Yeah so my weeks seem to be getting busier and busier. The times I do have off all I want to do is just crash. Im in the process of trying to get better from a terrible sinus infection. It stinks to be away from home while being sick because I dont have the comfort of my own bed and good old Mom to take care of me.




This is a picture of the South Bay gathering service that Mosaic puts on in Hermosa beach on Saturday nights. There are only about 5 interns that consistently help out with this gathering, and I am one of them. This beach service is actually one of my favorites because it is a very laid back and more intimate service. Its been off the ground for about 5 weeks now and I think that Mosaic is going to stay in South Bay for a while. They were just going to be doing a trial for 6 weeks, but it has grown much bigger and turned out better than expected. So South Bay will be having a Mosaic!


Last Saturday I got a chance to go through this event called Yelo by Mosaic. It was an all day class that goes through strengths finder's and Myer's Briggs personality typology. It really transformed my life! There are 34 different strengths and it ranks them from 1 to 34, greatest to least. However it only gives you the top 5 because they only want you to focus on your strengths and not your weaknesses. Focus on what you are good at, not what you need to improve on the most. My top 5 strengths are input, adaptability, developer, positivity, and belief. There are really long descriptions on them, but the course goes through all of your strengths and shows you what they actually look like and how it works well within a group. Its so awesome! It actually makes you see exactly how you naturally function in any sort of situations. Its so incredible to see what comes natural is actually a strength, but now I can recognize it and build upon that, especially within ministry. I then took my Myers Briggs typology which is ENFP. Much harder to explain unless you know what that is.

So Monday the interns were invited to Erwin's house for a lunch and a Q and A session. We were so extremely lucky to have the opportunity for that because interns on the past never got that and not many people at the church even get that opportunity! I tell you what, he is just the most incredible man ever. The way he can read people is like a 6th sense and almost scary! He always knows how to read the question behind the question and just how to speak to your soul. He gave some GREAT advice for all of us when we come back home in three weeks. It's not all about bringing Mosaic back to wherever we are from, but about learning how to serve and love better than anyone else in the community around us. It's been disheartening in some ways to think about going back home. I can't really express the incredible lessons that I have learned here and there is no way to share it with anyone unless they live it out here for themselves. Im excited to be completely new in my surroundings and change everything in the way I live back home, but I am going to be so sad to leave in 3 weeks. Never would I have thought I could have learned this much from Mosaic. I feel like i have finally found the movement of God that is the beat to my own heart and I have to leave it soon. Im sure i'll be back when I graduate though. I want to be apart of this incredible movement of God out here in Hollywood.



It's crazy to say but my heart needs Hollywood. We always think its the other way around...Hollywood needs you because of Jesus. But I need Hollywood. I need it because of who I am becoming and who God made me to be. My heart is living in passion. It's something I get to live out and don't ever want to be away from that.

Scientology Visit

So I just got back today from a tour of the Scientology Church of Los Angeles off of Sunset Blvd. This center was HUGE. We had a couple of staff members take us there to learn more about the sociology and culture of LA. If you want to learn about that, then Scientology cannot be left out of the equation.

This was a mind blowing experience. Definitely not like I thought they would have been, but then again it was. The guy that took us on a tour was named Tim. Tim was a very nice guy, clean cut, and very approachable. Upon entering the center you enter through this big foyer and bookstore FILLED with books, DVD's, and CD's of Ron Hubbard's writings and such. You have absolutely NO idea how much this man has written. He is the creator and founder of Scientology.

At its essence Scientology means "knowing about the word". It is very philosophical and humanitarian based. We watched a 45 minute video interview with Ron Hubbard and it is apparently the ONLY interview from him ever. He died a few years ago in case you didn't know. The video went through all aspects of their belief system: afterlife (apparently Ron can prove there is an afterlife but he wouldn't say in the interview), ethics, the Divne, medicine, the spirit realm...and so on. After the video we has a Q and A that lasted about an hour and a half because we all had so many questions.




There is so much more to Scientology than I could have ever thought. It is too much to get into, but if you are really interested to just know more you can google the name Scientology and check them out on their main website. There are a lot of things that conflict with Christianity, yet also there are many things to agree upon. This would kind of shake me while watching the video when Ron would spit out things I believe as a Christ-follower, not a self-help human follower. The best part of this experience was after the tour/Q and A was over. Our group went out to lunch and had a debrief of what we had just taken in. We critiqued what they had to say and how they approached questions. We then compared this too our own faith. This is what blew my mind. Christians are not much different than the Scientologists. Not even in how we share our faith. They are so easily able to take these deep theological questions and make them so simple and then take the answer in the direction they wanted them to go and never fully just giving an answer. Yet, we do the same when asked hard or even easy questions about our own beliefs and faith do we not? It was scary to turn the tables on ourselves and see the aspects we relate to Scientologists on. In their eyes, they can co-exists with any faith and that is what they call themselves a denominational religion. Its all about bettering yourself to help others and create the best in whatever you hold to be the highest calling in your life. They have every kind of religion that is apart of their faith. They are very relevant to LA and KNOW how to appeal to their audience and do a GREAT job at it. That is why they are so successful. We thought the Church in general could actually learn a lot from them because they are great at community and outreach.

I am just so enthralled with my experience today. Makes me reflect and question my faith that much more. It makes me more confident to stand firm in my belief and how to relate to others of Scientology even better. I want to be approachable and loving and at least understand where others are coming from in a setting of different faiths. It makes me question my motives, life goals and passions, and what makes a Christian stand out and more true than something else. Lots of thinking about this and a great challenge in my faith. I hope this may even do the same for you. And hey, if you have any questions about them please ask me! I love talking about this stuff and I know so much more about it now.

Week 4

I think this is week 4. I have begun to lose track of the days and time, which is awesome. This week I got to go to Malibu beach for a day and then that night Mosaic had a baptism service in the ocean. Some great relaxation and watching some of the boys surf. It was incredible! The baptism was right at sunset on an extremely beautiful beach with awesome fellowship. There were still plenty of local people from the beach earlier on in the day so we had random people taking part in this amazing act of obedience from many Christ followers. Two of our interns got baptized, Jay and Alex.







This past Sunday Jay, Adam, and I brought back the high school gathering at Mosaic Inland. They quit having it on Sunday’s for many reasons. Inland is struggling very much with reaching the people they want to. It wasn’t as successful as I had hoped for. It was only a few people that came and we split up into guys and girls small groups. My girls don’t really have the best attitude about being there and are really disengaged to be quite honest. It has been discouraging, yet a challenge is what I came here for. We are in the process of doing many different things and seeing what works and what doesn’t with the youth. I just have to remember that it takes a while to change things and it really is the small things that really make a difference.





So on Thursdays we get to go to improv classes for free with the church. Its so much fun! 2 hours of goofing off and trying to learn how to be good at improv. Im terrible at it, but so much fun. It is a wonderful release, stress reliever, and fun experience after a long week.



My small group leader/mentor came and visited me last weekend. I was so blessed to have her come and just pour out love on me. It felt so so great to have someone that just knows my heart, inside and out. She spoke so much encouragement and Jesus to my heart. It was really hard for me though when she left. I felt like I had a little piece of home for a weekend and its just hard to let go. I have had a really rough week missing home. It hasn’t really hit me until this week about my parents moving to Charleston and not having the same home anymore. I feel like so much of my life is moving on to completely new chapters and I have to leave behind a lot, in the best way for me though. I just miss what I had I guess you could say. I know that only bigger and better things are in store for me.





Oh yeah, I found a Chick-Fil-A!!! I had to take Sarah to the Orange Country airport on Sunday and we saw it off the exit and HAD to pull off to get one! I miss the chicken sandwich so so much. Well, we pull off aaaannnddd…its closed on Sundays! We totally forgot. It was a HUGE bummer. Its about the ONLY Chick-Fil-A in Cali. Oh well, just excited to see something from home here.



I cannot even begin to really explain all that I am continuing to learn everyday here. I meet the most fascinating and intriguing people every single day. I get to hear everyone’s stories. The age old view of what a Christian is has been completely changed. I LOVE meeting people that break that mold and image. Its not about what you look like or wear. A Christian is everyone. I really love being around this. These people are just so real and authentic with their faith. Servants, people who love, people who lead, people who have real passion. This church is attractive I guess you could say.

Oh yeah, happy fourth of July!!