vegas pictures! 6:00 AM

night out on the town.....

there are sooo many wedding chapels in vegas.... even drive through ones

we didn't get to see any weddings happen, but we did get to talk to a girl who worked in one of the chapels and she told us how it all worked.... its very interesting.... she was really fun to talk to though, she was studying interior design so she spoke our art language :) we drove by all of the well known casinos.... they are so huge, its such an interesting sight to see... we ate at the hard rock cafe and there were all these quotes about love on the walls more exploring heres the inside of the bellagio ..... i just thought this was pretty :)

its the most toned down of the casinos.... we waited by the bellagio fountain for like 40 minutes and they never started.... we were kind of disappointed... but i guess there's always oceans 11 :)

vegas isn't really our kind of place.... but we love the people just not everything that goes on there. good people watching.... so many people!

thinkthinkthink 7:20 AM

The last few days have been good. They’ve been a bit different feeling than the others. After volunteering at the Dream Center we headed to Disneyland for the day.

Three of us earlier this year were able to get a free Disney ticket from the “Give A Day, Get A Day” program, so we split the cost of one ticket for the fourth person and decided to go.

We’d been planning for a while on buying a families Disney ticket but we weren’t quite sure how we would present the proposition. How many people could we pay for? What if they wanted a hopper? What if they already had a free ticket for volunteering? All these things had crossed our minds but didn’t really hit us until we were standing outside the Disneyland gates. After 10-15 minutes of staring at families waking by and debating who we should talk to we decided to ask one of the cashiers about paying anonymously. Just pay for the next four one-day passes and let them hand the family our business card. I mean it’s Disneyland right? I was suuuure someone had done something like this before.

Nope.

They couldn’t do that.

So we began wandering, doing our best to ease drop as people were buying their tickets. After more endless minutes of people watching and listening I wandered back over to see that part of the group had found the perfect Disney family for us :) Jason was speaking with the lady buying tickets for her group of four. As Jason ran through Love Each One’s purpose he quickly pushed the ladies credit card away from the cashier and concluded with “…so we’d like to buy your Disney tickets.” The lady stepped backwards and one of the boys in the group suddenly snapped to attention, “Hold up! Rewind! What??” The other boy asked, “Wait, what do we have to do?” When they realized we just wanted to do it for them they where thrilled! And even took a picture with us :)

So it was cool. Very cool. Just being able to pay for them. They were so surprised. Not only them, but the cashier. Why is doing something nice for someone foreign to us?

Friday we had a slow day of packing and beach walking before we took off to San Fran. However once we hit the interstate we began moving roughly one mile every ten minutes.

For some reason I just never think of traffic. I guess I’ve never lived in a city where traffic could hold you up for longer than ten minutes. So we pulled off and decided to preoccupy ourselves until six-ish when the traffic should be gone. The boys went to see the movie Babies and Ging and I went shopping. We hit the interstate again around seven and where able to get to get to the lovely Lindsey O’s house a bit late that night.

But these few days of events have made me think. We’ve been doing normal things. Things I would do if I was back home with my family or out with friends. And it’s made loving individuals feel harder. Or maybe not harder… just more uncomfortable. Going to the mall I realize I don’t make a lot of eye contact with other shoppers. I stay out of their way and they stay out of mine. If that balance is broken by an accidental shoulder bump usually an apology is exchanged. Usually. But beyond that, we don’t communicate.

But why is that? The days that we’ve gone out specifically thinking “okay, how can we show love to people”? I feel more confident in my expressions of love. I don’t want to go on this tour very purposely loving people then go back to my normal way of living after week seven. This trip shouldn’t be separate from my life. I don’t want to allow myself to fall into old ways of thinking. I wont let it happen. I want to go home and keep loving people that I see in Panera. Or at Target. Or just in my house. I want to be loving everywhere I go.

Speaking of thinking, tonight I was thinking a lot. Just about loving people that can be hard to love. About loving people who aren’t showing you love back. After mulling over these thoughts I felt exhausted. I felt worn out just thinking about loving these people that frustrate me. Loving these people that maybe don’t listen or respect me. And my inside felt like yelling and crying and shutting down. And though my head was telling me lies, my heart knew the decision I’ve made.

Jesus has loved me always. Despite all the terrible things I’ve done and all the times I didn’t listen. He doesn’t keep record of any wrongs. And he never tries to make me feel guilty. So I choose to love others the way He loves me. And without His help, I wouldn’t be able to love people that way I know I can. Loving people is hard. It can be very hard. And it doesn’t have anything to do with feelings. Nothing. It has everything to do with your decision. Your self-control. They way you decided to act or react. I know I’ve messed up. I’ve let my feelings control my tone or my body language before. But I am becoming much more aware of the decision I must make to love. I encourage you to do the same.

<3emilyy

what day is it? 3:53 AM

i believe i am becoming mildly addicted to the life of a gypsy. its so wonderful to just go... figure out where you're sleeping whenever.... meet all kinds of lovely people.... it feels like the end of summer camp every time we leave a city. i think about the friends i've made at our various stops every day :)

one of the things i've learned through our gypsy lifestyle is to live in the moment. don't wish things away. see beauty in everything. i've always leaned in this direction... but now i believe i may have fallen all the way in.

we were in albuquerque a little while ago... i can't remember what day that was. the sunset was absolutely amazing. i could not take my eyes away from it, i just wanted to stare at it.

i fell in love with the deep blues that changed as quickly as the ocean tide. the flaming orange sun was like the crescendo of a deeeep soul filled melody, the kind that makes your belly drop and your mind fall into a state of enchantment as you wait expectantly for each new note. the purple and pink were the harmony that blended the shifting blues and oranges. there was a foggy texture in the air and the sky seemed almost tangible.

i was so caught up in the moment of it all as we stood outside of walmart i nearly forgot why we were even there and that i really needed to use the bathroom and that someone might want to park in the spot next to us. by the time we left walmart it was dark and my eyes were sad that the splendor had passed on. but for that moment i had been struck, there was nothing else.

i want to be so moment focused that when i am talking with people my full attention is on them. i'm not thinking about how my left foot huts and i want to sit down or how my stomach has been growling for the last 20 minutes or how i would rather talk to the person across the room. you are important, what you're saying is important, i am fully listening to you, i am not distracted. people are beautiful.

we are in lovely los angeles california now!

yesterday we were in burbank where we visited disney friends and ate at a reallyy cool place called barnies beanery.... where we got to play guitar hero! i really like that game :) only it makes my eyes water really bad from staring at the tv so intently.

then we stayed with an old ringling friend and it was fun to reconnect :) wednesday morning we woke up and headed over to the Los Angeles Dream Center, dreamcenter.org

they own an awesome building, it used to be a hospital, that houses all of their different outreach programs and everything. we worked with a program called hope for homeless youth, our leader Clint led us to hollywood blvd where we were supposed to be reaching out at this youth center and passing out lunches and praying with people....

it turned out that we weren't going to be allowed into that facility so we ended up splitting into groups. the whole was made up of the 4 of us and 5 members of this awesome family from denmark. jason, daniella (one of the daughters in the family), and i were a group. we headed down hollywood blvd and at first it was pretty darn intimidating... no one seemed to want any food or prayer but we kept walking... we ended up getting to talk to a number of people and give them some lunch including this one guy, SG, who was a writer.... i noticed him first by the large cardboard sign he had prop-ed up next to him.....

that was really cool..... i told him about what we were doing and gave him a card and he agreed to write down his definition of love. i also met a woman named cornbread and she was wearing all these different rings on her hands.... she told me where she had gotten each of them from, they were each a story about a certain person in her life.

the family from denmark we were working with, the Anderssons, were so much fun! after we finished up at the dream center we invited them out to dinner with us. it was really cool talking with them and hearing about denmark! they said we are welcome to visit them any time.... we just might take them up on that offer... love.each.one 2: europe ;)

all in all it was a wonderful day to practice living in the moment :) and as usual i am up much much too late... in just a little bit we will be on our way to disneyland!

goodnight and peaceful sleeping from la :)

~gingaa

moving on 3:27 AM

please note: we will have more pictures up later! when we aren't running out the door

Yesterday we left Vegas. I can't say we were sad to see it go. I think Vegas was... more than we all expected. It was sad to see that money and women can consume peoples lives. I think we all agree we prefer the Vegas in Oceans 11 over the real thing.

Though I have to say Vegas did teach us that the Nevada sun can cook a hot dog pretty well :)

We arrived in LA yesterday just in time to say hello to a few of Stan's friends at Disney and look around :)

We got to eat dinner at a cool little place in Burbank and enjoyed a grilled veggie sandwich while playing some Guitar Hero. I explained to the waitress what it is we're doing and asked her if she could write down what love is to her. It's funny how differently people respond to that question :P Some people will stare at you like "How could I possibly answer a question that huge??" others will frown and laugh off the question, as if the love they once knew has caused them pain. But our waitress just paused briefly to hear the question and began writing. She smiled and handed me her answer before walking away. "Love is patient" it said. I've been thinking a lot about how love is patient. Patience is something I once very openly lacked. But I realize it's something I want. It's something I have chosen to chase after. To act in even when I don't want to. Because ultimately everything is a decision. Patience. Love.

Right now we are running off to go help at the Dream Center. It should be fun :) We'll do our best to post about it later tonight.

<33emilyy

HAPPY MEMORIAL DAY :) 8:06 PM

This day we are reminded that the greatest love is to lay down your life for another. We are thankful to all people who are risking their lives to protect ours.

Today we are spending some of our time in Las Vegas making care packages to send to our troops overseas. We will be working with anysoldier.com This site posts the needs and locations of soldiers overseas that we can support and send letters and packages to. Our soldiers are serving us everyday so that we can live the lives we live. Too often we forget all about them. At least I know I do.

Going on the site and viewing all the men and women who have died in service really hit home with me today. I didn't realize the sacrifice that was being made. It's heart wrenching. These guys are my age. I guess I just don't think about it. I know I don't keep up on the news enough.

They've given so much. They sacrifice their lives everyday. I think we should all find ways to give back.

Here is a video that talks about how to create care packages if you are interested in joining us with this cause.

We will update later with pictures of the packages and letters we write, plus more about our adventures in Las Vegas! <3 Stan

ROUTE 66 & the CANYON 7:45 PM

Hello!

Stanley here.

We've been doing some of our traveling along Route 66. Its been gorgeous. :)

 Historic Route 66 is no longer displayed on most road maps but it used to be America's main street.  If you were going across the country for the family Road trip, this was it.  The road was bustling 40 years ago. Gas Stations, diners, motels, small town culture, friendly faces, and beautiful countryside.  It was America. 

Unfortunately today, Route 66 has been forgotten.  People flock to the bigger interstates.  It makes sense.  That's progress.  Right?  New roads go up and people travel whatever route will be the quickest, the most convenient.  Route 66 has mostly died.  It only lives as a novelty sentiment.  It's now abandoned building, empty motels, and rusting gas stations.

I think its a sad reflection on our culture.  We often go for whatever is most convenient.  What is the fastest route?  What will get me where I need to be the easiest?   Our country has chosen the Interstate 40 lifestyle.  I think we need to go back to the Route 66 pace.  

Things move so quickly in our society that we often forget to take the time to meet people.  Take time to start up a conversation with someone.   Invest into them.  I want to be more interested in others than I am in myself.  This trip is helping me to see people as more important.  It's helping me to make the little sacrifices.  I want to love my family more.   I want to let people cut me off on the high way and not get upset.

Route 66 was so much fun.  We took some time to enjoy the beauty of the old buildings.  I love the bright colors against the bleak landscape.  We ate at a diner at the midpoint of 66, 1139 miles from LA, and 1139 miles from chicago.

The best part of this trip has been meeting people.  People are so precious.  Everyone has something beautiful to offer and to learn from.  I think everyone wants a friend.  They want to be listened to and loved.  We met some people at the hostel who's reservation got all mixed up.  They had one bed at the hostel we were staying at when they were supposed to have two.  It was gonna split them up, so I offered to let the guy have my bed and I went to stay at another place.  Suddenly we had some new friends.  People notice when you make sacrifices for them.  I didn't feel like doing it, but once I did it felt so good.

On top of that, at the other hostel I made some new friends, Timo and Phillip.  They are from Germany and were also traveling the US.  They offered to let us stay at their campsite in the Grand Canyon.  On memorial weekend it is impossible to get a campsite there.  It was great!  We saw a gorgeous sunset and then shared stories and laughs around the campfire.  It was so cool how it all worked out.  Giving up my bed ended up getting us two new friends and a great night of camping.  Its sort of a what comes around goes around story.  :)

  Sometimes spreading love is just making new friends and taking the time to listen to people.  I know it doesn't seem significant, but our world needs more of it.

PS- here is an extra photo of me and jason I found as we were modeling our love.each.one.shirts.   :)  very funny   

<3 Stan

on the road againn :) 4:26 PM

Yesterday we drove from Albuquerque, NM to Flagstaff, AZ.

Arizona's landscape is so beautiful! It changed so much in the five hours we drove through it.

We stopped at a little tourist stop to check out the petrified wood and fossil-y things. We where able to talk with the store owner, Ken, which was cool, and asked him what love was. At first he looked at us for a moment, then shrugged and said "Well..I don't know what love is." It is a big question. I think the fact that the question itself is only three words has made me think that it's a simple question. But the realty of it is its not. Ken turned and wrote down his answer and handed it to me. I said thanks and was about to put it away when he said "Aren't you going to read it?" with a smile.

I looked down and read out loud "Love is traveling the Unites States with three friends."

:)

Its such a fun answer. And I think for each of us it's been true. This trip with my three friends has taught me more about love than any other time in my life. Learning to love each other all the time, learning to love when I don't feel like being loving.

After a few more hours of driving we arrived at our hostel in Flagstaff. Let me tell you...I love hostels. So many cool people. Cool buildings. Cool environment.

We immediately met some other travelers, Jordan and Sophie. It was really nice getting to hang out and talk with them about their lives, where they're going, where they've been. After Jason introduced them to the world of geocaching (check out www.geocaching.com to learn more about it) we decided to go looking for a few in the area. Stan found both! (it was his first time being the first to find them :P ). After we grabbed some awesome food at the Pita Pit and caught the end of and outdoor screening of UP :) The rest of the night was full of silly pool games, meeting more people, and a planning for the next few days.

It was really awesome meeting so many people. We met an Irish couple, a girl from Germany, and a bunch of other cool travelers. Learning about individuals has been really beautiful, hearing about people's goals in life, what they enjoy doing, where they want to go.

People are so important. I want to be sure after all this traveling is over I continue to keep loving people in my everyday life.

Something we've been reading over and thinking about:

Love is patient and kind.

Love is not jealous or boastful or proud or rude.

Love does not demand its own way.

It is not irritable, and it keeps no record of being wronged.

It does not rejoice about injustice but rejoices whenever the truth wins out.

Love never gives up, never loses faith, is always hopeful, and endures through every circumstance.

Love never fails.

1 Corinthians 13:4-8 (NLT&NIV)

<33emilyy