I don't drink coffee...sort of.

HI!

As you all know, I fell down out of the shower last week. Just a quick update, I am officially NOT sore any more and feel comfortable standing while bathing now (thanks to the shower mat).

This morning started quite early for Josh and I. Around 5:30 this morning we woke up in order to get my new friend Amber back to the airport. Oh yeah and Sara...she was leaving too (thank goodness). No I'm kidding, they are both great people and devoted blog-readers of the LA Parachute Project. I am lucky to have met them and they are certainly part of the team now. I am actually Facebook friends with both of them now, which I take pride in. They'll probably want to hang out with me again once school starts back in the Fall. I could probably spare some time out of my busy schedule to see them again...

Upon our return from LAX Josh and I got about another hour of sleep before waking up to breakfast burritos via Lupita. They were "violently" delicious as Luke would say. After the meal, the team sat down together to do a few pages of the devotion that Bob gave us. Before I go any further I want to give you all something to think about from the packet.

Someone once remarked:
"I was going to ask God why He allows so much suffering and injustice
to continue in the world. But I decided not to because I was afraid He
might ask me the same question"

That was the first thing in the devotion that we read this morning, and it has been running through my mind all day. I won't dive into that right now because of all there is to say about it, but I will say that Bob's devotion is teaching me a lot of things that I thought I knew but is vividly reminding me of. I think that sometimes we forget that we are here on earth to LOVE one another. We often get caught up in satisfying ourselves and our selfish desires. I am definitely guilty of this myself, but Romans 12:10 says "Be devoted to one another in brotherly love. Honor one another above yourselves."

After our devotion we set out to our first day on the field since last week when we started making the changes to our strategy. Kelsey and Storm walked over and spent the day hanging around Santa Monica College. They told us of some interesting people they saw on campus and the hangouts at which people spend their time in between classes. Tomorrow they are both actually going to do some volunteer work in the inland area of Venice. You will hear more about that in tomorrow's blog.

Luke and Thomas spent the day in Venice Beach. They got to talk to a few people that they were hoping to have conversation with, including the artist that Josh felt pulled towards. Turns out he is a pretty cool guy and is looking forward to seeing Thomas and Luke in the near future. They also had some good conversations including an Egyptian man that was actually a believer and went to a local church. This is definitely some exciting and encouraging news.

Josh and I hung out on Montana Ave here in Santa Monica. This is where a lot of the locals spend their time away from the tourists. We've discovered that coffee shops are THE place to be. We'll be spending a lot of time there for the next couple of weeks, and the funny thing is...I came into this trip hating coffee. I still hate coffee, but I have found ways to get around it. Such as getting a 10,000 calorie frapuccino (for the glory of God of course). I gotta fit in, ya know? We spent the morning in Starbucks and after lunch we walked a couple of blocks up towards Peet's Coffee and Tea Company. But on the way I stopped by the Barber Shop to get a quick haircut. It is there where I met June, a very petite Asian lady who has been cutting hair for fifteen years. I am not sure how long she has been living in the US, but she probably told me and I just couldn't understand. She seems like an awesome old lady, but her accent was pretty bad. You see, she kept asking me how long I have been here in LA and I kept telling her almost a month. I had no idea why she kept asking me the same thing over and over so I also kept replying the same. As she turned me around towards the mirror and yelled a bit louder "do you comb your hair to the side?", I then realized that she really didn't care how long I have been in LA, but only which way I part my hair...

Josh and I left Peet's a bit early because we were both physically drained, and the people there were a bit more interested in their Macbooks and iPods than anything we had to offer. So we came back and took a much needed nap. After an awesome dinner most of us went out to get a few groceries and a little piece of home, Krispy Kreme donuts. The rest of the night included our team time and a game of Spades between Kelsey/Josh and Luke/Myself. Luke and I won of course.

Well it is 1:04 in the am here, and we have another big day tomorrow. The room is lit only by the backlight of my PC and the air conditioning is making its low humming noise that puts me to sleep every night. I need to get up and work some of these donuts off in the morning but before I go, I will leave you with some things to pray about.

1. That God continues to bless our team with excitement and good spirits. I think I speak for the whole team when I say that I look forward to what He has planned for us in the next few weeks.
2. That He provides us with good opportunities to love other people and conversation in the areas that we are working in, and that we have the boldness and wisdom to find and jump on those opportunities.
3. For June, the lady who cut my hair in the barber shop. I know I joked a bit about her, but she really seems to be a kind old lady. I don't know her story or where she stands spiritually. I don't know if I will ever see her again, but I pray that God blesses her in her life.
4. Finally, for us Christians to put other's needs before our own, especially non-believers. And that we show the same love for someone that we do not know, as the love that we would show our own brother.

Thank you all for your continued support and prayers.
God Bless,
Bruce