it's august already! what happened to july?

 'it has been quite a summer at lake yosemite . . . .'  what an appropriate rewording from public radio!  it's august already, and i haven't done a blog since sometime in july.  i have great excuses!  honest...even better than 'my dog ate my homework' -- i have no dog, so that wouldn't work anyway!  i could say my computer was acting up, but that wouldn't be honest either.

the fact is, i returned hitting the pavement running; a colonoscopy one week (dare i say, "all clear!"), and two memorial services the next...every time i thought about my blog ... i just kept right on thinking!co

so today, now that i've caught you up on the last two weeks, i'll share about san diego and my western jurisdictional conference trip.  on my way south, i stopped at mission san juan capistrono, where the sparrows come to nest each year in march.  it was established in 1776 (ring a bell?) and the chapel was completed in 1782 and is still in use today.  the mission church was completed and then experienced demolition due to the earthquake during worship in 1812, and was never rebuilt; the picture shows a remaining wall with its bells that were also used to signal many events in the community, including deaths; there were different ring-tones for men and women.
 

part of my interest in attending the conference was to attend a tour and learn about the federal border that has been constructed between the united states and mexico.  the picture to the left shows the two walls that separate our countries, and the families, friends, and workers who are a part of our economic livelihood.  we could not possibly function without our sisters and brothers to the south.  and yet, we have been unable to figure out a way for our countries to figure out how to solve this crisis. 

originally, our border was estimated on a map (a map-line, if you will).  a physical set of carin's appeared periodically throughout this area that included texas, arizona and california.  a barbed wire 'fence' came next, whe on this site near the ocean (next picture), first lady patricia nixon and the president's wife of mexico met and exchanged hope for our countries to be able to cooperate.  that experience was followed by a wall constructed from vietnam era metal cargo walls being constructed, followed by a secondary wall with a road constructed for the border patrol.  the area pictured here is, or what is left of 'friendship park', where families could meet who were divided by the wall, for conversation and fellowship.  recently, this park was re-designed to be open only on occasion, and a thick mesh-like wall constructed so that sharing became constricted.

in order to visit this location of the federally patrolled land, one must enter a california state park, with park hours severely cut; this park, oddly enough, is a bird sanctuary.  ironic, no?  the final portion of the walls narrows to a single wall and into the water.

some statistics from the fiscal year 2011.  932,456 passengers and pedestrians come through san diego's border in a year; by car, it can take up to four hours to pass through; six hours if you are traveling on foot.  imagine that kind of daily commute, as most of those crossing the border are workers; some are able to afford a pass-card, allowing them entry in about 30 minutes.  very few workers can afford to live in the united states, and therefore return to their family home each workday.  there are patrols by land, air, water, horse and canine, covering 1,900 miles of border with mexico, and 95,000 miles of shore; illegal drugs and currency are at the heart of the border patrol.  ]

on the other side of the wall, we were met by members of the methodist church in mexico, who sang to us; we prayed together and heard some of their stories.  there is a community that is attached to this portion of the border on the mexico side; colorful houses, a more economically affluent community, with laughter and adults and children swimming in the ocean and enjoying themselves.  the united states side was desolate; no one one the beach except pelicans.



we celebrated the retirement of bishop mary ann swenson, having served for 20 years in the united methodist church.  she will retire to the hollywood united methodist church (humc), pictured here to be the resident bishop.

i decided i could travel home via hollywood!  what an experience.  humc is a reconciling church, and has a mission with its neighbors, the homeless, and hiv/aids.  on any given day you will see a variety of people -- some who are "recognizably famous" like pauley perrette who plays "abby" on ncis, and others who are famous in other ways, because of their faithful service to their community and the world.

this particular sunday, the church was continuing its 'crossflix summer sermon series, with a talk-back session with the filmmakers; pretty cool!  this sermon focused on the film, "hugo", with the talk-back being led by the visual effects supervisor ben grossman (who won the academy award, and is a member of this faith community).  among other things, i was reminded this day that 'at any given moment, we have the ability to say "this is not how the story is going to end".'  pretty cool, no?  this was a reminder for me that our own easter story does not end on good friday!

so i put the top down on my cabrio, having experienced disneyland, knotts berry farm, san diego and the borders of california and mexico, hollywood, the inland and the coast, settling on solvang for my final night away from home.

some childhood memories on this trip.  when i first went to disneyland, they still had individual costs per ride; the famous 'e ticket' got you on the matterhorn!  knotts berry farm was (and continues to be) famous for its chicken dinner!

solvang was an early stop with our family to enjoy a culture that was new to us; the danish community is thriving, even with a major highway dividing its borders. 

walking continued to be part of my daily routine, with my highest steps calculated at over 34,000 in one day!  it's a good thing i have been able to meet my goals for the last two quarters; i do believe i have earned a new pair of walking shoes!

would anyone else care to share about an exciting highlight of their summer?  chances are, my summer will settle down from here on out; and it's a good thing!  the fall is almost here...the days are hot, making it tougher to rush.  so, take some time for reflection, crack open that book you've been dying to read, and keep hydrated.  and, above all, stay open to the opportunity for the spirit to say, "go"!