DAY 4!! What a fun filled day! Writing this blog post as I sit in a 24-hour coffee shop down the street from the church, pulling an all-nighter. We have to get up at 2:30 in the morning to do our work for the day. What a great way to bond.
Day four was wild. We woke up in the morning at 7:30, and got some good night sleep. We finally felt the warmth of the space heaters for the first time this trip- other than that it has been a bit chilly at night. When we got up, we got ready for the day and went down to the chapel for our morning devotion. We talked about the parable of the Good Samaritan again, but from a different angle. We talked about the reason of the Good Samaritan. The first line that Jesus gives reason for this parable. The laywer asks how to receive eternal life, and Jesus replies, “Love the lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and love your neighbor as yourself.” This story is a story of serving others and laying down your own agenda for others. However, this story explains the ‘why.’ This ‘why’ is not preaching a self-salvation message, but rather a message of reward and the power in our actions.
After the devotion, we went to pick up some breakfast burritos from a nearby Mexican restaurant. I think maybe 2 of us finished the whole burrito because it was bigger than our faces. This got us energized and ready for our next task. We went to the pastor’s house of New Vision and helped him clean out the remains of his restorations in his yard. This was such a stress-relieving task because we were able to throw, smash, and break stuff. We just had to watch out for the nails and the nurse in me made sure we were all up to date on our tetnus shots. This took us about 3-4 hours, and we went back and got ready for our free time!!
We decided to go back to the area we went to yesterday. The town was called La Jolla. It was cute, winding streets with shops and food right on the pacific coast. The main attraction of this area is the bay full of seals just chillin on the sand sleeping. They were so cute to watch, and I felt like they were my spirit animal when I eat a little too much- sleep and sprawling out on the ground. There was a ledge that we could go to watch the waves come in. However, we watched as Hayley, Bogle, and Daniel came running back soaking wet because the waves came in hot and heavy! Daniel, Bogle, and Ryan then preceeded to run back to this same spot and wait for the waves to come crashing down on them (see video attatched). After this, we went to go into town to go shopping in the town. Most of us picked up a souvenir or two (four for me…) and we asked around for some good dinner ideas around the town. We all heard of this taco placed called “The Taco Stand.” This personally, was my favorite place we have gone to eat. Amazing, fresh tacos and hortchatas and churros!!
We came back to the YMCA, ran/worked out, showered, and came back to our devotion night!!
Tomorrow morning (3AM) we are going out to do surveys of the homeless community so that the government can have a count, and take care of this community. Prayers would be really appreaciated for hearts full of rest in the Lord, and knowing that we are doing his work for a reason and even if we won’t see the fruits of our labor right now, that they are coming and helping this community. Pray that those we encounter will see Jesus and know him. Thank you for your prayers so far, we really feel and appreciate them!