Life In...

So, last night, our Upper Room club had our Christmas party.  It was a lot of fun and I had a lot of good desserts.  After the party, most of us ended up hanging out till about 4:30 am.  Two of my friends and I decided  a while ago that we wanted to watch the sunrise sometime.  We decided that tonight was the night.  So, Danielle, Chelsea, and I went and grabbed a couple blankets and warm clothing.  When I left my appartment, I forgot my sweatshirt on my night stand but decided that I would be fine.  We went to a place called Mount Soledad which is a small hill that over looks all of La Jolla.  It is very windy and cold up on this hill since we only brought two blankets (so I wasn't very covered) and I was in a t-shirt and jeans.  After about half an hour, it started to rain.  It was at this point we realized how unprepared we were.  We covered ourselves in the blanket and tried to stay warm.  The rain stopped after about thirty minutes but the clouds were still thick.  This was a problem, because all we could see were clouds to the east (where the sun was supposed to rise).  We decided to stick it out and see what would happen.  We started seeing sunlight, but the clouds still covered the sun.  We waited till about 7:30 when it started to really pour.  It ended up being a very cold, wet, night with no sunrise, but it was one of the most fun and memorable nights of my college year.  It was a lot of good laughs and conversation.  I will never forget it.

The second meeting went extremely well.  Only about 35, 40 people showed up, but that is to be expected considering finals are next week.  I spoke about worrying/trusting.  It was really nice, because the way we worked it, is that I only spoke for about ten minutes then broke into small groups to talk about the bible passages and just go deep with each other.  The worship through song was again really good.  I am absolutely loving Upper Room!!  It is amazing to see God work through all of this.

Our first upper room club meeting was awesome.  It went really well.  I MC'd and my friend Ben Wisan spoke for about ten minutes about what our club stands for.  We then broke up into small groups and had discussion times on verses that talked about what we are about.  It was awesome, and people were really connecting.  I cant wait to see what happens with the club.  God does amazing things.

So I went home for thanksgiving.  My brother and I took the 6 am train from San Diego to San Luis Obispo.  I stayed up all night so that way i would just sleep on the train.  It actually worked surprisingly well. My brother and I boarded the train, played some games on my mac for about half an hour and then I fell asleep for the remaining five and a half hours.  I woke up, and took the bus for the remaining two hours.  It was a great couple days.  My sister-in-law had to work on thanksgiving day, so on thanksgiving day we had filet minion and had thanksgiving dinner on Friday.  It was a really good week food wise.  I saw my friends from high school and it was a lot of fun.  We all got together and shared about what God has been doing in our lives.  It was hard to go back home.  Great week off.

Some of usleaders who were part of an organization called Campus Crusade forChrist which is a club on my UCSD campus, decided to start a club this year. This club is focusing on building a strong community and encouragingpeople to pursue what they are passionate about.  If there is a strong andloving community, then everything else will fall into place.  People willwant to reach out to others, and others will be drawn in.  No one will beforced to do anything that they don't want to do.  The club is calledupper room because in Acts 1:13-14 it says "13When they arrived, they wentupstairs to the room where they were staying. Those present were Peter, John,James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son ofAlphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. 14They all joinedtogether constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother ofJesus, and with his brothers."   I am super stoked for thisclub.  We have not had our first meeting yet, but it is going to be great. We are expecting around seventy people to show up.  We will see whathappens. 

Sometimes in college I feel completely overwhelmed with the problems in the world.  Whether it be history, environment, psychology, or social classes it seems impossible to grasp the damage we have done to each other, and our planet.  And, it seems we are being educated in hopes of improving some of these situations.  As we are known for speaking our minds and refusing to conform to society, UCSC students are making a strong stand against the Long Range Development Plan.  The UCSC campus is already huge, but there is a lot of beautiful, untouched property above our campus that the regents are dying to develop.  Us tree-huggers are quite opposed to that idea.  First of all, the majority of our student body enjoys attending one of the smaller UC's so the ideas of building colleges 11, 12, and 13 is absolutely horrifying.  Plus, the property in upper-campus is a very valuable space to runners, bikers, walkers, nature-lovers, as well as a very wonderful resource for environmental and botanical studies.  Not to mention our connection to the meadows for drum circles and a few of our favorite trees; tree nine and the wishing tree.  We want to stay UCSC, not turn into UCLA.  We like to be surrounded by trees, not buildings.  In an effort to show this, there have been students camped up in a few of the redwoods.  Three or four were harnessed in, wearing masks, and refusing to come down.  Of course the police had to get involved and things did get a little violent last week, but that has calmed down.  Students are still camped out and hanging out around the trees at Science Hill at all times.  I admire their commitment and devotion to the cause.  Sometimes I fear how small our voices are as college students or young adults.  But, I am encouraged by how many of my peers are willing to stand up and speak out for our environment.  I hope that population grows and expands so that our generation can have a positive impact on our planet during our time here.

I have found a new favorite hang out spot in Santa Cruz.  Seabright is a part of Santa Cruz that has its own chill, beach-side feel to it and has quite a bit to offer.  I never really ventured over there last year because it is a bit further from campus than I was willing to wander as freshman.  But, a lot of my friends live in the neighborhood this year and I keep finding myself really enjoying times in the Seabright area.  The rock climbing gym is there, the best bread store in town is there, and the famous Seabright brewery.  Friday nights are in my opinion the most fun at the brewery.  There is a live band every week and a rather eclectic crowd filling the dance floor.  Most of the college students sit outside on the patio enjoying a variety of delicious beers brewed locally.  You don't have to be 21 do get in so there are always young kids running around the dance floor, little girls dancing with their dads.  Tonight we saw a whole family grooving to the band and dancing.  Then, there are the older couples who are just an endless source of live entertainment.  It is always so encouraging and wonderful for me to see older couples so excited about life and so in love with their partners and with their lives.  Often, some of the homeless dudes wander in to show their moves and groove to a few beats.  There are always a few complete lone rangers just dancing the night away and completely content with their state of mind and solitary state of being.  There are the regulars you see every friday, relief for the end of the week and excitement for the weekend written all over their faces.  There are the new-comers, sometimes awkwardly trying to find their place in such a diverse setting.  And lots of good beer!  Overall, the energy is very upbeat, positive, open, and loving.  I hope to spend many more hours dancing to live music at Seabright Brewery throughout the course of my time in Santa Cruz.