Sunny California

Alone. That was my initial feelings at 8:40 this morning. Saying goodbye to my niece was one of the hardest things I have done in a while. I am glad that I spent some extra time with her before I left, but that made the parting that much tougher. Then saying goodbye to my parents capped off the feeling of loneliness. I could feel the apprehension of flying hitting me as I walked through the terminal. God did provide. He placed me next to a kid I talked to most of the way, and the in flight movie was Take the Lead, a new favorite of mine. This helped me immensely.

I had no idea we were so close to the ocean. I wish I had my camera handy when we were landing. The oceanfront house were enormous, all of them in a terra cotta theme. I was surprised to find the airport to be close in size to the one in my hometown … tiny. I did snap some photos once I walked off the plane.

After checking in and oversleeping through supper (I hadn’t slept for 48 hours) I am now sitting on the couch with a bunch of my new friends enjoying Pirates of the Caribbean. I can already tell this will be a good month … I have met some very good people. I’ve also met a lot of Christians here and I look forward to having some good conversations with them.

I am now signing out; we have a big day ahead of us tomorrow. I will have plenty to write about in the upcoming days.