HERE WE GO!!!

And off we go! After a great, rainy gathering at the church this morning, we piled in to the cars and made our way to Bellingham to catch our flights to San Diego (with a -2 minute layover in Seattle! AHH!) We arrived early in the evening in San Diego and got ourselves settled in.

Parking lot send-off!

Off we go!

What a good looking team!

I think some of the guys felt slightly emasculated by our Seattle-San Diego plane....

This first night is always a little hard for me, I think partly because I wrestle with the places we stay in San Diego (super fancy), knowing that the people we will be serving and meeting as soon as tomorrow live in conditions that are far far removed from where we are staying. In the end, I opt for "fancy", partly as a way of providing a stepping stone for the teens who are leaving their comfortable homes, family lives, etc. Tomorrow's contrast can be quite surprising, so this, so far, seems to be a good way for the kids to gel away from home before getting to Mexico.

The funny thing about this beautiful hotel we are staying at tonight is that it provides a great contrast to our eventual border crossing. It also provided a teachable moment when there was a bit of grumbling about sharing beds. The simple reminder that the task ahead of us is to build a home for a family of 5 who has been sleeping in various places, including their van, was a bit of a "Oh.....right...oops" moment. To have the reality of how fortunate we are start settling this early into the trip is amazing.

Some of DA BOYZ.

Late evening pool frisbee!

Anyway, Im happy to report that the team is getting along really well. Most of the kids spent an hour this evening in the pool playing ultimate frisbee, with the rest of us hanging out pool side under a beautiful orange sky.

Tomorrow, off we go to Mexico! LOTS and lots of love.

Ideas for prayer: team unity, health, safety, smooth border crossing, dinner with the family.