San Diego, Orange County, and Santa Monica

Wow, We have actually blown through all three of these places today. We finally checked in at a fab Santa Monica hotel (thanks God, Laura, and name your priceline). Laura is meeting up with an old friend tonight, and Renee and I are going to address Renee's craving for sushi...wish me luck...it will be my first time to sushi dine...lots of firsts this trip...I LOVE CA and I know that I have only seen the desert so far...not true, Venice Beach was amazing. We met a very sweet elderly couple named Maurice (Mikey) and Marie on the pier. We definitely had a divine appointment with them. They have been married 56 years. She had just been diagnosed with breast cancer and he has been legally blind for ten years, but their faith and optimism was infectious. Marie and I both ended the interview with, "I sure needed this." Mikey's sense of gratitude and love of life was inspirational. Marie's faith in God (her higher power) and her sure belief in "little miracles" radiated from her, refusing to hide behind her sunglasses and floopy sunhat. As the two best friends walked away, hand in hand, back to the beach condo they have owned for twenty years, I felt a lot more grateful for the blessings I daily take for granted, and I breathed in hope that maybe more people know God than we suspected. I promised the girls that I would keep my lengthy blogs contained in my own blog, so for more blow-by-blow commentary on the last three days, check angela's blog...I'll try to sneak some pictures in there as soon as I get them uploaded...chow time...

California Dreamin'

Good morning, everyone...
Well, I can finally say that I have been to California. We were kind of confused about when we entered the state. We never saw a "Welcome to California" sign, so we just kept going down I-15 until we saw signs of California cities. We are now in Los Angeles for the day and are moving to San Diego tonight. Renee had a dream last night about the work we are doing...it was a happy dream. We are now looking for specific kinds of people with specific voices...pray today for divine appointments here in Southern California. We love you guys and hope that you all are listening to the call of the dreams that God has put on your heart. Have a fabulous day...

Grand Canyon Extravaganza...

Grand Canyon





The Roving Reporters at the Grand Canyon for the first time



angela gazing across the Grand Canyon


It's 7:09 P.M. and we're sitting at the Grand Canyon on Navajo Point. We are awaiting the sunset. There has been a big fire in the area and the Canyon is full of smoke...even better haze for the sun to catch. God is amazing. I sat on a ledge earlier and dangled my feet over, swinging my legs, breathing in God's handiwork. Wow, a true dream come true...One of many! Thank you God for giving us our dreams. Thank you for providing a way to live this out. Thank you for giving us clearance and provision and courage to step forward into the vastness of the unknown, trusting you, finally, enough to step rather than merely speak. We are lavished in your bounty. We are cascaded by your tangible touch. We are awe-struck by your creative genius, by your boldness, by your majesty, by your limitless examples of how truly brilliant you are. We stand speechless, basking in your eloquent words made visible, brought to life as you call it good. We marvel at your intricately crafted, carved, chiseled footstool, made for You to rest and breathe in Your Own glory. What a moment, an Artist blown away by His Own perfection...an Artist whose every work is a masterpiece. Your gallery resonates with your energy, your kiss, your lingering touch as you run your fingers along the grooves, the very crevice that I could, without your rescuing, be lost in forever...and yet you perch me high on a rock, sheltered from the fall, close enough to smell your presence, but far enough away to memorize the view. We childishly try to capture our glimpses, knowing that no word, no man-made tool can do you justice, can find a way to accurately share what can only be lived through a naked-eyed moment with you.

Leaving Las Vegas...

We are packing up after a two day very much needed rest stop in Sin City. We were out on the strip until about 2:00 this morning...4:00 Texas time.

MGM at night

We had a fabulously gracious hostess named Emi who took very good care of us. She put us up in a very plush hotel for two nights in Henderson and then rejuventated our souls with a great trip to Hope Baptist Church.

Phenomenal worship! The pastor's message was on prayer and the main point was that prayer is the work. One of my favorite quotes that he camped out on was "The story of every great Christian achievement is the history of answered prayer." -E.M. Bounds For those of you who have been covering us in prayer, know that it is making a huge difference. The pastor used some stats yesterday that gave me a lot of confirmation about this trip. He said that India, Indonesia, and China are the only places that outrank the United States as far as the number of lost people. He said 40% of those reside in the Western part of our country. He said that 1.8 billion people in our world still have absolutely no access to the gospel. Another quote he used was "The tragedy of the hour is that the situation is desperate, but the saints are not." Emi dropped us off and we went to Blueberry Hill for brunch. Laura went to do some work for school, Renee curled up for a nap, and I went and caught some rays out by the pool. We came back together and watched our Grand Canyon footage from the day before. I am so proud of Renee and Laura. They captured some incredible footage of the Grand Canyon. I, with digital camera in hand, stayed in child mode, in absolute awe of the hugeness and splendor of God.
Emi picked us up at 5:00 and took us down to the strip and gave us a native's eyeview. She took us to Bellagio and we watched the dancing fountain.


Then we went looking around at the stores inside and had a famous Las Vegas Buffet. Yummy. We had great conversation about our childhoods and where we are now. Then she took us back to our hotel, so we could get our car and bearings.

The girls on the way to The Strip

We went back out on the strip at around 10:00 and got a couple of interviews. It was interesting to watch people walk by and their response to our camera. George saw the camera and walked straight up to it, ready to be captured. He walked away from the interview troubled and sober. After he passed by me a couple of times after the interview, he went down the escaltor with his friend, sitting down on the movng steps, in obvious contemplation. We were walking back to the car and came across a film maker who studyed documentary work in Buffalo, NY. His name is Jusin and he is looking at relocating to Las Vegas. He is a screenwriter and he gave us the visuals he saw when we asked him the question of where we could find God. He was an encouragement.
I will send pictures later today of our Grand Canyon experience and our jaunt down the strip. We are headed to California...not sure where we will stop for the night, but God knows...then on to San Diego. Have a great day and keep us covered...