If you don't already know this about me - I dislike mushrooms...a lot. I go out of my way to avoid them. If I had to pick between eating a mushroom and stuffing my face with habanero peppers like the guys did the other week...I would choose the peppers any day. So imagine my blissful innocence as Thomas begins to pass around a bag of jerky last night. Luke and he discussed the numerous amounts of things they had learned about Tony that day in his shop - one of them being Tony's decision to forego beef for the rest of his life. And because Tony is such a generous guy, he was all excitement to share his love of vegetarian jerky and send them back to the Church on Pearl with their very own bag. So here I am casually chewing on a bite sized piece of what I believe is likely vegetables and tofu...when someone mentions to me that the thing I had just put in my mouth was actually a piece of fungus....*shudder.* I gulped it down out of sheer courtesy for the rest of the group and quickly grabbed some Apple Jacks to mask the flavor. I really can't think of a wonderful moral to this story or an inspiring quote to invoke deep thought - "ugh" is all that comes to mind...and I don't really have a reason for putting this story in the blog, but it seemed interesting, so what could it hurt?
On to the important things:
The past two days have been wonderful! Kelsey and I have had some amazingly fun times, starting with our trip to the beach with Anuhea. As we became closer, we learned so much about her and her hobbies (which are scarily like mine :.D) and found out about her somewhat-negative past experience in a Christian school and her openness to the laid back idea of having deep discussions in a small group, which is an awesome trait to have in our team's opinion. I can already tell she is an amazingly sweet person and I can't wait to hang out with her again. Kelsey, she, and I have already decided that a repeat of the beach trip must occur before we get on a plane back to NC. I can't wait!
And Kelsey had great discussions with several of the leaders at Window, finding out about their lives, their churches, etc. while carrying out tasks on the computer, printing, labeling folders, etc. My jobs didn't allow me as much time to talk as I was crunching numbers, but I definitely feel that the women appreciate us so much for our work ethic - respect goes a long way out here and I am so grateful that the opportunities have been given for us to show others we care because God cares.
Bruce, Josh, Luke, and Thomas all had amazingly encouraging days. I was so enthusiastic to hear about their days at team time tonight because today was Bruce's day to go out to Starbucks with the "God Story" sign. He got some amazing feedback (both positive and negative) from upwards of 5 people if I remember correctly. We have found as a group that people are very receptive here to those that will listen as they remain firm in their beliefs. Luke and Thomas met with Peter again this morning before he heads back to England for a while, discussing future plans (as well as returning with some pretty intense Chi Kung photos).
Tomorrow we are pushing our day off back a little in order to help an elderly gentleman move his belongings into a truck. Then the group will begin a very difficult task: getting everything we still want to do in LA to fit into the next 2 weeks. The group as a whole has been fighting off the conflicting emotions of homesickness and sadness over leaving so soon. However, we know that this will just strengthen us as we go back to our campus ministry this year and we pray for the continuation of what has been started here in LA this summer.
Always,
Storm
Oh, and because I feel so strongly about it - here are:
5 Ways to Dress Like a Tourist in LA...
1) wear hawaiian t-shirts, high-top socks with sandles, camera on back (or more than one, if
preferred...I have seen up to 3 before)
2) put on fanny packs of any kind (but especially the double sided ones with pockets on front
AND back)
3) adorn yourself with 3 screaming kids, colored sunblock smears, and a baby bag the size of
Montana even though you have no baby
4) carry or wear an "I heart LA/Santa Monica/Venice" t-shirt, hat, water bottle, purse,
bracelet, dog collar, refrigerator magnet, hairbrush, knitting needles, garden hose, and
teapot (all at the same time)
5) wear Chaco's (though they are popular at App, here they get you noticed...not in a bad
way, but Kelsey has had many many questions and comments on hers)
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