In the last month, I enjoyed playing tourist a couple of times in L.A--the times I am truly grateful and in awe of what surrounds the home I've grown up in. Friends and I visited the LACMA (a must see), experienced the dog beach with our puppy Toby, made the mistake of going to the Grove on a Saturday in July, went to Houston, Texas on a week-long mission trip with my church youth group and experienced Fiesta in Santa Barbara before heading to remote and outdoorsy Northern California for a few days before returning to the humid and wonderful state of Georgia.
Before I even get started on the awesomeness of Houston, everyone in the L.A. area needs to experience Fiesta (Fiesta!). It's like Santa Barbara's best kept secret--even though the Old Spanish Days have been celebrated for 89 years now and visitors flock from all over the globe. It's such a fun, outdoor festival of culture, food and an equestrian parade complete with mariachi bands. They throw flowers and confetti at you and it's such a fun thing to do on a summer weekend!
Lastly, the mission trip to Houston was incredible. I can't say I am now in love with Texas but I am even more in love with the Lord and the work he is doing in places and in people. Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States (after NewYork City, Los Angeles and Chicago) and just like every other big city, struggles with homelessness and an abundance of other problems. Throughout the week, we served at various churches, homeless shelters, meal delivery programs, food shelters and food banks, addict outreach centers, government-subsidized housing sites and children's centers. We talked to homeless people on the street, we served meals, we played with kids. We served in all kinds of ways. But I would argue that we mostly served by loving on the people and the place through our actions and our prayers throughout the week and after. As an advisor, I got to oversee and watch my group of high schoolers step out of their comfort zones in an unfamiliar place, in unfamiliar situations, and grow because of it. I was so proud to see each one of them challenge themselves to see and listen to God revealing his Kingdom in the strangest of ways.
Partnering with Christian Student Ministries (CSM) to do God's work in one of many places that need his love and care was an experience I will never forget because I am still affected by it every day since we boarded our plane back to Los Angeles. I feel empowered and more purposeful in life because I desire to partake in God's work in whatever way, shape and form that may take for my future. In Houston, I learned not to grow up, but be more about what it means to be a child. A child of God.
Lastly, the mission trip to Houston was incredible. I can't say I am now in love with Texas but I am even more in love with the Lord and the work he is doing in places and in people. Houston is the 4th largest city in the United States (after NewYork City, Los Angeles and Chicago) and just like every other big city, struggles with homelessness and an abundance of other problems. Throughout the week, we served at various churches, homeless shelters, meal delivery programs, food shelters and food banks, addict outreach centers, government-subsidized housing sites and children's centers. We talked to homeless people on the street, we served meals, we played with kids. We served in all kinds of ways. But I would argue that we mostly served by loving on the people and the place through our actions and our prayers throughout the week and after. As an advisor, I got to oversee and watch my group of high schoolers step out of their comfort zones in an unfamiliar place, in unfamiliar situations, and grow because of it. I was so proud to see each one of them challenge themselves to see and listen to God revealing his Kingdom in the strangest of ways.
Partnering with Christian Student Ministries (CSM) to do God's work in one of many places that need his love and care was an experience I will never forget because I am still affected by it every day since we boarded our plane back to Los Angeles. I feel empowered and more purposeful in life because I desire to partake in God's work in whatever way, shape and form that may take for my future. In Houston, I learned not to grow up, but be more about what it means to be a child. A child of God.
