For those of you who have been wondering, I have been out here almost a month now. Our first few weeks of classes where jam packed full of promotional events to get students involved with Chi Alpha Christian Fellowship. Activities included having a both at the undergrad festival where we handed out free shirts and tote bags with our website and ministry name printed on them. We also gave out lanyards, pencil cases, and lip-gloss. Other events included handing out free Starbucks coffee, giving away popsicles, hosting a free BBQ, etc. A few weeks ago we hosted a tailgate party at the campus pastors Winston’s house starting at 12:00pm, and the students enjoyed it so much, everyone didn’t ended up leaving at 2:30 am, despite the shuttles we offered to take them back earlier in the night.
This week marked our third service and second prayer meeting. Our services have been pretty solid. A student gave their life to Christ at our first service and we have had a lot of rededications. Next week we are bringing in a guest speaker for a two day revival we are hosting on campus.
Overall, the ministry out here is positioned really well for growth. We have had a lot of new students participating in our activities. We have been playing ultimate Frisbee on campus on Fridays for the students and last Friday we had 10 new students come out and play. Tomorrow we are having a fall fest for international students (and anyone else who wants to come), so im pretty excited for that.
I connected really well with a Japanese student and invited him to some events. He ended up coming to one of our services, and he said it was a lot better than his expectation of American church, and plans on coming again next week. He told the pastor that his message really made him think about a lot of things.
As for me personally, I came out here with no furniture at all, and I was really blessed in getting a good deal on a really nice desk, shelf, and bed. I also bought a Moped from Pastor Winston at a really good price. If I have a car, it costs $10/day to park on campus, but because I have a moped, campus parking is free, so that will end up saving me a lot of money. Living in Los Angeles is a lot more expensive than anticipated. One big thing here is going out to eat to build relationships and connect with students, and prices are a lot higher than Missouri. That sums up my first month out here in Los Angeles, now that I am settled down, expect posts more frequently.