It was a very simple process and at the end was a checkbox that said “I would like to take advantage of a complimentary business assessment phone call.” Why not? I checked it, immediately forgot about having done so, clicked “Submit” and downloaded the PDF.

The very next day I got a call from a business consultant from that company. He was intrigued by our bi-vocational lifestyle, having read through the bike shop’s website. He offered to answer any business-related questions and invited me to just email him whenever. He’s even sending me a book as a gift!

I was ecstatic. Someone with that kind of experience and wisdom chose to offer advice, his time and attention to someone like me.

Then this morning it occurred to me that while this is exciting and encouraging, it is nothing compared to the fact that the Creator of the universe chose to use someone like me. And that is exciting and humbling.

Praise God!

This year God sent some people that have stood by us in significant ways. I am especially thankful for their friendship and support because I didn’t earn it or cause it in any way.

I thank God for our church

When a business partnership I had with two friends collapsed earlier this year after months of struggle we LITERALLY had no money to our name. This happened the same week my grandfather died in Slovakia, Jessica and two of our kids had pink eye and my bicycle was stolen.

With a lot of brokenness and pain in my heart I asked our small diverse urban church for prayer. Despite the fact that most of the families face their own struggles trying to make ends meet they all contributed to an “Acts 2″ offering and thanks to their generosity we didn’t miss a single bill or mortgage payment and never went hungry.

This is just one of many reasons we are grateful for our church.

I thank God for friendship

This year we were able to expand the bike shop from a small 200 sq. ft. storage room to 700+ sq. ft. space with a storefront. We expanded our capacity from two to six work stations which means we can have up to six kids working at the bike shop at the same time. And none of this happened because of my fundraising efforts (which feel futile most of the time ). God stirred in hearts of a handful of his followers and they have been standing with us in this ministry in a very significant way.

An internationally known trainer/consultant that I met over twitter talked about the story of the South Atlanta Bike Shop in one of his training out west and offered his class that he would match whatever they donate. We got a sizeable check sent to the bike shop.

A family that moved from LA and became our friends gave me a cell phone to replace my failing old one. If you know me you know that a well-working cell phone is an important part of my work.

There is an array of friends across Michigan, South Carolina and Georgia that have stood by us ever since we moved to Atlanta (and long before) that support the work we do. Their faithfulness is an ongoing source of encouragement to us.

These are just a few of the undeserved blessings God provided through friends.

Thank you all for your prayers and support. You are an integral part of the work God is allowing us to do together in the Historic South Atlanta.

What most see from the outside are the crime numbers which is only one (though very real) side of the story. See a snippet from the October police report for Zone 3 (our area). I obfuscated the building numbers in the report to preserve privacy of our neighbors.

1*** Jonesboro 12th October – lady taking $ from business and got robbed. 4* Burkhill – victim came home while house was being burglarized by guys with Halloween masks. Lots of burglaries and auto thefts on Maury. Someone stole a laptop and Nintendo from A-Tow. “Buckley” was arrested twice within 4 days. 1** Rhodesia got hit by burglars, it was a pot stash house.  Drive by at Little Bear, 5 shots from AK47…no one was hit. 3 burglaries on Richmond, vehicle break-in, and assault. We have been getting good results from fingerprinting. Auto theft at 3** Jordan.  CJ’s is closed for unknown reasons.

This post is a confession that sometimes I too lose perspective, especially after reading a report such as the above and have to remind myself of the beautiful and hopeful around us.

I was just sharing with my friends that my life started to change when I met you and the bike shop. I have a relationship with God now. I can see it.

Yes, I am writing this to boast! I’m boasting in who God is! He is able to use my clumsy attempts to follow His Word, despite my weaknesses and failures! Let’s be honest about this and never forget that God is the one who brings change and gives growth. Not us!

I know that God didn’t ask us to serve him only as long as there are measurable results. He asked for obedience. From this regard it is none of my business to worry about results. Noah built an arch for how many years looking foolish? So to hear this young man reflect and for me to taste the fruit of our clumsy obedience is… wonderful and encouraging. Yes! It makes me lift up my eyes to heaven and say, “Yes Lord! To you be the glory!”

Last Sunday one family asked for prayer for their housing situation. By Monday midnight they would become homeless unless a miracle happened. The house they’ve been renting for several years went into foreclosure and the court ordered them to vacate the property. The mom arranged to move to another house in our neighborhood with the help of Section 8 but less than 24 hours before the move Section 8 canceled the deal because there were too many vacant houses on that street.

So we prayed that the Section 8 office would change their mind. We prayed over this family proclaiming that God has already worked out a plan and that He will reveal it and provide in due time. I picture God smiling and saying “you just wait because you’re about to see something.”

Just a few hours before they had to vacate their home the Section 8 office called and said they were able to reach a deal with the bank and the family in fact didn’t have to move at all! What a blessing!

Please join us in giving glory to God for his provision!

But God reminds me that they are not my kids. They’re His kids. And He cares for them much more than I am capable of and has a calling on their lives.

Every so often I find out that this or that kid is planning to make a bad decision – to take an action that has a high risk of causing irreparable damage to their future. In each of these situations I am confronted with the question of how deep an intervention (if any) to take.

Not-so-hypothetical scenario: One of the kids’ siblings gets harassed by a group of kids on the way from school. So being the protective older brother, he calls his friends to come and help him handle the business. You find out about the plans from his good friend. What do you do?

There are no “success guaranteed” options here:

1. Call the authorities. This could save the kids’ lives but it could also ruin the relationship with everyone involved (family, friends, neighbors) and by doing so throw away trust and hence access to empower this kid and others as a result. Plus you put yourself and your family in danger when you get regarded as a snitch.
2. Do nothing and pray it all works out and nobody gets shot. While praying is always a good response, doing nothing is almost unbearable.

In the most recent occurrence we brought together a group of people of positive influence in this particular teen’s life and together we unpacked how each possible way to handle the situation would impact his life in 10 minutes/10 months/10 years after the event. Then we had to trust him to make the right decision. And he did, in spite of the fact that his environment (family/friends and his favorite hip-hop music) advised him to take revenge.

Please pray for the youth in our neighborhood that they may make good decisions and for our wisdom in conversations with them.

Little G walked off, tucking the gun under his belt. I followed him calling his name over and over (the way I imagine God follows me sometimes calling my name) but he just kept on walking. Finally he stopped but wouldn’t turn his face to me. When I caught up with him I noticed big tears running down his face.

“Why does he have to hit me?!” he said with such deep pain in his voice that I froze again. I had no words for him.

“Oh no! Not this time!”, he continued after a short pause. “I ain’t gonna stand for that! I’ll show him that he can’t do that!”

“Uh… I need your help taking a couch to our pastor’s house if you have a minute.” I said, still paralyzed but having made an on-the-spot decision to remove him from the situation and involve him in helping someone to tangibly remind him that he’s a good person. You need to understand that Little G is a very selfless individual that would give you his last pair of shoes if he knew you needed them. Giving gives him energy. And it worked. The expression on his face changed and we started walking back to my truck.

However, as I turned the key in the ignition Little G’s step dad stormed out of the house yelling for me to stop followed by more profanities to further humiliate Little G. I popped the clutch and turned to Little G with, “I didn’t hear nothing. Did you?” and kept on driving trying to do my best even though I felt helpless.

We picked up and delivered the couch without much talking and then got back in the truck and drove off without any specific destination just to give Little G a chance to cool off and gather his thoughts.

Just a few hours before the incident Little G came over to our house and asked me how he could improve his relationship with God. This started one of our deepest conversations about God, His purpose for us individually, His calling on our lives and our response. I saw God changing Little G’s heart right in front of me.

It seems that every time Little G makes a good (big) decision he gets hit by something hard whether it is being physically abused by his step dad, getting robbed or getting involved in a fight getting his sister from yet another trouble she got herself into.

I just finished helping Little G move in to our good friends’ house where he can be safe and looked after. But the evident battle between Heaven and Hell over this young man continues so I ask that you pray for him daily as he navigates life’s challenges with odds stacked against him.

And please pray for me so that I may have the right words of wisdom for Little G and others that face similar challenges.

This made me sad because here was a person that has lived on the street for a long time, being served by many charities one handout after another. Well-meaning organizations have taught him to depend on their services for food, clothing, etc. Over time his sense of self worth was deformed into a sense of entitlement so much so that he got angry with me when I didn’t give him for free what he asked for.

Please pray for us that in our efforts we empower the people we serve rather than take value away from them.

Evan first came to the bike shop at age 16 shortly after he dropped out of high school. He was the first one to earn a bicycle from us and the only youth that joined our Cycle of Love 162 mile fundraiser bike ride last fall. He is also the first official employee of the bike shop. He went back to school and will be getting his GED this year. As the first one ever in his family, he is in the process of applying for college. Glory to God!

In addition to our earn-a-bike program, we are working on curriculum for a new “junior mechanic” apprenticeship program that will allow us to take a group of youth deeper in their mechanic skills and leadership development. To further increase the quality of training our youth receive, Andrej took a part time position (two mornings a week) at Performance Bicycle as a bike builder. This opportunity not only further expands his mechanic skills but also gives us access to bicycle parts and tools at up to 60% off.

On a personal level, God has provided a house for us just down the street from where we rented for two years. Staying on the same street allowed us to continue the friendships and the transformative work that can only happen through relationship. Despite having low and unpredictable income we were finally approved for financing. The entire process took a year and a half since we first started looking at the house. This was a journey of many setbacks including being denied by a bank and being told that we don’t stand a chance to get financing from any bank. Through the process God stretched our faith and now we have a testimony forever about God’s power and miraculous works rather than a story about how we have it all together. Glory to God!

The house is big enough for our family plus it allows us to host out-of-town visitors, neighbors and friends. The house was finished by Charis Community Housing in cooperation with the City of Atlanta using funds from the federal Neighborhood Stabilization Program. After all the down-payment assistance we received, our monthly mortgage payment is lower than a typical one bedroom apartment. Glory to God!

It has been our assumption all along that this house would be a ministry tool so the first weekend after we moved in we hosted a church potluck (see picture above).

When we decided to act on God’s calling and move to Atlanta in 2009, we knew we would have to depend on God and his provision more than ever before. Over the last two years we have been learning to walk by faith, to trust Him even when things get thin and His actions seem not in line with our expectations.

During the thinnest of times this year when the reasonable thing to do would be to get a “real” job we felt that God was calling us to (counter-intuitively) increase the time and energy we give towards ministry.

It has not been an easy decision but Andrej decided to step down from the business partnership that has been the vehicle for most of our income over the last two years so that he can devote more time to the growing bike shop ministry. He is going to continue freelance work on a limited scale.

So every day we choose to move forward without worry and put our faith in Him who holds all things together. Over the last several months we have seen God provide for our family time and again. Glory to God!

With all these changes and the growth of the bicycle ministry we are in need of new partners in prayer and financial support in order for our family and the bike shop ministry to be sustainable. We ask that you prayerfully consider becoming a monthly donor of our ministry to the South Atlanta at-risk youth.

With deepest thanks, Andrej, Jessica, Kaiya, Tobi and Eli

If you would like to donate to our ministry, please make checks payable to FCS Urban Ministries, mark Ciho Family in the memo field and send to FCS Urban Ministries, PO Box 17628, Atlanta, GA 30316 or you can donate online.

…as you help us by your prayers. Then many will give thanks on our behalf for the gracious favor granted us in answer to the prayers of many.