Friday, Day 6

One of my main tasks today was to round up helpers to stamp, stuff, and send a newsletter for The Lynch Family. one of our dear missionary-friends , who serve in Chile. Mike, Joshua, Felisha, and Isaac all helped make great progress on it. Other appointments took priority in each of our days, however, and we had to leave it about half-finished. It will have to wait until Monday.

I had an appointments with the Sheriff's office for a Livescan Fingerprint screening, for the Hospital Chaplain position. As I was waiting, I found interest in viewing photos of the past sheriffs of Monterey County, back to the late 1800s. I also saw one of the employees bring out a bag marked "EVIDENCE" to one of the waiting customers. It was interesting to watch the protocol of proof of ID, signatures, and the close scrutiny of handling the bag and its contents. What SURPRISED me about all of it is that this activity was handled in the full view within public lobby, where half a dozen of us were waiting for appointments.
It reminded me of that old question, "If your life were examined, would there be enough evidence to convict you as a dedicated follower of Jesus Christ?"

This afternoon we attended part of the Alisal High Trojan Pride Event. This positive event was the third annual event which invites the community to come and celebrate their "pride" with a car show, live music and dance, food, etc. It was fun to watch and although I felt at home, I still saw the need in my own life to intentionally make more friends with my immediate community and neighbors. My biggest SURPRISE came when my mouth encountered the fire within a green chicken tamale.

This evening the Fam watched the movie Crash at home in our living room. This story of stories tell of the many occurrences and shades of stereotypes and racism that haunt our culture. Although the story itself was fictional, the real truth about my own prejudices came painfully clear over and over again. There were times that I wanted to shout at the actors, "You're not listening! You need to see the big picture!" And then I thought of my own tendency to talk first and listen later, or to only see life from my own limited perspective. The movie was also full of SURPRISE scenes, which kept us engaged, always wondering what was going to happen next.