Hello! So today’s been rad! The morning started out with a nice, long, community shower! Yay us! We really learned to embrace the stank of an entire week with each other and no showers accessible when convenient. We all got comfortable on an entirely different level this week, what an experience. Anyways, aside from that, we were able to sleep in a little bit and enjoy a lovely, hot, pancake breakfast from IHOP and a decent amount of coffee. That’s always a good thing. Death before decaf. After our delicious breakfast, we all got back into the vans and were on our way to the Museum of Tolerance. As we approached, I don’t think most of us expected the ways in which we were going to be affected by the things we saw. Our guide for the day, Walter, was…intense to say the least. At first, we were a little intimidated, but we came to quickly realize that he has a passion for students to understand the brokenness, the evil, and the disparity that took place during the Holocaust. We went through a series of rooms and watched different films that showed in depth, the horror of what took place. As we continued to move throughout the museum, listening and taking in all that we were witnessing, there was a sense of heaviness and heartbreak throughout the entire class. Nothing is more devastating than seeing innocent people die at the hands of evil. One thing that really struck us was that during the time of Hitler’s reign, the churches throughout the world failed to do anything to help the Jews. It was eye opening for us, and ignited in us a fire and a passion to speak up for what is right, and to do so in the name of Jesus Christ. Our time at the Museum of Tolerance reminded us that the world is in desperate need of a lot of Jesus, and it’s up to us and this generation to edify and bring the church back to what it should be.
After we left the museum, we drove to an authentic Indian food restaurant to get our grub on. After 3 hours of heaviness, we needed some comfort food. I think every single one of us went back for seconds. The food was the BOMB.com. When our tummies were full and we were all sporting food babies, it was time to head to our last location for the trip, the UCLA Westwood shopping center. As heard from most of the students, this location was one of the hardest places to be at. College students are a tough crowd. It was a more difficult night, but I think over all we learned that a lot of faith conversations and reaching out to others is just listening to them and trying to understand where they’re at and meeting them there, and in turn, loving them there. Tonight was different, but it was a lesson to us all. As we were all exhausted and tired from the long week of extroversion, it reminded us that no matter what and no matter where we are, the love of Jesus is something that needs to be present at all times. People want to be heard, they want someone to listen, and they want to be accepted. We saw that God gives the strength to step out in faith and strike up conversation and gives us the ability to listen even if we don’t agree; there is always some common ground and understanding to be found. This week was exhausting, but it was incredibly rewarding. The things that stuck out the most were the things that people we interacted with taught us as opposed to anything we could have ever taught them. God works in the craziest of ways, and He is fully capable of the salvation of even the least likely. How blessed are we that He chooses us, who are so unworthy, to be vessels to plant the seed so that in His time, He can grow it, all we have to do is love the way Christ loves and to see people the way He sees them. It’s been an incredible week and now it’s time to prepare for a long 5-hour car ride home with a van full of people who are exhausted, and irritated with each other, yay! Pray for us parents, we’re ready for sleep and alone time!
Cassie & Simone
L.A. 2017 – Friday from Joshua Wilderness Institute on Vimeo.