Tag: family

Posted on

September Sierra Soujourn

We returned on Wednesday from a trip through the Sierra Nevada Mountains with our son Jesse, his roommate James and their friend Tim from our church. They are all interns at the LA Dream Center and wanted to enjoy some time off together before James returns to Texas at the end of the month. We picked them up on Friday and brought them home to do a little laundry before heading out on our trip.

Saturday morning, we picked up our rental van from Hertz for which we got an amazing deal. We left around 10 am and headed north on US 395. We stopped in Lone Pine at the Interagency Visitor Center and ate a few sandwiches. We stopped a few miles later at Mazanar National Historic Site. Manzanar was a Japanese internment camp where Japanese-Americans were forced to live after World War II began because of fear that they might sabotage their own country. It is a sad part of our history, but one that everyone should know about.

After leaving Manzanar, we traveled north to Big Pine and headed up into the White Mountains to see the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. We stopped on the way up the mountain to see rain falling along the Eastern Sierras. At an elevation above 10,000 feet, the temps were quite cool when we arrived. We were able to see the newly reopened Schulman Grove Visitor Center. We left the visitor center and headed back down the mountains and north on 395 to Mammoth Lakes, CA where we had a condo reserved for two nights. Jesse and Renee cooked us dinner.

We enjoyed a great breakfast prepared by Renee and Jesse before heading to Devil’s Postpile National Monument just a few miles away. It was great to see it again after last seeing it when I was only 12. Tim and James wanted to see Rainbow Falls, so I joined them for the 2.5 mile trek. It was a little warm hiking back through a deforested area recovering from the Rainbow Fire. We returned to the condo for lunch and the guys changed into their Steampunk attire for our trip to Bodie State Historic Park.

Bodie is a ghost town from the gold mining era of California history that is now a state park. It has been preserved in a state called “arrested decay.” Which means, they don’t allow it to fall down, but don’t make improvements to it either. The guys enjoyed this place a lot as they posed around various antiquities and explored the abandoned town in their Steampunk garb. We managed to capture plenty of photos before they closed the park at 6pm. We stopped along 395 on the way back to the condo to take photos overlooking Mono Lake.

Monday morning, we cleared out of the condo and headed back north on 395, turning left crossing up and over the Tioga Pass into Yosemite National Park. We stopped at the Tuolumne Meadows Visitor Center before heading to Yosemite Valley for lunch. We ate sandwiches at the base of El Capitan with Bridalveil Falls across on the opposite side. We headed south and stopped to take photos of Half Dome and also of the whole Yosemite Valley before taking CA 41 south out of the park toward Fresno. We made our way through Fresno and stopped briefly in Clovis for gas and groceries. We arrived at the beautiful Victorian-style home in Squaw Valley a few miles from Kings Canyon National Park. It was a magnificent place to stay and quite a peaceful respite from our travels.

Tuseday we were off to see the Giant Sequoias of Kings Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. We stopped at General Grant Grove to see the General Grant Tree, the 3rd largest tree in the world. Tim remarked that the size of the trees was “stupid”. We traversed the winding road over to see the General Sherman Tree, the largest tree in the world. Jesse decided he would wear a paper bag over his head for the remainder of our time at Sequoia National Park drawing plenty of strange looks from other visitors. We climbed the 350 steps to the top of Moro Rock before stopping at Giant Forest Visitor Center. We relaxed that evening in the hot tub at the rental house.

We traveled home on Wednesday and took the guys back to the Dream Center on Thursday afternoon. Jesse had a great time as did James and Tim. Renee was outnumbered by all the testosterone in the van, but coped with it well. It was a great trip and something we will all remember fondly.

Posted on

There and back again

We traveled down this past Saturday to pick up Jesse and bring him home from the LA Dream Center for the first time in over 3 months. He has been working non-stop and has a lot going on there. Besides the work in the kitchen and food ministry, he completed his 1st semester of Bible School at Angelus Bible Institute. He works on Sunday mornings in the 4-5 year old class at Angelus Temple. Sunday afternoons, he works with a church in South Central ministering to 9-13 year olds. He was ready for some down time and brought his laundry along for the ride.

We stopped at Panera on our way back home to enjoy our favorite “Pick Two” combinations. Afterward, we hit Target and Michael’s looking for a few things he wanted. We arrived home and his Grandma Z was pretty happy to see him. He quickly unpacked and we watched some shows on the DVR that we had saved for him. After watching Tron: Uprising and Walking Dead episodes, he was off to game in his room.

We were up early Sunday and off to church where he spent time talking with his former youth pastor about the Dream Center. I taught the Adult Discipleship Class and then joined Renee in the Nursery as we had a lot of babies to take care of. We went home and grabbed a quick bite to eat before going to see The Amazing Spider-Man at the theater. Upon returning home, Jesse got on his computer and got his gaming fix met as well as his Nick’s Pizza fix.

Monday morning, Jesse and Renee did a little shopping and enjoyed a mother-son lunch for the first time since he graduated high school. That night, I picked up Chinese food to satisfy another of his hometown cravings. More gaming was done as he played DC Universe for many hours.

Tuesday morning, we headed to DMV in Victorville to replace his stolen Driver’s license. The only difficulty was finding where the office had moved to. After searching for it for a half hour, a hunch led us to the right location and he was able to quickly get a replacement license. We returned home for a few more hours of gaming and packing. Grandma Z returned from her overnight trip to San Diego and we were off to LA.

It was great having him home for 4 days and we do miss having him with us. However, we are grateful that he isn’t sitting in his room playing games and finding it difficult to get work in our hometown. He enjoys the work he is doing and has a heart to serve others. While our home is always open to him, he may never do more than just visit from this time forward. We are always grateful for time he has now and cherish the time we had together.

Posted on

Last year as a teenager

Earlier this month, we traveled to Los Angeles to pick up Jesse, his roommate James and friend Sean to celebrate his 19th birthday. They dressed up in Steampunk attire while Renee and I wore our usual jeans and t-shirts. We dropped off his birthday presents and cards at the Dream Center and then traveled to the Americana at Brand in Glendale. We stopped at the Jewel City Diner for some delicious burgers and seasoned fries. Afterward, we made our way to the Pacific Theaters to see The Avengers. It was starting its 2nd week of release, but there was still a line and a full theater. It was a great movie with the Hulk having the best scenes. Renee and I even went to see it a 2nd time this past Tuesday.

It is amazing to see the young man our son has become. We are happy that he has found a place where he can do something he loves. He has been at the Dream Center for 9 months now and enrolled at Angelus Bible Institute since January. We talk to him on Skype once a week or more. We went to a baby shower for my goddaughter/best friend’s daughter this past weekend in San Diego and saw many little ones running around. It doesn’t seem that long ago that we had a little one, but now he is a grown man chasing his dreams. We couldn’t be happier for him. We are grateful for the time the Lord gave us with him and look forward to the day we can spoil his kids though not anytime soon. 😛

Posted on

Lakers, Angels and Jesse…Oh my!

It’s time for another not so frequent blog post/update on the Zeliffs. We have been able to attend a couple of sporting events this month thanks to the kindness of others.

On Friday the 13th of April (insert creepy B horror movie music), we went to see the Lakers defeat the Denver Nuggets. I entered a drawing at America’s/Discount Tire while getting a flat repaired. A week later, I was notified that I had won tickets to a Lakers game. I have been a fan for over 30 years and this was my first time seeing them play in person. We were far up in the top section of the Staples Center, but I yelled and cheered the same as if I was on the couch at home. Afterward, we stopped by the Dream Center to drop-off/pick-up some things for Jesse.

The following Monday the 16th of April, we were treated to an Angels game. It was pretty cool as we were in an All-You-Can-Eat section and were able to make repeat visits to get nachos, popcorn, peanuts, soda, ice cream and hot dogs through the 6th inning. Best of all, the Angels won which they seem to be having a hard time doing of late. Thanks to First Assembly, Apple Valley for a great time at the ballgame.

The biggest news of all is that Jesse has raised enough money to cover the $900 he owed on his internship which runs through January 2013. He is still doing well and enjoys the ministry he is part of. His bible school studies are going well. He turned in a paper fearing it would be docked because it was a page short only to find out that he received a 99.9 on it. In addition, his teacher wanted to take it to the school administration to demonstrate what quality work the students were doing. Thank you to all who offered financial and prayer support for him. He will be turning 19 in a few weeks and is doing very well.

As the summer temps arrive, it’s time to get the cooler running and make sure the ice cream is stocked up. We hope that all of you are well and that life is going great. Blessings on you and your family.

Posted on

Two months away and what to say?

I haven’t posted to my blog since January when Jesse came home from LA to visit. Let’s see….what has transpired in that time? Well, both Renee and I got another year older, so that’s a plus I guess. Sure beats the alternative. We also celebrated 22 years of matrimony which is also a plus considering the alternative. Mom Zeliff came out for a visit as did my goddaughter Christina and her family. It was fun having her little guy Derek running around the house and playing with my old toys with him. Jesse requested that we retrieve him for the weekend and then return him to LA.

On my health, I had a resolution to my ongoing heart drama. The doctor detected a bigeminy(double heart beat) at my regular checkup. He referred me to a cardiologist for further tests and evaluation. These tests included an echocardiagram, 24 hour EKG monitor, bubble echocardiagram, and a treadmill stress test. After all of that, the cardiologist declared it benign and told me to come back in 6 months. So my heart is just a little off beat, but then again so am I.

Renee is still enjoying working from home in her business and in the nursery at church. I am enjoying teaching the adult discipleship class at church as well. Jesse is still at the LA Dream Center and enjoying the ministry he does there. Thank you to those that donated toward the $900 he needs for his internship. Every little bit helps him continue the great work he is doing. Additionally, he has enrolled in the 3 year program at Angelus Bible Institute and received a full sponsorship for his classes and books.

We hope each of you are well and that you are enjoying life. Feel free to drop us an e-mail or contact me via Twitter or Facebook.

Posted on

January: Challenges may come, but we can overcome them.

Well the holidays came and went at our home pretty quietly. Renee and I spent the holiday as a couple minus our son for the first time in his life. He stayed at the LA Dream Center to allow many of the other interns a chance to visit their families. We missed him, but did call him later in the day. It is always good to talk to him on the phone as we are usually exchanging brief e-mails. He still loves what he is doing there. So much so that he applied for and was accepted into the one year internship program which will start at the end of his 4 month internship the last week of January. He was granted a $600 scholarship, but still needs to raise the remaining $900 to cover his room and board for the year. Several family members and friends have already donated to help him. If you want to help, just contact us and we can make sure he gets any donations.

On New Year’s Eve, my truck refused to start when we were headed to church. We had it taken to the shop the next day to have a fuse and relay replaced. The following Friday, it refused to start again and had it taken back to the shop. They determined that the PCM(Power Control Module) had a short and needed to be replaced. Due to it being a special order part, it is still in the shop as of this writing. Monday morning there was some seepage coming out of the trap in the back yard. I ran a snake up into the house and down into the septic tank to no avail. My next thought was to check to see if the line had disconnected from the tank as this occurred when we first moved in due to settling of the dirt around the tank. After digging down to the line and following it to the tank, I discovered no leakage or disconnection. So I set to digging up the tank. I found the first of two covers immediately as it was just past the junction. I unearthed it and called for a truck to come pump the tank. While waiting for the truck, Renee and I attempted to unearth the second cover. Three hours and a twelve foot trench later we gave up finding it. We decided to let the septic guys dig it up and pay the extra charge. They used a probe and found that the tank was installed at a 15 degree angle meaning we missed finding it by a mere 3 feet. The guys took care of the tank and we proceeded to fill in the hole/trench we had dug since they filled in the one they dug.

I hope your year hasn’t had as interesting a start as ours has. If so, don’t lose heart. The greater the opposition, the greater the victory. Challenges may come, but they don’t determine the final outcome. Hope each of you have a great 2012 and that you overcome any and every challenge that comes your way.

Posted on

And another year nears its end

We were grateful to have Jesse home from the Dream Center over the Thanksgiving weekend. He wasn’t sure until a few days prior whether or not he would be coming home. We drove down Wednesday night to get him and stopped for some Panera on the way home. He brought all of his laundry with him and enjoyed sleeping in his own bed. Thanksgiving day we gathered around the table to enjoy the feast that Renee had prepared. I spent the day watching NFL and Jesse got reacquainted with his computer and online friends.

On Friday, the Christmas decorations were brought from the shed. Mom Zeliff arrived as we began setting up the tree. Jesse took care of the Nativity, placing it under the Christmas tree. He also raided the decorations, taking some back with him to LA along with several strings of lights. He and I were both up early on Saturday to begin our marathon day of Beta testing the online game Star Wars: The Old Republic. On Sunday, we took him back to the Dream Center so he could return to the work he is enjoying so very much.

He has said that he plans on staying in LA through January so we will most likely be spending our first Christmas at home without him. As is our tradition, I have typed up our year end newsletter. If you care to read it, you may download it here: http://zeliff.net/Christmas2011.pdf. We wish each of you a blessed Christmas season and happy new year.

Posted on

Dream Center Month 1

We received another update from Jesse today on how things are going for him at the Dream Center. Here is his report:

Here at the Dream Center, everyday is a miracle. Whether it is feeding 100 people with one pan of food designed for 50 people, seeing a sprained ankle healed in a day, or merely being able to work another day for God.

I simply love being here. The people I’ve met have shown me things I had never noticed before. I am able to be an example of God and able to see examples of God in each and every day.

On Mondays, I go out and pick up food from a local grocery store chain Albertsons. Every Month, I pick up about 4,000 pounds of food products. I love waking up earlier and watching the sunrise as I load crates into a refrigerated truck.

Tuesdays are spent sleeping in and spending a little extra time with God and friends. Sometimes I go out and enjoy walking in LA. Other times, I just stay in my room and sleep, since sleep is sometimes a rare thing here.

Wednesdays through Fridays, I work in one of the most anointed places of the Dream Center, the kitchen. Often called the DC Dinner or Cafeteria, the kitchen is one of the most vital areas of the Dream Center. Whether it be men, women, or teens in the discipleship recovery program, or those that attend the free food chapel who do not have a means of providing for themselves: we serve them every day in the kitchen.

When I work in the kitchen, God always moves in wonderful ways. Most of the men that work there are in the recovery program and leave the kitchen with their entire lives changed.

Every Saturday I get to enjoy feeding the homeless and often oppressed in Skid Row and neighboring locations. We serve food to about 100-150 people each meal. That’s 300-450 lives changed that day with the nourishment we provide and gladly give.

On Sundays, I am a helper in the 4-5 year old class in the Kid’s Dream Zone at Angelus Temple. The kids affectionately call me the monster, as I provide a fun game for them inside the bounce house we have for them. I love being a positive influence in their lives and being blessed by their often smiling faces.

It is an honor that I get to see a glimpse of all that God is doing in the lives here at the Dream Center. God has certainly changed me as He has for so many that come to the Dream Center. I certainly pray that I may be of more use for all the miracles that are happening here to the glory of God.

With love and thankfulness,
Jesse Zeliff

Jesse plans to stay and work through the holidays as they are always some of the most needy times for families touched by the Dream Center. If you would like to support him in his ministry, he has put together a sponsorship letter explaining how you may contribute to the great work he is doing. We will continue to update you on his many exploits going forward and ask your prayers for him.

Posted on

Chasing his dream

Several years ago, Jesse related to his mom that he dreamed of openning a rescue mission and soup kitchen in the big city. This morning, we dropped him and two pieces of luggage off at the LA Dream Center where he will begin chasing that dream. He will begin a four month internship with the option of extending his stay after the four months are completed. We were introduced to his supervisor and learned a little bit about his initial responsibilities. He will be working for the kitchen and will be making runs to local grocery stores to retrieve food that will be used on site or redistributed to families that have no food for their children. He will also be working with feeding the homeless on skid row.

We helped him take his luggage to the room he will be sharing with another intern arriving today. They will both go through orientation before beginning work as part of the Dream Center. We exchanged a few hugs and left him to do the work that the Lord has laid on his heart. It is odd to come home and know that he isn’t living under our roof for at least the next four months and possibly more. You pray your child finds something that will ignite their heart and inspire them to greatness. We have done our part for now and we will see where his destiny carries him going forward. My lovely wife dedicated 18 years of raising him, training him and even homeschooling him as he grew. We shed a few tears upon returning home, not because we don’t want him to chase his dream, but because a chapter in his life and ours has closed. He launches out to let down his nets for a catch and we find ourselves with an empty nest.

If you would like to support him in his ministry, he has put together a sponsorship letter explaining how you may contribute to the great work he will be doing with the LA Dream Center. We will update you on his many exploits going forward and ask your prayers for him and us as we go through this transitional time in our lives.