A couple locals, and home

After two and a half weeks of not getting called, I have finally started flying again! Granted, who can complain about watching movies, laying out by the pool, and going to the zoo with my roomie, while getting paid at the same time? =) I even got to feed the giraffes!

I flew a couple of local trips (where there are no overnights) and then went home for my days off -- the first time I had a Sunday off in as long as I can remember!! So it was really nice to be able to go to church and see all of the beautiful old people, as we affectionately call them... =) Dad teaches an adult Sunday school class, where the average age is 80... so they are old people!! =) We didn't do too much that was "exciting," but it is nice to just be at home and be with Mom and Dad especially. My friend Maria is living with my family now, staying in my room, and I love to see her too! She is in California going to college and training for athletics - she's from Papua New Guinea. Wanbel stap!

I also got to see my Starbucks peeps, which was great. On my last day in Cali I went by to see Larry (who I mentioned a couple posts ago). He's the one who is a pastor and works at Starbucks. He was working in the morning, so I went right before he was done with his shift. It worked out perfectly, because he had time to sit down and have some coffee with me (actually, I had tea...). We had some great conversation... Basically, he gave me a much needed kick in the pants. He challenged me about my spiritual life, my walk with God, my passions, and what I am living for. I miss that kind of conversation. Yesterday I hung out with Amy, who I went to high school with in PNG. She lives in Tucson, so it's awesome to have a friend there! (I am writing this from San Luis Obispo, CA by the way! On an overnight here. Embassy Suites. AWESOME!) Amy and I were talking about living "outside of the bubble"... Really, this is the first time that I've lived completely on my own outside of the Christian bubble, as we call it. It has been difficult in that I haven't had people to get into those tough and challenging conversations with. I know I'm not perfect or even close to it by any means, but it is super easy to think that I'm doing alright when I compare my lifestyle to others'. And definitely not to say that the people I'm surrounded with are heathens!!! But I have been raised differently for sure, and as a result my morals and values are different. All that to say, I haven't been surrounded with the same spiritual encouragement that I've received in the past. So some the recent conversations I've had are what I've needed.

I went back to Arizona on Tuesday morning, bright and early, and got on the flight with no probs! It is a great blessing having a car now to be able to get back and forth from the airport, and not have to bother anyone to take me places. I was scheduled on Wednesday for another local - Tucson - LA - Sacramento - LA - Tucson... Didn't happen. More on that, and my trips so far this month in the next post!... I know I've been slack on this... Will try to catch up on what's been happening!