Friday, April 24, 2009

Top Ten (12) Things we Love about Pasadena (in random order)

1) We love that we have ideal discipleship: wise people above us, peers going through life with us, and younger ones we are mentoring.

2) Working with students. We love still feeling like we are in college, having parties at our house, going to the coffee shop late at night, doing things on the weekend. We love that our life is filled with students in our house, movie nights, meals with them and doing life together.

3) Our work life/bosses. We feel appreciated and needed. We have good relationships with our supervisors who give us the freedom to use our gifts and that they give us responsibilities. We love that we have set but flexible hours.

4) Weather. Its warm most days and barely rains. What’s not to like about So Cal weather?

5) Living in a community with families. We love living in a community where people know you. We know if we ever needed anything help would be close by. We love living with families where kids are running around and playing with each other, often crossing many age/ethnic barriers.

6) Living near, but not in a big city. Pasadena still feels like a neighborhood. It is an escape from commercialization where local businesses thrive. At the same time we are an hour or less away from everything L.A. has to offer.

7) Walking to work. Who wants to drive in traffic for hours? We walk two blocks to work, eat lunch at home and barely use our car.

8) Missional community. Being around like-minded people that see the world the same way we do. We don’t feel crazy or like we harass people all the time talking about God’s love for all the peoples. Our week is filled with fresh insights on developing issues fresh off the field. We get reports straight from missionaries themselves as well as the executives that run the major organizations.

9) Cultures. We live around so many different cultures, we live in a primarily Armenian neighborhood, but ethnic neighborhoods are close: Little Tokyo, Chinatown, ect. At the same time the USCWM community is diverse with people having influence by birth or serving in countries/cultures all over the world.

10) Working together. We love to be a team and use each other’s giftings. We work beside each other, able to collaborate with each other, but don’t overstep each other’s territory.

11) Flowers. All these random flowers are everywhere. They grow instantly and are beautiful. Roses grow like wildflowers as well Melissa’s favorite bird of paradise.

12) Thursday nights: the community gets together for a meal together in the cafeteria. It’s a great time of watching the kids playing together, talking to parents or students and interacting more than just a superficial level.

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