Spain 9

Hang on to your socks! This next one's a doozy!

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6/28/92

...Then there's the misbehaved boy who, having been denied permission to do the mischief he desired, began throwing rocks through the windows....


Tomorrow morning, Monday, we leave for Spain. This has not exactly been an uneventful stay in Los Angeles (city of the angels?).

Lezlie and I have been very busy overcoming, first of all, misgivings about the group (they have different ways of praying and worshiping God than we are used to). Secondly, trying to raise support. God has been good in raising up people to help. Lezlie is now $400 short of her goal; I am $1000, with unknown amounts coming in.

It came down to us praying over, thinking over, and finally signing a contract with AF promising to make full payment within 6 months of our return from the trip.

While in Woodlin Hills, preparing for LA, Lezlie discovered she had packed her passport too well for her move to California. The day we left for LA she found it.

We got here and were told that unless we each came up with at least $1000 more we couldn't go. Not only did God give us the payment contract, but funds have been coming in from various people and places.

Then Lezlie's pack came up missing - complete with passport, money, immunization record...God allowed that to be found 2 days later.

Friday afternoon, I was going stir-crazy, having not spent much time outside in the last few days. I decided to go for a walk. Lezlie came too. The first two blocks were interesting as we, being female, drew attention and comments from four different sources. Walking on the USC campus was nice, however.

Soon after returning to the house, 1-2 hrs later, we went up to the 3rd level to sit on the balcony. That's when we heard a couple of guys walking by and talking about a party that was to occur that night.

And what a party it was! About a block away, it was so loud I could just about hear every word. Loud music, loud cars.... Around 11pm I tried to go to sleep anyway.

It was a fitful night of "rest". Then around 3am I awoke to find Naima [my AF roommate] leaping out of bed to call the cops.

I was still laying in bed trying to go back to sleep, but I noticed the voices were louder and closer. And then, with Naima still on the phone, we heard shots fire.

Against my better judgment, I let human curiosity take over and went to the window to check things out.

What I saw was a rapidly growing mob of about 30 people, across the street & kitty-corner to the house. They were yelling, beginning to fight, blocking traffic. Two guys were beating on another, car horns were honking...!

I had sudden visions of being caught in the middle of a mini-uprising. With past tensions, who could help but think of the Rodney King incident [about a year before].

Three different people from the house called the cops, who finally came, ordering everyone out. There were about 4 or 5 cop cars. Most everyone cleared out, including the cops, but a growing handful remained. A single patrolling car drove by the crowd, sped on, then returned with the other cars, threatening to jail those refusing to leave. Soon the street was clear, but I still didn't rest real easy.

While all this was going on, we were hanging out in the shadows, praying and praying and praying.

So I was pretty tired when I went to bed last night around 10:30pm. At around 11:45pm Naima came in to pack [most of the group left the day before Lezlie & I]. I tried to sleep even with the lights on, but she suggested I go downstairs so as not to be disturbed.

So I went down to join Lezlie...who still had her light on, studying. I dropped my sleeping bag on the floor and went to the bathroom. When I go back we turned the light out. I crashed hard.

After a time, I started into semi-consciousness feeling like someone was rocking my bed...then I remembered I was sleeping on the floor! I sat up trying to figure out where I was. The clock read 4:48am. Then I heard Lezlie ask, "Is this an earthquake?" Aha! Yes. We got into the doorway and leaned there, against the frame, rocking with the motion. Lezlie mentioned feeling, "Please God...I just want to go back to sleep. I'm so tired." I don't know that I was thinking much of anything, but it was along those same lines. Neither of us was afraid.

It seemed a long time before the rolling stopped. We stayed a few minutes to be sure it was over, then back to bed. "Eventful weekend for you, huh?", a voice, Gwen's, called from upstairs. Yeah.

Lezlie and I talked for a few minutes- about God, about Satan, about faith, about a "mischievous boy".... We prayed, praised, sang, went to sleep. Sort of. We had to get up in a little more than an hour anyway.

Later we turned on the little portable radio/tv to hear the report while getting ready for church. 7.4 out of Yucca Valley! Wow! 8:00am or so, I'm in the middle of shaving my legs [I was dressed] when the 2nd one came. It was every bit as strong as the first quake. I took my razor to the doorway and kept on shaving...didn't even cut myself!

I did discover that a lot of people in the neighborhood have car alarms!

"Eventful weekend"? Sure has been. Faith-building, praise-growing. And we haven't even left the country yet!

The "misbehaved boy"? You guessed it; our unforgettable enemy, the devil.

We don't think he's real happy about us going to Spain. He's been trying to dissuade us. If he did, indeed, go to God for permission to do us harm, he didn't get it. So, he's been throwing rocks.

But God cares for those who love Him. And even if He doesn't protect us from physical harm, like the prophets of old, we cannot, I cannot, disregard His righteousness, His holiness, the hold I have allowed Him to have on my life.

God is far too majestic, far too powerful and awesome for me to be disobedient, to regard lightly...and yet the struggle continues, as does the spiritual battle around.

Through God alone we are granted our hope, our lives, our beings; through Christ alone we are granted victory for eternity! God be praised! He is worthy!

PS We're in the middle of South LA, right? What do we hear in the wee hours of the morning but a rooster crowing! Right.

If you're gonna praise God, you can expect the devil to get mad. Be prepared for disaster and praise God anyway!

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