LA - Ready or Not Here I Come

...I cannot believe it, but I have given in and joined the blog force for the summer. Oh well, it will be an effective way to communicate to the many of you who have asked me to keep you updated on what is going on out in LA. For those of you who are still confused about what this summer holds for me -- watch this video...this seems to help people receive a glimpse of where I will be and a better understanding as to what the Dream Center is and the type of ministry that I will be involved in over the next 3 months. Here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MJLwgIVMUHI

As for the good stuff - 48 hours and counting. I fly out from Arkansas on Wednesday (May 28) at 2pm. I am really excited, a little nervous, and just ready to be there. I will feel better once I have everything packed; for those of you who know me well...I am a tad bit OCD when it comes to having things organized and orderly. I am learning you can only be so organized when packing for 3 months. Packing quickly becomes cramming. I really know very little about what I will be doing from day to day - I have the 29th to get acclimated and will begin my internship orientation on the 30th. As I have told many of you, about the only thing I know is that I will have a three hour block each week to do my laundry. I guess it's a good thing that my heart is exhilarated by "the unknown".

In the meantime, I am trusting and holding fast to a calling that the Spirit began to whisper to me back in December. I have been reading The Valley of Vision...(a collection of Puritan prayers--which you all need to order off of Amazon.com right now) and this prayer could not depict the state of my soul more beautifully nor better relay the calling that I received:

"Thou has knowledge of my soul's secret principles, and art aware of my desire to spread the gospel. Make me an almoner to give thy bounties to the indigent, comfort to the mentally ill, restoration to the sin-diseased, hope to the despairing, joy to the sorrowing, love to the prodigals. Blow away the ashes of unbelief by thy Spirit's breath and give me light, fire, and warmth of love. I need spiritual comforts that are gentle, peaceful, mild, refreshing, that will melt me into conscious lowliness before thee, that will make me feel rest in thee as my all. Fill the garden of my soul with the wind of love, that the scents of the Christian life may be wafted to others; then come and gather fruits to thy glory. So shall I fulfill the great end of my being - to glorify thee and be a blessing to men."

So here I go...continually praying those words.
As for you - just pray that someone actually picks me up from the airport on Wednesday.