A Day at the Beach

I visited Long Beach today. Sarah and I went to visit our LAUP sites today. Beautiful town. My heart beats faster and my fingers twitch with anticipation thinking about it. I think I might belong there. We went  to see the kids at Covenant Pres's after school program. A few of them remembered us. I carried little Kayla around the whole time. I didn't get tired of holding her. I wish she was my little girl. Or, that someday, I could have a daughter like that. I know I don't deserve that, but who really deserves a girl like Kayla. It was Pastor Adele's birthday today. All smiles, and nothing different for her. Up to our arms in kids, hugging, teaching, kissing bruises, and tying shoelaces. She said that us visiting was her birthday present. how wonderful for your existence to be somebody's birthday present. I'd never thought about that possibility. The kids kept talking about us being there two years ago. I told them that it was one year ago, but in a way, I felt like they were more correct. It had been longer than it had been. I missed this place. A lot. I can see all the kids from when we were here. They're the same, but different. They're older, in more ways than one. I saw lots of spiritual warfare while I was in Long Beach. I'm not normally the type to talk about these things, but I know what I saw. I guess I forgot about how in tuned with these things pastors Rob and Adele were. They were winning. These kids, the ones that stuck around, were being transformed. Victory is happening in Long Beach. It's  beautiful. Then we went to COA. We wanted to see old friends, and serve a meal to the homeless. The only old people that were there were Dixie, Cindy, and Scotty. No one else knew us. That's alright. Someone told Sarah and I that we couldn't sit at the table with the homeless people. He said that they didn't run this program just so that we could sit around and talk to homeless people, and that they needed to eat, not talk to us. What a silly thing for him to think! As if the only purpose of feeding the homeless was to give them food! I didn't have time to explain this to him, because Sarah and I had to go. You and I, Long Beach. We're not done here.I want to be here again someday...