Hey Discovery Church fam! Just wanted to update you guys on our epic LA trip. I believe Steve will also be posting this on his blog as well! First and foremost, I want to thank you guys for your prayers. We had a little trouble getting out of Phoenix but overall we made it safe and sound.

As you can see in one of the pictures because I look so dangerous and thuggish they pulled me away for a private security check which took an extra 30 minutes. After realizing we weren’t terrorists, we managed to get through. However, before checking our gate… (which we should of done) we decided to feast. As you know airports are a little pricey so you usually want to limit your purchases. We take our time and fellowship for a while and then decide to head to our gate.

As we arrive at our gate we find out our flight has been delayed an hour and a half! This was a little frustrating just because the Chi Alpha leadership team was expecting Pastor Steve to speak to them that evening. So of course we decide to spend our time getting coffee and brownies. At this point we have probably spent more money on food at the airport then our actual flights! Finally, after more snacking we board our plane and courtesy of my disability we get the front seats with extra leg room. Of course I take the window and give Steve the middle seat.

After a smooth flight out of Phoenix we land in LA and meet up with this super rad guy named Mitch. Mitch drives like a true Californian and takes us fast and furious style to our destination. We arrive at a Christian missions center across the street from UCLA and Steve and I meet all of the leaders and of course the legend Winston Bui.

Winston heads up the UCLA Chi Alpha group and loves college football almost as much as he loves Jesus. And he really loves Jesus!! Out of the kindness of his heart Winston takes us out to the Soup Plantation with all of his leaders.

This place has some BOMB food and the worst part about it is it’s a buffet. As you know, food is an essential to Pastor Steve and I, so we chow down!! It was refreshing to hear all of their stories and to talk with them. Each one of these leaders have fully devoted their entires lives to Jesus and will make any sacrifice needed. After dinner our crazy driver Mitch and his wife took us back to our hotel room. Thankfully his wife was driving this time. We check in to our rooms and pass out quickly from our food comas. Old man Steve wakes up at the bum crack of dawn and young whippersnapper Andrew sleeps in way too late the next morning. (Typical) Steve decides to explore the beautiful botanical gardens at UCLA that morning while I’m still back at the room pumping out the Z’s.

Around 11 am Mitch picks us up and we go to Fox Studios.

We meet up with our friend Tim that we met the night before at dinner for a private tour of the place. Tim has been working at Fox studios for 8 years and he was able to show us all around the grounds.

We explored sets of Bones, American Horror Story, and Modern Family. Shows neither of us have seen, but we really enjoyed seeing behind the scenes! A very cool experience. We also cruised by the Fox Sports 1 building. (Ya that’s right Matthew Simpson)

After exploring for a few hours we head back to the room and Steve and I swap this time. He takes a nap and I explore the city. After my adventure and Steve’s power nap we head to the Chi Alpha building where we prepare to speak. After everyone arrives we engage in some student led worship. We could tell that the Holy Spirit was invited in this place and that he resides within this amazing group of students! After a powerful time praising God, Winston invites Steve up and Steve begins to share about US/Discovery church! He talks about his vision and what God has been doing in our lives. He explains that we explore, trek, hike, bike, climb, swim, roast marshmallows, camp, EAT, repel, adventure, and GET OUTSIDE… So God can get INSIDE.

Shortly after, he invites me up and I share my story with the students. I definitely felt God speaking through me and I continue to pray that he uses what I said to impact those students. After I shared the story that most of you have heard, Steve finishes it off and talks about having no limits. He tells a story about how he was extremely parched hiking in the canyon with his daughter and he asked for the river to be turned into blue Gatorade. Sure enough he finds a bottle of blue Gatorade behind a rock. Super crazy how God works!!

We both talked about so much more but those are some of the highlights. After service we all fellowship, eat more food and have multiple arm wrestling competitions! After the amazing service we head back to the hotel room where Steve passes out in minutes.

The next morning we head on our ways and thank God for such an Indescribable trip to the city. Thank you so much Discovery Church for praying for us on this Journey. Love you guys!

Andrew.

Here are a few more pics of our trip to UCLA.