Los Angeles? Really??

Some of you may know the story of how I ended up in Los Angeles; but I’m going to share it anyway for those who don’t know it, and because it’s a logical place to begin.
When I returned from Uganda, I moved in with my best friend and her family who so lovingly welcomed me into their home. For a while I helped take care of her twins (who just turned 2). I had expected to find a job teaching for the spring semester. I know it doesn’t happen often, but it does happen. I started substituting in Tuscaloosa County late in the fall semester. It was a job and a good foot in the door, but it was really frustrating to me because I really wanted to have my own classroom. I pursued several different doors that in turn shut in my face. I was worn out emotionally and incredibly frustrated with the job hunt. I had been missing working in ministry, so I thought about working in that for a season. Also, I felt this pull toward urban ministry. I decided to search for paying internships in ministry to fill the spring before returning to the education job hunt for fall 2010. While searching, I decided that I if I was willing to do something that I would apply and leave it in God’s hands. I knew that if I weighed out all the pros and cons beforehand I would end up really wanting a job that may again not work out. I found the Center for Student Missions online and emailed the home office. The deadline for spring interns was not too far away, so I did my research, prayed, and completed my application to be a city host in Washington D.C. I quickly heard back from the home office that D.C. wasn’t hiring, but inquired whether or not I’d be interested in serving in another city. She told me 4 cities that were still looking for spring interns; I had not been to any of them and none stood out more than another. I told her I would go wherever she thought I’d best work out. She said, “How about Los Angeles?” I said, “Um, ok.” All the while, though, asking God, “Los Angeles?? Really?? Hm…” I interviewed with Rachel, the city director here. Then I went to Nashville to do a site visit and learn more about CSM. Rachel and I both prayed a lot. She called me the first Wednesday of January and asked if I wanted to come work in LA at the end of January. I was so excited. The timing was great. The job really interested me, and I was really excited about working with CSM. I bought a ticket a week later, and now here I am.