Hollywood, In and Out, and Huntington Beach

After a long week of training, God blessed me with some time in LA. On Friday night, Four of us went to Hollywood. We had such a good time. It was great to just hang out with some of my new friends. First we had to ride public transportation. That is always fun. The train we rode was in the middle of the highway. Then we had to ride the metro. Once we got to Hollywood Blvd. I could not believe all the people that were there. Then I saw all the stars on the ground. That was so exciting. I could not believe all of the stars. Then we took the red carpet road to the Hollywood sign. It was far away but we still got to see. It was great. Then, I saw Mickey and Minnie Mouse. I was so excited. The girls were laughing at me because they were like you know you will have to pay for that picture. I said I would pay anything to take my picture with Mickey and Minnie.  IT was two dollars and worth every penny. I could not believe all the impersonators that were on the street. It was unreal. The Tom Cruise impersonator was the best. He really looked like Tom Cruise.  I had to do a double take. Then we went to the area where many stars put their hands and feet in the cement. It was really cool. I got to put my hand on Robert Pattison (Edward). That is probably the closest I will ever get. LOL!  We ate at a Mexican restaurant. It was very good. I am so glad that I got this amazing opportunity.

Saturday, was a relax day. Finally, after five crazy days we got one day to relax. Some of us went to the burger joint In and Out. It was YUMMY. You put 1000 island on your burger. Their fries are homemade. It was great.  Then I was on the hunt for a new suitcase as mine broke before I even left Tampa. It was stressful but I found one finally on Sunday. Then Saturday night, we had our closing ceremony. It was really powerful, as we all prayed for each team. It was great to be around all of these people and praying for God’s will. I was humbled to be there. Then we had a talent show. I could not believe all the talent that we had in our group. IT was really fun.

The first team left Saturday night at 9:45. Then another team left at 2:45 am and another team at 4:30. I went to all  the send offs. It was so sad to see everyone go but great to know that they are going to do God’s work. Then Sunday, two more teams left. We went to In and Out again. I loved it. We also went to wal-mart and did a little shopping. Then we went to Katie’s house. It was very nice. We had a good time. Her roommate Thea made us a delicious breakfast. Then we made sandwiches for dinner. I got to sleep on an air mattress. It was so comfortable. Her neighbor also came over and she was super sweet.  It was very nice to stay in an house instead of the dorm.

Monday morning, the Russian team left in the morning. We met them and said good-byes. It was hard because we got close to them since we did most of our training together. The Russia team is a young team but they have so much heart. I cannot wait to see what God does in Russia. Then we went to the Beach. We drove to Huntington Beach. It was gorgeous. The water was really, really cold. We only put our feet in. So I can say that I have been in the Pacific Ocean. Then we hung out for about two hours.  It sunny and there was a nice breeze. It was Perfect. God is so awesome.  They had a bunch of surfing camps out there, so we were watching all these young kids learning how to surf. It was great. Some of them were really good. Then we went to a little restaurant. It was called Blackboard Bistro. It had a school theme to it. IT was really good. Then we went to pick up a couple more things for our trip. We went to the THREE story Target.  It was great. Then we walked the Americana Mall. It was such a beautiful day out. I just loved it there. For dinner, we went to a Mexican restaurant and had a margarita. It was yummy. Then we finished packing and went to sleep. It is our last night in the United States.