The District of Columbia

On the way to D.C., i pondered where the "Columbia" part came from. Probably from Christopher Columbus, but if anyone has any insite, leave a comment.

Yesterday, as you know, the entire squad of missionaries ("Squad?" I don't know why i chose this word.) from FPO went to our nation's capitol on the 4th of July. From Union Station, we split up by region (Pacific Rim, East Asia, Western Europe, etc.) and hopped the Metro (train) to different parts of town. My group, South America, rode over to the Catholic University of America. We observed the Basillica there, officially called The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington D.C. It is the largest Roman Catholic church in the U.S. Absolutely stunning. The interior and exterior beauty was impressive. This a picture from the web (others from Bobby's camera soon to come) if found that shows the main room (Not sure what Catholics call it, but Baptists call it the sanctuary.) On the back wall, a dome-shaped mosaic of Jesus is shown. It is 6 stories high and the head of Jesus is 8 ft in diameter. We went to the Basilica because in Latin America, Catholicism is huge. It's interesting to see something in-person that so greatly influences many of the people we will witness to in Peru.

From there we ate some Mexican food, that was more like expensive spicy American food. From the restuarant Bobby and i left the group and happened upon Ford's Theater, where Lincoln was shot. We paid our respects to John Wilkes Booth.

Moving right along, we decided to go solo from there. Bobby continued in search of hippies to talk to about Jesus and i didn't know where i would go, but i just started walking. I caught the Metro over to Mall (no, not the shopping mall, the huge strip of grass with the Washington Monument, Capitol Building, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam War Memorial, WWII Memorial, etc.) and decided to stroll over to the Vietnam Memorial. I asked directions from this guy who looked a little younger than me. He weigned 500 lbs. if he weighed an ounce. He told me he'd take me there so i started a spiritual conversation with him. As i walked through the security check for the Mall, he turned and left. How i lost a 500 lb. guy in a crowd? I have no idea. Nevertheless, i changed plans about Vietnam when i happened upon the new World War II Memorial. It was humbling. After looking around a little, i decided it was time to witness to someone. I walked around the pool (pictured here) looking for a Latino sitting around the edge like everyone else. And there he was. Luiz, from Honduras. Sporting my Peruvian football jersey, we had something in common as he bore the Honduran jersey. He said he was Catholic so i asked him when he had accepted Jesus in his heart. He looked confused and told me he'd always been a Catholic and his salvation happened when he was sprinkled as a baby. I showed him Ephesians 2:8-9: "For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast." I explained to him that a baptism cannot save us, according to the Bible. He said he'd think about it. Please pray for Luiz and his family's salvations.

Independence Day just wouldn't be complete without a little Chinese influence. Upon returning to the MLC we decided it was time for some fireworks. Armed with a borrowed minivan and a google map, we set forth in search Richmond's fireworks. I drove a van full of singles (not including Rupert) until we found the fireworks. Once we saw the last half of those, another set started a few miles in the distance. We jumped back in the van and headed over to the second fireworks. As we neared, my passengers kept jumping out of the van at different traffic stops to walk. Chinese firedrills did not pay off as i left the majority of them on the street. I wanted to go see the fireworks! Jon Marts and i made it and they were beautiful. Once that was over we turned around and searched for lost pedestrians for about 30 minutes. We continued to drive in downtown Richmond lost for the next hour, hunting the highway we came in on. Late-night rap music on the radio through a couple people out of their element, who were raised on Anne of Green Gables and FFH. What a fun night! Totally improv. Seldomly kosher.