southern california

josh & i just completed our move from indianapolis to eaton (arriving at our new home at 5 a.m. saturday morning!), so i finally have a chance to post photos from our california trip. we don't have internet out at the country home, so we are sitting at good 'ol muncie alliance church drinking mochas & dancing to oliver mtukudzi on a sunny sunday afternoon...

twelve days was a super-long time to be away in the middle of our move, but so many moments of our journey seemed resplendent with meaning & intention.

* greg + julie christman (3 days)- surfing, encouragement, refreshing conversations, & a concert at their hollywood church "kairos"

* josh's sister teal (3 days)- food, fellowship, swimming rooftop at the standard

* concert at calvary chapel, costa mesa

* a day with "uncle" dave & "aunt" heidi coombs, dear friends from peru: SUCH an encouraging, worshipful time!

* a day with alice quinty + her family; she was my babysitter in peru!

* an afternoon at jedidiah, sponsors of josh (they gave us a free shopping spree in their warehouse!), & time with the walking on water folks

* an evening at a downtown san diego fellowship--an inspiring german missionary

* early morning surf with jason andre & friends in oceanside

* beautiful dinner with lisa at solana beach; wonderful talks & hospitality at her san diego home

* russell & brianna's wedding in encinitas--josh played in their wedding, & we had a blast with new friends. met tom from surfing the nations, & look forward to hooking up in some way...

* back to l.a. for one last day with greg & julie

here are a few pictures. all the trip photos are here.

: i think this picture says alot about us :

: greg & julie christman :

: greg con mucho sunblock :

: teal flies like a superhero on the rings : (venice beach)

: teal's downtown l.a. apartment :

: uncle dave & aunt heidi, bible translators for the quechua, listening to a quechua praise song from the "walking on water" soundtrack :

: jane, michelle, alice :

: lisa with speedy the turtle :

: josh in ridiculous glasses : can you find me, jason, & lisa? :

: at russell & brianna's wedding :

: josh & mitchy at pt. dume :

: my husband likes to jump off of high & dangerous places :

as always, i barely know how to whittle down the happenings of our trip. it was an incredibly encouraging visit for us. so many old & new friends, & so many confirmations that this step towards music + development is a good one. we enjoyed deep times of fellowship & prayer, & watched in wonder as the Lord breathed life into our future. we don't know what this all means, but we are joyfully entering this uncertain time in the river mansion, awaiting God's direction... visiting l.a., & meeting the folks from jedidiah, walking on water, & surfing the nations (who have all sponsored josh or used his music, offering friendship & support) somehow brought hope to our family vision of art/music/preaching/cross-cultural work/development. really, we weren't given any more concrete steps for our future, but we feel hopeful, swimming in the knowledge of God's care.

this one is called...

: tall man on a small plane :

it ain't easy being 6'4"

(on our way to california, where we are now, until the 28th, for 2 shows + 1 wedding)

vecino's

here are some photos from our last sunday at vecino's, the church that josh has pastored for the past three years!

: worship :

: josh preaching :

: coffee bar :

: the folks :

: sunday evening prayer + tea at our house :

music to pack by

i'm a sucker for ambient music--a love i inherited from my dad, carried on through the years with weekly hearts of space (npr) gatherings. we've been packing up boxes with hammock in the background. it's a little unwed sailor + a little sigur ros. it comforts me.

our four-legged journey

I. JOEL & CHARITY'S WEDDING : michigan

our journey began with a drive up to michigan for joel & charity's wedding. josh was officiating their wedding ceremony, which drew from many jewish traditions (charity's heritage).

joel & charity are kindred spirits, & a real inspiration to us. we met charity when josh was on a mini-tour with the psalters. she was the accordian player, & we hit it off instantly. she even gave me her most valued possession--a set of downy woodpecker wings. joel & charity live in rural missouri, in the poorest county in the state. joel built his own straw bale house, & they both teach at a local elementary school. this past year they taught a circus class, & at the end of the year the kids put on the SASSAFRAS CIRCUS for the whole town!

joel & charity have become dear friends of ours over the past year, & charity & i continue to add onto our "were-we-separated-at-birth?" list. the most recent addition was the discovery that we both have what joel calls "mouse feet", from years of barefoot walking...

(note our husbands' awe/horror)

: pronouncement by rabbi garrels :

: joel's feathers :

the reception was a blast... gypsy/israeli polka punk music, dancing, delicious vegan food, accordians & banjos. at midnight, after much dancing, josh & i hopped in our faithful chariot for a 3-hour drive to mom & dad garrels' home.



II. GRANGER GOODBYE/A SALMON FEAST : indiana

we arrived at 3 a.m., just in time to sleep a wee bit before mike & marti's goodbye party on sunday morning, hosted by their weekly fellowship group. mike & marti requested that josh play "restless ones" at their party. it was an honor to be a part of this gathering, hosted by folks who have known & loved the garrels family for their 20 years in granger. the kids from the fellowship even performed a dance (ending in a candlelighting to send them off) in honor of mike & marti--a touching farewell!

: guests of honor :

and then...

a family sauna & salmon feast! alli's boyfriend josh was in alaska for the summer working on a fishing boat. he grilled a delicious salmon for us on sunday night.

III. DIXON FAMILY REUNION : south jersey

this was our third family reunion this summer! but it was the first time in many years that i'd seen my extended family (on my mom's side), & the first time many of them were meeting josh. actually, several of them had met him 5 or 6 years ago at my brother's wedding, where he sang, but we weren't dating at the time!


highlights of this visit were a drive past the roller skating rink where my parents met at age 15 (!), a trip to the ocean city boardwalk with mom & dad, playing mexican train, sharing a pint with cousin becky, & discovering wawa coffee.

: the boardwalk :

do you like mom's hat? "the 'D' is for 'dixon'," she says

: mom got pooped on by seagulls (2 minutes after they pooped on josh) :

: they think it's funny :

: crossword puzzles : mom, uncle jerry, josh, cousin becky :

IV. JOSH OPENS FOR GURU/JAZZMATAZZ : washington, d.c. area

this was an interesting show, as we suspected it would be. financially it didn't make sense to do this show, nor did the timing (in the middle of our move). & josh only ended up playing 4 songs, since the two other openers played extra-long. but we left the show feeling encouraged, knowing that we were supposed to be there. we left at midnight, after only 3 of guru's songs, to begin the journey home (found a hotel in maryland at 3 a.m.), & had a really inspiring talk about charity & love, & how so often the right thing or the charitable thing doesn't always make sense; it often doesn't seem efficient or particularly lucrative. but we ended the evening with an even greater passion to live this way--to live with constant availability to God, to live from our hearts, to live in a way that may not make sense to those around us. we are passionately committed to this, & sense christ calling us to it.

i don't have many pictures from this event, but i like this tunnel picture that i took on the way to d.c... (i like it because my fairy showed up in the picture)

music to travel by

ethiopiques, vol 4:

ethio jazz & musique

instrumentale,

1969-1974

hallelujah chicken run band

take one

(starring thomas mapfumo, a chimurenga favorite)

* thanks andrew rodocker, for the music. you've hooked us up with some great tunes. we've also enjoyed mini-tokelau, from vanuatu, the happiest place on earth. this band is so obscure i can't find any information on them. there's a great story about them, involving headhunting or cannibalism, & 50s radio, but i can't remember it. andrew, if you're reading this, please tell us the story!