, folks. Check out some pics from our Christmas Party last Friday. Despite the Seattle-like weather, the firepit was burning til around 1am. Check out the Kidz Winter Wonderland, too. You go Becky Brown.









Charades was a big hit. Some embarrassing photos perhaps. But fun. :)













Jay spent most of the evening grazing at what was coined "The Man Bowl"