Hopped in the van this morning with several roadie friends and headed over to the Harbor, a church that meets in this precious elementary school near Ocean Beach. It's a pretty close-knit community - us IC folks nearly doubled their congregation size - but it was obvious their hearts were in the right place.
We had a time of prayer where we focused our attention on the situation in Haiti. The pastor mentioned that the response of the Haitian people need not be to work more and rebuild what has been ruined. Instead, their response to this disaster should simply be to worship. I liked that suggestion. Such truth.
After church our group walked over to Ocean Beach. I haven't seen the Pacific Ocean for about seven years now, so it was a special moment. So nice to feel the sand on my toes and hear the waves crashing again. Mmm.
For the next few hours we hung out with the homeless crowd that collects there at OB. They do lunch together every week at the same time, while other people come to hang out - people from the Harbor, roadies, and others. The point isn't to serve the men a meal. It's more about spending the time together and being intentionally relational.
This man Larry entertained us for a bit while he sang and played guitar. Most of his songs were those he'd written, and each was based on a certain passage from the Bible. He was quite modest, but also rather talented. While Larry strummed his acoustic, other people were flying kites and playing Frisbee near the shore.
I met a young guy named Kenny while we were out there. We struck up an easy conversation, and before I knew it we were talking about all the places he'd lived and how he likes to drive 125 miles per hour on the interstate. [CRAZY.] A few of us talked to him for a while, asking questions and laughing as he described his adventures jumping off of the pier at OB. Before we left, I told Kenny how nice it was to have met him, and he said the same and gave me a hug. I made sure it was a side-hug, though. I still wanted to abide by IC policies even if I was at the beach. HAA.
Since last semester, Sunday dinners in the roadie house have been reserved for soul food. Mmmboy. Tonight, about sixty of us volunteers and employees from IC gathered in our garage to enjoy a fine meal of fried chicken, mashed potatoes, macaroni and cheese, okra, and sweet tea. YUM. It was a frenzy to get everyone their food, but then within ten minutes everything on the table had devoured. Such a fun time, though. And hoping that this continues to be a weekly tradition...!
Other than that, I've been studying a lot today and brushing up on my knowledge of the organization. There's so much I have to learn, but I am ready to do it. I wanna be as prepared as possible for when we hit the road. About one month to go until we all pack up and head our separate ways. It's gonna be ridiculous. In the best possible way.
I am incredibly grateful for this opportunity. And my life has already been so enriched in a few short days. Can't wait to see what else is in store. YAYYYY!
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