The whirlwind has begun.

It's been a few days so there is a few updates. So I left off last Saturday.

Saturday night was awesome because I got to hang out with my great friend, Kelly Donelson, from Baylor. We both moved to LA around the same time. She is kickin' butt in the film world and she is very inspiring to all who are trying to make it in a tough or competitive field. I drove to Santa Monica and went out with her and one of her co-workers. Great people, great times. Sunday was such a blessing of a day as well. I had heard about a church in downtown LA where a few Phi Chi alumni attend. I obviously had to check it out at some point so I went this past Sunday. It was absolutely amazing. I met this great family who sat next to me. It was their first time also and we bonded over that. Thank you Deanne, Razeez, and little baby Bliss for being a genuine family after God's heart. I plan to make this my home church. The church is called Oasis Church and it is in a Filipino community of LA. The area is great and the church doors are wide open to anyone who wants to enter. They speak from the word and have let God move the worship how He may. I will keep you updated on the church and the great things going on there!

Monday was an all student leadership training day at APU from 8 am to about 8 pm. In the beginning the only thing going through my head was the fact that I have been a student leader for a while now so I thought the day would really drag. It did pick up though. It was a contemplative day for me. I am still getting acclimated to the APU culture and I learned a lot on training day. We went to workshops on reconciling with yourself and God and also ones on diversity and having tough conversations. All in all it was an informative day that got me thinking about a lot of things that i need to be thinking about. The silencing factor of moving to a new and uncomfortable place is a great thing. I was quiet and thoughtful for most of the day.

Tuesday and then today is where the whirlwind comes in. We had orientation for my program yesterday so I finally got to meet all the grad students I will be spending the next 2 years with. It was refreshing to meet so many smart people with similar interests. Work then turned a little chaotic. Obviously I am still learning how to become an effective manager and supervisor and these past couple days have been a huge test. I have a very talented and excited team of undergrads under me and with that brings a heavy dose of enthusiasm, opinions, and sometimes chaos. It is my job to run the whole ship and tonight I was able to sit and think about this year a little bit. I just started praying for God to give me strength to effectively use and organize this great talent before me and I was very blessed to hear from Him. I believe I've come up with an effective was or at least a spring board to tackle these all-university events we have for the year. Praise God for being good!

Well that is all until next time,

G