Let the good times roll!

Each day this week has gotten more and more incredible. The outpouring of love that I've received since arriving in CA is overwhelming. This would be a hard transition to make without the support of people from Good Shepherd. I'm floored by their hospitality and am reminded of that as I sit at my desk and look at he beautiful flowers brought to me by a member of the council.

Pastor Bob, his son Luke, and I hit the waves of the Pacific Ocean for my third attempt at surfing. I was a definite "kook" (definition: an amateur surfer, but not according to dictionary.com), as I cut people off, almost ran a guy over, and failed to actually stand on the board. It was much harder this time, as there were about 100 fellow surfers--just waiting for the next wave! The best part: DOLPHINS! I saw 5 of them while sitting out on my board. They were about 30 feet from me! I named one of them Flipper, he came up to my board, rubbed his face on my hand, and then jumped over me on my board! It was incredible. Ok, the last part is a lie, I had you going, didn't I? I did see dolphins. I have a feeling there's gonna be a lot of surf attire on my Christmas list this year! :)

Kevin and I decided to explore the area a little this afternoon. We had lunch on the Redondo Pier, took some pictures by the ocean, toured the LCGS campus, searched and searched for a Target (never actually found one), hit up the nearest Goodwill, and eventually crashed for a 2 hour nap!

AMBER FANFARE! Tonight was the best! Pastor Bob and his wife Pam invited the staff of LCGS to their home for a BBQ. Bob worked his magic on the grill, and 25 people showed up to bring greetings, goodies, and to show support. I can't wait to get to know these people more--I love what I see. Laughter, stories, imagination.

I'm still not adjusted to this time zone. I'm awake AND tired way too early! I'm off to bed in an attempt to correct my time-zone-change-disorder! God's peace to you all.