My heart longs for….Cali!
SO its been a while since I’ve posted but I just cannot hide these feelings of love that I have for….CALIFORNIA! (ha, you thought it was going to be something juicy didn’t you!)
So, I spent the past five days in San Diego, CA with my mom. She was there on business and so she flew me out for fun/birthday present. Thursday and Friday she was in meetings and conferences and so I had a lot of time to explore and wonder through the vast CA countryside. This post is going to be dedicated to the reasons why I (heart) CA.
1. The scenery/landscape is BEAUTIFUL. We are talking like land of Oz pretty. I took a lot of pictures (which I will post later) but I don’t really feel that they will capture the greatness of what I saw. The flowers were vibrant colors. I wanted to call them a certain color, like red or purple, but I don’t feel like those words give them justice!! The mountains were very captivating too (I guess they weren’t REAL mountains but they were bigger than any hill I’ve ever seen). It was just soooo pretty.
2. The culture is very RICH. There was a large hispanic/latino population where I was and I LOVED it. I know un poco espanol but enough to make small talk and communicate what I want to get across. But I loved walking into places and seeing both languages on signs and hearing people that weren’t speaking English. The people were also just very family oriented…and not just mom, dad, and kids…but extended families too…aunts, uncles, grandparents. And then there was the culture I connected with a lot….the young, single, people. I went both days to coffee shops and hung out for hours just watching and observing and praying for the people there. And the people that I did talk to just had the coolest stories about their life, pasts, present…and I feel like thats the outlet to connect to the people there. I had so many opportunities to just share MY story which is kind of interesting (I had a bit of a wild streak during high-school).
3. The NEED. I didn’t see many Christ-following churches where we stayed. And the people I talked to kept saying that the churches they had gone to really didn’t fill any void in their lives or meet any of their needs. It really touched my heart. I’m not sure if all of CA is this way but I would imagine so.
So what now you ask. I don’t know. I’ve always thought that my place for furthering the Kingdom was overseas. But I know that this weekend the Lord put something in my heart for the state of CA and the people/culture there. What might come of this? I don’t know…maybe going to school there (grad or seminary)…church planting…ministry….the options right now are endless!! I just cannot wait to see where my life goes after college, my future is so unknown (but so known by the MAKER)…and people think that Christ followers are boring, ha! Just when I think that I’ve got MY life figured out, Christ reminds me that its not my life at all. Welp, there’s a post for ya….
May 1st, 2006 at 6:30 pm
congratulations on writing!!!
May 1st, 2006 at 7:08 pm
It is so interesting to read your thoughts and look through your eyes into a place that I call home (Southern California, Los Angeles area).
I think you are on to something … to you set your eyes on a culture that you already understand. Don’t get me wrong, there is good in serving overseas but often I think people don’t consider themselves missionaries unless they get on a plane and travel to foreign lands. There is also much work to be done right here in America.
I was also excited to hear that you chose coffee shops as a place to observe people. My husband and I (and a few others) are in the process of starting what I hope will become coffee houses around the world as a new form of church planting — not Christian coffee houses — but coffee houses run by Christians where all types of people can come and share. Places where ideas are born and where art is explored and created. We want to build and grow communities inside of our existing city. We want to give a voice to those who do not have one. We want to be the hub of influence and culture. Big dreams!
Check out: http://dean.voxtropolis.com/vox-cafe-thousand-oaks/
I would love to hear how you continue to process these thoughts and about the decisions you make. These are exciting times!
Where do you currently live/go to college?