Friday, January 3, 2014

Pasadena update
Hello family and friends of the Pasadena group!

 Yesterday was our “free day” between working on floats and doing the Skid Row adventure.  The day began with a welcome relief since we didn’t need to wake up at such an early morning hour.  We were free to decide how to spend the day and most chose to do some sightseeing while a few wanted to sit around the pool and simply relax and go to the beach in the afternoon.  Yes, out here you can actually sit by the pool in shirt sleeves on Jan. 2nd.  That may be hard for you to believe back in the snowy wastelands of Iowa. Please get that cold and snow out of the forecast before we get home tomorrow because we took a vote and NOBODY wants to come home to it!  And, that is the truth!  It is actually quite fun to be sweating in January!  J

 About half of the group (three carloads) hit the freeways again and headed north into scenic country.  California is so beautiful with the dry hillsides and mountain ranges all around.  We drove to Simi Valley where the President Reagan Library and burial site is located.  The day was perfect with temps as high as 80 degrees.  The property is such a fitting tribute to our former president.  Everything is so well done and the atmosphere around the grounds is nothing but quiet and peaceful with flowers, trees and shady benches to sit on and ponder.  The view over the valley is breathtaking!  We took a tour through Air Force One which is suspended in mid-air and on display inside the huge building.  This is the Air Force One that was used by a number of presidents and President Reagan logged the most miles on it.  It has now been replaced with a newer version.

 I guess our group was the most ambitious since we decided to do it up right and take in two adventures in one day.  After we left the library and museum we drove down into the town of Simi Valley.  We filled our gas tanks and our tummies and headed back south, this time way down to San Pedro to the dock where the battleship USS Iowa is resting.  It is an impressive ship no matter how you look at it.  But once you tour and learn about all the weaponry onboard, its firepower boggles the mind.  The gun turrets are encased in 17 inches of solid steel making them impenetrable to any existing weapon.  Those guns can continue to fire no matter what is thrown at the ship.  Other guns on the decks will literally pulverize anything that comes close, including modern day incoming missiles.  The ship was only hit two times; one hit left a tiny mark not noticeable except for the arrow to show the spot and the other left no mark at all.  The famous ship was in service three different times and could be called into service again if ever needed.  It was modernized and has modern weapons as well as the huge guns with their awesome firepower.  It can now launch Tomahawk missiles and rockets. 

 Our group of 13 arrived at the USS Iowa mid-afternoon after our scenic drive from the north country.   I was driving the first car and am still impressed how the other two drivers stuck like glue to my bumper.  A big credit goes to Paul, my co-pilot who did an excellent job with maps as he kept me on track and in the right lanes on the freeways. 

 As we boarded the ship we were met by a career Navy guy.  His job was to answer questions.  Most people simply follow the arrows and do their own tour through the compartments of the huge ship.  We all wore our matching Petal Pusher shirts which calls attention to our group no matter where we go.  We chatted with him a moment and mentioned that we were from Iowa.  By the way, it is true that all Iowa people get onboard for free!!  He was excited to learn that we were Iowans and said he had been born in Carroll.  Once again, who would have thunked?  We named the towns we were from and he said, “Follow me.”  He personally took us on a tour and told us stories and showed us all the features of this magnificent fighting machine.  It was indeed a wonderful day and we had so much fun with him as our personal guide!

 I apologize for not doing an update yesterday, but in all my years, I have found it necessary to listen to my spouse now and then.  She told me to get some sleep and wait to do the update until tonight.  What else could I do?  I was very tired since I was one of the drivers for the long day and I finally took her advice and went to bed looking for some much needed rest. 

 Let me insert a personal note here before I end our “free day” discussion.  I am thanking God because our group has had seven vehicles crawling in and out of horrific traffic for six days now at all hours of the day and night.  Yet, not a scratch on any so far!  Most of us are not California trained but perhaps we are now.  And we have only been lost a few times!  I personally think it is a feat to keep that many vehicles together on the mass of spaghetti cement they call freeways out here.  Thank you, God!  To you be the glory!

 And that brings us to today’s activities.

 We are a tired bunch and we are winding down after another day of new adventures.  Actually, we were all together today once again.  The flu, yes, the ugly kind of flu, found its way into our group.  Four of us had to donate a day to getting better instead of being part of the ongoing adventure.  Maybe though, it was simply another part of the adventure for them.  Anyway, today all were going again as we drove into the middle of downtown Los Angeles to the Urban Street Mission.  This building sits in the area known as “Skid Row” where up to 8,000 homeless people live at all times. 

 I find it fascinating and have to share something I learned today.  Skid Row is named as such because when the area was just a little settlement long ago, they would harvest logs in the Los Angeles Forest and bundle them together.  They would skid them down the hill one bundle after another and it became known as Skid Row.  The name stuck even though the forest is long cut down and nothing remains in this area to suggest it ever existed.  It must certainly have changed the climate also as I suspect it is too dry to sustain a forest now.  That is really sad for this tree lover!

 We learned about the mission from Jeremiah Johnson who has a position just under the CEO.  He shared that the mission operates on donations from a great many churches, individuals and companies.  It is all donations, no government money.  I don’t recall the cost to operate each year but I believe he said it was 30 plus million!  They run a tight ship with guards everywhere to keep order and keep things operating smoothly.  It is centered around Christ and the Gospel.

 At one point we were taken to the roof of the building which has been transformed into a beautiful place to sit in the warm California sun and look over the city.  There are children’s play areas there and also raised vegetable gardens to grow food.  We did a group photo up there.  Look for that in one of the upcoming issues of “The Harvest” or some other IDW publication or the Lutheran Witness!  You will see God’s servants with the Los Angeles skyline behind.   It should be an impressive photo.

 The mission serves meals to residents who are on rehabilitation programs as well as women and children who live inside the shelters off the streets.  First the residents went through the food line. Then they opened the doors for people who live on the streets to come for a meal.

 We set up tables in the large lunchroom and spread our gifts of love from Iowa out for the homeless who came through. Our group brought health items in our suitcases from Iowa since bags are free when you fly on Southwest Airlines.  We also purchased over a thousand dollars worth of items here at the 99 cent store.  We worked long and hard to assemble 496 health kits to hand out at Skid Row.  We handed them out as people came into the food line.  We also had underwear, socks, bags, backpacks, Bibles and old suitcases for the homeless.  We gave away mounds of things, literally everything we had.  The day went well and we ended up with so many thankful and happy homeless people who experienced God’s love through our hands!  Thanks to all of you who donated items at your church or individually for us to bring along.  Thanks also for all the gift cards that were used to purchase additional items to complete all 496 health kits!  Because of all of you, God’s love was evident here today in Los Angeles for so many who have so little!

 After leaving the Skid Row area, we traveled to a Sizzler’s Steak House for a meal.  It seems that GPS and Smart Phones do not always agree which direction to head.  But, we eventually did find the place and it was even in the direction we needed to travel back to the motel so all was good.  The meal was wonderful of course.  Before we returned to the motel we filled all cars with gas so they were ready to turn in at Enterprise in the morning.  We arrived at the motel with an hour of down time before Ellie called our last meeting.

 We gathered and closed up the trip by writing positive comments about each person.  Then we revealed our secret servants by giving them their last gift.  We had a closing service including a foot washing ceremony for any who wanted to participate.  As usual, we closed the evening by doing our circle prayer, thanking God this time for whatever was most meaningful to us during this last week.

 At 7:30 a.m. we leave the motel, return the vehicles and arrive at LAX for the flight home.  Everyone will be processing the events of the last week and all that has happened.  Memories and new friendships were certainly made. 

 To my readers, thanks for listening to the Pasadena adventures!  It was enjoyable to lay it out for you and hopefully help you visualize what actually happens out here in sunny California!  Good night and may God Bless each one of you.

 Sincerely,
Lynn Menz





Thursday, January 2, 2014


Pasadena Update #5

 HAPPY NEW YEAR!!  HAPPY 2014!!

 Today has been an emotional day for most of the team here in sunny California.  It was a new day, a new month, and a brand new year when we awoke this morning around 4:00 a.m.  What were we doing at that hour of the morning?  We were getting ready for our last drive to Pasadena.  Seats right along Colorado Blvd were saved for us by good folks who stayed up all night to reserve this prime viewing spot.  They asked us to be there to claim the seats by 6:00 a.m.

 
When we arrived, it was still dark and there was a distinct chill in the air.  We dressed with layers so we could remove clothing as the sun arose on this very special day.  We found parking places, but in a different place than we had planned.  We made our way about 3 blocks from the cars to Colorado Blvd and took our seats as the early light of day was dawning.  People were streaming in from all directions and the party was beginning.  In all my times at the Rose Parade I had never seen people angry or creating scenes as you might expect when you funnel over a million people along one street.  Once again, it was a perfect morning and everyone was in a celebratory mood.  Strangers were wishing each other a happy new year.

 
There were planes high overhead doing sky writing, proclaiming that it is 2014.  It is so amazing how they do that so high overhead and have the words be so clear as they literally hang in the sky!  Street vendors were selling cotton candy, Rose Parade programs, food items, and bubble machines for the kids along with practically anything else you could imagine.  There was festivity in the air.

 
Our chairs were right on the street.  More prime viewing spots were not to be found.  There is a beautiful story behind our ability to sit here, too long to explain.  We will just say it was “A God Thing” and leave it at that.  The parade begins at the intersection of Orange Grove and Colorado at 8:00.  We sit about half-way down the parade route so it was about 35 minutes before the first entries arrived.  At the start of the parade, 5 jets flew in tight formation and low down the boulevard, better known as the famous Air Force Thunderbirds!  What an awesome sight as they came screaming low overhead leaving their vapor trails behind in rows down the street!  It was official, the parade had begun!

 
I certainly hope all of you watched the parade on your TV.  You do get a sense of the magnificence of it all from your easy chair.  But to be here in person with your feet on the street as the marching bands and floats go by is a whole different experience!  I highly recommend it in case you might be wondering.  The ground literally shakes as the drums call out cadence and hundreds of feet hit the pavement at the same time.  It is color and pageantry at its best with bands from all across the nation and many parts of the world, here to be part of it all.  Of course equestrian units are a big thing in Pasadena and they are always followed by the fun ‘pooper scooper’ units who are usually hamming it up to the delight of the crowds.

 
For our decorating team, the floats took on special significance because some were built in our building and we had personally worked on many of them.  Some of our efforts were going past and pride overwhelmed us at times evidenced by the lumps in our throats.  So, how crazy does that sound?  Let me just say you have to be here to understand.  As volunteer workers, we no doubt saw things missed by most.  After 3 days of decorating with the final flowers, we could identify the materials used and know the difficult process to make them look as beautiful as they do!

 
We were absolutely thrilled very early after we found our seats this morning.  The Lutheran Hour Float we had all worked so hard on, and were so proud of, had won the Princess Trophy this year!  It doesn’t get any better than that!  I know the detail on the float was not even noticed by most of the million people watching as it went by.  It was incredible this year!  But that was alright because we had worked on it and knew the intimate detail that was there!  Just as one example, I personally glued, one bean at a time, four rows of red kidney beans along part of the frame of one of the eight windows on our float.  It had taken a multitude of people to do just that task and the little beans were too small to be seen by the people along the route.  But, even though all I could see was a reddish border, I still knew it was made of thousands of little beans all glued on one at a time.  I had been part of that.

 
The parade lasted about two hours at which time a million people headed for their cars. It is an experience to be part of that mass of moving humanity.   We had part of our team purchase tailgate food supplies yesterday so when we reached where we parked, we had lunch and waited.  Every street in Pasadena was clogged with cars trying to get out of the city.  After lunch and some relaxing time, we calmly drove back to Los Angeles and most of the team took much deserved naps.  Some wanted to go to a beach so their car headed west to the mighty Pacific for a short time.  At least one member of the team had never seen the ocean until today!  I have always thought seeing the ocean was pretty significant.  After all, one of the first things God did was to separate the waters and give it boundaries.  Shouldn’t everyone go see that?

 
We met again in the motel meeting room at 4:00 this afternoon and assembled 436 health kits to be handed out at Skid Row on Friday.  Doing over 400 of them created what would have appeared as mass chaos to onlookers.  But, this team organized and worked together beautifully and in a couple of hours we were done.  Gerald and Kimberly, a pastor and his wife Ellie works with in the summer, came with four young girls to help with this project.  They will be with us at Skid Row on Friday since this is where Gerald does a good part of his ministry.


At 6:00 we headed back to the streets of El Segundo to the Hometown Buffet for our evening meal with Gerald, Kimberly, and the four girls as our guests.  Good food, good fellowship, and good grief, did we all overeat!  Later, back at our meeting room, we discussed our “free day” tomorrow where some will go to the Battleship USS Iowa for a tour, some will drive to the Ronald Reagan Museum in Simi Valley, and a number of people are planning to start early enough to do both in one day.  A few of our team will stay at the motel and catch up on sleep and rest.  We also have two who are not feeling well and we certainly pray for quick healing for them.

 
The last activity on Ellie’s agenda this evening was to share “faith stories” as she calls them.  As some shared, emotions came to the surface.  We were all affected in one way or another by what was shared.  So, that ended our very long emotional day in sunny California.  Please consider yourself updated! 

 
In case you might be wondering, we are not missing the cold and snow back in Iowa, not even one little bit.  It just feels so right to welcome January of 2014 in shirt sleeves!  May the warm California sunshine eventually reach the cold and snowy wasteland of Iowa!

 
God’s Blessings,

Lynn Menz – Bone tired, California freeway driver, float decorator and Pasadena update writer