Swiftly Shifting Perspectives

It's nice to be hit with a dose of reality and varying circumstances every once in a while, especially in the midst of the excitement and the glitz a big city has to offer.

All of the ASP and WJC students were divided into groups and given service projects around the city. Some groups helped with childcare and food prep, but I ended up going to a drug rehab center sponsored through Gospel Rescue Missions. I honestly could not have been more excited about a service project! I have always had a heart for people who have gotten mixed up in drugs and such dangerous lifestyles because of how quickly they can deteriorate a life and how utterly difficult it is to change paths once involved. In the last week and a half, my group went to the rehab center three times, the last of which being this past Thursday. I spent most of my time doing one-on-one tutoring in math and reading with the residents there, and each person made such a different impact on me.

Fifty-year-old Bruce looked so gruff on the outside and although I could definitely tell that he had a shadier past (and that he still seemed to be in the middle of conflict), he was such a fun, boisterous person who was really fun to joke around with. And he was sharp -- he picked up on concepts very quickly. Then there was Marsha (50), by far the biggest personality in the room. She talked quickly and loudly -- quite the match for me -- and we were laughing and teasing each other back-and-forth the entire time I was helping her with math ... we were definitely the loudest in the room and despite all of our ruckus, we got a lot done.

Barry (about 40) was much quieter and serious, and he struggled quite a bit with reading, but I could tell that he was trying so hard. And a friend of his who was also being tutored asked about his progress in a brotherly way as we were working, and Barry was quick to affirm me that this friend had been a lot of help and support since he had gotten there. Finally, David and I helped elderly Palo with his resume, and it shocked me how much management experience he had from different jobs. It's shocking how much of a downward spiral one's life can take when drugs are involved. It was such an enriching experience to immerse myself with people who have felt such extreme harshness and are struggling to climb that upward slope. I'm hoping that I will be able to go back to the rehab center on my own a few times throughout the semester.

On the other side, my friends and I had quite the experience the other night. We went to the opening of the CCCU conference at the Hyatt, and heard David Kinnaman, the author of "unChristian: What a New Generation Thinks About Christianity ... and Why it Matters." He was a Biola grad and much younger than I expected, and I was thoroughly impressed with what he had to say. He discussed the increasing negative views about evangelicals among my generation and why this was. Kinnaman provided insight into how this generation must be reached in different ways and mediums, and literally everything he said resonated.

After his talk, Rachelle, Shanley and I journied through the mass of CCCU presidents and found Dr. Barry Corey and his wife. We spent about 30 minutes talking with them about their trip here and what they thought about Kinnaman's talk. In the last year-and-a-half that Corey's been at Biola, I've found myself accumulating respect for him, and I was struck two nights ago by how personal and insightful he was. And his wife is just adorable. We then went and joined the other WJC'ers who were talking with Kinnaman and asked questions about some clarifications, and he provided even further thought about the subjects.

When we walked out of the Hyatt, it was pretty late, probably 9:30 or 10, and we went to the bus stop to wait for the next bus. It was freezing, and we waited for about 15 minutes with still no bus. All of a sudden a black stretch limo pulled up to the curb, and the driver rolled down his window. "Where are you all headed?" he asked. Rachelle told him, and he then told us, "Get in, you've got a free limo ride!"

I realize how sketch this sounds, but there were 11 of us, including a couple of guys, and this was just too amazing of an opportunity to pass up! So we all piled into the limo, with the two guys and one of the girls voicing how this was a bad idea and we were all going to end up murdered somewhere, but the rest of us were ecstatic. Honestly, when do you get offered a free limo ride? Never! And sure enough, our limo driver did not pull a gun on us, take us to his gangster friends, or attempt to kidnap and ransom us. Instead he stopped across the street from our apartments, got out, and held the door open for us as we all got out. What a fun, crazy way to end a wonderful night!

We had class all day yesterday, and in the evening all of us in WJC watched the movie "Shattered Glass" over a burrito dinner. The film, starring Hayden Christensen, was about Stephen Glass who got away with fabricating 27 out of his 41 stories with The New Republic. It was pretty interesting, and I would definitely recommend it to any of you who haven't seen it! But then again, it probably was more interesting due to the fact that we were all journalism nerds :)

Then last night a bunch of us from WJC and ASP braved the cold to view the monuments at night. Rachelle, Zack, Mark, Jeremy and I left a little bit later, but we met up with the larger group at the Jefferson Memorial (my favorite!) and then continued on to the FDR monument, the Lincoln Memorial, and the WWII memorial. I have to say, they are all so much more breathtaking at night, illuminated and free of the crowds. I still keep having the mentality that I need to cram in all these sights, and then I'm struck with the fact that I'm not visiting ... I'm living here until May! I have all the time in the world, and I can take everything in slowly.

I'm still in disbelief that I'm here, and I feel so utterly blessed to have this opportunity. I really want to be a good steward of this time, and let God use me to the fullest. I don't think this will be too difficult considering that I wake up every morning so excited for a new day with new experiences in a new city ... wow, I'm blessed.

Domestic Goddesses in the Making

Rachelle and I have never really cooked for ourselves. Sure, I can throw together a pretty good meal. I can make you an amazing, gourmet sandwich. I love mixing yogurt with bananas and cereal and other fun things. But cook? This is a new concept to both of us. But it is something that we attempted to get past last night. Little did we know exactly what this would involve ...

Last night was the night. All our roommates were gone. Rachelle and I were hungry. Conditions were perfect. I made a playlist of fun music, blasted it on my laptop, and we set out to journey into the unknown. Last week when Rachelle and I went grocery shopping we were adventurous and bought a box with all the flour and seasoning and wine sauce needed for chicken marsala along with frozen chicken. This was our night to prepare it.

For live coverage, check out these two videos:

PART 1

PART 2

We had many unexpected complications along the way ...

1) We forgot to defrost the chicken beforehand. It took minutes and frostbitten fingers for me to finally separate the styrofoam from the chicken.

2) We didn't know how long to defrost it for. Rachelle suggested two minutes. Bad idea. The chicken was still a rock.

3) Only later did we see that our box suggested purchasing "pre-cut" chicken for easier preparation. That might have been nice to know.

4) We cooked the seasoning in with the chicken, thinking that the seasoning and flour were supposed to be mixed in together. They weren't. The seasoning was supposed to be one of the last steps.

5) Our concerned neighbors came in because they saw smoke coming from our door and wanted to make sure that we hadn't left the stove on and that we were still alive. It was actually water vapor, not smoke, but their reactions were still priceless.

But you know what the most amazing part was? Our dinner was DELICIOUS! Somehow, our blunders did not jeopardize our dinner, and we greatly enjoyed eating our first-cooked meal! And we are definitely not scared of cooking, and we're greatly anticipating our next endeavor.

P.S. IT'S SNOWING HERE!!!

Crepes and Free Coffee

I'm not used to there being so much to do ... And having the responsibility to experience it all.

Rachelle, Shanely and I left family dinner tonight with the issue of having a free evening ahead. Ever since we arrived in DC we have had most of our evenings crammed with scavenger hunt activities. But tonight there was nothing. Nothing. And of course, sitting around in our rooms was not an option. This is DC, not La Mirada! "GO OUT!!" everyone keeps telling us. And of course I have absolutely no issue with this suggestion.

But what to do on a Monday night? We began a rampid google search, looking for some fun DC venue that would not only be open during the week, but be fun to go to on a Monday. We pretty soon switched to searching for just a fun dessert place ... and that's when we stumbled upon Crepes-A-Go-Go. Needless to say, crepes sounded fantastic!

We got a group together and headed out to make the trek to Dupont, but after missing the bus within a matter of seconds and sprinting after it in a mad chase for several blocks, we gave up and walked to Union station to take the metro. We had an eventful search once we got to Dupont, but we eventually found the infamous Crepes-A-Go-Go, which turned out to be really cute. I got the King Samm's Crepe, which was touted as the sweetest crepe on the menu of 40+ options and consisted of nutella, banana, almond powder, coconut and whipped cream ... yuuuuuuum!

Our crepes were all amazing, and we began talking with one of the guys who worked there who was an absolute riot. He was so friendly and funny and began the conversation by telling my blonde friend Shanley that he was convinced that she was partially Asian and began making fun of her eyes. We learned quickly that he had moved to DC five years ago from Senegal (his accent was definitely African), and he promised us that the next time we came by he would show us some of his African dance moves. And he also gave us all free coffee, so we are obviously friends now!

The last couple days have also consisted of fun adventures including my scavenger hunt's trip to the natural science museum (I loved all the animals!) and the wrap-up of our video on Saturday, which can be viewed HERE. Then three of my roommates (Rachelle, Kati and Danielle) took an excursion to see some of the monuments. We went to the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the World War II Memorial, and the Korean War Memorial before absolutely dying of the cold and making a quick trip back to the metro. When we got back to the Eastern Market, we went to eat at the Old Siam, a Thai place that had been recommended to us ... and it was delicious! I was adventurous and got duck, and it was amazing. This restaurant was also absolutely adorable and definitely made my list of favorites! And then yesterday after going to church at Union Station, all of us WJC students were invited to Greg and Mimi's apartment complex out in Chinatown for dinner, which was definitely enjoyable.

Class today was also amazing. Not only was I overcome with the overwhelming reminder that God has a purpose for each of our lives, but I was once again so thankful that I serve a God who enabled us to model Him in creating art and meaning. That gift that He gave us is so beautiful. And as we discussed how creating is different from constructing, in that a creator knows exactly what he's creating before He does, I was struck by God's deep love for every ounce of His creation. For me. Psalm 139 came to mind, which is by far the most intimate depiction of God in the Bible, in my opinion. I cannot help by feel so utterly loved whenever that passage comes up.

And lastly, a quote by C.S. Lewis to chew on. Professor Mattingly gave it about selecting friends, but specifically related it to choosing a spouse: "You do what you sincerely believe God has created you to do and then look to see who's standing next to you."

I will never view life the same ...

Because all of a sudden 50 degrees is really, really warm! My roommates and I literally cheered when we checked the weather and discovered that a balmy 50 was in store for today. I wore my Rainbows to class today, which made my southern California heart very happy. I definitely can't get used to this, though, because temperatures are plummeting again next week.

Most of my experiences here this first week have been absolutely amazing. I'm discovering that I really love the city, which is actually kind of surprising to me because I could actually see myself living here. The only other large city I've felt that way about is London. And surprisingly, I really don't miss driving that much. It might take longer to walk and take the metro everywhere, but I find the whole experience somewhat liberating. Even a three-mile walk to Whole Foods with my roommate Coco and then a three-mile trip back laden with groceries was enjoyable. In short, I love DC. Now if we could somehow transport Salt Creek, the Montage's beach and Newport on over here (complete with their lifeguard towers, of course) my life would be complete!

My scavenger hunt group has definitely had some interesting experiences over the last few days as well! As mentioned previously, before Obama was inaugurated he ate at a small place called Big Ben's Chili Bowl and all of the billions of tourists decided that their lives wouldn't be complete unless if they dined there before they left. My group was unfortunately presented with the daunting task of eating a meal there, and we went over to that district a couple of days before the inauguration only to discover that the line for Big Ben's was a block long ... and it's a sit-down place. Naturally, this wasn't going to work for us. We saw that the hours were from 6 a.m. to 2 a.m., so in order to avoid a repeat of chaotic, Obama-crazy crowds, we decided to go back this past Wednesday ... at opening ... which involved leaving our building at 5:30 a.m. ... all to eat breakfast at Big Ben's Chili Bowl. This time we got in, and luckily there were breakfast options, so I wasn't forced to eat chili at 6 a.m.

Later that evening we tried to take the metro to another one of our stops, the Lincoln Memorial. But we all completely didn't notice when our stop came and went. So we stayed on. And stayed on some more. Finally one of us voiced that it was taking a really long time to get to Metro Center, and a couple told us that we were seven stops past it. We had definitely left the District of Columbia by this point, and we were pretty sure that we were in Pennsylvania. We made it to the Lincoln Memorial evenutally, but it was definitely a much longer trip than it should have been!

My favorite place that my group had to go to, though, was by far the Basilica. We all walked around it for quite a while admiring the ornate ceilings and walls and artwork. There were specific rooms for "The Mother of Africa" and "The Mother of China" and many other regions around the world, which I thought was especially neat. What appeared to be a worship service was going on, and as we walked by, we realized they were singing "Sanctuary," a song I have sung many times in church. About this time I started thinking about how utterly grand and ornate this huge cathedral was. I am personally an advocate for simpler churches, so that the majority of the funds can be used for outreach, whether in the community or internationally, but something really struck me about this cathedral. Looking at the high ceilings with gold lettering and carvings, I couldn't help but compare this building to the Temple in the Old Testament.

At that moment it hit me that the Basilica is an example of man reaching out to God and attempting to build something so beautiful and magnificent that it might reflect a fraction of His majesty and be worthy to worship Him in. As I stood in this building, feeling so small and insignificant next to its grandeur, I was struck with the truth that as amazing as the Basilica is, it cannot even be held next to God's beauty. Man attempted to reach the lowest level of God's magnificence, but this is a task that could never even come close to being acheived. Wow. Having such a concrete example of this was overwhelming to me. I took a seat at one of the many beautiful shrines and just prayed to God, reconciling some of the conflict I've been experiencing recently. All that I can say is that our God is so big, so beautiful, so gracious, and so loving. I know that His forgiveness can cover anything.

On the steps of the Lincoln Memorial

Standing in front of the door of Mark's Representative

Eating breakfast at Big Ben's Chili Bowl ... it was definitely too early!

Obama's Infiltration of DC

Obama has definitely made his presence known in the city. As if the witnessing the inauguration with 2 million enthusiastic people in Washington DC yesterday, watching the main roads get entirely closed off two nights ago when Coco and I were walking back from Whole Foods, and seeing his face everywhere on everything since arriving here were not enough confirmation for me, I have more.

Two of my roommates saw him in person during the parade yesterday! He got out of the car on Pennsylvania Avenue, and they were only 20 feet away from him at one point. I basically freaked out when I got the text from Danielle. As I talked to more people today, I found out that several others actually saw him yesterday too. I don't want want to sound like a celebrity-frenzied teenage girl by any means, but it's crazy to me that several friends saw his face yesterday when we are all so used to seeing him through the lens of a camera. He has got to be one of the most significant historical figures of our era ... and he was literally HERE last night!

I had wanted to go to bed early last night after a chaotic inauguration day, but I ended up working on transcribing interviews from yesterday and blogging later than I should have. I actually went to bed at 2 a.m., hours and hours after all my roommates, which was horrible considering my 5:30 a.m. wake-up call to go to a chili place -- that story will follow later. But anyways, I was still awake and typing on my laptop at midnight. I always hear sirens from nearby streets when I'm in the apartment. And the sirens here are really, really annoying. Their tone varies from vehicle to vehicle, and the worst ones sound like little, yippy dogs that could drive you insane -- no joke.

I heard sirens going on in the background while I was working last night, and I didn't pay attention until they got louder and louder and kept going. Finally I realized that there were multiple sirens going off on MY little street! Thinking that someone had been murdered, I ran to the window and look down to see the longest procession of police cars and security and protective vehicles that I have ever seen. The sound was deafening, and it took me a few minutes and the American flags on the black vehicles to realize what was going on ... the president and his security were driving down 8th street right in front of our apartments! I have never seen such a sight on such a tiny, primarily residential road!

I was pretty excited. And once again, I'm not trying to sound celebrity-stricken, but it really is crazy trying to comprehend that this man who is changing history, who I've read about and watched on the news for years, is HERE. It's absolutely amazing to me that so much of our nation's history occurs in this city where I'll be living until May. Oh, DC ...

When unity snuck up on me

“I would describe it as an outpouring of brotherhood and a wonderful flow of positive sentiment and a great, great day,” 50-year-old Ken Straus of New York City said to me, gesturing to the masses surrounding us on the fields of the National Mall hours before President Obama was inaugurated.

To my surprise, I wholeheartedly agreed.

Nothing could have prepared me for today. I expected the hour of weaving through congested crowds that make a John Mayer concert look like child’s play. I expected the bridges and streets and highways to look like they would crumble and fall to the earth’s core under the weight of the determined travelers’ heavy feet. I expected the street vendors selling Obama memorabilia in every form imaginable. I expected the various Christian groups passing out tracts. I expected deafening cheers, thousands of portable toilets and the freezing cold air.

Well, maybe I lied a little bit about the last one. I knew it would be cold, but I was not prepared for the frigidity that would numb my bundled-up body to the point that I could only lift my feet several inches from the ground before stiffness took over. The man giving out free hot coffee samples on the walk back from the inauguration was an absolute saint. Nonetheless, my multiple layers of clothing gave away some foreknowledge of the cold I would face.

What I did not expect was unity.

Yes, I grew up chanting “One nation, under God, indivisible,” but many Americans don’t give the impression of being proud that they bleed red, white and blue. Maybe I was just focusing too much on the pessimism in this nation, but I definitely saw a lot of division and very little unity. Abortion. Gay marriage. The war. Health care. Money. Money. Money. Angry, shouting, hostile sign-waving protesters.

Division.

But not today. Today I couldn’t have agreed more with Straus’ statement. As I began talking with some of the people around me, I began to see that they were truly proud to be Americans in this day and age and exuberant to be part of something so monumental. When I asked 29-year-old Javeriah Haleem what she was looking forward to most about Obama being in office, she quickly responded “A change in the way we’re viewed around the world and a change in the way we feel about the country right now.”

If today was a taste of this shifting pride among our nation’s citizens, fill my cup.

As a crowd of 2 million, we celebrated by singing and dancing to “Shout” and “American Pie.” We waved American flags high and cheered on our newly elected president. We contemplated the leaps and bounds our nation has made in a matter of decades, so much so that a man who’s father might have been refused service as a result of his race is now the president of the United States. We prayed together for our nation and for President Obama to have wisdom and integrity and courage. Regardless of any person’s political leanings, I think that the longing for the guidance of the president elect by the Almighty God is something that he or she can be passionate about. That can unify.

As I stood today in the icy DC air, sneaking a peek at the thousands of heads bowed in reverence around me, I couldn’t help but think to myself that this is the way God wants a nation to be. As I listened to the occasional “Amen!” and the person behind me repeating Rick Warren’s prayer word-for-word, I couldn’t help but realize that God is not dead in America and that He will touch more hearts than we could ever know. As I heard thousands of people recite the Lord’s Prayer, I couldn’t help but marvel at the greatness of our God, the One who will one day bring eternal unity.

He will unify.





The fields of the National Mall were filled with thousands of enthusiastic people waiting with us in the cold.








The group that braved the inauguration (L-R): Yvette, Me, Natalie, Ford, Coco, Mark








The inauguration of the first black President of the United States!