Visit to Jennibelle in LAX

 Since March 15th, My kids and may world has been DIFFICULT and CRAZY.  Jenni has had a real hard time with things, so I decided to go visit her for her 20th birthday.  She's too angry with Jason to let him come, so I decided to take Jaylee with me. We flew out May 22-27. 

It was a really nice time seeing what she's up to out there and what her life is like. It was nice to meet her boyfriend Logan too! 

We arrived late on the 22nd and stopped at In and Out Burger... pretty good though I don't understand all the hype. Of course, the girls picked up being BFFs right off the bat again. Love that!

On her birthday, we woke early for breakfast and then walked around the beautiful Echo Park. We spent the afternoon with Jenni prepping hot dogs, loading drinks and wagons into the vans, and then heading out on the streets of Skid Row.  I should have been terrified.  It is a scary place. Jennibelle is right where she is supposed to be though. I felt very safe with her. I could see God working through her. I felt so incredibly proud of her. Afterwards, we got all dolled up for dinner to celebrate with a few of her friends. Dinner was  delicious!!

The 24th, in LA only reassured me that Jennibelle is doing what she should be doing. We spent the morning in the William Mead Housing Projects hanging out with the community. Jenni (somehow) is the only Spanish speaking missionary, so she is sought after. We had a fun raffle for the community and then spent hours being invited into homes for visits. Many people invite HER in week after week, and were so excited to know that it was her birthday weekend and to meet her family- you can tell they adore her, and she adores them. Her friend Kimberly gave us a concert on her electric guitar. In the late afternoon, we three headed to Santa Monica Pier and Venice beach. No one was working out, but it was such a FUN night!! There was a skateboard and rollerskating park. Some of the palm trees were spray painted and looked so cool. We drove down Sunset Blvd in Hollywood to peek at the famous stars, but Hollywood was a scary dump! It was like a mix of Vegas and NYC, and not in a good way.

The 25th was a Sunday so we started the day at her church... the Dream Center's Los Angeles Temple. Logan then drove us to Manhattan Beach for the day. It was a cool little CA vibe beach town, rather than an LA vibe beach. We ended the day watching the sun set at the Griffith Conservatory... WOW!! The sun going down makes a huge difference in temperature. The views were crazy- you see them in movies but you don't understand it until you experience it.

The 26th was Memorial Day so we had Jenni all day! Logan drove us all up the mountains to take a hike. The drive there was verve wracking... we were VERY VERY high. The trip there took us through neighborhoods that were burnt down in January by the Pasadena Fires. Jenni and Logan have both worked at thesis sites, sifting through ash for any valuable remains. Heartbreaking and terrifying. We ended the night being chauffeured through Beverly Hills, down Rodeo Drive, pass many fancy buildings/homes. We also shopped at a huge outdoor area called The Grove. We had our final LA (Mexican) dinner and said our goodbyes to Logan. We are hoping to see him at Christmas time!

We flew out early on the 27th. It was nice seeing Jennibelle and being able to reunite, especially with everything going on at home. It was nice to get out of Lititz! It was nice to just have girl time. It was nice to glimpse into Jennibelle's everyday life. I don't necessarily ever have to return to LA though... I'm happy to have experienced it, but the homeless issue is out of control, the trash is everywhere and I don't understand how such wealth can literally be living next door to such poverty. I don't know why anyone wants to love there, especially raise a family there. Other than the water...