Update for the past 4 days!

So the roads turned out to not be bad at ALL! haha "Carmageddon" showed up to be nothing. Which was awesome. The meeting on Sat. went well. We got infomed on some volunteer opportunities, and more about "Project Hope". Saturday afternoon we walked about 6 miles. Amber had a fun idea to go to the Fashion District. All the shops are spread out across 100 blocks. SO MANY SHOPS! Many of the shops have the same thing, so if you get something you can't return it if there is a better price right across the street. It was crazy but cool to experience.

Sunday morning Pastor Tommy Barnett preached about "Everyone needing their world to be rocked". He went on to talk about having BIG encounter's with God. There are several things that can lead to it. Two that Tommy mentioned were: pain,and more knowledge. I have seen both of those in my own life where God used pain to draw me closer to Him and open up my eyes to who He truly is. As well as learning about the world, people, and God caused me to change into the person I am today, encountering God at a deeper place. He transforms our thoughts and renews our minds to what HIS will is. Praise Him! Sunday night Amber and I were invited to Newport Church, a branch off of Hillsong Church into California! The message was PERFECT, just what I was needing. Pastor Matthew, who went to Hillsong Leadership College, gave words of encouragement and is totally led by the Holy Spirit! This message was on the calling of God on your life. One of the points that really struck me was "Don't let your current perspective make you miss out on the current reality." That is a life quote I will be using! Another one was "Don't let what you have keep you from what God has for you."...
Just think about those statements for a second before you keep reading...

Yesterday we walked to the Dream Center, and it was sooo nice! It gave Amber and I a great start to our day. We ended up doing our laundry and hanging out for the rest of the day. I met a little friend there, his name was Timothy. He is going into 3rd grade, and we had a great conversation about the Lord.

Today was a great day, we got updated on a few things. Got connected with A21 Campaign, thanks to Newport Church! We had to pay a parking ticket we got one of the first few days we were here, and suprisingly the people we came in contact with to pay it were very nice! Thank the Lord! Later in the afternoon we went with "Under the Bridge" and were blessed. One woman named Liz, became my friend. She goes to the Dream Center and I was able to pray for her. She came up about 20 min. later, after she had gone to eat, and asked if she could pray for the team. I was so blessed by her prayer! She totally encouraged me to keep running the race and keep doing God's will!

I was able to talk to my best friend, Kaitlynn. She is doing the Beach Project for the summer, being a missionary at Myrtle Beach. God is transforming her life, and it was so good to hear from her! She shared some awesome insights happening in her life. She shared something with me one of her friends had shared with her. It opened my eyes so much, being where I am in L.A. Being surrounded by those who are living this statement. She said:

"What is the one thing people will fight for? LIFE.

People will fight to stay alive. Whether they know it or not, it is fighting to be in the presence of God. God is life." -Meredith Honeycutt

That reminds me of John 10:10. Definately a cool way to think about life.

Kaitlynn said (which I liked):
"We need an eternity with God. We need this. To see all parts of Him. He is an infinite God, that we cannot understand. We will be in His whole presence but He is so vast that it will take eternity."

Please pray for:
-My best friend, Hope. Pray for peace, comfort, and healing.
-continued protection for Amber and I.
-To love the Lord with all our hearts, minds, soul's and strength's!
-and love others with God's love!
-Those we come in contact with daily. Tomorrow we are serving "Under the Bridge" all day!

Thank you!!! If you have anything we can be praying for, post it or email it to me!

Love you all dearly,
Elizabeth