Happiest Place on Earth

This past weekend we took our youth group (Jr. high and high school) to Disneyland.



Youth group Disneyland trip....and this happens....

• 85 of us Load up on two charter buses around 4:00 Friday afternoon


• First bus (not the bus I was on) right out of the church parking lot...goes the wrong way (first affirmation that this was a bad idea)...proceeds to do a u-turn in front of the church (not a wide street, especially for a bus to attempt a u-turn)


• Our bus begins shifting funny and it seems as though we might break down...but our bus driver rocked and just kept going...


• Driver number one takes the most random routes...costing us about an hour


• Stop for dinner...Stu gets dinner at Quiznos and McDonald's...Gray tells us he wants to run for president and wants to have a female vice-president... we try to talk him out of it when Amelia says "I'll be your running mate....then I'll plot to kill you and take over..." point proven....


• Matt found a mega-nuggie at McDonald's....


• Continue with the drive...driver number one pulls over as soon as we get on the freeway because his door was not closed all the way (affirmation #2)


• I take Benedryl to force myself to sleep for a while...


• Stop at the bottom of the Grape Vine and when we get back on the bus we do a head count and come up one short...count again...same thing...I get off the bus with Pappa John check the bathrooms...no stragglers...get back on the bus...still one short...have a group huddle, realize the driver did the first count and assume she was wrong so we just decide to leave...(no one ever called so the count must have been wrong...or Matt is going to get a call from one angry parent today!)


• Finally get to our hotel at 1:00am....yes, it took us 9 hours and it should not have...


• Check into our rooms and get to sleep around 2.

Saturday Morning:

• Meet in the lobby at 7:30....


• Nick was mad after having found "love stains" on his sheets at the Super 8


• Students arrange themselves in groups and off we go....


• Arrive at Disneyland around 8:30


• Get to ride on Indiana Jones and Pirates right away before lines start to form....


• Matt gets a call from the charter bus company and needs to go back to the hotel to buy extra time for the drivers...and the (not so) Super 8 doesn't authorize credit cards over the phone...


• Dave, Jenna and I eat a nutritious breakfast of churros and coffee...Disneyland has the best churros!


• We meet back up with Matt and go on some more rides...one of those being Splash Mountain...mind you, I hate Splash Mountain...the ride itself is great but I hate wet socks and shoes and I also hate wet jeans which both are likely to occur on this ride but Dave and Matt convince Jenna and I that it won't be that bad and we foolishly listen. It was that bad...actually worse. Matt looked like he peed his pants and my butt was wet for a few hours.


• We took a break for lunch and it was then that I realized I was ready to go home yet still had 7 hours left....


• Went on more rides until Aaron called us to let us know that one of the girls in his group was sick so we met up with them, bought the girl an apple, gave her some Advil and told her to suck it up...well, a little nicer but those were the thoughts in our head....


• Had another churro


• The lines got longer and longer and let me tell you...people are pushy in lines even when they aren't moving....I'll post more on that later....


• We had some dinner, took care of more sick kids and walked around trying to pass the time...


• I did get a caramel apple which was delicious by the way and we waited for another hour until we got to meet up with the group...


• John Stamos did a reading of the Christmas Story which was really cool...what a captive audience there was...he even read from Scripture and it was beautiful.


• Kids started to meet up to head back to the buses....


• Gray showed up...15 minutes late...and not with a leader but with his family members that met him there....not sure who's idea that was... but he showed up soaking wet and it was then that we found out that Splash Mountain had some technical problems while he was on it and they could not stop the ride...so he ended up going on the ride 12 times in a row and he was in the front seat. He was drenched...and that is another reason I don't like Splash Mountain.


• We finally loaded up on the buses after rounding everyone up and by this time I am extremely frustrated and more than tired...one of our leaders went back to the buses without telling everyone else so we wasted 15 minutes waiting around when they were sitting on the bus already...not cool...so we head out....
  
• The driver of the first bus gets on the wrong freeway...actually the right freeway just going the wrong way...yeah, towards San Diego, oh and then he doesn't turn around for over 20 minutes. So we got to Irvine and he finally decided to turn around and start heading North...(affirmation #3)
• I realize that I really can't handle many more affirmations and take a benedryl to help me sleep...especially since one of our students got sick and was having stomach problems just thirty minutes into our nine hour drive
• Suddenly, as I try to sleep curled up in an uncomfortable bus seat I hear the driver yell "I need coffee" now, I am half asleep and in an antihistamine daze and I'm not quite sure why our driver is yelling this but soon realize she is letting the other driver know that she needs to stop because...as you guessed it, she needed coffee.
• It turns out the other driver needed coffee too as we found out later that he was pouring cold water on his head while driving to try and stay awake. (affirmation #4) Two of our very dedicated leaders were taking turns talking to him, asking him questions and trying to stimulate his brain.

Sunday Morning:

• We rolled into the church parking lot around 7:30 am...just in time for Matt to rush home, take a shower and return back to church in time to give the announcements and communion thought.
• I went to church and then spent the day attempting to write a paper and not being very successful after having only about 9 hours of sleep for the whole weekend. (affirmation #5)

I've had a lot of really great times at Disneyland so I know it can be the happiest place on earth...tell me one of your favorite memories from Disneyland

Christian Cussing

The other night a bunch of us were enjoying an after youth group dinner at our favorite after youth group restaurant...Chili's aka Salties because of the mound of salt they pour on chips, french fries...salads, hamburgers, desserts...you name it and it has salt on it...I always leave there dehydrated and sick to my stomach yet we continue to go...we need to reevaluate our decision making abilities...anyways back to my original point....
We began discussing how to get to my school which is 45 minutes away from where we live...not because it is far away or there is a lot of traffic but because there is no easy way to get there...which led us to talking about Folsom Dam and the road that goes over it being closed (since 9/11-no we aren't egocentric). Now at a table of 10 Christians this is always a fun conversation to start and this happens:
"I hate that dam road."
"oh, that dam road."
"I use to love driving over that dam road."
"...dam road, dam road, dam road..."
"I wish they would just open the dam road."

No matter how the conversation starts or where the conversation was intended to go this is always where it will lead when trying to discuss the Folsom Dam Road. Hmmm, as my good friends over at http://krazydelicious.blogspot.com/ thinks...maybe this is a way of Satan (Stan) getting to us, just like that Santa Claus ploy...could be something to look into. If you have no clue what I'm talking about check out Ryan's blog. It is sure to entertain you as his life is far more exciting than mine....

Have a great weekend...and just try talking about the Dam Road.....

Brotherly Love

One thing I forgot to tell you about while we were in San Francisco:
While out praying for people in the city a man asked one of our male students to pray for "Brotherly Love"- During our debrief the student explained that he was really unsure as to whether he should pray for it or not because it didn't sound appropriate, and he was rather uncomfortable that the man would ask that of him...we had to explain to him that "brotherly love" is more like peace and everyone getting along...not men loving men....this was a great relief to the student who wanted to make sure he didn't ask for anything he wasn't suppose to!

Oh how I love Junior High innocence...
You take students to work in San Francisco and this happens!

Volunteers are sexy

That's right, I said it, volunteers are sexy...actually, I can't take credit for this amazing quote...I stole it from a homeless lady in San Francisco...well let's say borrowed, I don't want to come off a total jerk, stealing from a homeless lady....
I just spent the weekend in San Francisco working with YWAM to serve the homeless and to share Christ's love with them. This is my 4th year going and every year I come away learning new lessons and seeing God work in incredible ways. Here are just a few of the highlights:

Friday night:

• Arrive at YWAM around 6:30
• Begin orientation
• Brackney sets his eyes on one of the YWAM leaders, Amanda...now becoming a missions trip tradition
• Head out for hot chocolate ministry where I see the homeless man that we (Matt and I) had purchased a "bed in a bag" for (from Ross Dress For Less) a few months earlier...he no longer had the blankets :-(
• Met some incredible people: Joey who has been homeless since 14, got hit by a car at 19 and his dad is now dying from cancer but won't talk to his son-a really neat guy who simply had a terrible childhood and is still struggling from it and another man who I could not understand but provided us with a little giggle...we thought he fell asleep while we were talking with him, turns out he was just preparing to pray, for about 2 minutes....
• Went to bed late and got no sleep...

Saturday:

• Woke up at 5...thanks to some lovely girls from another church....
• Went on a prayer walk around the city...prayed for strip clubs and "massage" parlors
• A student realized why the city smells so bad when he saw a man peeing on a wall...
• Met a beautiful lady named Grace-we bought her some yogurt and cranberry juice and prayed with her, we prayed that her family would come back together and as soon as we finished praying her grandchildren walked up to her...what an incredible answer to prayer right in front of us!! Oh, she also called one of our chubbier students "a chunk"...she really meant it in a nice way....
• Went to lunch on Hippie Hill on Haight...always walk away with the stench of pot stuck in your nose but this activity always leads to great conversations
• Set up a prayer station where Aaron had to pray without using pronouns because he didn't know if Billie was a male or female...he said it was the most difficult prayer he ever had to pray
• Students bought homeless people lunch...an incredible selfless act who spoke volumes to other people who witnessed the actions
• Went to Blondies for lunch....greatest place for pizza by the slice...especially when you had breakfast at 7 and no lunch till 4....
• Corporate worship time when I really got to see how mature our jr. high students are....the other group at YWAM had high school students who were goofing around, writing on each other and even sleeping on the floor...did I mention even their pastor was sleeping on the floor....ugh! Our students did great and were very respectful
• Walk to Grace Cathedral where we had team worship time...Aaron Wolfe did great leading us in worship...he is such a stud and I think all the ladies should take notice of him....
• On the walk to Grace a student asked me what "exotic nudge shows" are...I had to correct him because the sign said "exotic nude shows"....awkward!
• Another student saw a corner store in which she thought she had been to before where she had the best hot chocolate...turns out it was a pretty wild bar....I hope she was mistaken
• Late night walk to Burger King...yum!
• Finally got a few hours of sleep

Sunday:

• Doughnuts/donuts...both spelling are correct by the way....from Happy Donuts....best donuts in Northern California!
• Church at PromiseLand...a Charismatic church
• Service started at 10:30...pastor started speaking at 11:40....they did some healings and claimed prophecies....interesting cross-cultural experience!
• Got home at 3:00

Had an amazing time and the junior high students did an incredible job of stepping out of their comfort zones and showing people the love of Christ in practical ways. I encourage you to drop any stereotypes of homeless people because they are not all lazy drug addicts and alcoholics. You can learn a lot from homeless people too as most of them are more appreciative of what they have, as little as it may be, compared to those of us who can have pretty much anything we want. Take 20 minutes this month and chat it up with someone living on the streets, you may be surprised by what you learn....and remember volunteers are sexy!

How much?!

With Christmas just around the corner...and already in all the stores...I feel the need to give a plug for the less fortunate in our world...someone needs to! It is estimated that last year Americans spent around 450 BILLION dollars on Christmas. Let me repeat this...450 BILLION DOLLARS only on Christmas. Now, what tugs on my heart is that it would take just 2% of that amount to provide fresh water for every people group that needs it...so, I'm not that great at math but I believe that is just under 10 Billion dollars...to provide every people group that needs fresh water with a fresh water source. I'm not talking one bottle of fresh water but a long term source such as a fresh water well. This really just tugs on my heart and makes me ask how can we help, how can we change this because this is not okay. One of my professors said something that really stuck out to me (finally! Boy, does he stretch my patience!) Because there are so many needs in the world we can often get overwhelmed with where to start and what cause to support but that the most important thing to do is to educate and instill compassion into younger generations. Hopefully, by doing this each generation will become more and more compassionate and thus, in theory, the poverty of the world will decrease accordingly. So, in an effort to educate and instill compassion I want to point you to a wonderful organization-world vision. World Vision provides child sponsorships but at Christmas they provide opportunities for people to purchase gifts for needy families, in the US and across the globe. You can purchase animals for families that can use the eggs or milk as well as sell any extra items for a profit. And, to tie it all in with the fresh water problem...you can also help purchase a well for a needy community. Worldvision.org- check it out and spread the word! And, with the economy in the shape that it is I'll add that these gifts are really affordable. I hear sad statistics and this happens...I need to share them...

Palmdale

Whenever we go down to Southern California to visit Matt's parents I am reminded of what a sheltered community I live in. Palmdale really is a different world compared to El Dorado Hills/Folsom. One time Matt, Jenna and I went and as we drove around we played a game to see who could spot things that you don't see at home....we usually get to about 10-15 things on a ten minute drive. For instance, the first time I went there to visit we were driving on the freeway when a van flew pass us in the fast lane. What was interesting about this van was that it did not have its headlight on...and it was about 9:00 at night. But don't worry, it did have a small flashlight taped to the dashboard on this inside of the van...so obviously they could totally see where they were going! This last time we were down visiting there was an ice cream truck driving around the neighborhood. At first there was nothing special about this ice cream truck until we all stopped to listen to the familiar song it was playing...nope not the normal "do your ears hang low" song but "jingle bells", yup "jingle bells" in early October. Well, that's one way to get people's attention! Oh how I love Palmdale!

Recap of meeting my India Team!

Sunday, October 19:
Matt and I drove to Citrus Junior College in southern California where we were holding a rummage sale at a swap meet. They all met at 5:00 am but because of where we stayed I got there at 8:00, so as I walked up to the group everyone was busy selling items and getting people to look at our "goods". Doug, our leader, starting introducing me to everyone right away and everyone was very welcoming. There are 9 of us total and only one person that was not there. I was a little overwhelmed meeting everyone at first because it was a bit chaotic and a lot of names being thrown at me...not to mention not everyone I met is part of our team so I was trying to remember who was who! I stayed close to Kelly, our co-leader and I think her and I are going to get along very well. She has been to Kenya and Peru as well and worked with the same ministries I worked with when I was there...so we hit it off right away! Because we are staying in a hotel we already have our room assignments so I got to meet my roommate, Sylvia. I was also excited to see that I am not the youngest member of the team-there is a 22 year old guy who has actually never been out of the country before. With the exception of Matt, the 22 year old, everyone on the team is married and will be going on the trip without their spouse. It will be neat that we will be able to help each other and relate to each other throughout our stay in Calcutta.

Meeting everyone has gotten me so much more excited and has also relieved some anxieties that I had. I ask that you will continue to pray for me and our trip and that you will be asking God to prepare my nerves and my patience with the living situations I will encounter.

One last thing...I also found out that we are leaving two days earlier for our trip, December 28 at 1:30pm from LAX.

Thanks again for all your support and love. It has been incredible to see all the support. As of today I only need $60 until my trip is paid for...thank you!