Monday, November 13, 2006

Birthday Beach Fun & South African Dinner

Yesterday (Sunday) after church services, a handful of friends from GCN and Open Door Ministries got together for my birthday at Belmont Shore in Long Beach for lunch and volleyball. Fun times!

This would be the first time that Luke (visiting from the UK) had ever seen the Pacific Ocean so some of us went down by the water so that he can take it all in. Right now, he says it's freezing cold in the UK and so there were several moments when I caught Luke looking around to appreciate the sunny California weather with the blue skies, puffy clouds, and slight breeze. I'm so glad he's having a good time here. =)

We all played volleyball for awhile. This was another first for Luke since he had never played before so it was fun watching him learn how to bump/hit/set/serve/just-even-try-to-touch the ball. Hilarious! He said he was having fun though. He wasn't the only one contending with a disobedient volleyball that would never go where it was supposed to go. It wasn't competitive but we all had a blast just the same.

We all shared lunch then had some birthday cupcakes. Yummers! It was just a fun Sunday afternoon hanging out with friends. Good times.

After our day at the beach, Mike, Michael, Luke and I returned to my place to clean up, then we went out to dinner at Mike's favorite South African bar & grill in Shoreline Village in downtown Long Beach. I forget what it's called. It was good food though.

I think the fun part about Sunday (all day), in fact even the past several days, was just seeing many of my friends connect. In many instances, it definitely was not all about me. They were just opportunities for friends to have fun and get to know each other more or even possibly meet new friends. What better birthday gift than to see friends enjoying each other! =)

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