Caught Up!

After this post I'll finally be caught up to the present!

This past Friday, the 26th, all of our friends who work for Sonshine Houseboat Ministries were going to be going up north to the Delta for their debrief staff retreat from summer. Peter was going to be taking his boat up for the weekend, but decided to take it out Friday morning before leaving, and invited Chad, Michael and I to come with him! The Knickerbockers have an incredibly nice wakeboard boat. It was really fun to play on! And we did all kind of things for the amount of time we were there - we wakeboarded, wakesurfed, and roamboarded in about three hours. So much fun!

Michael threw me a Pringle!

This is Chad on the Roamboard, which is basically a
snowboard on the water.

I got to drive the X15!

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That night Chad and I got to go to the "Music Builds Tour" show in Irvine. The bands that are touring together are Jars of Clay, Robert Randolph, Switchfoot and Third Day. We got there right in the middle of Switchfoot's set, so we were really glad we got to see them play! We also got to hang out with Jared, Denny and Tim while we were there, so that was fun. At the end of Third Day's set, all of the bands came out and played a U2 song together. I had just told Chad that I love it when tours do that! It was great. And the best part? In the middle of the song I got a text from Jared that said "Tim is such a rock star"... Tim was on stage with the bands rocking out and playing the tambourine!! He is a rockstar :).

Switchfoot

Switchfoot

Switchfoot

Third Day

Third Day

Third Day, Robert Randolph, Jars of Clay, Switchfoot,
and Tim.

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Saturday and Sunday Chad and I did mostly nothing. We played video games, made food together, watched Friends and The Office, did some homework, and ran errands. It was so wonderful just to relax and not have an agenda. I did work on Saturday night, but it was a good shift - the people were nice, it wasn't too busy, and I made good money. So, all in all, definitely a winner of a weekend.

Camp Alpine

Wednesday, the 17th, we had our first Impact groups! It was "old-school" Impact, meaning instead of having youth group and listening to Shawn speak to the whole group before breaking up, we only met with our groups in order to get comfortable around each other and so on before attempting to have deep and meaningful conversation. I had my girls meet me at the Keatings house, and although it started out kind of rough (a bunch of the girls got there before me, and no one was home to let them inside), it was a really fun night and I had a great time. We filled out info sheets, baked cookies, ate snacks, jumped on the trampoline, screamed about a giant spider, played Apples to Apples, played Guitar Hero, and just talked. It was really fun and comfortable, and I loooove my girls! They are so cute and funny and sweet. It's going to be a great year. Pray for them! And for me as I do my best to lead them to Jesus. Their names are: Alex, Alexa, Ally, Amanda, Brittany, Haleigh, Kaycee, Missy, Nat, Nicole, & Nicole.

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Thursday night, family dinner was crazy. There were like 25 people at our apartment. We don't even know how that happened, but it was really fun!

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Friday afternoon Chad's Dad, Bruce, flew in for a theology conference in Torrance. Chad and I drove out and met him for lunch, which was really fun! He is such a neat man, I learn so much from him whenever I get to be around him. And he's really intentional in conversation, if that makes sense. After lunch, they dropped me off at Cassi's house and the two of them went walking somewhere while Cass and I went down to the beach to "do homework" aka chat. We had some good conversation with our homework in our laps. Cassi looked up and suddenly started laughing - I thought it was at something I had said, but then I realized that Chad and Bruce were walking along the beach toward us! They had no idea we were there; it was really funny when they almost walked by. When they were done Chad met back up with us on the beach and we headed to the Keating's house to hang out with the family for a little bit. I loved the Keatings. I love being at their house. They're so warm and inviting and comfortable. They really are my family away from home. I am thankful for them.

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Eventually Chad and I tore ourselves away from the fun Keating family and beautiful PV, and began yet another road trip together. We drove a few hours up north towards Big Bear (The only drive I've ever gotten car sick enough to get out of the car, when I was about 6. Well, make that twice now. Once when I was 6, and once when I was 21.) until we got to a little town called Blue Jay. We turned off at Alpine Camp, in the midst of beautiful pine trees and fresh air, and joined the Youth Ministries Staff Retreat. We had such a fun weekend! There was worship, speakers, reflection time, discussion sessions, good meals, new friendships, tea time with some incredible women, tons of games, and no sleep. It was just great. We loved it, we love the staff we're on, and we love the God we get to serve through it all! Sunday morning when the retreat officially ended, Chad and I decided to go into the town of Lake Arrowhead and just walk around for a bit while we had the chance to. We ran into a fellow Impact Leader, Rob, and hung out with him for a little bit. We spend a good amount of time sitting on a bench, people watching and enjoying the crisp air and gorgeous weather. It was a relaxing end to a packed weekend.

Endless Weekends...

My weekends have all been full of fun and adventures! It's like freshman year all over again! Okay, maybe not that extreme. But it's been a fun change of pace to actually do fun things again. Friday (the next day after Chad & I's date) early morning I picked up my wonderful friend Katherine from the airport. She went to Biola the past three years but is taking this semester to live at home in Scottsdale and take some General Ed classes at a JC there. If nothing else I'm sure it's saving here money! We headed to downtown Fullerton and found a cute little restaurant to have breakfast and catch up. We had such a great conversation; I got to hear all about what God has been teaching her over summer and how He's directing her now. It was incredible. I am so excited to see what comes out of those things in the next few months. She has a big heart for Indonesia and a water sports ministry she was able to be a part of there - they teach the kids how to swim and be safe in water so they won't fear it anymore (after the tragic tsunami). They're facing some financial trials right now that may cause the ministry to close down. If anyone is interested in supporting this ministry financially, please contact me. Otherwise, prayer is always needed and is something anyone can easily do to help. So keep Katherine and this ministry in mind, as well as the entire nation of Indonesia and what God is doing there.


Saturday morning, Chad and I got up early and packed his truck for the day - surfboards, wetsuits, longboards, drinks, snacks, camera, extra clothes, sweatshirts... we might as well have been packing for a week with the amount of stuff we fit in there! We headed down to San Onofre to meet up with the McFaddens and their youth group kids, who were spending the weekend camping and hanging out at the beach. It was a fun little trip down there together, and we are loving doing life together more and more as we get to experience it. We arrived and immediate jumped in the water to start teaching kids how to surf! It was a really fun day. The waves were great for beginners level and the weather was beautiful. Not to mention, the atmosphere at this surf beach is so different from anything I've ever experienced in surf culture before. I suppose that's because I haven't spent any time around long-boarders, but I had such a great time there. Everyone is so friendly and laid back; people share waves and look out for each other; beginners are everywhere and the veterans don't mind; there are little kids, old people, dogs, tents, games.... It was exactly how a surf culture atmosphere should feel. I loved it. I can't wait to go back!
















That night we had some s'mores and then headed back to Biola because we were tiiiired! Sunday morning we had an Impact (high school small group) training meeting at IHOP, which was really good, but really early! And then we all went to Canvas, Rolling Hills' contemporary service. It was alright. I didn't love it, but the message was good. After church Chad and I went out to lunch with the Knickerbockers (and Whitney) at California Pizza Kitchen, and that was really fun. I don't remember what else went on that Sunday, because by now it was a long time ago, but it was a really fun weekend!!

1.5 Years <3

Oh my goodness, I have so much to catch up on! I'll try not to be so detailed... I'll post one thing at a time here...


Thursday, September 11 was Chad & I's one and half year "anniversary". I know it seems like a silly amount of time to celebrate, but when you're just dating the little things really count. And it was the first thing we've gotten to really celebrate since we've been living in the same city! Anyway, I was instructed to get dressed up, so I did, and Chad came and picked me up. We headed to Laguna Beach, where we had been exactly a year before. Here's the story with that: last year Chad came out here to celebrate our 6 months of being together. He got reservations at this amazing little romantic Italian restaurant on PCH called Ti Amo, overlooking the ocean. As we were driving there we realized we might be a little bit late, so Chad called to let the hostess know and make sure it wasn't a problem. Come to find out, the power had gone out in their entire area, so they had to cancel the rest of their reservations for the night. It was so sad, because we were really excited to go to this place. We drove around for literally over an hour to find somewhere else to eat, and almost settled for some kind of fast food before we found a place that was barely still open. In any case, sweet Chad had made reservations for Ti Amo this year to make up for our disappointment. And we were not disappointed! It was beautiful, the food was amazing, the atmosphere was romantic... it was just wonderful.





After dinner, we tried to go to a Starbucks to keep the tradition going from last year, but they were all closed early - probably because it wasn't a weekend. Then we headed down PCH to find this neat beach we like, called the thousand steps. It really feels like a thousand steps to get down to it! And at night it's really dark and kind of dangerous. But maybe that's part of the adventure of it. It always takes a little searching to find exactly where the entrance is along the highway, and as we were scanning for it we got pulled over by a policeman. Chad's taillights were out! And the officer was very suspicious that we were going to a beach (even though we were in Laguna BEACH) - I think he was on a little bit of a power trip. But we finally got away from him (Chad only got a fix-it warning) and found our beach. We carefully made our way down all the steps to the sand.

Chad set up a blanket for us to sit on, lit a candle for me to read by, and handed me a letter. At the end of the letter he instructed us to read some Bible verses he had written down, so we did, and when we were done he washed my feet. It was so humbling and so powerful, I've never experienced anything like it. Last year, I washed his feet, and it filled me with overwhelming joy to do it. It was so different to be on the receiving end of things. I wish we made the effort to physically represent the things Jesus taught while he was on earth more often than we do. I think some of those things were meant to be repeated literally. In any case, it was an amazing night, and I can't imagine any better way to celebrate our relationship than to follow Jesus' example. God has blessed us with each other so tremendously, and we are so thankful.

All In One Weekend

Since returning to California, I have had the most consecutively crazy busy weekends I think I've had in my whole life. The past two have been no exception! I'll begin where I left off, with that first week of September. I love September, by the way. I think it's mostly because of the weather. It starts out feeling like summer, with warm sunny days and jumping in pools or the ocean, and it gradually cools down and turns into that perfect weather where you can where almost anything in your closet and be comfortable. It's a great month. A great transitional time. I also really love October. And September leads up to that. In any case, I'm thankful that it's September.

Thursday I got up early and drove down to Santa Ana to visit the Transparent Productions office. I hadn't been there in a really long time, and I didn't tell Jared or Denny that I was coming in, so it was really fun to see the surprise on their faces when I walked in! I got to chat with the two of them and Tim for quite awhile, catching up and teasing each other. It was so great. It made me miss working there, to be honest. But no time right now! In any case, I'm glad to still have them in my life. They're good people. That night we had our first "Family Dinner", and our sweet and wonderful friend Joel Sappington came over to join us, as well as Chad and Megan Keating. It was so fun to have them here! We had dinner, played games, caught up... it was great. Megan spent the night that night, which is always fun, because we love her! It was a pretty wonderful close to the first week of September.

Friday was a school-wide AS event - the city of La Mirada spent lots of money tearing down half of a park to build a waterpark across the street from Biola last year. So we put it to good use and rented it out for the student body! It was $3 to get in, plus free Chipotle for dinner. It was a win-win situation, really. So Cassi and I headed over in our Biola-approved one-piece swimsuits and checked it out. It was actually really fun! We spent almost the entire time we were there in the lazy river with ridiculous life jackets on, floating around and playing with other people we ran into. We ended up being really cold after sitting in there for so long, so we decided to brave the hot tub, even though when we had walked by it earlier there was standing room only and about 40 people crammed inside. But by this time in the night it had cleared out a little, so there was even room for us to sit together. That was very relaxing and I was just about ready to suggest we go home when Cass decided it was time to hit the water slides. By this time it had cooled down outside, and the water in the pools and slides felt a lot colder than it had earlier. However, just for her, I braved the cold and we went down the slides. It was fun, but actually kind of painful! You know how those things are kind of pieced together so that they can turn corners and things? So there are ridges where these pieces fit together. They don't feel so great on a bony spine as you're scraping along with impressive speed. Nonetheless, I'm glad she forced me to go. We grabbed our towels and jumped into her car, turning on the seat heaters for the first time. Our friend Daniel's friends accidentally left without him, so he caught a ride with us. As soon as we got back to our apartment, I jumped in the shower to warm up, grabbed my things (yes, another weekend of "grabbing my things") and headed to Hope, where I picked up Joey and Brittany. The three of us drove through Del Taco (Joey's treat), and took the quick drive over to Rancho Cucamunga for the SOS Debrief Retreat at the Perez household.

We spent the night and first three hours of the morning playing "live-action" or "cut-throat" Mafia - an intense game of murders and townspeople wandering and sneaking throughout a pitch-black house. It was scary! And really fun. I got to be the Mafia for two games in a row, so I got to "kill" a few people and pathetically try to defend myself in discussion whenever the finger got pointed in my direction. It was all very thrilling and definitely entertaining. Much better than the original version, where you sit around in a circle. Anyway, after playing until 3:30am, Matt (our stand-in Dad) finally put his foot down and told us we had to go to bed. So we took turns brushing our teeth (the 30 of us) and so on, and found ourselves places to sleep - girls upstairs and in a 5th wheel in the driveway, and boys downstairs. I was part of the 5th wheel crew, so I headed outside and tried to help arrange us to fit the best we could. We finally got settled in time for the boys to begin playing pranks on us, somehow managing to legitimately freak us out even though in the back of our heads we knew it was them. Needless to say, we didn't get much sleep that night, but it was definitely a fun one!

We woke up way too early the next morning for breakfast, stumbling around the house wondering why we stayed up so late. More people began to arrive (those who didn't spend the night), and eventually we headed to a park to do some journaling and reflection. It was a good time to have set aside, because I probably wouldn't have done it without that and it was needed. Then we had some time with our prayer partners, which turned out to be such a huge blessing for me. My partner, Katie, is a sophomore girl who has been through a lot of really difficult stuff in her life, and the change I've gotten to see in her just over the past month is remarkable. God is doing some really amazing work on her heart, and getting to be a part of seeing that take place has been such a learning experience for me and a total blessing. So, needless to say, that time was good, too. We headed back to the house (making a stop at Starbucks "on the way" for Miss Brittany), and half started up a latino dance party (we were at the Perez's after all) while the other half jumped in the pool. After as much stalling as I could stand, I finally gathered my stuff up and sadly left the party early.

I got back into my car and headed towards Knotts Berry Farm to meet up with the Open Door Fellowship youth group. After frustrating LA traffic, I finally arrived and met up with Jason Ellis to get my ticket. It took us awhile to connect back up with the group (who had just gone on the rapids water ride and were relatively soaked), but we finally found them and headed for the classic wooden rollercoaster - the Ghost Rider. I think it's actually the oldest wooden one in the country! It was crazy. That's just the best word for it. It was painful and jarring and somehow thrilling and fun at the same time. During the month of October, Knotts closes during the late afternoon and then re-opens at night as "Knotts Scary Farm". Apparently it's pretty scary - they go all out with decorating the park and seasonally hire people to be monsters... doesn't really sound like my cup of tea! But my point in mentioning it is that during this festivity, they put the Ghost Rider rollercoaster train on the tracks backwards. I can't imagine doing that mess of a ride without even seeing where I was going!

After going on one more ride and doing a little line dancing, the youth group left to head up towards Azusa Pacific University, where they were staying the night. Chad and I stayed to go on one more ride, since I hadn't been there for very long. We chose a good one! I can't remember what it's called off the top of my head, but it's the kind where your feet dangle. I love those kind!! So that was fun, I'm glad we stayed a little bit longer. Then we dropped my car off at my apartment and also headed our way up to Azusa. I'm sure we ate dinner at some point, but I don't remember! I think we grabbed something at my place. Anyway, we got up there just in time to go outside and do some worship with the kids (Michael played with them, that was cool). Then Chad and Caleb got the chance to speak to them about what they had wished they were told or emphasized in high school. It was really cool to get to see them sit there together sharing wisdom with kids who have watched them grow up in the youth group before them. We must be growing up or something.

After the guys shared we sang some more worship, and at that point I'm surprised any of those kids were still awake - they had driven straight through the night before! They all headed up to the gym to finally sleep, and Chad, Caleb, Kali & I headed to their apartment. We hung out and chatted for a bit while Caleb wrestled with my air mattress, and eventually Chad headed downstairs to the couch and I settled in upstairs on a very comfortably inflated mattress. The boys woke up really early - I'm not even sure when because I didn't fully wake up while they were banging around making coffee and stuff right next to my head - and picked up Jason & David Pinkerton to get donuts and stuff for breakfast. Kali and I got up a little while later and met them at APU. Then we jumped in the group picture and waved the kids off as they climbed on the bus to hit the beach for the morning before heading home. Then, after realizing that Kali & I had locked her keys in her car along with our purses, we walked over to the swapmeet (swapmeat? I don't know what it is... flea market? Is that the same thing?) that's at Citrus College every Sunday morning. It was so fun!! I love those things. They remind me of my grandma. We used to go to those with her all the time; she was so fun. So we perused the entire parking lot full of odds and ends (it's a good thing I didn't have my wallet!) and ended at Caleb & Kali's regular taco stand where we got some pretty incredible authentic Mexican tacos. They were delicious, even at 10 in the morning! On our way back to the cars we stopped by Caleb's friend Aaron's apartment and hung out there for a few minutes. A few guys Caleb used to run with on the APU track team live there together, really nice guys. Eventually we all crammed ourselves into Chad's truck and went back to the Lynch's apartment. They boys hopped on some of Caleb's sweet bikes and rode back to get Kali's car with the spare key. Kali and I just relaxed and watched Friends together. I have so much fun with her, even if we're doing nothing! The boys got back, we made a uniquely great lunch (corn, cheese, rice, sour cream and hot sauce), kicked back for awhile discussing good books and enjoying friendship. Finally it came time for Chad and I to head back to La Mirada, so we gathered our things together and said farewell. It was so great spending time with people we really truly enjoy. Caleb & Kali are the kind of people we just "click" with. I really hope we can spend more time with them this year.

Sunday was Danny Sanchez's birthday, so Chad dropped me off at the YCRD (yellow cottage red door) where they were having a little shin-dig for him. Awhile later Chad came and hung out, which was really cool for me to have him be there and have it be so normal for him to be integrated into my friends. Anyway, we all hung out there for a few hours celebrating Danny and just chatting it up. Then Chad dropped me off at my apartment and I finally got to go to bed after an action-packed weekend. And now I think that's what I'm going to do - go to bed. It was jacuuuuzzi Tuuuuesday tonight; we're going to make that a weekly thing. I think it's the only consistent time during the week that all 9 of us girls and the 3 boys from the house are all available to be together, even if it's only for an hour. And Jared Gibo drove up to come tonight, too! Second week in a row. Maybe he'll make it a weekly thing, too. That would be fun :). I have such wonderful friends! I am so so thankful for them!!!

Goodnight,
Erica

Celebrating Good People.

Well, I already forgot that I had created this. I was looking at some friends' blogs about their travels and lives, and remembered that I had one, too. I think for now I'm going to use it mostly as an update spot, and a place to share some photos.

So, I'm going to start out by posting about my adventures over Labor Day weekend. It was pretty packed - I went to an Angels game, did some work for a church, drove down to Carlsbad for Amy Lynch's sweet birthday dinner, and then up to the Vidlock's house on the Delta to celebrate Whitney's birthday. Lots of fun things with great friends.

Friday night was the Angels game for Biola's new students and their orientation leaders. I honestly can't even tell you who won, because I was so preoccupied chatting with people I didn't know very well yet, and having a great time being surrounded by Biola students. I learned a lot about some of my students, and some of them got to learn a little bit about me. Somehow in the midst of a cheering crowd and cracking bats, I had a deep conversation with a good friend about feeling judged while trying to serve people in love. Long story short, it was a great night. It always turns out to be my favorite SOS (Student Orientation Services) event.

This is my SOS group eating dinner with me :).


Angel Stadium!

Saturday morning was our designated "SOS Serve Day". We got up early and lead some worship in Calvary Chapel before splitting everyone into big groups to set out for some churches and organizations close by. I was put in charge of a group to go to Whittier Hills Baptist Church down the road. Many of our cars got lost, some stopped for donuts, but eventually we all got there and found ourselves slapping on name tags. We came prepared to get down and dirty with whatever we were told to do, but instead we were completely blessed by the pastors and staff members there, who began the day by giving us wisdom and praying over us. What an amazing community I get to live in during this chapter of my life. Anyway, we did some labor - washing windows, cleaning children's classrooms, scraping gum off the ground, picking weeds and turning up fresh soil. It was a good day, and I feel like we got a lot done for WHBC. At the end of the day Dr. Ken Burding, one of Biola's theology professors, spoke to us about getting involved in a church community. We were prayed over again, and everyone split to head back to campus. A small group of us went to Chipotle for lunch, and I was treated by my sweet friend David. We got back to Biola, I rushed home, grabbed my things, and headed to Carlsbad.

On my way down there I got stuck in some traffic, which was more frustrating than usual for some reason, but eventually got there. I got to hang out with some of my very favorite people for awhile, and then we headed down to this sweet little outdoor patio for Amy Lynch's 21st birthday dinner. Stacey and Amy started setting up all these really cute martini/margarita glasses with nametags on them, and I snapped away. It was a really wonderful night - great food, even better people. After dinner we headed inside to sit together enjoying cookies and milk, and taking turns affirming Amy. It was one of the coolest things I've gotten to be a part of. The things that everyone had to say about this girl were such a testament to who she is and what an amazing girl God has created her to be. She is so loved. I can't even begin to imagine what my life would be like without her. So really, that time of focus on Amy was a huge blessing to me - it made me realize how thankful I am for the people in my life, especially her.

After stalling for as long as we could, Chad and I had to say farewell to our good friends in Carlsbad and headed in the car for another drive. This time it was about 7 hours!! We headed up the 5 to Malibu, and swung by Pepperdine. My sweet little sister jumped on the bandwagon and we pushed along through the night until we finally got to the Vidlock's house on the Sacramento Delta around 6am. Boy were we tired!! We stumbled inside, followed the cute signs Whitney had put up inside, parted ways with Chad, and crashed on the floor. I think I could have slept hard anywhere that night! After not enough hours, we woke up and got ready to go out on the water. It was really fun to be around the Vidlocks again - I just love that family! And it felt really good to be in a boat out on the water. It's one of those places in life where I just feel "at home". So, we spent the morning cruising around - wakeboarding, surfing, skiing. It was wonderful. Then we headed back to the house for lunch and hung out there for awhile, just relaxing and enjoying being all together. We went back out on the water in a paddle-boat, a kayak, some tubes and some rafts. That was an adventure. Chad, Peter & I almost sank a paddle-boat somehow! It was hilarious. And quite challenging! But we made it back to the dock just in time. After that little mishap, we decided to load the boat back up and go out on the tubes... which definitely provided for some great entertainment! The last duo of the evening was Zac and Chad, each on their own tube, both doing ridiculous things on purpose. Chad fell off so many times of his own accord, the boat probably didn't even need to be moving! Anyway, after a long day and then a good dinner, we settled in to watch Minority Report (which is really kind of a disturbing movie if you don't keep your eyes open - or even if you do actually!). Some of us made it through; some of us didn't. We crashed once again, got up early the next morning, and headed out.

There are grapes in Whit's hand!

Self-explanatory: Zac's awesome.

Sunday Whitney, Chad, Brittany & I headed back down to Pepperdine to drop Britt off. We walked her across campus and got to see her dorm & meet one of her fun suitemates. Between being sore from the weekend and hiking across that ridiculous campus, we were pretty beat. But it was fun. I'm so glad Britt came up with us; it was so fun to have her around, and really cool to see how well she just fits in with all of my girls. Sometimes I would forget she was there, because I never felt like I had to be checking up on her or sitting by her all the time or anything like that. She was just part of the group as much as any of us. And that was awesome. I wish she lived a little closer, but at least she's in the same state as me now! All in all, it was a great weekend. Exhausting, and a little ridiculous, but great just the same.

So, there was the end of my August and beginning of my September! The next two weekends were almost as jam-packed, and I'm expecting the coming one to be as well, so I'll have to get going on writing about them before I get lost. For now, I'm going to flip a few pages in my planner and finish up what I have to get done by tomorrow.

It's really great to have good people in your life. And how blessed are we when we get to celebrate them?? I sure was this Labor Day weekend!

--Erica.