Lessons from life on the left side of the Road

Here are some more things that occur in a daily setting in Thailand:

• Scooters:

 -Entire families of 6 (record so far), with father driving whilst holding a toddler in one arm, a younger boy standing on the small platform in from of him, a small girl seated behind the dad with arms holding groceries, and lastly the mother (seated behind her daugher) cradling an infant.
  -Women wearing heels and still being able to shift.
  -People driving while talking on the phone or texting.
  -Girls riding side saddle due to the skirt of their school uniform.
  -People eating Pad Thai while riding on the back (with chopsticks!).
  -Scooters blasting by a Motorcycle cop at a red light going 100 km/h and him hardly noticing.
  -Police setting up random road blocks and confiscating licenses of anyone not wearing a helmet while being stuck in traffic at a light. Fine of 200 Baht ($6) to have it returned...but in order to go to the office they have to drive across town without a license.
  -People driving on the wrong side of the road, literally. Making a one-way street a two-way because it's "too far" til the next U-Turn.
  -Topping off your tank for 80 Baht ($2.50) that will last you all week.

  -Having the registration/insurance of your vehicle expire in the year 2554. (Roman Calendar: 2011 A.D.)

• Going to the Hospital for a health certificate with blood test for 150 Baht (about $4.50)

• Monks in bright orange, dark red or brown garb walking around barefoot in the midst of a modern supermarket not unlike Wal-Mart
• Children playing with massive bugs that chirp rather than buzz; tied to strings making them a sort of baloon with a mind of its own.

Among many other things that seem to never get old...

Plastic Hammer

In a recent email with my Dad he quoted a pastor named Darrell Ferguson from a church in Denver who said "our efforts to 'do God's will' are no more than a 3 year-old boy following his father around the house with a plastic hardware belt and hammer asking how he can help with chores. This gives Him pleasure. The only difference is that He actually gives us things to do that make an eternal significant change."

This hit home quite a bit because being so caught up in answering the question of "how can I be most useful and have the most impact in Thailand?" doesn't exactly leave me with the impression of a toddler with his Fisher Price hammer trying to fix the family car's alternator.
But this is exactly where God has me. I have no idea how to stop the sex trade in Thailand, or how to bring about the salvation of so many beautiful, yet lost souls, or even how to negotiate the price of a tuktuk ride if it's not one of the more regularly traveled routes.

However, the delight for both God and I, comes in the attempt. I most certainly am still trying to use a plastic hammer rather than a real one but the end result of progress; success or failure, is only because He's letting me try my strength in the first place.

I'm beyond ecstatic to be allowed to be here and learn Thai, teach English and do everything through the universal language of love, but if it weren't for the Holy Spirit speaking through my immature toys that squeak, it'd hardly be anything but exactly that.

I guess what I'm trying to say is I am not some awesome "missionary" (sounds like a PhD. after my name that I haven't earned) who is charging forth bravely into the unknown for His kingdom.
I'm just some kid who thinks he hears his Dad saying he would love some help with the car. Which happens to be located in Thailand and has a whole mess of problems.

So please pray for the ministry that God has for me specifically would become clear...cuz there is a junkyard full of cars I could help with...and I still only have my plastic tool belt.

End of chapter 1

Well! After 3 whole months of crazy adventures, God-seeking, and random times of life all over Thailand it's time for a change. But first here's a recap of the last month here:
-After the jungle, the team and I came back to Breanna's House, where we spent the next two weeks playing all sorts of games, building soccer goals, mowing, painting, power washing and giving every amount of love possible to the girls. I continued to teach the staff English and was very excited to find that they had contained the content from all the previous lessons and were ready for more!
It's hard to sum it all up into a few words but after 13 days it was time to say goodbye again. I had it a little easier since I wasn't saying goodbye for good; I made sure all the girls knew that plans were in motion for me to stay and continue living here. But it was pretty harsh for the rest of em; lots of tears, "Chan rak kun's" and email exchanges. But after a few hours, we were on the road again.

-We didn't go far, but it was necessary to say goodbye at this point rather than later due to future itineraries. We took the next 5 days to have a Spiritual Retreat at a hotel/botanical garden on the outskirts of Chiang Mai. Here we had time to pour over scripture, fast, pray, spend a day in silence and rest in the blessed love of our God. I have yet to feel so rested than after receiving the peace that comes from His presence. (Nor do I expect to in this world).

-Then we were off to Bangkok; we only spent 3 days in Thailand's capital, but that was all that was needed. Barely an hour after getting off the overnight bus from Chiang Mai, we found ourselves in the center of Bangkok's notorious "Patong District", the city's well-known red light district where more than 2,000 prostitutes work each night. We walked past disgusting bars and their signs and went up an elevator to meet with Rahab Ministries; a ministry literally in the heart of the sex industry that provides rehab and vocational training for women wanting to escape their current occupation. For more info check out rahabministriesthailand.org.
We headed back to our hostel and honestly had already lost our taste for Bangkok...spent the remaining 2 days praying and willing God to move in the city.

-We grabbed our flight from Bangkok to Phuket and spent a night in a bamboo bungalow near the ocean, took the ferry to Koh Phi Phi Island the next day where we spent the next 6 days in awe of God's amazing creation and beauty. We spent most of our time in the water; snorkeling and swimming, and I was exceptionally blessed to be able to go Deep Water Soloing (a mix between rock climbing and cliff jumping; something I'd been longing to do for many nears!) and kayaking to different places around the island.
The evenings were spent processing the entire trip and preparing the girls for their trip home. We made friends with the locals of the beach we were staying at and I enjoyed talking with them and playing guitar while admiring the beauty and opportunity to be in the South Pacific. But before long we grabbed the ferry back to Phuket, stayed one more night and headed back to Chiang Mai where the girls packed up, said their goodbyes (to friends in Chiang Mai and the Parkers and I) and boarded their planes back to the states.

So...I am currently waiting for the time to creep closer to my own departure; I'm hopping a bus in a few hours bound for Vientiane, Laos to do a 3 day visa run in the hopes and prayers of returning with another 3 month visa! Prayers, as always, are greatly appreciated and welcomed!

End of Chapter 1. See next post for the exciting beginning of the next Chapter of what God's doing here and letting me be a part of!

LAOS VISA UPDATE: The Jessen family and I took the overnight bus from Chiang Mai to the border and we were blessed beyond belief by receiving our visas without any semblance of difficulty at the consulate! We even arrived 2-3 hours later than most people had suggested due to a little bus/tuktuk mix up, but were relieved to find hardly anybody there. (Imagine showing up at the DMV at 10 am and expecting to wait in line until at least 4 pm and find no one in line!!)
Laos is a communist country and therefore closed to missionary work, yet I could physically feel the grace of God in the midst of almost tangible opression. The Jessens and I took time to pray for the country while having 24 hours to kill while our visas were processed.

The Jungle

Day one: We hiked for about 4 hours through the thickest, densest jungle imaginable. We stopped around 2 pm to have lunch and built a little bamboo and banana leaf hut to hide from the rain that was threatening to overwhelm us. It was here, that it struck again; that sickening gut feeling that screamed, "I am not where I am supposed to be right now!" Feeling as white as possible (a prime target for malaria-carrying mosquitoes), hardly being able to stand still due to the sensation of being so out of place, trying our best not to just throw our hands in the air and yell! But thankfully our guide and porter just started hacking away at the endless bamboo trees, building a fire and giving us small tasks to complete like chopping carrots or digging a small hole with a bamboo shoot with one end sharpened with a machete. They cut several shoots and stuffed eggs, noodles and rice in the hollows, and helped us cut our own chop sticks out of other shoots. (Lesson learned: bamboo works for everything! Even eating). After roughly an hour and a half of continuous hacking, cooking, and mosquitoe-slapping we left the fire burning against a tree (while I could very audibly hear Smoky the Bear screaming at me to never do such a thing.) and continued hiking for 2 more hours to a Yao village where we stayed in a little barn-like building on the wooden floor, had fresh green tea (while piles of it were outside being dried before shipping off), and enjoyed the company of our guide and the family with which we were staying.

Day two: Rain. It had rained all night, woke up to more rain, and after hardly any sleep, made breakfast which consisted of eggs and about 6 pieces ofwhite bread toast per person (apparently its believed that Farang eat bread all the time and it takes half a loaf to satisfy each person over 5'6"), packed up, said "thank you" and headed out into the continuing rain. Hiked for several hours, fighting our way through razor sharp thorns, a million mosquitoes and leeches (no small task), stopping only briefly to eat our Pad Thai for lunch which we had previously packed into banana leaves. Continued on for another couple hours until reaching an Akha village where we stayed in a house owned by an elderly man and woman. Where we felt more like part of the family than guests due to the instant hospitality; cooking with them, trying to converse with the use of lots of hand gestures and repetitions. (The last 2 months of learning Thai didn't prove very effective with those who only speak Akha).

Day three: Woke up to sunny skies and had breakfast (eggs and half a loaf of bread again each), hiked out to a stream, helped dam a small section and proceeded to fish for small crabs, prawns, minnows, eels, etc with our hands for several hours. Took them all back to the house, cooked and ate them for lunch. Then packed up, said our thanks, and began the trek which was originally expected to last 2 hours, but quickly turned into 4 once we discovered the trail we were heading up: due to the rain and the recent use of the trail to herd water buffalo, we found the thickest mud I've ever seen. The steep inclines and decents proved to be as treacherous as glare ice while wearing moccasins. Having mud up past our ankles caused feet to slide if the terrain angled even a little bit, but soon turned to quick sand that would swallow the entire foot once it leveled off. Had quite a bit of fun with it and eventually made it to the Lahu village we were heading for. (Having the bottom half of our bodies a lot darker than before) Took a some time to rinse off, make dinner, hang out and eat, and then quickly fell asleep.

Day four: Woke up, ate breakfast, packed up, and hiked about 45 minutes down a washed-out road, caught a truck which took us to the river from where we took a boat to an elephant camp, rode elephants for about an hour, ate some lunch, grabbed another truck back to Chiang Rai, were dropped off at the bus station, said goodbye to our guide, bought bus tickets back to Chiang Mai, waited around at the station for a couple hours, then took the 3 hour bus ride back to Chiang Mai.

The trek through the jungle had originally been a two-part enterprise: firstly to see the northern part of Thailand and make contacts with the villager locals, and secondly to do a bit of sight-seeing and explore the beauty of Thailand's lush jungle. The first objective fell on the wayside once Courtney hurt her tailbone and Matt aided her in taking her to the hospital and back to Chiang Mai.

Through all of it, it was impossible for all of us to constantly be in awe of the beauty of creation (even the slicing of thorns and tripping of vines were equated to the snares of the Devil and remembering to look up and still give thanks for the beauty above our current situation.).


The LORD your God is in your midst,
    a mighty one who will save;
 he will rejoice over you with gladness;
   he will quiet you by his love;
he will exult over you with loud singing.
  Zephaniah 3:17 (English Standard Version)

(Again, photos will follow once they are acquired from various cameras). But until then, feel free to check them out at Sarah Worscheck's facebook page:
http://www.facebook.com/?sk=messages&ref=mb#!/album.php?aid=253466&id=584708398

A little update.

We were in the dark room that we were sleeping in that night when Matt said "Yeah well we'll just see what hap...look at the size of that spider." It was the tone in which he so matter-of-factly pointed it out, that I hardly believed that the 8-legged arachnid  roughly around the size of my ENTIRE HAND that was sitting on the wall 3 feet away, glaring at me with 8 beady eyes was in fact, real. Then it hit me. I really am in the jungle now. Then it hit me again and again as we found 5 more spiders the same size all over the walls and under our bed, and this was only the beginning....


There are actually 3 spiders in this photo (unbeknownst to me at the time)
1: Obvious
2: Underneath the 2x4 on the wall
3: Hiding just below view; you can see one leg if you look just above the pillow.
(5 Total spiders in the room once we began looking for them.)



Ok rewind. So a little re-cap to bring everybody up to speed from the last post (which regrettably, was a month ago). Here are some hilights from life in Thailand.

• After the last post, it would be understandable to think that life here has been the epitome of disgusting, horrible, and down right hard. But such is not the case, please don't think that life here is any of the above. There are plenty of times when things are difficult and challenging; especially when the ugly face of prostitution is in full view. But please know that God is amazing, huge, amazingly huge and powerful. He is in control and takes delight in letting his children pray and aid in the work He's doing.
• The weeks following were spent in the quiet of Breanna's House, loving on the girls, playing games, teaching English, and gearing up for a team to come from the States.
• Once the team arrived, time was spent planting flowers, hedges, trees, building swingsets, putting on a VBS for the girls, taking them into town (they hardly have the opportunity to go anywhere other than school), and ultimately loving the 42 girls through any means necessary.
• After the team had departed, and most of the girls went back to their villages because of school break, we headed north to Chiang Rai. (Also, just to clarify; most of the girls at BHJ are not technically "orphans" in the sense most define it. The majority of them have at least one living parent, though their mothers are almost always remarried to another man than their father; due to him either being deceased, in prison, or unknown. And hence their mother being married to another man, the step-father rarely allows them to stay with the family. So they are passed off to grandparents, aunts and uncles or friends if possible.)
• Then the week in Chiang Rai we spent time gearing up for the jungle and enjoying some time in a new city. Activities included: swimming, napping (I was sick with a cold), hanging out at coffee shops and reading, journaling, and also found a place where for $3 could ride ostriches! (Just FYI, as seen in Swiss Family Robinson, ostriches are not easy to ride, and are not meant for personal transport lol).

This brings us up to speed with the jungle adventure; we had just taken a long-tail boat for about an hour from Chiang Rai further into the jungle and were dropped off at a little hot springs village where we set up a few hammocks and took naps before the truck came to pick us up and take us to the village where we were going to start our trek. It was there that something potentially disastrous happened: Natalie had strung up her hammock with some old rope that she fould somewhere in her dad's garage (seemed strong enough to me), but when Courtney tried to hop into the hammock with her, the rope snapped and they both hit the ground hard. Natalie was bruised and a little sore but ok, but Courtney, unfortunately, landed directly on a root and also hit her head on the tree; resulting in a highly bruised tailbone and extreme nausea. We had to lift her into the truck once it came, and carry her most of the time to get from the bed to the table and back, the next morning when she wasn't feeling any better, Matt and her took the long car-ride back to Chiang Rai to the hospital where they diagnosed the bruise (not broken, thank God) tailbone. From there they took the van back to Chiang Mai while the rest of us went on with the trek.

Matt and Courtney made it back to Chiang Mai safely, and Courtney is now completely healed and running around as if nothing happened (somewhat bummed she had to spend the entire week on the couch), but loved hanging out with the Parkers and having time to reflect, read and rest.

See next post for a debriefing of our awesome trek!

Exodus Cry.

Isaiah 58:6-9 "Is not this the fast that I choose: to loose the bonds of wickedness, to undo the straps of the yoke, to let the oppressed go free, and to break every yoke? Is it not to share your bread with the hungry and bring the homeless poor into your house; when you see the naked, to cover him, and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then shall your light break forth like the dawn, and your healing shall spring up speedily; your righteousness shall go before you; the glory of the LORD shall be your rear guard. Then you shall call, and the LORD will answer; you shall cry, and he will say, 'Here I am.' If you take away the yoke from your midst, the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness."

If I had to guess, I'd say everybody who has grown up in the church or has any interaction with "justice" has heard these words before. And so many NGO's and ministries have something along these lines in their Missions Statement. But the last few nights these words have come to life, not because I've read them more, or because I received some sort of "eureka" moment in my quiet time, but because THERE ARE PROSTITUTES IN THAILAND.
Big shocker right? The first few things that come to mind when someone mentions Thailand are: jungle, rainy season, white beaches, buddhism, and of course the not-so-hidden sex-tourism that drives this country's economy.
So far I've been here for 3 weeks and until a little bit ago it seemed that prostitution was just something you only found if you really went looking for it, kinda like you have to look really hard to find a coffee shop that still uses manual espresso machines in a big city, or a surf shop in the mountains. But such is not the case here. The streets that are all but empty during the day linking the cafés and markets together suddenly become lit up like Vegas' main strip as soon as the sun goes behind the mountains.

The tuktuk drivers come out in force.

The overweight foreigner men who are all but extinct during the daylight hours suddenly appear out of nowhere.

And of course, the poor women who have no other choice but to offer themselves to those men in order to satisfy their pimps so they can pay back a little of their "debt" or have a meal the next day line the streets on bar stools wearing the least amount of clothing they possibly can.

And I, as someone who carries the Holy Spirit inside me, upon seeing something so repulsive causes a combination of emotions at the same time:

The desire to VOMIT. (My stomach feels uneasy, even as I write this.)

ANGER at the disgusting selfishness of the men, the opression of the pimps, and the entirely corrupt system.

The sensation that you get when your sinuses open and you know tears are on the way, and the only thing to do is WEEP. (Weep for the girls, the men lost so blindly in their sin, and the ease of just looking the other way or becoming numb to it rather than deal with the issue.)

So that's what life has been like here in Thailand since the euphoric stage of living in an exotic place has been like. The pit in your stomach that sits knowing that God's children are lost in their own sin. And the only comfort comes from knowing that God has things under control, somehow. So please pray with me for the girls who are oppressed, the men who are trapped by their own sexual sin, and the system that seems content to see these women only as valuable as what they can profit from their bodies.

Psalm 146:5-7 "Blessed is he whose help is the God of Jacob, whose hope is in the LORD his God, who made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, who keeps faith forever; who executes justice for the oppressed, who gives food to the hungry. The LORD sets the captives free."

P.S. The reason why this post is titled "Exodus Cry" is because it is a website you should check out: exoduscry.com. It is a movement of modern day abolishionists and intercessors beseeching our Father to end trafficking around the world. Be sure to watch "The Mission Briefing" video and the trailer for "Nefarious."

Lessons from life on the left side of the Road

It still gets me.
I still get the little panic attack whenever the vehicle we're in goes to turn and pulls into the lane that usually would be head-on traffic!
Like many things, I'm trying to get used to how things run here. Life in Thailand is awesome in almost every way, but here are some things that the team and I are having the most fun/difficulty with:

No bags on the floor.
In Thailand it is very bad taste for your bag to be on the floor, because they assume that inside your bag is your wallet, and inside your wallet is your money, which has the King's face on it. So by setting your bag/wallet/money on the floor, you are putting the King's face on the floor. Not a good idea.

Don't point your foot at anyone.
Here they're belief is that your head is the most holy place of you body (which should also not be touched unless it is a very small child. Another big thing we're trying not to do. Seriously...next time you visit your cute little cousin or see your little brother see how long it is until you touch their head. Especially when their hug puts it right where your waist is.), and your foot by simple logic is the least holy place of your body. Makes sense; its muddy, its rainy, you sweat a lot, its kinda gross. So by pointing your foot or even worse, showing someone the bottom of your foot is just about the worst cuss word you can say to someone.

Fruit is cheap...and weird. This little dude is called a Rambutan, it looks like a little puff ball with a little white egg inside. It's tough to explain the flavor...cuz I've never had anything like it before. And the other is a dragon fruit. Named rightly so due to its color. Kinda tastes like a kiwi on the inside.

Dragon Fruit

Rice is a way of life.

Self explanatory.

All in all we're becoming pretty settled here. There are still things that are way weird or just a little off, but in all honesty I love it and feel quite at home. Hope this gives you a little taste of what the little quirks in life are like 12 hours around the world.

We definitely appreciate your prayers and random quirks about life back home. Pray for unity and picking up the language quickly so we can do more than just smile and nod and really communicate to the girls/locals the REAL reason we are here.

P.S. English classes are going well; I'll have the BHJ staff bilingual in no time ; ) but please keep those in your prayers as well.

Boats, Planes and TukTuks

I’ve ridden all three in the last few days; each has a story of its own, and each a clear sign of God having a blast showing off how awesome he is and the delight he has in his childrens’ pleasure.

View of L.A. from the Yacht

Boats - I went to Venice with the original intent of seeing friends, relaxing, having time to just be with God and read and pray, and to live on an all “PB&J” style budget, but apparently God had other plans! I still had plenty of time to relax and enjoy being away from everything and just be with God, but He also allowed me time to experience a lifestyle I’ve always seen on television and magazines, but never really up close; a life of complete wealth in money. As a wrap up from the cliffhanger in LA last week; Leonard and I ended up having crazy adventures involving everything from Malibu beach houses, driving Mercedes-Benz convertibles to a day cruise on a 70 foot Italian Yacht. But the entire time I was experiencing this life of luxury, it was as if I could see through a different lense than I would normally. Everything seemed so shallow. While the furniture, electronics and vehicles were neat, it was impossible to not feel the looming aura of boredom and dissatisfaction with everything. Although I enjoyed every minute of my time with Leonard and his boss and friends, and while we had plenty of conversations about God and beliefs and his rags to riches story and my apparent paradigm to his, one verse kept coming up in my mind: 1 Timothy 6:10 “For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evils. It is through this craving that some have wandered away from the faith and pierced themselves with many pangs.”

 

Planes – From the moment I got out of Luke’s car at LAX, I felt completely covered and taken care of as for the traveling ahead. The flights went perfectly. I slept through most of the 13 hour flight from LA to Taipei making it seem like I flew across the Pacific Ocean in about 2 hours. (Which is a big deal considering I have never been able to sleep for more than 20 minutes on a plane, car or bus in my life!) Had a small layover in Taipei, just long enough to stretch my legs, send a quick word home and then board the plane bound for Chiang Mai. All in all, everything went perfectly according to plan!

TukTuks – The very first reaction I had to the heat, humidity, lush, exotic beauty that is known as Chiang Mai, Thailand was “This feels strangely like home in Peru!” Peru wasn’t nearly as lush and green, but just the business of cars and motorcycles, the brightly colored medians, and all around craziness of it brought me back to when I was living in Peru. After stopping at a coffee shop and hanging out with the girls on the team (minus Natalie and Caitlin), we headed to the orphanage where I got settled, showered, changed and then starting working on a couple small work projects. But the real joy of the day first came after working and sweating a whole ton and soaking through the clothes I had just changed into when it began to POUR! I absolutely love rain, but it’s infinitely better when it’s still 80 degrees and you’re already completely soaked and hot from sweating. Standing out in the cascading torrent enjoying the beauty of the moment thanking God for allowing me to be here. And then secondly, of course, was when I met the girls. I cannot describe the infinite beauty and precious details of each one to do them justice. But even though very few words were shared, I loved looking at the newspaper while Ahreeya read in Thai, the multitude of smiles and countless number of “Sawatdee kha” I received, and the random miscommunications of it all.

It has finally hit me that I’m in Thailand, and that there is real work to be done, but I never imagined it would be so blissfully pleasant.

First stop: Los Angeles

Matthew 6: 31-34 "Therefore do not be anxious, saying 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.'" (ESV)

I have no clue how many times I've read these verses, but EVERY time I read them I instantly feel completely taken care of. So far I've been in Los Angeles for a grand total of 5 hours, and I already feel completely secure in God's will for being here; using it as a time of rest and building up before I head out to a place that honestly scares me to death! (I've come a long way from the terror I felt when I first thought God was turning my life's direction and heart towards SouthEast Asia (praise God), but I still feel tinges of fear every now and then, whenever it really hits me just what He may be planning with or without me in the know.)

Don't get me wrong, I'm way stoked to be counted as even close to worthy to be used and sent halfway across the world (literally) and be a light and messenger for God. But there are times when I really don't know if I can do this. Thankfully, I don't have to. God's taken care of it already, all I've got to do is abide in Him and walk in His Spirit and presence. And praise God, He's already started with two big ones:

1st - I landed in LAX without a ride from the airport to Santa Monica due to scheduling issues, so it's either hang out in LAX for 8 hours until I can be picked up, or find my own ride. I decided to try to find the bus that would take me to the neighborhood, but no thanks to Google, I ended up wandering in the 95 degree heat with a 50lb bright orange/yellow backpacking pack in circles for 10 blocks, almost being run over by the classic "always-in-a-hurry" LA drivers more than half a dozen times. Once I figured out the right direction and start hoofing it down the street that will eventually meet up with the street I'm looking for, I decided "What the heck, why not try hitch-hiking?" So after saying a quick prayer asking for wisdom to turn down a sketchy ride, I hopped into the bike lane and stuck my arm out...and no more than 60 seconds later a silver Audi pulled up and John (Smith, we'll just call him cuz I didn't catch his last name) asks in typical cliché: "Where you headed?" I told him that I was just trying to find my way to the REI in Santa Monica where I'll meet up with my friend Luke who's currently at work. And what luck (or provision more likely), he's going to the library a block away from where it's located! We made small talk about why I was in LA, and why in the world God was sending me to Thailand, etc. All in all, John the electrician from Wisconsin and I had a pretty casual ride the remaining 20 minutes before dropping me off and going our separate ways, thanking him for the ride and the company. Thanks Dad!

2nd - So after meeting up with Luke and wandering around Santa Monica's 3rd Street Promenade (almost exactly like Denver's 16th street mall), I wandered into a nearby Starbucks to hop online and read til Luke gets off at 9. I spied a spot along the wall and sat down...right next to Leonard Espra. We started talking about each other's computers and where we're each from. He's from the Philippines and currently works as the personal assistant to the CEO of Delta Airlines, he says he's just hanging in the Starbucks waiting for a meeting, and long story short after showing each other pictures of our homes, work, etc he asked me the most random question I would've never expected: "Hey, my boss is taking out the yacht (seen in previous photos on facebook), for a small fishing trip with some friends on Monday, you can totally come along if you'd like! It'd be cool to continue hanging out and talking about life and random stuff with you." (Pause for a second. WHAT?!) I swear I was just hanging out with this guy and asking about life in the Philippines and how he ended up here when this came out of nowhere. So now I'm writing this while he's in his meeting; he just texted me and asked if we could go grab some food with Luke and I. God's too funny :)

So that's the beginning of my time in L.A., not at all what I expected, but I'm up for whatever God's got planned!