Saturday, December 09, 2006

Rush Hour


We've been here 3 weeks. More meet-ups and conference calls are still being added. The tough part isn't the discussions, planning, ministering or counselling. It's the commuting. LA traffic drains you. It ravenously consumes time each day. Here is the story of week 3.

We spent Sat with Annie before meeting Chai and Crystal. Then we go to their place to meet with the Unit Leaders. Then driving back I turn into the oncoming traffic (the first time). Praise God there were no cars coming behind me when I backed out.

The next day Dinah and I met Ronald, a member from Singapore church. After service Dinah and I did workshops for the parents and the worship team respectively. This was followed by the Care Leaders meeting. Later Dinah and I helped the leadership team. All this time Deb practices at the church piano. Finally we enjoy dinner with Cynthia. As we return we try out the replacement GPS. This one uses "yards" just when we were getting used to the previous one which spoke in terms of "feet".

On Mon we go off to Legoland. This resort is more for younger kids. At least the drive there was scenic.

Tue starts with a conference call with JR from Seattle. Next we meet with the Vineyard International missions director. In the evening Dan and I go to the men's group as (Deb and) Dinah teaches at the women's group.

On Wed, Vern calls from Seattle. We try to cook but our stove doesn't heat properly. Next we drive to Irvine to meet with an executive from Assembly of God South Cal. We drive again to meet Jason and Emmy Betts and then we join their care group.

We get stuck 1 hour in rush hour on Thur. Never go on freeways from 7-9 am! We are late for Sam and Sung. Later it was good to speak with Dee from Seattle. Next we drove almost 1 hour to the west side of LA to meet James and Christine. Then we drive to Irvine and got stuck in trafic for 2 hours. Never travel on the freeways between 5-7 pm! We spent some time with Al and Doreen.

Fri sees us have a quiet breakfast. Next we get the maintenance guy to replace the stove. Later Lee brought us shopping for gifts. Tonight is the first night that we are in. We recover from weeks of driving up and down this huge metropolis. Tomorrow marks 3 weeks of serving here.

2 comments:

The Recreation Corner said...

You and family must be tired.

Thanks for your giving and not losing heart towards the family of God.

Advance Merry Christmas to You, Dinah, Daniel and Deborah.

See you soon =)

Zee said...

HI Pastor Ben, this is Stephanie. Greetings from Vancouver. I miss you guys and the brief time chatting and hearing from you has revived me. I have a huge testimony (which I sent to your email) and I am so thankful for your lives. I am inspired by you and Ps Dinah and I really strive to be like you guys one day. I pray you will help me! Praise God!