Welcome

Immediately, the Gonzalez home is more noticeable than the houses surrounding it; the neighbors have a Mercedes, and they have a box truck; the neighbors have neatly cut hedges and lawns, and they have strollers and cans of food strewn across their driveway; the neighbors have fences and planters, and they have a eight foot cross covered in blue lights leaning against their house. Every house around theirs has visitors and guests, but they have a constant stream of friends, homeless, and needy flowing through their home. Their neighbors have an average of four household members, but according to the California census of 2010, anywhere from five to sixty people reside in the Gonzalez home at any given time.

The Gonzalez’s “normal” is unique to them; they have had police come and drop off a baby to them, 2,000 pounds of cabbage on their front lawn, a homeless woman ask to take a shower in their bathroom, a homeless man ask to be driven to a creek at 3:00 AM, people stay until all hours of the night, people make a habit of dropping off food and supplies anonymously on their porch, a huge amount of baby clothes stored in their garage, and people driving on their lawn. People are always showing up unexpectedly to their house; the Gonzalez family says they never know what will happen next at their house.

As you go to enter their home, there is no need to knock, because the front door is never locked. The first thing you will see after walking in is the Miracle Board, a wall of pictures of Christians actively following the example of Jesus Christ. The first sound you will hear after walking in is Lori Gonzalez –Christian and follower of Jesus, wife and mother, ballerina and a “zinney”- yell out an ecstatic “hello,” followed by Lori yelling out your name with a huge grin on her face; her smile has obviously been well used and can be accurately described as contagious. The first thing you will smell after walking in is fresh baking, either cookies or cupcakes, being prepared to feed either a multitude of guests on their way over or a multitude of poor people they will go and help.

The living room you walk into is a mismatch of furniture and quilts, an extravaganza of floral fabrics and pink platters, a cornucopia of bibles and books about the Bible, an abundance of musical instruments and computers. The cabinet with all the floral pink plates inside looks as if an extravagant tea party could happen at any moment. This room is used for bible studies and worship and sewing dresses for children and throwing baby showers and preparing for outreaches and church and prayer sessions and praising God and sharing testimonies of lives and experiences. There is always more people than seats, more plans than time, more needy than funds, and more gained than sought.

The living room opens up into the kitchen, overflowing with more tables than space. In the kitchen is a dishwasher, which does not fit against the wall, so is used as an island, which gets rolled around the kitchen. They also have a fold-up table pushed up against their counter, currently being used as a shelf for T-shirts to be packed. Their kitchen has a clock, tray, birdhouse, cross, and sign all hand painted by friends and given as gifts. The paint on the cabinets has chipped from wear and use. The kitchen itself shows how it has been used: cluttered with things as it is people, worn from preparing food for many people everyday, homemade gifts made with the same giving and friendship that fills the room.

The kitchen leads into the master bedroom, where Lori’s wedding dress stays permanently hung on the dresser, to remind her of the blessing that her wedding was everyday.

The backyard of the Gonzalez home is filled with tables and chairs, all painted bright greens, reds, and blues, done as a summer project completed by friends; the furniture looks as if someone had spilled a rainbow in their backyard. The barbeque sits outside which is used for cooking for church they host in the backyard over the summer. Outside there is a separate room that is used as a bedroom/office and is referred to as “Rudy’s house” (Rudy Gonzalez is the husband of the family). Inside there are pictures of orphans from Indonesia on the wall and a map of the world with countries that do not know Jesus labeled. A computer, a desk, a bed, a couch, a futon, and a TV are in this one room. This room is where Rudy and Lori will go to escape all the teenagers and college kids doing bible study, where Rudy will go to escape all the girls doing bible study, and where all the boys will go to be away from the girls and do bible study.

Studying, worshipping, smiling- those are the main activities done in the Gonzalez home. The Gonzalezes are Christians: the Gonzalezes preach, read the bible, feed the hungry, and act as a light in the darkness. Their house has a different energy than most houses, and you always feel welcome in it, probably because you always are welcome.

--Shelby R.