Hello again,
Its been a while and we've done a lot! We will back track a bit to Tuesday. The youth were very excited because they thought we were going out for dinner, which in a way we were. The challenge was to have our group well fed with one dollar each. We were put into groups and could put all our money together, we could also find other ways to earn more money as well. Our group didn't come up with any great ideas to get more money, except when Bethany asked someone for a dollar. We also ran into a newly wed Christian couple who were doing a web documentary funded by Chick-fill-A. It was about love and what it meant to different people. Kevin was interviewed and said Jesus was love! After the interview we talked with them about what we were doing, and they thought it was really cool. Our other group ended up singing some songs to get extra money which raised a total of $37. Our DOOR leader Matthew said that was the most anyone had ever received. We were very proud of them! If you click on DOOR above you'll see a write up about the groups here this week and a photo of our group!
On Wednesday we had a good day helping with some small projects at PATH Hollywood and at the DOOR house. The other group was at L.A. Food Bank where they worked hard. After our day of work it was a free evening to go out and have some fun, and boy did we ever! We went to The Cheesecake Factory in Beverly Hills for dinner where we had amazing food and great service from our new friend Gabe. After our wonderful meal we decided to take a walk around the Santa Monica Pier. Some people went on rides, got some ice cream and hit by a HUGE (Beth says) wave. It was such a cool experience to be surrounded by all the lights and excitement of the pier. On our way back to the church we got slightly lost, when I say slightly I really mean for about 2 hours. It was actually so much fun driving around, jammin to some tunes, and having a good laugh when Taylor got caught on a green light during Chinese fire drill!
Today was by far our favourite day as we went to Union Rescue Mission - "The Way Home", where we met some amazing people. Jennifer- the lady of the kitchen, was definitely the mother of all the men there. She loved us and we loved her as soon as we started talking. She was so honest with us and truly loved God. Sam is another of our new friends and he was such a gentleman, caring, and so glad we were there. We were lucky to be able to get a quick tour at the end from a man named Andy. He used to be a client of the mission after being in and out of jail and into drugs and gangs. He truly showed us how God works to change peoples lives. It was neat to see him on staff as the Volunteer Coordinator.
On our way home from here was had a good laugh when Kevin asked Kent if he could legally marry people. Kent responded by saying "I can marry anyone I want." Bethany then piped in by saying "But Kent, aren't you married to Christine?!?!" And yes she was totally serious!
We have had such a great week serving in Hollywood but look forward to a day at the beach tomorrow then home on Saturday! See you soon and thanks for all of your prayers and support!
Love,
Bethany & Kelly
