California Dreamin'

Hello from San Diego!
After we left Moab, Utah, we headed to Flagstaff, Arizona, to stay at the Grand Canyon Hostel. It was a cute, lovely place. After camping for quite a few nights, we were so excited to sleep in a bed, and what a comfortable one it was! During our first night in Flagstaff, we met Benny the Jet--when I told my family this, they all had the same reaction: The guy from The Sandlot?! No, this was a Native American homeless man who calls himself Benny the Jet. Benny wasn't our first homeless friend. We've actually made several on this trip. We find that people kind of flock to us--not just the homeless. On this particular occasion, we were walking back to our hostel when two homeless guys stopped us and asked us for food. Neither of us had any cash, and most of everything was closed. But, we did have leftovers from dinner, so they gladly took those. One of the guys left, but we spent a long time talking with Benny the Jet. We heard some of his stories, and he let us pray for him--only after he prayed for us first. It was so precious. Please pray for our friend, Benny, as he struggles with alcoholism. You can also pray for our other friends as well:
Joseph--homeless veteran, Savannah, GA
Robert--a wandering teenager we helped in New Orleans, LA
Daniel--our dear friend who is struggling with the pain of the deaths of his fiance and daughter, New Orleans, LA
All of the homeless who camp out in Jackson Square, New Orleans, LA
A little Spanish-speaking girl (whose name I don't know) who stole my heart in Austin, TX

We headed to the Grand Canyon on June 30. It was absolutely spectacular. I think I very much underestimated just how big it is. Every place we go, Gabrielle and I find ourselves saying to each other, "Can you believe we're here?!" It seems that God just outdoes Himself on a regular basis, showing us His love.

After Arizona, we headed to where we are now--San Diego, California. We're staying at a cool place called Lucky D's Hostel. It still hasn't totally hit either of us West Virginia girls that we're in California. It's one of those places that always seemed so far away that I would never get to it. If this trip has taught me anything, it is that if you are simply willing to follow God anywhere He leads, He can take you anywhere. We really love San Diego. It is so beautiful although wildly busy--parking here is a nightmare. I personally love San Diego because while it seems very busy, the social culture and atmosphere is so warm and friendly. The first day we were here, Gabrielle and I were walking around in search for food and came across a Turkish restaurant. Gabrielle is part Turkish and has been to Turkey and loves it. So, we headed there to look at their menu. Although we didn't end up eating there, we did meet some new friends who truly made San Diego special. I don't know if you've ever seen pedicabs, but they're bicycle powered buggies or carriages, and our new, Turkish friends are pedicab drivers. Alp and Habib both offered us free rides, so we took Alp up on the offer (his first offer to anyone for a free ride). It was such a cool experience to be breezing through San Diego at night. I am always so overwhelmed by the kindness of strangers. I feel God's love in it more than any other time, and the places I come to love the most are always special because of the people we meet. To make a long story short, last night, Gabrielle and I ended up coming back from visiting beautiful Pacific Beach and Seaport Village to take a nap before getting ourselves up at 2:30 AM to go visit Alp and Habib when their shifts ended. (Trust me, I have the Taken parents and grandparents lecture track in my head--I understand the worry, but I am not very afraid of much...usually least of all, people. God is so much bigger than any person, and I am His child.) We had such a great time! We just talked to them and a bunch of other Turkish pedicab drivers about their lives and how much they hate their jobs. (Tip: Pay pedicab drivers really well! They work hard.) I don't always know why God sends us places and allows us to meet people, but we trust that even as we feel our impact and opportunity to spend time with them is small (and it's difficult to leave), we trust in the work that God does as we unconsciously dance with Him.

Yesterday was also cool because we meet random Christians sometimes too. Two girls stopped us at Pacific Beach and asked us if they could ask us some spiritual questions--Christians. Yesterday, we were contemplating going to church because today is a travel day (San Francisco) which means this is the first Sunday where we won't be in a church during this trip. We didn't end up going to church, but it was so cool how God just showed us that you can have church anywhere. We ran into Curtis and Michelle as Curtis was playing worship songs on the guitar in the middle of Seaport Village. We stopped to sing with them for a while, and then we went over to talk to them. They prayed for us. We prayed for them. Church--in the middle of Seaport Village.

Yesterday, we took Wendy (my car) for its second oil change of the trip. We've put a bit over 7,000 miles on the car so far. Where we ended up for getting the oil change and my car checked out was a God thing as well. I hate hate HATE going to the mechanic. I always feel like the biggest helpless idiot when I go to a mechanic. I know simple basics about cars. I try to get my dad to explain things to me sometimes, so I'll have a better understanding of what I am told at the mechanic. However, I am by no means car savvy. Thus, I hate going to a mechanic because it is usually evident that I am not car smart, and inevitably, I feel like I get screwed over a lot, much to my father's dismay, I'm sure. So, I prayed while I was looking for a place to go--that God would take me to a place that would deal with me honestly and not take advantage of me. I believe that he did. We went to Integrity Plus Auto in San Diego, and they were so helpful. They checked stuff out and took care of what they could. They also showed me that the inside tread on my front tires (now my back tires) is completely smooth. So, they recommended new tires and an alignment. Sigh. So, if  you want to keep that in your prayers, I'd appreciate it.

At any rate, we're headed to San Francisco today. We're pretty exhausted. I am a tomato, but I am excited about life. I really love driving days because some of the most valuable and precious revelations from God come while we're on the road. As I mentioned in earlier posts, we love to listen to Heidi and Rolland Baker podcasts. We listened to one by Rolland Baker on the way here that was so direct and convicting. It just covered the idea that we should be living with a kingdom mindset--meaning that the only issue that should exist in our lives is that people in the world don't know Jesus. I would encourage you to look up free Rolland Baker podcasts on ITunes because it is powerful stuff. Listening to their amazing stories pumps us up and encourages us. And we also find that we listen to Jesus Culture's songs "Where You Go, I'll Go" and "You Won't Relent" on repeat for hours on end. We already feel like much different people than when we started this trip. We're grateful.

Meanwhile, today makes two months until I move to Honduras. I am so excited and feel like I am chomping at the bit to get there and to see what God is going to do.

Lots of love,
Sarah