Mount Baldy

Saturday I accomplished a feat that was never a personal goal I had set out to attain. I climbed a mountain over 10,000 feet...10,064 ft to be precise. My friend, Marcie, is headed to Ethiopia in a little over a week for a 2 year assignment to do similar work that I did there, but in a different region. So for a last harrah, she suggested that we hike Mt. Baldy. I had heard of Mt. Baldy, and knew that it was one of the tallest mountains in the area, but had NO idea what I was getting into.
Marcie, her cousin Reba, and I set out at 8:30am and began climbing a lovely trail that followed a small creek in the well-shaded ravine. Ah, serene beauty as we began our leisurely ascent. Then we moved out into the daylight, climbing steeper switchbacks through a burned area of the mountainside with mostly scrub vegetation. Not as lovely, and not as leisurely. This was beginning to get strenuous, but I thought it probably wouldn't last much longer. Hah. I was wrong. The next section was pretty much straight uphill through boulders and some pine trees. A much harsher climate, and we admired the conditions these determined trees and sparse vegetation survive to exist there. Right before the boulders, Reba informed us that the boulders were about halfway to the top! At this stage, my body is telling me it's had enough. But my head said, you've come this far...keep trudging. Past the boulders we tramped up through some trees and then enter a barren land that appeared like what I imagine the surface of the moon to look. Here we passed some hikers descending who encouraged us that it was only another 45 minutes. This was exactly the encouragement I needed to push onward. About that stage, the summit was in sight. And we made it!! Mount Baldy is like its name describes - a barren land, generally quite windy. But the view was spectacular!
To be honest, the greatest part was the sense of accomplishment of having reached the top! This was augmented by other hikers at the peak commending us for taking the longer trail. We had taken the longer trail?? Didn't know there were shorter routes. We were hard-core!! They asked if we were training for Whitney or some other big mountain. Pretty comical considering that morning I had no clue what I was getting myself into! But at the end of the day, I can report that we climbed 6,000 feet from base to summit, 12 miles round-trip! Not sure I'll be doing a hike like that again in the near future, but I learned a lot about the power of mind over matter. Mental fortitude (meaning repeating Philippians 4:13 over and over again) got me to the top.

Encountering the City

I just took a one week intensive...yes, 1 week INTENSIVE!!...on urban ethnography called "Encountering the City." It certainly is convenient to have one of the largest metropolitan areas just a short metro ride away to study urban life.
Now we all know I'm pretty far-removed from city life. Sure, I've lived in Washington DC for a spell and enjoy an occasional cultural event or a night out in the big city. But overall, I get just pretty overwhelmed in urban areas. It was part of the reason I didn't want a vehicle out here. Still, I wanted to take a course in the subject to have a better idea of what ministry looks like and how to evaluate the conditions in an urban environment. Let me share some of what I learned:
* I learned that in the main financial or business districts, many cities require the large high-rises to incorporate a portion of their property for "public space" or "green space"...and sometimes that public space is comprised of their lobbies.
* I learned that in Skid Row, one of the poorest sections of LA, approximately 75% of the residents have mental disorders. Do they end up there due to the mental disorder, or does the mental disorder result from them ending up there? Probably a combination.
* One of the biggest challenges for ministry is not trying to bridge racial barriers, but rather bridging socio-economic divisions. An Hispanic will have much more in common with an Asian working on Bunker Hill, the financial district of LA, than they would with a fellow Hispanic from Skid Row.
* People on Skid Row don't need hand-outs...they need relationships!
* While many may view graffiti as an act of rebellion, we heard from a former graffiti artist that it's simply a means to be recognized. He was an immigrant, knew no one and felt like his life had no importance. "Tagging" walls and bridges allowed him to make his mark and leave some form of legacy.
* Lastly, Pastors and Deejays have a lot in common. A veteran Deejay came to our class and shared about his profession. He expressed how there were people who came into the profession simply for the notoriety and tried to commercialize it, thereby watering down the art. He shared how a good deejay needed to know the music inside-out in order to fit the pieces together in a way that speaks to the listener. He stressed the importance of authenticity...not trying to copy someone else, but being true to yourself and who you're made to be.

While cities still somewhat overwhelm me, I don't necessarily see them as the source of evil and deprivation that I once did. Yes, they can be very lonely places with no real sense of community. But God is present there. We visited a new church plant called New City Church that is really doing a lot to bridge the socio-economic divide. Wealthy loft-dwellers are worshiping with people from Skid Row. There's another ministry in Skid Row that hosts a weekly Homeless Karaoke where people come together and just have fun. They also have an after-school program for kids and a game room for youth. A lady who owns a tamale shop has turned her business into a non-profit to help people start their own businesses and train them in management. So a lot of good things are happening.

And one of my favorite memories from the class...we were on our field trip in LA and I took a picture of the skyline of buildings and sent it to my brother with the message "I'm in downtown LA." Five minutes later I received a picture text of our silo with the message "I'm in Pigeon Cove!" Love it, brother!!

Great quote...

Mixing the church and state is like mixing ice cream and cow manure. It may not do much to the manure, but it sure messes up the ice cream.
~ Tony Campolo

California Central Coast

First quarter at Fuller is in the books. Seven more to go... The quarter system really keeps things moving. I think I like it, though. We had a one week break this past week before summer intensive classes begin on Monday.

So on Friday, the last day of finals, I boarded a train headed north to Grover Beach. It was a 5 hour train ride along the stunning coastline and through long stretches of agricultural fields - acres and acres of strawberries, garlic, broccoli, lettuce, and beans.
The purpose of my trip was to spend a weekend getting my "life mapped" by a couple with hoards of experience in counseling, mentoring and church missiology. A grant was awarded to Fuller for new students to participate in this to help us have a stronger sense of our calling and vocational path. Who doesn't want greater clarity in their calling??
I spent two days with this couple talking about myself...yes, 2 days talking about me! Talked about my life experiences, turning points, family, friends, social life (or lack of!!) talents, and a bunch of other stuff. Then we set about making a timeline and outlining goals to achieve over the next 5 years in order to stay aligned and focused on a trajectory towards achieving vocational, personal and family goals. I won't go into all the details of what they are, but will say that the timeline spans over the next 5 years...2014...seems like a lifetime away! And then you think about 5 years ago...2004...seems like yesterday!

I also wanted to share some pictures of the Pismo Beach/Arroyo Grande area, which is near San Luis Obispo. Wow! Talk about straight out of a movie! This place is like Mayberry! Patriotic flags flying, flowers blooming perfectly in a row, people pushing baby strollers and smiling to their neighbor across the street. Honestly, places like that do exist! Here are some pictures to prove it!

Parrots, Magnolias, and the Pops

So this past week I was awakened early in the morning by a horrific noise that sounded like a dying squirrel right outside my window. The squawking persisted for a good 15 minutes, so finally curiosity got the best of me and I got up to see what the raucous was about. Imagine my surprise to see a bright green parrot in the tree! For such a pretty bird, they make a really disturbing noise. Sources tell me that these birds have become naturalized (is that the correct term?)in Pasadena due to a pet emporium burning down in the late 1950's!


And then there were two...


In addition to beautiful birds, there are some beautiful trees in bloom right now. The Jacarandas produce a carpet of purple from the falling petals. This brings back memories of Ethiopia, as there are lots of jacaranda trees throughout the country. Also, the magnolias are blooming - and who doesn't love a magnolia?? Also reminds me of my favorite movie: Steel Magnolias.


Tonight there was a free concert given by the Pasadena Pops Symphony Orchestra outside of City Hall. It's so nice to have free cultural events so close-by. City Hall is such a lovely spot in the city. For those of you into the Hollywood side of things, Pasadena's City Hall is the backdrop to the show "Parks and Recreation." I actually walked through the building one day when they were filming. If you've seen the show, see if you recognize it from my pictures...

Friend Visits

I've had a couple of fun weekends visiting friends and friends visiting me.
Two weeks ago I met up with my hilarious friend, Anteneh, from Ethiopia. He's spending 2 weeks in the US to see family and friends. We headed to Little Ethiopia in LA to eat "koors" together.

After that, I caught a bus to Santa Monica to meet Christie, my former (not old!) college roommate who's been at Pepperdine U in Malibu with her husband for the last 3 years while he went to Law School. He's graduating this weekend and they're heading back to Delaware. It was nice to have a friend nearby for a couple months, but too bad it wasn't longer.
We went on a hike way up into the mountains behind Pepperdine's campus. Incredible view on an almost clear day.


That evening we went on a bit of a scavenger hunt of sorts. There are these little fish called "grunion" and during certain parts of the year during the full moon, these fish come up on the beach to spawn. Christie and I wanted to check them out. They don't generally appear until after high tide, which was around 9:45pm. So we went out around 10:30 and checked out about 3 different beaches over the next 3 hours...nothing. Except...we were standing on a cliff looking into the water and I got a little over-eager and thought I saw something moving in the water. I told Christie I thought I saw one, so we both bolted down to the beach. Christie first recognized that it was trash. Imagine our disappointment! Then as we watched this trash bobble in the water, we realized it was an oar. So we kept it as a souvenir. Sure hope there isn't some kayaker stranded in the ocean without a paddle.

On Sunday we had lunch at the Rose Cafe near Venice Beach and walked around the Santa Monica Pier. Quite a fun weekend and I'll be missing my "Malibu friends"! I'm not sure how much they'll miss Malibu and the local paper with Pamela Anderson gracing the cover 2 out of every 3 weeks!


Then this past weekend, my friend Annie flew down to LA from Portland. Annie and I have done a lot of random stuff together - working for the Pennsylvania Dept of Agriculture, living in Dillsburg, study abroad in New Zealand, a crazy weekend in NYC, etc. etc. It was fun to get to show her around my new digs here, and go on a hike, and revisit the 80's, as you can see from this picture!

Dignity

Love one another...a lesson we've been taught since we were big enough to knock over another child. But why?
Because God made us all, right? Have you really thought about it, though? I haven't thoroughly...until now. Why must we love someone who has wronged us? Why should we love murderers, thieves, adulterers? Well, the answer is, in a sense, because God made us all. But to go deeper, it's because we are made in His image. Every living human being bears the image of God, inextricably linking us all together regardless of race, gender, age or culture. Therefore, as image-bearers of God, we have dignity...this is not dignity that is earned from good works; it is only as a result of being a creation of God. Can we lose this dignity from sin? No...when sin first entered the world, the image of God was not destroyed, but tarnished. It is impossible to rid oneself of their inherent dignity as a child of God.
As our professor shared in his lecture, "When I respect the rights of another person who shares the image of God, I am respecting the image of God in myself at the same time. When I denigrate the another, I am consequently denigrating myself. But by honoring the image of God in others, we honor both God and ourselves."
So what's the point of all this "theological verbiage"? It's just helped me understand why I am called to "love my enemy." This is what we're discussing in my Children at Risk class, where we talk about the most vile offenses against children - trafficking, prostitution, abuse, forced labor, children forced to be soldiers. All defenseless, innocent children. But this lesson is not advocating to excuse the perpetrators who force such harm against children. They must face consequences of their actions...and too many never do pay any penalties - at least on this earth. However, we must find the grace to recognize even these polluted individuals as an image-bearer of God and worthy of the effort to restore them to reconciliation with their Redeemer.
So next time you get really angry with someone or are tempted to take advantage of another, think of this.

Romans 3:23...For all have sinned...