Hollywood

Woke up refreshed and recharged after having slept like a rock. We quickly packed up and headed off for Round 2 at LAX.We made it through the standby checkin without incident and then were promptly stopped at security for a full random search for the second time in two days. Despite our suspicions that the process was something less than random, we politely compliled to avoid an untimely mission trip to Guantanimo Bay.

Arrived at the terminal with two hours to spare. United had given us a generous array of meal vouchers which we squeezed to the last drop by ordering up a grand fiesta from a local Mexican restaurant. As the departure time grew closer, it became apparent that we would not be getting on standby. We stuck around long enough to watch the plane detach from the terminal and proceeded to pick up our bags and retreat back to our hotel.

Despite our disappointment, we remained in high spirits and felt stronger and more connected as a team. For me personally, this experience illustrated the fact that no amount of preparedness can account for all contingencies, even if and when we do finally arrive in Japan. For someone with a mild case of micromanagement, this was a hard but important lesson to learn. If this mission trip ever becomes a movie, it would have the tagline that God works in mysterious ways.

To make the most of the situation, we called up an old elementary school friend of Woun and Sun who kindly obliged to show us around town. We hit a few of the Hollywood tourist traps (Man Theatre, La Capitan, In And Out Burger), gawked at the local superhero and pirate population, took in a few tunes from a live Latin band, and then retired for the evening. At the risk of invoking deja vu - if all goes according to plan, tomorrow's blog should be written from Japan!