We went to Santa Cruz with all the fellows from the fellowship on this past Sunday, Monday, Tuesday. It was a lot of driving, and spending time getting to know everyone. There was a couple of frustrating moments between us all because we we in such close quarters together, but for the most part it was really fun. We stayed at Arnie's (one of the fellows) parents beach house in Santa Cruz, it was gorgeous. It was right on the beach, and we woke up to the waves crashing outside our window. The whole weekend I was really struggling with being there, in the moment. We were in a beautiful place, and we had some great experiences but my mind was elsewhere. We visited a women's pregnancy house for single women. I was not as social as I normally am in those situations though... I think it was because I felt like we were invading their space, and forcing them to be really vulnerable with us when they didn't even know us. Eric was asking the ladies to tell us a llittle about their past, and why they were now in this house. Eric is really good at asking the right kind of questions, and I can tell he really cares, but I I just wondered if the ladies felt a little strange from our invasion. Most of the ladies were between 25-30 and had already had a couple of kids. A lot of them had kids when they were 15. There was such a culture clash between the girls in our group and the girls of the house, when one lady asked if any of us girls had any kids. That is a normal part of life to have kids already for them, but to us it was so foreign. It was hard to process everthing right away...there was so many emotions. I was sad for the ones who had been beaten, and abused. The were not loved as a kid, so they were just getting their lives back together. At the same time though they have to be held responsible for making those choices to do drugs, and sleep around. Holding them responsible does not mean they don't need help to turn their lives back around. It all comes back to giving people grace in their specific situation. So they mesed up...so have I. I have done things that I am regrettting, and that affect how I live my life now. I need grace just as much as they do. I just wish there was some way to prevent this cycle of life for these women. Possibly coming along side them in high school, and giving them other options besides just having babies. There are so many girls and women in these situations here in Long Beach. Lord please give me situations to encourage women here in Long Beach, and to help them to see the life they can have in you!